Second Soul Ring (1)

Time rewound to a moment earlier.

Before Li Qing had even stepped into the toilet, while he was still more than a meter away, he caught a strong, foul stench.

So, while still outside, he condensed a layer of Spirit Shield Skin over his nose and mouth.

But when he reached the toilet's small entrance, even the Spirit Shield Skin could not block that smell.

Tonight's moon was bright—extremely bright! Brilliant moonlight streamed through the gaps in the toilet.

Then, for the first time in his life, Li Qing came to hate his own eyes. He hated that his vision was so good that he could see the scene inside with perfect clarity.

A huge pit had appeared in the middle of the original latrine, while the surrounding walls had even...

Been splattered with brownish-yellow shit.

It was as though someone had thrown a massive stone down into the latrine from above, shattering its original "tranquility!"

Just how smooth were Ling Ren's bowels to produce something like this?!

Under the moonlight, Li Qing saw shit still clinging together in stringy strands.

There was also some unidentified liquid, reflecting light beneath the moon.

That had to be...

Urine!

Li Qing's face turned livid, his stomach churned violently, and he walked back out.

"Ugh~"

At last, Li Qing could no longer endure it and threw up. After all, he had just finished eating.

After wiping the vomit from the corner of his mouth, Li Qing could not hold it in any longer and shouted.

Fortunately, after Li Qing finished vomiting, his original urge to relieve himself...

Vanished.

Afterward, without another word, Ling Ren grabbed the cleaning tools, rushed into the toilet, and began cleaning up the results of his smooth bowels.

For the next few days, Li Qing did not eat a single bite of rice. Whenever he got hungry, he ate a little fruit.

As for the toilet that Ling Ren had blown apart, he never set foot in it again. If it had not been built by someone else, Li Qing would have long since blasted it into ashes.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days passed. Their three-month break ended, and Li Qing and the others returned to school.

Other than one additional figure appearing on the training ground every day, life in the new term did not change much. And so, another ten months passed.

Nuoding Academy, Seven Dormitory.

Li Qing, who was sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes. Soul Power circulated around his body as he exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

Thirteen months had passed since his last breakthrough. Through daily diligent cultivation, Li Qing's Soul Power had risen another three levels, allowing him to successfully break through to level twenty. His Eight Inner Gates could now open the fourth gate as well—the Gate of Injury.

Xiao Wu had also reached level twenty and had "gone home" more than ten days ago.

Tang San had likewise broken through to level twenty more than ten days ago. Since Ling Ren spent most of his time every day training his body, his Soul Power grew relatively slowly. However, because he had originally been one level ahead of the other two, he had still reached level twenty despite progressing a little more slowly. They had been waiting for Li Qing so they could head to the Soul Hunting Forest together to hunt Spirit Beasts.

Originally, Li Qing had wanted to act alone and hunt a Spirit Beast around a thousand years old for his second Soul Ring. Even if Master accompanied them, he would not be much help. It would be better to temper himself instead...

However, when Master learned that Li Qing intended to go alone, he naturally refused in the strongest terms.

First, a thousand years exceeded the maximum limit of two hundred and fifty years for a second Soul Ring established in his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.

Second, Master did not fully understand Li Qing's strength. Li Qing was currently only a level-nineteen Soul Master, so Master naturally did not believe he had the ability to hunt a thousand-year Spirit Beast alone.

Furthermore, the Soul Hunting Forest was filled with all sorts of people. Without someone guarding him nearby, who knew what danger might arise while he absorbed the Soul Ring?

Thus, he firmly refused to allow Li Qing's "reckless behavior."

Left with no choice, Li Qing displayed his strength to Master, proving that dealing with a thousand-year Spirit Beast was no problem for him.

After seeing Li Qing's strength, Master remained silent for a long time. Then he let out a heavy sigh and said,

"I never expected you to have already reached this level. Still, hunting Spirit Beasts is no small matter. Any mistake could cost you your life. But..."

Master looked at the three of them, a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

"If the three of you go together, then I will absolutely have nothing to say."

Ling Ren and Tang San exchanged a glance and spoke in unison.

"I'm willing!"

Seeing that both of them were willing, Master nodded approvingly and looked at Li Qing.

"You cannot refuse now, can you? The three of you are usually quite close anyway. Treat it as a team coordination exercise."

Li Qing considered it briefly, then agreed.

Afterward, Master wrote them a long set of instructions, covering the target Spirit Beasts for the trip, their characteristics, and several matters that required attention when resting at night...

Altogether, it was nearly ten thousand words. Master required them to memorize it before departure. If they could not, then they were not to rush off.

In only half a day, Li Qing relied on his powerful Mental Power to memorize everything in it.

That afternoon, the three of them went into Nuoding City to purchase food, water, and other things they might need.

That evening, Master gave them Spirit Hall identification tokens.

Whenever a Soul Master's Soul Power Level reached the peak of a rank, they needed a Soul Ring to advance. At that time, they could obtain the corresponding token from Spirit Hall, allowing them to hunt Spirit Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest.

After all, the Soul Hunting Forest was not like the Star Dou Great Forest. It was merely a small forest maintained by the Heaven Dou Empire specifically to raise Spirit Beasts for Soul Masters to hunt. The Spirit Beasts inside were no more than five thousand years old. This was also one reason Master agreed to the request of the three of them. If Li Qing and the others had wanted to go to the Star Dou Great Forest, there would have been no need for further discussion. Even if they talked until flowers bloomed, Master would never have agreed.

By the time they had prepared everything, it was already night. So they rested well for the night and planned to set out early the next morning.

Several hours later, as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, the silvery dawn gradually turned rosy, and the morning glow fell upon the window frames of countless homes.

Li Qing and the other two rode in a carriage, setting off down the road to the Soul Hunting Forest beneath the rising sun.

Throughout the journey, Li Qing continued meditating to consolidate his Soul Power. Even by carriage, it would still take them several hours to reach the Soul Hunting Forest—roughly the same amount of time he spent meditating every night. Besides, Li Qing had broken through to level twenty less than two days ago, unlike Tang San and Ling Ren, who had already been consolidating their cultivation for more than ten days.

They arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest right around lunchtime.