Soul Ring Age and Type Don't Matter

Tang San froze for a moment, then asked in disbelief, "What? Li Chen, you're charging me too?"

"Of course. Did you think my pork got blown in on the wind?"

Li Chen continued rubbing his fingers together.

Tang San hurried over to Yu Xiaogang and said with slight dissatisfaction, "Teacher, Xiao Wu is fine with it, but Li Chen doesn't want to give us any. What should we do?"

The moment Yu Xiaogang heard that, he thought, You little brat. I brought you here to hunt Soul Rings, and you can't even bear to share a piece of roasted meat with me.

I was even planning to kill a Hundred-Year Soul Beast for you so you'd have some strength and could be my disciple's lackey. Now I've changed my mind. I'll just hunt you some random Ten-Year Soul Beast. Hmph!

Just then, the system's voice rang out in Yu Xiaogang's mind.

"Ding-dong. The system has detected that the host has improper thoughts. Please stop immediately, or the system will punish you."

Yu Xiaogang shouted in his mind, "System, isn't it enough for me to simply take them hunting for Soul Rings? Is there even an age requirement? And if I fail the mission, will there be a punishment?"

"That is correct, Host. If you cannot help Li Chen and Xiao Wu obtain Soul Rings that satisfy them, you will randomly receive a penalty of losing one to five levels of Soul Power."

Yu Xiaogang did not dare ask why.

Grinding his teeth, he said, "Tang San, we won't stoop to the level of those two children. Their horizons are limited, after all. Go take a Gold Soul Coin from my bag. One Gold Soul Coin should be enough for us to have a meal."

Tang San jogged over and handed the money to Xiao Wu. He felt that Xiao Wu should be easier to talk to than Li Chen. If he could not buy roasted meat from Xiao Wu with one Gold Soul Coin, then it would be even more impossible with Li Chen.

What he did not know was that Li Chen had just told Xiao Wu that Yu Xiaogang would definitely take the two of them to hunt sufficiently good Soul Beasts, telling her to feel free to fleece Tang San.

Xiao Wu took Tang San's Gold Soul Coin with a beaming smile and said sweetly,

"Brother Tang San, one Gold Soul Coin doesn't seem to be quite enough. If it were just the meat, it actually wouldn't be that expensive. One Gold Soul Coin would be enough to buy a piece about the size of a palm."

"But the seasoning is especially expensive. It's imported from the Star Luo Empire. In the Heaven Dou Empire, it's worth more than gold, so it's not that Xiao Wu doesn't want to give you any. It's just that we bought it at such a high price. If Brother Tang San could give us a few more Gold Soul Coins~~"

As she spoke, Xiao Wu secretly slipped a piece of roasted meat she was eating to Tang San.

Xiao Wu leaned close to Tang San's ear and whispered, "Brother Tang San, I'm secretly giving this to you. Keep the Gold Soul Coin, and don't let Li Chen see it."

Xiao Wu secretly stuffed the Gold Soul Coin back into Tang San's hand, and Tang San was instantly moved beyond words.

How could such a wonderful girl not have met me first?

No, I have to steal her away from Li Chen. That trash Li Chen doesn't deserve such a good girl as Xiao Wu.

Tang San took a bite of the roasted meat and immediately felt that the lunch Yu Xiaogang had prepared tasted as awful as shit.

Little Sister Xiao Wu seemed to say that one Gold Soul Coin bought one piece of roasted meat. Then I'll take all of Yu Xiaogang's Gold Soul Coins and give them to her. Those Gold Soul Coins are useless with Yu Xiaogang anyway. Didn't he say before that money couldn't buy food in the forest? Especially food this delicious.

"Teacher, that guy Li Chen is demanding one Gold Soul Coin for each piece of roasted meat."

Tang San would never speak ill of his Little Sister Xiao Wu. How could his kind and adorable Little Sister Xiao Wu do something so opportunistic? Li Chen must have ordered her to do it!

"But his roasted meat smells so good. Why don't we buy some? It's not expensive anyway. To you, Teacher, these few Gold Soul Coins are nothing!"

Yu Xiaogang did not really want to waste money like this, because he did not have many Gold Soul Coins left. But Li Chen's roasted meat smelled far too good, so he still grit his teeth and spent ten Gold Soul Coins to enjoy a hearty meal with Tang San.

After the lunch break, they resumed their search for suitable Soul Beasts.

After walking more than ten li, they encountered many Soul Beasts, but they were all low-aged ones. Not only could they pose no threat to them, they were not even worth killing for money.

After walking through the forest for so long, Li Chen was beginning to lose patience.

Li Chen asked Little Tangyuan in his mind, "Tangyuan, Tangyuan, can I give Yu Xiaogang a mission to find Tang San a Soul Ring from a Soul Beast under ten years old? That way, we can settle Tang San's problem first and focus on finding one for me afterward."

"You can, but how are you going to fool Tang San into absorbing the Soul Ring of a Ten-Year Soul Beast?"

"I have my ways."

The system's voice rang out in Yu Xiaogang's mind again.

"Ding-dong. Please have the host first find Tang San a Ten-Year Blue Silver Grass Soul Ring, then find him a Clear Sky Hammer Soul Ring of roughly ten years. This will not only suppress Tang San's talent, but also keep Tang San from growing too quickly."

"The system has detected that Tang San harbors wolfish ambitions. I can see rebellious bones at the back of his head. If he becomes too powerful, he may harm you, Host."

Yu Xiaogang was alarmed when he heard this.

I already found that brat Tang San unpleasant. So he really does want to harm me. Hmph!

Master Yu originally planned to find you two Hundred-Year Soul Rings. Now let's see how I fool you!

"Xiao San, do you think the age of a Soul Beast is more important, or its type?"

"Teacher, I think both are important. The type of Soul Beast determines the kind of Spirit Ability, while its age determines the strength of that ability. So I still hope to find a suitable Soul Beast with a high age."

Yu Xiaogang earnestly persuaded him, "But Xiao San, you have to understand that the process of Soul Masters hunting Soul Beasts is not always smooth. Sometimes, you cannot have the best of both worlds."

"This forest is so vast, and Soul Beasts suitable for you are at the bottom of the food chain, so it's difficult to find one with a high age!"

Tang San was startled and hurriedly asked, "Teacher, what do you mean?"

Yu Xiaogang replied, "We've been searching for nearly a whole day and still haven't found a Soul Beast suitable for you. Logically speaking, the choice of your First Spirit Ability isn't particularly important, because once you become stronger, you basically won't use your First Spirit Ability. You'll only use the Spirit Abilities of those Soul Rings with higher ages. So the first Soul Ring only serves to assist with your breakthrough. As long as you have one, it's enough, even if it's the Soul Ring of a Ten-Year Soul Beast!"

"Adoptive Mother, Adoptive Mother, is Yu Xiaogang right?"

Tang San felt that Yu Xiaogang's words did not add up. When they came, he had clearly said that a Soul Beast's type and age were both extremely important. Yet now he said neither age nor type mattered. Is he trying to deceive me?

A reassuring voice came from the ring. "Xiao San, after being on Douluo Continent for so long, I've come to understand Soul Beasts to some extent."

"For ordinary Soul Masters, the choice of Soul Rings is extremely important because they lack the ability to create their own Soul Skills. But for a Soul Master as gifted as you, it isn't as important, especially for the first few Soul Rings. Once your level rises, you'll either use the Spirit Abilities of several Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings or use Self-Created Soul Skills!"

"Adoptive Mother, what are Self-Created Soul Skills? Can Spirit Abilities really be created?"