The two conversed as they entered the Star Dou Forest.
Neither of them was ordinary. Traveling from Spirit City to the Star Dou Forest took only a few breaths.
In the blink of an eye, they saw the lush forest and ancient trees that blotted out the sky.
As Ye Lingtong's skirt brushed against the Blue Silver Grass at the edge of the Star Dou Forest, the plants suddenly glimmered with a pearly light.
She stopped, her fingertips brushing the dew gathered on the blades. As she touched the leaves of the Blue Silver Grass, she felt the heartfelt joy radiating from this most common of plants.
"Even the plants seem to be responding to your compassion," Solomon said with a smile. He saw countless fireflies stream out from the depths of the forest, weaving a flowing halo around Ye Lingtong.
The sight reminded him of what was recorded in Genesis: whenever Virgin Mary crossed a desert, lilies bloomed from the sand.
It seemed he only needed to work a little harder and make Ye Lingtong into a true Holy Mother. Then, wherever his bargain-bin mom went, miracles would descend. His role-playing progress would surely rise by another notch!
At that moment, heavy footsteps sounded from deep within the forest. A gigantic silver-white wolf blocked the path. A spiraling horn grew from its forehead, and humanlike wariness gleamed in its eyes.
But when the giant wolf saw Ye Lingtong's face clearly, she suddenly dropped to her forelegs and let out a puppy-like whimper.
"It's a ten-thousand-year Moonlight Celestial Wolf," Solomon explained softly. He noticed a bone-deep wound on her hind leg, with blackish-purple mist curling around the rotting flesh.
"Looks like she was injured by an Evil Spirit Master. This dark energy is eroding her soul."
Without hesitation, Ye Lingtong unleashed her martial soul. The moment Holy Light bloomed, the trees throughout the forest began to sway along with it.
A white rain of healing light fell upon the giant wolf's wound, and the black mist actually shrieked as it fled in all directions.
The Moonlight Celestial Wolf immediately felt lighter than ever before, and her condition had never been better. She obediently knelt on the ground and rubbed against Ye Lingtong's foot.
Ye Lingtong smiled and sat atop the back of the enormous wolf-type soul beast, beckoning Solomon to sit with her.
Naturally, Solomon did not stand on ceremony. Why would he be polite with his own mother?
The two sat on the soul beast's back and continued deeper into the Star Dou Forest.
"Since you want to become the king of soul beasts, how do you intend to change the fate of soul masters hunting soul beasts? By granting everyone God-bestowed Spirit Rings?" Ye Lingtong asked.
Solomon had long had an answer to that question.
As he had mentioned before, it was Spirit Souls.
He stroked the Moonlight Celestial Wolf's soft fur and chuckled. "I think there are generally two ways to obtain soul rings."
"One is for a soul master to personally kill a soul beast and obtain the soul ring condensed from its corpse. The other is for a soul beast to sacrifice itself and gift its soul ring to a soul master."
"Has Holy Mother ever considered the connection between soul rings, soul masters, and soul beasts?"
"This..." Ye Lingtong had naturally never considered it. Over the years, she had either cultivated, eradicated Evil Spirit Masters, or built rural villages in remote regions... She truly had never given the matter of martial souls much thought.
"Tell me, why do soul masters gain corresponding skills after obtaining soul rings?"
"Why do soul beasts produce soul rings?"
"And what is the essence of a soul ring?"
Solomon fired off several questions at once, but he did not wait for Ye Lingtong to answer before giving the answer himself.
"Because the essence of a soul ring is part of a soul beast's soul. A soul ring contains the life a soul beast has lived. After absorbing a soul ring, a soul master can gain the skills the soul beast most likely used frequently in life. That is the answer."
"Then is there a way for soul masters to obtain soul rings and skills without killing soul beasts?"
"There is. Of course there is." Solomon spoke unhurriedly. Carried by the Moonlight Celestial Wolf, the two quickly entered the inner region of the Star Dou Forest, where they vaguely spotted a small lake.
This was not Lake of Life, but some nameless lake.
Several Sacred Attribute unicorns were drinking at its edge, each with a cultivation of at least five thousand years.
Watching the carefree unicorns, Solomon continued, "Since the essence of a soul ring is part of a soul beast's soul, and the skills soul masters gain from soul rings are also the experience of skills used by those soul beasts in life... why not try creating an array that lets soul masters and soul beasts form contracts and share their souls?"
"That way, soul masters can obtain the soul skills they want, perhaps even more than one."
As Solomon spoke, he jumped down from the Moonlight Celestial Wolf's back and walked toward the unicorns.
His target was their leader, a unicorn over ninety thousand years old, whose cultivation was infinitely close to one hundred thousand years.
Ye Lingtong watched the boy's back and seriously considered his words.
It seemed somewhat feasible.
But how should that array be made?
Perhaps she should pray to The Lord—her own child.
If it was Him, He would surely have a solution.
But perhaps the Holy Son could be trusted as well.
Solomon smoothly approached the ninety-thousand-year soul beast. A soul beast of that age possessed intelligence no weaker than a human's and could already be communicated with as an equal.
"Hello. I am Solomon, the Son of Man, and a child chosen by The Lord. I have come to form a contract with you." Solomon stopped before the unicorn, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.
The ninety-thousand-year unicorn was covered in snow-white fur, yet faint reflections of scales could be seen beneath it. This unicorn appeared to possess dragon blood. Along with the Sacred Attribute, it carried a trace of the dominance unique to dragon-type soul beasts.
She lowered her head and carefully observed the boy before her. This tiny Son of Man possessed an indescribable majesty that made her unable to resist, and a desire to submit arose in her heart.
However, "Son of Man, what kind of contract do you wish to form with me?"
Faced with the unicorn's question, Solomon naturally did not conceal anything and laid out his idea in full.
His idea was actually very simple: to slightly combine the Spirit Souls from the second era with Pokemon.
After soul masters and soul beasts formed a contract, the soul masters could use the soul beasts' skills, while the soul beasts could continue living and use their own abilities as well.
This setup was utterly broken. In other words, after forming a contract, if the soul master and soul beast had sufficiently high compatibility, the soul master could even use all of the soul beast's skills. The soul beast would not die and could continue living, essentially becoming a second combatant. It could communicate with the soul master's heart and fight in coordination with the soul master.
Moreover, soul beasts were not affected by a soul master's lifespan. When the soul master died naturally, the contract would dissolve, without preventing the soul beast from forming a contract with someone else.
There was no more broken setup than this!
Before you continue