Two-Hundred-Year Ghost Vine

"Really?"

Hearing Qing Tianfeng's words, Qing Mu's heart immediately leaped with joy.

If things were really as Qing Tianfeng said, he would not have to wait another half year before going to the Soul Hunting Forest. He could obtain a Soul Ring half a year early and become a true Spirit Master.

Qing Tianfeng smiled and nodded. "Of course it's true. Would your father lie to you? Your mother knows about this as well. Tomorrow, we'll set out for that forest and hunt a soul beast for you!"

"That's great! Bulbasaur, we're about to get our first Soul Ring!"

Upon hearing this, Qing Mu immediately lifted Bulbasaur high in his arms, spinning around as he spoke excitedly.

"Da Na, Da Na~"

Bulbasaur was equally excited. With the First Soul Ring, Qing Mu's level would no longer be capped at ten, and he would be able to learn more moves as well.

The next day, a rather luxurious carriage left Qing Mu's family castle and headed toward the Soul Beast Forest Qing Tianfeng had mentioned.

Inside the carriage, Qing Tianfeng explained, "That Soul Beast Forest is quite far away. It will take us about ten days to reach our destination."

"Ten days? Wouldn't that mean leaving the country?"

Xu Yao asked in surprise.

Although the carriage was not as fast as they were on their own, ten days was still nearly enough to travel beyond the Hagen Das Kingdom.

Qing Tianfeng shook his head. "Not yet, but it's close. Our destination this time is a small forest extending from the Star Dou Great Mountain Range. It is only a little over a hundred miles from the Gulei Kingdom."

The Star Dou Great Mountain Range sounded quite similar to the Star Dou Great Forest, but the two were actually vastly different.

The Star Dou Great Mountain Range was an enormous mountain range that stretched across several countries. However, because the portion within the Hagen Das Kingdom passed along the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, it was called the Star Dou Great Mountain Range.

Although Soul Beasts also lived there, both their variety and numbers were far inferior to those in the Star Dou Great Forest. Even Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were rarely seen.

Moreover, the place they were headed to this time was an area on the very edge of the outskirts, making it extremely safe.

Qing Mu did not care much about that. It was only ten days, after all—far better than being forced to wait another half year.

I wonder how many levels my Soul Power will rise after I obtain my First Soul Ring? Qing Mu thought.

Generally speaking, after adding a Soul Ring, a Spirit Master could rise by at most one level. But Qing Mu was different. After reaching his bottleneck, he had continued training with Bulbasaur for another half year.

Judging by Bulbasaur's rate of improvement, they had accumulated quite a lot of experience during those six months, waiting only to erupt after absorbing the Soul Ring.

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed, and Qing Mu's group finally arrived at their destination.

It was a lush, verdant forest. From the outside, it seemed no different from any other forest, yet terrifying Soul Beasts lived within it.

"Let's go!"

After parking the carriage in a nearby town, Qing Mu and Xu Yao entered the forest under Qing Tianfeng's lead.

The moment he entered the forest, Qing Mu saw some pack-dwelling Ten-Year Soul Beasts, and curiosity filled his eyes.

Other than that hundred-year Shadow Leopard, this was his first time seeing living Soul Beasts.

Seeing Qing Mu's expression, Qing Tianfeng smiled and explained, "Those are ten-year Green Goats. Although their attributes are the same as your Bulbasaur's, their cultivation is far too low. If we want to find a good Soul Beast, we'll have to go deeper."

As they gradually ventured farther in, Qing Mu saw even more Soul Beasts: thirty-year Gold Iron Rats, fifty-year Wood Vine Snakes, eighty-year Wind Chasing Eagles, hundred-year Green Rainbow Falcons...

Yet Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao ignored all of these Soul Beasts without a second glance.

In Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao's eyes, how could such trash possibly be worthy of their genius son? To serve as their son's First Soul Ring, it had to be at least two hundred years old, and its attributes had to match as well.

Finally, after walking through the forest for most of the day, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao found a Soul Beast that met their standards.

A patch of blue-black vines bearing strange fruits appeared in the trio's view. It exuded a snake-like, chilling aura that sent shivers down their spines.

Qing Tianfeng then asked Qing Mu, "Son, this is a Ghost Vine over two hundred years old. It possesses both wood and poison attributes, which match Bulbasaur's attributes. It can serve as your First Soul Ring."

Although Yu Xiaogang had already published his so-called maximum Soul Ring absorption limits, Qing Tianfeng, Xu Yao, and most Spirit Masters treated them as a joke. No one would truly follow the standards Yu Xiaogang had put forth.

The reason was simple. At best, Yu Xiaogang's stated maximum absorption limit merely proved that someone had once absorbed a four-hundred-and-twenty-three-year Soul Ring as their first. Even the source of that supposed four hundred and twenty-three years was of uncertain authenticity.

Under such circumstances, no one would allow their younger generation to do something so dangerous merely to verify Yu Xiaogang's claim.

After all, no one knew whether Yu Xiaogang's four hundred and twenty-three years was real, but there were countless examples of people being severely injured or even dying from absorbing two-hundred-year or three-hundred-year Soul Rings.

In reality, the exact age of Soul Ring one should absorb still had to be judged by Spirit Masters based on their own experience.

Generally speaking, as long as the First Soul Ring was a hundred-year one, even if it had only just crossed the hundred-year mark, it was already an excellent start.

Naturally, it was even better if the First Soul Ring was older, but it did not matter too much if it was not.

In any case, as long as it was not a Ten-Year Soul Ring, it would do. After all, the gap between hundred-year and ten-year Soul Rings was enormous.

At this moment, Xu Yao also said to Qing Mu, "Mu'er, given Bulbasaur's traits, there are not many Soul Beasts compatible with it, and this Ghost Vine is one of them!"

Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao had argued countless times over the choice of their son's First Soul Ring before finally reaching an agreement: they would find a Soul Ring between two hundred and three hundred years old, with both wood and poison attributes, for Qing Mu's First Soul Ring.

If they wanted to play it safe, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao could have chosen a hundred-and-fifty-year Soul Beast. Not only would that have been safer, but the Soul Skill's effect would not have been bad either. Many children of great clans made that very choice.

However, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao believed their son was a genius and naturally could not be judged by ordinary standards, so they raised the target age to between two hundred and three hundred years.

Yet in response to his parents' question, Qing Mu shook his head. "Dad, Mom, although this Ghost Vine is good, it isn't suitable for me right now!"