Two-Hundred-Year Ghost Vine

"Really?"

Hearing Qing Tianfeng's words, Qing Mu was instantly overjoyed.

If things were truly as Qing Tianfeng said, he would not have to wait another half year before going to the Soul Hunting Forest. He could obtain his Soul Ring six months 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 too. Tomorrow, we'll set off for that forest and hunt a soul beast for you!"

"That's wonderful! Bulbasaur, we're about to get our First Soul Ring."

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

"Bulba, Bulba~"

Bulbasaur was equally excited. Once Qing Mu had his First Soul Ring, his level would no longer be capped at ten, and he could learn more moves as well.

The next day, a rather luxurious carriage departed from Qing Mu's family castle, heading toward the Soul Beast Forest Qing Tianfeng had mentioned.

Inside the carriage, Qing Tianfeng explained, "That Soul Beast Forest is rather far away. It'll take us around ten days to reach our destination."

"Ten days? Doesn't that mean we'll be leaving the country?"

Xu Yao asked in surprise.

Although the carriage was not as fast as they were themselves, ten days was almost enough time to travel out of 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, only a few hundred li 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 stretching across several countries. Within the Hagen Das Kingdom, it passed along the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, which was why it was called the Star Dou Great Mountain Range.

Although Soul Beasts lived there as well, neither their variety nor numbers could compare with those of the Star Dou Great Forest. Even Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were rarely seen.

The place they were heading to this time was even on the very edge of the outermost region, making it extremely safe.

Qing Mu did not care much about that. It was only ten days, after all. It was still 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 attaching 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 over those six months, just waiting to erupt after absorbing the Soul Ring.

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

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

"Let's go!"

After leaving 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 several groups of Ten-Year Soul Beasts, and curiosity filled his eyes.

Aside from that hundred-year Shadow Leopard, this was the first time he had seen living Soul Beasts.

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

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

But Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao ignored all of them.

In their eyes, how could such trash possibly be worthy of their genius son? To serve as his 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 caught their eye.

A blue-black vine bearing strange fruits appeared before the three of them. It radiated a cold, sinister aura like that of a snake, enough to make one shudder.

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

Although Yu Xiaogang had already published his so-called Soul Ring Absorption Limit, Qing Tianfeng, Xu Yao, and most Spirit Masters merely treated it as a joke. No one would truly follow the standards Yu Xiaogang had released.

The reason was simple. The Soul Ring Absorption Limit Yu Xiaogang had proposed could, at most, prove that someone had once absorbed a first Soul Ring that was four hundred and twenty-three years old. Even the source of that supposed four hundred and twenty-three years was of uncertain authenticity.

Under such circumstances, no one would risk their younger generation's lives simply to verify a single statement from Yu Xiaogang.

After all, whether Yu Xiaogang's four hundred and twenty-three years was real was unknown, but there were countless examples of people being severely injured or even dying after absorbing two-hundred-year or three-hundred-year Soul Rings.

In reality, the specific age of Soul Ring one should absorb still depended on a Spirit Master's own experience and judgment.

Generally speaking, as long as one's First Soul Ring was a hundred-year Soul Ring, even if it had only just reached one hundred years, it was already an excellent start.

Naturally, it would be better if the First Soul Ring was older, but it would not make much difference if it was not.

As long as it was not a Ten-Year Soul Ring, it would be fine. After all, the difference between a hundred-year Soul Ring and a Ten-Year Soul Ring was enormous.

At this moment, Xu Yao also said to Qing Mu, "Mu'er, given Bulbasaur's traits, there aren't many Soul Beasts compatible with him, 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 a consensus: they would find a wood-and-poison dual-attribute Soul Ring between two hundred and three hundred years old for Qing Mu's First Soul Ring.

In truth, if they wanted to play it safe, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao could have chosen a hundred-and-fifty-year Soul Beast. It would not only be safe, but its Soul Skill would not be weak either. Many descendants of great clans made that choice.

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

Yet when faced with his parents' question, Qing Mu shook his head. "Dad, Mom, this Ghost Vine is good, but it isn't suitable for me right now."