"You can rest in peace. As the first Hundred-Year Soul Beast I've killed, I'll remember you."
After saying that, Qing Mu turned to Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed. Finish him!"
"Bulba~"
Bulbasaur nodded, then crouched slightly and aimed the seed on his back at the Shadow Leopard.
The Shadow Leopard tried to struggle, but several seeds glowing green were all that awaited him.
Just as with the Sika Deer earlier, the moment the seeds touched the Shadow Leopard's body, they instantly transformed into vines and spread outward, wrapping the Shadow Leopard up tightly in the blink of an eye.
Soon, the Shadow Leopard's stamina was continuously drained by Leech Seed, turning into specks of white light that returned to Bulbasaur's body.
Bulbasaur immediately felt a wave of comfort, while the Soul Power Qing Mu had previously expended also rapidly recovered.
"As expected of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast. Its vitality really is abundant."
Feeling the Soul Power continuously recovering within him, Qing Mu could not help but sigh.
The energy Leech Seed could absorb was not only related to Qing Mu's level and the technique's proficiency, but also to what it was absorbing from.
Ordinary animals like Sika Deer did not possess much energy to begin with, so the results were limited.
However, Soul Beasts possessed far more energy than ordinary animals, so Leech Seed could achieve much better results.
At this point, the Shadow Leopard had no ability to resist. But just in case, Bulbasaur did not retract Vine Whip until the Shadow Leopard was completely dead.
The next moment, faint yellow motes floated up from the Shadow Leopard's corpse and eventually condensed into a pale yellow Soul Ring.
Looking at the Shadow Leopard's Hundred-Year Soul Ring before him, Qing Mu shook his head. "What a pity. A Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard Soul Ring would undoubtedly be an excellent First Soul Ring choice for Spirit Masters of the Agility Attack System, but it's useless to me right now."
Leaving aside the fact that Qing Mu was only level nine and could not absorb a Soul Ring yet, even if his level were high enough, he would not choose a Soul Beast like the Shadow Leopard as his First Soul Ring. It was unsuitable in every respect.
Qing Mu's current plan for cultivating Bulbasaur was to turn him into a battlefield-controlling artillery platform, as could be seen from Bulbasaur's earlier fighting style.
This method of driving Vine Whip underground before launching an attack had been created by Qing Mu after taking inspiration from the training manual his parents had prepared for him, as well as one of Bulbasaur's later ultimate moves, Power Whip.
Its advantage was that it could better protect Qing Mu, while attacks launched from underground were also much harder for opponents to guard against.
Although they had encountered some difficulties during training, today's actual battle had made Qing Mu certain that the path he had chosen was correct.
After all, even the Shadow Leopard, a Top-Tier Soul Beast famed for its speed, had failed to injure Qing Mu. Soul Beasts that were far slower and more cumbersome than the Shadow Leopard would have even less chance.
"Bulbasaur, let's go. We can't stay in this forest for now."
Qing Mu then called out to Bulbasaur beside him.
For Qing Mu's safety, his parents, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao, had thoroughly inspected and cleared this forest. Only after confirming that there were no Soul Beasts did they dare let him train here.
Yet a Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard had appeared in this supposedly safe forest. That meant something must have happened nearby, or else it could not have appeared here.
However, just as Qing Mu turned around and prepared to leave the forest, he suddenly felt the Soul Power within his body begin to surge. In mere moments, it broke through that barrier and reached level ten.
"Hm? This feeling... could it be..."
Feeling the explosive growth of Soul Power within him, Qing Mu froze. Then, as if he had thought of something, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Could it be that his Bulbasaur could gain Experience Points by defeating Soul Beasts, just like in the game?
Of course. He should have realized it long ago. Since Bulbasaur could naturally comprehend skills as his level increased, gaining Experience Points by defeating Soul Beasts was not strange at all.
It took Qing Mu a long while to forcibly suppress his excitement. I never expected Bulbasaur to bring this trait over too. Doesn't that mean I won't have to worry about increasing my level in the future?
On the Douluo Continent, level was undoubtedly of vital importance. Although Bulbasaur could originally increase his level through training, as his level rose, gaining even one more level would undoubtedly become extremely difficult.
It was not that Qing Mu thought Bulbasaur's training speed was slow. In fact, in less than half a year, he had already gained nearly four levels. Compared to Qing Mu's meditation speed, that was already several times faster.
The main issue was that as the story progressed, the Douluo Continent would inevitably enter turbulent times. Especially once Spirit Hall clashed with Tang San, without sufficient strength, Qing Mu and his family could easily be caught in the conflict and endangered.
Therefore, the more methods he had to increase his level, the better. Only then could he avoid being caught up in the conflict between Spirit Hall and Tang San, while also gaining enough confidence.
"Bulba, Bulba~"
Just as Qing Mu lowered his head in thought, Bulbasaur tugged at the corner of his clothes with Vine Whip.
"Bulbasaur, what is it?"
Sensing Bulbasaur's movement, Qing Mu looked at him in confusion.
"Bulba, Bulba~"
Bulbasaur pointed at the Shadow Leopard's corpse with Vine Whip, then pointed beyond the forest.
Seeing that, Qing Mu instantly understood Bulbasaur's meaning and immediately said, "You're right. We should leave."
The fact that Bulbasaur could turn the Soul Rings of defeated Soul Beasts into Experience Points was so shocking that Qing Mu had nearly forgotten they needed to leave the forest. After Bulbasaur reminded him, he could not help but feel lingering fear.
After all, who knew whether the Shadow Leopard they had just encountered was an isolated case? What if they had run into a Soul Beast migration?
Qing Mu and Bulbasaur then quickly ran toward the edge of the forest.
Fortunately, this forest was quite small. In only a short while, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur had left its boundaries.
Seeing that they had not encountered a second Soul Beast even after leaving the forest, Qing Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that the Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard they had encountered earlier had merely been an accident. It had probably wandered out of some Soul Beast Forest.
Qing Mu soon returned home. When Xu Yao saw him back so early, she was quite surprised and could not help asking, "Son, why are you back so early today?"
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