"Wild Soul Beast Forest?"
Upon hearing the words "Wild Soul Beast Forest," hesitation immediately appeared on Xu Yao's face, and she struggled inwardly.
At that moment, Qing Mu tugged on Xu Yao's hand and shook his head. "Mom, forget it! We can wait another year before going to the Soul Hunting Forest. It's only one year, and Soul Power will still continue accumulating. It'll just be a little slower."
On the current Douluo Continent, Spirit Masters were far from as powerful as those in the later eras. Usually, several Spirit Masters of the same rank were needed to defeat a Soul Beast.
Though Qing Tianfeng was now a level forty-one Soul Ancestor, his actual strength was only comparable to that of a Soul Beast around two thousand years old.
Even with his mother Xu Yao's support, they could at most handle Soul Beasts three or four thousand years old, and only weaker ones at that.
But the dangers of a Wild Soul Beast Forest were unpredictable. If they encountered a Soul Beast several thousand years old, or even ten thousand years old, they would be done for.
After an intense internal struggle, Xu Yao finally sighed. She crouched down and hugged Qing Mu, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mu'er. Your mother is too weak!"
If it had only been herself, Xu Yao might have dared to take a gamble. But if they went hunting Soul Beasts in a Wild Soul Beast Forest and something went wrong, it would be their whole family at risk!
People were rational in the end. Between Qing Mu's potential and her family's safety, Xu Yao chose her family's safety.
Seeing this, Qing Tianfeng could not help sighing as well. In the end, he was simply too weak. If he were a Soul King or even a Soul Emperor, they would not have this problem.
Qing Tianfeng then said, "In that case, Mu'er, you'll have to put up with it for now. We'll wait until next year to go to the Soul Hunting Forest and attach your First Soul Ring. At the same time, I'll keep looking to see if I can find a safer Wild Soul Beast Forest."
Though Qing Tianfeng said so, he knew the chances of finding such a Soul Beast Forest were slim.
As humanity expanded, the living space of Soul Beasts had already been compressed. Forests that met his requirements had either been destroyed by humans or enclosed as hunting grounds for low-level Spirit Masters.
Finding a Soul Beast Forest that was neither enclosed nor particularly dangerous was easier said than done.
If such a place truly existed, he would not have needed to follow his teacher into the Star Dou Great Forest when he obtained his Third Soul Ring!
Yet compared to Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao's disappointment, Qing Mu, the person directly involved, did not react much.
After all, Bulbasaur could absorb Soul Beast Soul Rings as experience packs. Raising his level was the easiest thing in the world for him.
Instead, Qing Mu had something he urgently wanted to verify: could Bulbasaur break through the level ten limit without him absorbing a First Soul Ring?
If it could, he could truly lie low until he became a Titled Douluo before making his return.
As for what he would do without Soul Rings?
What a joke. Bulbasaur had so many skills for him to practice. Did he really need to obsess over those few Soul Ring skills?
The only thing Qing Mu found somewhat interesting was the Seventh Soul Ring's Martial Soul Avatar. Based on how the Martial Soul Avatar worked, he strongly suspected Bulbasaur might undergo Mega Evolution when he used it.
Time passed, and half a year went by in the blink of an eye.
On the familiar lawn in Qing Mu's family garden, eight Vine Whips extended from Bulbasaur's neck. At the end of each Vine Whip was a one-hundred-jin iron block.
Under Bulbasaur's control, the eight Vine Whips performed all kinds of movements in perfect order. Some of the movements were so precise that they made one's scalp tingle!
"Nine hundred ninety-eight... nine hundred ninety-nine... one thousand! Alright! That's enough training for today, Bulbasaur. You can rest now."
At the side, Qing Mu continuously counted Bulbasaur's movements. The moment it reached one thousand, he immediately had Bulbasaur stop.
Upon hearing Qing Mu's words, Bulbasaur immediately controlled its Vine Whips and neatly placed the eight iron blocks by the roadside.
Not the slightest sound was made throughout the process, which was enough to show Bulbasaur's control over its strength.
If Bulbasaur's control over Vine Whip could be called proficient after seven days of practice, then after more than three months, it could be called masterful.
After another half year of training, however, Bulbasaur's use of the Vine Whip technique had reached a level close to perfection.
"Bulba~"
After a while longer, once Bulbasaur had mostly recovered, it ended its use of Ingrain.
A large number of roots in the soil were immediately retracted by Bulbasaur, leaving behind only four slightly sunken footprints.
"Bulba, Bulba~"
The next moment, freed once more, Bulbasaur moved its feet around before dashing toward Qing Mu and pouncing on him.
Qing Mu skillfully caught it in his arms, gently stroked Bulbasaur's head, and said, "Bulbasaur, thanks for the effort today."
Qing Mu had not spent the past half year doing nothing. To keep himself from becoming a weak point for enemies to exploit, he had put himself through extremely harsh training as well.
Otherwise, with his former physique, he truly would not have been able to withstand Bulbasaur's impact. Even without using a technique, Bulbasaur's charge would have been enough to leave him hurting.
"Bulba, Bulba~"
However, after hearing Qing Mu's words, Bulbasaur shook its head.
As a Pokémon, Bulbasaur had an instinctive desire to grow stronger. In its view, Qing Mu had arranged this training to help it, so how could it feel tired?
Besides, if it did not train hard now, it would only regret it even more if Qing Mu encountered danger in the future.
In truth, Bulbasaur and Qing Mu shared a relationship far closer than that between Trainers and Pokémon in the Pokémon world.
After all, Bulbasaur was Qing Mu's Martial Soul and could not exist independently of him. If Qing Mu died, Bulbasaur would disappear from this world as well.
Just then, Qing Tianfeng suddenly walked over to Qing Mu and Bulbasaur with a broad smile on his face.
"Father, did something good happen?"
Seeing the smile Qing Tianfeng could barely suppress, Qing Mu asked.
Qing Tianfeng smiled. "Mu'er, there's some good news. It concerns you."
"Oh, good news concerning me?"
Qing Mu could not help being slightly stunned when he heard that.
What good news could there be for him? Could it be related to his Soul Ring?
After Qing Mu's own testing, Bulbasaur ultimately had not been able to break through the Martial Soul's limit. No matter how Bulbasaur cultivated, Qing Mu's level could not exceed eleven without a Soul Ring.
Therefore, the best possible news for Qing Mu now was undoubtedly that he could go hunt for a Soul Ring.
Qing Mu immediately asked, "Could it be about my First Soul Ring?"
"That's right!"
Qing Tianfeng nodded. "After asking around in many places, I finally discovered a newly appeared Soul Beast Forest. I went there personally. The oldest Soul Beasts inside are only a little over a thousand years old, so it can fully support us in hunting your First Soul Ring."
Before you continue