Setting Out to Hunt Soul Beasts

"A wild Soul Beast Forest?"

At the mention of a 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 still go to the Soul Hunting Forest in a year. It's only one year, and the Soul Power I accumulate will still be there. It'll just be a little slower."

In the current Douluo Continent, Spirit Masters were far from being as powerful as those in the later eras. It generally took several Spirit Masters of the same rank 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 Xu Yao's support, they could at most handle Soul Beasts three or four thousand years old, and only relatively weak ones at that.

The risks within a wild Soul Beast Forest were impossible to predict. If they encountered a Soul Beast several thousand years old, or even ten thousand years old, they would be done for.

After a fierce 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 were only herself, Xu Yao might have been willing to take the risk. But if they went hunting in a wild Soul Beast Forest and something went wrong, it would be their whole family in danger!

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 but sigh 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 concern.

Then Qing Tianfeng said, "In that case, Mu'er, you'll have to bear with it. Wait until next year to add your First Soul Ring at the Soul Hunting Forest. I'll also keep an eye out and see if I can find a safer wild Soul Beast Forest."

Though Qing Tianfeng said this, he knew that the chances of finding such a forest were slim.

As humanity expanded, the living space of Soul Beasts had already been squeezed away. Forests that met his requirements had either been destroyed by humans or enclosed and turned into hunting grounds for low-level Spirit Masters.

Finding a Soul Beast Forest that was neither enclosed nor highly dangerous was easier said than done.

If one really existed, then when he obtained his Third Soul Ring, he would not have needed to follow his teacher to the Star Dou Great Forest!

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. For him, raising his level was the easiest thing in the world.

Instead, Qing Mu urgently wanted to verify one thing: could Bulbasaur break through the level-ten limit without him absorbing a First Soul Ring?

If it could, then he could truly lie low until becoming a Titled Douluo before making his move.

As for what to do without Soul Rings?

What a joke. Did Bulbasaur not have enough skills for him to practice already? Did he really have to rely on those few Soul Ring skills?

The only thing that interested Qing Mu was the Seventh Soul Ring's Martial Soul Avatar. Based on how the Martial Soul Avatar worked, he strongly suspected that Bulbasaur might be able to undergo Mega Evolution when he used it.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a year went by.

On the familiar lawn in Qing Mu's family garden, eight Vine Whips extended from Bulbasaur's neck. A hundred-pound iron block was wrapped around the end of each vine.

Under Bulbasaur's control, the eight Vine Whips performed all sorts of movements in perfect order. Some were so precise that they made one's scalp tingle!

"Nine hundred ninety-eight... nine hundred ninety-nine... one thousand! All right! Today's training ends here, Bulbasaur. You can rest now."

Beside him, Qing Mu continuously counted Bulbasaur's movements. The moment the count reached one thousand, he immediately had Bulbasaur stop.

Upon hearing Qing Mu's words, Bulbasaur promptly controlled its Vine Whips and neatly placed the eight iron blocks by the roadside.

Not a single sound was made during the entire process, which was enough to show Bulbasaur's control over its strength.

If Bulbasaur's command of Vine Whip had been proficient after seven days of practice, and masterful after more than three months, then after another half year of training, its use of the Vine Whip move had reached a level close to perfection.

"Da Na~"

After a while, once Bulbasaur had mostly recovered, it ended its use of Ingrain.

The countless roots in the soil were immediately withdrawn by Bulbasaur, leaving behind only four slightly sunken footprints.

"Da Na, Da Na~"

The next moment, freed again, Bulbasaur moved its feet around before quickly pouncing toward Qing Mu.

Qing Mu skillfully caught it in his arms, gently stroked its head, and said, "Bulbasaur, you worked hard today."

Qing Mu had not spent the past six months doing nothing, either. 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 original physique, he truly would not have been able to withstand Bulbasaur's charge. Even without using any moves, Bulbasaur's impact was enough to leave him hurting.

"Da Na, Da Na~"

However, Bulbasaur shook its head upon hearing Qing Mu's words.

As a Pokémon, Bulbasaur naturally longed to grow stronger. In its eyes, Qing Mu was helping it by arranging this training, so how could it possibly feel tired?

Besides, if it did not train hard now, then when Qing Mu encountered danger in the future, it would regret it even more.

In truth, Bulbasaur and Qing Mu's relationship was 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 separately from him. If Qing Mu died, Bulbasaur would vanish from this world along with him.

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 but pause slightly at that.

What good news could there be for him? Could it be something related to Soul Rings?

After testing it himself, Qing Mu had found that Bulbasaur ultimately could not break through the Martial Soul's restriction. No matter how Bulbasaur trained, it could not raise Qing Mu past level ten 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 found a newly discovered Soul Beast Forest. I went there myself. The oldest Soul Beasts inside are only a little over one thousand years old, so it can fully support us in hunting your First Soul Ring."