Hunting Soul Rings

The long, tedious dialogue scenes were skipped here.

Jia Youcai absentmindedly spoke with one NPC after another. Before he knew it, his Soul Power had quietly risen to Level 10.

A month had already passed in the game world. At this stage, he could simply lie down anywhere, switch to the system interface, and fast-forward time directly to tomorrow or the day after.

Over the past month, his conversations with some NPCs had held no real meaning. The most crucial thing was raising his Soul Power to Level 10. Only upon reaching Level 10 could the subsequent main storyline progress smoothly.

New storyline unlocked—Hunting Soul Rings!

Jia Youcai immediately rubbed his hands together, thrilled. Hunting Soul Rings was an essential step toward increasing one's strength.

According to the system's prompt, the nearest Soul Beast habitat suitable for obtaining a Spirit Ring at his current level was Shadow Forest, thirty li outside the town.

Jia Youcai did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately set off.

The moment he entered Shadow Forest, a refreshing, pleasant scent washed over him. The towering trees were thick with branches and leaves, blocking out the sky and sun. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the foliage, casting patches of mottled light and shadow.

As he walked down the quiet trail, the stillness around him felt somewhat strange. The occasional cries of unidentified Soul Beasts only added to the mystery and eeriness.

Jia Youcai moved forward cautiously, his gaze vigilantly sweeping the surroundings.

From this point onward, there were no more system prompts. If he died while obtaining a Spirit Ring, he could either spend ten bucks on Revival Coins or let the world initialize and start over. And Revival Coins were never discounted.

As for Spirit Rings, he could only obtain them through his own abilities.

Still, the system had one advantage: Spirit Rings could be swapped at will. For instance, if he absorbed a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring as his First Spirit Ring this time, then later absorbed a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, the latter could replace the former, while the replaced Hundred-Year Spirit Ring would naturally disappear.

Of course, there was also one obvious drawback: absorbing a Spirit Ring would not increase Soul Power by even the slightest amount.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Jia Youcai concluded that challenging a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring with nothing but his Cleaver Spirit would be outright madness.

At present, there was only one way to improve the quality of his Spirit: drawing from the permanent Card Pool. Each draw cost sixteen bucks, the chance of pulling an SSR was only 0.6%, and there was a guaranteed pull after one hundred draws. There were six SSRs in the permanent Card Pool: White Tiger, Hell Spirit Cat, Evil Fire Phoenix, Sausage, Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, and Soft Bone Rabbit.

For now, the only way to obtain draw tickets was by paying for them. There were no other methods.

Thinking of how he would have to spend 1,600 bucks to get an SSR, Jia Youcai could not help looking once more at the Cleaver Spirit in his hand.

In truth, this Spirit was not entirely useless. As long as he raised his Soul Power to Level 30, this Cleaver Spirit would automatically advance from R-grade to SR-grade, upgrading into a Great Saber. If he raised his Soul Power to Level 70, the SR-grade Great Saber could be upgraded into the SSR-grade Dragon Slaying Saber.

After learning this, Jia Youcai raised his voice at the empty air and shouted, "You goddamn bastard game designers, I'm not spending another cent from now on!"

After venting his dissatisfaction, Jia Youcai began pondering. Since he could replace Spirit Rings he had already absorbed, could he first absorb Spirit Rings that were only ten or a few dozen years old, then hunt Hundred-Year Spirit Rings once he had become stronger?

Having made up his mind, Jia Youcai searched Shadow Forest even more carefully for suitable low-year Soul Beasts. He crouched low and moved lightly, overlooking no corner.

Before he had gone far, a Soul Beast resembling a wild rabbit appeared in his sight, though faint Soul Power fluctuations emanated from its body. Jia Youcai was delighted. By his judgment, it should be a ten-year Soul Beast, exactly what he needed right now.

He slowly approached it, tightly gripping his Cleaver Spirit. Once he was close enough, he suddenly lunged forward, raised the cleaver high, and slashed straight at the Soul Beast.

With one strike, the blade rose and fell, accurately hitting the Soul Beast's vital point. It struggled a few times before falling lifeless.

After the Soul Beast died, a white Spirit Ring emerged.

With a tap of his finger, Jia Youcai smoothly absorbed the white Spirit Ring into his body.

As the Spirit Ring gradually merged with him, he could clearly feel his strength improve slightly. At the same time, he gained his first Spirit Skill—"Enhancement."

With this successful experience under his belt, Jia Youcai's confidence surged, and he continued searching the forest for his next target.

Jia Youcai opened the system map and carefully studied the distribution areas of Hundred-Year Soul Beasts in Shadow Forest. In the end, he set his sights on a relatively secluded valley, where Hundred-Year Soul Beasts were said to appear frequently.

When Jia Youcai reached the valley, a suffocating aura rushed toward him. He carefully ventured deeper inside when a low roar suddenly came from ahead.

Jia Youcai's heart tightened. He guessed that it had most likely come from a Hundred-Year Soul Beast.

He crept toward the sound. Through the thick brush, he saw a huge Soul Beast covered in black scales. It looked incredibly ferocious and was lying on the ground resting, though it let out low roars from time to time.

Jia Youcai tightened his grip on his Cleaver Spirit and slowly approached, activating his First Spirit Skill, "Enhancement."

When he was still more than ten meters away, the Soul Beast seemed to sense his presence. It abruptly raised its head, its blood-red eyes locking onto him. It let out a deafening roar and charged at him.

Feeling the powerful aura of the Soul Beast rushing straight at him, Jia Youcai did not think twice. He turned and ran.

This world was fair. Soul Masters could increase their Soul Power by hunting Soul Beasts; conversely, Soul Beasts could also increase their years by devouring Soul Masters.