Instantly Killing a Thousand-Year Soul Beast

The next morning, Lin Mu hired a carriage and took Tang San to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Although there was a Soul Hunting Forest near Nuoding City, the soul beasts inside were rather weak, making it difficult to find one suitable for Tang San.

The Star Dou Great Forest was vast and rich in resources, with soul beasts of every attribute to be found there.

There was no denying that Lin Mu had taken Tang San as his disciple out of self-interest, but now that they were master and disciple, he ought to fulfill his responsibilities as a master.

If he acted one way in public and another behind the scenes, how would he be any different from villain Tang San?

Besides, Tang San was tied to the main quest. The greater Tang San's changes, the more rewards Lin Mu could obtain. Perhaps he might even acquire other armor.

On the way to the Star Dou Great Forest, Lin Mu explained the basic knowledge of Soul Masters and soul beasts to Tang San.

"Master, is Blue Silver Grass truly a useless Martial Soul?"

Tang San suddenly asked from inside the carriage.

"From the perspective of the common people, Blue Silver Grass is undoubtedly a useless Martial Soul. This is because Soul Masters who awaken Blue Silver Grass can possess, at most, only one or two levels of Innate Soul Power. Their talent predestines them to struggle to go far."

At that point, Lin Mu paused, his gaze falling upon Tang San's right palm.

Seeing this, Tang San immediately summoned his Blue Silver Grass. A small blue blade of grass stood in the center of his palm, emitting a faint glow.

It looked no different from other Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls, but after careful inspection, one could sense a subtle difference. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass clearly possessed stronger Life Force.

After all, he possessed the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline. Even without undergoing a second awakening, it was fundamentally different from other Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls.

Lin Mu reached out and patted Tang San on the shoulder, then continued explaining.

"Tang San, you are different from others. You possess Innate Full Soul Power. Even if your Martial Soul is extremely weak, you can still strengthen its quality by absorbing Soul Rings."

There were no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters. Fundamentally, there was nothing wrong with that statement.

Even an inconspicuous blade of grass could play a role in battle as long as its Martial Soul quality was continuously strengthened.

However, there was a paradox.

Innate Soul Power depended heavily on the quality of one's Martial Soul. If one's Innate Soul Power was too low, cultivation would be slower, and the number of Soul Rings one could absorb would also be fewer.

Unless one could strengthen their Martial Soul to a certain degree within those limited opportunities and thereby improve their own talent, they would ultimately remain trash.

Take Yu Xiaogang, for example. If his two Soul Rings had strengthened Luo San Pao's Golden Sacred Dragon Bloodline, he might truly have had a chance to transform into a genius.

So, there were no useless Martial Souls, only useless Yu Xiaogangs.

It was rather laughable. He had studied Martial Soul Theory for his entire life, yet he had not even understood his own Martial Soul.

If Tang San had not possessed Innate Full Soul Power and the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, Yu Xiaogang would have ruined him long ago.

For example, he had Tang San absorb the Soul Ring of a Mandala Snake, gaining an Entangling Soul Skill with a paralysis effect.

Yet that "master" still thought he had played his hand perfectly. In reality, he was nothing but a liability.

"So that's how it is. Thank you for clearing up my confusion, Master."

Tang San immediately understood. He could not help feeling even more admiration. His master was only ten years older than him, yet he already possessed such a deep understanding of Martial Souls.

The Star Dou Great Forest lay southeast of the Balak Kingdom, occupying a considerable amount of territory from both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Only a small portion bordered the Balak Kingdom.

Nuoding City was close to the Balak Kingdom, and it took roughly two days to reach the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

After two days of relentless travel, the carriage finally arrived at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

There was a small town nearby. Lin Mu found an inn to stay in, planning to take Tang San hunting for soul beasts the next day.

The following morning, Lin Mu rose early. After packing a few things, he led Tang San into the Star Dou Great Forest.

During the years he had spent traveling across the continent, Lin Mu had visited the Star Dou Great Forest several times, though he had previously come only to hunt Soul Rings for himself.

Now, his cultivation had reached level forty-seven Soul Ancestor. With the Flame of Nawa, he could fight even a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast.

As far as the eye could see within the Star Dou Great Forest, towering ancient trees filled the landscape. Dense shade blocked most of the sunlight, leaving mottled patches of light and shadow scattered across the ground.

Rustle—

A breeze swept through, making the leaves whisper. Waves of fresh fragrance mixed with earth and vegetation drifted toward them.

Lin Mu suddenly stopped, his gaze swiftly locking onto the distance.

Within his perception, a leopard as fast as a black shadow was charging toward them. It had clearly regarded them as prey.

Soul Masters and soul beasts had always been irreconcilable enemies. Soul Masters needed to kill soul beasts to obtain Soul Rings, and likewise, many Soul Masters had been buried in the bellies of soul beasts.

From that point alone, Spirit Hall's hunt for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast posed no moral issue.

However, that did not mean Lin Mu stood on Spirit Hall's side. Bibi Dong alone, that crazy woman, was enough to make anyone dislike it.

Perhaps Spirit Hall had once been good, but under Bibi Dong's management, it was certainly no longer a good organization.

"Master, a soul beast is approaching."

Purple light flashed in Tang San's eyes. The moment he noticed the approaching soul beast, he immediately looked up and warned Lin Mu.

"Tang San, find somewhere to hide first. Leave this to me."

Lin Mu remained calm. This was only the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest, where Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts rarely appeared. The danger level was not high.

A moment later, a pitch-black leopard sprang out from the distance, darting between the trees like a ghostly shadow.

"A three-thousand-year Shadow Leopard."

Muttering softly, Lin Mu released his Martial Soul and placed it at his waist.

In an instant, blazing flames erupted across his body. The flames gradually solidified, transforming into a full suit of armor.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Mu's figure vanished, replaced by a figure completely covered in red armor.

The helmet, chest armor, arm guards, and belt all bore flame-like designs, while an intense aura of fire radiated from his entire body.

Unlike the armor in tokusatsu dramas, it had less of a plastic feel and more of a metallic texture, emphasizing the weightiness armor should possess. An imposing, awe-inspiring aura emanated from him.

"Courting death."

As the Shadow Leopard pounced toward him, Lin Mu immediately drove an elbow into it.

After knocking it flying, he seized the Shadow Leopard by the head and viciously smashed it into the ground.

"Bang!!"

With a deafening boom, the ground instantly cracked and caved in.

Not far away, Tang San was hiding behind a boulder. Seeing Lin Mu suppress a Thousand-Year Soul Beast with one hand, his eyes widened in shock.

So strong!

In the Armor Integration state, Lin Mu could deal with a Thousand-Year Soul Beast through sheer strength alone, even without using Soul Skills.

But to end the battle quickly, the first Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up. Flames rapidly gathered around his fist as he threw a heavily charged punch.

Immediately afterward, a blazing fist half a meter in diameter struck the Shadow Leopard squarely in the head and exploded with a boom.