The Dark Gold Bear was sent flying by Si Yuan Ye with one clean slap. It lay on the ground, unable to move.
This human was terrifying. Its life was as good as over...
Weak, pitiful, and helpless.
That was the only thought in the Dark Gold Bear's mind.
Who could have guessed that the Dark Gold Bear, with a full 2,400 years of cultivation and lord of this area, would now be as vulnerable as a bear cub?
Si Yuan Ye and Lu Lin were both focused on the unlucky bear.
Neither of them had paid any attention to the earlier Soul Grandmaster who didn't know when to quit.
Lu Lin was an adult in mind, after all. He had seen right through that guy's plan. To borrow Tang Shenwang's words, the man had brought his death upon himself.
He deserved to die!
Si Yuan Ye felt the same.
Don't be fooled by his refined, easygoing manner. Back in the second Douluo era, the Body Sect had gone straight to Huo Yuhao's door to snatch him away. What kind of decent sect would do something like that?
They simply regarded their own disciples with Body Martial Souls as family.
They were fiercely protective.
When Lu Lin had first met Si Yuan Ye, he had thought the man's temperament was too gentle and refined, unlike the Du Busi he remembered.
But now, it seemed Si Yuan Ye wasn't any less domineering—he was just more restrained.
To Si Yuan Ye, kicking to death a Soul Master who tried to attack his disciple was no different from crushing an ant.
"Ji Ming, this little bear's cultivation should be around 2,500 years.
"On paper, it's suitable, but the Dark Gold Bear is a subspecies of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, famed for its defense. It'll probably be harder to absorb than an ordinary 3,000-year Soul Beast.
"Still, your Martial Soul shares its origins, so there's a chance. Whether you want to choose this little bear is up to you."
Si Yuan Ye laid out the pros and cons. He wouldn't interfere with his disciple's choice.
If Ji Ming wanted to play it safe, Si Yuan Ye wouldn't be disappointed. They could always find another Soul Beast.
It was only a first ring, after all. Si Yuan Ye didn't think it was that important.
Besides, Ji Ming had already endured the secret method. Given his temperament, he probably wouldn't pass up this little bear.
Lu Lin was also studying the Dark Gold Bear.
It was difficult to tell a Soul Beast's age accurately from its appearance.
You mainly had to look at its size, features, and other clues.
The materials taught at the junior academy covered common Soul Beasts and how to identify them. The Dark Gold Bear wasn't in the curriculum.
Still, by applying what he knew, Lu Lin could roughly tell that this Dark Gold Bear had around 2,000 years of cultivation.
Si Yuan Ye had been able to determine its exact age.
2,500 years?
Lu Lin looked thoughtful and walked over to the Dark Gold Bear. "Little bear, do you have any enemies you can't beat?"
The Dark Gold Bear was intelligent enough. Lu Lin was sure it could understand him.
"Roar!"
The Dark Gold Bear stared blankly at him.
Si Yuan Ye was also taken aback. Then the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile.
His disciple was quite interesting.
As far as the Dark Gold Bear was concerned, it had plenty of enemies in this area—more than it could count.
There were far too many powerful Soul Beasts in the Mixed Zone.
The Dark Gold Bear was humiliated.
But its instincts told it that if it didn't do as this little runt said, it would die horribly.
The slap from earlier was still fresh in its mind.
So, it dragged its injured body along and led the two humans to its enemies' territories, such as the 4,000-year Armor-Breaking Dragon and the 5,000-year Youxuan Tiger.
But for some reason, the little runt wasn't satisfied with any of them.
Lu Lin really wasn't satisfied. He realized he'd made things too simple in his head.
He hadn't expected that even the Soul Beasts capable of matching this Dark Gold Bear would all have 4,000 or 5,000 years of cultivation.
The Dark Gold Bear relied on its thick hide. It couldn't beat those Soul Beasts, but neither could they do anything to it.
The problem was that all those Soul Beasts were far beyond what Lu Lin could absorb right now.
Lu Lin's gaze turned unfriendly. It seemed he had no choice but to pick the Dark Gold Bear.
Until...
"Hmm, a Claw Bear with around 3,000 years of cultivation."
In a dense forest, Si Yuan Ye pointed out a bear-like Soul Beast resting beneath a massive tree.
The Claw Bear looked very much like Lu Lin's Martial Soul.
Its forepaws bore a pair of razor-sharp claws, and black fur covered its enormous body. It lay there like a boulder, radiating an imposing presence.
A glimmer of delight flashed in Lu Lin's eyes.
He had searched high and low, only to find it right under his nose.
The Claw Bear also possessed a trace of Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear bloodline, making it one of the top bear-type Soul Beasts.
Unlike the defensive Dark Gold Bear, the Claw Bear was highly aggressive. More importantly, its cultivation was only slightly higher.
For Lu Lin, there couldn't be a more suitable Soul Beast.
"Teacher, I choose this one. Sorry for the trouble."
Then Lu Lin turned to the Dark Gold Bear. "Little bear, you can go now."
"Roar!"
The Dark Gold Bear gave Lu Lin a long look, then dragged its injured body away in humiliation without looking back.
Roar, it never wanted to see those two hateful humans again.
"Ji Ming, have you made up your mind?"
Si Yuan Ye didn't act right away. Instead, he asked his disciple to confirm his choice once more.
Lu Lin understood what his teacher meant.
This Claw Bear was beyond the limit of what Lu Lin could currently withstand in a Soul Ring.
But Lu Lin didn't care.
Without strength, how could he get revenge someday?
"Teacher, I've made up my mind."
Si Yuan Ye nodded. Then he lightly pushed off the ground, and his figure drifted toward the Claw Bear.
"Roar!!!"
Sensing someone approaching, the Claw Bear abruptly opened its blood-red eyes. It was about to raise a paw and crush the human who'd disturbed its sleep, but in the next instant, it felt an overwhelming aura of violence and an irresistible force.
Its massive body rolled like a ball until it came to a stop at Lu Lin's feet. It was on its last legs and clearly wouldn't survive.
Calmly, Lu Lin drew a short blade that glinted coldly and plunged it into the Claw Bear's eye, ending the unlucky bear's life.
A Purple Soul Ring slowly formed above the Claw Bear's corpse.
Lu Lin took a deep breath, his gaze flickering as he prepared to absorb the Soul Ring.
At the same time, from another perspective, Lu Lin's main body at the junior academy also went to a secluded grove and sat cross-legged in meditation.
Absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his level was bound to be agonizing,
and since his avatar and main body shared a consciousness, if Teacher Liu or Yao Xiaopang saw him, they'd probably think his strange illness had flared up again.
Better to avoid trouble and stay out of their sight.
He hadn't done this when his avatar, Ji Ming, endured the secret method, because the process took a very long time. The extreme pain was like a volcanic eruption, and he couldn't control it at all.
He'd had no choice but to keep up the "strange illness" act.
Dark red and black intertwined around Lu Lin as the domineering Dark Demon Dreadclaw Bear Martial Soul took shape around him.
Elsewhere, the Purple Soul Ring floating above the Claw Bear's corpse responded to the pull. It slowly drifted toward Lu Lin, then entered his body.
Pain!
Agonizing, soul-rending pain!
The moment the energy transformed from the Soul Ring entered his body, this was the only thought left in Lu Lin's mind.
The Claw Bear's exact cultivation was 3,200 years.
That was already beyond the limit of the Soul Ring Lu Lin could withstand.
More importantly, when a Soul Beast with a thousand years of cultivation died, fragments of its soul and its resentment remained in the Soul Ring it left behind.
The stronger the Soul Beast, the more this was the case.
So Soul Masters had to overcome this difficulty when absorbing thousand-year Soul Rings.
The Claw Bear's powerful energy and soul's resentment rampaged through Lu Lin's body. One careless moment, and he'd burst apart and die.
Si Yuan Ye watched quietly from the side.
Lu Lin grunted. He'd endured the Body Sect's secret method. He wasn't about to fall here, too.
If you wouldn't behave, then I'd make you behave!
A ruthless look appeared on Lu Lin's face.
Break!!
Lu Lin roared inwardly. Then he gathered all the Soul Power and Mental Power in his body and slammed them against the energy transformed from the Claw Bear's Soul Ring--
"Ugh!"
Blood welled at Lu Lin's lips as he grunted again.
It was practically an act of self-harm.
But some of the resentment in his body had dissipated.
It worked!!!
Expressionless, Lu Lin kept repeating the process, using Soul Power and Mental Power to scour the resentment from his body.
Again and again.
Ji Ming's other Martial Soul had death and mental attributes, and he had undergone a second awakening. His Mental Power was naturally far beyond that of a Soul Master at the same level.
Once the Claw Bear's soul resentment was dealt with, the rest of the absorption went smoothly.
An hour later.
Lu Lin's aura gradually settled, and a Purple Soul Ring appeared around him.
His Soul Power Level also naturally broke through to level twelve.
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