Tang Hao's Final Remaining Value

"Senior, no matter what, I helped your son complete his Martial Soul transformation. Asking you to do me a small favor and help me hunt a Soul Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest isn't too much, is it?"

In the woods outside Nuoding City, Wang Qi shouted toward the sky. Then, without waiting for a response, he lit a fire and took two pieces of Soul Beast meat from his Soul Tool to roast.

His attitude made it seem as though he would simply wait there if the other party refused to show himself.

A breeze swept by, and Tang Hao, draped in a black cloak, appeared sitting opposite Wang Qi. He grabbed a piece of meat and began eating in large bites.

"You don't seem afraid of me at all."

"Didn't you swear upon your Martial Soul? What is there to fear? Senior, what do you think of my proposal? Come with me to the Star Dou Great Forest and help me obtain my third Soul Ring."

After speaking, Wang Qi took out a palm-sized piece of Whale Rubber from his Soul Tool and tossed it to Tang Hao.

"Seven-thousand-year Whale Rubber? What is this, payment?"

Half a year had passed. Wang Qi believed that, with Tang Hao's abilities, he had long since learned why Wang Qi's Second Soul Ring was a thousand years old.

For others, Whale Rubber improved their physical constitution to raise their Soul Ring Age. For Tang San, however, it reduced the pressure of absorbing Soul Rings for his Second Martial Soul.

If he had not been worried that Tang San might encounter danger and let the Hundred-Thousand-Year Rogue Rabbit escape, Tang Hao would have long since gone to the sea to hunt Soul Beasts.

Therefore, Tang Hao needed Whale Rubber. He needed it badly.

"Yes, payment."

"You don't need it?"

"Thousand-year Whale Rubber is useless to me now."

Tang Hao fell silent for a moment before putting the Whale Rubber into his Soul Tool. He glanced at the sky and asked, "What kind of Soul Beast do you want for your third Soul Ring? Tell me the age range as well, so I can estimate the time needed."

"A Fire Spirit. Anything between nine thousand and ten thousand years old will do."

"Between nine thousand and ten thousand years? No. I don't have that much time." Upon hearing both Fire Spirit and the requested age range, Tang Hao refused without a second thought.

Fire Spirits were social, humanoid Soul Beasts that lived in the Death Volcano at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest's Core Zone. Their clan contained dozens of ten-thousand-year Fire Spirits, and the strongest among them was even eighty thousand years old. Even ordinary Titled Douluo risked death when facing a siege by Fire Spirits.

Tang Hao considered himself powerful enough that those Fire Spirits could not harm him, but aside from their control over Fire Attribute Soul Power, they possessed one particularly disgusting trait: self-destruction.

Capturing one alive was extremely difficult. Nearly every Fire Attribute Soul Master knew that Fire Spirits provided some of the finest Soul Rings, yet a person with a Fire Spirit Soul Ring might not appear even once in a hundred years.

The main reason was that Fire Spirits were too difficult to capture. A piece of seven-thousand-year Whale Rubber was not worth Tang Hao making a move.

"A Flame Lord of the same age would work too. I'm not picky." Wang Qi continued eating his roasted meat as he spoke words that left Tang Hao speechless.

Not picky? Fire Spirits were difficult to capture and wasted time, while Flame Lords were extremely rare and powerful. A ten-thousand-year Flame Lord could contend head-on with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Their rarity was no less than that of Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears.

Compared to the time required to capture a Fire Spirit, finding a Flame Lord would take even longer.

"I have no information on Flame Lords. Pick something else."

"A Flame Giant of the same age will do as well."

Flame Giants were lesser Soul Beasts beneath Flame Lords. They were top-tier Soul Beasts. Although they were more numerous than strength-type Soul Beasts such as Titan Giant Apes, they were still exceedingly rare. Flame Giants of this age range could almost only be found in the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"If you have information, I can help you take action. If not, there's nothing I can do."

"Senior Clear Sky, this won't do, and that won't do. How about this? One month. Take me through the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest for one month. Whether I find a suitable third Soul Ring or not, that piece of Whale Rubber will be yours."

"If we happen to encounter a top-tier humanoid Fire Attribute Soul Beast such as a Fire Spirit or Flame Lord, I'm willing to pay you another piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber if you help me capture it. How about it?"

Wang Qi had never intended for Tang Hao to help him obtain a super Soul Beast such as a Fire Spirit or Flame Lord. From beginning to end, Wang Qi had only wanted a bodyguard to take him into the Star Dou Great Forest so he could use the Simulation Eye to search for a suitable Soul Beast.

Tang Hao had refused three times in a row. This fourth proposal only required Tang Hao to waste one month, and there would be additional payment afterward. It was an extremely worthwhile deal.

What? When had Wang Qi become so close to Tang Hao?

Wang Qi believed that, in Tang Hao's eyes, there was no conflict of interest between them. Moreover, Tang Hao could not act against Wang Qi because of his oath. Rather than establish a powerful enemy in Tang San's future path of growth, it was better to make a powerful friend for Tang San and the Clear Sky Sect.

Not to mention that this friend possessed extremely abundant theoretical knowledge.

Tang Hao sat on the ground and thought for a moment before his body slowly turned into a phantom and vanished. Only after the time it took to burn an incense stick did he return and nod at Wang Qi.

"Deal. I'll only take you to search for Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest for one month, and only in the Mixed Zone. I will absolutely not go to the Core Zone. If you agree, we leave now. If not, I'll return that Whale Rubber to you."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Senior Clear Sky! Let's set off now!"

Wang Qi smiled at Tang Hao, inwardly sighing that it was finally coming to an end.

As long as he successfully obtained his third Soul Ring, the road ahead would become smooth.

It could truly be called the sea wide enough for fish to leap, the sky high enough for birds to fly.

After all, no matter how stable a bomb was, there was always a risk of it exploding. Over the past half year, Wang Qi had not even celebrated the New Year properly, afraid that Tang Hao might suddenly go mad and kill him.

But now, it was fine. Everything was about to end.

As for why Wang Qi had not chosen a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring for his third Soul Ring, he had considered that as well.

Ever since his Medicine Refining Furnace Martial Soul absorbed a Soul Ring, Wang Qi had practiced boxing and standing meditation. Later, he consumed Whale Rubber and ate two-thousand-year Blood Dragon Ginseng as though it were regular food. It could be said that, so long as the Soul Beast was below fifteen thousand years old, Wang Qi could absorb its Soul Ring with his current physical constitution.

The reason he chose a Soul Ring below ten thousand years was his Spiritual Power.

For the Soul Impact trial, Wang Qi could not pass it for the time being. He had specifically simulated it when accompanying Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and Flender to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Once a Soul Beast exceeded ten thousand years, the success rate became zero percent, with virtually no exceptions.

Over the next month, Wang Qi and Tang Hao continuously searched the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest for suitable Soul Beasts.

During that time, Wang Qi encountered quite a few top-tier Fire Attribute Soul Beasts, all with compatibility above sixty percent, but he was never truly satisfied.

Until the twenty-eighth day after entering the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, Wang Qi saw, in a canyon, an orange-red flame dancing in the center of a Magma Flower Sea.

Fire Spirit Soul Beast, age: nine thousand eight hundred years. Absorption probability: one hundred percent. Golden Flame Body Martial Soul compatibility: ninety-five percent. Moderate improvement to cultivation talent.