Highly Compatible Soul Beast, Blazing Vine

Chapter 4: Highly Compatible Soul Beast, Blazing Vine

Yu Xiaogang's voice trembled, his eyes filled with excitement. He wanted to reach out and touch Xiao Chenyu's Martial Soul, but in the end, his hand touched only empty air.

The other two Soul Elders had mixed feelings. They cupped their hands toward Xiao Chenyu in congratulations, their expressions impossible to describe.

Seeing that Xiao Chenyu was also stunned, Wang Qi clasped his fists and called out, "Congratulations, Xiao Chenyu. You have taken the first step toward Martial Soul Evolution. As long as you cultivate steadily from here on and put more care into obtaining Soul Rings later, there is a strong chance that your Wolf Martial Soul will evolve completely."

"At the same time, we must thank these two Soul Elder sirs. If they had not been here, Xiao Chenyu would likely have needed to go to great lengths to obtain such an opportunity. I believe that, as the son of Nuoding City's lord, Xiao Chenyu certainly will not forget the two of you after leaving here."

Wang Qi had lived in the Douluo World for nearly nine years. He knew about the conflict between commoners and Soul Masters, and he also knew about the conflict between Soul Masters and nobles. The reason he had praised them so lavishly was because he feared the two Soul Elders might resort to foul play.

Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, was completely immersed in the matter of Xiao Chenyu's Martial Soul Evolution. His mind drifted, and he seemed to return to that day several decades ago, when he had just cultivated to Rank 10.

Yu Xiaogang had presented this theory to his father, Yu Yuanzhen. In the end, Yu Xiaogang had been the early bird that caught the worm, cultivating from Innate Soul Power of only half a rank to reach the rank of Soul Saint.

Respected by countless people, Yu Xiaogang had risen in one leap to become the founding figure of theoretical Grandmasters and Martial Soul practice Grandmasters, basking in unparalleled glory.

When his mind returned to the present, Yu Xiaogang looked at Xiao Chenyu, who had an arm around Wang Qi's shoulder, with shining eyes.

Xiao Chenyu possessed a Wolf Martial Soul and Innate Soul Power of Rank 1, and his Martial Soul was currently evolving. If Xiao Chenyu could be cultivated into a talent, his value would be no less than that of cultivating a genius powerhouse.

Then, thinking of Xiao Chenyu's status as merely the son of Nuoding City's lord, an idea immediately formed in Yu Xiaogang's mind.

"Congratulations, Xiao Chenyu. Perhaps you will become the first Soul Master in the ten-thousand-year history of the Douluo Continent to have a recorded Martial Soul Evolution. Congratulations, congratulations."

After being dressed up with several flattering descriptions in succession, Xiao Chenyu was utterly delighted. His mood soared, and even his responses to Yu Xiaogang and the two Soul Elder guards became much more polite.

On the road ahead, Yu Xiaogang seemed to transform into a real teacher. Along the way, he explained to Xiao Chenyu the ages, habits, and racial traits of Soul Beasts, as well as the kinds of Soul Rings that were likely to be obtained after killing them.

Such knowledge was either a closely guarded secret in the hands of major powers or restricted to those with sufficient talent. Wang Qi, Xiao Chenyu, and even the two Soul Elders had never been exposed to it. Over the following days, the five of them got along fairly well.

Setting aside Yu Xiaogang's character and his obsession with talent and fame, his knowledge and understanding of Soul Beasts alone were exceptionally rare across the entire continent.

Feeling the group, including Wang Qi, quietly listening to him, a surge of pride rose in Yu Xiaogang's heart.

So what if my talent is poor? So what if I can never break through to Soul Grandmaster? I still have knowledge. My knowledge is the strongest weapon of a theoretical Grandmaster.

Just like that, the group of five searched for Soul Beasts in the Mixed Zone of Soul Hunting Forest for three days. Every one of them showed some degree of exhaustion.

"Wang Qi, what I'm about to say may sound unpleasant, but I still have to say it. The price for hiring Soul Elder-level guards to obtain a first Soul Ring is clearly stated: ten Gold Soul Coins per day. You paid thirty Gold Soul Coins, and today is the third day. If we still cannot find a suitable Soul Beast for you, we should return by tomorrow morning at the latest."

"The main thing is that we are tired too. Staying deep in the Mixed Zone of Soul Hunting Forest to search for Soul Beasts over an extended period is difficult to sustain, even for Soul Elders."

The guard's words were blunt. He was saying that if not for the sake of Nuoding City's lord's son, they would have taken Wang Qi out of Soul Hunting Forest today. The fact that they were still here helping him obtain a Soul Ring was already something he should be grateful for.

"Wang Qi, that three-hundred-and-eighty-year Fire Tiger just now was extremely suitable for you, according to Grandmaster. Why didn't you take it?"

After three days together, Yu Xiaogang's extensive theoretical knowledge had changed how Xiao Chenyu addressed him. At the very least, Xiao Chenyu no longer called him Grandmaster aloud while cursing him as trash in his heart. He now genuinely respected Yu Xiaogang as a Grandmaster.

"A Fire Tiger?" Wang Qi recalled the Fire Tiger they had encountered an hour ago.

Soul Beast: Fire Tiger, 389 years. Absorption success rate: 100%. Compatibility: 65%.

If Wang Qi killed and absorbed it, he would undoubtedly obtain a fairly decent Soul Skill. Yet he had still given it up.

Over the past three days, Wang Qi had used his Golden Finger to discover a Soul Beast in Soul Hunting Forest that was extremely compatible with him and could even help his talent evolve.

Soul Beast: Blazing Vine, 135 years. Absorption success rate: 100%. Compatibility: 79%. Slightly increases cultivation talent.

The Blazing Vine was the only Soul Beast Wang Qi had found in Soul Hunting Forest with over seventy percent compatibility with his Blazing Humanoid Martial Soul, approaching eighty percent. Furthermore, absorbing its Soul Ring could strengthen his cultivation talent.

If its age had not been too low, Wang Qi would have absorbed the Blazing Vine's Soul Ring without hesitation and used it as the first Soul Ring of his Blazing Humanoid Martial Soul.

"There's no rush for now. Isn't it not time to head back yet? At worst..." Wang Qi paused, his eyes locking onto the moth-type Soul Beast flying ahead, its entire body covered in black flames.

Soul Beast: Ghostfire Moth, 83 years. Absorption success rate: 100%. Compatibility: 62%.

At the same time, a small fragment of black vine hung beneath the moth on strands of silk.

Soul Beast: Mutated Blazing Vine fragment, 415 years. Absorption success rate: 100% (near the limit). Compatibility: 87%. Moderately increases cultivation talent.

"It's a Ghostfire Moth. How could such a large Ghostfire Moth appear in Soul Hunting Forest? Why didn't the earlier patrol teams discover it?"

The two Soul Elder guards were alarmed. They immediately wanted to turn back to the Soul Hunting Forest guard unit and gather the patrol and guard teams to surround and eliminate these Ghostfire Moths.

Ghostfire Moths were Soul Beasts that caused enormous harm to Soul Hunting Forest's ecosystem. They fed on flames. If they went too long without consuming fire, the flames within their bodies would become compressed, eventually causing them to explode after death. Their explosive power and the difficulty of dealing with their black flames had once made them the most troublesome Soul Beasts in the eyes of Soul Hunting Forest's guard and patrol teams.

"Wait. There is no need to return immediately. I think we should go forward and investigate the situation first."

"Ghostfire Moths under a hundred years old are covered in black flames. For every additional ten years of age, their bodies double in size. The Ghostfire Moth we just saw was at most eighty years old."

"Ghostfire Moths are social creatures. Without sufficient intelligence, summoning the guards rashly could lead to disastrous consequences if something goes wrong."

"My suggestion is to follow it first. If we can locate the Ghostfire Moths' nest and assess the size of their group, then we can return and seek reinforcements."

Yu Xiaogang stopped the two Soul Elders and laid out his reasoning. Hearing his understanding of Ghostfire Moths put the guards, who normally killed them whenever they encountered them, in a difficult position.

"I think Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang is right. We should plan before acting. If we rashly bring a large group here and misjudge the Ghostfire Moths' age or numbers, the consequences would be disastrous." Wang Qi also stepped forward to support Yu Xiaogang.

Whether Ghostfire Forest was wiped out or Soul Hunting Forest was destroyed did not matter to Wang Qi. What truly mattered was the small fragment of Mutated Blazing Vine, still bearing signs of life, hanging from the Ghostfire Moth.

If Wang Qi had guessed correctly, the Ghostfire Moths had found a Mutated Blazing Vine in Soul Hunting Forest and were feeding on it to accelerate their cultivation.

In other words, as long as they found the Ghostfire Moth swarm, they would most likely find that Mutated Blazing Vine.