After a long while, Director Su finally broke the awkward silence.
"Only Grandmaster, Su Mo, and Xiao Wu still need soul rings. You all need Thousand-Year Soul Rings, so we'll have to venture deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest."
Seeing that Director Su was determined to help Su Mo and Xiao Wu hunt for Thousand-Year Soul Rings, Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted slightly.
"Su Mo, won't you reconsider? You need to understand that one misstep while absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring could make your body explode..."
Ignoring Yu Xiaogang's incessant nagging, Su Mo repeatedly assured him that he knew what he was doing.
Unable to persuade him, Yu Xiaogang could only give up.
When we encounter the soul beasts they need, I can always find a chance to scuttle the whole thing.
His actions weren't exactly malicious. He did have Su Mo and Xiao Wu's best interests at heart.
Dawn gradually broke, and the lingering stars faded from view.
Su Mo's group had long since lost any desire to sleep. After packing their things, they continued on their way.
Along the way, Director Su asked Su Mo, "What kind of soul beast do you need?"
"A plant-type."
Su Mo's answer caught Director Su off guard. Remembering the ultimate ice he had seen in the dormitory, he had assumed Su Mo would choose an ice attribute.
He turned to Xiao Wu. "And you?"
"Whatever," Xiao Wu replied halfheartedly.
She had undergone soul beast transformation and didn't need a soul ring.
Director Su rephrased his question. "Then what attribute do you want your soul beast to have?"
"Anything."
"Surely you have a preferred fighting style? Power attack or agility?"
"Up to you."
Director Su: "..."
I'm done. Let it all burn. Brats are such a pain.
As the group of five ventured deeper, most of the soul beasts they encountered were over five hundred years old, with the occasional thousand-year beast among them.
Yet three straight days passed without them finding a suitable one.
The thousand-year soul beasts they encountered either fell short of the required age or had the wrong attributes.
On their fifth day in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Dark clouds shrouded the sky. Though it was noon, the forest was extremely dim.
A fine drizzle pattered down, leaving everyone irritable. Their damp clothes clung to their bodies, and they couldn't shake that clammy feeling.
"Awooo~"
"Awooo~ awoooo~~"
Faint wolf howls drifted over from the distance. Through his Spiritual Detection, Su Mo saw a pack of wolves charging toward them.
The sound of pounding feet and snapping dead branches grew clearer.
The pack drew ever closer, and more than a dozen pairs of eerie green eyes became faintly visible through the trees.
"They're Nether Wolves."
Yu Xiaogang recognized the approaching soul beasts, but showed no trace of panic. Clearly, this pack of Nether Wolves wasn't particularly strong.
Yet the Nether Wolves didn't charge straight at them.
They didn't even spare them another glance.
Instead, they ran straight past them to one side.
"What's going on?" Tang San asked in confusion.
Before Director Su or Yu Xiaogang could answer, both their expressions turned grave.
There was only one reason a pack of bloodthirsty Nether Wolves would ignore them: something even more terrifying was chasing them.
"Roar!"
An incredibly savage roar rang through the forest.
Immediately afterward, they spotted a humanoid creature swinging between the trees. It was covered in black fur, its muscles bulging, and its two arms were especially thick and long.
"It's a Great Strength Gorilla!" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed.
Just as the five of them noticed the Great Strength Gorilla, it noticed them too.
"Roar?"
As though it had found something amusing, the Great Strength Gorilla abruptly changed direction, abandoning the Nether Wolves and setting its sights on the group of five.
"This is bad! It's coming for us!"
Director Su's expression turned ugly. Great Strength Gorillas were notorious battle maniacs.
He immediately summoned his Fire Crow to possess him and prepared to fight.
Only when it drew closer could Yu Xiaogang determine the Great Strength Gorilla's age.
"One thousand six hundred years!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up.
This Great Strength Gorilla would make an excellent third soul ring for the Clear Sky Hammer.
He immediately summoned his martial soul, preparing to join the battle.
Seeing this, Director Su wanted to advise Grandmaster to stay out of it.
Yu Xiaogang hadn't fought at all these past few days because he had replaced his martial soul. Director Su had no objection; in fact, he was delighted.
He knew Grandmaster's martial soul and soul skills. Those abilities were utterly disgusting.
Unless he had absolutely no choice, he really didn't want to worry about indiscriminate attacks from his own ally while fighting.
But before he could speak, Yu Xiaogang had already summoned his martial soul.
Only it wasn't the pig beast he remembered, but a hammer.
Director Su was dumbfounded. Is this right?
Isn't your martial soul Luo Sanpao?
And unless I'm seeing things, that's the Clear Sky Hammer!
It absolutely is!
"Grandmaster, do you actually have twin martial souls? And the Clear Sky Sect's bloodline?" Director Su could no longer contain his curiosity.
Tang San stared at the hammer, his emotions tangled.
That's clearly mine! Mine!
But I never even got to use it for a single day! Aaaah!!
Seeing Yu Xiaogang finally summon the Clear Sky Hammer, Su Mo's eyes flickered strangely. He directed his Spiritual Detection toward a certain large tree behind them to the right.
A man dressed in a black robe stood on one of its branches.
The black-robed man was none other than Tang Hao. The instant he saw the Clear Sky Hammer, a faint ripple of aura escaped him despite his efforts to keep it under control.
"How does he have the Clear Sky Hammer?"
"Could he have twin martial souls? But I've never heard of him having the Clear Sky Sect's bloodline."
Whatever Tang Hao was thinking, the battle had already begun.
Director Su faced the Great Strength Gorilla head-on.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang prepared a major attack from behind, the Yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet lighting up.
"Farts like thunder, the Clear Sky Hammer blasts the heavens and splits the earth!"
He then hurled the Clear Sky Hammer at the Great Strength Gorilla.
Director Su's eyelid twitched at the sight. He hurriedly dodged aside, inwardly cursing eighteen generations of Grandmaster's ancestors.
Rumble...
A thunderous boom erupted in an instant.
Along with that boom, a pale yellow cloud spread outward.
"Holy shit!"
Su Mo's face darkened at the sight, and he hurriedly pulled Xiao Wu away.
Director Su and Tang San wanted to leave too.
But one was the main combatant, while the other was the "Great Master's" disciple. Neither could conveniently leave, so they could only tear pieces of cloth from their clothes and cover their noses and mouths.
Su Mo took Xiao Wu nearly three hundred meters away before stopping. At that distance, his Spiritual Detection could just barely cover the battlefield.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Suddenly, Su Mo felt the ground tremble.
The tremors were rhythmic, like the footfalls of some enormous creature.
Within his detection, Director Su and Yu Xiaogang had stopped fighting. Together with Tang San, all three stared into the distance in horror.
That spot lay just beyond his detection range.
Yu Xiaogang's lips moved, seemingly saying, "T-t-t-t..."
Seeing the "Great Master" frightened into stuttering, Su Mo became even more curious about what he was trying to say.
"T-what? Too cool?"
But before long, an enormous ape entered his detection range.
Its body loomed like a mountain. At first glance, it resembled an enlarged Great Strength Gorilla, but its muscles were even stronger and more powerful. Its fur gleamed jet-black, and its aura was as terrifying as an abyss.
"Holy shit! It's a Titan Giant Ape!"
Without another word, Su Mo grabbed Xiao Wu's hand and fled into the distance.
Fuck!
What was the king of the Star Dou Great Forest doing in the Soul Hunting Forest?