In the end, Luo Mo and Tang San agreed to meet at the academy gate early the next morning. They then helped Xiao Wu carry her things back to the dorm, along with a few daily necessities.
When they returned to the dorm, Xiao Wu went off to bed.
Luo Mo was just about to head out.
As thanks for the kindness Tang San had shown him by giving him the spirit bones, Luo Mo gave Tang San a faintly glowing golden dragon scale.
He had now absorbed three Treasure Stones.
The Ice Treasure Stone was the most refined, containing all the frost energy gathered in the body of the Heavenly Dream Iceworm.
The Wood Treasure Stone came next. All the life force within it had been absorbed by the Golden Dragon scales, leaving only the most important life force for the awakening of the Golden Dragon Martial Soul, as well as the Hidden Spirit who had accompanied him through a tribulation.
The Light Treasure Stone was the weakest, containing only a small trace of the Golden Dragon scales' life force.
"Heavenly Dream, now that I only have one Soul Ring, you want me to talk about what kind of soul skill I want?"
Luo Mo was communicating with the Heavenly Dream Iceworm.
"Your spirit ring's range of abilities is quite broad. It can attack or defend, and it even involves life force. Think about which direction you want to develop in, and what kind of soul skill you need."
Luo Mo thought for a moment. "With the Golden Dragon's body, I can rule out attack and defense. Its life force already lets it attack and defend at the same time."
"There's another path." The Heavenly Dream Iceworm sounded as though it had thought of something.
"What is it?"
"A soul guide! Your spirit ring itself is a soul guide in the form of a spirit ring."
Luo Mo was startled. He had indeed never considered developing in that direction.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Soul guides are quite weak. How could a soul skill produce a soul guide-related ability?"
"Ah... that..." The Heavenly Dream Iceworm stammered.
"Once you reach that level, you can only develop toward an auxiliary-type ability. But it won't be easy to find a Soul Beast with an auxiliary ability." Luo Mo sighed.
But the Heavenly Dream Iceworm had a different view. "Your Treasure Stone can grant you an auxiliary ability. You only need to absorb a Soul Beast with an auxiliary ability, and the soul skill will naturally gain an auxiliary function."
"So my first soul skill would be three auxiliary abilities absorbed from the Treasure Stone! Is that right?" Luo Mo asked, as though he had realized something.
"The ice ability soul ring has to be saved for Bingbing!" The Heavenly Dream Iceworm offered a specific suggestion.
"Fine, fine. I'll leave that one for you. Then I'll just have the wood and light abilities left."
"Light-attribute Soul Beasts aren't easy to find. We'd have to be lucky to find one in the Soul Beast Forest. We might as well absorb a wood-attribute soul ring first." The Heavenly Dream Iceworm offered a reasonable suggestion.
"Wait! I just thought of something really important!"
Luo Mo's pupils suddenly contracted.
"What is it?" The Heavenly Dream Iceworm asked, puzzled.
Luo Mo forced a bitter smile. "Although soul bones can raise a soul ring's age, tomorrow we're going to the Soul Beast Forest to hunt for a soul ring. That's a place where soul rings up to ten thousand years old can usually be found, and there might not even be any hundred-year Soul Beasts."
The Heavenly Dream Iceworm: "!!!"
The sea of spiritual consciousness fell silent for a long while.
Neither of them had noticed the problem.
But that wasn't their fault.
Luo Mo had absorbed the soul bone because Tang San had inadvertently revealed that he was the heir to the God of Fire, so Luo Mo had seized the chance to absorb it.
Even though the soul bone had raised the age of his soul ring, the Soul Beast Forest still couldn't satisfy his needs.
After a while, the Heavenly Dream Iceworm cautiously asked, "How about we talk this over with Xiao Wu? The closest place to the academy is probably the Star Dou Forest."
"No way!" Luo Mo rejected the suggestion.
"The Titan Giant Ape has been causing trouble there recently. It wouldn't be safe to go there now."
"Then what do we do?"
Luo Mo rubbed his chin. "We can still go to the Soul Beast Forest. There are only a few thousand-year Soul Beasts, but it's not like there aren't any at all. My goal is to find a wood- or light-attribute Soul Beast."
"That makes sense." The Heavenly Dream Iceworm thought it over and agreed.
As for Xiao Wu, she didn't need to hunt for a Soul Beast at all.
"Too bad our strength isn't enough. Otherwise, we could go straight to hunt the Demonic Spirit Fox. It possesses the Wood of Life, which would be an excellent fit for you."
"Heh, even if you wanted to sleep, you'd need to have somewhere to sleep first."
Luo Mo returned to the sea of spiritual consciousness. After making sure Xiao Wu had made her bed, he simply washed up and went to sleep.
Star Dou Forest.
Beside the Lake of Life.
A giant ape suddenly stared around at the forest, alert and suspicious. It felt that someone was spying on it.
The Azure Bull Python was extremely confident in its own senses.
It was certain that it was being watched.
After recalling the strange incidents of the past, its gaze remained fixed on the ground. The Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Forest couldn't possibly pose a threat to it...
Suddenly, the Azure Bull Python's body trembled, and a black figure emerged from its body.
"How did I not think of that? That human could have appeared outside the Star Dou Forest before, or he might have had something to do with that rabbit!"
Although the Azure Bull Python's deduction was very simple, this was its last lead.
If it still couldn't find anything, it would have to return to its lair and resign itself to its fate. It didn't know how those old monsters would laugh at it then.
The Azure Bull Python expanded its domain, searching every inch of the forest.
Not long after, a snake with a human head and a giant ape arrived beside the Lake of Life.
"Sir, what are your orders?" The giant ape respectfully asked.
The Azure Bull Python picked up a branch and pointed in the direction where the black figure had initially fled. "Go in that direction and search for a human in black, or for any traces of the Ice Jade Scorpion."
"Yes." The giant ape and the Azure Bull Python answered in unison.
They set off and searched for a long time. The two Soul Beasts wandered outside the forest and couldn't help grumbling. They had been chased by the Titan Giant Ape through the forest before, and now they were being sent outside it to search for someone.
Now the Azure Bull Python had them searching beyond the forest.
What was going on?
It couldn't help thinking back to those carefree days.
"Xiao Wu, where are you? I really miss you... Sob, sob..."
The next morning.
When Luo Mo woke up, he found Xiao Wu curled around him like an octopus.
"Are you sick?" Luo Mo gently pushed Xiao Wu away from his body. "There's one bed and you have to cling to me. There are two beds and you still have to cling to me."
"Mm..."
Xiao Wu rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned, and looked a little wronged. "I'm used to sleeping next to Brother. I just can't sleep without you."
"Are you using me as a body pillow?"
Luo Mo rested his head against Xiao Wu's lap.
"Hey!"
Xiao Wu angrily struck him with a pillow.
After the two playfully tussled for a while, they got dressed and went out.
By the time they reached the academy gate, the others had already arrived.
Luo Mo greeted them with a smile. "Hey, Xiao San, you're up early! Hey, Teacher Luo and Da Ming—you're both up early too."
Yu Xiaogang was a little stunned when he saw them. "Are you really Luo Mo and Xiao Wu? How did you both grow so much overnight?"
Tang San explained, "Teacher, he absorbed a soul bone..."
At the same time, he told Yu Xiaogang about the ten great rules of the Martial Soul and the Clear Sky Hammer.
The Ten Great Rules of the Martial Soul:
The Clear Sky Hammer:
When he heard those two terms, Yu Xiaogang instinctively sensed danger.
You're about to start a fight with me, too?
Even the little one's path to the Soul Master rank had someone keeping me company.
Before you continue