Tenth Level, Soul Hunting Forest

In the Cultivation Room, Qin Ming sat cross-legged on a carpet, dressed in a white robe. He had made the three-thousand-year Sun Vine Core into a necklace and wore it around his neck.

"I broke through." Qin Ming opened his eyes instinctively, and the excitement in them flashed away.

After another month and a half of cultivation, he had broken through to Tenth Level Soul Power today. Generally speaking, there was a bottleneck between Level Nine and Tenth Level, but that was only for ordinary people.

With Qin Ming's talent, breaking through from Level Nine to Tenth Level was merely a natural progression. Normal Soul Power accumulation was enough.

Afterward, Qin Ming did not continue cultivating. Instead, he finally got some sleep. After all, he was about to hunt Soul Beasts and needed to rest up, keeping himself in peak condition.

The next day, after waking up, Qin Ming went straight to Nuo Si and Sha Sha. Nuo Si had long promised that once Qin Ming broke through Tenth Level, he would personally take him Soul Beast hunting.

When the two saw that Qin Ming had truly sped through Soul Scholar in two months, they were shocked once more. They felt that if Qin Ming did this a few more times, they might grow numb to it.

Qin Ming merely gave them a meaningful smile.

After reporting their itinerary to Charlton, the three obtained passes to enter and leave the Soul Hunting Forest. To be safe, they also prepared enough food and water for three people for a week, all of which went into Qin Ming's Storage Soul Tool.

That morning, a carriage bearing the Spirit Hall emblem left through the south gate.

"Our Suotuo City's Soul Hunting Forest is roughly two hundred li from the city. We should arrive around noon, and we may have to spend the night in the Soul Hunting Forest," Nuo Si explained to Qin Ming as he looked over a map.

Qin Ming said nothing and only nodded solemnly. Spirit Masters hunting Soul Beasts for weeks or even months at a time was common, and spending the night in a Soul Beast Forest was routine. It could even be called an essential skill for a mature Spirit Master.

Qin Ming and the others had thoroughly prepared for this hunt. Spirit Hall had created all kinds of simulated environments in the Soul Hunting Forest so that Soul Beasts of different attributes could inhabit them.

Once the three entered the Soul Hunting Forest, they would head straight for the area where Fire Attribute Soul Beasts lived, then begin searching for a Crimson Blood Wolf. Traveling and locating the Soul Beast alone would likely take two days. The round trip would take four days.

In this Soul Beast hunt, killing the Soul Beast and absorbing its Soul Ring would actually take the least amount of time.

Near noon, the three arrived at the Supply Outpost beside the Soul Hunting Forest.

Looking around, the Spirit Masters nearby had formed small groups of two or three. Very few traveled alone.

The arrival of three unfamiliar faces—a young man and woman who appeared to be in their twenties, along with a child who looked only seven or eight—immediately drew countless prying gazes.

Such an unusual group immediately attracted plenty of attention, but when they saw the Angel Emblems on Nuo Si and Sha Sha's clothes, they promptly shrank back.

They knew that Spirit Hall was not something lowly nobodies like them could provoke. After all, the entire Soul Hunting Forest was Spirit Hall's property.

"Most of those gathered here are First Ring and Second Ring Spirit Masters. They spontaneously formed this outpost around the Soul Hunting Forest," Nuo Si said calmly.

"That's right. They form Soul Hunting Squads and specifically hire themselves out to Spirit Masters seeking Soul Rings. But little brother Qin Ming, remember this: in a Soul Beast Forest, people are far more terrifying than Soul Beasts." Sha Sha swept her gaze around them, her eyes carrying a warning.

"When real danger and conflicts of interest arose, relationships maintained by money were the least reliable. They would not hesitate to betray one another for greater profit."

"I understand, Sister Sha Sha." Having lived two lives, Qin Ming understood the wickedness of human hearts best. It was like the Soul Hunting Squad beside them with a sign that read, "Hundred-year Soul Ring, three hundred Gold Soul Coins. Six hundred Gold Soul Coins compensation upon failure."

If they truly could not hunt a hundred-year Soul Beast, would they really hand over those six hundred Gold Soul Coins so easily? The employer would probably be waiting not for Gold Soul Coins, but for an attack from behind.

After all, deaths during Soul Beast hunts were perfectly normal. Even if Spirit Hall questioned them, they could simply say a Soul Beast had done it. The corpse would have long since been consumed by Soul Beasts in the forest, leaving no evidence.

The three walked directly toward the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest. Unlike the chaotic clamor within the outpost, this place was filled with soldiers clad in armor.

After inspecting the three's passes and finding no issues, the guards let them through. The trio officially entered the Soul Hunting Forest.

The moment he stepped into the forest, Qin Ming felt as if he had entered a primeval jungle. Most of the trees here were dozens of meters tall, their dense canopies blotting out the sky.

Only a small amount of sunlight filtered through the thick leaves, making the forest far darker than outside.

Nuo Si and Sha Sha protected Qin Ming between them, one in front and one behind. Nuo Si walked ahead, Qin Ming followed closely behind him, while Sha Sha guarded the rear to prevent Soul Beasts from launching sneak attacks. The two clearly had extensive Soul Beast hunting experience.

"Qin Ming, stay close to us. Although most of the Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest are around the hundred-year level, you must not let your guard down!" Nuo Si reminded him seriously.

Qin Ming said nothing, responding with his actions instead. He followed less than half a meter behind Nuo Si.

Nuo Si and Sha Sha both had the standard white-yellow-yellow Soul Ring configuration, all obtained from the Soul Hunting Forest. Thus, during the first stretch after entering the forest, they moved with complete familiarity, leading Qin Ming around many Soul Beast gathering grounds.

It was not that they could not defeat them. Two Soul Elders were more than enough to roam the Soul Hunting Forest freely, but as seniors, they also needed to teach Qin Ming essential survival practices for Soul Beast hunting.

For example, wasting unnecessary Soul Power while hunting Soul Beasts was a great taboo! Avoid Soul Beasts whenever possible.

After wandering around for a full day and night, the three finally reached the area specially inhabited by Fire Attribute Soul Beasts.

The moment they stepped into the open ground formed of lava and fiery red rocks, they could clearly feel the intense heat that differed from the outside world.

Before Qin Ming and the others had searched the area for long, an unusual vibration came from beneath their feet.

"Careful!!" Nuo Si and Sha Sha reacted incredibly quickly. Almost at the same moment, each grabbed one of Qin Ming's arms and rapidly retreated.

At the spot where they had been standing, a Soul Beast covered in dark red fur burst out of the ground, its blood-red eyes fixed fiercely upon the three of them.

"Earth Fire Rat!" Qin Ming recognized the Soul Beast at first glance.

He had read records about this type of Soul Beast in Spirit Hall's library. Earth Fire Rats generally lived underground in places with abundant Fire Veins. Their hearing was exceptionally sensitive, allowing them to distinguish the sounds of other Soul Beasts moving aboveground before launching surprise attacks.

The Earth Fire Rat before them had a tail fully three meters long. It should have been around six hundred years old.

"Looks like this beast has taken us for prey." Nuo Si gave a wicked smile. His Willow Vine martial soul had already been summoned, and the Soul Pressure of a Soul Elder crushed directly toward the Earth Fire Rat before them.

Faced with pressure comparable to directly confronting a Soul Beast with three or four thousand years of cultivation, alarm bells instantly rang in the Earth Fire Rat's heart. The ferocity vanished from its eyes, replaced entirely by fear.

With a wave of Nuo Si's right hand, the white Soul Ring representing ten years flashed as his First Spirit Skill activated.

"First Spirit Skill, Willow Vine Whip!"

Boom!

The ground split apart, and two vines as thick as pythons lashed out from the cracks, shooting toward the Earth Fire Rat like green lightning.

The Earth Fire Rat had no time to dodge. The two vine whips struck its side chest head-on, sending it flying dozens of meters backward. Large clumps of fur and droplets of blood whipped from its body, forming a bizarre arc in the air.

Nuo Si controlled the Willow Vine and wrapped it around the Earth Fire Rat, dragging it before the three. This six-hundred-year Soul Beast was already barely breathing. Nuo Si's Soul Skill had left a clear indentation in its chest, and more than half of its fur had fallen out.