Golden Giant Ape

Mu Yuan felt that Du Busi's handling of the matter had already been exceedingly merciful.

If there was truly anything to criticize, it was that he had not killed those five masked men.

However, killing them or sparing them both had their advantages and disadvantages.

Du Busi was an adult with his own way of doing things. Mu Yuan would not force this Sect Master to act one way or another.

From an outsider's perspective, there was nothing wrong with his decision.

As for if Mu Yuan himself encountered such a situation in the future?

Kill!

They had come to assassinate him, so why shouldn't he kill them?

As for the trouble that might come one after another after killing them, he would deal with it then.

Besides, there was a high chance that no further trouble would follow.

After the attempted assassination, Du Busi no longer held back their pace and swiftly led everyone into the Star Dou Forest.

"What are your thoughts on your third Soul Ring?"

Du Busi still intended to listen to Mu Yuan's opinion.

Mu Yuan had proposed the Eight-Armed Demonic God path, and he was the one cultivating it, so naturally, Du Busi should hear his thoughts.

"I already have two enhancement Soul Skills, and it will probably be difficult to obtain another enhancement-type Soul Skill that does not overlap with them. My Third Soul Skill should focus on burst power."

"I control Heavenly Thunder and possess Vajra Power, so I should seek a Soul Beast skilled in explosive, fierce strength. It would be best if it excelled in physical strength rather than bursts of lightning or fire. That way, I can use its physical burst power to carry the explosive force of my Heavenly Thunder and Vajra Power."

Mu Yuan's reasoning was sound, and Du Busi nodded repeatedly.

Of course, they would follow such an idea.

Thus, the group began searching through the Star Dou Forest.

One month later.

After ten thousand years of development, the Star Dou Forest had shrunk drastically compared to ten thousand years ago.

Now, the Star Dou Forest was clearly divided into levels. At its outermost edges, Soul Beasts occasionally appeared. It was land untouched by human civilization.

Further inward was the Outer Ring, the true habitat of Soul Beasts. Ten-year, hundred-year, and even thousand-year Soul Beasts could be found there, while Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts were rare.

Beyond the Outer Ring was the Mixed Ring, where the greatest variety of Soul Beasts could be found. It was primarily inhabited by hundred-year, thousand-year, and Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts. Even the so-called hundred-year Soul Beasts lived there in groups.

Further inward lay the Core Ring. Far fewer Soul Beasts lived there than in the Mixed Ring, but those that did were exceptionally powerful. Hundred-year Soul Beasts were nowhere to be seen, and thousand-year ones were scarce. This was the domain of Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts, each of which had carved out its own territory.

At the deepest part of the Core Ring was the Land of Great Calamity, where the Beast Kings of the Star Dou Forest resided.

Beast Kings were beings with cultivation levels of two hundred thousand years who had survived Heavenly Tribulation. Their strength was often far greater than that of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

Ten thousand years ago, Beast Kings had vanished without a trace. Yet as the Soul Master World developed, the Beast Kings hidden in the depths of the major Soul Beast Forests were awakened, and only then did the Soul Master World come into contact with them.

Based on information gathered by the Soul Master World, Shrek Academy ranked the ten strongest Beast Kings and called them the Ten Great Beasts.

The Star Dou Forest alone possessed six of the Ten Great Beasts!

Its reputation as the largest Soul Beast gathering place was well deserved.

Du Busi was highly skilled and bold, with the strength to back it up. He led Mu Yuan and the others deep into the Mixed Ring to search for a Soul Ring.

After all, quite a few Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts could be found in the Mixed Ring.

"What kind of Soul Beast is that?" Wei Na exclaimed, pointing at a giant ape with a brilliant golden body and thick, long arms.

Mu Yuan and Du Busi looked over at the same time.

After taking in its details, Mu Yuan hesitated before saying, "Is that a Long-Armed Ape?"

Long-Armed Apes were high-level Soul Beasts. Their thick, lengthy arms contained most of their power, making them highly compatible with Mu Yuan's Arm Martial Soul.

However, this brilliant golden giant ape was much larger than an ordinary Long-Armed Ape. Its fur was radiant gold rather than the brown-black fur of a Long-Armed Ape.

Moreover, beneath that golden fur seemed to be a body like refined steel. Its defensive power looked extraordinary.

A faint green glow flashed in Du Busi's eyes.

"You brat, your luck is pretty good. This should be a Long-Armed Ape that has awakened a special bloodline."

"Different types of ape Soul Beasts can reproduce with one another, so their bloodlines tend to contain traces of other species. This Long-Armed Ape should possess the bloodline of a Golden Giant Ape, and it has awakened it."

"Golden Giant Ape?"

Mu Yuan had never heard of this type of Soul Beast.

Part of his knowledge came from memories of his previous life, through which he knew many Soul Beasts that had appeared in the original story on this continent.

The rest, and the greater part, came from the Soul Beast compendium he had studied at Blue Tyrant Primary Soul Master Academy.

Yet neither source contained any information on Golden Giant Apes.

Du Busi was not surprised. He said calmly, "Golden Giant Apes are ancient exotic beasts. Their bodies are entirely radiant gold. They possess defensive power and strength not inferior to a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, as well as astonishing recovery abilities. It is said that their Golden Blood contains abundant life force."

Comparable to a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?

Mu Yuan was delighted at first.

But he soon realized something was wrong.

It was only comparable to a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear in defense and strength, not destructive power.

Most of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's strength lay in its pair of Dark Gold Terrorclaws. Those were its core.

Strength and defense were instead secondary attributes.

Noticing the change in Mu Yuan's expression, Du Busi secretly praised him.

He could roughly guess Mu Yuan's current thoughts and continued explaining, "Golden Giant Apes possess tremendous strength and defense, but their status is rather awkward. They lack the Dark Gold Terrorclaws of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, while pure-blooded Golden Giant Apes are extremely difficult to reproduce. Thus, they gradually declined."

"However, although pure-blooded Golden Giant Apes are difficult to reproduce, their bloodline has still been passed down through other ape-type Soul Beasts."

"This Long-Armed Ape should be one such case. It possesses Golden Giant Ape bloodline and has undergone atavism, fully awakening it."

"Even if it only possesses the strength and defense of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, it is still extremely terrifying."

"Of course, that does not quite match your goal. But do not forget that this ape's original species is a Long-Armed Ape."

Du Busi smiled.

"Golden Giant Apes do not excel at burst power, but Long-Armed Apes have no shortage of burst-type Soul Skills. Since this Long-Armed Ape has awakened Golden Giant Ape bloodline, combined with its own burst-type Soul Skills, it may surpass a pure-blooded Golden Giant Ape."

After listening to Du Busi's lengthy explanation, Mu Yuan's emotions, which had just settled, began to stir again.

"If it is so strong, why has it still not been passed down?" Wei Na asked.

Mixed bloodlines were easier to reproduce and even stronger, so why was it still so obscure?

"Where do you think the Golden Giant Ape's strength and defense come from?" Du Busi said speechlessly. "Without immense life force, it would be impossible to support the awakening of this bloodline."

Wei Na understood at once.

"Teacher, then let's choose this Golden Long-Armed Ape." Mu Yuan made his decision.

At his words, Du Busi did not hesitate. He turned into a dark green afterimage and charged toward the Golden Long-Armed Ape.

He had no intention of tempering his disciple by making him act personally.

Since Mu Yuan had not made such a request, Du Busi automatically disregarded the idea.