The First Spirit Ring

Mu Xuanheng's small body was being stalked by a leopard.

There was absolutely no way to escape.

He took a few steps back slowly, and then the leopard lunged at him with a ferocious pounce.

He activated his martial soul, and the powerful suppression effect caused the leopard to freeze for a moment.

The leopard lowered its head in submission, but only until it saw Mu Xuanheng move.

Without the backing of real strength, the suppression effect was not as powerful as he had imagined.

Moreover, his opponent was not just some hundred-year soul beast.

"Old man, if you don't come out now, I'm actually going to die."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a chicken bone pierced through the leopard's skull.

"This is a soul beast, a Wind Leopard. It looks like it's over a thousand years old; you're actually quite lucky. You haven't died after all this time."

Xuan Zi strolled out from the side, looking completely at ease.

"Hey, old man, aren't you being a bit inhumane? How old am I? I don't even have my first soul ring yet. If you had come out any later, I really would have been killed by it."

Mu Xuanheng said with a hint of anger.

"Oh, the little guy is angry. I was watching from the side; nothing was going to happen." Xuan Zi was very confident.

If it were anyone else, Mu Xuanheng would just think it to himself, but this was Xuan Zi. He truly could not trust him.

At this point in time, because of his own appearance, Xuan Zi hadn't committed his past transgressions yet. But his true colors were already beginning to show.

A purple soul ring began to condense over the corpse of the soul beast nearby.

Mu Xuanheng watched it, his first time seeing a soul ring form from the body of a soul beast. He was very curious.

"I killed this soul beast, so you can't absorb this soul ring." Xuan Zi calmly imparted the knowledge: "Only when a soul master kills a soul beast with their own hands can the resulting soul ring be absorbed."

"Oh, I thought you had already picked one out for me the moment we landed."

"In your dreams."

Xuan Zi led him forward: "Be careful. This is the Star Dou Great Forest; it's not as simple as it looks to your eyes."

They hadn't walked two steps before Xuan Zi pointed to a bug on a tree: "That's an Armor-Folding Sap-Eating Cicada. It can eat through steel. The one you're looking at is already a thousand-year cultivation. Tsk tsk, if it were you, it could snap your bones in one bite."

"That's a Flesh Tree, a carnivorous soul beast. It looks to be a thousand years old as well."

Only after arriving in person did he realize how different it was from what he had read in books.

Danger lurked everywhere. Without Xuan Zi by his side, it would be impossible for him to walk out of the Star Dou Great Forest alive.

But he also sensed something wrong from Xuan Zi's introduction: "Wait, why are they all thousand-year ones? Old man, did your test results show that I can absorb a thousand-year soul ring?"

Without a system or divine gifts, he found it hard to believe he could start with a thousand-year first ring.

Although he had the pride of a top-tier martial soul, it was still better to play it safe.

Unfortunately, his top-tier martial soul was Chaofeng, which had never been one to let him play it safe.

"Mu Xuanheng, do you think that just because your martial soul is strong, your body is strong too? How old are you? Absorbing a hundred-year ring is normal. If you really try to absorb a thousand-year one, you might have the ambition, but you don't have the capacity."

"Then why did you bring me here? Isn't everything around us a thousand years old?"

Xuan Zi coughed twice: "We landed in the wrong area." He then added, without a shred of shame: "It's been so many years since I've come to the outer perimeter. You're the only little brat who can boss me around."

He then straightened his expression: "We'll just head toward the outer edge. Either your martial soul finds something suitable, or we'll find a sub-dragon around 400 years old."

Mu Xuanheng also knew that there were only two true dragons in the Star Dou Great Forest at this time, and both were in the top ten; it was impossible for him to absorb them.

A sub-dragon was the best choice for his martial soul.

That was, until he sensed the presence of a certain soul beast.

Following the guidance of his martial soul, he looked into the distance, where a bear was preying on a soul beast.

He immediately pointed in that direction: "Quick, old man, there's a soul beast over there that's perfect for me."

Hearing this, Xuan Zi immediately took him and flew over. If his martial soul could sense it, it was undoubtedly the best choice.

An overpowered martial soul should have overpowered effects.

But when he saw the soul beast Mu Xuanheng was pointing at, he only felt that his own judgment had gone wrong.

"Are you sure that's what you sensed?"

"Yes, that's right."

"This soul beast is indeed over 300 years old. But that is a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear."

A thousand-year one could block a ten-thousand-year one, and a hundred-year one could prey on thousand-year ones. Compared to other soul beasts, this was no different from a thousand-year soul ring.

Xuan Zi's expression was very grim; he didn't dare to be sure if it could be absorbed.

"Let's pick another one."

"It has to be this one."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"I think that works perfectly."

Mu Xuanheng pushed back against Xuan Zi completely: "Old man, I remember saying that my first spirit skill had to be a dragon claw type. When it comes to claws, who else besides a True Dragon could surpass a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear?"

Dark gold fur, claws nearly a foot long. Without a doubt, when it came to claws, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was the absolute pinnacle.

"I originally wanted you to kill one yourself."

"Are you dreaming?" Mu Xuanheng felt terrible after hearing Xuan Zi's unreliable words: "Not only do I lack a spirit skill, I don't even have a weapon. How am I supposed to fight this?"

Xuan Zi closed his eyes, finally making up his mind: "Fine! It's settled. I'll cripple it, and you deliver the finishing blow."

Xuan Zi looked at Mu Xuanheng, who was waiting for him to make a move.

There was no hesitation to be seen, nor a trace of struggle. It was as if killing a spirit beast was a matter of course.

"Xuanheng, aren't you afraid? To kill a spirit beast with your own hands?" The six-year-old child's performance was different from what Xuan Zi had imagined.

"Ah, didn't you and the old man say that a spirit master must kill the spirit beast themselves to absorb it? Did you lie to me?" Although Mu Xuanheng was young, he had been studying spirit master knowledge for a few days. It was even taught by Mu En himself.

Combined with the thousand-year spirit ring from just now, he already clearly understood this principle.

"You little brat, get ready. This is a practical lesson that wasn't easy to come by."

He was dropped to the ground by Xuan Zi, and a burst of spirit power severely wounded the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

"A rare fair duel. You better show me the strength of your martial soul." Xuan Zi hovered in mid-air, wanting to see Mu Xuanheng's combat instincts at the age of six.

But Mu Xuanheng was not living his first life; he also possessed combat techniques.

Moreover, Chaofeng never suppressed only dragon-type martial souls; it suppressed them all. It was just more obvious with dragons.

Once his martial soul was unleashed, what did being six years old matter? His aura was completely different.

"Second old man, you crippled it too much."

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear swung its sharp claws, which Mu Xuanheng dodged with ease. He kicked away the swinging left claw and intended to use his right hand to parry the bear's right claw, but he was too short.

Helplessly, he channeled his power, his right hand condensing into a dragon claw, leaving five bloody gashes with a single strike.

With a full-force swing, his entire right hand sank into the body of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear collapsed to the ground in response.

He looked up at Xuan Zi in mid-air, holding up a thumb with his blood-stained right hand: "How about that? Isn't it strong?"

Xuan Zi stared at Mu Xuanheng with his eyes wide and narrow.

No bleeding heart, no softness, and the combat was clean and efficient, even exceeding his expectations.

"Not bad, kid. Next time I'll find you a stronger one. Hurry up and absorb it."

A yellow spirit ring floated up; this was his first time hunting a spirit beast.

Suddenly, he looked back toward the depths of the Star Dou Forest, but he didn't detect any gaze: "Strange, was it just an illusion?"

Regardless, he began to absorb the spirit ring.

He focused his mind, sat cross-legged, and began to guide the spirit ring.

The yellow spirit ring slowly settled onto his body, and suddenly, a terrifying energy erupted. The intensity of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was incredibly fierce, wantonly battering his body and meridians.

"Damn it, Chaofeng, you really are like this, fond of taking risks."

Xuan Zi watched with anxiety in his heart.

Blood flowed from Mu Xuanheng's eyes, but he couldn't interrupt; he could only choose to trust him.

"Please, don't let anything go wrong."

He guided his spirit power to accelerate the digestion. How could he fail at the very first step of his adventure?

Mu Xuanheng: "I am not some weakling."

A heart of the strong carried him through the impact of the spirit ring's power: "I am determined to have this spirit ring!"

The chaotic fluctuations subsided.

The first ring, from the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.