Considering Su Yun's safety and that of the other two students, Teacher Xiong decided they should make camp right where they were and rest.
With a campfire and Teacher Xiong keeping watch, Su Yun and the others slept peacefully that night.
The next day.
At dawn, Su Yun and his three companions made their way through the Soul Hunting Forest, heading deeper into it.
Most of the Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest were raised in captivity, so they were generally either ten-year or Hundred-Year Soul Beasts. Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, on the other hand, were extremely rare.
It had been nighttime the evening before, after all. For safety's sake, Teacher Xiong hadn't taken them any farther into the forest.
But now it was daytime, and visibility was good.
With his strength as a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, he wasn't afraid of any single Soul Beast unless they were attacked by several Hundred-Year Soul Beasts at once.
"Su Yun, are you really set on finding a Lazy Tree for your First Soul Ring?"
Teacher Xiong's voice came from the front of the group. "I've heard that Lazy Trees are not only rare as plant-type Soul Beasts, but that their Soul Rings also have severe side effects for Soul Masters."
"I'd advise you to hunt a different Soul Beast instead, perhaps a Lone Bamboo. I think one of those would suit your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul quite well."
When Teacher Xiong learned that Su Yun wanted a Lazy Tree, he was taken aback.
Having once hunted in a group in the Soul Hunting Forest, Teacher Xiong knew what kind of Soul Beast a Lazy Tree was.
Lazy Trees grew extremely slowly.
A Hundred-Year Lazy Tree stood only about one meter tall.
That was right—only one meter tall.
And once it reached a hundred years, its height increased by just ten centimeters for every additional century.
It was quite bizarre.
That was also why it had been named the Lazy Tree.
As a Soul Beast, the Lazy Tree had only one means of attack.
Its leaves.
Though a Lazy Tree grew incredibly slowly in height, its leaves were replaced at an astonishing rate.
On average, the leaves shed by a Lazy Tree each day could cover an area with a radius of two meters.
Over time, the terrain and the wind caused the leaves to form a complete ring around the tree, protecting it.
Because they gave off a pleasant fragrance, Lazy Tree leaves often became food for other Soul Beasts.
But as soon as those Soul Beasts followed the scent onto the leaves, the Soul Power lingering in them took effect.
They slowed down!
That was right. Anything that touched a Lazy Tree's leaves immediately slowed by thirty percent, and the effect lasted for three seconds.
The slowed target also retained the leaves' fragrance on its body for three minutes.
If it ate the leaves, the slowing effect still lasted the same amount of time, but the fragrance lingered for up to ten minutes.
Being covered in that fragrance was like giving every other Soul Beast in the forest a map showing exactly where you were, especially for Soul Beasts that weren't good at hiding.
Once the scent clung to them, all they could do was wait for their natural enemies to find them.
Thanks to this ability, many weaker Soul Beasts dared not go near a Lazy Tree.
Of course, not every Soul Beast stayed away.
Since Lazy Trees were so rare, finding a mature one in a small forest like the Soul Hunting Forest was quite difficult.
So after finding one, powerful Soul Beasts usually kept it penned in, treating it as their own pantry.
The reason Teacher Xiong had advised Su Yun against using a Lazy Tree for his First Soul Ring was that he had seen Soul Masters obtain their First Soul Rings from them before.
The results, however, had been disappointing.
They hadn't inherited the Lazy Tree's advantages. Instead, they'd inherited its drawbacks.
Some of their First Soul Skills made their bodies give off a fragrance; others simply slowed them down.
There were also some tree Martial Souls that could indeed grow leaves, but the Soul Masters had to pluck them by hand.
What no one expected was that the leaves' effects worked on the Soul Masters themselves, too.
The Soul Skills granted by Lazy Tree Soul Rings were simply bizarre—some might even call them useless.
Su Yun already knew all this.
Ah Yin had told him about it long ago and said he didn't need to worry.
As the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin could surely manipulate the traits absorbed from a Soul Ring with ease.
Perhaps, thanks to the Blue Silver Emperor's unique nature, she could even evolve the Lazy Tree's skill.
Su Yun and his companions searched the forest for a long time but still didn't catch sight of a Lazy Tree.
That was only to be expected.
Lazy Trees weren't very tall, so they were already difficult to spot among the dense foliage.
And given how rare they were, finding one was no easy task unless you could smell its fragrance.
"Hey, do you smell something?" Twin Brother Older suddenly sniffed the air and called out excitedly.
"Hmm? That does seem to be the scent of a Lazy Tree," Teacher Xiong said, confirming it.
Su Yun, walking at the back of the group, caught the scent as well.
Hmm... The smell of malt.
He couldn't help thinking of an old advertisement.
"Well, if you've made up your mind, Su Yun, I won't stop you. Let's head over now."
"But be careful, all of you."
"There's probably a powerful Soul Beast guarding the Lazy Tree."
"Soul Beasts like that usually consider the tree their own private property, so we'll need to tread lightly. Whatever you do, don't touch the leaves."
Lazy Tree leaves sometimes drifted through the forest on the wind. Soul Masters walking among the trees could easily brush against one without realizing it, becoming a target for countless Soul Beasts—and even for ill-intentioned Soul Masters.
As Teacher Xiong led the way, he continued to caution them. "If we run into a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, we'll leave immediately."
Su Yun nodded without objecting.
Even Tang San had only managed to kill a Thousand-Year Soul Beast with difficulty, relying on Hidden Weapons and the Clear Sky Hammer.
Here, the strongest fighter was Teacher Xiong alone.
The other three, including Su Yun, had a combat strength of...
Five, at best, against a Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
They'd be almost useless.
And if they got caught up in a chaotic fight, the slowing effect of the Lazy Tree's leaves would be a major hindrance.
So leaving would be the best choice.
Following the Lazy Tree's distinctive fragrance, Su Yun and the others crossed several patches of forest with Teacher Xiong leading the way.
Along the route, they also spotted Lazy Tree leaves.
At Teacher Xiong's reminder, Su Yun took note of what they looked like.
The leaves were emerald green and not very large, only about half the size of a baby's palm.
Thin as a cicada's wing, the green leaves drifted through the air. Sunlight shone through them from above, revealing a jade-like sheen.
No wonder the Soul Beasts like eating them. They deserve five stars just for their appearance, Su Yun thought, silently giving them a thumbs-up.
"We're here!" Teacher Xiong suddenly called out.
He had lowered his voice slightly, though, so as not to startle the Soul Beast guarding the Lazy Tree.
Su Yun and the others hurried to his side.
Following the direction Teacher Xiong was pointing, they saw a tree about fifty meters away, its entire body like jade, standing rooted in the ground.
Judging by sight alone, it seemed to be about 1.3 meters tall.
"About four hundred years?" Su Yun murmured.
A Soul Ring of that age was just right for him.
In Su Yun's view, with Tang San's years of practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill and his physical fitness, absorbing a Hundred-Year Soul Ring over five hundred years old shouldn't have been difficult.
If Su Yun had been able to start cultivating earlier, perhaps the Soul Beast he could hunt today would have yielded a Soul Ring of greater age.
After all, the older the Soul Ring, the more powerful the Soul Skill it granted.
I can only hope my physical fitness improves significantly by the time I absorb my Second Soul Ring.
As he silently reminded himself, Su Yun turned his attention to the area around the Lazy Tree.
Before you continue