Looks Are Justice.

When they got back, he would use the gaps in his academy schedule to work part-time at a blacksmith's shop, hoping to forge more Hidden Weapons.

Grow stronger!

Grow stronger!

Grow stronger!

Tang San wanted to stay by Su Yun's side and walk the path to becoming strong together, not become a passerby or a mere background character.

They rested for the night.

The next day, both of them had recovered their energy and spirits. After breakfast, they headed toward the outskirts of town.

By the time they arrived, a crowd had already gathered outside town, and all kinds of shouts rang out.

"Yulin Hunting Group! Every member is a Soul Elder! Contact us if you need a Spirit Ring!"

"Tiger Shark Elite Hunting Group! Led by a Soul King! We can hunt Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts! One person per carriage! Anyone interested, hop on!"

"Spark Self-Reliance Group, five level-two members! We're short one support and one ranged fighter! At least a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, come join!"

"Wildcat Hunting Group! We specialize in hunting Hundred-Year Soul Beasts! Ten years in the business! Our leader is a Soul Elder, and our reputation is guaranteed!"

"Agility Group is recruiting! We only hunt Ice Plains Wolves! We're short one Soul Grandmaster. We'll set off once the team's full!"

There was no denying it: compared with the Soul Beast Forest, the Soul Hunting Groups here were much better quality.

Su Yun watched from the side for quite a while before finally choosing a group.

Of course, this time he wasn't looking to mooch off someone's permit. He was here for Tang San's Spirit Ring.

Unlike Su Yun, who had a custom-made Spirit Ring that had practically delivered itself to him, Tang San had to go out and find his.

If just the two of them entered the Frozen Forest, it wouldn't just be dangerous—they would have to rely entirely on luck to find Spirit Beasts.

In these circumstances, finding an experienced Soul Hunting Group was essential.

They regularly ventured into the Frozen Forest, so they had a good idea where various Spirit Beasts tended to live.

Before long, Su Yun spotted his target and beckoned Tang San over.

As they approached, a burly man with a round head and a stocky build rubbed his hands together and cheerfully came forward to greet them.

"Are you two little friends looking for Spirit Rings?

Our Heron Hunting Group has been around for a hundred years!

Fair prices!

A Ten-Year Spirit Ring costs just fifty Gold Soul Coins, and a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring costs five hundred!"

Tang San couldn't help looking surprised at those prices.

"That expensive?"

The round-faced burly man immediately bristled at that.

"How is that expensive?

That's been the going rate in the Frozen Forest for years!

It's not easy running a Soul Hunting Group..."

The round-faced man grumbled on and on, his face full of indignation. Su Yun could understand, though.

After all, hunting for Spirit Rings was a dangerous business, so high prices were perfectly reasonable, especially for Hundred-Year Spirit Rings.

Xiao Chenyu of Nuoding Academy in the original story was proof enough. He was a noble of Nuoding City, yet his First Soul Ring was less than a hundred years old. And this wasn't some farmed Soul Beast Forest—the Spirit Beasts here were much fiercer. Prices were at least fifty percent higher than in the Soul Beast Forest.

So Su Yun looked up at the burly man.

"Can you find an Ice Python or an Ice Jade Scorpion around three hundred years old?"

Just as the round-faced man was about to answer, Tang San suddenly spoke up beside him.

"Not three hundred years. I want one that's a thousand years old."

?????

The round-faced burly man wasn't the only one taken aback. Even Su Yun looked at Tang San in confusion.

But all Su Yun got in response was the determination in Tang San's eyes.

Su Yun's thoughts raced, and he quickly figured out why.

He'd had a grand time mooching off the Spirit Beasts in the Soul Beast Forest, but Tang San had been deeply shaken by it.

So, after seeing Su Yun absorb a thousand-year Spirit Ring as his First Soul Ring, he'd gone crazy and wanted to absorb one of the same age. For a moment, Su Yun didn't know what to say.

"A thousand-year Spirit Beast?"

The round-faced man froze, then gave them a suspicious look.

"We can find one.

But, little friend, you're planning to get your First Soul Ring, aren't you?

Only Soul Elders can absorb thousand-year Spirit Rings.

Even if we could hunt one, could you afford the price?

A thousand-year Spirit Beast costs at least five thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Rare Spirit Beasts like Ice Pythons or Ice Jade Scorpions cost even more—at least seven thousand Gold Soul Coins."

He finished by sizing the two of them up inquisitively.

Tang San went without saying: the word "mediocre" was enough to sum him up. As for Su Yun, he was certainly very handsome, with delicate features and a fine bearing. He seemed to come from a good family, but at most he was a minor noble.

After all, would the young masters and ladies of genuine Soul Master families need to find a Soul Hunting Group to hunt Spirit Beasts?

Those who hired Soul Hunting Groups were mostly wealthy minor nobles.

Neither of them paid the bald man any mind. Su Yun looked at Tang San's determined gaze and was about to talk him out of it, but Tang San shook his head before he could speak.

Su Yun was at a loss.

Fine, he'd leave it alone.

In the original story, Tang San absorbed a Spirit Ring beyond the usual limit for his third ring. This was only happening earlier. As the protagonist, surely he wouldn't die that easily.

Su Yun wasn't sure, but he still turned to the bald man and held up one finger, speaking seriously.

"One hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Just take us to one. You don't need to help us hunt it."

As soon as Su Yun finished speaking, everyone around them fell silent. The burly man shook his head and chuckled.

"Little girl, what good is finding one? It's not like you can hunt it yourselves, is it?"

Someone beside them even raised both hands like claws, putting on a fearsome act.

"That's right! With a little body like yours, that Ice Jade Scorpion or Ice Python could swallow you in one bite!"

"Exactly! Spirit Beasts are much fiercer than the books make them sound!"

[Friendship Points +4 from Pan Wei.]

[Friendship Points +3 from Zhao Shuai.]

[Friendship Points +2 from Sun Shan.]

Looking at the notifications that popped up in the system, Su Yun felt helpless. Was this what they meant by looks being justice?

If anyone else had said those things, they would probably have been mocked for not knowing their place.

But he'd not only gained a pile of Friendship Points—everyone's words, though meant to scare him, came from a place of kindness.

Su Yun had always been friendly toward people who contributed Friendship Points, so he gave them his trademark gentle smile.

"Thanks for your concern.

But if we brought it up, we must be confident."

As he finished speaking, Su Yun summoned his Martial Soul.

As the Shadow Scythe appeared, a purple thousand-year Spirit Ring rose from beneath his feet.

The sudden surge of Soul Power instantly drew everyone nearby's attention.

But when they laid eyes on Su Yun, their jaws dropped and their eyes went wide.

After a brief silence, the whole crowd erupted, like a bomb had suddenly been thrown into a lake that had been calm for years.

"Holy crap!!! Am I seeing things?"

"I'm fucking dreaming!!"

"A Soul Master this young, with a thousand-year Spirit Ring?"

"Slap!"

"Ow!!!"

"So I'm not dreaming!"

"Did you have to hit me to see if you were dreaming? Why didn't you hit yourself?"

"Am I stupid? What if it hurt?"