Mysterious Cang Armor Carp

"Thousand Silk Spider Mother and Turbulent Vortex Conch are easier to find, but that Dark Tide Ink Scale Turtle is far too good at hiding."

"As for the Wave-Calling Azure Scale Fish, it won't appear unless there's a tide. The chances of encountering one by the sea are much higher than in the Star Dou Great Forest!"

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Flender replied with a troubled expression.

Although the Wave-Calling Azure Scale Fish was a top-tier water-element Soul Beast and the soul skills it yielded were powerful, it simply did not appear without a tide. Searching for one in the Star Dou Great Forest alone could take months.

"It's fine, there's no rush. We have plenty of time. We'll search for a month first, and if we still can't find one, we'll choose something else!"

Yu Xiaogang replied indifferently to Flender's words.

"Alright then..."

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Flender wanted to say that he did not have plenty of time. He still needed to help the children of suitable age near Suotuo City awaken their Martial Souls, see whether there were any talented prospects, and make some money off Spirit Hall while he was at it.

However, considering that he had already angered Yu Xiaogang earlier, and that this was not exactly something honorable, Flender ultimately did not say it aloud.

Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.

During that time, Lu Yi and the others had encountered many Thousand Silk Spider Mothers and Turbulent Vortex Conches of suitable cultivation age. However, those were merely backups among backups, so after noting the locations of those Soul Beasts, they continued searching through the Star Dou Great Forest.

In Yu Xiaogang's view, even if they could not find the rare Wave-Calling Azure Scale Fish, they at least had to find Lu Yi a Dark Tide Ink Scale Turtle. As for the Thousand Silk Spider Mother and Turbulent Vortex Conch, unless they truly had no other choice, they would only ever remain alternatives.

"There should be a lake ahead."

Sensing the increasingly dense water elements in the surroundings, as well as the growing number of Soul Beasts nearby, Lu Yi spoke.

"Then let's take a look in the lake and see whether there are any Soul Beasts suitable for you!"

Flender perked up at Lu Yi's words. He immediately worked harder at clearing the way, leading Lu Yi and Yu Xiaogang toward the lake ahead.

"Bang!"

Before Lu Yi and the others reached the lake, a massive collision sounded in their ears. Immediately afterward, they saw a group of century-old Soul Beasts scattering in all directions.

"Something's happening. Xiaogang, Lu Yi, stay here. I'll go ahead and see if I can pick up some advantage!"

Hearing the collision from ahead, delight appeared on Flender's face. After giving Lu Yi and Yu Xiaogang his instructions, he swiftly entered Martial Soul Possession and flew toward the source of the sound.

"Wait here. Don't leave the area around this tree. With Flender's Soul Saint aura covering us, those Soul Beasts won't dare come near."

Watching the Soul Beasts around them flee in panic, Yu Xiaogang pulled Lu Yi beneath the tree and warned him.

Lu Yi did as his teacher said. He had far less wilderness survival experience than the others, so he had better not cause any trouble. Besides, without Flender nearby to protect him, his sense of security had dropped to its lowest point.

He knew perfectly well how strong Yu Xiaogang was in combat. Damn it, the damage dealt by Luo Sanpao's three farts might not even be greater than the damage Lu Yi could cause by directly throwing Magikarp.

If they really encountered a century-old agility-type Soul Beast that took an interest in them, he and Yu Xiaogang might not even be enough to fill it seventy percent full.

Fortunately, Flender flew back very soon afterward.

"Haha, Xiaogang, Lu Yi, you'll never guess what I found."

Flender exited Martial Soul Possession, landed in front of Lu Yi and Yu Xiaogang, and laughed heartily.

"One of the two Soul Beasts up ahead is a Wave-Calling Azure Scale Fish?"

Seeing Flender's smug, laughing face, Yu Xiaogang made a bold guess.

"Not that, but I found a Soul Beast no worse than the Wave-Calling Azure Scale Fish. That commotion just now was caused by it fighting a three-thousand-year-old Patterned Rock Giant Turtle!"

Instead of answering directly, Flender deliberately kept them in suspense.

"If that's the case, why are you still wasting time talking? Hurry over and settle Lu Yi's first Soul Ring!"

Seeing Flender's behavior, Yu Xiaogang did not indulge him by asking another question. Instead, he immediately headed toward the lake ahead.

"Hey, look at you, in such a hurry. Didn't you say we had plenty of time and there was no rush?"

Watching Yu Xiaogang walk ahead, Flender did not mind, but he still did not forget to tease him.

Watching these two old brothers, whose ages combined were nearly a hundred, bicker like children, Lu Yi could only shake his head helplessly and follow after them.

The moment he reached the lakeside, Lu Yi saw a giant turtle nearly five meters in diameter. Its back was like a small mountain, covered in yellow patterned rock.

Opposite the giant turtle lay a carp more than eight meters long, covered in thick azure scales. Its abdomen bore a wound that had nearly cut it in half, and it was now collapsed by the shore.

"You have no idea how ferocious this Mysterious Cang Armor Carp was just now. That three-thousand-year-old Patterned Rock Giant Turtle nearly got killed by it."

Flender pointed at the carp that had nearly been cut in half and spoke to Yu Xiaogang with an exaggerated expression.

Hearing Flender's words, Lu Yi raised his head and carefully examined the carp lying by the shore again. Despite nearly being bisected, it had not completely died yet. Its gills were still twitching faintly.

The Mysterious Cang Armor Carp was a supreme water-element Soul Beast of Douluo Continent. Before reaching one hundred years, it grew one meter in size for every additional hundred years of cultivation. Upon breaking through to a thousand years, dark-blue Canglan patterns would appear on its forehead. After that, for every additional thousand years, those patterns would spread by one meter, until after ten thousand years, the Mysterious Cang Armor Carp's entire body would be covered in them.

This Soul Beast possessed extremely powerful physical defense and water control abilities. Even at a hundred years, it could almost directly contend with thousand-year Soul Beasts. After breaking through to a thousand years, even ordinary ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts were no match for it.

What excited Lu Yi the most was that seventy percent of the skills produced by this Soul Beast were enhancement-type skills, while thirty percent were control-type skills.

"Teacher, let's choose this one!"

Lu Yi swiftly ran through all the information about the Mysterious Cang Armor Carp in his mind, then spoke to Yu Xiaogang with excitement.

"No!"

"I checked just now. This Mysterious Cang Armor Carp is already 8.6 meters long, which means it is at least eight hundred and sixty years old. That has already exceeded the seven-hundred-year limit we set."

Yu Xiaogang shook his head at Lu Yi's words.

This Mysterious Cang Armor Carp exceeded the seven-hundred-year limit he had set by one hundred and sixty years. He truly did not dare let Lu Yi take such a risk.

"Teacher, let me try. If it really doesn't work, have Martial Uncle interrupt me."

"And my talent is so poor. If I don't take a gamble, how can I ever become stronger in the future?"

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Lu Yi pleaded again.

Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a moment as he looked into Lu Yi's resolute eyes. Seeing that Lu Yi had no intention of backing down, he ultimately agreed.

"Let me make this clear. If there's even the slightest sign that something is wrong with you, I'll have Flender interrupt your absorption immediately!"

Looking at Lu Yi's determined face, Yu Xiaogang warned him. Lu Yi's talent was already so poor that even if interrupting the absorption of the Soul Ring lowered his potential, it would still be better than losing his life outright.

"Don't worry, Teacher. Have you forgotten that my original goal was nine hundred years? I'm confident!"

Lu Yi reassured Yu Xiaogang, then slowly walked toward the Mysterious Cang Armor Carp.

Flender said nothing from the side. Although he also felt that having Lu Yi directly absorb an eight-hundred-and-sixty-year Soul Ring was somewhat risky, Yu Xiaogang, Lu Yi's teacher, had already agreed. What could he, as Lu Yi's martial uncle, say?

He could only silently decide that if anything went wrong with Lu Yi later, he would interrupt Lu Yi's absorption as quickly as possible and minimize the damage that the overaged Soul Ring would cause to his body.