This Seat has a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo!

Understood!

The two great empires want to keep the Soul Hunting Forest under their own control, but they lack the strength and refuse to compromise, so they can only put on a show from the outside.

Looking at it this way, the strength of Martial Soul Hall is indeed even greater than one might imagine!

They were able to force the Clear Sky Sect, the head of the Upper Three Sects, to close its mountain gates back then, and now they have the power to suppress the two great empires.

Thinking of this, Tang San could not help but recall a name.

Su Yuntao!

Not long ago, when he awakened his martial soul, the man had invited him to join Martial Soul Hall upon seeing his Innate Full Soul Power.

However, due to various reasons, he did not join in the end and went to Notting Junior Soul Master Academy instead.

As the saying goes, it is easy to enjoy the shade under a big tree. If he had known the truth earlier, he would have joined Martial Soul Hall to avenge his mother sooner!

As for now...

"Once a member of the Tang Sect, always a member of the Tang Sect!

I, Tang San, will absolutely never commit the act of betraying my sect!

Moreover, with my talent and Brother Yun's wisdom, it is not impossible for me to avenge my mother in the future!"

Unlike Tang San, who was caught in a frantic brainstorm, Xiao Wu could not help but raise her hand after hearing Qin Yun's words.

"Brother Yun, do we have a permit?"

"Of course!"

While speaking, Qin Yun took out a token engraved with a sword, a hammer, and a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

The lore regarding Martial Soul Hall tokens has actually changed many times, but the author has retconned his own work more than once or twice.

At the beginning, it was said that the patterns on it were all from Martial Soul Hall, but as the plot developed, it gradually became the seven most famous martial souls on the continent.

The Seven Kill Sword, Clear Sky Hammer, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Ghost, and others could all be matched to the patterns on the token.

Returning to the main topic, it is not difficult to obtain a permit in this era.

First, you need the recognition of Martial Soul Hall to confirm that your strength has indeed reached the peak of a stage and that you require a soul ring to advance.

Second, you need the guarantee of at least three nobles; only then can you obtain a permit.

Martial Soul Hall permits are divided into six levels. First and second-level permits must be returned after hunting a soul beast, but fortunately, the one in Qin Yun's hand is a third-level permit.

With his current strength, he certainly could not obtain a permit through official channels, but who told him that Qin Yun had once killed a Soul King?

He had looted quite a few good things from that person!

While speaking, Qin Yun led Tang San and the others to the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest.

Unlike the ignorant gatekeeper at the academy, the captain of the soldiers responsible for checking the permits immediately showed a look of respect upon seeing the three marks on the token. He hurriedly ordered his soldiers to clear a path and invited the four of them to enter.

He did not even ask why children like Tang San and Xiao Wu needed to enter the Soul Hunting Forest.

Passing through the steel fence into the forest, all the noise seemed to have vanished. The air finally became as fresh as Tang San had imagined, giving one a refreshing feeling.

The thick forest canopy blocked out the sun, allowing only mottled, fragmented specks of light to leak through the layers of leaves.

The air was filled with the damp, musty smell of rotting leaves, mixed with the scent of vegetation and the faint aura of soul beasts. The chirping of insects and the roars of beasts echoed one after another; while not terrifying to hear, danger lurked everywhere.

Because it was artificially cultivated, there were no top-tier soul beasts over ten thousand years old in the Soul Hunting Forest.

However, hundred-year and thousand-year soul beasts were scattered throughout.

Surprise attacks by pack-hunting soul beasts, ambushes by poisonous vegetation, and low-level soul masters preying on each other were common occurrences.

Venomous snakes and insects hid in the low shrubs, green beastly eyes flashed from behind thick tree trunks from time to time, and even the soft fallen leaves underfoot could hide deadly traps.

The seemingly calm sea of forest was actually fraught with danger at every step.

Relying on his experience in this place, Qin Yun walked at the very front to clear the path. He silently activated the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, his footsteps so light they were almost soundless.

He could both avoid traps in the forest and sense the movements of surrounding soul beasts in advance, keeping danger at least ten meters away.

Tang San followed closely behind, his left hand resting on the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night, while his right hand gripped several hidden weapons, remaining vigilant at all times.

As for Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng, they were arranged at the end of the team to cover the rear, and neither of them dared to be the least bit careless.

The four of them ventured deep into the dense forest for about an hour when the surrounding vegetation suddenly became strange.

The originally chaotic and overgrown plants came to an abrupt end in a clearing.

The area for several yards around was completely bare, save for a solitary green bamboo standing in the very center.

It was a slender, short ten-year Solitary Bamboo, growing weakly, yet it forced all other vegetation in the vicinity to wither away.

"Bamboo?"

Tang San was slightly stunned at the sight. He didn't pay much attention to it, as he had seen plenty of bamboo back in Holy Soul Village.

However, after seeing this bamboo, Qin Yun stopped in his tracks, his eyes filled with approval.

"Xiao San, this is a ten-year Solitary Bamboo. Its characteristic is toughness, which is quite suitable for your Blue Silver Grass martial soul. The only drawback is that its age is a bit too low!"

"Bamboo is suitable for Blue Silver Grass? Brother Yun, are you sure about this?"

Qin Yun pointed toward the patch of barren ground and spoke softly.

"Beyond its sufficient toughness, bamboo is inherently an extremely domineering plant. Its root systems are tangled and will frantically seize the water and nutrients from the surrounding soil, allowing not a shred of other vegetation to survive."

"This characteristic is a perfect match for the path of toughness and sharpness you intend to take with your Blue Silver Grass."

Tang San's eyes lit up the moment he heard this.

Explained in such a way, it did indeed seem quite suitable for him.

"As for the age, that isn't much of a problem either..."

Qin Yun did not stop, leading the three of them to carefully search around the clearing.

Before long, everyone's gaze simultaneously locked onto one spot.

Tucked within a crevice in the rock wall behind the ten-year Solitary Bamboo, there grew a genuine Hundred-Year Solitary Bamboo!

This Solitary Bamboo stood over two zhang tall. Its stalk was a deep, ink-green, straight as a spear, and its surface was smooth as jade yet covered in fine, dark-gold bamboo patterns, exuding a hardness reminiscent of metal and stone.

Its branches were not particularly lush, but every leaf was long, narrow, and sharp, resembling iron-tempered willow-leaf daggers, their edges glinting with a frigid, cold light.

It had taken root in the rock crevice, its root system having forcefully split the entire slab of bluestone. Within a radius of a zhang, not a single blade of grass grew; its domineering vitality crushed all other plant life, leaving them unable to survive.

A faint yellow halo swirled around its body. Judging by its height and thickness, its age was likely around four hundred years—exactly the upper limit for a level ten Spirit Scholar to absorb.

However...

Unlike the feeble ten-year Solitary Bamboo, this four-hundred-year Solitary Bamboo had already developed sentience.

Because its cultivation was still shallow, it could not yet transform or detach itself from the earth to move, forced to remain rooted in place.

For a plant-type spirit beast to move, its cultivation must reach at least ten thousand years.

Yet, even though it could not move, its developed sentience made it extremely aggressive.

The moment Qin Yun led the three of them into its warning range, the Solitary Bamboo instantly erupted!

"Swish—"

The bamboo branches swayed wildly, and dozens of sharp leaves instantly straightened like hidden weapons poised to strike, piercing through the air the very next second!

The bamboo leaves moved with incredible speed, their whistling through the air sharp and shrill. Each one was as keen as a blade, aimed directly at the vital points of the four, their power far more ferocious than the attacks of ordinary hundred-year spirit beasts.