Lin Jiang: What are you doing? Dugu Yan: Take out the "what"!

"But buff-type soul skills are different."

Lin Jiang held up a finger.

"As your level increases, the benefits provided by buff-type soul skills become higher and higher.

A ten percent strength boost might only add ten catties of force at level ten, but at the Title Douluo level, that's a difference of tens of thousands of catties."

"Therefore, choosing buff-type skills for your first few soul rings is the most efficient path."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo was stunned.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but realized he couldn't find a single point to argue against.

This... this actually made sense!

He had lived for decades; how had he never thought of this before?

Dugu Yan was also stunned.

She blinked, then blinked again, before suddenly clapping her hands.

"Grandpa! I want my next soul ring to be a buff-type too!"

Dugu Bo's mouth twitched: "You girl, you learn fast."

"Of course!" Dugu Yan said righteously, "Lin Jiang must be right!"

Dugu Bo shook his head helplessly, but the look in his eyes as he gazed at Lin Jiang held a bit more appreciation.

This youth was not only knowledgeable but also possessed such long-term vision.

His future achievements would likely be immeasurable.

He pulled back his thoughts and said solemnly:

"However, obtaining soul rings is a matter of luck. If you want a desired soul skill, you must have patience. Let us start searching in this Sunset Forest."

Lin Jiang nodded.

Sunset Forest...

He looked up at the rolling mountains and forests in the distance.

He wondered what kind of soul beast he would encounter for this first soul ring.

The three of them headed toward the depths of the Sunset Forest.

The further they went, the denser the trees became and the dimmer the light grew.

Suddenly, a series of ape cries echoed from ahead.

Moving further forward, the scene before them made the three stop in their tracks.

A group of baboons!

Dense and numerous, at least thirty or forty of them were climbing and leaping between the trees and vines.

These baboons were robust, their arms as thick as tree trunks, and every single one of them stood four or five meters tall.

But the most eerie thing was their eyes;

They were all blood-red!

Dugu Bo's eyes lit up: "Lin Jiang, you're in luck, kid! It's a group of Berserk Baboons!"

Lin Jiang turned his head: "Berserk Baboons?"

"That's right." Dugu Bo pointed at the group of baboons, "This type of soul beast has only one skill—Berserk!"

Dugu Yan leaned in: "Then if we hunt this soul beast, the soul skill will likely be a similar Berserk, right?"

Dugu Bo nodded and looked at Lin Jiang: "Berserk is a very powerful buff-type soul skill. It can instantly increase strength, speed, and reaction time, though there is a period of weakness after it ends. What do you think?"

Lin Jiang stared at the group of baboons and nodded: "Berserk is indeed quite good."

He paused, then asked: "Old Poison, what is the age of these baboons?"

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes and scanned the area:

"This is a Berserk Baboon pack; the slightly larger ones are all several hundred years old. For your first soul ring, four hundred years is enough to be the limit, and there are quite a few here around that age."

He rolled up his sleeves, preparing to take action.

"Wait."

Lin Jiang reached out to stop him.

"Four hundred years is too low."

Dugu Bo was taken aback.

Lin Jiang pointed to the largest one in the center of the baboon pack: "That one, the biggest one, about how many years is it?"

That baboon was more than a full size larger than its peers, squatting on the highest tree branch, its blood-red eyes scanning the surroundings with the air of a king.

Dugu Yan grew anxious: "Four hundred years is still low? The upper limit for a Spirit Master's first spirit ring is just over four hundred years! Absorbing anything over four hundred is already a massive stretch! Anyone with a weaker constitution would lose their life on the spot!"

Lin Jiang said nothing.

Lose my life? My body has been tempered by the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, and with the 1,000% physical strength bonus from the Simulator, how could my limit possibly be the same as an ordinary person's?

Dugu Bo said in a deep voice: "That one should be the leader of the group; it has at least two thousand years of cultivation."

Lin Jiang shook his head.

"Two thousand years... still too low."

Dugu Bo: ???

He widened his eyes, thinking he had misheard.

"Have you gotten arrogant, kid? A typical Spirit Master's third spirit ring is at most a little over a thousand years! Even if you wanted to absorb this two-thousand-year ring, I wouldn't allow it! You would explode and die!"

He turned around, intending to go grab the four-hundred-year-old one.

"Don't move!" Lin Jiang grabbed him. "I have my own judgment!"

Dugu Bo shook off his hand: "You!"

"Grandfather."

Dugu Yan suddenly spoke up.

She looked at Lin Jiang, remembering that in the Simulator, Lin Jiang eventually became a god.

Since he could reach that level, he must have his own reasons.

"Just trust Lin Jiang."

Dugu Bo was stunned.

He looked at Dugu Yan, then back at Lin Jiang, his beard twitching with irritation.

"Why are you joining in on this nonsense too?!"

Lin Jiang didn't speak, only thinking:

Two thousand years...

It really is a bit low.

I should keep looking.

A day passed.

Nothing to show for it.

There were plenty of spirit beasts in the Sunset Forest, but very few met Lin Jiang's requirements.

Dugu Bo crouched on a tree branch, his beard drooping.

"That Berserk Baboon was perfectly fine," he muttered. "You insisted on finding something better, and now a whole day has gone by..."

Lin Jiang shook his head.

The berserk attribute was indeed good, but the highest-aged one in that troop was only two thousand years.

He didn't want "fine."

He wanted the "best."

Dugu Bo looked at his stubborn expression and sighed helplessly.

Forget it, who told this kid to be his savior?

Might as well humor him.

If it really comes to it, he would just forcibly interrupt the process when the boy tried to absorb a high-year ring, so he could learn that a ring beyond his limit wasn't something he could handle.

It was getting late.

The three of them set up camp under a sheltered cliff.

Dugu Bo took a tent out of his storage Soul Tool, but there was only one.

He looked at Lin Jiang, then at Dugu Yan, and waved his hand.

"Only one tent! You two little brats, just squeeze in together!"

Lin Jiang: "...Alright."

Dugu Yan: "..."

She lowered her head, her face flushing slightly.

But inside, fireworks were already going off.

Grandfather! You are my god!

Inside the tent.

Lin Jiang lay down and closed his eyes, preparing to sleep.

After rushing about all day, he was indeed a bit tired.

Then, he heard a rustling sound.

Opening his eyes, he saw Dugu Yan peeling off her outer garment.

Lin Jiang: "???"

He sat up with a jolt, his eyes wide as copper bells.

"Sister Yan Yan, what are you doing?!"

Dugu Yan turned her head, her eyes shining startlingly bright in the dim tent.

She licked her lips.

"Drop the 'sister'."

Lin Jiang: ??????

Dugu Yan's thoughts: Tonight, I will make the raw rice into cooked porridge! I will make Lin Jiang completely mine!

She shed her outer garment, revealing the small white silk camisole underneath.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the tent, reflecting off her body.

Although she had not yet fully matured, soul masters naturally developed faster than ordinary people.

The young girl already possessed a graceful silhouette, with delicate collarbones, a slender waist, and skin that glowed with a soft luster under the moonlight.

Lin Jiang swallowed hard.

No, this isn't right.

Dugu Yan crawled toward him...