Hunting Soul Rings, Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear

Flender looked at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. With a heavy, exasperated grunt, he barked:

"That's enough! Get out of my sight and go train, all of you."

With that, he grabbed Lin Feng by the shoulder, his gray-black owl wings snapping open behind him, and shot straight into the sky, speeding toward the Star Dou Forest.

Lin Feng smiled and offered some comfort.

"Dean, some people's nature simply cannot be changed; they are born that way. They understand the logic better than anyone, they just have no desire to change. There is no use in getting angry; you'll only shave years off your life."

He paused, then shifted his tone, teasing:

"Besides, Dean, you're getting on in years. Do you really intend to remain a bachelor for life? Finding a suitable woman to marry and have children with is the proper path, you know."

Over the past three years, Lin Feng hadn't failed to try and pull Ma Hongjun back from the brink, but that guy used his "evil fire" as an excuse every single time, diving headfirst into the lap of luxury without a shred of progress.

Since he couldn't wake someone who was pretending to be asleep, he had to let it go; everyone had their own fate, and it couldn't be forced.

Flender's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he said with amusement:

"How rare. Even a Gold-Swallowing Beast as stingy as you knows how to care about me."

"But I am curious, why do you nag me about marriage every day? I've seen elders pestering the young, but this is the first time I've seen a youngster nagging an elder like me."

Lin Feng said with a straight face:

"Uh! Actually, I'm just afraid that you'll die of old age before paying back the ninety million Gold Soul Coins you owe me. As the saying goes, a son pays his father's debts, but I don't want the money I worked so hard to earn to just go down the drain."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Dean, tell me the truth. Do you have some unspeakable physical ailment, or... did the girl you liked end up falling for someone else?"

As soon as these words left his mouth, Flender's face grew darker with every syllable until he finally snapped.

"You brat, shut your mouth! Let me tell you, I'm not getting married in this lifetime, and I'm definitely defaulting on your debt."

"What kind of sins did I commit in my past life? What exactly is wrong with this academy? Why isn't there a single normal person here? It's just a bunch of lunatics."

Lin Feng rolled his eyes and retorted:

"Look at you talking. Who would come to your Shrek Academy of monsters if they were a normal person? Of course, only abnormal people come here."

Inside the inner circle of the Star Dou Forest, Boundless ancient trees towered into the sky, their canopies blotting out the sun.

Damp miasma drifted between the trees, the ghostly green eyes of beasts flashed in the shadows, and low, guttural roars echoed from afar.

Flender carried Lin Feng, suppressing his aura as he glided at low altitude through the woods, his sharp hawk eyes scanning in all directions.

Once inside the inner circle of the Star Dou Forest, even a Soul Saint of the seventy-sixth rank like him dared not be the least bit careless.

This was a forbidden zone for humans where ten-thousand-year soul beasts were common; one moment of negligence could lead to a life-or-death crisis.

"Most soul beasts have balanced offensive and defensive attributes. It is rare to find one that focuses solely on attack, and since you require pure physical damage without elemental properties, it's even harder."

"It won't be easy to find. We might have to stay here for a while."

Lin Feng pondered for a moment and said:

"Just leave it to your own judgment, Dean. The only core requirement is to avoid soul beasts with prominent elemental attacks. Otherwise, it would be quite awkward if I unlocked a magic-based item."

Between physical attack and magic, he had chosen the former without a moment's hesitation. As for why he didn't choose magic?

Among the people he knew, aside from Ma Hongjun, no one was seriously following a magic path, so unlocking magic gear would be a waste.

Besides, he had been coveting that Endless Great Sword for three whole years.

Flender knew this concerned the future development of Lin Feng's martial soul, so he didn't dare be the least bit sloppy.

The two searched carefully in the inner circle, and a week passed just like that.

At noon that day, just as they crossed a stream into a deeper part of the forest, Flender suddenly stopped. His wings retracted instantly, and he landed silently on a thick branch with Lin Feng.

In a clearing in the woods, a massive beast was crouching.

Its body was covered in dark gold fur that flowed with a metallic luster under the sunlight; every strand of hair looked as hard as a steel needle, as if it were born wearing an indestructible suit of armor.

Most terrifying were the five half-meter-long terrorclaws on its front paws, shimmering with a cold, dark light that made one's hair stand on end just by looking at them.

"Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear."

A flash of brilliance crossed Flender's eyes as he quickly estimated its age, his brows furrowing.

"One of the land overlords of the soul beast world, possessing extreme pure physical attack. Legend says it can wrestle with dragons on strength alone. It fits your requirements perfectly."

"It's just a pity that while this one hasn't broken five thousand years, it's at least four thousand five hundred. It's too high; let's find another."

Lin Feng looked at the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, a flash of determination in his eyes. He grabbed Flender, who was preparing to fly away, and said in a deep voice:

"Dean, no need to look further. This Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear is the one. I want its soul ring."

"No, absolutely not!"

Flender refused sternly without a second thought, his tone filled with rigidity.

"The age is too high, and the risk is too great. With your physical constitution, you have at most a fifty-fifty chance of success. What is the difference between a fifty percent success rate and throwing your life away?"

As he spoke, he prepared to lift Lin Feng and turn to leave, but Lin Feng gripped his arm tightly and said urgently:

"Dean, I have the chance to trial and error. I am well aware of the consequences of forcibly absorbing a high-age spirit ring, but I have the confidence to guarantee that I absolutely will not die, even if the absorption fails."

"Trust me..."

Flender's figure came to a sudden halt, and he turned his head to look at him.

"What do you mean? Let me tell you, spirit ring backlash is no joke. At best, you end up crippled; at worst, you explode on the spot. Where is there any room for trial and error?"

Lin Feng took a deep breath, met his gaze, and slowly explained:

"You know my martial soul; it can unlock various defensive equipment. Right now, I have a trump card tucked away that can pull me back from the brink of death the moment I am on the verge of perishing, instantly restoring half of my condition."

"Even if the absorption fails and the spirit ring backlashes, for me, it would only mean sustaining some heavy injuries. I would absolutely not lose my life."

"Dean, I am not joking with you. I am serious. In these past three years, when have I ever done anything without being certain of the outcome?"

He did not dare to utter the word "resurrection."

The ability to return from the dead was simply too heaven-defying—a means only gods could possess. Once exposed, it would inevitably invite a fatal disaster, so he could only vaguely describe it as life-saving equipment.

Tang San's Invincible Golden Body only has the effect of a hundred-thousand-year-level skill; it is perfectly reasonable for me to spend ten thousand Gold Soul Coins to forge one Death-Escaping Golden Body, right?

Flender's entire body stiffened, his breathing even skipping a beat, as he said in disbelief:

"Death... Death-Escaping Golden Body? Are you telling the truth?"

"It doesn't cost ninety million, it doesn't cost nine million, and it doesn't even cost nine hundred thousand."

Lin Feng held up two fingers, enticingly pitching the sale, "Considering how well we know each other, I'll give you a rock-bottom price: two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins per use. Dean, two hundred thousand to trade for a life—this is a guaranteed profitable deal. Do you want to pre-order a life?"