Beginning the Hunt for Soul Beasts

Tang San looked into Xiao Wu's bright, unblinking eyes fixed directly on them. The strange feeling in his heart refused to fade, but he did not refuse. He merely nodded slightly in agreement.

Xiao Wu was instantly overjoyed, and the system prompt sounded in her mind again.

[Ding! The host has initially gained the favor of two targets. SSS-level target Tang San's pursuit progress: 5%. SSS-level target Lin Yue's pursuit progress: 8%! Please keep up the good work, unlock more pursuit targets, and gain more utterly devoted followers!]

Xiao Wu secretly clenched her little fist. Reviving her mother, becoming stronger and ascending to godhood, establishing herself in this world—it would all depend on these geniuses!

Who cared whether she targeted both men and women, or whether species mattered? She would firmly seize every top genius and powerhouse on the continent for herself!

Tang San and Lin Yue, meanwhile, had no idea that after escaping Yu Xiaogang's schemes, they had immediately walked straight into Xiao Wu's vast net of heartless-woman pursuit tactics.

The original paths fate had laid out for them had, from this moment onward, completely veered in an unknown direction.

Even Qian Chongguang, the one who had started it all, had no idea how far the plot would go off course.

News that three Innate Full Soul Power geniuses had gathered at Nuoding Academy spread throughout the entire campus in less than half a day, and even the nearby towns had heard of it.

Looking at the report sent over by the academic affairs office, the headmaster grinned from ear to ear. Even after drinking three pots of fine tea in a row, he could not suppress his delight.

After running an academy for decades, he had finally found treasure—and three treasures at once!

The only thing that worried him was whether these three exceptionally gifted children, all young and proud, would refuse to yield to one another and cause a huge uproar if they clashed.

But after secretly observing them for two days, he was completely reassured.

Tang San was steady and meticulous, never one to stir up trouble. Lin Yue was bold and straightforward; though she had a temper, she knew what was right. Xiao Wu was even more outgoing, clinging to the two of them like a little tail every day, calling one "big sister" and the other "big brother," sweet-talking them until they beamed. Let alone having conflicts, the three had not even exchanged a single heated word. They got along exceptionally well.

How could he know that Xiao Wu's little schemes were clattering away in her heart?

Over the past two days, relying on cute, soft-hearted coquettishness and the occasional "hero saving the beauty"—

For example, helping Tang San block students who accidentally bumped into him, or carrying Lin Yue's bundle of spear-training gear—her pursuit progress had risen steadily, and the system's reward notifications had not stopped.

At noon that day, the three had just entered the academy cafeteria when the headmaster caught them head-on.

The headmaster wore a well-fitted robe and a kindly smile. He walked straight over and sat at their table without beating around the bush. "Tang San, Lin Yue, Xiao Wu, I came today to talk to you about Soul Rings."

He paused, his tone full of gravity. "Tang San, you have Innate Full Soul Power, and your Blue Silver Grass martial soul urgently needs its first Soul Ring to unlock its abilities. Lin Yue, you are already a Soul Master above level ten. Your first hundred-year Soul Ring has long since stabilized, so you can begin looking for a Soul Beast suited to your second Soul Ring. Once you break through to level twenty and become a Soul Grandmaster, you can use it right away. Xiao Wu, you also have Innate Full Soul Power, and your Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul likewise needs a suitable first Soul Ring. The three of you are the jewels of our academy. After thinking it over, I've decided to personally lead a team to the Soul Hunting Forest and help you hunt the most suitable Soul Beasts."

As soon as he said this, Tang San was the first to react.

He nodded slightly and agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Thank you for taking such trouble, Headmaster."

He understood perfectly well that since the headmaster valued him so highly, he would certainly choose the most compatible and highest-quality Soul Beast for him. That was far better than searching blindly on his own, and much more reliable than following that fraud Yu Xiaogang.

Lin Yue's eyes lit up at once, and she slapped the table. "Great! I was just worrying about where to test myself in real combat! Headmaster, I'm going with you! I can check whether there are any suitable targets for my second Soul Ring. Even if we don't hunt one yet, I can still get some practice and familiarize myself with using the Battle Spear in actual combat!"

Her Battle Mage template had long since unlocked its basic skills, but aside from stabbing trees on the back mountain, she had never fought a living creature. Her hands had been itching for a real fight for ages.

As for the threshold of level twenty Soul Grandmaster, she was not worried in the slightest. With the system and real combat boosting her, breaking through was only a matter of time.

Xiao Wu immediately raised her little hand as well. She squeezed herself softly between Tang San and Lin Yue, swaying their arms as she coquettishly pleaded, "I want to go too! Big Brother Tang San and Big Sister Lin Yue are both going. I'll be scared all alone at the academy! And I need to find my first Soul Ring too. Uncle Headmaster, please take me with you!"

She was already over the moon inside. The system had just issued a new mission: enter the Soul Hunting Forest together with pursuit targets, step forward to protect them when Soul Beasts attacked, greatly increase pursuit progress, and receive rewards including +1 Soul Power Level, precise location guidance for a suitable hundred-year Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Beast, and rare Soul Bone fragments!

Forget a safe, enclosed Soul Hunting Forest. Even if it were a mountain of blades and a sea of flames, she would have to go for the rewards and the chance to revive her mother.

Seeing Xiao Wu's watery eyes, how could the headmaster bear to refuse? He smiled helplessly. "All right, all right, I'll take you. I never intended to leave out a little genius like you."

He had already planned it out. They would not be going to the kind of desolate wild Soul Hunting Forest from the original story, where hundred-year and thousand-year Soul Beasts could be found everywhere. They would be going to the Royal Soul Hunting Forest Branch, officially maintained by the Heaven Dou Empire. The Soul Beasts inside were raised in separate zones according to age and species. There were no excessively dangerous top-tier Soul Beasts, the guards were strict, and safety was guaranteed.

"Let me make this clear: we're going to an imperial, enclosed Soul Hunting Forest. It's very safe."

The headmaster added with a smile, "I'm a level forty-two assault-type Soul Ancestor. I'll also bring our academy's level thirty-five agility-attack-type Soul Master instructor and our level thirty-eight defense-type Soul Master instructor. Three Soul Masters protecting you three little ones—absolutely nothing can go wrong."

Naturally, the three readily agreed and thanked him repeatedly.

But they had not expected Yu Xiaogang to somehow hear about it.

Early the next morning, just as the group gathered at the academy gate and prepared to set out, they saw Yu Xiaogang hurrying over. A deliberately gentle smile was plastered across his face as he blocked the carriage.

"Headmaster, Tang San, Lin Yue, Xiao Wu, wait!"

Yu Xiaogang panted, his gaze falling on Tang San first as he spoke urgently. "I heard you're going to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt Soul Rings? I've studied martial soul theory for decades. No one in all of Nuoding City can match my research into Soul Beast compatibility and Soul Ring absorption! I must accompany you on this hunt so I can select the most perfectly compatible Soul Beasts for the three children and guide them in safely absorbing their Soul Rings. There absolutely cannot be a single mistake!"

PS: This is obviously because they're looking for Solitary Bamboo.