Six Years Later! Star Dou Great Forest!

Returning home, Jiang Yi closed the door and couldn't wait to inspect his status.

[Host: Jiang Yi]

[Age: Six]

[Martial Soul: Master Ball (Guaranteed hit, ignores level gaps, but be careful not to get backstabbed by your pets!)]

[Talent: Slave Master (An obsession from a past life, +30% natural affinity with humanoid pets)]

[Cultivatable Pets: None!]

Jiang Yi sat cross-legged on his bed, a cerulean light screen visible only to him hovering before his eyes.

The Pet Cultivation Panel!

It displayed his personal information and assisted in raising pets—a mod he had tinkered with in his previous life.

He never expected it to become his golden finger in this one.

If I'd known, I wouldn't have made it so crude. I should've added God Mode; I'd be unstoppable by now...

Jiang Yi sighed with regret and flicked the system panel shut.

Back then, for the sake of the gaming experience, he had disabled all the miscellaneous functions, leaving only the data visualization.

Forget it, better to focus on cultivation.

Jiang Yi closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Faint specks of light gathered from all directions.

The Master Ball Martial Soul was naturally suited for the beast-taming path; he would only gain the qualification to capture pets once he reached level ten.

Time flew by, and six years passed in the blink of an eye.

In a dense forest near the border of the Star Luo Empire.

"Thunder Roar!"

The moment the words left his lips, a blue streak of lightning darted across the sky, accompanied by the crackling sound of electricity.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Bolts of lightning as thick as an arm crashed down, striking the century-old Earth Dragon that was currently chasing a young girl.

The Earth Dragon convulsed, collapsed to the ground instantly, and could no longer move.

Screech—

A large bird descended from the sky, landing steadily before the Earth Dragon.

It was entirely azure, with a wingspan exceeding two meters. Fine golden thunder patterns coiled around the edges of its wings, and every flap emitted a faint, hissing sound of electricity.

"It's alright now, get up."

Jiang Yi jumped off the back of the Gale Thunder Falcon, dusted off his robes, and looked at the girl huddled in the grass.

She was a girl with a sallow complexion, young and plain-looking; she was likely a villager from nearby.

This forest wasn't quite the Star Dou Great Forest, merely a border zone between the wilderness and human activity. Even on this outermost fringe, humans were still part of the food chain.

The century-old Earth Dragon had likely wandered out from deeper within by accident.

"Th-thank you!"

The girl looked at him timidly, her eyes filled with gratitude, though her thin frame was still trembling—she was clearly terrified.

"Mm, don't go any further in. Hurry home; this place is still quite dangerous..."

Jiang Yi nodded, gave a casual instruction, and turned to leap back onto the Gale Thunder Falcon.

The next instant, the Thunder Falcon soared into the air, its sharp talons gripping the limp century-old Earth Dragon as it flapped its wings and flew toward the depths of the forest.

"Hey, you..."

The girl watched the figure rapidly receding into the distance and opened her mouth, but Jiang Yi had already vanished.

Is this the world of a Soul Master?

The girl clutched her chest, feeling her heart still pounding wildly.

A moment ago, she had thought she would die under the hooves of that Earth Dragon. Yet, in front of that Lord Soul Master, the monster had been so vulnerable.

"I will definitely become a Soul Master too! Mother, I won't let you down!"

The girl gripped the dagger in her hand, wiped the dust from her face, and resolutely turned to walk deeper into the forest.

Within that small figure, a heart full of determination burned.

Two days later.

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, atop a towering tree.

The blue Gale Thunder Falcon landed on a branch, folded its wings, and tilted its head to survey the surroundings.

"Damn it! Where did Huo Yuhao go?"

Jiang Yi sat on a thick tree branch, munching on dry rations while gloomily gazing at the endless sea of green forest beneath his feet.

He had made a special trip to Star Luo City, intending to tail Huo Yuhao to find the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

After all, for someone possessing the Master Ball martial soul, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was practically a walking gift package.

As it turned out, he was a step too late and missed his chance to intercept him.

He had followed the trail all the way into the Star Dou Great Forest, but it had been over half a month, and he hadn't even caught a glimpse of Huo Yuhao's shadow.

He had likely already ventured deeper inside.

"Damn it all, he really is the protagonist, covering three hundred miles a day... that kid's legs sure move fast."

Jiang Yi shook his head, speechless.

He had been wandering the vicinity for over half a month; by all logic, Huo Yuhao should have arrived long ago.

If he delayed any longer, the Shrek Academy admissions would close, and it was clear he had missed his window with Huo Yuhao.

"Xiao Lan! Look at you, you're really a disgrace to your Gale Thunder Falcon kin!"

Jiang Yi turned his head back, looking with disdain at the large blue bird beside him.

A Gale Thunder Falcon!

This was his first pet, possessing both wind and thunder attributes, with its greatest trait being its speed.

Having lived two lifetimes, Jiang Yi understood the essence of playing it safe, and the Gale Thunder Falcon was a choice made after careful deliberation.

If you can't beat them, run; if you can't outrun them, fly.

"Roar~"

The Gale Thunder Falcon let out a low cry, naively nudging his arm with its head in an affectionate display.

"..."

Jiang Yi looked at the silly bird, feeling somewhat helpless; that was the downside of soul beasts—their intelligence was truly worrying.

He reached out, pulled out a Master Ball, and pressed it gently, causing the large blue bird to transform into a beam of light and be drawn inside.

He didn't dare fly recklessly while deep inside the Star Dou Great Forest.

Jiang Yi put away the Master Ball, sat firmly once more, and while chewing his rations, opened his system panel.

[Host: Jiang Yi]
[Age: Twelve]
[Martial Soul: Master Ball (Guaranteed catch, ignores level gaps, but be careful not to get backstabbed by your pets!)]
[Talent: Slave Master (Obsession from a past life, natural affinity with humanoid pets +30%), Wind-Thunder Affinity (Resistance to wind and thunder attributes +50%)]
[Cultivatable Pet: Gale Thunder Falcon (839 years)]

Jiang Yi scanned it and clicked on the pet panel, and a new interface immediately appeared.

[Pet: Gale Thunder Falcon]
[Intimacy: 89%]
[Bloodline Grade: Purple (Cap: 1,000 years)]
[Talent: Wind-Thunder Affinity, increased resistance to wind and thunder attributes, capable of wielding the power of wind and thunder...]
[Evolution Value: Storm Thunder Eagle (839/1000)]
[Soul Skills: Thunder Roar, Thousand Thunder Feather Blades, Thunder Flash (Learning)]
[Evaluation: A mediocre soul beast, perhaps a decent starter pet... inferior to Tang Wutong.]

Xiao Lan had only started with one hundred years of cultivation, and over the years, he had raised it to eight hundred, though it had drained his entire fortune.

Fortunately, Jiang Yi discovered that he could share talents and even some attributes from his pets.

This was the reason he had his sights set on the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

His own talent wasn't particularly good; it had taken him five years to reach level twenty, which was average among his peers—the kind of talent you could find by the handful at Shrek Academy.

The million-year-old Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was something he had to fight for, and as for Huo Yuhao... well, he would just have to be sorry.

The two were strangers with no ties, so he naturally wouldn't be soft-hearted.

If it's worth grabbing, grab it!

"Let's look a bit further in..."

After a short rest, Jiang Yi dove deeper into the forest.

He wasn't willing to just give up like this. To wait for the Tian Meng, he had been stuck at the level twenty bottleneck for a whole year.

That was a waste of several levels of soul power!

Half a day later.

In a corner of the forest, a young girl with a single ponytail was glaring resentfully at the boy beside her.

"It's all your fault! Bei Bei! Now we've lost him!"

Tang Ya looked at the empty forest, scratching her head in annoyance.

That little sister had treated them to grilled fish, and before she could even thank her, the person had already vanished.