[Special Mutated Spirit Beast · Thunder-Flame Vajra Tiger has been placed in the storage space. The Poké Ball will automatically absorb Soul Power to restore its injuries and stamina!] [The Thunder-Flame Vajra Tiger is currently in a special state. You can expend Soul Power to activate Evolution Light, granting it one chance to advance. Would you like to use it?]
Lin Fan's eyes lit up. He'd thought Evolution Light could only take effect on Martial Souls and Soul Rings. He hadn't expected it to work while capturing and storing Spirit Beasts, too.
He only had one chance to evolve it, so there was no difference between using it now or later. Lin Fan didn't hesitate and immediately chose to use it.
Buzz—
In an instant, more than half of the Soul Power inside Lin Fan plummeted, and he even felt mentally exhausted.
But the panel's message brought a smile to his face.
[Special Mutated Spirit Beast · Thunder-Flame Vajra Tiger has successfully advanced into a Five Spirit Divine Tiger and learned the new Soul Skills Vortex and Wind-Stepping! Its cultivation limit has reached 150,000 years!]
The Thunder-Flame Vajra Tiger had originally possessed three attributes: lightning, fire, and metal. After advancing, it had gained two more elements, water and wind. Clearly, Evolution Light didn't trigger random evolutions. Instead, it drew out a target's potential based on its traits and improved it.
Unfortunately, aside from its traits, its Soul Power cultivation hadn't increased. Only its upper limit had been raised.
Of course, this effect was already ridiculously heaven-defying!
Once it absorbed a Soul Ring, perhaps the effect would be even more terrifying.
"Fan?"
Lin Qingfeng was a top-tier Soul Saint, after all, and highly sensitive to Soul Power. He immediately noticed the sharp drop in Soul Power in the forest and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Why did your Soul Power suddenly drop?"
Lin Fan was his only son, and with talent that was one of a kind, Lin Qingfeng naturally considered him extremely precious.
"It's nothing. I'm using Soul Power to heal the Five Spirit Divine Tiger's injuries."
Lin Fan smiled. "Dad, when you run into Spirit Beasts later, just intimidate them so they can't move. If they're injured, I'll need to use my Soul Power to heal them."
"I see."
Lin Qingfeng nodded and looked Lin Fan over carefully. Seeing that he truly didn't appear injured, he continued onward.
Now that he knew the Poké Balls really could capture Spirit Beasts, Lin Qingfeng showed no mercy. Like bandits sweeping through the land, they caught every Spirit Beast they encountered and put it in a Poké Ball.
Unfortunately, they didn't come across any more mutated Spirit Beasts after that, and their progress slowed to a crawl.
As for ordinary Spirit Beasts, Lin Fan naturally wouldn't waste Soul Power evolving them. He gave them a quick look, and if nothing seemed unusual, stored them away.
The Spirit Beasts weren't injured, and after being captured in Poké Balls, they remained perfectly unharmed. So, once Lin Fan had collected a decent number, he started thinking about putting them to the test in actual combat.
It was just like playing a game. Having an expert carry you through dungeons was fun and easy, but after a while, it got boring, and you wanted to try your hand at it yourself.
So when they came across Spirit Beasts that weren't too difficult to deal with, Lin Qingfeng stood guard while Lin Fan personally commanded a Spirit Beast in battle.
"Personally" was a bit of an exaggeration. Lin Fan simply directed it to attack, dodge, or use its skills.
Controlling them didn't consume Soul Power. Only throwing a Poké Ball to release the Spirit Beast inside used up a portion of it, all at once.
After trying it many times, Lin Fan had figured out that the Soul Power cost depended on the Spirit Beast's strength.
There were no restrictions at all. As long as Lin Fan had enough Soul Power, he could theoretically command an endless number of Spirit Beasts to fight for him!
This made Lin Fan all the more eager and desperate to raise his Soul Power Level.
With his current Soul Power, Lin Fan could support at most two thousand-year Spirit Beasts, and even then, they could only just have reached a thousand years.
With just one, he wouldn't have to divide his attention, so the upper limit would be higher—around 2,500 years!
In other words, although Lin Fan had just awakened his Martial Soul and hadn't yet absorbed a Soul Ring, he already had the combat strength of an ordinary Soul Elder!
Even Lin Qingfeng was astonished, and he looked forward all the more to seeing what abilities and improvements Lin Fan would gain after absorbing a Soul Ring.
Time passed slowly. By day, Lin Fan frantically captured Spirit Beasts; at night, he condensed Poké Balls and recovered his Soul Power.
Until a Plant-type Soul Beast came into view.
It was a tree with a thick trunk covered in purplish-black eyes. It looked especially eerie, stirring terror and dread in anyone who saw it.
[Demon Eye Magic Tree?]
Lin Fan's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately recognized the Spirit Beast.
The Demon Eye Magic Tree wasn't a particularly powerful species by nature. It was merely strange, but its potential was no joke!
The Myriad Demon King, ranked fifth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, was a Demon Eye Magic Tree himself!
"Demon Eye Magic Tree. You're in luck; these Spirit Beasts are pretty rare."
Lin Qingfeng also recognized it and smiled. "Too bad it's a little young, only around four hundred years old. Want to try catching it with a Poké Ball?"
Just like in a game, capturing a Spirit Beast wasn't guaranteed. Even when Lin Fan caught Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, he'd usually gone for ones close to a thousand years old, so he wouldn't waste Poké Balls.
That way, even if he didn't need them, he could turn them into Martial Souls and Soul Rings to sell later.
Demon Eye Magic Trees were far too rare, so Lin Qingfeng made the suggestion.
"No, its age is just right."
Lin Fan narrowed his eyes and said firmly, "It's exactly old enough for me to absorb!"
If he remembered correctly, the Demon Eye Magic Tree's abilities were related to the mind and illusions, as well as its powerful vitality!
If he could absorb a Demon Eye Magic Tree as a Soul Ring, whether it improved Lin Fan's physical strength or had something to do with illusions and the mind, it certainly wouldn't disappoint.
"Huh?"
"An Item Martial Soul absorbing a Plant-type Soul Beast as a Soul Ring? Are you sure?"
Lin Qingfeng furrowed his brows, his face full of confusion.
"Of course."
Lin Fan smiled. "The strength of my Martial Soul lies in controlling Spirit Beasts. It won't kill me to give it a try."
"Fine!"
Lin Qingfeng said solemnly, "But if your Martial Soul clashes with the Demon Eye Magic Tree and you can't absorb it... I'll step in and stop you!"
With that, Lin Qingfeng summoned the Frost Sword in one hand. His Soul Power surged like a tide, and he instantly attacked the Demon Eye Magic Tree.
As if a four-hundred-year-old Demon Eye Magic Tree could possibly escape a Soul Saint's attack!
In the blink of an eye, frost covered the Demon Eye Magic Tree. The freezing air invaded its body and froze the trunk through and through.
No matter how powerful the Demon Eye Magic Tree's vitality was, it was useless against an absolute crushing difference in Soul Power.
"Quick, Fan! It won't last long. Finish it off!"
Lin Fan didn't hold back either. To make sure he killed it in one blow, he summoned the still-not-fully-recovered Five Spirit Divine Tiger.
"Roar!"
The tiger's roar rang through the forest. The instant it appeared, the Five Spirit Divine Tiger raised its massive, razor-sharp paw. Scarlet flames burst forth as it struck the Demon Eye Magic Tree.
Fire naturally countered Plant-type Soul Beasts. On top of that, the Demon Eye Magic Tree had already been suppressed by Lin Qingfeng. It couldn't fight back at all and was instantly engulfed in flames, its life force extinguished.
Buzz—
A deep-yellow Soul Ring appeared, circling in the air as though it were saying to Lin Fan, "Hey, big guy! Get over here!" ```
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