Soul Hunting Forest

The next day, morning.

The sun was bright, and the sky was clear for thousands of miles.

Inside Nuoding Academy, ceremonial cannons roared, and the air was filled with a constant, bustling noise.

Today was the opening ceremony, and the plaza was packed with teachers and students from every grade.

However, a middle-aged man and a six-year-old student were seen walking out of the academy gates.

The middle-aged man was named Yu Xiaogang, and the six-year-old student was Tang San. After the apprenticeship ceremony yesterday, the two now addressed each other as master and disciple.

"Teacher, are we going straight to the Soul Hunting Forest?" Tang San asked curiously.

"No. We must first go to the market to buy some white radishes and other supplies needed for hunting Soul Beasts."

At this, Yu Xiaogang looked down at Tang San and instructed, "Little San, remember this. Hunting Soul Beasts is never a trivial matter. In their natural habitat, a Soul Master faces far more than just a single beast. If you act rashly without thorough preparation, you will surely pay a heavy price."

Tang San nodded solemnly, "I will remember, Teacher."

"Let's go. On the way there and back, I will teach you about Soul Masters and Soul Beasts."

With that, Yu Xiaogang hailed a carriage at the academy gate, took Tang San's hand to board, and headed toward the market.

A long time later. The opening ceremony concluded, and another middle-aged man and a six-year-old student walked out of the academy gates.

The middle-aged man was Dean Ding, and the six-year-old student was Ye Chen. The two were preparing to head to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt a Soul Beast.

Dean Ding was as usual; his cyan martial attire made his lean, fit frame look quite heroic, hiding his fifty years of age well. He was easygoing, always carrying a dagger and a pipe at his waist, along with a low-quality pouch Soul Tool.

In contrast, the blue outfit Ye Chen wore appeared much simpler. He also had a dagger at his waist and carried a pack on his back containing fresh clothes and dry rations.

Dean Ding led Ye Chen to the carriage stand at the academy gate. After hailing a carriage, the two immediately set off toward the outskirts of Nuoding City, heading in the direction of the Soul Hunting Forest.

The journey covered four hundred li in total, and it was not until noon the next day that they finally reached their destination.

When he stepped off the carriage, Ye Chen saw a lush forest ahead. The entire forest was enclosed by iron fences, and inside, it was quiet and serene, filled with the aura of nature.

Dean Ding explained that the forest ahead was the Soul Hunting Forest. Although it was built with imperial funds, it was managed by the Martial Soul Hall.

In front of the entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest, besides the rest area built by the local branch of the Martial Soul Hall for the forest rangers, there were also large numbers of houses—or rather, shops—with various hawking cries echoing one after another.

"Coming, coming! We have a permit, forming a group to hunt a defensive-type Soul Beast, need four more people."

"Hunting speed-type Soul Beasts, seven people waiting for a permit."

Hearing the shouts of the surrounding Soul Masters, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Dean Ding was a four-ring Tool Soul Ancestor. His Fire Ring martial soul could split into up to five flame rings to control enemies.

With Dean Ding accompanying him, there was no need to worry about too many accidents while hunting for a Soul Beast in the forest later.

"Ye Chen, have you decided which Soul Beast you want to obtain your First Soul Ring from?" Dean Ding took a puff from his pipe, exhaling white smoke as he stared at the Soul Hunting Forest ahead.

Ye Chen nodded, "I have decided. The Soul Hunting Forest keeps century-old Blazing Birds, and I want to use one as my First Soul Ring."

"A Blazing Bird?" Dean Ding took another puff, looking thoughtful. "Your Torchic martial soul possesses excellent fire attributes and kicking techniques, and the Blazing Bird has exceptionally powerful leg strength and significant flame amplification capabilities. It is indeed the most suitable choice for your Torchic's First Soul Ring."

"Since you've decided on the target, our hunt will be much simpler. Let's go. It's been a long time since this Dean personally helped a student hunt a Soul Beast; I wonder if my skills have dulled."

As he spoke, Dean Ding hung his extinguished pipe at his waist. After showing his permit to the guards on duty, he walked calmly into the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest, with Ye Chen following closely behind.

Passing through the iron fence into the forest, the hawking from the surrounding market vanished, and the humid air was faintly mixed with the scents of various wild beasts.

Ye Chen noticed that the deeper they went into the Soul Hunting Forest, the stronger the scent of beasts became, forcing him to stay on high alert.

Upon entering the Outer Zone of the forest, various Soul Beasts began to poke their heads out, including Nether Wolves, Variegated Cats, Ekans, and more.

Some crawled, waiting for an opportunity to strike; others were startled awake from their sleep, while some bristled their fur in a display of intimidation.

Every time they discovered a new type of Soul Beast, Dean Ding would explain its habits and abilities to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen suggested letting his Torchic fight the beasts they encountered along the way to gain practical combat experience. Dean Ding agreed, puffing on his pipe while standing guard.

Ye Chen directed his Torchic to battle Nether Wolves, Variegated Cats, and other such beasts.

These were all ten-year Soul Beasts with cultivation levels under a century, so Torchic handled them with ease.

Consequently, the combat experience gained from defeating these ten-year beasts provided very little feedback, and his soul power increased very slowly.

Seeing that he couldn't level up quickly, Ye Chen decided not to waste time on ten-year beasts and suggested to Dean Ding that they enter the Core Zone of the Soul Hunting Forest to find a target.

And so, the two continued along the forest path, chatting about topics related to Soul Beasts.

By nightfall, Dean Ding and Ye Chen were still in the Outer Zone of the Soul Hunting Forest, so they found an open space near a water source to camp for the night.

Logically, one should never light a fire when camping in the Soul Hunting Forest or any other Soul Beast habitat, lest it attract unwanted attention.

However, the Soul Hunting Forest was a convenient facility for low-level Soul Masters, and the beasts kept inside rarely exceeded a thousand years of cultivation.

Even the beasts living in the Core Zone were not as powerful as one might imagine.

With Dean Ding's strength as a four-ring Soul Ancestor, while he couldn't fight off a siege of Core Zone beasts alone, he could certainly walk through the Outer Zone unimpeded, so there was no need to worry about a fire attracting trouble.

"Actually, whether or not you can light a fire in a Soul Beast habitat depends on the specific situation."

As he spoke, Dean Ding set up a black tent, which was just the right size to accommodate one adult and one child.

Patting the tent to ensure it was sturdy, Dean Ding took a puff of his pipe and said with seasoned experience, "Ye Chen, remember, everything has two sides. Lighting a fire in a Soul Beast habitat will inevitably attract beasts, which is very dangerous. At the same time, we can also use this to our advantage to hunt them."

"For example, if we are looking for a fire-attribute Soul Beast, these creatures are particularly sensitive to the temperature of fire. If we are confident in our own strength, we can light a fire at night to attract them. This way, we can wait for them to come to us, set an ambush, and hunt them with ease."

While sprinkling realgar powder and insect repellent around the tent, Ye Chen listened with great interest to Dean Ding's lessons on hunting experience.

After half an hour, the two finally finished setting up camp and sat together in front of the fire, eating dry rations and drinking water.

Consulting the map of the Soul Hunting Forest, Dean Ding pondered aloud, "A fire-attribute Soul Beast with a pure bloodline like the Blazing Bird would not live alone in the forest. They live in groups in areas with high fire-elemental energy. Looking at the map, the Dead Volcano area in the Core Zone must be their habitat."