But the question was, what kind of Soul Beast was right for him?
Over the past year, he had read nearly every book he could find in the academy library and Nuoding City's Martial Soul Branch.
But records of Soul Beasts with light attributes were pitifully scarce.
The Light Blade Sparrow was an aggressive Soul Beast that could condense Light Blades for ranged attacks, but its Soul Skill was frankly useless!
The Light Shield Turtle was a defensive Soul Beast with a hard shell and astonishing light-attribute defense, but its speed was a serious weakness.
The Holy Sun Flower was a Plant-type Soul Beast said to unleash powerful energy under sunlight, but its limitations were too great.
The Moonlight Butterfly was active at night and could absorb the power of moonlight, but it had few ways to attack.
The Holy Light Rabbit was good for nothing except running fast.
And there was one more... the Glazed Vine!
It was a rare, top-tier Plant-type Soul Beast, incredibly tough, naturally possessed a light attribute, and could both attack and control.
But most of these Soul Beasts were common varieties. Though the Glazed Vine was quite good, it was completely at odds with the ultimate amplification path he wanted!
Ye Feng's brows knitted together.
Did he really have to rely on that clown Yu Xiaogang's Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook to find the Soul Ring he wanted?
The thought of asking that guy for help made Ye Feng shudder.
That was the terrifying thing about monopolizing knowledge.
Even if a commoner Soul Master was lucky enough to find a Soul Beast suited to him, he had far fewer choices than members of ancient, powerful clans.
Even among Hundred-Year Soul Rings, the power of the Soul Skill could differ enormously depending on the quality of the Soul Beast.
No! He couldn't just sit around and wait!
Forget it. While he was on break, he'd go to the Star Dou Great Forest!
He'd stick to the outermost fringes and see if luck was on his side. As long as he made thorough preparations and planned his route in advance, it should be fine!
Once he'd made up his mind, Ye Feng quickly got up and left the dormitory.
First, he went to the largest blacksmith shop in Nuoding City.
"Boss, forge me a Short Sword, ten arrows, and a refined-iron bow."
"Sure thing! That'll be thirty Silver Soul Coins."
Watching half his hard-earned savings vanish in an instant, Ye Feng felt a pang of heartache.
"Come back for them in three days, kid."
"Thanks, uncle. Sorry for the trouble."
Ye Feng walked out of the blacksmith shop and weighed the seventeen Silver Soul Coins left in his hand, unable to stop himself from sighing.
Was he about to become the most miserable transmigrator in history?
Money really was the first necessity for cultivation.
Only now did Ye Feng truly understand why "wealth, companions, techniques, and land" put wealth first.
Without money, what the hell was the point of cultivating?
Once he got his First Soul Ring, he had to find a way to make money!
After that, he went into a pharmacy and used what he had left to buy some basic healing medicine and powder to drive away snakes and insects.
When he returned to the dormitory, Aolan, Wang Sheng, and the others were excitedly discussing their plans for the break.
As soon as he saw Ye Feng, Aolan hurried over and warmly draped an arm around his shoulders.
"Brother Feng, what are you doing over break? Want to come visit my home? My mom's roast meat is the best!"
After spending so much time together, everyone already knew Ye Feng was an orphan.
"No need."
Ye Feng shook his head and calmly dropped a bombshell:
"I've reached level ten. I'm planning to hunt a Soul Ring by myself."
What?!
The entire dormitory fell silent. Everyone froze in place.
"Brother Feng, y-you aren't joking, are you? You're going to the Soul Hunting Forest alone?"
A skinny boy stammered.
"Even Ten-Year Soul Beasts can roam around in packs there, and Hundred-Year Soul Beasts can kill you!"
Another boy chimed in, his face full of fear.
"Yeah, Brother Feng. Even with a teacher leading the way, things can go wrong there. Going alone is... way too dangerous!"
"The last guy from our academy who tried that has grass three feet high on his grave!"
"Brother Feng, why not wait until classes start again and go with a teacher from the academy?"
Aolan was getting anxious too. He didn't want the new leader he'd just found to go and get himself killed.
Wang Sheng looked worried as well. He seemed to want to say something, but couldn't find the words.
Seeing the concern on their faces warmed Ye Feng's heart, but it didn't change his resolve.
"Heh, no need."
He smiled, his voice carrying unshakable confidence:
"I'll be fine on my own."
Early the next morning.
Ye Feng had just finished washing up when someone pushed open the dormitory door.
Yu Xiaogang's eternally stiff, corpse-like face appeared in the doorway.
The others in the dormitory made excuses and slipped out as soon as they saw him, leaving the two of them alone in the spacious room.
"I heard you've reached level ten."
Yu Xiaogang walked in with his hands clasped behind his back, asking in a slightly mocking tone:
"And you're planning to hunt a Soul Beast alone?"
Ye Feng paused while packing his things.
That damn Grandmaster sure got news fast.
"Grandmaster, are you going to interfere with this too?"
"Not exactly."
Yu Xiaogang stopped by the bed, striking a compassionate pose.
"This Grandmaster is just worried you'll take the wrong path.
You should know that a Soul Master's First Soul Ring is crucial. Choose the wrong one, and your future achievements will be severely limited.
For example, there's an elder in Spirit Hall who chose the wrong path when he was young and has regretted it for the rest of his life."
"This Grandmaster simply can't bear to see a genius like you go astray."
As Ye Feng listened to Yu Xiaogang's speech, it felt like a hundred thousand grass-mud horses were stampeding through his mind.
What did he mean, a Soul Master had chosen the wrong path?
And he was bringing up an elder from Spirit Hall. He was obviously talking about Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.
Ridiculous!
Did Chrysanthemum Douluo even have a choice?
In an era teeming with Soul Master geniuses, just surviving was an achievement!
By this damn theory, Yue Guan would have been dead ages ago!
Theory was theory. Reality was something else entirely!
For a commoner Soul Master struggling at the bottom, the first concern should be how to survive and how to protect himself, not chasing those seemingly perfect but impractical, useless Soul Skills!
Besides, Ye Feng had never thought Yue Guan had made the wrong choice.
He'd simply lacked an opportunity when he was young!
What if someone had given him a Lovesick Heartbreak Red or a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum when he was young? Wouldn't that have been worth a try?
Yu Xiaogang really was the number-one clown in the Soul Master World! His head was full of mush!
"Then you don't need to worry about me, Grandmaster."
Ye Feng couldn't be bothered to waste his breath on an idiot, and replied coldly:
"My Martial Soul is mine to decide."
"Hmph! Aiming too high!"
Yu Xiaogang was angered by Ye Feng's attitude. He flung his sleeve and snorted:
"You aren't satisfied with a mere ten-year Soul Ring, and now you actually want to hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Beast by yourself? Your ambitions reach the heavens, but your life is as thin as paper!"
"Right, right, Grandmaster. You're absolutely right."
Ye Feng nodded perfunctorily.
"Now, could you please stop bothering me?"
Before you continue