Hunting Souls in the Star Dou Great Forest! Reality Was Too Decisive, Needed More Training!

Over the next few days.

Neither Lin Qing nor Er Ni was idle.

Lin Qing personally stepped in, carefully explaining and arranging Qinglin Restaurant's affairs for the coming period with several trustworthy senior managers.

The restaurant's operations had long since settled onto the right track.

With an established system and reliable staff, a short absence would not pose much of a problem.

At the same time, through several discreet channels, he purchased plenty of supplies needed for wilderness survival and combat.

Antidotes, insect-repellent powder, dry rations, fresh water, maps, tents... as well as some small Soul Tool gadgets he had made himself.

Meanwhile, Er Ni consolidated her suddenly surging Soul Power and practiced the new abilities her Martial Soul had gained. Under Lin Qing's guidance, she also learned some basic Soul Master combat knowledge and wilderness survival skills.

Though she was from the auxiliary system,

Lin Qing still hoped that she would possess at least a basic awareness of self-preservation and the ability to protect herself.

Once all preparations were complete,

on a dawn-lit morning, Lin Qing quietly left Suotuo City with Er Ni and set out for the Star Dou Great Forest.

This soul hunt was meant to obtain Er Ni's first Soul Ring, as well as his own third Soul Ring.

He had not chosen to hire a soul-hunting group.

For one thing, he did not want to expose the secret of absorbing Soul Rings beyond his limits.

For another, he had a measure of confidence in his own strength.

After two years of accumulation and the all-around enhancement brought by the Immortal Herb relics,

his actual combat power could no longer be measured by the standards of an ordinary level-thirty Soul Elder.

His vast Spiritual Sea, the Heavenly Eye Martial Soul that had evolved into Innate Full Soul Power, Spiritual Power capable of taking physical form, and the External Soul Bone, the Truth-Seeing Profound Pupil.

More importantly, he had not spent all of the past two years cultivating Soul Power.

The precious Soul Tool Knowledge left behind by Sun Moon Lin Qing was like a treasure vault thrown open before him.

Combined with his own abilities, his progress in the field of Soul Tools had been so rapid that even he found it astonishing.

In just over two years, he had firmly reached the peak of a Level 3 Soul Engineer, with only a thin layer of paper separating him from a breakthrough to Level 4.

What did that mean?

It meant that, aside from being a Soul Master, he now had another identity: a "mobile artillery platform"!

That rank-seven Milk Bottle Soul Tool could provide him with a massive supply of Soul Power.

Together with his current vast Spiritual Power, it was enough to support him using Soul Tools in prolonged, high-frequency combat!

"With my current strength, plus Er Ni's terrifying boosts and support, as long as we don't venture into the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest or encounter ten-thousand-year soul beasts or groups of powerful Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, safety shouldn't be a problem."

Lin Qing calculated silently.

Besides, Er Ni's soul skills were unaffected by the type of Soul Ring and depended only on its age."

That gave him enormous room to choose.

He could completely avoid those top-tier soul beasts with powerful bloodlines, terrifying combat strength, and extremely high hunting risks.

Instead, he could specifically seek out ordinary soul beasts with average bloodlines but sufficient cultivation years.

Such soul beasts were usually not very strong in battle and were far easier to hunt.

At that thought, Lin Qing was filled with confidence and anticipation for the coming soul-hunting journey.

Several days later.

The outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Deep within the rarely visited dense forest, the scenery was already utterly different from the outer edges.

The trees here seemed to be competing to see who could grow taller, each one shooting skyward.

Their canopies crowded tightly together, sealing off the sky overhead completely.

Only a few stubborn rays of sunlight managed to force their way through gaps in the leaves.

The smell in the air was heavy, too.

The scent of damp soil, rotting leaves, and all manner of indescribable grassy, woody musk mixed together and rushed straight into their noses.

From time to time, the roars of soul beasts could be heard from some unknown corner.

Its primordial savagery and danger were laid bare.

Er Ni followed closely behind Lin Qing, one hand unconsciously clutching the corner of his clothes.

Her beautiful eyes were wide and round as she vigilantly scanned her surroundings, even her breathing much lighter than usual.

This was her first time entering a true primeval forest.

Before this, she had at most wandered through small woods outside Suotuo City.

Everything around her felt so unfamiliar, so oppressive.

"Take this."

Lin Qing, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

He took something from his Storage Soul Tool, turned around, and handed it to her.

It was a silvery-white metal bracelet.

Its design was simple.

Fine Soul Tool patterns were engraved across its surface, glowing faintly in the dim forest.

"I made this myself. It's a Level 3 defensive Soul Tool. It's nothing high-grade, but it'll do in an emergency."

Lin Qing casually explained as he placed the bracelet in Er Ni's hand.

"Inject a little Soul Power into it to activate it. It can block roughly three full-force attacks from a Soul Elder."

"Remember, it 'blocks' them. It doesn't make you 'immune.' Dodge when you need to dodge. Don't just stand there and take hits."

"Thank you, Ah Qing."

Er Ni hurriedly accepted it.

The cool touch of the metal helped clear her head slightly.

She clumsily slipped the bracelet onto her slender wrist. It fit perfectly.

As her fingers gently traced those complex patterns, the unease caused by the unfamiliar environment mysteriously faded away.

In its place was a warm, reassuring sense of security.

Ah Qing was always like this, quietly thinking of everything for her in advance.

The two continued carefully through the dense forest.

Lin Qing walked ahead, clearing the way.

A silver gleam flickered faintly between his brows.

The Heavenly Eye Martial Soul had already been silently activated.

At the same time,

Sluggish Gaze, his well-practiced innate soul skill, began operating without a sound.

In an instant,

the "flow rate" of the world around him seemed to slow in his eyes.

On a branch ahead,

the path of a dead leaf spiraling down was so clear that he could count how many times it turned over.

Within the bushes to his right,

he could make out the faint movements of a hard-shelled beetle slowly crawling across a leaf.

He could even clearly see the specks of mud clinging to its feet.

Even the extremely faint flows and disturbances of Soul Power in the air, imperceptible to ordinary people, became pale golden threads that flickered in and out of view.

Under this slow-motion-like perception, no potential threat or disturbance could remain hidden.

"Our goal this time is to find a soul beast between one thousand and fifteen hundred years old."

Lin Qing lowered his voice as he spoke to Er Ni behind him without turning back.

His feet nimbly stepped around a thick vine stretching across the ground.

"We can set aside the strength of its bloodline for now. We don't need to insist on it, but its age must fall within that range. It would be best if it were close to fifteen hundred years."

"That way, the base effect of your first Soul Ring can be maximized, and the starting point of Lovesick Heartbreak's amplification will be higher."

If Er Ni had only consumed Whale Rubber, he definitely would not have allowed her to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

But Er Ni had not only consumed Whale Rubber, she also possessed a 100,000-Year Torso Bone. The improvement to her physical condition was far from ordinary.

He was certain that Er Ni's current physique was comparable to that of a Soul Elder, and that absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring would pose no problem at all.

"Mhm! I'll listen to you, Ah Qing."

Er Ni nodded firmly behind him. Though her voice still carried a trace of nervousness, it was resolute.

She did not understand all these complicated considerations regarding soul beast ages and bloodline quality.

But she trusted Lin Qing's judgment and arrangements completely.

If Ah Qing said it was good, then it had to be the best choice.

However—

Ideals were full, but reality was harsh.

No matter how thorough the plan, it could not overcome bad luck.

For five straight days,

Lin Qing led Er Ni through the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest, searching and investigating as meticulously as though combing through hair.

The result was rather speechless.

They encountered quite a few soul beasts, but none of them were right.

Either they were little creatures with only a few hundred years of cultivation—their age was nowhere near enough.

Absorbing them would have been a complete waste of Er Ni's Immortal Herb Martial Soul potential.

Or the moment they appeared, their aura suggested that they were at least two thousand years old.

Lin Qing was not afraid of two-thousand-year soul beasts.

But the problem was that their age exceeded the limit by far too much.

After all, this was Er Ni's first time absorbing a Soul Ring. Both her body and spirit needed a process of adaptation.

Around fifteen hundred years was a relatively safe limit.

Any higher, and the risks would rise geometrically.

Taking risks merely to pursue the limit was not worth it.