"It's all right, Xiao Wu. Those two were probably just playing a prank." Tang San's voice was gentle, but a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes. The boy who had just carried off the silver-haired girl gave him an extremely dangerous feeling, like a natural enemy had appeared. It made him instinctively want to use the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons.
Xiao Wu's little face was still pale. She clutched Tang San's sleeve tightly, her voice trembling. "Third Brother, that girl... she was holding a Spicy Rabbit Head. The way she looked at me was like she wanted to eat me."
As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit reincarnated, Xiao Wu was extremely sensitive to the scent of her own kind. Na'er's clear, innocent aura, paired with that bloody rabbit head, had become the worst nightmare of her life.
"Don't be afraid. The day after tomorrow, I'll take you to the Soul Hunting Forest." Tang San patted her back, his tone firm. "The teacher said there are Soul Rings there that will suit you. Once you grow stronger, no one will be able to hurt you."
Xiao Wu hesitated, but in the end she nodded. She really did need to feel safe.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious inn in Nuoding City.
Gu Tian sat with his eyes closed on the sofa. Within his Sea of Consciousness, he was using a crystal ball to communicate remotely with Gu Yuena, who was far away in the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Dear, that's the plan... Have Er Ming set out at once and sneak into this Soul Hunting Forest in Fasinuo Province with his aura concealed. That old Tang Hao is definitely following Tang San from the shadows. Only Er Ming's aura can draw him away from Tang San."
"Hmph. You're certainly willing to use the power of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for that little rabbit." Gu Yuena's cool voice came through, carrying a hint of inexplicable jealousy. Still, she agreed. "Er Ming has already set out. At his speed, he'll arrive tomorrow."
"Thanks, dear." Gu Tian replied with a grin, then cut off the connection.
Gu Yue leaned against the window nearby, her dark green eyes fixed on the street. She spoke coldly. "Young master, now that Er Ming is in position, shall we set out?"
"That's right. We leave at once." Gu Tian stood up, a scheming glint in his eyes. "We need to arrive before them and get the stage ready before the show begins."
Three days later.
Heaven Dou Empire, Fasinuo Province.
The Soul Hunting Forest lay four hundred li northeast of Nuoding City. It was an artificial forest where the empire kept Soul Beasts. Its trees were lush, but compared to the untamed wilderness of the Star Dou Great Forest, it had the neatness of a place shaped by human hands. A massive iron fence surrounded the forest, and large numbers of troops patrolled the entrance.
The three of them had already used Na'er's spatial travel to evade the guards and hide high up in a towering tree deep in the forest.
"Shh, they're here," Gu Tian whispered.
On the path below, Yu Xiaogang walked at the front in a black outfit, his hands clasped behind his back and his expression composed. Tang San carried a huge pack, while Xiao Wu followed at the rear, watchful.
"Xiao San, Xiao Wu, this is the Soul Hunting Forest. We're sure to find a Soul Ring that suits you here today." Up close, Yu Xiaogang might have seemed rather dashing, but his stiff face gave him an unapproachable air.
"Since we're here, I'll take the opportunity to give you both a proper lesson."
"To put it simply, Soul Beasts are wild animals with Soul Power. In general, we divide them into five categories according to age: Ten-Year Soul Beasts, Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, thousand-year Soul Beasts, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, and Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. The Soul Rings produced by Soul Beasts of different ages also have different colors: white, yellow, purple, black, and red. Among Soul Rings of the same rank, the deeper the color, the older the Soul Beast."
As the Grandmaster's beloved disciple, Tang San naturally knew how to play along. The ninety-first rule of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record: never let an elder's words fall to the ground.
"Teacher, according to what you've said, how exactly does a higher-rank Soul Ring make someone stronger?" Tang San asked.
A smug smile appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face. He loved students who asked questions, because they made it possible to show off his vast knowledge. "Xiao San, that's a good question. The strength comes from the different attributes that Soul Rings of different ages grant the Soul Master."
"According to my theory, when a Soul Master awakens their Martial Soul, they receive a certain amount of Soul Power. Multiply their Soul Power Level by ten, and you get their initial attribute points. For example, your Blue Silver Grass is a control-type Martial Soul, and your initial Soul Power Level is ten. That means you have one hundred initial points in control. A Ten-Year Soul Beast can add ten points, while a Hundred-Year Soul Beast can add one hundred. Among Soul Masters of the same attribute and rank, the one with more points usually has the advantage."
Tang San took out the notebook he carried with him and wrote it down, putting on a thoughtful expression. "Then wouldn't the children of powerful families be able to use their family's resources to hunt thousand-year Soul Beasts from the start and become even stronger?"
"That's true, but according to my Ten Great Martial Soul Competitiveness Theories, the First Soul Ring's age limit is four hundred and twenty-three years. Exceeding that limit will make a Soul Master unable to bear the Soul Ring's energy, and they'll eventually explode and die! What's more, when you're absorbing a Soul Ring, outside Soul Masters can't help you at all. You can only rely on yourself. So the disciples of great sects can't overcome this fundamental limitation either."
"Xiao San, look at this Lone Bamboo." Yu Xiaogang pointed to a cluster of bamboo by the path, glowing faintly green. "It has ten segments, each representing a year of cultivation, so it has only ten years of cultivation. But it's a plant-type Soul Beast with exceptional resilience. Even in the Soul Hunting Forest, it hasn't been affected by its surroundings. It rises unstained from the mud and emerges unadorned from clear water."
"Straight through the middle, upright on the outside, with no branches or vines," Tang San recited silently. No, what the hell? Why am I continuing the poem?
"If we can't find anything better later, this will be your fallback choice. My Martial Soul Mimicry Theory tells us that Blue Silver Grass, this Trash Martial Soul—ugh, this Martial Soul—will do best with a resilient Soul Ring like this."
Looking at the little Lone Bamboo, Tang San felt more than a little reluctant. He wanted to become stronger, not play it safe.
"Come forth, Luo Sanpao!" Yu Xiaogang brought his hands together, then quickly spread them apart. Two yellow Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet, and a strange creature appeared before him.
It looked like a pig, but had two dog's ears. It was over a meter and a half long and about eighty centimeters tall.
"Xiao San, Xiao Wu, this is my Martial Soul. You can call him Luo Sanpao."
The creature, which looked like a pig and a dog at once, sniffed around, trying to find traces of higher-rank Soul Beasts.
But all morning, aside from encountering a few Ten-Year Wind Baboons and wild dogs, they found nothing at all.
"Brother Gu Tian, where did all the Soul Beasts go? Why aren't there any?" Na'er asked in confusion. Even though the Soul Hunting Forest was a man-made breeding ground, it shouldn't have been completely empty.
"Because I had Er Ming come here yesterday to clear the place out. The aura of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast scared the ordinary Soul Beasts into hiding." Gu Tian explained. That was another reason he had specifically asked Er Ming to come.
"Wow! So that big ape really is that powerful! I always thought he was just a big mount!" Na'er's eyes lit up. In the world of Soul Beasts, dragons were the undisputed rulers. No wonder a mere Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could be bullied by a little girl.
In the shadows a few hundred meters behind Gu Tian, a figure in a tattered black robe floated silently in midair.
He was a tall, burly middle-aged man who looked to be around fifty, but compared with Yu Xiaogang, who was also fifty, he seemed much more weathered.
Tang Hao.
In his hand, he carried a four-meter-long snake that glowed faintly purple. It was a four-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake, the perfect First Soul Ring he had chosen specifically for Tang San.
Tang Hao was about to toss the snake in front of Tang San and create an "unexpected opportunity" when his body suddenly stiffened.
He sensed an incredibly violent aura flash through the deepest part of the forest—an aura powerful enough to make even a Titled Douluo like him tremble.
"This aura... a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!" Tang Hao's pupils contracted sharply.
As a Titled Douluo, he knew all too well how terrifying such Soul Beasts were. That was the Star Dou Great Forest's ruler, the Titan Giant Ape. Why had it appeared in this little forest where Soul Beasts were kept? Had the Soul Beasts gone berserk?
Tang Hao glanced at Tang San below, then looked toward the depths of the forest. If a being like the Titan Giant Ape charged over, it wouldn't just be Tang San—the entire Fasinuo Province would be destroyed.
"Xiao San, wait here for me!" Tang Hao murmured, though Tang San couldn't hear him. He no longer had time to worry about the Mandala Snake in his hand. He flung the half-dead snake aside and turned into a wisp of black smoke, racing toward the depths of the forest with all his strength.
It was an aura Er Ming had deliberately released, a tempting piece of bait meant only to draw the guardian god, Tang Hao, away from the battlefield.
"Plan complete." Gu Tian smiled like a demon from his perch in the treetop.
In the grass below, the four-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake writhed in a daze. It sensed Tang San's aura and was about to attack.
But Gu Tian simply sat on the branch and tossed the pebble in his hand at the Mandala Snake's head.
At first, the Mandala Snake was furious and hissed. But when it looked up, terror instantly filled its cold eyes. For a snake, fear of a superior bloodline was etched into its very bones. It didn't even dare hiss again. It turned and fled, racing through the grass so quickly that it left a blur behind. In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the dense forest.
"What happened? It sounded like something was over there." Tang San warily turned toward the bushes.
Yu Xiaogang was panting with exhaustion. He wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a grim expression, "What on earth is going on with the Soul Hunting Forest today? We've walked all morning and haven't even seen a single Hundred-Year Soul Beast."
The sun was already beginning to set. If they couldn't find a Soul Ring soon, they would have to camp in the dangerous forest.
"Teacher..." Tang San looked at the Lone Bamboo ahead, his voice full of helplessness. "It's getting dark. Since we haven't found anything suitable, why don't we..."
Yu Xiaogang sighed and sat dejectedly on a rock. His vaunted ability to find treasures had completely failed him today.
"All right, Xiao San. Perhaps this is fate. Blue Silver Grass paired with Lone Bamboo may be mediocre, but it's better than nothing. You have to believe that there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters. Once you grow stronger, you can make up for it little by little."
At those words, nameless fury flared in Tang San's heart. He clenched his fists and stared at the Lone Bamboo swaying in the wind, with its mere ten years of cultivation. Humiliation and resentment filled him. But he had no choice. He needed to break through as soon as possible.
Damn, he insulted himself twice in one sentence. If that useless Gangzi had put in a little effort, would he have turned fifty before even reaching rank thirty? Tang San cursed inwardly, but in the end, he still walked over to the Ten-Year Lone Bamboo and slowly sat down cross-legged.
"Third Brother, are you really choosing this?" Xiao Wu also felt it was a bit of a waste. She could sense how pitifully weak the bamboo's energy was. Still, compared to having Tang San hunt a Soul Beast, she would rather he choose a plant-type Soul Beast. After all, she had grown up eating them.
"I have no choice, Xiao Wu." Gritting his teeth, Tang San summoned his little Blue Silver Grass.
In the shadows, Gu Yue watched Tang San absorbing the white Soul Ring and curled her lip in disdain. "This is the one you called the Child of the Plane? He's struggling this much just to absorb a Ten-Year Soul Ring."
Gu Tian fished a leftover rabbit head out of his pocket and took a bite. He grinned around the mouthful. "Let him absorb it. A white Soul Ring suits his Blue Silver Grass perfectly. A Trash Martial Soul paired with a trash Soul Ring—that's a match truly made in heaven."
It was a humiliating white, and the first great gift Gu Tian had given him.