A single cry of "Ye Lingling" made the cold, aloof girl's expression flicker with surprise.
"Whoosh!"
At last,
she acted, still doubtful and shocked.
"What are you looking at? I'll stand guard while you absorb the Soul Ring."
Ji Feng saw Ye Lingling staring at him,
so he said.
Ye Lingling's gaze froze.
Clearly, she wasn't ready to accept it so easily.
Someone had actually spoken to her in that tone.
Ye Lingling hesitated for a moment,
then sat down cross-legged
and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
Meanwhile, Ji Feng fought the 700-year-old Soul Beast
and successfully gained experience.
He reached level 16.
An hour later,
Ji Feng sat beneath a towering tree, resting with his eyes closed.
He didn't need to meditate to cultivate and increase his Soul Power.
Suddenly,
he opened his eyes.
Before him,
standing over him,
was a girl in a purple dress.
Her slender, delicate legs were clad in stockings.
Her chest rose slightly, not yet fully developed.
She had the unique charm of a young girl, like a lotus just beginning to reveal its pointed tip.
Her cold eyes stared at him.
Ji Feng stood up. "Are you done?"
The other girl still looked at him impassively.
Ji Feng was speechless.
He'd thought Ye Lingling might be hard to get along with,
but he hadn't expected her to be this difficult.
Then,
he took a step forward.
Just then,
Ye Lingling flashed in front of him.
She held out a hand, revealing a token.
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
Well, then.
Seeing the token in her hand,
Ji Feng's eyes narrowed.
Her face was cold.
She hadn't said a word—just shown him the token.
He had no idea what she meant by it.
Was she trying to threaten him?
Whoosh!
Right then,
Ye Lingling's expression tightened.
It turned even more serious.
Ji Feng noticed the change in her expression.
Before he could react,
he felt his body being tugged.
The other girl's warm hand pulled him along at high speed.
"Running away?"
That thought crossed Ji Feng's mind.
By the time he came to his senses,
the two of them were in a secluded spot.
Ji Feng was about to ask what was going on.
Just then,
thunder rumbled in the distance.
An aged, middle-aged figure appeared,
wielding Thor's Hammer.
"Tang Hao!?"
Could this man be Tang Hao?
The moment he appeared,
he made every living thing nearby feel as if it were suffocating.
It was hard to breathe.
That oppressive force
lingered for a long time
before finally fading.
"Tang Hao's gone."
Only then did Ji Feng let out a breath of relief.
He slowly got to his feet and frowned. "Could Tang Hao have found out I took Tang San's Soul Ring? Is he trying to hunt me down now?"
As he spoke,
Ji Feng looked up.
His gaze met Ye Lingling's.
In her cold eyes,
he seemed to catch a trace of surprise.
But it lasted only an instant
before disappearing.
At dusk,
"Ye Lingling, let's team up. With you here, every Soul Beast in the Soul Hunting Forest will be ours."
Ji Feng looked utterly confident.
Ye Lingling gave no response.
She only glanced at his bow once more.
Ji Feng keenly picked up on it.
That made sense.
A level-16 Soul Master who could use three Soul Skills must have shocked her, right?
The next day,
Ji Feng woke up.
He didn't find Ye Lingling anywhere nearby.
"I thought she might team up with me because I helped her."
"Looks like she left early."
Ji Feng murmured to himself.
Then he suddenly thought of something.
In the original story,
Ye Lingling was part of the Heaven Dou Royal Team.
In the next battle, she would go to the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City to face Tang San's Shrek Team.
Naturally, she wouldn't waste time here with him.
Five more days passed.
Whoosh, whoosh.
In the Soul Hunting Forest,
Ji Feng opened the system panel.
Two golden beams descended one after another.
He had leveled up again.
Name: Ji Feng
Martial Soul: Hou Yi
Soul Power: Level 20 Soul Master (1400/17000)
"Through hard work and peerless talent, I've finally broken through to level 20. Now I can look for my Second Soul Ring."
[Ding]
[The host has reached level 20 Soul Power. Secondary profession unlocked: Mining Technique]
[Mining Technique]: Equipment from Honor Continent requires materials obtained through mining to craft divine-grade equipment.
"Mining Technique! It's finally here!"
The system's notification made Ji Feng incredibly excited.
Until now, he'd relied solely on fighting monsters with no equipment.
Without equipment,
he was just an ordinary Soul Master.
At most, he had three more Soul Skills than other people.
He was stronger than ordinary people,
but he still couldn't pull too far ahead of Huo Gua and Tang Dog, those children of destiny.
Now that he had a lead on equipment,
it was only a matter of time before he took off.
"Open the panel."
Whoosh!
At his silent command,
[Mining Technique]
LV1: Beginner Mining
Can mine: black iron, iron ore, copper ore
Effect: Increased mining speed. Can only gather the most basic common iron and cannot damage spirit ore.
"Mining Technique is only level one for now?"
Seeing the secondary profession's stats panel,
Ji Feng was stunned.
Mining Technique.
To level it up,
he had to mine.
But there were no mines in the Soul Hunting Forest where he was now.
"The closest mine is in the Balak Kingdom."
"Looks like fate has other plans. I'll have to visit the Balak Kingdom too."
At the thought,
the corners of Ji Feng's mouth lifted.
Before leaving,
He planned to absorb his Second Soul Ring before leaving.
Soul Hunting Forest.
Deep within.
A Soul Beast blocked the way.
Ji Feng came upon it.
He had no intention of defeating it and claiming its Soul Ring.
There was only one reason.
He didn't want to die.
"Three-Headed Demon-Devouring Spider! Four thousand years of cultivation."
When he learned how old it was,
Ji Feng was stunned.
His eyes widened.
He didn't need to think twice.
There was only one word on his mind:
Run!
"Lucky for me, that four-thousand-year-old poisonous spider didn't spot me. Otherwise, my level-20 Soul Power wouldn't have been enough to take a single hit."
After escaping the scene,
Ji Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
Though he was quite reluctant,
for the sake of his own life,
he decided to put off absorbing his Second Soul Ring for now.
He headed straight for Suotuo City in the Balak Kingdom.
To look for a mine.
Seven days later.
Ji Feng traveled the whole way by carriage.
At last, he arrived in Suotuo City, Balak Kingdom.
Suotuo City.
The southern city gate.
As one of the Balak Kingdom's major cities,
Suotuo City was undoubtedly prosperous.
As soon as he entered,
he saw the city's buildings packed close together.
The Blacksmith Shops rang with the clang of hammering.
The blacksmiths were all bare-chested.
Their muscles were as sturdy as a bull's.
Ji Feng had wanted to become an apprentice and learn the trade.
But the Blacksmith Shops in Suotuo City were a poor place to start.
"I'd be better off going to Gengxin City someday and taking the blacksmith certification exam."
Crafting equipment required blacksmithing skills.
Right now, what he needed most was to find a mine, dig for ore, and grind up his mining-skill proficiency.
Rose Hotel.
The largest chain hotel in Suotuo City.
Ji Feng had just arrived in the city.
He planned to stay at this hotel.
"I wonder if Tang San has come here yet?"
Judging by the timing,
I should have arrived before them.
Before you continue