Tang Yuan's awakening didn't cause much of a stir.
He simply opened his eyes calmly and rose to his feet.
But a trace of regret was hidden in his gaze.
Seeing Tang Yuan's reaction, Jiang Lin furrowed his brows slightly.
"Did you fail?"
Tang Yuan nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't break through to level 99, but my strength has definitely increased quite a bit."
"Mm, it seems the gap between levels 98 and 99 really is not to be underestimated..."
Jiang Lin wasn't too disappointed. If Tang Yuan hadn't broken through, then so be it. After taking the Immortal Herb, Tang Yuan was probably already a rare match for anyone at level 98.
At the very least, Golden Crocodile Douluo wouldn't be a match for him.
If Tang Yuan learned the Ring Detonation and the Nine Absolute Techniques of Clear Sky, he should be able to stand up to Qian Daoliu... right?
That was assuming Qian Daoliu didn't use Angel Divine Power.
Tang Yuan didn't know the Clear Sky Sect's inherited secret techniques. After all, Tang Chen had created them, and there might even have been a trace of Asura God's influence behind them.
And in Tang Yuan's era, Tang Chen hadn't even been born yet.
"In that case, it's time for me to get my fourth Soul Ring."
Jiang Lin spoke, and neither Tang Yuan nor Elder Chen objected.
"Should we bring Old Poison along? He knows the Sunset Forest a little better than we do."
Elder Chen offered the reminder.
Jiang Lin thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Forget it. Let's take a look first. He probably can't get away from whatever he's doing."
Seeing Jiang Lin shake his head, Elder Chen said no more.
In his view, no matter how important Old Poison's business was, it couldn't be more important than Jiang Lin's fourth Soul Ring. But since Jiang Lin had already turned him down, that was that.
At Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Dugu Bo descended from the sky like a streak of green.
The students nearby were initially curious to see a Soul Master drop from the sky. But once they recognized the old man, they scattered in every direction.
After all, everyone knew Dugu Bo was as unpredictable as the weather.
Dugu Bo scanned the area, then casually pointed at a student.
"You. Come here."
The student he pointed at froze, then looked at himself in disbelief.
"Me?"
The students who had been standing close to him immediately backed away and hurried off without looking back.
"Tell me, where has my granddaughter gone?"
Hearing Dugu Bo's authoritative voice, the student snapped out of his daze.
"Oh, oh, oh. I think Teacher Qin Ming took them out..."
"Mm, no wonder..."
Dugu Bo murmured. While flying overhead, he had been looking for Dugu Yan, but he hadn't found her, even after circling around twice.
"Where did they go?"
"Uh... well..."
The student stammered, unable to get the words out.
Seeing him like that, Dugu Bo didn't bother questioning him further and went straight to find the three members of the academic committee.
Meanwhile, Qin Ming had just brought the newly assembled Imperial Fighting Team to the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
After arriving at the registration desk, Qin Ming turned around and looked with satisfaction at the group of young men and women behind him.
"All right, I won't say more than I need to. Remember, this team is being prepared for the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Tournament. If you don't perform well, or if better students come along, you could be replaced at any time."
"Give it your best in the matches. As long as you win, sign up for the next one. Keep going until you lose."
His words made everyone exchange glances.
"Teacher, what about Lingling? She's a support-type Soul Master."
In the crowd, a charming young woman with light green hair held the hand of a cool, elegant young woman beside her and asked worriedly.
"She doesn't have to compete, because she's unlikely to be replaced."
Qin Ming's expression remained calm as he recalled their training days at Shrek Academy.
"Still, if anyone wants to team up with her for a doubles match, that's fine too."
After Qin Ming said this, the place fell silent for a moment. No one volunteered to team up with Ye Lingling for a doubles match.
Their reasoning was simple: a teammate who could fight was naturally more useful than a healing-type Soul Master who couldn't provide any combat support.
Besides, if they got injured, they could always receive treatment after the match.
After all, Qin Ming wouldn't dare leave them to fend for themselves.
Dugu Yan sighed, too. She wanted to stand on the winner's podium with her best friend, but she knew all too well what she was capable of.
As if sensing Dugu Yan's unease, Ye Lingling shook her head at her.
"It's fine..."
But before she could finish speaking, a powerful wave of Soul Power appeared not far from them.
"Grandpa?!"
Sunset Forest.
The three wandered through the forest until the next day, when they finally encountered their first Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
It was a Crimson Flame Demon Tiger with ten thousand years of cultivation.
The beast crouched in the middle of a charred clearing, flames surging around it. The vegetation within a hundred meters had been scorched to ash by the heat it gave off.
Judging by its aura, it had cultivated for at least fifteen thousand years, putting it right within Jiang Lin's desired range.
Jiang Lin crouched behind a distant boulder and watched for a while before looking away. "No."
Elder Chen and Tang Yuan didn't object. After all, a Soul Master had to absorb a Soul Ring that matched their attributes. That was common knowledge.
Jiang Lin stood and continued deeper into the forest.
Not long afterward, the three found their target in a canyon in the northwestern part of Sunset Forest: a Purple Lightning Mad Lion.
It lay on a massive boulder blackened by a lightning strike. Its purple mane stirred in the wind, and tiny arcs of electricity leaped between the strands. From a distance, it looked like a cold purple flame burning atop a stone platform.
Jiang Lin summoned the Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd almost instantly.
But he didn't rush to attack. After concentrating and sensing the beast's aura for a moment, he frowned.
"The age is wrong."
His voice was low, his disappointment restrained. "This one has cultivated for at most two thousand five hundred years. It hasn't even reached the threshold of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
The Purple Lightning Mad Lion was a powerful fighter. Even in an area dominated by Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, it could barely hold its own.
That was why Jiang Lin had included the Purple Lightning Mad Lion among his targets.
Elder Chen asked tentatively, "Should we... keep it in reserve?"
"No." Jiang Lin withdrew his halberd and gave the Purple Lightning Mad Lion one last look. "If the Soul Ring's age isn't high enough, I'd rather go without."
In the days that followed, the three turned the core region of Sunset Forest upside down.
During that time, they encountered an eighteen-thousand-year Bloodthirsty Demon Bear. Its blood fiend aura was so intense it seemed almost solid, but Jiang Lin needed only one glance to decide that a bear's blood fiend aura leaned too much toward berserk violence, while a Demon Ape's killing intent was purer.
They also came across a Dark Gold Evil Eye Bat that had only just passed the ten-thousand-year mark. Its third eye was a pure dark gold, but its age had only barely crossed ten thousand years, which Jiang Lin considered too low.
He felt that the limit for his fourth Soul Ring was probably around thirty thousand years.
Before you continue