Flender swallowed, his eyes burning as he looked at Lin Mo.
Under Flender's gaze, Lin Mo felt a shiver run down his spine and instinctively shrank back. "Dean, what's wrong?
"Are you unhappy with how I did?"
"Happy, happy. Very happy." Flender nodded like a pecking chicken.
But he quickly shifted his gaze to the Great Strength Gorilla that had already escaped. "Still, we'll have to make a slight change to our plan.
"Judging by the strength you just showed, a Soul Beast like the Great Strength Gorilla would be an insult to your talent if we used it for your Soul Ring!"
The Great Strength Gorilla had nearly eight hundred years of cultivation. In Soul Master terms, that put it at the level of a twentieth-level Soul Grandmaster.
Moreover, it was a Soul Beast exceptionally skilled in strength. In sheer power, it was in no way inferior to an ordinary Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Yet Lin Mo had crushed it so thoroughly in a contest of strength, even grievously wounding it in a single exchange.
To Flender, this was something he had never heard of in his life.
Now, even if a thousand-year Great Strength Gorilla were right in front of them, Flender still wouldn't want it to become Lin Mo's Soul Ring.
Its quality was too poor. It couldn't measure up to Lin Mo's talent.
This only strengthened Flender's resolve. This time, he would find Lin Mo a top-quality Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring.
With that in mind, Flender patted Lin Mo on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Lin Mo, we may have to spend some extra time in the Star Dou Great Forest, looking for better Soul Beasts for you.
"A Soul Beast of the Great Strength Gorilla's quality? Let's cross it off the list. It's not worthy of you!"
At Flender's words, Lin Mo glanced at him, slightly surprised, and reflected, So sometimes, not hiding my abilities is actually a good thing.
Otherwise, the "best Soul Ring" Flender had promised might have been only a little better than the Great Strength Gorilla.
"Then I'm grateful, Dean." Lin Mo nodded slightly.
"Come on. Let's go farther in."
Flender checked their direction. "The Great Strength Gorilla's territory is still near the outskirts. The real good stuff is hidden deeper inside."
Lin Mo answered and followed close behind.
The two traveled through the forest, one behind the other.
After their encounter with the Great Strength Gorilla, Flender spent more than a week wandering around the Star Dou Great Forest with Lin Mo.
During that time, they came across several thousand-year Soul Beasts that Flender felt were a good match for Lin Mo.
But Flender only marked their territories and locations, leaving some marks on them so they could track them later if needed.
Flender wasn't in a hurry to take Lin Mo out to hunt a Soul Beast and obtain a Soul Ring.
His reason was the same as it had been when they encountered the Great Strength Baboon: these Soul Beasts would do, but they weren't the best.
Over the course of that week or so, Flender took Lin Mo through quite a few places.
Flender also jotted down the locations and traits of the Soul Beasts he considered barely acceptable in a little notebook.
"These are all backup options for the backups."
Flender tucked the notebook into his coat. "If we really can't find anything better, we'll have to choose one from this list.
"But I don't think our luck is that bad."
As Lin Mo followed Flender through the Star Dou Great Forest, branches snagged his clothes until they were in tatters.
But Suzuki himself didn't mind. If anything, he grew more and more excited.
The pickier Flender was, the better their chances of finding a good Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Lin Mo hadn't spent that week doing nothing, either.
Whenever they came across a thousand-year Soul Beast, Lin Mo carefully observed its habits and fighting style, committing each detail to memory.
Who knew when those experiences might come in handy?
Flender was observing Lin Mo, too.
After a week or so in a place like the Star Dou Great Forest, any other Soul Master just over level twenty would have been complaining nonstop.
But Lin Mo had remained calm throughout and had never once grumbled.
This only strengthened Flender's resolve.
But one morning, just as Flender was about to lead Lin Mo around a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast fighting nearby, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The little eyes behind his dark lenses sharpened. He peered into the distance, his expression turning grave as he muttered to himself:
"I thought all that commotion was being made by two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. I didn't expect one of them to have only a thousand years of cultivation."
The sounds of battle from afar were incredibly fierce. Just hearing them was enough to imagine how intense the fight must be.
Lin Mo stopped, too, and followed Flender's gaze into the distance.
As he watched, Flender explained to Lin Mo, "The Ghost Tiger's bloodline isn't particularly powerful among Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, but it's certainly not weak.
"Even if it's in poor condition, it shouldn't be going toe-to-toe with a Soul Beast that's only just entered the thousand-year range."
At those words, Lin Mo's heart stirred.
In the distance, the Soul Beast fighting the Ghost Tiger finally emerged from the trees.
It was a bear-type Soul Beast, shockingly large, with dark fur covering its body. Its arms were long and hung below its knees.
Its forearms were knotted with muscle, but the most terrifying thing about it was its pair of claws.
But as Flender spoke, a hint of confusion crept into his voice.
The thousand-year Soul Beast fighting the Ghost Tiger looked more and more familiar to him.
At that, Flender squeezed his eyes shut and began tapping his skull over and over. Before long, he remembered where he'd heard of it.
"Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!"
Flender's eyes flew open. He turned around, placed both hands on Lin Mo's shoulders, and said with great excitement:
"I remember where I heard about this Soul Beast. Old Zhao told me.
"Old Zhao—that is, Zhao Wuji—is also a teacher at Shrek Academy. His Martial Soul is the Great Strength Vajra Bear, and he's a Seven-Ring Soul Sage."
Lin Mo nodded, motioning for Flender to continue.
Flender lowered his voice. "Old Zhao once told me that the Star Dou Great Forest is home to a super Soul Beast called the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, famed as the Earth Ripper.
"Generally speaking, Soul Beasts have specialties, such as speed, attack, or defense.
"But the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear is a rare oddity among Soul Beasts. It excels at both attack and defense.
"Its body is covered in dark gold fur that gives it exceptional defensive power, while its terrifying claws possess equally fearsome offensive power."
Flender's voice was very low, but he could hardly hide the excitement in his tone.