Tang San stood rooted to the spot, his eyes filled with confusion.
Seeing how baffled Tang San looked, Lin Mo slowly began to explain:
"I looked into this a long time ago. To enter the Soul Hunting Forest, you need a permit issued by Spirit Hall, and the consequences of sneaking in are quite serious."
"I've also learned how things work at the academy. They generally test the students' Soul Power all together during the final exams at the end of each school year.
Only after the tests confirm that a student's Soul Power Level has reached a bottleneck can they enter the Soul Hunting Forest with the academy's teachers to obtain a Soul Ring."
If there hadn't been all these restrictions on entering low-level Soul Hunting Forests, he would have snuck in to hunt Soul Beasts during the month after his Martial Soul Awakening.
Innate Full Soul Power, combined with his Body Martial Soul across his entire body and the first stage of Inversion of Three—Qi-flesh Transformation—had pushed Lin Mo's combat strength to a formidable level.
As long as he didn't run into a Hundred-Year Soul Beast with a bloodline as powerful as the Titan Giant Ape's, Lin Mo was confident he could handle most Hundred-Year Soul Beasts!
Even if he couldn't kill one, he could absolutely protect himself.
Hearing Lin Mo's explanation, Wang Sheng nodded emphatically, his face full of agreement.
"Brother Mo is right. Our academy usually only organizes trips to the Soul Hunting Forest for Soul Rings at the end of the school year.
We only get this one chance each year."
"According to the teachers, the Soul Hunting Forest is too dangerous. Even with a teacher there to protect us, the risks are still enormous.
That's why we only go once a year!"
Wang Sheng chuckled sheepishly. "I'll be going into sixth grade this year, and I've already reached Level 9.
I have to break through that last level of Soul Power in the coming year, no matter what. Otherwise, it'll be even harder to obtain a Soul Ring after I graduate..."
The academy took an extremely cautious approach.
Even with academy teachers escorting them the entire way, they couldn't prevent every danger.
Students were injured in the Soul Hunting Forest every year.
That was why the academy strictly limited the number of Soul Hunting trips and always put safety first.
"If I miss this chance, I might have to wait a whole year to obtain my First Soul Ring...
Could you please tell Grandmaster for me? I absolutely won't hold you back. You've seen what I can do." Lin Mo added this with an especially earnest expression.
Tang San studied Lin Mo's sincere expression. After a moment of silence, he nodded lightly.
Then he added, "But whether it works out in the end still depends on what the teacher thinks."
"Sorry for the trouble," Lin Mo said, nodding slightly.
At that moment, Lin Mo felt a weight lift from his chest. The heavy stone in his heart had eased a little.
Good. As long as Tang San relayed his situation to Yu Xiaogang in full, there was a very good chance Yu Xiaogang would agree.
Yu Xiaogang was hailed as a master of Martial Soul Theory. Although most people used the title as an insult, he was genuinely obsessed with studying all kinds of Martial Souls.
To Yu Xiaogang, Lin Mo's unknown and unusual Martial Soul was an exceptionally rare specimen for research.
There was no way he would pass up such a ready-made example. Most likely, he would agree to let Lin Mo join them in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Lin Mo had no intention of joining the academy's group Soul Hunting Operation at the end of the school year.
The reason was simple.
When academy teachers took dozens of students into the Soul Hunting Forest, their guiding principle was always to play it safe.
Most of the students were obtaining their first Soul Rings. They were weak in cultivation and had little combat strength, so the teachers' top priority was ensuring everyone's safety.
They would never take the others deep into the Soul Hunting Forest and risk their lives just to help him obtain a higher-quality Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
The situation with Xiao Chenyu, the city lord's son, made this clear enough.
As the biological son of Notting City's lord, Xiao Chenyu came from a privileged family, had abundant resources, and enjoyed far greater backing than any of the academy's work-study students.
Yet even with all those advantages, his First Soul Ring was nothing more than the most ordinary Ten-Year Soul Ring.
If even Xiao Chenyu couldn't obtain a Hundred-Year Soul Ring on the academy's group Soul Hunting trip, then work-study students like them, with no connections at all, had even less hope of obtaining one on the year-end trip.
Once his thoughts had settled, Tang San prepared to head to the teachers' dormitory. But just before leaving, he suddenly stopped.
He hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze to Xiao Wu beside Lin Mo. His expression was conflicted. After deliberating for a long while, he asked:
"Xiao Wu, do you want to come along too? You have Innate Full Soul Power as well, don't you?"
"I'll pass..." Xiao Wu shook her head lightly, her long eyelashes lowering as her mood turned gloomy.
"My situation is different from Lin Mo's. I have my own way of obtaining my First Soul Ring... You don't need to worry about me."
"All right, then." Tang San didn't press her further. Without another moment's hesitation, he turned and hurried toward the teachers' dormitory.
Only after Tang San had disappeared from sight did Xiao Wu slowly raise her hand and tug lightly at Lin Mo's clothes. Her gaze was still lowered, and she looked especially downcast.
She asked softly, "Lin Mo, are Soul Rings really that important? Do Soul Beasts have to be hunted?"
Lin Mo fell silent for a moment. Seeing Xiao Wu's dejected expression, he ignored her instinctive attempt to stop him, raised his hand, and gently rubbed her head.
His voice was wholly sincere as he comforted her. "Hunting Soul Beasts for Soul Rings is a trial every Soul Master has to go through."
"Once they reach a bottleneck, Soul Masters have to absorb the Soul Rings produced by Soul Beasts to break through.
Since you chose to become a Soul Master, you have to learn to accept that."
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the teachers' dormitory at Notting Academy, the small room was simply furnished.
Yu Xiaogang sat at a wooden table, reading handwritten notes on Martial Soul Theory. Tang San's return surprised him.
After hearing why Tang San had come, Yu Xiaogang's usually calm eyes lit up, and his interest was immediately piqued.
Yu Xiaogang stood and paced back and forth in the cramped room, muttering to himself.
"There are actually two students with Innate Full Soul Power among this year's newcomers..."
"Lin Mo, who defeated Xiao Wu, the one with the rabbit Martial Soul, in a single move, used a strange Martial Soul that isn't in any of the records..."
Tang San sat quietly on a wooden stool nearby, careful not to disturb Yu Xiaogang as he pondered.
Before long, Yu Xiaogang abruptly stopped pacing and strode over to Tang San. A note of urgency entered his expression as he asked:
"Tell me in detail about his spar with Xiao Wu, and about the changes that occurred in his body."