Now that he had another way to obtain Locke Berries, he might be able to catch every Soul Beast in the Beast Fighting Zone within this semester.
As for how many medicinal herbs and ores could be exchanged for one Locke Berry, Song Mu decided to head out to Shrek City and buy some now, then try selling them in the Mall. He didn't have any of those items in his Storage Soul Guidance Device.
After another trip to Shrek City, he had his answer.
After testing, the exchange rate between Locke Berries and Gold Soul Coins was roughly one to ten. In other words, medicinal herbs worth ten Gold Soul Coins could be sold for one Locke Berry.
He had a little over 1.5 million Gold Soul Coins on him, enough to exchange for 150,000 Locke Berries. Exchanging them all would take about 150 days.
Now that the Freshman Assessment was over, there were still more than 240 days until Shrek Academy's holiday. If he made use of every single day, he could exchange for 240,000 Locke Berries.
Even if he exchanged all those Locke Berries for Gulu Balls, he could only buy twenty-four Advanced Gulu Balls.
But that was enough. Although Shrek's Beast Fighting Zone had Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, there weren't many—fewer than twenty.
He was still short on Gold Soul Coins, though, so Song Mu decided to write to Brother Chen and borrow some.
He didn't plan to use the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Red Card to buy on credit. It was best to avoid using that credit function whenever possible.
For the next eight months, Song Mu's daily routine was going to class, catching Soul Beasts, eating, and sleeping, over and over.
Eight months later.
Inside the Beast Fighting Zone, Song Mu flung his last Advanced Gulu Ball. It struck the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast below, which Elder Gong had sealed with Soul Power.
The instant the Gulu Ball hit, the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was sucked inside. The ball flew into the air and wobbled before tiny flecks of light burst out, signifying a successful capture.
Song Mu caught the returning Gulu Ball but didn't put it back into his Martial Soul. Instead, he selected the option to release the Soul Beast in his panel.
A streak of light shot out of the Advanced Gulu Ball. Below, where the Soul Beast had been captured, another identical Soul Beast appeared.
"Kid Song, how is it? Can you raise your Light Goddess Butterfly to the Soul Emperor level now?" Elder Gong asked excitedly from the side.
For the past eight months, Elder Gong had kept Song Mu company, and together they had nearly caught every Soul Beast in the Beast Fighting Zone. The growth rate of Song Mu's Soul Beast had also surpassed his imagination.
It had started out with a cultivation level below Soul Elder, but now it was at the peak of Soul King. The speed was simply unbelievable!
Song Mu closed his eyes and manipulated his Martial Soul panel in the Sea of Spirit. Then he opened them and said, "Elder Gong, she's reached level sixty!"
Feeling that Wang Dong'er had successfully reached level sixty, Song Mu was just as thrilled. After all, reaching level sixty meant he had completed that special mission.
The special mission had been to raise a Soul Beast's level. Its special reward was a Skill Stone: the light-type skill, Refraction!
"Hahaha! Well done, kid. Your Martial Soul is truly terrifying!" Elder Gong clapped Song Mu on the shoulder with a sigh.
Then he continued, "All right, there aren't any Soul Beasts left in my Beast Fighting Zone for you to catch. But you'd better come visit me often from now on, kid. Keep an old man company and have a chat."
"I will, for sure!" Song Mu replied.
"All right, off you go. I won't keep you."
Song Mu bowed to Elder Gong, then prepared to go back and inspect the Skill Stone called Refraction.
After leaving the Beast Fighting Zone, Song Mu returned to his dormitory, climbed onto his bed, and sat down.
As soon as Song Mu sat down, a streak of light flew out from his body and landed on the floor, taking the form of a young woman with pale blue hair: Wang Dong'er.
After appearing, Wang Dong'er first felt out her powerful strength, then sighed with emotion. "Song Mu, I'm so strong now!"
Then she grinned at Song Mu, a mischievous idea coming to mind. She patted her chest and said, "Little Song, serve me well from now on, and I'll protect you."
Looking at her smug expression, Song Mu gave her a knowing smile. "Oh, really?"
Wang Dong'er was just about to reply when, in the next second, she found herself walking toward Song Mu without control of her body.
Song Mu stretched out his leg. "Oof, I've been walking all day, and my legs are sore. Miss Dong'er, could you give them a massage?"
Wang Dong'er had already crouched down in front of him. She reached out her long, fair hands and gently kneaded his leg. But judging by her fierce expression, it was clear she wasn't doing it willingly.
After teasing Wang Dong'er a little, Song Mu released his control over her. But even after he let go, Wang Dong'er continued massaging him.
"Miss Dong'er, have you gotten hooked on giving me massages?"
Wang Dong'er immediately stopped and stood up. "Hmph! I give you a massage, and you still complain? I'm done serving you!"
Song Mu smiled at that and didn't pursue the topic. Instead, he took out a blue stone tablet and waved it in front of Wang Dong'er. "Refraction. Want to learn it?"
Hearing the name Refraction, Wang Dong'er immediately became interested. Song Mu had told her long ago that this Refraction skill was the sole special reward for the mission to raise her level—and a light-type skill she could learn.
"I do! What does it do?" Wang Dong'er asked.
Song Mu summoned his Panel Martial Soul and checked the skill's description.
"Let's see—holy—!" After reading the full description, Song Mu let out a shocked exclamation.
Seeing Song Mu's astonished expression, Wang Dong'er was curious too. She hurried over and leaned in to look at the panel.
Refraction, a light-type skill. Deals damage. Special effect: after successfully hitting a target, the user gains a buff and the target receives a debuff, based on the number and attributes of the user's skills.
Each skill can increase the buff or debuff by ten percent. Different attributes provide different special effects.
After reading the description, Wang Dong'er was still a little confused. "What's the big deal? Why do you look so surprised?"
Song Mu collected himself, then explained, "This skill is absolutely terrifying!
"Let me give you an example. With your current Soul Emperor cultivation, you can attach six Soul Rings. Suppose one of them has a light-type skill, and you attach the rest of your Soul Rings as well. Then, when your Refraction skill hits an enemy, it'll give you a sixty-percent boost to elemental attack damage."
"If some of them are lightning, wood, fire, ice, and so on, then one hit with your Refraction skill will boost your own elemental attack, speed, and life recovery by sixty percent, while inflicting six stacks of burn and freeze on the enemy."
Before you continue