Entering the Star Dou Again

After fighting three Soul Ancestors, Wu Ling reflected on the gains and losses from this battle, then returned to his room without the slightest ripple in his heart.

"Truly impressive, Wu Ling. As a Soul Grandmaster, you easily defeated three Soul Ancestors in a one-against-three battle, yet you remain neither arrogant nor impatient." Yue Guan, who had been waiting in the courtyard for quite some time while drinking chrysanthemum tea he had grown himself, smiled as he praised Wu Ling upon seeing him return.

"You flatter me, Grandpa Yue. They were merely three relatively weak Soul Ancestors. Any somewhat stronger Soul Ancestor could have done the same." Wu Ling smiled.

Wu Ling stepped forward, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a small sip.

"Ha~ Grandpa Yue's tea is still as delicious as ever."

Hearing Wu Ling's praise, Yue Guan gave a charming smile.

"You, not only are you handsome, but your mouth is especially sweet. If you want to drink it, have more. I'll leave you a box later."

"But Wu Ling, there's no need for you to be so modest. In just a year and a half, you cultivated from level twenty-three to level thirty, and your combat ability hasn't fallen behind in the slightest. You're not someone ordinary Soul Ancestors can compare to."

"And ever since you went to train with them, those four fellows—Ghost Leopard, Snake Lance, Demon Bear, and Pufferfish—have been praising you before the Pope every day. If His Holiness the Pope hadn't already taken you as his disciple, those four would have fought over you."

"Even without a third Spirit Ring, you can defeat three Soul Ancestors. Once you obtain your third Spirit Ring, ordinary Soul Kings probably won't be your match either."

"By the way, you've been at level thirty for a week already, haven't you? Have you decided what kind of Spirit Beast you want this time?"

When disciples from sects and aristocratic families chose Spirit Rings, their first few rings were generally fixed, because they were the results tested by countless ancestors of their families and were the Spirit Rings most suited to their family's Martial Souls.

For disciples of major powers like Wu Ling, their elders or teachers generally helped them choose as well, since they had lived longer, seen more, and possessed richer experience.

But in Wu Ling's case, he was allowed to choose for himself. His Martial Soul was simply too special, and the excellence of his first and second Spirit Skills had also proven his judgment.

Wu Ling pondered for a while before saying, "My third Spirit Ring? I've mostly thought it through these past few days. For my third Spirit Ring, I want a Spirit Beast capable of controlling multiple elements."

"A Spirit Beast like an Elemental Spirit Cat, which controls the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, would be suitable. But an ordinary Elemental Spirit Cat alone can't meet my needs. At the very least, it would need to be something like a Cat King."

"Multiple elements? Could it be that you want to summon someone related to the elements? Indeed, in one-on-one battles, few low-level soul masters can defeat you. What you lack now are wide-range attack skills or restraining skills."

"But are you planning to switch from an agility attack-type soul master to a control-type soul master? You control them yourself, then rush over and slash them yourself. Let's call it an agility attack control type."

"Goddamn agility attack control type." Wu Ling suppressed the urge to complain, took another sip of tea, and began explaining.

"Grandpa Yue, compared to control, what I value more is their research and support abilities."

"Research and support? I know about support-type soul masters, but were there research-type soul masters in the past?"

Wu Ling shook his head. Just as he was about to continue explaining, he suddenly glanced behind him.

"It's fine. Little Ghost is back. Go on."

Thanks to Xiao Lan's Sage-like way of thinking, through his efforts, Wu Ling's Mind's Eye, Transparency, and Comprehensive Insights had all reached C rank. While possessed, they could even reach C+. That was also how he had noticed someone entering.

After learning that Gui Mei had returned, Wu Ling continued, "The support ability is simple. It's because of my sword and Xiao Hong."

"My sword is part of my first Spirit Skill. It is roughly equivalent to a subsidiary Martial Soul that cannot have Spirit Rings added to it."

"Moreover, since my first Spirit Ring is only a hundred-year ring, its strength is already close to being unable to keep up with my abilities."

"While fighting that person with the mantis Martial Soul among the three Soul Ancestors just now, I could feel my sword trembling slightly. If it took another person's staff strike, cracks would probably appear."

"So, it is crucial that the person summoned by my third Spirit Skill can enchant my sword."

"The second matter is Xiao Hong. Xiao Hong focuses on the physical body, but no matter how strong my body is now, it has only just reached the level of a Soul Ancestor. If I can't display my advantage in ordinary battles, I'll definitely suffer."

"So that person's support ability must not only enchant my sword, but also enchant Xiao Hong."

"As for research ability, simply put, it means ordinary research—researching things like the difference between Soul Power and magic power."

"Magic power? Enchantment?" Although Yue Guan and Gui Mei did not recognize those two terms, they could more or less guess what they meant, knowing the details of Wu Ling's Martial Soul.

"Here, Wu Ling. This is the map you wanted."

Only after Wu Ling finished speaking did Gui Mei emerge from the shadows of the courtyard and place a map on the table before him.

This map was a map of the Star Dou Great Forest. It marked the distribution of Spirit Beasts throughout most of the outer region, part of the middle region, and a small portion of the inner region.

The entire map had been explored step by step by countless predecessors of Spirit Hall, while the Spirit Beasts marked upon it had been revised and supplemented by generation after generation.

Although the distribution of Spirit Beasts could not be one hundred percent accurate for various reasons, information from within the last three years was still quite reliable. Especially beyond the middle region, every Spirit Beast that could be marked on the map represented one that possessed its own territory. Such Spirit Beasts were generally powerful and would not undergo any drastic changes.

"Alright, thank you, Grandpa Ghost."

After thanking him, Wu Ling unfolded the map and began carefully examining the edge of the middle region.

"Let's see... a thousand-year Mystic Underworld Turtle, a ten-thousand-year Tusk Wild Boar, a thousand-year Silver Lion, a thousand-year Puppet Vine..."

Before long, Wu Ling had marked out three locations.

"Grandpa Ghost, Grandpa Yue, I've decided. These three locations happen to form a line. At least one of the three should still be there, right?"

Yue Guan took the map and looked at the locations Wu Ling had indicated. "A thousand-year Elemental Spirit Cat, a thousand-year Elemental Vine, and a thousand-year Silver Wolf? They are indeed all multi-element Spirit Beasts, and with your physical condition, you can handle all of them."

"Have you decided when to go? This time, Little Ghost will still accompany you into the middle region. He'll need to prepare in advance."

"Alright, thank you, Grandpa Ghost. Then tomorrow night. I also need to make some preparations during the day."

After Gui Mei nodded, Wu Ling's plan of action was settled.

The following night, Wu Ling's second journey into the Star Dou Great Forest—began!