Soul Hunting Forest

"Let me meet the Pope, but first I had to obtain my first Spirit Ring?"

Meeting the Pope had been within Wu Ling's expectations, but having to acquire his first Spirit Ring beforehand had caught him somewhat off guard.

"Was it because my Martial Soul was a Mutated Martial Soul? They wanted to see my Martial Soul's abilities and potential before making further plans. Still, that suited me just fine."

Having understood, Wu Ling looked up at the master of Nuoding City's Martial Soul Branch Hall and said, "Alright, sir. When are we going?"

The branch hall master smiled kindly and said warmly, "Ah, no need to call me sir. From the moment you joined Spirit Hall, we became family. If you don't mind, call me Uncle Liu. It's about time now, so let's have lunch before we go."

As he spoke, Uncle Liu, the master of the Martial Soul Branch Hall, could not help but envy Wu Ling. Even he did not have the qualifications to meet the Pope alone.

Moreover, the Pope had even dispatched Ghost Douluo, one of his right-hand men, for Wu Ling. One had to know that many members of the opposition who had vanished had met their ends at that lord's hands.

Of course, food could be eaten carelessly, but words could not be spoken carelessly. He was a staunch supporter of the current Pope, so he had to carry out Ghost Douluo's assignment—protecting Wu Ling while he obtained his first Spirit Ring—with utmost seriousness.

Especially since Wu Ling was a soul master with Innate Full Soul Power, building a good relationship with him early was clearly the right path.

Thus, under Uncle Liu's enthusiastic hospitality, Wu Ling enjoyed the best meal he had eaten in either of his lives so far.

Braised Bristle Pig, boiled Stone Fish, cold Ice Blue Fruit salad, stir-fried Unicorn Sheep...

After the ten-year Spirit Beasts came the centerpiece: spicy hundred-year Soft Bone Rabbit.

In Wu Ling's eyes, the preparation of these dishes was exceedingly crude, yet their flavors utterly crushed all the meals he had painstakingly made himself.

"So this was what Spirit Beasts tasted like. Truly delicious. Even prepared so crudely, they had an overwhelming advantage over ordinary food. If this were a gourmet anime, I'd be the protagonist arriving in a new region, ready to fight for the title of Gourmet King."

After lunch, Uncle Liu gave a few instructions before leading Wu Ling to the place where the Heaven Dou Empire raised Spirit Beasts—the Soul Hunting Forest.

That lush, flourishing forest was unmatched by any forest Wu Ling had seen in both his lives, although the total number of woods he had visited could be counted on fewer than ten fingers.

"If just a Soul Hunting Forest is like this, then what about the Star Dou Great Forest?"

After entering the Soul Hunting Forest, Wu Ling took a deep breath. A breath of nature surged straight to the crown of his head.

"The life energy here is so powerful!"

"No, no, it isn't life energy. Wu Ling, you should know that what you call life energy is actually Soul Power. The Soul Power in this forest is dense, which is why you, encountering it for the first time, feel this way. That is why this place can serve as the Heaven Dou Empire's Spirit Beast reserve.

And this is only a small place. When you visit the Star Dou Great Forest in the future, you'll be amazed by the concentration of Soul Power there as well."

After Uncle Liu finished explaining, Wu Ling nodded seriously. However, his attention had already been drawn to the various Spirit Beasts before him. This was the first time in both his lives that he had seen such creatures.

"Those are Garlic Beasts, and the ones over there are Ink Cats. These are all the most common Spirit Beasts. Once you join Spirit Hall and begin studying, you'll learn about them.

Our purpose here is to find a suitable Spirit Beast for your first Spirit Ring. Do you have any requirements?

Do you want to focus on offense or defense? Something that flies in the sky or swims in the water? These choices are all determined by your Martial Soul. Since your Martial Soul is a Mutated Martial Soul that has never appeared before, I'm not sure either. But as a soul master, you should be able to vaguely sense a certain direction."

Hearing Uncle Liu's explanation, Wu Ling summoned his Unregistered Spirit Origin Martial Soul.

"Uncle Liu, I feel like my first Spirit Ring... might have something to do with a kind of swallow."

"A kind of swallow? You're that certain?" Uncle Liu frowned, sensing that things were not so simple.

The direction he had mentioned was really just a person's subconscious choice. For instance, if one's Martial Soul was a hammer, blade, axe, or something similar, one would naturally choose a Spirit Beast focused on offense. If it were a beast-type Martial Soul, one would directly choose a Spirit Beast of the same race as one's Martial Soul.

In his view, Wu Ling's Martial Soul had mutated from some kind of plate, so it ought to lean toward support. Yet Wu Ling had immediately chosen a swallow, something more suited to an agility-attack or flying beast Martial Soul. It truly left him doubtful and confused.

"Could it be a Martial Soul focused on speed?"

Since Uncle Liu had no leads from the beginning, although the requirement of a swallow was suspicious, he still took it to heart.

But how could Uncle Liu know that Wu Ling's Martial Soul had no particular focus? Wu Ling did not care what kind of Spirit Beast it was. All he cared about was that Spirit Beast's compatibility.

"Since I can currently only choose between one-star and two-star options, those low-star Servants are my targets.

That one-star Archer and two-star Caster are both powerful, but one costs too much life, while the other costs too much of his teammates' lives, so I won't consider them for now.

As for the others, there really isn't anything whose compatibility could be found among animals. But there is one who not only has a deep connection, but is also incredibly nice in terms of strength."

"That Sharp-beaked Sparrow is quite good, but unfortunately it's only ten years old. For you, Wu Ling, your first one should be a hundred-year Spirit Ring."

Uncle Liu's words interrupted Wu Ling's thoughts. Following Uncle Liu's gaze, he saw a bird with brown feathers all over and a conical beak perched on a tree ten paces away, tilting its head as it watched Wu Ling and Uncle Liu.

Retracting his gaze, Wu Ling silently nodded. "Yes, I hope my first Spirit Ring can be a hundred-year one."

Although a ten-year one would work, since there was an enhancement, a hundred-year one would be better. Wu Ling was not worried about "drawing" another Heroic Spirit either. After all, the other Heroic Spirit related to swallows was a five-star that required at least a hundred thousand years.

The time spent searching for Spirit Beasts always passed quickly. The sun gradually began to sink westward, yet Wu Ling still had not found a Spirit Beast that caught his eye.

By now, Uncle Liu had revealed his Martial Soul. It was an Evergreen Willow Tree, and his Spirit Rings were white, yellow, purple, purple, purple.

Uncle Liu was extremely frustrated. Wu Ling was simply too picky. Sometimes, the age and species were clearly suitable, but Wu Ling would still refuse. The reason was actually that they were too ugly and had not caught his eye!

"Wu Ling, it's getting dark. You've been walking all day and should get some rest. Let's head back now. We can come again tomorrow."

Seeing this, Wu Ling nodded with some regret. "Alright, then we'll come back tomorrow."

But just as Wu Ling's words fell, a rustling crawl drew both their attention.

In the distance, a green figure appeared before them.

Upon seeing it, Uncle Liu called out its name. "Oh, a nearly four-hundred-year Mandala Snake."

As the distance closed, Wu Ling and Uncle Liu also spotted the creature being chased by the Mandala Snake.

"A Taillow, and it's five hundred years old."

At that moment, the snake and swallow were less than a hundred meters away from meeting the two of them. Uncle Liu was about to make his move, but just before he did, Wu Ling reached out and tugged at him.

"Uncle Liu, don't kill those two Spirit Beasts. I think my first Spirit Ring has found its target."