Return to Soul Hunting Forest

"Is the target a fox this time?"

"If we can't find a rabbit."

Hearing the conversation between the Nuoding Dean and Jiang Jiu, Xiao Wu blinked.

If Jiang Jiu wanted a Charm soul skill, then she would naturally recommend all sorts of foxes with great enthusiasm.

It wasn't just leopards; foxes ate rabbits too.

Hmm, now that I think about it, there are just too many things that can eat us Soft Bone Rabbits!

Still, being able to fill up all of Jiang Jiu's soul rings was a good thing.

After entering the Soul Hunting Forest, the group's originally relaxed atmosphere shifted, and they began to grow vigilant.

However, because they had been here several times already, their mindset was much more relaxed than before.

This was his third time in the Soul Hunting Forest, and Jiang Jiu was no longer completely in the dark. Since entering, he could name every soul beast he encountered and discern its cultivation level.

Teacher Xiao Wu was great; that went without saying.

Therefore, when it came to choosing a soul skill, Jiang Jiu generously replicated Xiao Wu's playstyle.

Charm was inherently a decent control-type soul skill. The brief moment of dazedness it inflicted on an enemy was enough for Xiao Wu and Jiang Jiu to finish them off with a burst of damage, though with their current physiques, they could crush opponents of the same rank even without it.

On the other hand, Jiang Jiu also valued the mental attributes of the Charm skill.

He was on the receiving end of Xiao Wu's Charm every day, and he thought about tempering his mental power. Since Xiao Wu used Charm daily, couldn't he ponder the application of mental power?

If one day he could use the "Charm" technique through his own mental power alone, without relying on a soul ring, then he would have succeeded.

In a sense, "Charm" was a shortcut to exploring the application of mental power.

He couldn't figure it out at the second or third ring, but once his soul power and mental power were higher, he could delve into it. Having a Charm soul skill and using it frequently would surely give him a better understanding of the existence and operation of mental power than others.

Jiang Nannan's gravity control was good, but mental power was the fundamental stat; the trinity of soul power, mental power, and physique was the correct way to fight.

As for whether using Charm felt awkward, it was actually fine.

Charm was just the name of the skill. Based on the feedback from Jiang Jiu being on the receiving end, he simply felt stunned; it didn't make people look like lecherous fools, let alone cause strange hallucinations or associations.

As for his eyes turning pink, that was just the color of the light that appeared when Jiang Jiu activated his martial soul—it was just a "tough guy" color.

"Let's stop here for today."

Jiang Jiu was looking for a fox-type soul beast between four hundred and seven hundred years old. The range was much narrower than his first soul ring choice, so there was no doubt this hunt would be a war of attrition.

That was why Jiang Jiu and the others had brought tents this time, and Tang San's storage soul tool was packed with enough food.

Marveling once again at the convenience of the storage soul tool, Jiang Jiu began helping to set up the tents.

As for laying down snake-repellent powder, that was naturally Tang San's job. With three years of savings, the powder Tang San concocted himself was far more effective than what the Nuoding Dean used.

At night, the two adults, the Nuoding Dean and Yu Xiaogang, took turns keeping watch, while Jiang Jiu and the others slept in the tents.

"How much time has passed, and we're about to have three Great Soul Masters? They really are genuine little monsters." The Nuoding Dean felt as if it were only yesterday that the little guy Jiang Jiu had blocked his path; in the blink of an eye, he was already at level twenty. What would it be like by the time he graduated?

"They truly have extraordinary talent, and they are quite mature as well."

Yu Xiaogang wasn't in a rush to rest, so he chatted with the Nuoding Dean for a while.

"Mature... yes. Xiaogang, did you notice the drawing in Jiang Jiu's hand? That handwriting was clearly written by that little girl. The three of them each have their own strengths."

"Sometimes I wonder, what was I doing when I was nine? Such desperate talent, and they work so hard. They're only nine years old."

Yu Xiaogang fell silent, his heart filled with mixed emotions—darkness, struggle, and things he could not speak of to the outside world.

"Xiaogang, what are your expectations for them?" Suddenly, the Nuoding Dean turned to look directly at Yu Xiaogang.

"I naturally hope for them to do well."

"Is that so? I quite like that kid, Jiang Jiu."

"He is now Tang San's sworn brother."

"Is that so? Sigh."

With a sigh, everything returned to silence.

After several more days of searching, the time spent in the Soul Hunting Forest had already exceeded the sum of the previous two trips.

It wasn't that they hadn't encountered fox-type soul beasts during this time, but they were either too low in age or had already reached the thousand-year threshold.

What to do if they encountered a thousand-year fox?

Run, of course. What else, fight it?

Not to mention whether the Nuoding Dean, a tool-soul master, could defeat a thousand-year soul beast, even if they could win by working together, Jiang Jiu wouldn't dare risk absorbing it.

Who knew what kind of physical strength was required to absorb a soul ring? What if it required meridian strength? That would be a tragic way to die.

Jiang Jiu couldn't be sure if his growth in strength also strengthened his meridians.

Until he could quantify the age of the soul ring he could absorb, Jiang Jiu wouldn't mess around. The optimal soul ring ratio, excluding the ninth black ring, was more than enough.

"To think we'd run into such a rare thousand-year soul beast..." Yu Xiaogang panted.

"There aren't many thousand-year soul beasts in this Soul Hunting Forest to begin with; it looks like we've ventured quite deep."

Nuoding Dean's attention, however, was fixed on Jiang Jiu and the other two.

Not a single one of them is simple.

Even while fleeing, the three of them weren't even flushed or out of breath, completely putting Yu Xiaogang, a level 29 Great Soul Master, to shame.

Jiang Jiu's legendary morning runs weren't just empty boasts; judging by his performance just now, he hadn't even exerted much effort. Nuoding Dean had the sinking feeling that even he couldn't outrun the boy.

"Xiao Jiu, I think your soul ring might be sorted," Xiao Wu, who had been deep in thought, suddenly spoke up.

"You found something?" So Teacher Xiao Wu was holding out on us.

"Xiao Jiu, did you recognize the species of that thousand-year fox from just now?"

"A Three-Eyed Fox, one just over a thousand years old." This Three-Eyed Fox was on Jiang Jiu's soul-hunting list; if he absorbed its soul ring, there was a high probability of obtaining a Charm soul skill.

"Correct, but that wasn't just any simple Three-Eyed Fox, or rather, what's behind it isn't simple."

"Not simple?"

Yu Xiaogang and the others looked over as well.

"Mm, I don't think it's the boss of this territory; the boss is someone else," Xiao Wu said, sharing her hypothesis.

Though she called it a hypothesis, she was becoming increasingly certain.

"You mean the soul beast I need to find for my soul ring is the boss of that thousand-year soul beast?" Jiang Jiu parsed Xiao Wu's logic.

"Exactly!"

Jiang Jiu thought for a moment, and something clicked.

"A Three-Eyed Demon Fox?"

"Right, that is the most suitable soul beast for you, Xiao Jiu. It's a spirit-attribute soul beast, and because of the unique ecology between the Three-Eyed Demon Fox and the Three-Eyed Fox, it's nine times out of ten going to meet your requirements for the age limit."