"Mm!"
Su Luoheng nodded emphatically, unable to suppress the excitement on his young face.
"Junran, be careful with our son on the way."
"Don't worry."
"..."
Although she knew there would be no difficulty in obtaining his First Soul Ring, she still couldn't help reminding the father and son to be careful. She checked that they had packed enough food and supplies, and only turned back after seeing them out through the city gate.
Su Junran patiently answered her over and over without the slightest impatience.
Chapter 7: The First Battle in the Soul Beast Forest
Ten kilometers outside Maple Leaf City lay a Soul Beast Forest.
If nothing unexpected happened, Su Luoheng would obtain his First Soul Ring there.
Ten thousand years ago, during Spirit Hall's era, Spirit Hall had worked with the empire to establish many Soul Hunting forests across the continent, making it easier for low-level Soul Masters to hunt Soul Beasts. Some even contained powerful Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
Maple Leaf Forest was one of them.
After Spirit Hall was overthrown, the Soul Hunting forests came under the state's direct control.
But the empire didn't have enough Soul Masters to maintain them, and before long, the Soul Beast population in the neglected forests had dwindled.
By now, they had been all but abandoned.
Forget Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts; even Soul Beasts that had lived for a thousand years were rarely seen there anymore.
But this made little difference to Su Luoheng, who only needed a Hundred-Year Soul Beast for his First Soul Ring. And because the Soul Beasts in this forest weren't particularly strong overall, this trip would also serve as a test of the training he'd undergone over the past year, in addition to his hunt for a Soul Ring.
Unless something unexpected happened, once they entered the forest, everything would depend on Su Luoheng.
Unless he encountered a Soul Beast he couldn't handle, Su Junran wouldn't step in to help.
Two days later, Maple Leaf Forest.
The forest before them was lush and verdant, with trees thickly branched and dense canopies blocking out the sun. It was dark and overgrown; the sunlight couldn't penetrate the foliage, leaving the whole world dim and damp, oppressive to the senses.
A breeze swept by, rustling through the trees.
"Luo Heng, do you remember everything I told you on the way?"
"Mm."
After a final word of advice, Su Junran's figure flashed and vanished.
A flicker of envy passed through young Luo Heng's eyes. He wondered when he would be able to move like his father.
But he quickly collected himself. Light glimmered at his fingertips, and in the next moment, a short sword-shaped melee Soul Tool appeared in his hand. Its blade was about half a meter long and a pale red all over.
Of course, one needed a weapon suited to the task when fighting Soul Beasts.
Using the weapon was also part of this trial.
He often used this Level Two Soul Tool in training. Like Su Luoheng, this was its first real battle.
It was more than enough to deal with a Hundred-Year Soul Beast.
"Phew..."
Gripping the short sword, Su Luoheng walked slowly into the dense forest.
The Soul Beast Forest looked peaceful on the surface, but his keen senses detected danger lurking beneath. This forest was far less tranquil than it seemed.
As he ventured deeper, the air grew fresher.
It was his first time entering a Soul Beast Forest. After a brief moment of nervousness, Su Luoheng's excitement began to rise.
After a full year of systematic training and waiting,
the time had finally come to test his training and hunt for a Soul Ring.
At the thought, his blood surged, and his eyes burned with anticipation.
Caught up in his excitement, he quickened his pace and tightened his grip on the short sword, eager to cross blades with a Soul Beast, obtain his First Soul Ring, and become a true Soul Master.
Before long, Su Luoheng spotted his first Soul Beast: a Wind Bell Bird that had lived for about thirty years.
But before the eager young Luo Heng could make a move, the wary Wind Bell Bird flew off into the distance.
His first attempt at a preemptive strike ended in failure.
But Soul Beasts were the one thing the forest had in abundance.
Taking the failed attempt against the Wind Bell Bird as a lesson, he began to conceal his presence.
Soon, Su Luoheng spotted other Soul Beasts.
But the Soul Beasts on the outskirts were all too weak. He could take them down with a single strike, which wouldn't test his strength at all.
As he continued deeper into the forest, it grew increasingly quiet.
It was so quiet that he could barely hear a sound—not even insects chirping or birds calling.
Su Luoheng's expression grew more solemn. In the forest, silence meant danger.
If anything made a sound, it would have to be a powerful Soul Beast.
Su Luoheng wanted to find a suitable opponent, but until he knew what he was dealing with, he still had to put his own safety first.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Narrowing his eyes, he spotted a Soul Beast a hundred meters ahead!
It had a lean build and was about a meter long. A faint purple glow emanated from the leopard as it hunted. The moment Su Luoheng spotted it, it spotted him too. A bloodthirsty glint flashed in its dark purple eyes.
"Shadow Leopard."
Su Luoheng was no longer the naïve boy he'd been when he first awakened his Martial Soul.
Over the past year, he'd picked up plenty of experience from his old man, especially when it came to identifying Soul Beasts.
Shadow Leopards were extremely fast, making them among the more troublesome Soul Beasts in the forest.
Their age was determined by their body length and the depth of their Shadow Markings. The Shadow Leopard before Su Luoheng was a meter long, with only a faint purple sheen across its body. It was probably around sixty years old.
Just the right opponent for him.
Su Luoheng tightened his grip on the short sword, his gaze burning with intensity.
He was going to kill this leopard, no question!
The Shadow Leopard saw him as prey, but wasn't he treating it as a whetstone, too?
Su Luoheng didn't rush into battle. Instead, he stood where he was and waited.
The Shadow Leopard wasn't very strong, but it was incredibly fast. If he wanted to kill it, he had to wait for the right moment. A reckless attack would only waste his energy and let the beast dictate the pace.
"Roar!"
The Shadow Leopard was still under a hundred years old, so it hadn't developed any real intelligence.
Seeing that the human across from it wasn't attacking, its bloodthirsty instincts became impossible to restrain.
The Shadow Leopard growled and dug its claws into the ground. It sprang forward in a flash of purple, pouncing on Su Luoheng in the blink of an eye.
Su Luoheng reacted quickly.
His muscles tensed as he gripped the sword hilt with both hands and held it in front of himself to block the Shadow Leopard's claws. But the tremendous force behind the attack still drove him several steps back before he regained his footing.
Seizing the opening, the Shadow Leopard pounced again.
This time it moved even faster. Soul Power coated its shadowy claws, and their glinting tips shot straight for Su Luoheng's face.
He knew what the Shadow Leopard could do, but its actual speed still caught him by surprise.
But Su Luoheng moved even faster.
With a shift of his feet, he easily dodged the Shadow Leopard's sharp claws. Then he bent his knee and snapped out a side kick, catching the leopard hard in the belly. The powerful impact sent it crashing into a tree trunk with a bang.
"Roar—"
The injured Shadow Leopard let out a furious howl.
But before it could attack again, Su Luoheng was already poised to strike.
As he poured in his Soul Power, the dark red blade blazed with light. He swung down at his target, sending out a crescent-shaped blade of light.
With a dull bang, the roar cut off mid-howl. The Soul Power coating the blade of light erupted, and the Shadow Leopard's corpse burst into a spray of blood that rained down with chunks of flesh.
A pure white Soul Ring rose above the scattered remains.
The light on the short sword slowly faded. Su Luoheng's first real battle had ended in a complete victory.
The Shadow Leopard hadn't been very strong, but the fight had taught Su Luoheng a great deal. He had gained a deep understanding of the difference between training and actual combat, and of how to make the most of his own strength.
He'd wasted a lot of Soul Power during the fight.
If he had to do it again, he could reduce the amount he used by at least ten percent.
Chapter 8: Night Raid
The bloody stench of a Soul Beast's corpse would attract others, so Su Luoheng didn't linger. He soon set off again.
As he ventured deeper into the forest, he encountered more Soul Beasts.
Su Luoheng raised the difficulty of his challenges, moving from Ten-Year Soul Beasts to Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.
The experience he'd gained from training quickly came together in actual combat. Su Luoheng grew increasingly skilled at controlling his strength, and with a Soul Tool in hand, even ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beasts were no match for him.
The day passed in a flash.
Su Luoheng had killed four Soul Beasts under a hundred years old and three Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.
Though he hadn't come across a Soul Beast suitable for him to absorb, the experience he'd gained from that day's training had more than satisfied him. He would find a suitable Soul Beast sooner or later, but there was no substitute for real combat experience.
The sky had gradually darkened.
Su Luoheng found a fairly open spot and lit a campfire.
After eating some of the rations they'd brought, he began reviewing the day's battles.
Every Hundred-Year Soul Beast had shown him where he fell short.
The Iron-Armored Rhino had left the deepest impression.
After defeating two Hundred-Year Soul Beasts in a row, he'd grown overconfident and challenged it.
But its powerful defenses had left Su Luoheng despairing.
Luckily, the beast wasn't very fast, and he'd managed to find a chance to get away.
Perhaps because he hadn't encountered any real danger all day, Su Luoheng was no longer as alert to the Soul Beast Forest as he'd been earlier.
He didn't notice the shadow that had already crept into his campsite. It was lurking silently in the grass, its crimson eyes glinting with a cold, sinister light as it fixed its gaze on Su Luoheng's tent, waiting for a chance to strike.
Inside the tent, Su Luoheng had already begun meditating.
The energy of heaven and earth transformed into pure Soul Power and flowed into his body.
"Hiss..."
At the same time, the shadow seized its chance and suddenly sprang forth, moving like a bolt of lightning that tore through the air—far faster than the Shadow Leopard that morning!
The tent was instantly ripped apart.
The moment the pitch-black shape appeared, it brought with it a wave of foul stench.
Su Luoheng, still meditating, was jolted awake!
He fixed his gaze on the creature before him. A serpent-like Soul Beast had ripped through the tent and opened its jaws wide, revealing sharp fangs. Thick, glistening saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth as its terrifying forked tongue flicked in and out. Its eyes gleamed with savage bloodlust. Judging by the sheen of its scales and its length, it had lived for at least two hundred years.
Black-Striped Viper!
Su Luoheng couldn't help cursing himself for being careless. He'd actually let his guard down against a Soul Beast attack in the middle of a Soul Beast Forest.
But now was no time for regret. The Black-Striped Viper was already lunging at him with its jaws wide open.
Before you continue