Star Dou Forest

A few days later.

The outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.

After several days of trekking, the group finally arrived at the Star Dou Forest from Shrek Academy.

Zhao Wuji stood in the dense jungle and let out a long sigh, looking back at Lin Yan and Ma Hongjun.

"Do you two have any specific targets? I happen to know the habitats of quite a few soul beasts. If I take you straight to your destinations, it will save a lot of time."

The two of them froze, not expecting Zhao Wuji to be so familiar with the Star Dou Forest that he even remembered the locations of various soul beast habitats.

This would certainly save them a lot of trouble.

At this moment, Ma Hongjun stammered, "I don't know... but it should at least be a fire-attribute soul beast."

Zhao Wuji didn't show much expression upon hearing Ma Hongjun's answer, as he hadn't expected a serious response from either of them anyway; he had just asked out of habit.

He then turned his gaze toward Lin Yan.

"What about you?"

Lin Yan nodded, his eyes brightening slightly.

"I need a fire-attribute soul beast that is at least of the sub-dragon species. If it contains light or holy attributes, that would be even better."

The young man's tone was very confident; it was clear that Lin Yan had truly given this serious consideration before answering.

Zhao Wuji was quite surprised and pleasantly so; he hadn't expected that there would actually be someone with a brain among this batch of little monsters.

He curled his lips into a smile and looked at Ma Hongjun.

"Little Fatty, you should learn from Lin Yan. How is it that he managed to learn so much knowledge in just these two months?"

He then shifted the topic.

"However, your requirements are still too harsh. According to what you've said, there are very few soul beasts that meet your criteria with only a hundred years of cultivation."

"After all, the higher the purity of a soul beast's bloodline and the better its talent, the faster its growth rate."

"If there were truly any with slow growth rates, they would have long since become food for other soul beasts."

Receiving such an answer, Lin Yan was not disappointed; instead, the light in his eyes grew even brighter.

"It doesn't matter!"

"I can feel that my martial soul exerts a suppression over dragon-type soul beasts. I can break the rules and absorb a thousand-year first soul ring."

Zhao Wuji let out a scoff upon hearing this.

"Ignorance is fearless!"

"You kid really aren't afraid of your body being blown apart, are you?"

"I'm not afraid. I want a thousand-year first soul ring. I can definitely do it."

Watching Lin Yan's excitement and his serious demeanor, Zhao Wuji didn't pay much mind to it.

Because what he disliked most was leading teams to hunt for soul rings, especially with children like Lin Yan! For instance, right now, he couldn't be bothered to explain so much to Lin Yan; he would just shove a soul beast into his hands when the time came.

He then turned his head to look at Wen Ruan.

"What about you? Have you done your homework?"

"I..."

Wen Ruan's expression was conflicted; it was clear she hadn't decided what kind of soul ring she wanted to obtain, or rather, Shrek Academy simply didn't teach students these things.

Seeing the young girl stammering for a long time without answering, Lin Yan suddenly stepped forward.

"Teacher Zhao, the little senior also needs a sub-dragon species soul ring, and it must be an ice-attribute sub-dragon."

As soon as these words were spoken, before Zhao Wuji could question it, Wen Ruan stood up to refute him.

"That's not it, Teacher Zhao. Don't listen to his nonsense. I only need a butterfly-type soul ring."

Zhao Wuji looked at the somewhat ambiguous relationship between the two, his eyes teasing as he curled his lips.

But soon, he withdrew his smile and said with a cold attitude, "Whatever. Her soul ring needs to be hunted by herself; that is the most basic ability and courage required of a little monster."

He then looked at Ma Hongjun again.

"The soul beast the Little Fatty needs is more common. We'll find his first, and then yours."

"What about the little senior?"

Lin Yan questioned again, to which Zhao Wuji replied nonchalantly, "There are tons of butterfly soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest. We'll run into them on the road; we can just grab any one of them when the time comes."

Honestly, Lin Yan was very dissatisfied with this answer.

Wen Ruan's Ice Flower Butterfly martial soul possessed an innate soul power of level 7, which could be considered among the top-tier martial souls.

If following the conventional path of development, Wen Ruan should have been a Control-type Spirit Master. Her first spirit skill was indeed just that, possessing only simple cooling and slowing effects.

However, Lin Yan had thought of another path: the "Butterfly God Dragon Transformation."

Just like Wang Dong'er's Radiant Goddess Butterfly, he wanted Wen Ruan's Ice Flower Butterfly to also possess dragon bloodline traits. This way, it would not only retain its control capabilities but also possess impressive offensive power.

Clearly, this was the path most suited for Wen Ruan. By the same token, this path would likely be much harder.

Lin Yan walked up to Wen Ruan.

"Little Senior Sister, trust me! You must absorb an ice-attribute sub-dragon spirit ring, otherwise your second spirit skill won't have any offensive power!"

"Are you truly content with being a mediocre Spirit Master? You should know that your first spirit skill already lacks any practical combat utility."

Wen Ruan lowered her eyes. This was one of the few conversations the two had shared along the way. She knew Lin Yan had her best interests at heart, but...

"At least butterfly-type spirit beasts won't be too difficult to hunt."

As soon as these words left her lips, Lin Yan's expression suddenly froze.

That was true. Wen Ruan had to hunt her own spirit rings. How could her [Ice Ring] spirit skill possibly support her in hunting a century-old sub-dragon spirit beast?

Perhaps, for her, a mediocre butterfly-type spirit ring really was the best choice.

However, times were different now, and he, Lin Yan, was here today!

Whether out of the encounter from last night or something else, he would not allow Wen Ruan to settle for less.

"I'll help you!"

Three words, spoken by the youth, reached the maiden's ears.

Wen Ruan looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and delight.

"What?"

"I said I'll help you!"

"Don't absorb a butterfly-type spirit beast's ring. Once I've obtained my own, I'll help you hunt an ice-attribute sub-dragon."

The air fell silent. Having received a definitive answer, Wen Ruan's eyes welled up with tears in an instant.

What was this? A confession?

They were neither related nor close; why would he be so good to her? Why would he risk his life to hunt a spirit beast for her?

Was it just because of what happened last night, and he was feeling guilty?

Or did he really like her...

A breeze brushed past, gently lifting the maiden's hair, which stuck to her fair cheeks after being dampened by tears.

This scene made her look even more endearing...

But after a moment, the maiden suddenly turned her head away stubbornly.

"No!"

"You're not anyone to me; I won't accept your charity."

Clearly, Wen Ruan was being difficult again.

To this, Lin Yan's attitude turned firm.

"You must listen to me!"

"Who... who wants to listen to you."

The two were tugging back and forth, looking exactly like a young couple.

In the end, it was Zhao Wuji, standing to the side, who shouted helplessly.

"Hey, hey, hey! Do you really think we're just lightbulbs here!"

"Stop dawdling and get moving, go find a spirit beast."