At dawn the next morning, the sky had barely begun to lighten. A thin layer of mist still hung outside the window, and Spirit City lay quiet.
A crisp knock at the door broke the silence.
Lin Ze'an had been so excited that he had slept lightly. The moment he heard the knock, he woke and quickly got dressed.
He went outside and opened the courtyard gate.
Yue Guan stood outside, already bright-eyed and energetic. He wore the same splendid robe embroidered with golden chrysanthemums, and a smile graced his face.
"Good apprentice, are you ready? It's time to go."
"Good morning, Master. I'm ready. Let's go." Lin Ze'an nodded, took a deep breath of the cool morning air, then turned and closed the courtyard gate.
However, considering what had happened the day before, Yue Guan first took Lin Ze'an to have breakfast. Only then did they prepare to set out.
But when they left the restaurant, a figure was already waiting silently outside.
It was none other than Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei. The black mist surrounding him seemed a little thinner in the morning sunlight, but he still emanated a chilling aura that warned others to keep their distance.
Yue Guan didn't seem surprised. He merely raised an eyebrow. "Old Ghost? What are you doing here?"
Gui Mei replied tersely, "To ensure this trip goes without a hitch."
Yue Guan seemed to understand. He smiled and said, "Well, all the better. With you along, old ghost, we won't have to worry about anything going wrong."
With that, the two of them led Lin Ze'an toward Star Dou Forest.
The Soul Hunting Forest or Sunset Forest would have worked, and they would have been safer. But considering Lin Ze'an's Martial Soul, Star Dou Forest had more Soul Beasts.
After only a few days, the vast, boundless forest, brimming with a primordial aura, came into view.
Towering ancient trees stretched endlessly into the distance. The air was thick with the auras of powerful Soul Beasts, enough to make one's heart pound.
Even Yue Guan and Gui Mei looked more solemn. They were only on the outskirts, but who knew whether a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast might suddenly appear?
"Star Dou Forest is the largest Soul Beast forest. There may be Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts here, so make sure to stay close to us," Yue Guan cautioned quietly.
Lin Ze'an nodded and obediently followed behind them.
This was Star Dou Forest, after all, and he wasn't the protagonist of some overpowered hero's story.
With his current Soul Power Level, he wouldn't stand a chance against a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. He couldn't even beat a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast if one appeared.
Gui Mei glanced back at him. With a thought, the black mist around his body spread slightly, quietly concealing the presence of all three of them.
Yue Guan's spiritual power continually swept through the surroundings as he searched for the most suitable Soul Beast for Lin Ze'an.
But just as they passed through a damp hollow overgrown with enormous ferns, disaster struck!
"ROAR!!!"
A deafening roar suddenly rang out from ahead and to the side, shaking leaves loose from the surrounding trees.
The next instant, a massive shadow burst from the dense forest like a small mountain, bringing with it a stench-filled gale.
It was a gigantic bear, over five meters tall and covered from head to toe in dark golden scales.
Its eyes were blood-red, and sticky saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth. Rising onto its hind legs, it brought its enormous paw down on Yue Guan, who was at the front.
Judging by the violent aura it gave off, this was clearly a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear with a cultivation base nearing thirty thousand years, renowned for its defense and attack power.
"Careful!" Yue Guan's expression changed. He shoved Lin Ze'an back toward safety as nine Soul Rings instantly lit up around him.
"Hmph!" He snorted. A vast golden chrysanthemum phantom bloomed before him, its layered petals instantly hardening into an impregnable shield.
"BOOM!!!"
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's terrifying paw slammed into the shield with a thunderous crash.
A violent shock wave burst outward, snapping the surrounding ancient trees in half and splitting the ground with cracks.
Almost at the same moment Yue Guan made his move, Gui Mei's figure vanished without a sound.
The next second, the shadow beneath the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear turned into a pitch-black bog. Countless black ghostly hands shot out and wrapped tightly around its limbs and body.
The powerful restraint and frigid aura invaded its body, freezing it in place. It let out an enraged, pained roar.
The two worked together seamlessly, one defending and the other controlling. In an instant, they had pinned down the unexpected Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, leaving it unable to move.
Yue Guan turned to Lin Ze'an, who was watching in a daze, and called out quickly, "Good apprentice, watch closely!"
Gui Mei said, exasperated, "Let's finish this quickly. The commotion will attract other Soul Beasts."
As he spoke, the black mist around Gui Mei suddenly thickened. The countless ghostly hands reaching out from the shadows seemed to come alive, binding their target even more tightly.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Gathering of Cold Blossoms!"
Yue Guan didn't hesitate. He used his strongest single-target Soul Skill.
A huge blade of petals instantly formed in his hand, spinning at high speed as it slashed toward the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
"SHING, SHING, SHING, SHING—!"
A flurry of slicing sounds rang out. The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's sturdy scales tore apart like paper before the razor-sharp blade.
In the space of a single breath, the storm subsided.
The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear had been all but dismembered. Its flesh was a bloody mess, and it had already stopped breathing.
A moment later, a black-glowing Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring slowly emerged above the corpse.
Once the battle was over, Yue Guan immediately flashed to Lin Ze'an's side and looked him over carefully. Only after seeing that Lin Ze'an was unharmed did he let out a sigh of relief.
Then he looked at the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring floating above the giant bear's corpse. "Tsk, tsk. A thirty-thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Soul Ring. Quite a fine one."
"The power it contains is violent and tenacious, making it suitable for a Power Attack System Soul Master. Unfortunately, its attributes don't suit you, and you're not strong enough to absorb it yet."
As he spoke, he raised a hand. A gentle wave of Soul Power enveloped the black Soul Ring and drew it toward him.
"Watch closely, apprentice." Yue Guan pointed at the Soul Ring and explained patiently. "When a Soul Beast is killed, the essence of its cultivation condenses into a Soul Ring like this."
"The one who killed it can use Soul Power to draw it over."
As he demonstrated, he made the Soul Ring hover in front of Lin Ze'an. "Then you can meditate and circulate your Soul Power to absorb it into your body."
"Once successfully absorbed, the Soul Ring becomes part of a Soul Master's power and grants them a corresponding Soul Skill."
"But your Soul Ring slots are already full, Master, so you can't absorb it."
As he spoke, Yue Guan suddenly remembered something and added, "Remember, if no one absorbs it, the Soul Ring will dissipate after about an hour at most."
He waved his hand and withdrew the Soul Power enveloping the Soul Ring. No longer held in place, it slowly spun where it was, awaiting its inevitable, futile dissipation.
"Let's go," Gui Mei said in his hoarse voice. "There are no suitable Soul Rings for him around here. We'll look elsewhere."
Before you continue