Soul Douluo Zhi Lin, Spirit Heavenly Blue Vine

The carriage rattled over the gravel-strewn forest road, speeding toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

"The sky-blue waits for misty rain~ while I wait for you~"

Sitting in the carriage, Lin Ya was in high spirits and couldn't help humming one of his favorite songs from his past life—"Blue and White Porcelain."

The Star Dou Great Forest was the sacred land with the densest concentration of soul beasts on the Douluo Continent, and a place of opportunity sought after by countless soul masters. Here, miracles and dangers coexisted, and anything was possible.

The closer they drew to the forest's outskirts, the richer the soul power fluctuations in the air became. Soul masters of every kind gathered in groups of three or five, some gripping soul tools vigilantly, others quietly discussing their soul beast hunting plans. The sight made Lin Ya's blood surge.

"Uncle, are we going into the forest now?" Lin Ya asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

Prince Xue Xing merely smiled and raised a hand, signaling for him to be patient. "No rush. Our helper hasn't arrived yet."

A helper?

Lin Ya instinctively swept his gaze over the guards Prince Xue Xing had brought—one Soul Sage, two Soul Emperors, and four Soul Kings. With such a lineup, even hunting a ten-thousand-year soul beast would be more than manageable. Why did they need to wait for anyone else?

Just as his doubts arose, a figure suddenly flashed through the distant woods.

It was an elderly man past fifty. He wore plain clothes and had an ordinary face, with only his clear, bright eyes concealing a sharpness no less keen than a young man's.

His steps appeared slow, yet his body moved as swiftly as a ghost. In the blink of an eye, he was standing before them.

The old man lowered his eyes to examine the young boy before him. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he turned to Prince Xue Xing and asked in a deep voice, "Your Highness Xue Xing, is this the youth you asked me to help hunt a soul ring for?"

Once he saw who had come, the tension in Prince Xue Xing's expression instantly melted away. He stepped forward, pulled Lin Ya over, and patted his shoulders with both hands as he solemnly introduced him. "That's right. Third Seat Zhi Lin, I'll have to trouble you with this junior's soul ring."

Upon hearing Prince Xue Xing's introduction, Lin Ya finally recognized the old man before him!

A Soul Douluo! Zhi Lin!

In the original timeline, when Shrek Academy joined Heaven Dou Imperial Academy at Qin Ming's invitation, Zhi Lin had been one of the three Soul Douluo who received them!

Martial Soul: Heavenly Blue Vine! An eighty-third-rank Soul Douluo!

At that moment, however, Zhi Lin's heart was filled with helplessness.

He had painstakingly cultivated to rank eighty. This special trip to the Star Dou Great Forest had originally been to hunt a soul beast for his eighth soul ring, allowing him to break through into the true realm of Soul Douluo!

Yet somehow, Prince Xue Xing had learned that he was coming to the Star Dou Great Forest and shamelessly asked him to help a junior hunt a soul ring.

Zhi Lin had assumed that if he was needed, the target would at least be a ten-thousand-year soul beast. But what was this? Was this kid even ten years old? At that age, a five-hundred-year soul beast should be more than enough, shouldn't it?

"Um... Lin Ya, right? How old are you this year?"

Suppressing his surprise, he asked.

"Sir Zhi Lin, I'm eight this year. I'll turn nine before long," Lin Ya answered truthfully.

That one sentence left Zhi Lin utterly speechless.

Eight years old was, at most, the age to acquire a first soul ring. The most suitable choice would only be a three-hundred-year soul beast, yet they had asked a prospective Soul Douluo like him to personally take action. What a waste of talent!

Prince Xue Xing, however, seemed entirely unaware of Zhi Lin's helplessness and simply shook his head with a sigh. "I originally intended to ask Mister Dugu to help, but unfortunately, his granddaughter is only rank seventeen now. She likely won't break through to rank twenty until next year, so I had no choice but to give up on that idea."

Mister Dugu?

Lin Ya's heart stirred at once. He immediately thought of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo. The granddaughter Prince Xue Xing mentioned was naturally Dugu Yan.

By his recollection, Dugu Yan was seven years older than Tang San, so she should be ten this year. Rank seventeen at ten years old already made her outstanding among ordinary soul masters, but compared to the greatest geniuses, it was ultimately nothing too remarkable.

Zhi Lin's eye twitched as he listened, and he nearly lost his composure.

You even wanted to invite Poison Douluo?

You clearly had no concept whatsoever of how strong soul beasts were. Any Soul King behind you could easily deal with a hundred-year soul beast!

Asking me to come was no different from using a ninth soul skill to bomb an outhouse, or having a Titled Douluo demolish a toilet!

Forcibly suppressing the urge to complain, Zhi Lin let out a soft sigh and turned to Lin Ya. "Fine, I'll do it while I'm at it. What is your martial soul? What type is your cultivation path? I'll help you choose a suitable soul beast."

"Thank you, Sir Zhi Lin. My martial soul is called Outcast. It should... be an assault-type martial soul, I think."

Lin Ya answered somewhat uncertainly. His Outcast martial soul was simply too variable, and even he couldn't say for sure what type he belonged to.

"Outcast?" Zhi Lin raised his brow slightly, recalling his close friend, Mengshenji, the chief of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. "Is it a special martial soul similar to Mengshenji's Black Demon martial soul?"

Mengshenji was also a Soul Douluo. His Black Demon martial soul was strange and troublesome, enough to contend with Ghost Douluo of Spirit Hall.

Of course, contending with him was one thing. Don't ask how long he could hold out.

"I'm not entirely sure either. You'll know once you see it, sir."

Lin Ya took a deep breath. A strange, obscure aura of soul power suddenly spread around him. The next moment, a gleaming yellow hundred-year soul ring slowly rose beneath his feet, its halo flowing with a steady, condensed radiance.

At the sight of this, Zhi Lin was struck as if by lightning, freezing where he stood.

A hundred-year soul ring! He already had his first soul ring!

"You have a first soul ring? You're hunting a second soul ring?! Wait! How old did you say you were just now?!"

Zhi Lin's voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief.

Eight years old, not yet nine, and already at the rank-twenty Grand Soul Master realm!

As the vice dean of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, he had seen countless geniuses throughout the Heaven Dou Empire. Ten-year-old Dugu Yan at rank seventeen had already seemed like a rare talent in his eyes, but eight years old and rank twenty?

He didn't even dare imagine it!

With such talent, he would surely become a Soul Elder by twelve, steadily step into the Soul Ancestor realm by fifteen, break through to Soul King by twenty, and might even have a chance to reach the pinnacle of a Title Douluo in the future!

In an instant, the way Zhi Lin looked at Lin Ya completely changed.

All his previous helplessness and perfunctoriness vanished without a trace, replaced by a kindly smile. His tone grew several times gentler as he leaned forward and asked eagerly, "Little friend Lin Ya, would you be interested in joining our Heaven Dou Imperial Academy?"

Prince Xue Xing...

No, hadn't you just been acting all high and mighty and impatient? Why were you suddenly so enthusiastic?!

Watching Zhi Lin lavish such enthusiasm on his nephew, Prince Xue Xing said helplessly, "Lin Ya is only eight. He should wait until he graduates from a junior academy before considering which academy to join."

Xue Xing naturally hoped that Lin Ya would join Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, but the problem was...

Looking at Lin Ya's face, which was incredibly similar to Xue Beng's, he did not quite dare bring Lin Ya back to Heaven Dou City.

I can't exactly pour a kettle of hot water over Lin Ya's face to disfigure him... No, if anyone's face has to be ruined, it should be Xue Beng's. How could the future emperor of Heaven Dou be disfigured?

The First Prince and Second Prince had died young, while the Third Prince and Fourth Prince were mediocre in talent. Wouldn't the future throne belong to Lin Ya?