Star Dou Great Forest, Rock-Earth Stone Crocodile

After the martial soul awakening ended, Shi An received his martial soul certificate from the woman.

Back in his thatched hut, Shi An began studying his martial soul.

Logically speaking, with his innate soul power exceeding Rank Ten, his martial soul itself could not be weak.

It was very likely a god-tier martial soul.

With his feet planted on the ground, the stone in his hand gave off a brown glow as soul power surged.

Bzzzz~~~

The ground seemed to come alive, ripples spreading outward in circles.

Then... a chair made of packed earth and stone appeared in the open space at the center of the house.

Shi An sat on it. It was stable, but uncomfortably hard.

Still seated, he began controlling the ground to squirm again. In just a few seconds, a large pit one meter in diameter appeared before him.

At the bottom of the pit, stone spikes gleaming with a cold light crisscrossed one another. If someone fell in, they would definitely not survive.

But with such an obvious pit right out in the open, only someone with a hole in their head would jump into it.

Since it was a trap, it had to be made better.

He controlled the earth to squirm, and before long, a thin layer of soil covered the pit, looking no different from the surrounding ground.

Shi An picked up a stone and tossed it onto it.

Bang~~~

The seemingly solid, level ground instantly crumbled apart, cascading into the pit and exposing the spikes gleaming with cold light.

Shi An revealed a satisfied smile. Who could guard against a trap like this? If he did not possess a sense for the earth, even he would have been fooled.

Once he became more familiar with it, he should be able to set it off with zero wind-up, forming traps instantly and catching enemies completely off guard.

Several days passed, and Shi An was already able to casually make the earth collapse and cause the ground to rotate.

He had even managed to make the earth flow like water. Running on it now was several times faster than usual.

Simple earth spikes and mud bogs came to him as easily as breathing.

He raised his head to look at the night sky. Stars glittered, and a bright moon hung high above.

The entire village had fallen silent, with only the occasional bark of a dog or call of an unknown bird breaking the stillness.

"It's time to hunt for a soul ring."

He left behind a letter, then took some spare clothes and dried provisions before leaving Stone Village.

He was going to the Star Dou Great Forest.

As for why he was not going to the Soul Hunting Forest, it was because he had neither a permit nor a noble to guarantee him.

So he could only take the longer route to the Star Dou Great Forest.

There was another reason as well: obtaining a soul ring in the Soul Hunting Forest required registration. He did not want his information to stand out too much.

A tall tree catches the wind.

Sometimes, appearing too much of a genius was not a good thing.

It was necessary to play the pig and keep a low profile when appropriate.

After several days of crossing mountains and rivers, Shi An finally arrived at a town outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was called a town, but it was more like a marketplace.

Houses stood across the open land, along with inns, restaurants, taverns, and shops selling soul beast materials, maps, and tools.

Many hunters who made their living by killing soul beasts had set up stalls in town, hawking their goods at unfamiliar faces.

This kind of place was a mixed bag. Shi An merely gave it a rough look, then found a restaurant to eat and rest for a while before heading toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

He did not know much about the general types and ages of soul beasts, but

what he was looking for was merely a century-old earth-attribute soul beast that was not too powerful.

As for what soul skill he would obtain, that was secondary.

With the origin of earth and his experience from reading novels and watching anime in his previous life, he could create many powerful and troublesome moves.

He was nothing like the natives, who relied solely on soul skills in battle.

Dense trees covered the sky, and a scent mixing the freshness of nature with the rot of trees and soul beast corpses entered his nose.

The earth beneath his feet was damp and soft. Every step felt as if he were walking on the surface of the sea.

Vines tangled across the surrounding trees like dark green venomous snakes.

The roars and howls of soul beasts occasionally came from the dark woods in the distance, their strange cries sending chills down one's spine.

With his feet on the ground, Shi An extended his senses through the earth and could detect disturbances in the ground within a hundred meters.

As long as anything stepped on the earth, he could sense and discover it instantly.

That was also why he had the confidence to come alone to the Star Dou Great Forest.

He had bought a simple map of the Star Dou Great Forest on his way here, and he had already memorized the rough distribution of soul beasts.

The place he was heading for now was a swamp on the outskirts of the great forest.

Rock-Earth Stone Crocodiles lived there year-round.

These soul beasts were vicious by nature and possessed extremely strong defenses.

Most soul masters rarely provoked them.

The muddy swamp emitted a rotten stench, its black mire resembling industrially polluted sludge.

Huge earth-yellow crocodiles lay basking in the sun on the open ground beside the swamp, looking especially leisurely.

Shi An stood behind a nearby hillside, his aura blending with the surrounding earth as he calmly watched the group of Rock-Earth Stone Crocodiles below.

"1, 2, 3... 9. Their auras are all about the same. They should all be century-old soul beasts."

Shi An pondered silently, his brows tightly furrowed.

He was confident he could handle one or two Rock-Earth Stone Crocodiles, but there was no way he could deal with all nine century-old soul beasts.

He needed to find an opportunity to separate them, then pick them off one by one.

As for how to do that...

"Sniff, sniff~"

The Rock-Earth Stone Crocodiles that had been lazily sunning themselves all opened their eyes.

All their gazes turned in one direction. Hanging from a tree branch on a nearby hillside was a colorful pheasant.

The pheasant was also a soul beast. Though it was only a ten-year soul beast, it was still a rare delicacy to this group of Rock-Earth Stone Crocodiles.

Almost instantly, they moved their four short legs and scrambled hard up the hillside.

Their tails swung behind them, leaving trails across the ground.

Behind a nearby thicket, Shi An watched the scene, a glint appearing in his eyes.

"Just as I thought, it works."

The nine Rock-Earth Stone Crocodiles climbed straight up the hillside one after another.

The one at the very back was suddenly swallowed by the earth.

That was right, swallowed without a sound.

Then came the second, then the third. The Rock-Earth Stone Crocodiles at the rear were swallowed by the earth one after another, until only one remained beneath the branch, desperately trying to bite the pheasant.

Its eyes held only the delicious pheasant. It did not notice in the slightest that its companions behind it had vanished one after another.

The next second, the ground beneath its feet suddenly collapsed into a deep pit filled with sharp earth spikes.

Caught completely off guard, it fell straight into the pit, and the sharp spikes instantly pierced its skin.

"Awooo~~~"

The Rock-Earth Stone Crocodile let out a miserable cry and tried desperately to climb out of the pit, but to its utter horror, the surrounding soil began pressing in on it, quickly burying it alive underground.