Hunting for Soul Rings

Han Bing naturally agreed. Having a Super Douluo as his backer from the start was the best possible outcome.

Han Bing hurriedly dropped to one knee and said earnestly:

"Disciple Han Bing pays his respects to Master!"

"Good, good, good! Get up, my disciple. From now on, you're my personal disciple, Guang Ling Douluo's. This is my Spirit Hall Elder Token. Seeing it is the same as seeing me. Take it, my disciple!"

Han Bing accepted it. Then he saw Guang Ling Douluo take a crystal-like, ice-blue belt from his robes. It was exceptionally beautiful. Guang Ling said:

"This is the Crystal Bright Moon, a Soul Tool that can store items. You can have both of these as your apprenticeship gifts. Take them, my disciple."

Guang Ling Douluo was delighted. He had brought out his treasured possessions and planned to nurture Han Bing with everything he had. Besides, with Han Bing around, perhaps his Soul Power could achieve a breakthrough unlike any he'd ever seen.

"Thank you, Master!"

Han Bing accepted the gifts and thanked him.

Bibi Dong had been a step too slow. She'd also wanted to take Han Bing as her disciple, but hadn't expected him to agree so quickly, leaving her no chance to ask.

She slowly rose to her feet. They're all members of Spirit Hall, anyway. With the Fifth Elder guiding him, he'll be in good hands. So she congratulated him:

"Then congratulations to Elder Guang Ling on taking such a beloved disciple."

Guang Ling was genuinely overjoyed and immediately waved a hand.

"My disciple, I'm very happy! There's no time to waste. I'll take you to hunt your First Soul Ring. Your Holiness, we'll take our leave!"

With that, Guang Ling Douluo led Han Bing out.

Han Bing cupped his hands and took his leave of Bibi Dong and Chrysanthemum Douluo.

Only after watching the two of them depart did Chrysanthemum Douluo speak:

"Your Holiness, are we really just letting them leave like that?"

Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh. "Of course. If you want to stop them, go ahead and try."

Chrysanthemum Douluo smiled. There was no way he could stop a Super Douluo.

Bibi Dong slowly sat down and gazed into the distance. "It's fine. They're both members of Spirit Hall, and I'm busy with affairs. I might not have been able to teach him well. Since they share an affinity for ice, Guang Ling Douluo really is the best teacher for him. Elder Ju, go see how things are going with Qian Renxue."

"As you command, Your Holiness!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo left.

Meanwhile, Guang Ling Douluo brought Han Bing to the Star Dou Forest and said to him:

"Your First Soul Ring can only absorb a Soul Beast that's at most 423 years old. I recommend one around four hundred years old. We'll hunt one for your Candy Spirit first. Once you become a Titled Douluo, we'll hunt Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings for all six of your Six-Pointed Ice Stars."

"My disciple, you'll be the greatest person on the continent then. Just thinking about it gets me excited! I don't know much about your Candy Spirit, but it should be a support-type Martial Soul. Look around the Star Dou Forest and see if there's a suitable one. I'll hunt it for you."

Han Bing nodded. It seemed that anyone at the Titled Douluo level knew a great deal about developing Martial Souls.

Didn't that make Yu Xiaogang's theories look like a joke?

He thought it over. He really wanted to test his own strength, so he said:

"Master, I'd like to try hunting one myself!"

Guang Ling Douluo nodded. "Mm. Fighting really is the best way to improve your strength. I got a little carried away with my excitement. Go ahead and fight boldly. With me here, there's nothing to worry about."

Guang Ling sat down where he was. With his Martial Soul, he could take someone's head with a single arrow from a thousand miles away. He said:

"Go on, be bold. I'll wait right here!"

Han Bing nodded and stepped into the Star Dou Forest.

He hadn't given much thought to the Candy Spirit. He could just hunt according to the optimal Soul Ring Configuration.

So he searched the outskirts for a suitable Soul Beast.

A black figure flashed past. Han Bing furrowed his brow and looked over.

Having trained in Observation Haki, his perception was far beyond that of his peers. He immediately sensed that the Soul Beast that had just passed was around four hundred years old.

He took off after it.

Although Guang Ling Douluo had said he'd wait where he was, he kept a close eye on Han Bing the whole time. This was his beloved disciple, after all, so he watched his every move.

He noticed that Han Bing's perceptive ability seemed to be far beyond that of ordinary people.

"My disciple's perception is exceptionally gifted, too. Let's see just how talented you are."

Han Bing gave chase. Suddenly, the Soul Beast stopped, and three more of the same kind appeared around it. All four had glossy black fur.

The black leopards' eyes glowed red.

A lightning-shaped marking ran across their black coats. These Soul Beasts were called Lightning Fierce Leopards, and they specialized in speed.

"You'll do!"

Han Bing decided to make this Soul Beast his First Soul Ring.

Guang Ling Douluo watched everything from nearby.

"Four four-hundred-year-old Lightning Cheetahs. They're among the fastest of the Hundred-Year Soul Beasts. Be careful, my disciple."

Guang Ling Douluo was clearly a little worried.

Han Bing wanted to train his Armament Haki and Observation Haki during the fight.

He took a deep breath. Ice formed over his hands, and he coated it with Armament Haki. His Observation Haki spread out fully.

The four Lightning Cheetahs sprang into action, closing in at lightning speed.

Han Bing dodged to the side. In a situation like this, his Observation Haki was growing rapidly—far faster than it would have if he'd trained with a few pieces of wood at home.

He leapt and swiftly dodged their attacks.

"My disciple's reflexes are really something!"

Seeing this, Guang Ling gradually let go of his concern.

The four Lightning Cheetahs launched a fierce assault, surrounding Han Bing. Their four Rending Claws sent bolts of lightning flying as they charged at him.

At the sight, Guang Ling already had his Martial Soul in hand. If anything went wrong, he would fire an arrow at once.

But Han Bing flipped through the air and dodged the four Lightning Cheetahs' attack. In an instant, the power of the Freeze-Freeze Fruit erupted, combining with his Armament Haki.

The power burst forth. In the blink of an eye, all four Lightning Cheetahs were frozen solid, turned into ice statues and left unable to move.

Han Bing followed up with a punch from each fist. His Armament Haki-coated fists shattered the ice, and all four Lightning Cheetahs died at his hands.

Guang Ling had already drawn his bow, but at the sight of this, he slowly put away his Martial Soul.

His face was full of shock. A six-year-old child, even one with Twin Martial Souls, had hunted four four-hundred-year-old Soul Beasts alone. It was unprecedented.

And that burst of icy aura just now had looked like a domain-type skill.

Anyone who came close would be frozen. Could it be an innate domain skill of his Martial Soul?

Guang Ling nodded and looked at his own hand, remembering how he'd been frozen when he'd approached Han Bing's Martial Soul earlier.

It seemed that this Martial Soul came with an innate domain skill. No wonder Han Bing had been so confident about trying it himself.

Han Bing dusted off his hands. The power of the Freeze-Freeze Fruit was indeed formidable. The four leopards had been frozen in an instant, helpless as lambs to the slaughter.

And he hadn't even used his ability to become an element yet.

An idea suddenly struck Han Bing. Could attacks in the Douluo World hurt him while he was in his elemental form?

He decided to try it later.

Looking at the four yellow Soul Rings, Han Bing picked one at random and sat cross-legged to absorb it.