Hunting Soul Beasts

Under normal circumstances, it was not as though no one did this. It was just that very few did, because the danger was simply too great.

Within the Soul Hunting Forest, powerful soul beasts generally lived in its depths.

Entering through the checkpoint established by Spirit Hall on the outskirts, one would first encounter ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts.

The chance of encountering a thousand-year soul beast was extremely low, nearly nonexistent.

Unless one deliberately ventured deeper, it was difficult to encounter a powerful thousand-year soul beast.

But once one chose to poach, they would at least have to enter through the central region.

Because Spirit Hall personnel explored and patrolled the outskirts, and if one was caught, they could very likely be executed on the spot—or suffer something even worse.

And within the central region, one might encounter packs of hundred-year soul beasts or thousand-year soul beasts.

Of course, for Chen Ye, encountering either a pack of hundred-year soul beasts or a thousand-year soul beast would practically mean certain death, without the slightest chance of survival.

But at this point, he could only gamble.

It was difficult to obtain soul beasts from the outside world.

To obtain a powerful hundred-year soul beast that suited one's martial soul, one practically had to search through these wilderness forests.

The difficulty was immense in itself.

But for the sake of his future prospects, Chen Ye could only take a gamble as well.

He could indeed report directly to Spirit Hall, explain his talent, reveal his martial soul, and report that he had been born with full soul power.

That might attract Spirit Hall's attention. Perhaps an elder, or some deacon, might even be willing to take him as a disciple.

But in the end, he could not take his younger sister with him. He would have to leave her behind.

If he had other relatives, there naturally would have been nothing wrong with leaving his sister behind.

With his status in Spirit Hall, no one would dare offend the family members he left behind.

But when there was only him, Chen Ye could not do it. He could not leave his younger sister there to await death.

After all, whether in that backward village or at Notting Academy, without his protection, his younger sister simply would not live long.

Therefore, what he was doing now was the best method available to him.

Because he did not dare gamble.

He did not dare gamble on whether Spirit Hall would forcibly take him away after he revealed his strength.

Of course, after he exposed his strength, Spirit Hall might also take his younger sister away.

They might let both of them join Spirit Hall together.

But the pressure would be even greater then, and his younger sister would be even less able to bear it.

So rather than dwell on useless thoughts, Chen Ye believed this was already the best path available to him.

Following the map, Soul Hunting Forest was not very far away.

If he rented a carriage and traveled at full speed, it would take roughly a day.

The carriage driver was actually rather curious about a child traveling alone by carriage to Soul Hunting Forest.

But the youth sat there with an aura belonging to a soul master around him.

Sensing that aura, the driver did not dare ask too many questions.

After an entire day of travel, they arrived near Soul Hunting Forest on the afternoon of the following day.

After paying the fare, Chen Ye calmly sent the driver away.

Rather than approaching Soul Hunting Forest directly, he calmly headed off into the distance.

In fact, the guards at the entrance had already noticed Chen Ye.

But seeing that he was only six or seven years old, their eyes held confusion but no particular vigilance.

Compared to ordinary poachers, the possibility of a six- or seven-year-old child participating in poaching was practically zero.

At his age, his physical condition and every other aspect were abysmal.

He likely could not even hunt an ordinary ten-year soul beast, much less a hundred-year soul beast.

Moreover, people born with full soul power were simply too rare.

Ordinary people in this era found it difficult to encounter one.

Thus, the Spirit Hall guards on duty had hardly considered that possibility.

Chen Ye quietly circled around to the rear, moving swiftly into the forest along its edge.

Along the way, he encountered some Spirit Hall patrol soldiers, though their numbers were not large.

The purpose of these patrol soldiers was to protect the soul beasts, not hunt them.

They generally only operated around the outer edges and did not move very quickly.

Only when they encountered poachers would they kill or apprehend them, collect ransom, or simply kill them outright.

As Chen Ye continued circling deeper in, he walked for roughly half a day.

Only then could he clearly sense that he had likely reached the central region.

The trees here were obviously taller and more densely packed.

Spirit Hall patrol guards had become nearly nonexistent here.

In any case, after walking for a long time, Chen Ye had not seen a single Spirit Hall guard.

By then, it was already night.

As darkness fell, Chen Ye pushed off the ground.

Spatial rifts appeared beneath his toes. He stepped repeatedly against the ground and swiftly climbed up a fairly tall tree.

He sat upright on the tree, holding dry provisions in his hands and quietly chewing.

His chewing was very soft. He lowered his body slightly as he sat among the branches.

With the trees concealing him, ordinary soul beasts would find it difficult to discover his tracks.

But the sounds of soul beasts occasionally drifted up from below, and quite a few soul beasts passed by.

Especially in the central region, there were many soul beasts in the surrounding area.

Compared to the garlic creatures, spotted cats, or ten-year Lone Bamboo outside, these soul beasts were far more powerful.

Most soul beasts here were several decades old.

Ordinary ten-year soul beasts, or even younger ones, were already rarely seen.

The night passed quickly.

Chen Ye lay silently in the tree, barely sleeping at all through the night.

His energy expenditure was considerable, but his expression did not change.

After a night of exploration and observation, he determined that Spirit Hall guards rarely appeared at this stage.

After all, hundred-year soul beasts often appeared here. They generally would not stop ruthless people capable of hunting hundred-year soul beasts.

Thus, this place was perfect as his hunting ground.

As the morning sunlight fell, Chen Ye finished the dry provisions in his hand and took a simple drink of water.

He merely sat quietly in the tree, observing below.

Many soul beasts were active beneath him, most of them soul beasts several decades old.

Of course, some were hundred-year soul beasts.

But those soul beasts were either too fast, or their various forms did not suit Chen Ye's martial soul.

Of course, for a martial soul like the Space-Time Dragon, he did not know what counted as a suitable match.

After all, this was a standard god-tier martial soul.

Even without any soul rings attached, it could use all kinds of powerful spatial and temporal abilities, and it even came with time abilities of its own.

After soul rings were attached, the effects would certainly become even stronger.

But the issue was that for this kind of martial soul—a martial soul that had never appeared in this world before—even Chen Ye himself did not know what soul rings it should receive.

At this moment, it was like he was feeling his way across a river by stepping on stones.

He had no understanding whatsoever of what kinds of soul rings or soul skills he should combine.

It could be said that he was somewhat lost at this point.

Of course, Chen Ye also understood that he could not keep delaying.

The longer he delayed, the greater the chance of being discovered, and the more likely problems would arise.

So as his gaze swept from side to side, he easily found a ten-year soul beast.

He planned to test the waters with a ten-year soul beast first, then find a way to hunt a powerful hundred-year soul beast.

The soul beast he chose was a rather strange-looking lizard.

This lizard was very long.

Normally, the chances of such a creature appearing here were not high.

Lizard-like reptilian creatures that could appear here should possess some special trait—or some level of strength.

Looking at the slowly crawling lizard, Chen Ye did not waste words.

He raised his palm, gathering spatial power and forming it into the Space Bow.

Then, what appeared in his hand this time was not the silver Space Sword, but a Time Sword that was entirely platinum-gold.