Sunset Forest

Sunset Forest lay in the center of the Heaven Dou Empire, a vast primeval forest of rolling terrain. It contained many kinds of soul beasts, but their Cultivation Ages were generally not very high. Most were around one thousand to ten thousand years, though finding a Hundred-Year Soul Ring was more than easy enough.

Before Sunset Forest, a carriage slowly came to a stop. Qian Renxue and Jun Xuehan stepped out of the carriage, while She Long dismounted from the front and took the lead, heading straight into Sunset Forest.

Qian Renxue looked at the forest before them and said softly, "Xuehan, the soul beast we need to hunt this time should be around four hundred to five hundred years old. Everyone's physique is different, so the limit of the first soul ring also differs. Your physique is very strong. A soul ring of around five hundred years is basically your body's limit. If we can't find a soul beast around five hundred years old, then we'll choose one as close to that age as possible."

Jun Xuehan blinked, somewhat puzzled. "Sister Xue'er, shouldn't the limit for the first soul ring be four hundred and twenty-three years?"

As a reincarnator, he clearly remembered that the first soul ring Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had recommended to the Child of Destiny, Tang San, was four hundred and twenty-three years old. Yet Qian Renxue was now directly telling him that he could absorb a soul ring close to five hundred years old. Although the gap was not large, the energy produced by the two soul rings would definitely not be the same.

"You've read Grandmaster's Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul too? That thing might look useless, but in truth, it really is useless. Before Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, the age of a soul ring one can absorb depends entirely on the strength of one's physique. Different physiques have different limits. Some people are frail and sickly; perhaps the limit of their first soul ring would not even reach four hundred and twenty-three years."

"Some people, however, are born with powerful physiques. With sufficient nutrition and regular physical training, they can completely surpass the limit you mentioned. Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings are different, though. Absorbing one not only requires physical strength, but also a certain amount of Mental Power to resist the Soul Vibration produced by a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring." She Long chuckled and spoke calmly from up ahead. Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had once researched Martial Soul Theory in Spirit Hall, so they were naturally no strangers to him.

Yet there were hardly any people on the continent who cared about the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul published by Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang. The descendants of great families and sects had trained their physiques from the beginning, and their soul rings were all of the Optimal Configuration. Besides, what great family or sect had not studied soul rings? Otherwise, where had the Optimal Configuration of soul rings come from before Yu Xiaogang?

In other words, among the people of great families and sects, from sect masters down to disciples, whose Martial Soul did not have the Optimal Configuration? Only the soul rings of some commoner children and Free Soul Masters were not optimally configured.

Although Grandmaster's theories were of little use to people from great families and sects, they were still quite useful to commoner children. But for commoner soul masters, having a soul ring at all was already good enough. Why would they care whether it was an Optimal Configuration?

Moreover, for someone without strength or backing to try hunting a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, it would already be a blessing if they were not hunted by the Hundred-Year Soul Beast instead.

Therefore, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's work was useful, and he did indeed possess some insight into Martial Souls. It was only that people from great families and sects had no use for it, while commoner children lacked the ability to make use of it. It was not easy for a soul master to emerge among commoners, and having a soul ring was already good enough. After all, not everyone had a force and powerful soul masters supporting them from behind.

Listening to She Long, Jun Xuehan suddenly recalled two questions. In the original work, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had not even known that absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring would produce Soul Vibration. Thus, his theories were ultimately only theories and had never been put into practice.

And he remembered that, in the original work, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had said that there were no useless Martial Souls, only useless soul masters. Yet Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power had remained at Level 29, a Soul Grandmaster, for his entire life. Without Tang San's Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma, it would have been impossible for him to break through the bottleneck of Level 30.

Then how was Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang supposed to explain those words himself? Was his theory wrong, or was he himself useless...

Jun Xuehan pondered for a long time without reaching an answer, so he simply stopped thinking about it. His gaze swept across the surroundings as he quietly observed the area.

It was already late at night, and Sunset Forest was very dark. They could barely see anything, but with She Long present, they did not need to worry about safety.

She Long continuously released his Mental Power, probing the surroundings while searching for a soul ring suitable for Jun Xuehan.

About three hours passed before She Long suddenly stopped. Looking in one direction, he said, "Young Master, there is a soul beast ahead with a Cultivation Age close to five hundred years. It is a Blazing Fire Scale Python, very suitable as this child Xuehan's first soul ring."

Qian Renxue placed a hand on Jun Xuehan's shoulder, nodded, and said softly, "Then we'll take this Blazing Fire Scale Python. It is a very powerful soul beast and possesses Dragon Race Bloodline. It can be considered close to a top-tier soul beast."

Jun Xuehan merely stood quietly in place, with no intention of speaking. Although he could not say that he knew absolutely nothing about matching soul rings, he was not much better than someone who did.

Besides, he was already very satisfied that someone was helping him hunt a soul beast. After all, he had nearly been killed by a hungry wolf that was not even a soul beast. If he were truly made to hunt soul beasts himself, there would be no need to think about it—he would basically be saying goodbye to this world.

"Young Master, wait here for a moment. I'll be back shortly." As She Long spoke, his figure flickered several times before vanishing from sight.

Very soon, a roar rang out from the forest, followed by a pained wail. Less than ten minutes later, She Long returned, dragging a Blazing Fire Scale Python that was entirely crimson and about five meters long.

Many of the Blazing Fire Scale Python's scales had shattered, and vivid red blood flowed out, spilling across the forest floor.

She Long dragged the Blazing Fire Scale Python before Jun Xuehan and said, "Kill it, and its soul ring will be yours."

At his words, Jun Xuehan released his Martial Soul: the Silver Dragon Spear. The fine dragon scales on its shaft felt exceptionally comfortable in his hand, without the slightest discomfort.

He raised the Silver Dragon Spear and thrust it straight through the Blazing Fire Scale Python's head. As the Silver Dragon Spear pierced its body, the energy within the Blazing Fire Scale Python was immediately absorbed by the spear, restoring the injuries on Jun Xuehan's body.