Action Begins

"Get ready."

Watching Ouyang Ling and the accompanying Soul Sage set off for the Star Dou Great Forest, Qian Renxue withdrew her gaze. At that moment, the worry in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a cold gleam and fierce killing intent.

"Yes."

Ci Xue and She Long acknowledged the order, then vanished.

Qian Renxue tidied herself up and entered the palace as a maid.

Because Xue Qinghe would be leaving for a hunt in three days.

Then...

After years of lying low, the time had come! It was time to replace one pillar with another!

A few days later.

The noon sun shone down as a carriage slowly entered the town outside the Star Dou Great Forest, coming to a stop as the dust settled.

"Young Master, we've arrived."

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Ouyang Ling was the first to jump down. He looked up at the sky, his face devoid of emotion.

It was not that he was not excited that his thousand-year second soul ring was within reach, but rather that Qian Renxue's operation was underway far away in Heaven Dou City.

He had keenly sensed that Qian Renxue intended to replace Xue Qinghe.

Thinking back, when he had broken through to level 20 over two months ago, Qian Renxue had not sent anyone to take him hunting for a soul ring. Instead, she had made him intensify his training and consume more Whale Glue, dragging things out until only a few days ago. It was likely also to keep him away from the coming storm.

Though he knew the outcome and had no need to worry, still...

He could not stop thinking about it.

"Haah... hoo..."

He took deep breaths, inhaling... exhaling...

Ouyang Ling looked at the accompanying Soul Sage, who had just paid the fare. "Senior, the air near the Star Dou Great Forest really is fresh."

The Soul Sage did not echo his sentiment and merely asked,

"Young Master, shall we enter the Star Dou Great Forest now?"

Ouyang Ling did not answer. Instead, he stroked his chin.

"How long do you think it will take us to find the soul beast we need?"

The sudden question left him momentarily stunned.

Then Ouyang Ling glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Hm? Senior, why aren't you saying anything? You're experienced, so give me an estimate."

Fortunately, the accompanying Soul Sage truly was seasoned. The earlier flicker of surprise seemed like an illusion and had already disappeared. In its place was an estimate of the journey after considering the map.

"...About ten days."

"Is ten days enough?" Ouyang Ling asked.

The accompanying Soul Sage fell silent. "It is enough."

"But we don't have that long, do we?"

The accompanying Soul Sage: "..."

Seeing him remain silent, all businesslike as ever, Ouyang Ling could only shake his head. "Then let's go. The timing is just right."

He then looked toward the dense primeval forest. "If we're quick enough, perhaps we can spend a few more days experiencing the local customs in town."

"What do you think? Not bad, right?"

"...Fine."

"Then it's settled. When the time comes, I'll treat you to a drink, Senior."

After confirming the precise location of the soul beast they needed, Ouyang Ling and the accompanying Soul Sage headed into the forest. Before long, they entered it, with the latter clearing the way and the former following closely behind.

Unlike last time,

To prevent any soul beasts from failing to recognize their place, the accompanying Soul Sage fully unleashed his aura, making ninety-nine percent of the creatures in the outer region too afraid to approach.

Since their target had already been decided, there was no need to spare a glance at anything along the way.

At the same time, in another part of the Star Dou Great Forest's outer region.

"Teacher, how much longer are we going to search?"

A middle-aged man waved a hand and chopped through the vines blocking the path. He turned and glared at the chubby boy following behind him. "Do you think suitable soul rings are easy to find? Taking ten days or half a month would be perfectly normal, and you've only been searching for two days before you started complaining."

"What!?"

Hearing it would take so long, the chubby boy's vision went black.

He regretted it terribly now. If he had known, he would have gone to a soul beast forest instead. It was all Xiao Ao's fault! Xiao Ao had said the soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest were better, getting his hopes all stirred up.

As his teacher, the middle-aged man knew exactly what his disciple was thinking whenever the boy so much as stuck out his backside.

With one glance, the middle-aged man guessed his thoughts. However, he did not try to persuade him much, only saying coldly,

"Then do you still want to keep looking?"

"Yes! Of course!"

The chubby boy immediately shuddered when he heard that.

Complaining was one thing, but he still needed a soul ring.

He wanted to become a powerful Soul Master and bring glory to his family!

"If you want to search, then stop talking and get moving!"

Just then, the middle-aged man abruptly stopped. His gaze behind his glasses instantly locked onto a direction. His once-round pupils shifted into sharp vertical slits, like a bird of prey poised to strike.

A red blur flashed beneath a distant tree.

When the red blur stopped, a fiery red rat came into the middle-aged man's sight, warily scanning its surroundings.

A Fire Rat, a soul beast of over three hundred years.

The middle-aged man made his judgment with a single glance.

"What luck. We've found a soul beast suitable for you."

Before the middle-aged man could warn him, the chubby boy exclaimed,

"Really!?"

Unable to contain his joy, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The tremendous noise startled the Fire Rat. Without even checking who it was, it transformed into a streak of red light and fled into the distance!

Naturally, they could not let their hard-won prey escape.

With no time to scold the chubby boy, the middle-aged man grabbed him and gave chase.

Unfortunately, the forest was dense, the Fire Rat was small, and it was incredibly fast, weaving continuously through the trees.

As for the middle-aged man, though he was powerful, he was too large. On top of that, he was carrying dead weight and could not increase his speed, leaving him trailing behind the Fire Rat.

If not for the middle-aged man's martial soul having an advantage in these circumstances, that Fire Rat of just over three hundred years would have shaken him off long ago.

After locking onto his target, the middle-aged man pursued it relentlessly.

Even if he could not catch up immediately, he remained patient. After all, once a soul beast of only three hundred years began fleeing at full speed, how long could it possibly keep it up?

Perhaps realizing this, though it possessed little intelligence, its instincts began searching for a way out.

In the end, the Fire Rat fixed its gaze in one direction.

It had just fled from there because a very powerful creature was releasing its aura and constantly claiming territory.

If it led the equally powerful creature chasing it toward that one, the intruder would surely become enraged. Then the creature behind it would have no time to keep chasing it with its young.

Thus, the Fire Rat abruptly changed direction.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man shouted, "Chase it!"

"Beyond this lies the mixed zone."

The accompanying Soul Sage checked the markings on the map. "Once we enter the mixed zone, our destination won't be far away."

"That really was quick."

Ouyang Ling spoke casually, but his gaze kept sweeping the surroundings.

This place was fraught with danger. Though having a Soul Sage protecting him at close range meant there was a ninety-nine percent chance nothing would go wrong, there was still that one percent.

For example...

Right now!

The accompanying Soul Sage's expression did not change. "A soul beast is approaching."

A streak of fire raced toward them. Ouyang Ling, already possessing his martial soul, had long been prepared and immediately made his judgment.

"It's coming for me."

A sphere of water condensed in his palm. "Pfft—"

It sounded like a small stone falling into water, yet the water sphere's eruption far surpassed what that sound suggested.

"Let me put out your fire."

The instant it flew from his hand, "Glug, glug, glug—"

In the blink of an eye, the water sphere expanded, transforming directly into a wave of jade-blue water that surged toward the fiery streak.

The fiery streak was like a flame facing a tidal wave. Before it could dodge, it was swept into the jade waves and revealed its true form.

Ouyang Ling turned his palm into a pointed finger and thrust it out, releasing a burst of cold. As the jade waves trapped the fiery streak, he froze it on the spot.

Everything happened in a flash.

At that moment, the accompanying Soul Sage's expression tightened.

"There's another one behind it!"