First Soul Ring, Swordspine Demon Tiger

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three days, Su Qi devoted himself fully to tempering his body.

Every day, he soaked in Spirit Hall's specially formulated top-grade medicinal baths on schedule while consuming spiritual medicines.

But what truly transformed the strength of his body was neither the medicinal baths nor the spiritual medicines, but Whale Gel.

All thirteen pieces of Thousand-Year Whale Gel that Gui Mei had secretly gathered, along with one piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Gel, were swallowed by Su Qi.

The immense medicinal power strengthened every part of his body.

His muscles, bones, meridians, and physical endurance all underwent a complete transformation.

His height even shot up from one meter thirty to one meter sixty.

The frailty and childishness of Su Qi's original six-year-old body completely faded away.

His posture became upright, and his frame broadened.

Now, he looked more like a handsome ten-year-old boy—still youthful, yet built on a solid foundation.

Gui Mei watched the entire process, his heart filled with shock.

Previously, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, Yan, and the other Spirit Hall geniuses had all used the same medicinal baths and spiritual medicines.

Yet none of them had experienced such rapid physical growth in merely three days, much less such a miraculous rebirth!

Only after personally witnessing Su Qi's growth did Gui Mei finally become certain.

Soul Masters across the continent only knew that Whale Gel was an aphrodisiac that boosted virility.

They did not know that its effects in tempering the body, widening the meridians, and raising the body's limits far surpassed any top-grade medicinal bath or spiritual medicine.

With Su Qi's current physical condition, comparable to that of a ten-year-old, perhaps he truly could absorb a first soul ring of a higher age than usual!

This showed that Whale Gel was absolutely a supreme treasure for helping Soul Masters absorb soul rings beyond their level!

With Spirit Hall in possession of such a secret, it would surely produce countless outstanding talents in the future!

And Su Qi, who had provided Spirit Hall with such a secret, had already surpassed every previous Holy Son in terms of his contributions to Spirit Hall!

After confirming that Su Qi had not merely grown taller, but that his physical strength had truly become incomparable to before, Gui Mei immediately submitted an application to Bibi Dong to go hunt a soul beast.

Because Su Qi wanted to kill a soul beast with Deity bloodline for his soul ring.

Gui Mei therefore abandoned the nearest Death Canyon.

Instead, he brought Su Qi to the Star Dou Great Forest, where god-level soul beasts might be born.

Five days later.

They finally arrived at their destination.

The ancient forest ahead was densely packed, and the air, mixed with the scent of wild beasts and fluctuations of soul power, sent chills down one's spine.

Even though it was daytime, the entrance to the ancient forest was gloomy and dim, giving off the sense that danger lurked everywhere.

The boundless ancient forest ahead was the most mysterious and vast Star Dou Great Forest on Douluo Continent, home to all kinds of soul beasts at every level of cultivation.

It was said that any Soul Master, as long as they were strong enough and lucky enough, could find the soul beast best suited to them as a soul ring in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Holy Son, you must stay close to me from here on. If we really find a soul beast with god-level bloodline, it will definitely be an extraordinarily powerful and unpredictable existence, so we must remain vigilant at all times!"

After the reminder, Gui Mei headed toward the entrance of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Su Qi followed closely behind him.

The moment they stepped into the forest entrance, the atmosphere abruptly changed.

Ancient trees towered overhead, their massive canopies blocking out the sky and sun.

Layer upon layer of branches and leaves intertwined, leaving the forest dark and damp all year round.

Thin yet pure heaven-and-earth soul power permeated every inch of the air.

Beast roars rose and fell, overlapping from near and far as an ancient, savage aura rushed toward them.

The history of the Star Dou Great Forest was even older than Spirit Hall or any clan on the continent.

It had nurtured countless powerful soul beasts, even ancient soul beasts. It was undoubtedly a sacred land for Soul Masters seeking opportunities, but also a burial ground for them.

Without a powerful expert leading the way, the chance of death was extremely high.

Fortunately, Gui Mei was a level ninety-five agility-type Titled Douluo.

Even if they encountered a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and could not defeat it, he could still take someone and flee immediately.

However, this soul hunt would only take them through the Outer Area, so they should not encounter a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

Unless the hundred-thousand-year soul beast Azure Bull Python, which he had crippled in his previous life, suddenly came to the Outer Area to seek revenge on him.

But the chances of that were extremely low.

Because hundred-thousand-year soul beasts cherished their lives.

Back then, the Azure Bull Python had only escaped death because Xiao Wu's mother had helped it flee.

Now that Xiao Wu's mother had been killed by Bibi Dong, it had lost a companion who could help it escape. Naturally, the Azure Bull Python would not dare show itself rashly again.

As they walked straight along the forest path, Su Qi constantly reviewed the memories of his previous life.

Relying on his familiarity with the Star Dou Great Forest from his previous life, he deliberately guided Gui Mei toward a canyon region that might nurture god-level soul beasts.

Unfortunately, god-level soul beasts with Deity bloodlines were far too rare.

In this canyon region, there was no sign of either the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger or the Thunderclap Hellvine.

Afterward, the two of them traversed the Outer Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

They investigated swamps, dense forests, thunder valleys, and icy caves one by one.

Day after day, regardless of wind or rain.

Yet they still could not find a single god-level soul beast.

After an entire month, they had gained nothing.

Left with no choice, Su Qi had to settle for second best and ask Gui Mei to find a top-tier soul beast called the Swordspine Demon Tiger for his first soul ring.

Another three days of searching yielded nothing.

Gui Mei and Su Qi camped for the night at the foot of a mountain mine.

Over the past month or so, Gui Mei had not merely been searching for soul beasts. He had also been teaching Su Qi how to determine a soul beast's cultivation and sharing his experience with absorbing soul rings.

Although Su Qi had learned long ago in his previous life how to identify a soul beast's cultivation and had experience absorbing soul rings, he still pretended to know nothing and listened attentively.

Just as they finished setting up their tent and were preparing to rest, at the foot of the mountain mine—

The wind rustled through the forest. Dead leaves lay piled in layers, and the smell of rotting foliage mixed with the scent of metallic rust grew increasingly thick.

Gui Mei, standing guard outside the tent, narrowed his eyes and immediately sensed the fluctuations of a soul beast's aura.

Su Qi hurried out of the tent and looked in the direction Gui Mei pointed.

Halfway up the mountain mine, a massive crouching tiger silhouette slowly raised its head.

It was a Swordspine Demon Tiger that fed exclusively on metal.

Its body was far larger than that of ordinary tiger-type soul beasts. Its black fur resembled tempered refined iron, every strand standing upright and gleaming with sharpness.

Its most terrifying feature was the silver-white bony sword spine protruding along its back.

Running from its neck to its tailbone, its edges were as sharp as a peerless sword. Cold light glinted from it, and it naturally carried a faint sword intent.

Its tiger eyes were cold, devoid of an animal's dullness and filled instead with ferocity and dominance.

The mountain mine was two hundred meters tall, and the Swordspine Demon Tiger was halfway up, at a height of a hundred meters. Their campsite was also a hundred meters away from the mountain mine.

Logically, Gui Mei could use the eyesight and spiritual power of a Titled Douluo to capture the Swordspine Demon Tiger's every movement, but an ordinary six-year-old child could never do the same.

Fortunately, Su Qi was not an ordinary six-year-old child.

The power of his soul was actually far stronger than Gui Mei's, and his spiritual power was comparable to Divine Sense.

On top of that, the medicinal power of the Autumn Water Dew carried by his soul had strengthened his eyes, so he could naturally see the Swordspine Demon Tiger clearly.

But he did not reveal it. Instead, he placed a hand over his brow and peered into the distance, asking in a childlike voice, "Ghost Elder, what is there halfway up the mountain?"

"A Swordspine Demon Tiger. It is exactly the soul beast we have been looking for. Judging by its cultivation, it should be close to a thousand years old."

Gui Mei deliberately restrained his aura as he explained quietly, "It is said that the Swordspine Demon Tiger is one of the few assault-type soul beasts on the continent born with innate sword intent."

"The Wind Sword Sect listed this soul beast as the first choice of soul ring for its direct disciples long ago. But it is extremely difficult to absorb."