"What am I truly lacking right now?" Gu Ling pondered as he walked, slowing his pace as he began carefully sorting through his current combat abilities.
First was defense, but he did not need to consider that at all. After fusing with the Bone Dragon Martial Soul, a suit of bone armor naturally formed over the surface of his body.
As his Soul Power increased and his Soul Rings continuously strengthened his body, his defensive capabilities were already exceptional among Soul Masters of the same rank. There was no need to waste his third Soul Ring on further piling up defense.
As for speed and burst power, his Second Soul Skill, Void Dragon Assault, already made up for those. At range, he had Spatial Rift Bone Spikes, which could alter the point of attack through spatial manipulation.
Whether in close combat or at range, Gu Ling already possessed highly effective killing methods.
At first glance, he seemed to have no obvious weaknesses.
But after thinking carefully for a while, Gu Ling shook his head and muttered to himself, "No. What I lack most right now isn't offensive power, but a means of preventing enemies from escaping."
At that thought, Gu Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.
He suddenly realized that both of his current Soul Skills were focused entirely on attacking enemies.
But the problem was... no matter how powerful an attack was, it still had to hit!
Although the trajectory of Spatial Rift Bone Spikes was extremely unpredictable and could suddenly change position through spatial abilities to strike an enemy, if the enemy was fast enough or possessed exceptional evasion abilities, as long as they kept moving, he would have to expend more Soul Power to control the bone spikes in pursuit.
Although his Second Soul Skill, Void Dragon Assault, allowed him to traverse space for close-range assaults, this Soul Skill leaned more toward instantaneous bursts. It was no problem for chasing enemies within a short distance.
But if the opponent also possessed movement-type Soul Skills or had already widened the distance, the two sides would likely end up in a continuous chase.
What was more, the enemies he would face in the future could not possibly always be alone.
Once he was besieged by multiple opponents.
He would need a Soul Skill capable of restricting the movements of nearby enemies even more.
"If that's the case, then what I truly lack right now should be control."
At that thought, Gu Ling's eyes suddenly lit up.
Of course, the control he meant was not the kind Tang San's Blue Silver Grass used, relying purely on Entangling to restrict an enemy's movements. After all, the Bone Dragon Martial Soul had followed the path of a power attack-type from the very beginning.
If his Third Soul Skill merely trapped enemies without much killing power.
Then it would likewise fail to fit his cultivation plans for the Bone Dragon Martial Soul.
What Gu Ling needed was a Soul Skill that fused control and offense into one, or more accurately, one that achieved control for the purpose of attacking!
At that moment, an image appeared in his mind. He could pour Soul Power into the ground, and in the next instant, massive bone spikes several meters long would burst from beneath the enemy's feet!
If the enemy failed to react in time, their body would be directly pierced through by the enormous bone spikes.
Even if they narrowly evaded them.
The bone spikes would continue rising at slanted, interlocking angles, instantly sealing off the space available for the enemy to dodge.
In the end.
The enemy would either be pierced through by the bone spikes or completely trapped within them!
At that thought, the corners of Gu Ling's lips slowly curved upward as he said in a low voice,
"This should be the Third Soul Skill best suited to me. It would possess large-scale killing power while also allowing me to alter the battlefield through bone spikes and seal off the enemy's room to evade."
"Even if the spikes don't hit the enemy, as long as they force them to dodge in the direction I want, then this Soul Skill will have achieved its purpose."
Because that way.
His other two Soul Skills would both receive an enormous boost!
For example, when facing an agility attack-type Soul Master with extreme speed, he could first create large numbers of bone spikes beneath the opponent's feet, continuously compressing the space in which they could move.
If the enemy dodged left, bone spikes would emerge from the ground on the left. If they evaded right, bone spikes would likewise rise from the ground on the right.
Until in the end, only one position remained for the enemy to dodge toward.
Then, he could activate his First Soul Skill—Spatial Rift Bone Spikes!
The originally difficult-to-predict spatial attack would appear directly at the enemy's only possible foothold, leaving them nowhere to evade! Gu Ling could even use his Third Soul Skill to deliberately force an enemy to move in the direction he anticipated. Then his Second Soul Ring would light up as he activated Void Dragon Assault, instantly crossing space to appear ahead on the enemy's escape route before finishing them with a single claw!
At that thought, Gu Ling's ideas regarding his Third Soul Ring became completely clear.
"It seems I don't need another Soul Skill that purely increases my offensive power for now. What I need is a Soul Skill that can help me create opportunities to attack!"
"It would be best if it combined area control with powerful offense. It should be able to kill, trap enemies, and even alter the terrain to restrict their movement."
"Looking at it that way..."
Gu Ling stroked his chin, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"The type of Soul Beast I need to seek for my Third Soul Ring has also become clear."
"It should possess powerful attack attributes, preferably earth attributes as well, and be capable of launching attacks through the ground. For example, Soul Beasts that can suddenly thrust bone spikes up from underground, or create large-scale attacks such as ground spikes or forests of bones. It would be best if they also possessed some ability to control their prey."
Once he found such a Soul Beast, it would be highly likely to grant him the Third Soul Skill he wanted.
But one thing was theory, while Soul Beasts capable of providing such abilities were not easy to find. Gu Ling continued deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest while observing the traces left behind by Soul Beasts around him.
Before he knew it, he had already spent more than half a day inside the Star Dou Great Forest.
Along the way, Gu Ling had naturally encountered quite a few Soul Beasts: ten-year Soul Beasts, hundred-year Soul Beasts, and even two whose cultivation had reached the thousand-year level.
Unfortunately, none of those Soul Beasts possessed abilities that met his requirements.
If all he wanted was to casually obtain a Third Soul Ring, then with Gu Ling's current strength, he could easily find an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast and kill it.
But he obviously would not do that.
His first two Soul Rings had already laid an excellent foundation for his combat system.
If he carelessly chose a Soul Beast for his Third Soul Ring merely for convenience, he might instead ruin the cultivation path he had planned before.
Thus, Gu Ling was in no hurry. He would rather spend more time than fail to find a Soul Beast that truly suited him. With that, he continued thinking as he searched.
By the time Gu Ling came back to his senses, the surroundings had already changed noticeably from when he first entered the forest. The trees here were taller, and their dense canopies nearly completely blocked out the sky.
Thick shrubs filled the area, and from time to time, he could even sense auras that clearly belonged to thousand-year or even ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Gu Ling took out his map and briefly identified his location before saying in a deep voice,
"It looks like I'm about to leave the outermost region of the forest. If I go any farther in, the frequency of thousand-year Soul Beasts should increase significantly."
This was already considered the deepest part of the Star Dou Great Forest's outer region.
Continuing onward would rapidly increase the danger. For an ordinary two-ring Soul Grandmaster, venturing here alone was already an extremely risky act.
Yet Gu Ling was not overly worried. Although he had yet to obtain his Third Soul Ring, the Soul Power he had accumulated had long surpassed level thirty. Combined with his strange Bone Dragon Martial Soul, one yellow and one purple Soul Ring that exceeded normal age limits, and two great spatial Soul Skills.
If he truly encountered a thousand-year Soul Beast he could not defeat, then even if he could not win, escaping would not be much of a problem.
Void Dragon Assault in particular was a Soul Skill he had become exceedingly proficient with. Unless he encountered a Soul Beast far stronger than himself, it would generally be difficult for anything to truly keep him behind.
Gu Ling put away the map in his hand and was just about to continue onward when—
"Awooo—!"
An incomparably shrill Soul Beast cry suddenly came from ahead. Then the trees shook violently, and flocks of startled birds burst into the sky from among the distant treetops.
"Someone is hunting a Soul Beast?"
Watching the scene before him, Gu Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. Although this place was already fairly deep within the outer region, it was not truly a dangerous area yet. It was nothing strange for a team of Soul Masters to hunt Soul Beasts here.
Gu Ling had not intended to meddle.
But immediately afterward, a clear shout came from the distance:
"Tian Heng, Yan Zi, I'll hold back this Soul Beast! Protect Ling Ling! She's absorbing her Third Soul Ring and cannot be disturbed!"
Before you continue