Late at night, after Jack fell asleep, Jiang Lin and the others arrived outside the bedroom door.
"Jiang Lin, are we leaving now?"
"Not yet, there's still one thing."
Jiang Lin swept his gaze around the surroundings and said in a low voice, "Come out, all of you."
The next moment, streaks of dark shadows rose from the surroundings and gradually condensed into human shapes.
"We pay our respects to the master."
These were precisely the seven shadow ninjas who had previously stayed behind by Jack's side.
"You guys come out too."
Jiang Lin glanced around himself, and three more dark shadows rose from the ground, arriving before him.
"You three don't need to keep following me anymore. From now on, stay by Grandpa Jack's side just like them. If any unexpected situation happens later, immediately take Grandpa Jack and flee. You should be able to do this, right?"
"Rest assured, master, we will definitely protect Lord Jack and ensure no unexpected harm comes to him."
Jiang Lin seriously looked at these ten people, then nodded slightly. With a wave of his hand, they all transformed into shadows and merged into the surroundings.
"Wow, Jiang Lin, they can actually merge into shadows. It's really so magical."
Seeing these shadow ninjas completely disappear in just an instant, Xiao Wu's eyes were filled with astonishment.
Jiang Lin smiled faintly and did not explain.
Little Dragon Girl said, "Jiang Lin, where are we going next?"
"Mm, we're going to the Star Dou Forest. My strength is still too weak right now, so our top priority is to hunt soul beasts and obtain a soul ring first."
"Sister Long, and Sister Tian Yan, you two as well. Although your soul power levels have reached the mark, neither of you has bestowed soul rings upon your martial souls yet. Heading to the Star Dou Forest this time should also allow your strength to improve by a great margin."
"Bestow soul rings upon martial souls? Brat, don't tell me that just doing this can lift my seal?"
Tian Yan raised an eyebrow. If it were that easy, the three times she had previously promised to make a move for Jiang Lin would be a terrible bargain for her.
"Ahem, Sister Tian Yan, of course this can't lift your seal, but improving your strength within a certain limit can still be done."
"Oh? It's even like this?"
"Brat, I'm getting more and more curious about what the method to lift the seal on me is."
"Rest assured, Sister Tian Yan. You'll know after your third move."
Jiang Lin didn't continue the conversation and skipped the topic.
Suddenly, Jiang Lin seemed to sense something. His brows furrowed slightly as he looked at Xiao Wu beside him, whose emotions had suddenly grown dejected.
"Xiao Wu, what's wrong with you?"
"Ah? I'm fine, Jiang Lin. Weren't we going to the Star Dou Forest? Let's go right now."
"It seems it was because of what I said just now."
A trace of understanding appeared in Jiang Lin's eyes.
Having read the original work thoroughly, he naturally knew that Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the Soft Bone Rabbit, transformed into human form, and before heading to Notting Academy, she had lived right in the depths of the Star Dou Forest.
As a soul beast, she naturally couldn't accept Jiang Lin's behavior of hunting soul beasts. However, Jiang Lin didn't have much of a choice; if he wanted to increase his strength, he had to do this. Thus, Jiang Lin didn't know how to comfort Xiao Wu either and could only wait for her to figure it out on her own later.
Time flew by, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Lin and the others also arrived at the periphery of the Star Dou Forest.
"Is this the Star Dou Forest? The heaven and earth vital energy around here is truly dense. It really lives up to its reputation as a holy land for cultivation by soul beasts and soul masters!"
"This place is somewhat interesting, though. If there were no seals in my body, I reckon I could elevate my cultivation to the next stage very soon."
"Eh? The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra has actually begun operating automatically. It looks like I'll be able to reach the Soul Grandmaster realm Jiang Lin mentioned before long."
"Da Ming, Er Ming, I didn't expect I'd return so soon. You guys must be quite surprised too."
As he walked into the Star Dou Forest, Jiang Lin also began to ponder his own soul ring configuration.
"Mm, according to the settings of the original Douluo work, the upper limit for a soul master's first soul ring is within 500 years, and the second soul ring is within a thousand years."
"However, my King's Power Sword martial soul and Pure Yang Flame martial soul should be able to break through this restriction. Even now, before officially becoming a soul master, I can rival a Soul Grandmaster. Therefore, the age of my first soul ring should be able to reach around one thousand years!"
"Mm, the Pure Yang Flame doesn't need a soul ring bestowed upon it for now; my current bearing capacity is still too low, and the cost-performance ratio is too poor."
"Perhaps once I break through to Soul King and accept the inheritance of the Ancient God Art, the bearable age of a soul ring should at least reach around 50,000 years, or even higher. It won't be too late to bestow a soul ring upon the Pure Yang Flame when that time comes."
"So now, it's about finding a soul beast compatible with the King's Power Sword. The characteristic of the King's Power Sword is extreme sharpness where nothing cannot be slashed, and it can also greatly enhance my reaction speed. Thus, the direction of the first soul ring should be to reinforce this characteristic or boost the might of those sword qi energies on the King's Power Sword..."
"Looking at it this way, Gale Wind Demon Wolves, Ghost Tigers, and Netherworld Leopards of around a thousand years are my current best choices. However, Gale Wind Demon Wolves mostly live in groups, Ghost Tigers are nocturnal soul beasts, and Netherworld Leopards excel greatly at concealment. Therefore, wanting to find these three types of soul beasts suitable for my absorption will probably require expending a great deal of effort."
"It's just that my current time isn't tight, and I also have Little Dragon Girl and Tian Yan by my side, so obtaining this first soul ring isn't considered all that difficult."
After figuring these things out, Jiang Lin instantly relaxed and then began strolling leisurely around the Star Dou Forest with the other three.
Yet because Little Dragon Girl and Tian Yan did not project their soul power auras outward, it wasn't long before a dozen or so century-old Gale Wind Demon Wolves, led by a alpha wolf, swooped in and assaulted them.
Seeing this, Little Dragon Girl immediately moved to execute them, but Jiang Lin stepped forward first instead.
"Sister Long, leave these soul beasts to me. They aren't worth you making a move yourself."
"Mm, then be careful, Jiang Lin."
Jiang Lin gave a slight nod, and the King's Power Sword instantly appeared in the palm of his hand.
Aside from obtaining a soul ring to elevate his cultivation, the most important thing for Jiang Lin in coming to the Star Dou Forest this time was to use these soul beasts to hone his practical combat skills.
During his previous few clashes, the reason Jiang Lin was able to defeat those people was entirely due to his initial soul power and the excessively high grade of the King's Power Sword.
Yet if Jiang Lin were placed at their equivalent level, to say nothing of Tang St. or Xiao Wu, even Wang Sheng from Dorm Seven would probably defeat him if Jiang Lin were careless.
Now that suitable sparring partners were available, Jiang Lin naturally wouldn't let the opportunity pass.
Suppressing most of the King's Power Sword's mighty power, Jiang Lin relied on the weapon's boost to his reaction speed and took the initiative to charge straight at the Gale Wind Demon Wolves.
"Awooo—"
Seeing that Jiang Lin actually dared to charge in proactively, disdain instantly flashed in the eyes of those Gale Wind Demon Wolves. He was merely a little brat who wasn't even a soul master—how on earth did he dare!
Thus, the Gale Wind Demon Wolf closest to him leaped directly into the air, brandishing sharp claws as it lashed down toward Jiang Lin.
The alpha wolf, however, appeared quite cautious, letting out only a low howl to dispatch three Gale Wind Demon Wolves away from the pack to provide backup.
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