Target: Star Dou Forest!

Late at night, after Old Jack had fallen asleep, Jiang Lin and the others came outside his room.

"Jiang Lin, are we leaving now?"

"Not yet. There's one more thing."

Jiang Lin swept his gaze around and said quietly, "Come out, all of you."

The next moment, shadows rose from all around them, gradually condensing into human forms.

"We greet our master."

They were the seven Shadow Ninjas who had previously remained by Old Jack's side.

"You three, come out as well."

Jiang Lin glanced around himself, and three more 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 like them. If anything happens later, immediately take Grandpa Jack and flee. You should be able to do that, right?"

"Rest assured, Master. We will protect Lord Jack and never allow any harm to come to him."

Jiang Lin looked seriously at the ten of them, then gave a slight nod. With a wave of his hand, they all turned into shadows and melted into their surroundings.

"Wow, Jiang Lin, they can actually merge into the shadows. That's so amazing."

When Xiao Wu saw the Shadow Ninjas vanish completely in an instant, her eyes were filled with surprise.

Jiang Lin smiled lightly without explaining.

Little Dragon Girl asked, "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 the most urgent matter is to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain Soul Rings."

"Sister Long, and Sister Tian Yan, you too. Although your soul power levels are high enough, neither of you has given your Martial Soul any Soul Rings yet. This trip to the Star Dou Forest should greatly increase your strength as well."

"Giving Martial Souls Soul Rings? Kid, don't tell me that alone can break my seal?"

Tian Yan raised an eyebrow. If it were that easy, then agreeing to make three moves for Jiang Lin earlier would have been far too great a loss.

"Ahem, Sister Tian Yan, of course that can't break your seal. But it can raise your strength to a certain extent."

"Oh? That's possible too?"

"Kid, I'm becoming more and more curious about the method to break the seal on me."

"Don't worry, Sister Tian Yan. You'll naturally find out after you make your third move."

Jiang Lin did not continue the conversation and moved past the subject.

Suddenly, Jiang Lin seemed to sense something. His brows furrowed slightly as he looked at Xiao Wu beside him, whose mood had abruptly fallen.

"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"

"Huh? I'm fine. Jiang Lin, weren't we going to the Star Dou Forest? Let's go now."

"Looks like it's because of what I said earlier."

Understanding flickered in Jiang Lin's eyes.

Having thoroughly read the original novel, he naturally knew that Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year-old Soft-Bone Rabbit Soul Beast who had taken human form. Before going to Notting Academy, she had lived deep within the Star Dou Forest.

As a Soul Beast herself, she naturally could not accept Jiang Lin's act of hunting Soul Beasts. But Jiang Lin had no choice. If he wanted to grow stronger, he had to do this. Thus, he did not know how to comfort Xiao Wu and could only wait for her to come to terms with it herself someday.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Jiang Lin and the others also arrived at the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.

"So this is the Star Dou Forest? The spiritual energy of heaven and earth here is truly dense. It really deserves to be called a holy land for Soul Beast and Soul Master cultivation!"

"This place is rather interesting. If not for the seal within me, I estimate I could quickly raise my cultivation to the next stage."

"Eh? The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra actually started circulating on its own. It seems I won't need long to reach the Soul Ancestor realm Jiang Lin mentioned."

"Da Ming, Er Ming, I didn't expect to return so soon. You should be surprised too, right?"

As they entered the Star Dou Forest, Jiang Lin began considering his Soul Ring configuration.

"Mm, according to the original Douluo setting, a Soul Master's first Soul Ring has a maximum limit of five hundred years, while the second Soul Ring is limited to one thousand years."

"However, my King's Power Sword Martial Soul and Pure Yang Flame Martial Soul should be able to break through those limits. Even before becoming an official Soul Master, I can already rival a Great Soul Master, so my first Soul Ring should be able to reach around one thousand years!"

"Mm, there's no need to give Pure Yang Flame a Soul Ring for now. My current endurance is still too low, so the cost-effectiveness is poor."

"Perhaps after I break through to Soul King and receive the inheritance of the Ancient God Art, the Soul Ring age I can withstand should reach at least fifty thousand years, perhaps even higher. It won't be too late to give Pure Yang Flame a Soul Ring then."

"So now, I need to find a Soul Beast suited to the King's Power Sword. The King's Power Sword's traits are ultimate sharpness that can cut through anything, and it can also greatly enhance my reaction speed. Therefore, the direction of my first Soul Ring should be to strengthen those traits or increase the power of the sword qi around the King's Power Sword..."

"Looking at it that way, a thousand-year Gale Wind Demon Wolf, Ghost Tiger, or Netherworld Leopard would be my best choices at present. However, Gale Wind Demon Wolves mostly live in packs, Ghost Tigers are nocturnal Soul Beasts, and Netherworld Leopards are exceptionally skilled at hiding. Finding one of those three types of Soul Beasts suitable for me to absorb will likely take quite a lot of effort."

"But I'm not pressed for time right now, and Little Dragon Girl and Tian Yan are with me, so obtaining this first Soul Ring won't be too difficult."

After sorting through these thoughts, Jiang Lin immediately relaxed and began wandering through the Star Dou Forest with the other three.

However, because neither Little Dragon Girl nor Tian Yan released their soul power aura, before long, more than a dozen hundred-year Gale Wind Demon Wolves led by their alpha wolf charged toward them to attack.

Seeing this, Little Dragon Girl was about to strike and kill them, but Jiang Lin stepped forward first.

"Sister Long, leave these Soul Beasts to me. They aren't worth you personally taking action."

"Mm. Then be careful, Jiang Lin."

Jiang Lin merely nodded slightly, and the King's Power Sword appeared in his palm.

This time, aside from obtaining Soul Rings to raise his cultivation, the most important reason Jiang Lin had come to the Star Dou Forest was to use these Soul Beasts to improve his practical combat skills.

The reason Jiang Lin had been able to defeat those people in his previous few battles was entirely because his initial soul power and the King's Power Sword's grade were too high.

If Jiang Lin had been placed on the same level as them, then let alone Tang San or Xiao Wu, even Wang Sheng from Dormitory Seven could probably defeat him if Jiang Lin was careless.

Now that he had suitable sparring partners, Jiang Lin naturally would not let the opportunity pass.

After restraining most of the King's Power Sword's power, Jiang Lin relied on its enhancement of his reaction speed and charged straight at the Gale Wind Demon Wolves.

"Awooo—"

Seeing Jiang Lin actually dare to charge at them, the Gale Wind Demon Wolves' eyes immediately filled with disdain. He was merely a little child who was not even a Soul Master—how did he dare?

Thus, the closest Gale Wind Demon Wolf leaped into the air and swung its claws down at Jiang Lin.

However, the alpha wolf was much more cautious. With only a low growl, it had three Gale Wind Demon Wolves leave the pack to provide support.