"Thanks, Teacher Li, I know." Xiao Lin turned and left, his pace steady and without the slightest bit of panic.
The moment he stepped out of the teaching building, he saw a familiar figure standing by the flowerbed ahead, hands behind his back and a winning expression plastered across his face.
Yu Xiaogang had deliberately waited here for him.
"Well, Xiao Lin?" Yu Xiaogang spoke slowly, his tone carrying poorly concealed smugness. "Did you realize that not a single person in the entire academy is willing to accompany you to hunt a Soul Beast?"
Xiao Lin stopped in his tracks and looked at him expressionlessly.
"I told you long ago that you'd regret it." Yu Xiaogang paced over to stand in front of him, looking down his nose at him with an attitude remarkably like a victorious rooster.
"However, I am magnanimous and willing to give you another chance. As long as you apologize to me, admit in front of all the teachers and students of the academy that your previous remarks were wrong, and then take me as your master, I'll help you hunt your first soul ring."
He paused, then added, "Do you know how many years Tang San's first soul ring is? Over four hundred years! A Mandala Snake! I hunted it with my own hands! If you take me as your master, I guarantee I can find you an equally high-quality soul ring!"
After listening to this speech, Xiao Lin almost failed to keep a straight face.
Hunted with your own hands? Are you sure you hunted it with your own hands? If I remember correctly, in the original work, when you took Tang San into the Soul Hunting Forest and encountered that Mandala Snake, your legs were so scared they went jelly, and in the end, it was Tang San who solved it with Jade Phosphor Hands and hidden weapons, right?
You were a total deadweight the whole time, so how did it somehow become something you hunted by the time it came out of your mouth?
This guy was not only petty, but his skin was also astonishingly thick.
"No need." Xiao Lin made a clean and decisive refusal. "I can handle it myself."
The smile on Yu Xiaogang's face froze. "You can handle it yourself? A kid without even a soul ring, what are you going to use to handle it? Do you know how dangerous the Soul Hunting Forest is? There are Soul Beasts everywhere; any casual Hundred-Year Soul Beast could cost you your life!"
"That's my business." Xiao Lin bypassed him and continued walking forward.
"You're going to die!" Yu Xiaogang shouted behind him. "Do you think I'm harming you? I'm saving you! For a six-year-old child to go into the Soul Hunting Forest alone is simply courting death!"
Without looking back, Xiao Lin waved a hand. "Don't worry, I've got a hard life; I won't die."
"You!" Yu Xiaogang stamped his foot in fury. "Incorrigible! Rotten wood cannot be carved! When you come back crying and begging me, let's see what face you have left to look at me!"
Xiao Lin didn't bother with him anymore.
He returned to the dormitory, simply packed some dry rations and water, polished the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute once more, and then walked out of the gates of Nuoding Academy without looking back.
The Soul Hunting Forest was located in the northeast direction of Notting City, about half a day's journey from the academy.
This was a vast expanse of primeval forest, inhabited by a large number of ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts, with thousand-year soul beasts occasionally emerging. It was the main hunting ground for soul masters in the nearby cities.
By the time Xiao Lin reached the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest, it was already afternoon. The setting sun dyed the entire forest a golden-red, looking from a distance as if a layer of fire were dancing upon the treetops.
He didn't rush in. Instead, he found an open space on the outskirts to sit down and began to seriously ponder a question: what kind of soul beast should his first soul ring come from?
The Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute was an extremely special martial soul.
It wasn't a conventional weapon like a saber, spear, sword, or halberd, nor was it a beast martial soul like a fierce beast or flying bird; it was a musical instrument.
The strength of a musical instrument largely depended on whether the user could bring out its characteristics. And the characteristic of the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute was musical temperament.
Therefore, his ideal soul ring should come from some kind of soul beast related to sound.
Only in this way could the soul skill attached to the soul ring perfectly fit the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute, achieving an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Xiao Lin searched his memories of his past life, trying to recall what sound-related soul beasts existed on the Douluo Continent.
Unfortunately, his memory of the original work was already blurry, and coupled with the fact that many details had become unclear after his transmigration, after thinking for a long time, he could only recall a few common sound-system soul beasts, such as howling wolves and sonic bats.
"I'll go in and take a look first." Xiao Lin stood up and stepped into the Soul Hunting Forest.
The scenery inside the forest was completely different from what one imagined from the outside. Towering trees blocked out the sky and sun, their dense crowns cutting sunlight into countless fine, scattered spots of light that spilled onto the leaf-strewn ground.
The air was filled with the damp scent of earth and the smell of rotting plants, with the occasional roar of a beast echoing from afar in the dim forest.
Xiao Lin advanced cautiously, maintaining constant vigilance.
He had no soul ring and no soul skills; his only reliance was the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute and the physical fitness he had forged in his past life.
Although he had cultivated to rank ten, rank-ten soul power without a soul ring made him only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. If he truly encountered a fierce soul beast, he wouldn't even have a chance to run.
Thus, he had to be cautious and more cautious.
Along the way, he encountered quite a few soul beasts. There were ten-year Gale Wolves, hundred-year Ironclad Rhinoceroses, and some bizarrely shaped creatures whose names he didn't know.
Yet these soul beasts either failed to meet his requirements, were too low in age, or were simply too difficult to deal with, so he passed on them one by one.
Time ticked by second by second, the sun gradually sinking westward, and the light in the forest growing dimmer and dimmer.
Xiao Lin's mood also began to grow restless.
He had searched for a whole afternoon, his legs practically walked off, yet he still hadn't found a suitable soul beast. Was he really going to return empty-handed? Was he really going to go back and bow his head to Yu Xiaogang?
No, absolutely not.
He would rather go without a first soul ring than ever bow his head to that plagiarist.
Xiao Lin leaned against a massive ancient tree and sat down wearily. He took out his waterskin, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, and then pulled two dry cakes from his bosom, mechanically chewing.
The cakes were dry and hard, chewing like gnawing on stones in his mouth, but he couldn't spare the attention for that; he needed to replenish his stamina now.
Just as he was burying his head in chewing the cakes, an extremely faint sound suddenly reached his ears.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
The sound was very light—so light that if he hadn't happened to stop and rest, and if he didn't possess an extraordinary sensitivity to sound, he would never have noticed it at all.
The sound came from underground, deep within the very earth he was sitting upon, as though countless insects were flapping their wings simultaneously.
Xiao Lin's movements abruptly halted.
He dropped to the ground, pressed his ear against the dirt, held his breath, and listened intently.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
The sound grew clearer and clearer. It wasn't one or two, but a swarm! A massive swarm! They were moving deep underground, emitting a continuous, high-frequency buzzing. The sound pierced through soil and rock, traveling to the surface to form a bizarre resonance.
Xiao Lin's heart hammered violently.
He had a premonition—down below, there was something good.
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