A First Spirit Skill, as the first ability possessed by Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent, often faced the problem of insufficient power once the Soul Master reached higher realms.
Though theoretically, any Soul Skill would grow stronger alongside the Martial Soul and the Soul Master, the age limit of the First Spirit Ring meant it was destined to be unable to produce particularly powerful results in a Soul Master's later years.
Of course, all of that applied to offensive or defensive Soul Skills.
Tang Yin's First Spirit Skill was no longer that meaningless Blue Silver Entanglement. Instead, it had become a state-type Soul Skill that enhanced the Blue Silver Grass's base attributes, making it practically the ideal First Spirit Ring.
Naturally, Lin Yue hoped for the same. Compared to ordinary Soul Skills, percentage-based state enhancement Soul Skills had a broader range of applications throughout a Soul Master's career. Even Titled Douluo could still use them later on.
It was just that, for his Martial Soul... what kind of Soul Beast should he find to absorb a Spirit Ring from?
Looking at the scarlet blood energy around his left arm, Lin Yue scratched his head, genuinely at a loss.
In a sense, did his Ghost Hand count as an alternative Body Martial Soul? Or was the Martial Soul itself not his left hand, but rather the scarlet power lingering around it, representing Destruction Demon God Kazan?
Noticing that even Yu Xiaogang, who had always loved teaching others, had fallen into a strange silence, Lin Yue looked over curiously. Yet he saw the man's face darken as he snorted coldly and kept his mouth shut.
Whether he had been too deeply shaken today or simply did not wish to offer Lin Yue any advice regarding his development, Yu Xiaogang had unusually settled down.
"Actually, my requirements for my First Spirit Ring aren't that high. I don't need to push it to seven hundred years like Ah Yin did. I'd be satisfied with five or six hundred years."
"If the Soul Beast itself is exceptional, around four hundred years would work too."
With all those enhancement agents and strengthening agents available in the Point Shop, Lin Yue truly did not need to worry about the age of the Spirit Ring itself.
Others might only be able to improve the quality of their Spirit Rings through Divine Examinations, but for him, as long as he wanted to, he could spend some points and increase a Spirit Ring's age anytime.
Though he currently had something in his possession that needed strengthening and enhancement more urgently, so it might not be convenient to adjust his Spirit Ring in the short term.
He touched the hard object hidden inside his sleeve. Only after his gaze swept across his companions and he confirmed that they had not noticed did Lin Yue relax slightly.
"Five or six hundred years is enough? Four hundred years will do in a pinch? Kid, don't make breaking through the limit sound so easy. Do you know how many Soul Masters can't even meet the optimal configuration of Hundred-Year Spirit Rings... and can only make do with a Ten-Year Spirit Ring?"
Seeing that this boy also took shattering convention as something perfectly natural, Su Yan let out a long sigh. He suddenly felt a little regretful.
Had he known these two children would have such terrifying First Spirit Rings, he really should have called the dean along. With only himself now, hunting a Soul Beast over six hundred years old was truly rather difficult.
"Oh, right. If we're talking about requirements for the Soul Beast, try to find one related to blood energy control."
As they walked through Soul Hunting Forest toward the central area, Lin Yue recalled the Berserker's various abilities and said with a smile:
"A Soul Beast capable of going berserk, or one that can trade injury for injury, might be even better."
Blood energy control, berserk transformation?
Su Yan gave Lin Yue's left arm a grave look. Though he nodded, he secretly groaned inwardly.
Those abilities did not sound like something an ordinary Soul Beast could possess at all.
There probably would not be such an exceptional and powerful Soul Beast in Soul Hunting Forest.
Still, since the boy did not seem to place much importance on the age requirement, they could try looking around. Perhaps they might find a bear-type Soul Beast with compatible attributes, which might grant a state-enhancing Soul Skill like the berserk transformation he wanted.
However, to keep the child from getting his hopes too high, Su Yan still added a warning.
"Let me tell you first, high-age Soul Beasts in Soul Hunting Forest are truly rare. That seven-hundred-year Jade Bamboo Grove earlier was difficult for ordinary people to discover, and it had remained hidden until now because it was not aggressive by nature. Generally speaking, Soul Hunting Forest does not have such high-age, powerful Soul—"
"Wait, there seems to be something nearby!"
Before Su Yan could finish, Ah Yin, who was on alert, interrupted him coldly.
Purple light flickered in her eyes as she stared fixedly ahead. Clearly, she had already discovered the Soul Beast's tracks.
"It seems to be a six-hundred-year Cave Demon Spider."
"What? A six-hundred-year Cave Demon Spider?"
Su Yan's expression fell. He had not expected that just after saying Soul Beasts in Soul Hunting Forest were not very old, they would immediately encounter one of this level.
"Although the Cave Demon Spider itself is not especially powerful, its webbing is exceptionally tough. It is particularly skilled at ambushes and hiding. Xiao San, you must be careful."
Yu Xiaogang, who had held back for so long, finally spoke. He summoned Luo Sanpao and subtly moved closer to Su Yan.
Su Yan carefully pushed aside the bushes before him and indeed saw a Cave Demon Spider searching for something on the ground, looking around from side to side.
"Alright, I see it too. Lin Yue, what do you think of this one?"
The instant the words left his mouth, Su Yan suddenly found them somewhat absurd.
He never could have imagined that one day, he would recommend a six-hundred-year Spirit Ring to a Soul Scholar student who had just reached level ten.
But after witnessing Little Tang's many astonishing feats and seeing this child also looking so calm and unbothered, Su Yan truly believed he could absorb a Spirit Ring beyond the limit as well.
"No, this Soul Beast doesn't suit me."
Lin Yue shook his head and lowered his body. His gaze passed through the dense leaves and landed on the enormous Cave Demon Spider sixty meters away.
It was a giant spider with legs over a meter long.
Its body reached only the upper thigh of an adult man. Its entire body was gray, and the tips of its spider legs were incomparably sharp, yet it had no venomous fangs. Beneath its abdomen clung a small yellow silk sac that seemed to store a large amount of spider silk.
"Strange. Why has this Cave Demon Spider come above ground? Shouldn't it be lying in its burrow, using spider silk to set traps and catch prey?"
Seeing the Cave Demon Spider's strange behavior, Yu Xiaogang frowned, finding it exceedingly odd.
Unlike terrifying spider-type Soul Beasts such as the Man Faced Demon Spider, which possessed formidable combat power, the Cave Demon Spider had its own specialty. It primarily relied on its trapmaster-like web-weaving ability to build an underground kingdom of its own and wait for prey to enter it.
For a Cave Demon Spider like this to take the initiative and come above ground, something must have gone wrong.
"Forget it, let's choose another target. Since there is a Cave Demon Spider here, let's take a detour. There's no need to create unnecessary trouble."
This kind of spider was better suited for control-type Soul Masters, after all. Its webbing truly was distinctive.
Just as Su Yan was about to quietly lead the others back, the Cave Demon Spider seemed to sense something, and several of its legs began to flail wildly.
In just a few breaths, the massive creature, several meters tall, dug out a huge pit and burrowed its entire body underground.
"Oh no, it didn't notice us, did it?"
In an instant, Su Yan felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat covered his body.
The Cave Demon Spider was not skilled at frontal attacks. It was highly likely to launch an ambush by moving underground, or burrow beneath the earth to weave more traps.
However, before Su Yan could pull his companions back, a shrill, eagle-like screech erupted from the depths underground!
The next instant, the ground began to shake violently. Two enormous creatures leaped out one after another from the hole dug by the Cave Demon Spider, and a thick stench of blood filled the air!
The first thing that entered everyone's sight was a giant lizard over a meter tall and nearly three meters long.
Its entire body was covered in crimson scales. Two bloody wounds on its broad back were spurting blood, clearly inflicted by the Cave Demon Spider!
Yet as its blood flowed through the forest, its violent aura rose frantically, becoming ever more terrifying!
It was as though the two bloody holes, enough to severely wound it, did not exist at all!
"That is... a seven-hundred-year Crimson-Scaled Blood Lizard!"
Yu Xiaogang instinctively shouted out the Soul Beast's name. His pupils suddenly contracted as his eyes fixed upon the two bulges on the giant lizard's back. As though he sensed something familiar yet strange, he muttered almost imperceptibly:
"No... that's not right. This Crimson-Scaled Blood Lizard..."