Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo

Early the next morning, Lin Yuan went to the academic affairs office.

Su Wan was sorting files. She looked up at him and pushed her round glasses up her nose.

"Lin Yuan? Is something wrong?"

"Teacher, I'd like to apply for a permit to enter the Soul Hunting Forest."

The pen in Su Wan's hand stopped. She looked at Lin Yuan, her brows drawing together slightly.

"You've only just enrolled. There's no rush to get a Soul Ring. The Soul Hunting Forest only contains Soul Beasts under a thousand years old, but it's still too dangerous for a child without a Soul Ring."

"I know."

Lin Yuan's voice was calm.

"But I can't wait."

Su Wan studied him for a moment. There was no recklessness in the boy's eyes, only a resolve she couldn't argue with. She sighed, took a stamped permit from her drawer, and handed it over.

"Be careful. If you meet a Soul Beast you can't handle, run."

"Mm."

Lin Yuan took the permit. Su Wan added one more thing.

"The Soul Hunting Forest is four hundred li northeast of Nuoding City. Hire a carriage and you can get there in half a day."

"Thank you, teacher."

Lin Yuan turned and left the office. The door closed behind him, and Su Wan shook her head before returning to her files.

Lin Yuan went back to the dormitory to pack. Rations, water, a firestarter, and a short knife. There wasn't much. He tied it all into a small bundle and slung it over his back. Guga crawled out from under the covers, rubbing its eyes as it looked at him.

"Guga?"

"I'm going to find you something to eat."

Guga's eyes lit up at once. It sprang from the bed and plunged into Lin Yuan's arms, clutching his collar with its stubby little hands and rubbing against him excitedly.

"Gugugaga!"

Lin Yuan patted its head and left the dormitory.

At the school gate, he hired a carriage. The driver was a man in his fifties with a pipe between his teeth. He gave Lin Yuan a once-over.

"Heading to the Soul Hunting Forest alone, little fella?"

"Mm."

"You've got guts." The old man tapped ash from his pipe. "Climb in. Two Silver Soul Coins."

The carriage rattled along the dirt road for nearly half a day. Lin Yuan rested against the carriage wall with his eyes closed. Guga lay across his lap, occasionally lifting the curtain to peer outside, its black-bead eyes full of curiosity.

In the afternoon, the carriage stopped.

The entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest was a towering iron fence, with fully armed soldiers stationed on either side. Outside stood a bustling market. People sold rations and weapons, while others held up signs looking for teammates. Voices clamored on all sides.

Lin Yuan jumped down from the carriage. Guga poked its head out from his arms.

A soldier stopped him at the entrance.

"Permit."

Lin Yuan handed it over. The soldier glanced at it, then at the little creature in Lin Yuan's arms wearing a penguin costume. His expression turned strange, but he stepped aside.

"Go on in."

Once they passed through the iron fence, the clamor fell away. The air inside the Soul Hunting Forest was damp and smelled of soil and rotting leaves. Tall canopies blocked most of the sunlight. Only a few shafts slipped through the gaps and fell across the thick carpet of leaves.

Lin Yuan slowed his steps.

Guga jumped from his arms and landed on the ground. With its stubby hands on its hips and its chest puffed out, it marched ahead like a little general.

They hadn't gone far when a gray shape burst from the grass.

A ten-year Wind Baboon. It was about the size of a puppy, with gray-white fur. Baring its teeth, it lunged at Lin Yuan. It wasn't fast. To Lin Yuan, it even looked clumsy.

Guga moved.

It took one step forward and swung a stubby hand.

"Guga."

Its fist struck the Wind Baboon square in the forehead. The creature didn't even have time to scream before it flew backward like a torn sack, hit a tree trunk, slid down, and lay still.

Lin Yuan walked over and took a look.

Unconscious.

"Let's go."

Guga brushed nonexistent dust from its little hands and marched on, head held high.

The deeper they went, the more Soul Beasts they encountered. A ten-year Green Bamboo Snake sprang down from a branch, and Guga leaped up and slapped it into the bushes. Two hundred-year Netherworld Wolves pounced from either side at once. Guga punched left, then right. The wolves flew backward, collided, and rolled into a tangled heap. They scrambled up and fled with their tails between their legs.

Lin Yuan kept walking. Guga cleared the way ahead of him, fighting as it went and sending Soul Beasts flying in every direction.

A Seven-Colored Pheasant spread its wings and shook its tail feathers in a show of defiance toward Guga. Guga slapped it impatiently. Feathers exploded across the air, and the pheasant plunged headfirst into the grass. Its two legs stuck out, kicked twice, then went still.

Standing amid the scattered feathers, Lin Yuan watched Guga brush the down from its hands, his expression conflicted.

Too weak.

These Soul Beasts were no more than two or three hundred years old. None could withstand even one slap from Guga. Even if he absorbed their Soul Rings, the Soul Skills they produced would never amount to much. He needed something stronger—a Soul Ring that would truly give him a foothold. The Soul Hunting Forest couldn't give him that.

He leaned against a tree trunk and gazed up at the overlapping layers of canopy.

The Soul Hunting Forest won't do.

I'll have to go to the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Star Dou Great Forest was a natural gathering place for Soul Beasts, with creatures ranging from ten to ten thousand years old. Only there could he find a Soul Ring truly worth considering. But where was the Star Dou Great Forest? How would he get there? He was a child who had only just enrolled in school. He didn't even have a map.

Lin Yuan straightened and brushed the fallen leaves from his clothes.

"Guga, let's go."

Guga was crouched beside an unconscious Netherworld Wolf, poking its nose with a stubby hand. Hearing Lin Yuan call, it bounded back and burrowed into his arms.

Lin Yuan turned toward the outer reaches of the Soul Hunting Forest.

I'll go back first, then figure something out.

He had walked less than two li when he suddenly stopped.

There were two figures in the woods ahead.

He stepped back and hid behind a thick oak tree, signaling Guga to keep quiet. Through a gap in the leaves, he made out the two people.

Yu Xiaogang.

Tang San.

They stood in a relatively open patch of grass. Yu Xiaogang was pointing at a green bamboo plant beside them and telling Tang San something. The bamboo stood about ten meters tall, green from top to bottom and alone in the woodland clearing.

"Xiao San, look at this Lone Bamboo. It's also a Soul Beast, a plant-type one. A Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo grows no taller than ten meters. Its strength lies in its toughness. It isn't very aggressive, but its defense is decent."

Yu Xiaogang paused.

"This ten-year Lone Bamboo suits you well. If we don't find anything more suitable, it's our only option."

Tang San listened closely and nodded.

Behind the oak tree, Lin Yuan nearly burst out laughing.

A ten-year bamboo stalk. Tang San has Innate Full Soul Power, and Yu Xiaogang recommends a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo as his fallback. He really does live up to his title of Grandmaster of theory.

Suppressing his laughter, Lin Yuan was about to turn and leave.

A rustling sound suddenly came from behind him.

Lin Yuan looked back.

A dark green shadow was moving slowly through the bushes. It was a snake nearly four meters long, with a triangular head and scales that gleamed dimly. A pair of tiny, ruby-red eyes stared straight at him.

A Mandala Snake.

The snake drew its head back, its fangs glinting coldly in the sunlight.

Lin Yuan did not move.

The next instant, the Mandala Snake shot forward.