Soul-Devouring Thorn

The Soul Hunting Forest.

Though it was an artificially established enclosure, its trees were still towering, their dense branches and leaves interlacing to cut the sky into countless tiny patches of light.

The air was thick with the damp scents of soil and vegetation.

Occasionally, unfamiliar insects chirped in the surrounding undergrowth.

Gu Ping'an and Sisi walked side by side behind Su Yuntao.

"Ping'an, according to the Spirit Hall's records,

this Soul Hunting Forest doesn't contain the Thorn Demon Blood Vine or Undying Thorn Vine you need.

Only three kinds of Soul Beasts are present: Clematis, Soul-Devouring Thorn, and Bloodthirsty Siphon Grass."

"According to the records, the Clematis are roughly two to three hundred years old.

The Bloodthirsty Siphon Grass are around four hundred years old.

The Soul-Devouring Thorn is already over six hundred years old. That exceeds the absorption limit and makes it unsuitable for a first ring.

Clematis or Bloodthirsty Siphon Grass would be your best choice."

For the first time, Gu Ping'an truly glimpsed some of the Spirit Hall's deep reserves.

As the operator and administrator of the Soul Hunting Forest, it kept records of many of the Soul Beasts within.

Whatever one wanted, one could simply follow the records to find it.

This was especially true of immobile plant Soul Beasts. Unless someone else had hunted them beforehand, they were right where the records said they would be.

"Brother Yuntao, I want the Soul-Devouring Thorn. I've always focused on physical training, so my body should be stronger than other children's my age."

Gu Ping'an chose neither Clematis nor Bloodthirsty Siphon Grass.

The Clematis were too young, while the Bloodthirsty Siphon Grass lacked toughness. The latter was a fallback if he couldn't find a suitable Soul Beast.

"Ping'an, the highest recorded age for a first ring is 423 years. The Soul-Devouring Thorn is far beyond that."

Sisi crouched down and looked at Gu Ping'an with concern, hoping to dissuade him.

"Sister Sisi, I really can do it. If you don't believe me, have Brother Yuntao check."

Gu Ping'an turned to Su Yuntao. He wasn't being blindly arrogant; his body truly was stronger than those of his peers. He had simply kept it hidden for fear of attracting Tang Hao's attention.

Meeting Gu Ping'an's gaze, Su Yuntao hesitated briefly before reaching out to examine his body.

Every Soul Ring a Soul Master absorbed improved their physique to some extent, so most Soul Masters could assess another person's physical strength.

"It should be possible. Ping'an's body is a little stronger than an ordinary One-Ring Soul Master's."

Having reached that conclusion, both Su Yuntao and Sisi stared at Gu Ping'an in astonishment.

They hadn't expected an ordinary six-year-old child to possess a physique stronger than a One-Ring Soul Master's.

"Brother Yuntao, can we go find the Soul-Devouring Thorn now?"

"Yes! Let's go!"

Once they confirmed that Gu Ping'an's physique was up to the task, Su Yuntao and Sisi stopped trying to dissuade him. The three headed toward their destination using the Spirit Hall's records.

Before long, they arrived at a low, dense thicket of grayish-brown thorns.

"So this is the Soul-Devouring Thorn!"

Gu Ping'an cautiously edged closer to Sisi.

The thicket was littered with the remains of small animals. Even some of the fresh corpses were shriveled and dull, their vitality drained away by the Soul-Devouring Thorn.

"Sisi, take Ping'an farther back. I'll clear away the excess Soul-Devouring Thorn vines first."

Su Yuntao waved for Sisi and Gu Ping'an to retreat.

"Martial Soul Possession."

As he released his Martial Soul, Su Yuntao's body swelled, his hair turned gray, and his eyes became a ghostly green. His hands transformed into sharp claws.

"First Soul Skill: Lone Wolf Roar!"

"Second Soul Skill: Soul-Scattering Iron Claw!"

Su Yuntao's claws flew, streaks of claw light tearing through the Soul-Devouring Thorn vines and severing them in swathes.

Moments later, only a bare main root remained of the Soul-Devouring Thorn.

"First Soul Skill: Lone Wolf Roar!"

Su Yuntao roared again, forcibly suppressing the Soul-Devouring Thorn's main root.

"Ping'an, hurry!"

At his call, Gu Ping'an swiftly pulled out the machete he had prepared, ran up to the Soul-Devouring Thorn, and hacked at its root.

With two sharp cracks, the Soul-Devouring Thorn snapped apart.

A deep yellow Soul Ring floated up from it.

"Ping'an, have you thought this through?

Are you really going to absorb this Soul Ring?

There's still time to change your mind."

Seeing the Soul Ring emerge, Sisi grew worried again.

"Sister Sisi, don't worry."

After reassuring her, Gu Ping'an sat down excitedly, summoned his Martial Soul, and began absorbing his first Soul Ring.

Drawn toward him, the Soul-Devouring Thorn's Soul Ring settled over his body.

A warm current instantly flowed through him.

A tingling numbness spread as the Soul Ring's energy tempered his flesh and bones over and over.

A short while later, the Soul Ring sank fully into his body. The absorption was complete.

"He absorbed it."

Standing guard nearby, Su Yuntao and Sisi looked in surprise at Gu Ping'an, who was still sitting cross-legged on the ground.

They weren't surprised that he had succeeded, but that he had absorbed it so quickly.

That speed meant he had yet to reach his limit.

He could have absorbed an even older Soul Ring.

"Ping'an, how do you feel? Does anything hurt?" Sisi stepped forward and asked with concern.

"Sister Sisi, I feel great. I've gotten much stronger, too."

Gu Ping'an hopped a few times in place. Having suddenly grown several centimeters taller, he felt a little awkward in his body.

He summoned his Martial Soul. The blue silver grass had grown noticeably thicker.

With a thought, he sent the blue silver grass spreading out in circles.

It seemed that, if he wished, he could devour the vitality of anyone bound by his blue silver grass.

It wasn't limited to people, either. Soul Beasts, flowers, and grasses were all fair game, so long as they possessed vitality or Soul Power.

He had indeed inherited the Soul-Devouring Thorn's strongest trait: devouring.

If I remember correctly, Tang San's first Soul Ring in the original story only inherited the Mandala Snake's paralytic venom, didn't it?

All that lethal venom, yet he only inherited the paralysis—and even that wasn't particularly potent.

Gu Ping'an, on the other hand, had inherited almost the entirety of the Soul-Devouring Thorn's devouring ability, and he felt that his vitality had increased considerably.

Was it because both were plants, making them highly compatible?

"Ping'an, are you satisfied with your Soul Skill?"

Seeing Gu Ping'an standing motionless, Su Yuntao assumed he was exploring his Soul Skill.

"Yes, very satisfied."

Gu Ping'an took a small knife from his waist, pressed it against his arm, gritted his teeth, and slashed down hard. Blood immediately streamed out.

"Ping'an!"

"Ping'an, what are you doing?"

Su Yuntao's and Sisi's expressions changed. They stared blankly at Gu Ping'an, unsure what he intended.

"Brother Yuntao, Sister Sisi, don't worry.

I'm testing my Soul Skill."

"First Soul Skill: Healing."

The Yellow Soul Ring flashed, and the wound closed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within moments, apart from the blood staining his arm, there was no sign of any wound.

"Brother Yuntao, my first Soul Skill is a healing skill. It consumes Soul Power to heal injuries.

The more severe the injury, the more Soul Power it consumes."

Su Yuntao's eyes flickered as he immediately understood what Gu Ping'an meant.

As long as he had Soul Power, he could heal most injuries.

"Ping'an, you're going to be a support-type Soul Master," Sisi said, patting his shoulder.

"Yes! Being a support-type Soul Master sounds pretty good."

Gu Ping'an saw nothing wrong with a healing skill.

A Soul Skill was one thing; combat strength was another.

The Soul-Devouring Thorn possessed powerful vitality, with self-healing and devouring as its defining traits.

He had inherited both perfectly. Self-healing had formed his Soul Skill, while his blue silver grass had inherited devouring.

The two abilities complemented each other.

Self-healing consumed Soul Power; when Soul Power ran short, devouring could make up the difference.

In other words, as long as he didn't die instantly, most injuries wouldn't be a problem.

"As long as you're satisfied, Ping'an!"

Unlike Sisi, who favored the power attack system, Su Yuntao thought being a support-type Soul Master was quite good.

Especially a Soul Master with healing abilities.

Under normal circumstances, most people wouldn't pick a fight with a Soul Master who could heal.

After all, who never got injured?

For Battle Soul Masters in particular, getting hurt in fights and sparring matches was commonplace.

"All right, Ping'an. Let's head back to the Spirit Hall first, register for your Soul Master certificate, and collect a Gold Soul Coin."

"Okay."