Soul Hunting

"Congratulations on resolving the problem with your hereditary martial soul, Your Eminence," Lin Changgeng said.

Dugu Bo hastily waved his hand. "I only solved it thanks to you. Without you, I'm afraid I would have been left waiting for death."

"You can't put it that way." Lin Changgeng chuckled. "It was your own good fortune that let you solve this problem. If you hadn't found this place, I couldn't have saved you even if I knew how."

Dugu Bo nodded thoughtfully. All the suffering he had endured over the years had been waiting for this day. It could be considered a blessing earned through hardship, though it was a pity about his son and wife.

At that thought, Dugu Bo could not help growing sorrowful.

"Don't dwell on your grief," Wang Qiu'er said. "Although your wife and son died because of their martial souls, they left you a granddaughter. Now that both you and your granddaughter have resolved the problem, you've done right by them."

"Instead of spending time grieving, you should think about soul rings for Changgeng and your granddaughter. They've both reached their bottlenecks."

"Right! Soul rings." Dugu Bo rallied his spirits. This was no time for sorrow. His granddaughter's fate had already changed, and the past could not be undone. What he needed to do now was nurture Dugu Yan properly.

"Let's go. You know the Sunset Forest." Wang Qiu'er had Dugu Bo lead the way. The Sunset Forest was his territory, so there was naturally no better guide.

"All right." Dugu Bo nodded, and the group headed into the Sunset Forest.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay within the Sunset Forest, so the three began searching for soul beasts as soon as they left it.

"Changgeng, do you have any requirements for your second soul ring?" Dugu Bo asked.

"Something around three thousand years old." Wang Qiu'er glanced at Lin Changgeng. "Three thousand five hundred at most. Preferably metal-attributed."

"Three thousand years? Are you trying to get him killed?" Dugu Bo looked astonished. An ordinary soul master's fourth soul ring was only four or five thousand years old, yet Wang Qiu'er had set a three-thousand-year requirement for Lin Changgeng. That age was already enough for an ordinary person's fourth soul ring, and Lin Changgeng was only at rank twenty.

Although Dugu Bo knew that Wang Qiu'er would only say this if Lin Changgeng could absorb it, it still gave him a fright.

Dugu Yan found it equally unbelievable. A three-thousand-year second ring? Then what did her eight-hundred-year ring amount to?

Lin Changgeng shook his head. "Senior, you should know that for soul rings under ten thousand years, the age a soul master can absorb increases with their physical strength. To tell you the truth, my body is naturally stronger than other people's, and I have twin martial souls. My first soul ring was already eight hundred years old. Now that I've absorbed immortal herbs and undergone Ice and Fire Body Tempering, my body's tolerance has more than doubled. Naturally, I can absorb a three-thousand-year ring."

At this point, Lin Changgeng revealed that he had twin martial souls.

"What? Twin martial souls!" Dugu Bo sucked in a breath. Neither Lin Changgeng nor Wang Qiu'er had revealed their martial souls since arriving at the herb garden. Wang Qiu'er had frightened him into submission merely by displaying her soul rings. He had thought Lin Changgeng was simply a genius with innate full soul power, never imagining that he had twin martial souls.

"That's right." Lin Changgeng held out both hands, and the Gengjin Origin Spirit and the Behemoth appeared above them.

Dugu Bo gasped, his eyes widening at the sight of Lin Changgeng's martial souls. One was extraordinarily sharp, while the other made him feel as though he was about to be devoured.

"Believe me now?" Seeing Dugu Bo's expression, Lin Changgeng withdrew his martial souls.

"I do." Dugu Bo nodded. As a Titled Douluo, he naturally understood the standards for absorbing soul rings. Those so-called theoretical optimum ages were utter bullshit. Either someone's body was too weak to absorb an older ring, or their body was strong enough but they did not dare try.

Thinking it over, Dugu Bo began to find it reasonable. Then, as though something had struck him, he asked in shock, "You aren't planning to attempt a ten-thousand-year fourth ring, are you?"

"Yes. Why? Is there some reason I can't?" Lin Changgeng asked in puzzlement.

"First, there's whether you can absorb it at all. A ten thousand year soul ring requires spiritual power. If yours is insufficient, the soul ring's impact will turn you into an idiot. And even if you can absorb it, what happens if people find out? A thousand-year second ring is already outrageous. A ten-thousand-year fourth ring will put you right at the heart of the storm," Dugu Bo said gravely.

Absorbing a ten thousand year soul ring required not only physical strength but also spiritual power. Ten-thousand-year soul beasts had already developed intelligence, and after death, they left their resentment within their soul rings. If a soul master's spiritual power was insufficient, the impact of a ten thousand year soul ring would turn them into an idiot.

"Oh, that won't be a problem. I have my own way of dealing with spiritual power." Lin Changgeng waved a hand. He had the Wangchuan Autumn Dew for that, so there was no need to worry.

"Tsk, tsk. I really can't imagine how powerful you'll become one day, kid." Dugu Bo clicked his tongue. He had even planned for spiritual power. As expected of someone with a Super Douluo at his side.

"I'm not there yet." Lin Changgeng sighed. "I'm only six years old, and I've barely started. I still have a long road ahead before I become truly strong."

"Stop being so modest. Becoming a Soul Grandmaster at six already puts you ahead of ninety percent of people," Dugu Bo said with a hearty laugh.

What? Why wasn't Dugu Yan saying anything? Naturally, it was because she had no idea how to join in. A six-year-old Soul Grandmaster, twin martial souls, and a three-thousand-year soul ring-she understood every word, yet strung together, they made no sense to her.

"All right, stop wasting time," Wang Qiu'er urged. "You'll have plenty of time to chat after the soul rings have been absorbed."

"All right." Dugu Bo nodded in agreement, then began searching for soul beasts in earnest.

Before long, the group found a soul beast suitable for Lin Changgeng.

"How about this Gengjin Tiger?" Dugu Bo asked, looking at the Gengjin Tiger not far away.

An open valley stretched out ahead.

At the center of the valley stood an enormous dark-gold rock, with a white tiger lying atop it.

The white tiger was snow-white from head to tail, with a metallic sheen. Every hair looked as though it had been polished from refined steel, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

He stood a full three meters at the shoulder and measured over five meters in length. His limbs were thick as pillars, and as he lay on the rock, he resembled a small mountain cast from metal.

His dark-gold eyes had slightly narrowed pupils, like two golden blades.

Three horizontal markings and one vertical stroke formed the character for "king" on his forehead, as though engraved in metal, exuding a sharp, murderous aura.

Fangs protruded from the corners of his mouth, half a foot long and gleaming coldly. Rather than the white of bone, they were a metallic silver-gray.

Five sharp claws extended from the pads of each paw. Over a foot long and dark gold, their tips glinted coldly as they dug deep grooves into the rock.

Most striking of all was his back. A row of metal-like bone spurs rose from his neck to the base of his tail, each as thick as an arm, their sharp tips dazzling in the sunlight.

Every breath carried a silver-white ribbon of force that gouged a small pit wherever it struck the ground. One glance was enough to tell how extraordinarily dangerous he was.