In the main hall of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall Branch.
When Su Yuntao saw Lu Yang come in, he greeted him warmly. He still remembered this little fellow with innate full soul power, along with the little Blue Silver Grass fellow from Holy Soul Village who also had innate full soul power. Awakening two children with innate full soul power had even earned him an extra bonus from the steward.
"Little Yang, have you absorbed a soul ring and come to collect your Soul Master stipend?" Su Yuntao asked with a smile.
He could hardly be blamed for thinking that. With Lu Yang's innate full soul power, Nuoding Academy should have arranged for a teacher to take him to obtain a soul ring soon after enrollment. Besides, most Soul Masters came to Spirit Hall primarily to collect their stipends.
"No, Master Su Yuntao. I came to ask whether Spirit Hall could arrange for someone to take me to hunt a soul beast. For some reason, the academy's teachers still haven't taken me," Lu Yang said.
Su Yuntao frowned at that. A genius with innate full soul power had been sent to Nuoding Academy, yet not only had they failed to nurture him properly, they had neglected him like this?
Still, he did not press the matter. After all, Nuoding City's Soul Master Academy was not affiliated with Spirit Hall, so they could not interfere in its affairs.
The academy might neglect Lu Yang's development, but Spirit Hall was different. Even though Su Yuntao suspected that Lu Yang's martial soul might be a trash martial soul, he had reported his information to his superiors early on.
Communication methods were limited in this day and age, however, and he had yet to receive a reply to his report. Even so, Spirit Hall certainly would not ignore Lu Yang's request.
After submitting a request to Ma Xiunuo, the steward of the Spirit Hall Branch, Su Yuntao obtained a pass to enter the Soul Hunting Forest and left Nuoding City with Lu Yang.
In the carriage bound for the Soul Hunting Forest, Lu Yang asked Su Yuntao, "Master Su Yuntao, could I ask you for a favor?"
"Hmm? If you have a question, just ask," Su Yuntao said.
"I'd like you to examine my body and see how far my physical condition falls short of a Soul Master with one soul ring," Lu Yang said.
Su Yuntao frowned at his question. He did not quite understand it, but he nevertheless examined Lu Yang.
The examination genuinely gave Su Yuntao a fright. Lu Yang's physical condition was clearly much better than he had expected.
Normally, a child from a remote village like Windbreath Village would not have a particularly strong physique. Su Yuntao himself was much the same. Even after reaching the rank of Soul Grandmaster, and despite having a beast martial soul like Lone Wolf, his physical condition still fell somewhat short of nobles his own age.
Yet Lu Yang's physical condition far exceeded his expectations. At just six years old, his physique had already reached the level of a One-Ring Soul Master.
Once Su Yuntao told him the results, Lu Yang had a plan in mind.
"Master Su Yuntao, for my first soul ring, I want to hunt a Flame Sparrow. As for its age, I'd like to try one between seven hundred and eight hundred years old," Lu Yang said.
"What!?" Su Yuntao exclaimed in shock. "Little Yang, there are limits to the ages of the soul rings a Soul Master can obtain. The limit for a first soul ring is around four hundred years. You won't be able to withstand one that's seven hundred to eight hundred years old."
Su Yuntao carefully explained what he knew about soul ring age limits, hoping to dispel the idea.
"No, Master Su Yuntao. I don't agree." Lu Yang gently shook his head. He could not possibly tell Su Yuntao that he had read the original story and therefore knew it was possible to absorb soul rings beyond the age limit. Still, he had to give Su Yuntao a plausible explanation, or the Soul Grandmaster before him would never agree to let him take the risk.
"Master Su Yuntao, I read a great deal of Soul Master theory at the academy. I remember one book saying that when low-ranking Soul Masters absorb soul rings, the greatest danger is whether their bodies can withstand the surge of the soul ring's energy. If the soul ring is too old, that energy may exceed what the body can bear, damaging the meridians or even causing the body to explode, killing them."
"But you just said that my physical condition is already comparable to a One-Ring Soul Master's. That means I can naturally choose an older soul ring when absorbing my first one. It's just like how a One-Ring Soul Master can absorb a soul ring around seven hundred to eight hundred years old when breaking through their bottleneck."
"Besides, Master Su Yuntao, I'm an orphan. I have no parents or family. On the path of Soul Master cultivation, we have only ourselves to rely on. If I don't try, if I don't take a gamble, I might never become a powerful Soul Master in my entire life. So I hope you'll help me."
Lu Yang spoke with such sincerity that Su Yuntao could not help being moved. An orphan had chosen to gamble for his future, staking his own life on the attempt. Faced with such a request, Su Yuntao did not know what he could say to make Lu Yang abandon the idea.
Su Yuntao himself was a straightforward man. His own talent was limited, and he would not get far along the path of Soul Master cultivation. But he knew very well that a genius with innate full soul power like Lu Yang would certainly amount to something, provided he received enough resources.
He did not know whether he should accept Lu Yang's request and help him hunt a soul beast between seven hundred and eight hundred years old. He feared that Lu Yang would fail to withstand the surge of the soul ring's energy and lose his life.
"Let me think about it. We'll discuss it again when we reach the Soul Hunting Forest," Su Yuntao said.
Hearing that, Lu Yang said no more. He was not certain whether Su Yuntao would ultimately agree, but at least his resolve had begun to waver.
They exchanged no further words along the way, and it was not until the afternoon that they entered the Soul Hunting Forest.
Compared with natural gathering grounds for soul beasts like the Star Dou Great Forest and the Sunset Forest, the Soul Hunting Forest was merely a place where the Empire enclosed and raised soul beasts for hunting. It was far less dangerous, which was why Su Yuntao dared to take Lu Yang into the Soul Hunting Forest at night.
"Little Yang, once we're in the forest, stay close to me. Don't wander too far away," Su Yuntao said.
Lu Yang nodded, pulled himself alert, and followed closely behind Su Yuntao.
After entering the Soul Hunting Forest, the first thing they saw was a stalk of lone bamboo around ten years old.
Su Yuntao pointed at the lone bamboo and gave Lu Yang a brief introduction, but showed no intention of having him absorb its soul ring.
Lu Yang looked at the stalk of lone bamboo and curled his lip disdainfully. Better leave this thing for Tang San to absorb.
As they left, Lu Yang wondered whether, if Yu Xiaogang had brought him soul hunting, that old bastard would have conned him into absorbing the lone bamboo's soul ring, using his martial soul as a guinea pig to test those bullshit ten core theories of martial souls.
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