The Third Soul Beast, A Choice

"Have you made up your mind about your third soul beast?"

The traveling party continued onward.

Yan Shaozhe came over and asked in a low voice.

"I'm more inclined to find a control-type one, like the Ghost Vine, or a support-type one, like the Emerald Swan. But if we encounter something better, I won't refuse it either... For example, a peerless Fierce Beast like the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear."

Su Wen mused.

In theory, he preferred choosing a support-type soul beast that benefited the "team," after all. The Ice Jade Scorpion could both take hits and deal damage, and the Ice Empress's defenses were not weak either. With the enhancement from her flesh-and-blood attribute, she was more than capable of rivaling ordinary defensive soul beasts.

But if they really encountered a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, that would be another matter.

That fellow's defenses and combat power completely overwhelmed the Ice Empress's. Although he couldn't imagine what its numerical stats would look like, its displayed combat prowess had always been utterly unrivaled in the Original Work.

The Ice Empress was well-rounded in offense and defense, but it depended on whom she was being compared to.

If there really was a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, the Ice Empress could retreat behind it and calmly focus on "mage" damage.

Moreover, once a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear appeared in the team, the boost to their strength would be far more than a little. His small group's power would absolutely skyrocket exponentially!

A boost in pure combat power.

Or support that complemented the entire team.

Su Wen had no particular preference either way. He would leave it all to fate.

"The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear? You've got good taste, kid. Bear Lord, one of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, belongs to that species. Its attack power is at the very top, while its defenses are in no way inferior to those of top-tier defensive soul beasts. It's hard to find another soul beast on the continent with such good value for money, and its growth potential is nothing to scoff at either." Yan Shaozhe grinned.

The more monstrous Su Wen became in the future, the more his Martial Soul Department would benefit, so naturally, he was pleased with himself.

Besides, Su Wen would be enrolling in the academy in a year.

When Su Wen made his stunning debut then, he would probably shatter the gazes of countless people. Perhaps he could even help promote the academy in another way...

The party proceeded in an orderly fashion.

This was Su Wen's second time entering the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was worlds apart from the despair and fear he had felt four years ago. Instead, he felt more relaxed, as though he were here for a leisurely outing.

The scenery was truly incomparable, enough to rival the 5A-rated primeval forest attractions of his previous life. It even seemed more majestic, while the birds, beasts, snakes, and insects were all several times larger, as if this were a world undergoing a resurgence of Spiritual Energy.

The Snow Silkworm was the finest among cordyceps and snow lotus. It could nourish the qi and blood and improve the physical body...

Looking at the grayish-white fleshy insect before him, with ring patterns across its body, eight pairs of legs, and a reddish-brown abdomen, Su Wen shrank his head back. Tang San had been able to bite and swallow one in the Original Work, but asking him to eat a "fleshy insect"—even with his eyes closed, he couldn't accept it. It was too terrifying...

He imagined the sensation of juices splattering everywhere, the soft, squishy texture spreading through his mouth, mixed with a faint fishy odor.

Ugh~

Su Wen turned around and went to look for something else.

When the party reached the area near the core of the Star Dou Great Forest, Yan Shaozhe stayed even closer, afraid that anything would happen to these adorable future academy students.

"A Ghost King Vine!"

Ma Xiaotao suddenly shouted excitedly.

Su Wen was surprised and followed the beautiful woman's finger.

A pale-black vine standing a full hundred meters tall and clinging to a Dragon-whisker Ancient Tree swayed in the wind. It appeared completely harmless, but everyone knew that the moment anyone approached it, the disguised Ghost King Vine would strike with incredible speed and kill in a single blow.

Ghost King Vine

Cultivation: 4,300 years

Attribute: Poison

Potential: 4

Evaluation: A Ghost King Vine with top-tier cultivation talent but no mutation bonus whatsoever...

Mediocre?

Su Wen smacked his lips.

What a pity. Its potential was too low. If it had been even one or two points higher, he would have seriously considered it. But four points was truly not enough...

"Let's move on, Sister Tao. This one isn't my type." Su Wen shook his head.

At the same time, he put the Purple Pokeball that had appeared in his hand back into his Sea of Consciousness.

Three Pokeballs floated within his Sea of Consciousness.

Two were half yellow and half purple, while one was pure purple.

This meant he could capture any soul beast under ten thousand years old. If he could synchronize his strength with that of the soul beast he captured, just how powerful would he become...? Su Wen thought greedily.

Still, he had to learn contentment.

Everyone continued onward. Before long, Ma Xiaotao also encountered a soul beast she favored—a Firebird. It was a thirty-thousand-year soul beast with formidable strength. Although the intensity of its fire attribute was slightly inferior to Ma Xiaotao's, it was still enough to rival Wu Feng's Red Dragon.

In the end, Yan Shaozhe had to personally take action to deal with it.

"Sister Tao, what's your sixth soul skill?" Su Wen asked curiously as soon as Ma Xiaotao finished absorbing the soul ring.

"Phoenix Meteor Shower." Ma Xiaotao smiled.

"..."

The corner of Su Wen's mouth twitched, and he drew back.

What a clichéd name.

Of the ones he knew, Dai Yueheng and Huo Wu from Ten Thousand Years Ago both had this so-called Meteor Shower in their skills.

Still, it was a wide-area group attack skill, so its damage was not weak...

Ma Xiaotao was enjoying herself regardless.

Perhaps it was the joy of having just broken through to the Soul Emperor realm.

But soon, Su Wen vaguely heard the girl muttering something like, "That damn little bitch. Now that I've broken through to the Soul Emperor realm, I'll definitely give her a good beating when I get back..."

It was most likely Ling Luochen.

Su Wen awkwardly coughed twice and put some distance between them.

He did not want to get involved in the dispute between those two.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Yet Su Wen still had not found a suitable soul beast.

Apart from the Ghost King Vine, he had found several other soul beasts that fit his requirements fairly well, but unfortunately, their cultivation levels were all far beyond the capture limit of his third Pokeball. Most of them were over ten thousand years old.

He had even encountered an Emerald Swan with a potential of seven and an extremely gentle temperament. Unfortunately, its cultivation had just broken through ten thousand years, so Su Wen could only leave with regret.

By now, the entire party had finished hunting their soul beasts.

In the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, the number and variety of top-tier soul beasts were enough to overwhelm anyone with choices. Only someone like Su Wen, who could clearly see potential points and was exceptionally picky, would take this long.

Yan Shaozhe did not urge him.

He clearly understood how greatly each soul beast would affect Su Wen. If, merely to save time, he casually chose a barely acceptable soul beast, then even without the teachers taking action, the various Elders of the Sea God Pavilion could beat him to death.

After all, within the Sea God Pavilion, Su Wen had practically already been designated as the Sea God Pavilion Master of the generation after next after next. If he grew rapidly in the later stages, there was even a high chance that he could edge out Zhang Lexuan and directly advance to become the Sea God Pavilion Master of the generation after next—the generation after Xuan Zi's.

"These Support-Control System soul beasts are really hard to find..."

Su Wen looked troubled.

Ma Xiaotao pursed her red lips and consoled him. "Soul beasts of this type are extremely difficult to find in the first place. They're also heavily polarized. The strong are incredibly strong, like the Emerald Swan, while the weak are incredibly weak."

"Yeah..."

Su Wen sighed.

Along the way, there had been extremely few Support-Control System soul beasts. It was nothing like the Ice Jade Scorpion, whose species was numerous and whose talent and strength were both top-tier. No wonder they had always been a dominant race in the Land of Extreme North.

"Roar!"

Just as the two of them were feeling helpless, an angry roar resounded through the skies.

"Xiao Wen, fortune has smiled on you!" Yan Shaozhe exclaimed, his face full of delight.