Hunting Souls (I)

Time flowed like a gentle stream, and a year passed in the blink of an eye. Li Fei's physical fitness had successfully risen to a new level. He had even reached a terrifying height of 1.4 meters, and his sturdy body gave off a powerful impression. His streamlined muscles also showed that his speed was no weaker.

At that moment, Li Fei was swinging a massive Tungsten Steel Rod on the training ground. It weighed as much as six hundred jin. Every Suburi stopped steadily in the exact same position, and every swing caused the air around him to burst with force, producing an unbroken series of piercing whistles.

Up close, one could hear his heavy breathing. Though loud, it was exceptionally steady, with nearly identical intervals between each breath. The dense beads of sweat on his forehead showed that he had been training for quite some time.

"Brother, I broke through to level ten! We can go hunt Soul Beasts now!"

Li Fan's excited voice suddenly rang out from the distance. Right afterward, Li Fei saw the equally burly Li Fan rushing over in a panic, his face filled with excitement.

Li Fei had not seen Li Fan during training today, so he knew his younger brother was about to break through. Raising his Soul Power by four levels in a year was difficult even with Innate Full Soul Power. One could only imagine how hard Li Fan had worked.

Over the past year, Li Fan had been extremely diligent. He had trained strictly according to the plan Li Fei had made for him, never wasting a single second or showing the slightest slackness. Li Fei had seen all of it and was sincerely happy for him.

"Ah! That's wonderful! Let's tell Dad and have him get ready. We'll set out tomorrow!"

"Mm!"

Throwing aside the iron rod, the two brothers excitedly ran toward the main hall to find Li Ming. After being suppressed for an entire year, today, they could finally begin their plan.

Li Fei could now easily swing the six-hundred-jin Tungsten Steel Rod. His physical fitness was no weaker than that of a Soul Elder. After a year of deliberate meditation to improve his spiritual power, his spiritual power was not weak either. He should be able to attach a thousand-year Spirit Ring.

Li Fan was no weakling either. He could also swing a four-hundred-jin iron rod. His spiritual power might be a little weaker, but according to Li Fei's estimates, a nine-hundred-year First Ring should not be a problem. Still, to be safe, Li Fei had set Li Fan's target as an eight-hundred-year Adamantine Bull.

"Good. You two should go prepare yourselves. Don't train today. Adjust your condition properly. Tomorrow, we'll enter the Star Dou Great Forest!"

Hearing that Li Fan had reached level ten, Li Ming excitedly slapped the table and jumped to his feet. After giving the brothers a few instructions, he left the house to prepare for this Soul Beast hunting trip.

The next morning, the weather was excellent. The sun shone brightly, and a light breeze blew through the air, making everything feel especially pleasant.

Li Ming was also very clear about Li Fei's plans. To avoid exposing the matter of a thousand-year first Spirit Ring, he had not sought anyone else's help in hunting Soul Beasts. He only brought his wife, Jiang Xin, so that she could protect the two brothers while he dealt with the Soul Beasts. The family of four carefully entered the Star Dou Forest.

The forest was extremely quiet. From time to time, the faint chirping of insects and roars of beasts could be heard, making the atmosphere feel particularly oppressive.

"Fei Er, Fan Er, remember this. In the Star Dou Forest, the most dangerous things are not Soul Beasts, but humans. People's hearts are unfathomable. Do not easily trust strangers here!"

As they walked, Li Ming taught the brothers survival knowledge for the Star Dou Forest. These were lessons born from experience, things that could not be found in books.

"Mm!"

Li Ming and Li Fei nodded, not daring to answer loudly for fear of disturbing the Soul Beasts in the forest.

At that moment, Li Fei also felt somewhat nervous. He had clearly prepared himself mentally, but the occasional beast roars and the oppressive environment still made his heart tremble from time to time.

"It's okay! Li Fei, you can do this. If you can't even face this, how will you ever stand at the peak in the future!"

Li Fei took several deep breaths, continuously encouraging himself inwardly. He adjusted his condition, dispelled the palpitations in his heart, and began facing the environment before him.

It took several full minutes before Li Fei finally adjusted himself.

Li Ming, walking ahead, saw all of this. He nodded in satisfaction. Most people reacted this way when entering the Star Dou Forest for the first time. Those who could promptly adjust themselves had a much greater chance of surviving in such a forest.

Those who rashly entered without any preparation were basically doomed. According to Ze'an City's statistics, nearly ten thousand Soul Masters died in the Star Dou Forest every year because they had not prepared properly.

"There's an Adamantine Bull herd nearby. Let's help Fan Er find a suitable Soul Beast first!"

Li Ming glanced at the location of the Adamantine Bull herd marked on the map in his hand, then turned and spoke to the others, though he was mainly looking at Li Fei.

Li Ming had spent a full thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins to buy this map, but it was absolutely worth the price. Apart from the core region of the Star Dou Core Forest, the map marked the activity areas of every type of Soul Beast.

With this map, their safety was practically guaranteed. Not only could they accurately find the Soul Beasts they wanted, but they could also avoid dangerous areas.

"Mm, that works! The Gluttony Pig activity area is still some distance from here. Let's get one for Xiao Fan first!" Li Fei understood what he meant and quickly nodded.

The family avoided the area occupied by the Gale Wolf Pack and carefully made their way toward the Adamantine Bull herd. Along the way, Li Fei saw many Soul Beasts he had previously only read about in books.

However, most of them were low-level pack-dwelling Soul Beasts, such as ten-year Wind Baboons, Netherwolves, and Mottled Cats.

Three hours later, the family reached the territory of the Adamantine Bulls. They hid behind the grass and began observing the herd.

"So many! But these bulls look a lot like water buffalo from my previous life!"

Seeing the herd of more than a hundred bulls, Li Fei was somewhat surprised. With so many Adamantine Bulls protecting one another, hunting one would be quite difficult.

Li Fei began observing carefully, searching for individuals between eight hundred and nine hundred years old.

The Adamantine Bull was an intermediate Gold Attribute Soul Beast, famous for its body as hard as adamantine. Its main attack methods were charging with its horns and firing golden light from them. Although the golden light fired from its horns was extremely powerful, it also damaged the horns. This was also the origin of Weapon Soul skills.

To judge their age, one needed to look at the length and spiral patterns of their horns. At the hundred-year level, their horns generally reached fifty centimeters in length. Every additional spiral pattern represented another hundred years of cultivation.

"Dad, there are several Adamantine Bulls suitable for Xiao Fan. How are we supposed to hunt them?! There are so many of them. Even for you, it'll be hard to seriously injure one within the herd and bring it before Xiao Fan!"

After observing for a while, Li Fei frowned. There were plenty of suitable bulls, but practically none had left the herd. Faced with a charge from such a herd, a defense-type Soul Master like his father simply could not withstand it.