In Fasino Province lay the Soul Hunting Forest nearest to Nuoding City. Guarded by Spirit Hall, it mostly housed captive hundred-year and thousand-year soul beasts, easing the shortage of soul beasts while providing low-ranking soul masters with a more convenient, safer hunting ground.
At the forest entrance, numerous soul-hunting teams were already coming and going.
Director Su brought Lu Yuan here and, after presenting their documents to the guards, entered the Soul Hunting Forest without trouble.
"Wow!"
Lu Yuan marveled at the sight. Before, he had only observed the forest from outside, yet even then he had sensed that it was far more wondrous and complex than the forests on Blue Star in his previous life or the wooded hills near Douluo Village.
Only after actually entering did Lu Yuan feel it more deeply.
The trees were much thicker than any he had seen before, their trunks and branches entwining. Strange plant soul beasts grew everywhere, many giving off a fluorescent glow, enchanting yet terribly dangerous.
"I wonder what the Star Dou Great Forest, the largest gathering place for soul beasts on the Douluo Continent, looks like."
Director Su led Lu Yuan through the Soul Hunting Forest in search of a suitable beast. Although Meowmeow was Lu Yuan's external martial soul and looked like a beast martial soul, Meowmeow brimmed with the aura of life.
At Lu Yuan's request, most of the soul beasts Director Su sought for him were plant soul beasts.
Along the way, Director Su found a lone bamboo soul beast for Lu Yuan. Unfortunately, it was only a little over a hundred years old, so unlike a certain Grandmaster, Director Su did not recommend that Lu Yuan kill it and absorb its ring.
Soon, night fell.
Director Su and Lu Yuan lit a campfire in the Soul Hunting Forest and made do for the night.
Fortunately, Director Su was a three-ring Soul Elder, with strength comparable to a thousand-year soul beast. Although this forest did contain thousand-year soul beasts, they were few and far between; most were hundred-year or ten-year beasts.
With Director Su holding the fort, the other soul beasts did not dare intrude, let alone take him down and leave Lu Yuan to face danger alone.
"Lu Yuan, time to wake up. We'll keep looking for a soul beast for you today."
Director Su woke Lu Yuan, who rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up, and set off once more.
The two searched for another half a day, but still failed to find a soul beast around four hundred years old that Director Su considered suitable.
Suddenly, Director Su stopped in his tracks.
"Director Su, what's wrong?" Lu Yuan asked in confusion.
"Lu Yuan, did you hear any strange sounds?"
Strange sounds? Director Su, have you forgotten that you're a three-ring Soul Elder, while I'm only a Quasi-Soul Master without a soul ring? Even if I'm exceptionally gifted, my perception can't match yours.
Director Su's ears twitched.
"That noise... this is bad! It's Yu Xiaogang and Tang San. They're in danger. We need to save them!"
Director Su immediately broke into a run, and Lu Yuan quickly followed.
"Yu Xiaogang and Tang San? Could it be...?"
Mulling it over, Lu Yuan followed Director Su to the scene. Sure enough, Yu Xiaogang lay collapsed on the ground, his complexion abnormal, while Tang San wielded hidden weapons against a Mandala Snake concealed in the forest, ready to attack him at any moment.
A faint stench seemed to linger in the air, making Lu Yuan wave a hand in front of his nose in disgust.
Sure enough, this was the moment from the original timeline when Yu Xiaogang brought Tang San to hunt for a soul ring and encountered the Mandala Snake. Yu Xiaogang had summoned Luo Sanpao to fight, only to lose, get bitten by the snake, and pass out, leaving Tang San to face a four-hundred-year soul beast alone.
Lu Yuan had never expected that his arrival would cause him and Director Su to stumble upon this very scene, giving them the chance to save their lives.
"Hah!"
Director Su roared. Three soul rings-two yellow and one purple-appeared beneath his feet, and his tool martial soul, a bronze spear, materialized in his hand as he thrust it at the Mandala Snake.
A Mandala Snake a little over four hundred years old was only comparable to a human soul master in the teens. How could it possibly be Director Su's match?
Its reactions were several times slower, and Director Su's surprise attack pierced its vital spot seven inches below its head. The snake writhed on the ground, trying to coil up the bronze spear and strike back at him, but every attempt was repelled by the soul power he released.
Before long, the Mandala Snake lay limp on the ground, barely clinging to life.
Shing!
Director Su pulled out his bronze spear, intending to deliver the finishing blow, only for two cries to reach his ears.
"Wait!" / "Wait!"
Director Su was actually stopped by Lu Yuan and Tang San at the same time.
Tang San looked at Lu Yuan with confusion and a trace of dark resentment, tightening his grip on the hidden weapon inside his sleeve.
Why is Lu Yuan stopping Director Su from killing that Mandala Snake? And when those two showed up just now, did they see me using hidden weapons?
In these early days, to protect the secrets of the Tang Sect's hidden weapons, Tang San had waited until Yu Xiaogang was bitten, poisoned, and unconscious before using the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons.
Tang San even kept them secret from his own father, Tang Hao.
Later on, however, he was no longer so concerned. Having secretly learned hidden weapon techniques from the Tang Sect's inner sect, Tang San had originally claimed he sought only the pinnacle of hidden weapon mastery. Later, under the pretext of developing the Tang Sect on the Douluo Continent, he openly spread some of those techniques.
Leaving this Mandala Snake for Tang San's soul ring would be good, too.
After all, Tang San did not yet know that his Blue Silver Grass martial soul was actually the Blue Silver Emperor. Misled by Yu Xiaogang's theories, he abandoned a primary focus on the Blue Silver Emperor's life-based abilities and cultivated the poison attribute instead, taking quite a few detours.
"You two..." Director Su looked at the two children, a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.
"Why are you stopping me from killing this Mandala Snake?"
"Director Su, look at this Mandala Snake's age. It seems to be around four hundred years old. Perhaps it's the soul beast Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang and Tang San intended to kill for his first soul ring."
Lu Yuan spoke first, leaving Tang San speechless beside him. Tang San stared at him with loathing, as though saying, Look at you, showing off. He could only nod.
"Yes, Director Su. This Mandala Snake is the soul beast my master and I planned to kill for my Blue Silver Grass's first soul ring."
The confusion on Director Su's face deepened.
"As I recall, Blue Silver Grass martial souls capable of cultivation generally absorb rings from plant soul beasts with the life attribute. Why would Yu Xiaogang not only have you hunt an animal soul beast for its ring, but specifically choose a poisonous one?"
Director Su looked at Lu Yuan and Tang San. One had an external beast martial soul like Meowmeow, yet insisted on choosing a plant soul beast for his first soul ring because of its powerful life attribute.
That was one thing-there was at least some logic to it-but the other was doing the exact opposite, leaving Director Su completely baffled.
"Director Su! My master said that plant martial souls can absorb rings from animal soul beasts."
"Besides, Blue Silver Grass already has a certain amount of life energy and the ability to entangle. Choosing this Mandala Snake will strengthen its entangling ability while also giving it some toxicity, greatly increasing my combat strength as a Blue Silver Grass soul master."