Lin Nuo: ???
He genuinely had no idea how important poison-attribute soul beasts were to Yu Xiaogang.
But seeing Yu Xiaogang act like this, he could hardly say anything. If something went wrong and Yu Xiaogang came looking for trouble, he would have nowhere even to cry!
He simply kept his mouth shut.
Seeing Lin Nuo's wooden expression, Yu Xiaogang silently cursed himself.
Lin Nuo came from peasant stock. How could he understand the thinking of a theoretical grandmaster like me?
So, to demonstrate his superiority, he launched into a grand speech.
"Lin Nuo, we've known each other for years, and you're quite familiar with my soul skills. You also know that my first two soul skills are useless and lack offensive power."
"However, once I absorb my third Soul Ring, things could be very different."
That sounded reasonable enough to Lin Nuo, so he listened with interest.
Yu Xiaogang paid him no attention. From the moment he began explaining, he had sunk into his own world.
"After absorbing a Soul Ring, one may gain characteristics of the soul beast it came from. Choosing a poison-attribute soul beast will not only give me another way to subdue enemies, but might even transform my first two soul skills."
"When that happens, my first two soul skills could acquire poisonous properties, turning ordinary farting soul skills into poisonous farts."
Yu Xiaogang finished with his face flushed, as though the turning point of his entire life lay right before him.
Beside him, Lin Nuo wore a strange expression. At first, it had sounded perfectly fine, but on second thought, wasn't a poisonous fart still a fart?
He was about to offer a subtle hint, but Yu Xiaogang interrupted before he could speak.
"Well? Isn't my idea unrivaled across the continent?"
Seeing Lin Nuo's expression change, Yu Xiaogang assumed his world-shaking wisdom had stunned him and asked delightedly.
Faced with Yu Xiaogang's proud, expectant look, Lin Nuo was momentarily speechless.
In the end, he chose his usual approach, playing the dutiful straight man and offering perfunctory praise. "Xiaogang, how are you so brilliant? This idea is simply a stroke of divine inspiration. Even in ten thousand years, the Douluo Continent would struggle to produce anyone who could compare to you."
Had Li Mingzhu been there to witness Lin Nuo's exaggerated performance, he would certainly have awarded him an Oscar statuette.
Exaggerated or not, it really worked! Wang Xiaogang was so delighted by the praise that he could not stop grinning. Although he kept feeling that Lin Nuo was taking veiled digs at him, being called unmatched throughout the ages still left him floating on air.
And so the carriage settled into silence, with one man lost in fantasies and the other speechless.
Elsewhere, Li Mingzhu had already reached the entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest and was quietly waiting for Ganzi to arrive.
Bored out of his mind, he could only read through some of his spoils.
Rumble, rumble-!
The rumble of carriage wheels came from the distance, mingling with the clopping of hooves as a carriage slowly approached.
Carriages were hardly unusual near the Soul Hunting Forest, but Li Mingzhu calculated the time and figured they should be arriving about now.
He swiftly put everything away and gazed into the distance.
Once the carriage stopped, two men slowly climbed out. Li Mingzhu took a closer look. Sure enough, they were the dean and Yu Xiaogang.
Without stopping to rest, the two headed straight toward the guards. Once they presented their warrant, the guards did not dare obstruct them and quickly let them through.
Seeing them enter, Li Mingzhu concealed himself with his domain and followed close behind.
Inside the forest, Lin Nuo saw how heedlessly Yu Xiaogang was behaving and hurriedly warned him, "Xiaogang, the places where thousand-year soul beasts roam are close to the center of the forest. Make sure you stay right behind me."
Yu Xiaogang reined in his excitement and nodded to Lin Nuo.
Arrogant though he was, he was still a soul master and knew the dangers of a soul beast forest.
Seeing the change in Yu Xiaogang, Lin Nuo relaxed a little. At least the man could still understand human speech.
He then asked Yu Xiaogang, "Xiaogang, what kind of soul beast are you planning to hunt?"
Yu Xiaogang had already chosen his target and answered directly, "Among poison-attribute soul beasts, the five poisonous creatures are the prime examples! The soul beast I want is the Mandala Snake of the Soul Hunting Forest."
Once he understood, Lin Nuo said no more and led Yu Xiaogang deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest. After all, there was only one place where thousand-year Mandala Snakes appeared!
Having overheard them from hiding, Li Mingzhu slipped away to reach the vicinity of their destination ahead of them.
They had to creep along, keeping watch for soul beasts. Li Mingzhu had no such need. He simply released his aura and traveled unhindered.
That left all the pressure on Lin Nuo. With a useless burden like Ganzi in tow, he had to be cautious, then more cautious still.
Li Mingzhu took a detour, so he could not clear their path. The two encountered quite a few soul beasts along the way. Fortunately, none were particularly old, and Lin Nuo could deal with them easily.
Even so, they lost considerable time. By the time the sun sank in the west, they were still a long way from their destination.
Seeing how late it was, Lin Nuo knew traveling at night would be too dangerous and could only find somewhere to spend the night.
Yu Xiaogang readily agreed to Lin Nuo's suggestion. The forest was so dangerous at night, and it was not as though he actually had a hole in his head. Why would he refuse?
An open flame was ill-advised at night, so they ate the dry rations they had brought and settled down to rest in an ancient tree.
The rations were so hard that eating them felt like biting into unbaked bricks. But they were easy to carry and filled his stomach, so Yu Xiaogang could only force them down miserably. Thus passed another day of Yu Xiaogang yearning for a Storage Soul Tool!
Although the tree was not safe either, it was still better than the ground. At least they would have a chance to react if something unexpected happened.
Exhausted after the day's journey, Yu Xiaogang fell straight asleep. As for keeping watch, that naturally fell to Lin Nuo.
Although Yu Xiaogang had proposed taking turns on watch, Lin Nuo could not trust him. He had no desire to be carried off in a soul beast's jaws while he slept.
By this point, the two looked like an old servant accompanying his young master on a long journey.
The bright moon hung overhead, and countless stars glittered. Soul beasts were more active than during the day, and their repeated roars nearly startled the sleeping Yu Xiaogang out of the tree. Fortunately, Lin Nuo's eyes were sharp and his hands quick, and he caught him in time.
The night was so noisy that neither could sleep. They could only endure it.
Deep into the night, several groups of soul beasts passed beneath the tree, and an uneasy Lin Nuo clamped a hand over Yu Xiaogang's mouth.
He had no desire for a vicious battle in the night. Though these groups of soul beasts were not particularly old, they would be in terrible trouble if the commotion attracted something else truly fearsome!
Fortunately, he had sprinkled medicinal powder both in and beneath the tree beforehand, masking their scents. Together with the tree's height, that kept them from being discovered.
Once he sensed that the soul beasts below had left, Lin Nuo slowly withdrew his hand.
As soon as the large hand lifted, Yu Xiaogang instinctively tipped his head back and gulped greedily for air. His breathing came fast and heavy, his cheeks flushed crimson, and his fingertips pressed hard against his chest as he struggled to steady his chaotic breaths.
"Lin Nuo, you nearly smothered me to death!"
Lin Nuo gestured for silence. With no other choice, Yu Xiaogang shut his mouth.
There were far too many mosquitoes and other insects at night, and the insect-repelling powder scattered over the tree had long since been blown away by the cold wind. Helpless, they could only endure the insects' relentless torment. Both their bites and their buzzing grated on the nerves.
Lin Nuo was fine. With soul power covering his entire body, these ordinary insects could not get near him. As for Ganzi, his soul power was low and his control poor. He deserved every bite!
Before you continue