A Bigger Soul Ring Wasn't Always Better

The next day, Shao Heng arrived a quarter of an hour ahead of the agreed time.

By the time Ning Fengzhi entered, he had already read through the few lines he had written yesterday twice. Seeing the sect master arrive, Shao Heng hastily stood, nearly crumpling the paper in his hand.

Ning Fengzhi couldn't help laughing at the sight.

"You reached level thirty yesterday, and today you already can't keep steady?"

"My Soul Power is steady," Shao Heng said. "I'm just having a little trouble waiting."

That was the truth.

Gu Rong sat beside him, shaking his head as he listened. Only yesterday, he had told Shao Heng not to rush into settling on a particular Soul Beast. Today, three kinds were written on the paper, with notes beside them on what he hoped to gain from each.

At least he wasn't staring only at their ages anymore.

Shao Heng's master was there too. Having taken his disciple hunting for his first two rings, he knew the boy would act when he found a suitable one and was willing to wait when he didn't. Now that he had reached his Third Soul Ring, they needed to look more closely than before.

When Chen Xin brought Chen An over, Rongrong was already seated beside her father, the paper she had brought back from the academy yesterday spread across her knees. She didn't intend to choose a Soul Beast for Shao Heng here; she simply wanted to hear how the adults actually made their choices.

Shao Heng first spoke about his black panther Martial Soul, then recounted yesterday's round on the training grounds.

"I can keep up when I'm chasing forward, but when I really need to turn back to protect a companion, I'm always those few steps too slow. I'll keep practicing my positioning, but if my third Soul Skill can help me cover that stretch, it'll be useful from then on."

His master didn't hurry to open the books. First, he had Shao Heng circulate his Soul Power once more. Gu Rong also reached out to test his shoulders and arms, confirming that nothing was unstable after last night's breathing exercises before letting him sit down.

This step looked trivial, but it wasn't pointless.

Chen An had been able to take a seven-thousand-year Third Soul Ring because of the constitution he had built up through years of cooking and cultivation, and even then, Grandpa Sword had needed to examine him repeatedly. Whether Shao Heng's body was strong enough naturally had to depend on Shao Heng himself. They couldn't assume someone else ought to try just because the sect already had one person who had exceeded the usual limit.

There were plenty of old records on the table, but not every Soul Beast labeled a thousand years old was suitable for Black Leopard.

One record described a Diamond Tiger, with a powerful physique suited to developing strength, offense, and defense. Shao Heng studied it for a while, then pushed it aside himself.

"If all I wanted was that extra burst of strength, Elder Gu wouldn't have needed to make me practice turning back yesterday."

"That's right," Gu Rong said. "A Soul Ring isn't solely there to make up for that one move yesterday, but since you know what you want, don't go choosing something even less suitable."

Had Fang Ming been there, he probably would have asked why Shao Heng wasn't choosing the tiger when it sounded so impressive. But what Shao Heng wanted right now wasn't for others to praise how impressive his Third Soul Ring looked. If something really happened behind his companions, he couldn't save them with a beast's name.

Another record contained a drawing of a long snake, with a crest on its head and a tail shaped differently from an ordinary snake's.

"A Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent." Shao Heng's master turned the paper toward him. "Nonvenomous, and excels at speed. Someone once spotted one a little over a thousand years old on the outskirts of Sunset Forest. But this is an old record. Whether there's one there now, and how old any we encounter might be, are things we'll have to enter the forest to find out."

Shao Heng studied it carefully.

Venomous or not, he hadn't been counting on hurting anyone with snake venom in the first place. If it could make his black panther Martial Soul faster over a short distance, that would fit what he had said yesterday.

"If it's grown a few hundred years older, does that mean I shouldn't even consider it?" he asked.

His master nodded. "Only consider those within a suitable range. Since obtaining your first two yellow rings, you've built up a good foundation in both your body and Soul Power, but seven thousand years isn't your benchmark."

At that, Shao Heng glanced at Chen An.

"All right, then. I wasn't planning to stake my life on competing with him."

Chen An had been about to say something, but those words stopped him short and made him laugh.

In the past, whenever he heard about Soul Rings, all he thought about was their age. But when he actually encountered that Mandala Snake, once the pain struck, he hadn't wanted to pretend it was easy at all. Now that Shao Heng could draw a line for himself, Grandpa Sword would have one less thing to worry about on his behalf.

Rongrong, however, looked at the paper and remembered the Beast Fur and bark laid out on the desk in class the day before yesterday.

"This only shows what it looks like," she said. "Where that person saw it, and what else was nearby-the details aren't complete."

Shao Heng's master took a look. "The next page has the woodland and the season."

He handed over another page. After reading it, Rongrong still added a line to her own paper with her pen: identify it again on-site.

Ning Fengzhi didn't take the pen away from her.

This was his daughter's first time joining them to examine ring-hunting materials. Knowing that what was written on a sheet of paper wasn't the same as a living Soul Beast in the forest was already something gained. As for how to truly judge its age, even the people seated before her wouldn't dare draw a conclusion from a single picture. She had even less reason to rush.

Chen An turned to the end of the record and asked a different question.

"It runs fast, so if we catch it, how do we make sure it hasn't been hurt too badly? Senior Brother Shao Heng still needs its Soul Ring."

Chen Xin glanced at him.

"That's why I'm going."

His answer was simple. Chen An knew Grandpa Sword had ways to keep the danger under control, so there was no need to arrange the order of his actions for him here. The sect's elders would handle identification and protection; Shao Heng would deliver the final blow himself when the time came, and he would have to bear the absorption himself too.

They examined two more old records, but in the end, they didn't set anything in stone.

They would first search for the short bursts of speed Black Leopard needed, with the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent as their first choice. If the one they found was the wrong age or in the wrong condition, they would leave it alone and look elsewhere. If they encountered none at all in the forest, there was no need to catch an unsuitable one just to avoid returning empty-handed.

Ning Fengzhi had the masters settle the route and accompanying personnel, and Chen Xin agreed to go along as well.

Hearing this, Chen An couldn't resist asking, "Grandpa Sword, can I go?"

"What would you go for?" Gu Rong spoke first. "To be Shao Heng's cook?"

"I can cook when we get back," Chen An said. "This time, I want to see whether what I learned yesterday can actually be used in the forest."

Yesterday he had attended class, and today he had leafed through books; what he was identifying was all material others had left behind. Once they truly entered the forest, living Soul Beasts certainly wouldn't line up according to the pages of a book. He wanted to learn a little more, and he only dared bring it up because Chen Xin would be there.

Chen Xin looked at him for a moment, then agreed.

"Stay with me. Don't go chasing anything on your own."

"Understood."

Rongrong had also wanted to ask whether she could come, but the words stopped at her lips. This time, Senior Brother Shao Heng was obtaining his Third Soul Ring, and they would be searching for a thousand-year Soul Beast that ran extremely fast. Apart from giving Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone one more person to look after, she might not be of any help in the forest.

She simply folded up her paper and handed it to Chen An.

"Then don't just tell me you found it when you come back," Rongrong said. "Where it hid, how you identified it-take a careful look for me."

"I'll write it down for you."

With the two of them agreed, Ning Fengzhi didn't let the matter drag on any longer.

The ring-hunting party would leave early the morning after next. Tomorrow, Chen An would cook as usual; Uncle Zhou had already set aside ordinary tenderloin and starch for him. Over the past few days, Kung Pao Chicken had accumulated more than a hundred favorable reviews, and he had already wanted to try the new dish the system had given him.

Shao Heng would get to eat it just before setting out.

Before that, however, Chen An still needed to go back and finish studying the recipe carefully. Someone was arranging the Third Soul Ring matter, but no one could control the heat for him at his little stove.

When he returned to the Kitchen, Uncle Zhou had already picked out the tenderloin and mixed a separate basin of starch with water, leaving it in a cool place to settle. Chen An lowered his head to look and didn't ask anyone to pour off the water.

"I'll handle it myself tomorrow morning. The starch needs to settle properly before the coating will hold."

"Understood." Uncle Zhou pushed the basin farther in. "I'll handle lunch the day after tomorrow as usual. Make sure you take enough dry rations before you leave. There won't be a stove waiting for you in the forest."

Those words were familiar to Chen An. Uncle Zhou said them every time he went ring hunting, but each time, there really weren't many of the flatbreads they brought left over by the end.

Fang Ming had just carried firewood to the doorway. Hearing the words "tomorrow morning," he immediately came over.

"There really is a new dish?"

"There is," Chen An said. "Put that bundle of firewood away first. Don't block the door."

"I was just asking."

That was what he said, but after putting down the firewood, he took the initiative to bring over the scallions and ginger needed for tomorrow too. Chen An glanced at them without exposing him.

Shao Heng hadn't obtained his Third Soul Ring yet, so it was naturally a little early to celebrate. Tomorrow's cooking was because everyone needed to eat as usual, and Chen An also wanted to try the new recipe. It was just that this time, the cook would be heading out with the others the day after tomorrow, so anyone waiting for a meal would have to seek out Uncle Zhou first.

After hearing the arrangements for the day after tomorrow, Fang Ming didn't keep pestering him about whether he could save an extra plate.

Food tasted best fresh from the wok; he knew that better than anyone. Since he could be there tomorrow, there was no point thinking about saving something crisp until the day after.