Soul Beasts were not as densely distributed in the Soul Hunting Forest as they were in the Star Dou Great Forest.
At least, most of the night had passed without Tian Chen and his two companions encountering any intruding Soul Beasts.
It seemed the medicine Li Kai had smeared around their surroundings was quite effective.
Just as Tian Chen grew bored and was about to chat with Zhang Ping, Li Kai suddenly rushed out of the tent in a flurry.
He looked at Tian Chen with delight on his face and spoke excitedly.
"Young Master Tian, I just broke through to rank ten."
He had not expected the Purple Jade Fruit to work even better than he had imagined.
After only a short while of cultivating cross-legged, he had found an opportunity to break through, then naturally advanced to rank ten.
"Good. In that case, we'll help you obtain a Soul Ring tomorrow so you can become a Soul Master sooner."
Tian Chen stood up and brushed the dust off his silver robe.
Li Kai's breakthrough could greatly improve their team's overall strength, so of course he was happy for him.
Besides, with his strength, dealing with a Soul Beast with no more than four hundred years of cultivation should not be much of a problem. What was more, a suitable Soul Beast for Li Kai would most likely be a boar-type beast, and his Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul could exert a certain degree of suppression over it.
Tian Chen turned to Zhang Ping, who was also smiling, happy for Li Kai.
"Then let's get some rest first. Li Kai can keep watch for the second half of the night."
Hearing Tian Chen's words, Zhang Ping seemed to think of their ambiguous meaning, and the tips of her ears reddened slightly. But when she saw his calm expression, she inwardly scolded herself for overthinking.
Tian Chen paid no mind to what Zhang Ping was thinking. After entering the tent, he sat cross-legged and began cultivating.
Although Li Kai was somewhat impatient to obtain his first Soul Ring, he also knew how dangerous the Soul Hunting Forest was at night.
Even though teachers from Spirit Hall Academy were secretly following behind them.
Forcing down his excitement, he sat where Tian Chen had been and continued keeping watch.
The night flew by in cultivation.
Immersed in cultivation, Tian Chen did not know what happened afterward.
By the time he stopped cultivating and opened his eyes again, dawn was just breaking.
Seeing that Zhang Ping was still cultivating, Tian Chen deliberately softened his footsteps and walked out of the tent.
"Young Master Tian."
The moment Tian Chen emerged from the tent, Li Kai eagerly jogged over to his side.
Soul Rings undoubtedly held an enormous attraction for Soul Masters. It was impossible for him not to envy the Yellow Soul Rings and flashy Soul Skills Tian Chen and Zhang Ping possessed.
Many older Soul Masters would surely find it difficult to resist the temptation of obtaining a Soul Ring and advancing, let alone Li Kai, who was only six.
How could Tian Chen not know what Li Kai was thinking? Besides, that had been his plan to begin with, so he waved a hand.
"Get ready. We'll start looking for a suitable Soul Beast for you right away."
After speaking, Tian Chen began a quick wash with clean water. Zhang Ping came out just then as well, smiling and nodding to Tian Chen and Li Kai as she had before.
Cultivating was not the same as sleeping for a Soul Master. She had heard Tian Chen and Li Kai's conversation clearly.
Naturally, she would not deliberately hold the two of them up.
Ten minutes later, fully prepared to set out, the three headed deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest to find a suitable Soul Beast for Li Kai.
The chances of encountering a Hundred-Year Soul Beast on the outskirts were too low. To improve their efficiency, they had no choice but to decide to venture deeper.
They kept the same formation as before, with Zhang Ping watching from the air for approaching Soul Beasts while Tian Chen and Li Kai handled those in front.
The closer they drew to the interior of the Soul Hunting Forest, the noticeably denser the Soul Beasts became.
Along the way, the three had already encountered no fewer than ten waves of Soul Beast attacks. Most were creatures like Netherworld Wolves that had no idea how much they weighed.
For Tian Chen and his companions, ten-year Soul Beasts posed practically no threat.
Still, to remain in peak condition, they stopped at intervals to recover their Soul Power and stamina.
This was an ironclad rule for Soul Masters obtaining Soul Rings in Soul Beast forests, and naturally, all three knew it.
To conserve Soul Power, Zhang Ping also stopped flying and stood between Tian Chen and Li Kai instead.
This was also how Tian Chen and Li Kai protected her, a fragile agility-attack-type Soul Master.
"Hmm?"
Tian Chen suddenly stopped, furrowing his brows as he voiced his puzzlement.
"Careful. There's a smell of blood."
With his Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul, he was also highly sensitive to the scent of blood.
The faint trace of blood in the air put him on alert, bringing him to a halt.
Tian Chen nodded to Zhang Ping, signaling for her to fly up and check the situation.
Tian Chen and Li Kai both released their Martial Souls and kept a wary eye on their surroundings.
"Hiss!"
"Roar!"
The two interwoven beast cries instantly brought all three to a stop.
"Young Master Tian, it looks like two Soul Beasts are fighting."
Li Kai moved closer to Tian Chen and spoke quietly.
Zhang Ping also descended from the air, landing beside them and looking at Tian Chen.
Their meaning went without saying: they were waiting for Tian Chen's decision.
"Let's go take a look. There might be a Soul Beast suitable for you."
Tian Chen hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to go investigate.
Of course, his confidence came from the academy teacher following not far behind them.
Although the teacher had done his best to conceal his tracks, Tian Chen, whose spiritual power far surpassed that of ordinary people, had still vaguely detected a trace of a familiar presence.
If his guess was correct, it should be Li Kai's father, Li Yuan.
The three exchanged glances, then cautiously headed toward the beast cries.
The closer they drew to the place where the Soul Beasts were fighting, the stronger the smell of blood became.
Not far away, many trees had been snapped through their trunks and lay on the ground. The flowers, grasses, and shrubs had been ravaged into utter disarray, and moist soil had been torn up through the turf, spattered with bright red blood.
All three concealed themselves and looked toward the battlefield, where dust billowed amid the fierce fighting.
As the dust gradually settled, Tian Chen could make out the two Soul Beasts.
The first to appear was a snake-type Soul Beast more than ten meters long, though calling it a python would perhaps be more appropriate.
Its entire body was densely covered in jet-black scales, and its bucket-thick coils tightly constricted a boar-type Soul Beast five meters long, black all over, with an enormous horn on its head and fur that shone with a metallic luster.
Even now, it had not abandoned its resistance despite being constricted by the python. Instead, it repeatedly drove the fearsome, half-meter-long horn on its forehead into the black python's belly.
Each strike pierced a huge gash, sending bright red blood gushing out without cease.
The boar-type Soul Beast even seemed to have the upper hand.
Tian Chen quietly sized them up, a little pleased inwardly, then spoke to Li Kai, who looked equally delighted beside him.
"To think we'd encounter a Black-Horned Mountain Boar, the same as your Martial Soul. And it only seems to have a little over three hundred years of cultivation. It's just right for you."
"Get ready. This Black-Scaled Python isn't venomous. It's no match for this Black-Horned Mountain Boar."