"Zhang Ping, keep watch. Shout if anything happens."
"Li Kai, go ahead and absorb the Soul Ring now."
After a little thought, Tian Chen quickly made the arrangements.
The three of them had just moved as close as possible to the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest. Unless their luck was bad, they should not encounter any hundred-year Soul Beasts.
Naturally, Li Kai had long been itching to absorb his Soul Ring. Watching Tian Chen and Zhang Ping unleash their Soul Skills earlier had left him green with envy.
He immediately released his Martial Soul and used his Soul Power to draw the Black-Horned Mountain Boar's Soul Ring onto himself.
Generally speaking, the age limit for a first Soul Ring was around four hundred years, though, of course, that only applied to ordinary Soul Masters.
With Li Kai's innate Level 7 Soul Power, absorbing a Soul Ring around three hundred years old would be no problem. Moreover, the Soul Beast that had produced this Soul Ring was a Black-Footed Mountain Boar, the same as his Martial Soul, so there was practically no chance of rejection.
Just as Tian Chen had expected, Li Kai showed not the slightest pain while absorbing the Soul Ring. Instead, he occasionally let out a couple of comfortable grunts, sending chills down Tian Chen's spine.
Tian Chen discreetly put some distance between himself and Li Kai, then closed his eyes and began recovering his Soul Power.
Zhang Ping, meanwhile, had already nimbly leaped onto a treetop and begun keeping meticulous watch.
She had contributed little earlier, so now she could only make up for it by doing whatever lay within her abilities.
Though she came from a commoner family, she had pride of her own.
The Soul Hunting Forest was not as tranquil as an ordinary forest. From time to time, the roars of Soul Beasts rang out.
However, this would not interfere with a Soul Master's cultivation.
Generally speaking, Soul Masters mostly entered a state of shallow cultivation, a state that would not be disturbed by the outside world.
Two hours later, Tian Chen had fully recovered his Soul Power and opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them.
He glanced at Li Kai, who was still absorbing his Soul Ring nearby, stood and stretched, then leaned against a tree stump and narrowed his eyes as he seriously considered his next plans.
If he wanted to control Spirit Hall, the simplest method was, of course, to conquer Qian Renxue and Hu Liena.
One was Qian Daoliu's granddaughter; the other was the current Supreme Pontiff's disciple and successor to the position of Supreme Pontiff.
But things would not be as simple as he imagined. Qian Renxue in the original story was a proud woman. What made him think he could win her heart?
Perhaps only after receiving a god's inheritance would Qian Renxue deign to look him in the eye.
Besides, with his temperament, he would never humble himself to become someone else's dog.
In the original story, his grandfather had been utterly loyal to the Qian Family, even going so far as to self-destruct to save Qian Renxue.
Yet in the end, he had gained nothing.
Since Tian Chen knew the plot this time, he would not stand by and watch his grandfather meet that fate again.
So he had no choice but to prepare for the worst.
As for Li Kai, he could be considered the first subordinate Tian Chen had cultivated.
If Tian Chen gave him an Immortal Herb in the future, then with his innate Level 7 Soul Power, reaching Titled Douluo would be no problem.
His next target to bring into his service was Dugu Bo. With his abilities, he could have unexpected effects in large-scale battles.
Besides, he had a rather pretty granddaughter, who was not beyond consideration either.
When the time came, Tian Chen would simply take his grandfather and storm his doorstep. If Dugu Bo was willing to submit, all well and good. If not, they would just seize his granddaughter and use her to threaten him.
With his grandfather's Level 98 strength, dealing with Dugu Bo, the most pathetic of the Titled Douluo, would be no problem.
However, all of this would have to wait until he turned twelve.
By then, he would most likely have broken through to the Soul Elder realm. With the additional enhancement of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, he could proceed directly with ice-and-fire body tempering. Most importantly, he would have what it took to drive.
Of course, his standards for cars were quite high. Not only did they have to look good, they could not be secondhand, and their headlights had to meet his standards too. Otherwise, he would not drive them.
"Oink~ oink~"
Two sudden sounds interrupted Tian Chen's thoughts.
"Hmm?"
Tian Chen instinctively looked toward the source of the sounds.
At some point, Li Kai had successfully absorbed his first Soul Ring.
After obtaining a Soul Ring, he could now perform Martial Soul Possession as well.
His already muscular body swelled a size, and black hair covered him from head to toe. Even more striking was the enormous, fearsome horn, forty centimeters long, that had sprouted from his forehead out of nowhere.
A bright yellow ring of light pulsed rhythmically beneath his feet.
"Young Master Tian."
Seeing Tian Chen look over, Li Kai hurriedly withdrew his Martial Soul and jogged over to him joyfully, calling out respectfully.
His eyes showed not only awe, but gratitude as well.
Tian Chen waved a hand to stop him from continuing.
What he wanted was not to listen to flattery.
He nodded at Zhang Ping, who had already jumped down from the treetop, and looked at the two of them.
"I won't waste words. I don't like coming second. Since we're taking part in this trial, naturally, we should fight for first place."
"Now that we've all become Soul Masters, we'll start heading deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow."
"Yes."