"Sir, I'm a graduate of the Soul Master Academy. Here are my credentials. I need a spear to hunt Soul Beasts. Could you let me buy one on credit?"
"Here!"
"Sir, I'm a graduate of the Soul Master Academy. Here are my credentials..."
Oil from the eastern market, a weapon from the western market, a puppy from the southern market, and dry rations from the northern market.
Just like that, relying on his status as a Soul Master Academy graduate, Lin Kong obtained his first batch of starting resources on credit.
After traveling some distance, he arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Officer, I'm a graduate of the Soul Master Academy. Here are my credentials. I want to go inside to hunt a Soul Beast and obtain my first Soul Ring."
"Little fellow, are you alone?"
"I have a dog, too."
"Not bad. A very pretty dog. Little fellow, you have plenty of courage, but..."
Their eyes met, and the rest went without saying.
With such a firm, unwavering gaze, since he had already made his decision, he would not change it lightly.
"All right, little fellow. Go on in!"
"Thank you, officer."
The officer took one last look at Lin Kong's back as he headed deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest and sighed. "You've prepared very thoroughly, but the dangers inside the Soul Hunting Forest are far beyond your imagination, little fellow. Ten-year Soul Beasts are one thing, but if you encounter a hundred-year Soul Beast, you'll certainly die."
"Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo, here I come."
This was the most suitable Soul Beast within Lin Kong's ability to handle: a plant Soul Beast with the darkness attribute.
Martial Souls had attributes, and so did Soul Beasts.
Martial Souls with an attribute could absorb Soul Rings of that same attribute.
Martial Souls without an attribute could absorb Soul Rings of various attributes.
There was one exception among them: the darkness attribute.
Only those with darkness-attribute Martial Souls would absorb the Soul Rings of darkness-attribute Soul Beasts. Almost no other Soul Master would absorb the Soul Rings of darkness-attribute Soul Beasts.
Darkness-attribute Martial Souls were very rare on the continent.
Once a Soul Master with a darkness-attribute Martial Soul became a fallen one, they would be suppressed and exterminated by Spirit Hall, resulting in the scarcity of darkness-attribute Martial Souls.
Even if Soul Masters of this kind did not become fallen ones, they often had something sinister and abnormal about them and were less likely to leave descendants, resulting in the scarcity of darkness-attribute Martial Souls.
There were few Soul Masters with darkness-attribute Martial Souls and little demand for the Soul Rings of darkness-attribute Soul Beasts, so the number of these Soul Beasts increased abnormally.
The Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo Soul Beast was also a plant Soul Beast. It had no hands or feet and could not move. As long as it was left alone and no one approached it, it would cause no harm.
It had no practical value, either. Once killed, its corpse could only serve as firewood.
For all these reasons, the Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo Soul Beast was recorded on the map with a warning symbol, cautioning those entering the Soul Hunting Forest not to approach it carelessly.
Lin Kong had seen this map at the academy thanks to his status as a graduate.
At that moment, he had decided to hunt it down and absorb its Soul Ring as his first Soul Ring-a hundred-year Soul Ring!
"Tang San, your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, yet you actually chose a Mandala Snake for your first Soul Ring. What an outrageous mistake. A plant Martial Soul doesn't match an animal Soul Beast, and the vitality attribute doesn't match the poison attribute."
"I won't be as stupid as you!"
With that thought, Lin Kong resolutely walked into the depths of the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
The puppy suddenly barked, its gaze fixed on a large tree not far away as it barked nonstop.
An excellent puppy. With its keen nose, it fulfilled its early-warning duties perfectly.
Holding his spear in both hands, Lin Kong looked over, ready for battle.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The sound of skin rubbing against leaves.
A large green cat jumped down. It weighed over twenty jin and was half a meter long. Its tail flicked back and forth as it slowly lowered its body, staring menacingly at Lin Kong with a bloodthirsty gleam in its eyes.
Without the puppy, Lin Kong would certainly have been ambushed, injured on the first strike, and probably killed on the second.
But now, he was already prepared for a fight to the death.
"A mere ten-year Azure Wind Cat Soul Beast. Its skin, muscles, and bones don't offer much protection. Against a refined-steel spearhead, every thrust will punch a hole," Lin Kong said to bolster his courage.
During his six years at the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy, he had often practiced alone with a long wooden staff, repeating four moves hundreds and thousands of times: poking, jabbing, thrusting, and stabbing!
Now, holding a wooden spear fitted with a refined-steel spearhead, Lin Kong felt terrifyingly strong!
Did a ten-year Soul Beast's brain and intelligence allow it to understand what a spear and a spearhead were?
No!
Meow~
After letting out a howl, the Azure Wind Cat pushed off with all four legs, leaping from the ground and pouncing at Lin Kong. While still in midair, it opened its bloody maw and swiped its claws repeatedly, faint green wind eddies swirling around their tips.
Pshht-
The refined-steel spearhead pierced the Azure Wind Cat's brain with ease, killing it in a single blow. Its body instantly lost all strength and slumped limply.
Lin Kong relaxed his grip and lowered the corpse, then pulled backward to withdraw his spear. As he watched a white ten-year Soul Ring condense in the air, exhilaration surfaced in his eyes.
Wonderful!
I can hunt ten-year Soul Beasts alone, so hunting a mere hundred-year Soul Beast will surely succeed as well.
"The Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo Soul Ring will give me a very solid first step-even more solid than Tang San's."
Lin Kong took several deep breaths, reined in his wandering thoughts, and began dealing with the situation before him.
He let the puppy lick the blood off the spear. Meanwhile, he used a dagger to cut open the Azure Wind Cat's corpse and sliced several chunks of meat from its thigh.
After the puppy licked the spear clean, he fed it the meat, then grabbed some dirt and rubbed it over the spear shaft before wiping it clean.
Even if he would only use it for a short time, he still had to maintain his weapon properly. This was his only source of fighting strength.
A Dark Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul without a Soul Ring?
A dagger and oil?
A puppy?
None of those counted as fighting strength.
He cleaned the blood from his hands and dagger in the same way.
Several minutes later, Lin Kong continued following the map toward the Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo's location.
Animal Soul Beasts would gradually migrate toward the center of the Soul Hunting Forest as their fighting strength grew, occupying the best locations.
But plant Soul Beasts had no hands or feet and could not move. Wherever they started growing, they remained rooted in place.
This Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo's location was excellent. Unlike other hundred-year Soul Beasts, it was not in the central region of the Soul Hunting Forest, but on the outskirts, surrounded only by ten-year Soul Beasts.
This was also one of Lin Kong's criteria for choosing it-a very important one!
Along the way, he killed several more ten-year Soul Beasts that charged at him blindly. Each time, it went exactly the same way: he held his spear ready, waited for them to pounce, then thrust straight at them, killing them with a single strike.
Ten-year Soul Beasts had no brains!
Hundred-year Soul Beasts didn't have much in the way of brains, either!
As long as I can seize on their weaknesses, killing them will be a breeze.
The Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo also had a weakness, one he could exploit.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
When the puppy barked at the Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo a short distance away, Lin Kong's eyes shone with excitement and eagerness.
"Hundred-year Soul Ring, here I come!"
"A Soul Master with level-one innate Soul Power who absorbs a ten-year Soul Ring can never break through to level thirty. Only by absorbing a hundred-year Soul Ring is there even a sliver of possibility."
"Even if I can't obtain the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor's right leg Soul Bone, absorbing this Hundred-Year Netherworld Bamboo Soul Ring will be tremendously significant for me."