Before long, Grandmaster brought Xiao Yan and Tang San to the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest. The empire had set up a checkpoint there to stop anyone without a permit from entering.
Grandmaster took a token from his robes. When the soldier guarding the checkpoint saw it, he immediately became much more obsequious and bowed to Grandmaster.
"My lord, please enter!"
He did not even ask why the two children following Grandmaster wanted to enter the Soul Hunting Forest.
Xiao Yan and Tang San were somewhat surprised. That did not look like a permit issued by the empire.
"Little Yan, Little San, this is a Spirit Hall token. Spirit Hall tokens are divided into six ranks, bearing six different designs. Each design represents a powerful figure, and the token I have belongs to the third rank."
After entering the Soul Hunting Forest, Xiao Yan followed cautiously behind Grandmaster.
After all, he had never been in a primeval forest before, so he could only follow Grandmaster and learn.
But he noticed that Tang San looked unusually calm after entering the Soul Hunting Forest. He even quietly left marks from time to time, as though he were very familiar with such surroundings.
"Come out, Luo Sanpao!"
Not long after they entered the Soul Hunting Forest, Grandmaster showed Xiao Yan and Tang San his Martial Soul. As Grandmaster circulated his Soul Power, a plump animal appeared beside him. It was purple all over and looked like a dog, but was as large as a pig.
"Little Yan, Little San, this is my Martial Soul."
As Grandmaster spoke, Luo Sanpao nuzzled affectionately against his trouser leg. Grandmaster reached out and stroked its head.
"Teacher, is that... a Beast Martial Soul?"
"But aren't Beast Martial Souls supposed to possess and strengthen their users?"
Grandmaster's eyes dimmed at their words, and he said helplessly, "That's right. My Martial Soul is a Mutated Martial Soul, and it mutated in an unfavorable direction..."
At the mention of his Martial Soul, Grandmaster's eyes grew noticeably dimmer. He gave a self-deprecating smile and explained to Xiao Yan and Tang San:
"Precisely because my Martial Soul underwent an unfavorable mutation, I've devoted myself to studying Martial Souls. Unfortunately, because of my Martial Soul, I'll never be able to break through level thirty. So my theoretical knowledge is only theory, and it has never been verified."
Grandmaster sighed. Both Xiao Yan and Tang San could sense the oppression in his heart.
"My Martial Soul always cries 'luo luo,' and because it can only attack three times, I call it Luo Sanpao."
Grandmaster patted Luo Sanpao's head and continued:
"However, although its mutation left it a little weak, it also consumes very little of my Soul Power, so I can keep it summoned for a long time. Its sense of smell is extremely keen, too, so it can scout the way here in the Soul Hunting Forest."
Grandmaster directed Luo Sanpao to scout ahead. Following behind Grandmaster, he introduced the Soul Beasts they encountered along the way to the two of them from time to time.
"That over there is a Spotted Cat, a feline Soul Beast with extremely strong attacks. But as long as you don't provoke it, a Spotted Cat generally won't attack first. For a scout Soul Master who follows the speed path, it would be a good choice for a Soul Ring."
Xiao Yan and Tang San nodded. Xiao Yan glanced at the Spotted Cat in the distance and asked:
"Teacher, how should we judge a Soul Beast's strength and age?"
"It isn't difficult to tell a Soul Beast's strength." Grandmaster shook his head, looked around, and pointed ahead. "Look, that stalk of lone bamboo ahead is a plant-type Soul Beast. It isn't very aggressive, but it's extremely tough, so it would be useful to Little San."
"As for a Soul Beast's strength, we generally judge it by its size and the color of the Soul Power it uses to attack."
"Take that stalk of lone bamboo: it's only ten years old because it's less than ten meters tall. Above ten meters, it would be a Hundred-Year Soul Beast. Besides that, the color of a Soul Beast's Soul Power also corresponds to its strength. A Ten-Year Soul Beast uses white Soul Power, a Hundred-Year Soul Beast uses yellow, and a Thousand-Year Soul Beast uses purple, and so on."
"Of course, there are exceptions to everything. Some Soul Beasts are extremely good at disguising themselves, so that's something you must pay attention to when you study Soul Beast theory in the future. Otherwise, if you misjudge a Soul Beast you encounter in the wild, you'll suffer a devastating blow!"
Xiao Yan and Tang San benefited greatly from Grandmaster's lesson.
"Then, Teacher, should I choose that lone bamboo for my first Soul Ring?"
Tang San looked at the lone bamboo in the distance, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
"No." Grandmaster shook his head. "Although this lone bamboo's attributes suit you, its age is too low, so it would do little to improve your strength. We can keep it as a fallback. If we don't find a suitable Soul Beast farther ahead, we can come back and kill it."
"Does a Soul Beast's age also affect its Soul Ring?"
"Of course," Grandmaster said gravely. "Whenever you absorb a Soul Ring, the stronger the Soul Beast was in life, the better the quality of the Soul Ring you obtain, and the greater the increase in Soul Power you gain."
Seemingly noticing the excitement in Xiao Yan and Tang San's eyes, Grandmaster shook his head and said:
"Of course, I've studied the Soul Rings absorbed by hundreds of Soul Masters and ultimately concluded that the age limit for absorbing a first Soul Ring should be no more than 423 years. Once it exceeds that age, the breakthrough will inevitably fail and cause the Soul Ring to explode."
"Four hundred and twenty-three years..."
"Then, Teacher, for powerful factions, couldn't everyone obtain Soul Rings of a greater age by hunting together, like that Soul Hunting group from before?"
In response to Xiao Yan's question, Grandmaster shook his head and said:
"To absorb a Soul Ring, you must kill the Soul Beast yourself. Perhaps there are cases like the one you describe, where powerful people are sent to help suppress a Soul Beast."
"But the person absorbing it must be able to withstand the impact of such tremendous power. For flowers raised in a greenhouse, forcibly absorbing a Soul Ring with powerful energy would only harm them."
Along the way, Grandmaster kept teaching the two what precautions to take when absorbing Soul Rings and how to identify some of the Soul Beasts they encountered. The sky gradually darkened.
"All right, we'll rest here tonight."
Grandmaster had Xiao Yan and Tang San take the tents out of their storage space and stopped them when they intended to light a fire. He said:
"You must remember that although most Soul Beasts fear firelight, it will also reveal your position. If a powerful Soul Beast sets its sights on you, that's when you'll be in the greatest danger."
Xiao Yan nodded gently. As for driving away Soul Beasts, they would use the powders Grandmaster had prepared earlier.
"Luo luo..."
But before Xiao Yan could scatter the powder, Luo Sanpao suddenly cried out toward a particular direction.