The next morning, after everyone had prepared their supplies, Lin Lei brought back a customer. After settling him in the camp, he went out again to drum up business.
"We usually wait until we have three customers before entering the forest," Lü Feng, whose martial soul was a hunting knife, said, satisfying the pair's curiosity.
Once they had enough people, the group set off. At the forest entrance, they began registering, undergoing martial soul possession so the soldiers could inspect and record them one by one.
"Brother Lei, is it always this strict here?" Ling Yu asked curiously after they entered the forest. Last time, the school had handled everything, so he had not gone through these procedures.
"Every Soul Hunting Forest is a treasure basin."
"The entry tokens are rented from nobles. Every use means paying thirty gold coins to the three sponsoring nobles."
"So naturally, they don't want a bad reputation spreading and affecting business."
"If a soul master seeking advancement dies unexpectedly or a team member goes missing, the soul hunting group will also be required to disband and reorganize," Lin Lei explained earnestly.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, everyone grew increasingly vigilant. Ling Yu had also undergone martial soul possession early on and begun scouting.
"Brother Lei, there's a pack of Netherworld Wolves ahead."
Lin Lei stopped in his tracks and lowered his voice. "Go around."
They changed direction and walked for another while. "Brother Lei, there's a Dappled Cat ahead. Sixty years old." After speaking, Ling Yu glanced at one of the three customers.
"Do you want it?" Lin Lei also looked at him and asked.
"That works!"
The group quietly advanced. "It's looking this way," Ling Yu warned.
In an instant, Lin Lei and the others underwent martial soul possession and charged out. Their practiced coordination kept the noise to a minimum, and they soon wounded the Dappled Cat.
"It's yours." Lin Lei motioned for the customer to approach.
A sharp blade swung down, and a white Soul Ring floated out.
While the customer absorbed the Soul Ring, Lü Feng, whose martial soul was a hunting knife, swiftly skinned the Dappled Cat, removed the bloody smell with a specially prepared medicinal powder, and put the pelt away. Unable to bear the sight, Xiao Wu closed her eyes.
"We can sell it once we're out. Don't worry, we'll split the money equally," Lin Lei explained.
With Ling Yu's perception, the team repeatedly avoided troublesome soul beasts, reducing their expenditure, and soon hunted down Soul Rings for the other two customers.
They were considerably more efficient than before. In the past, they had always needed to spend a night in the forest, and this speed made the other members' eyes light up.
"What a great soul skill!" Lin Lei exclaimed after they left the Soul Hunting Forest. The others nodded in agreement.
The three customers readily paid up. Soul masters really do make money fast! Ling Yu marveled inwardly.
That evening, after Xiao Wu returned from washing up, Ling Yu asked, "Why don't we give up?" He worried that she would not be able to withstand the mental strain.
Xiao Wu shook her head, her expression firm. "I want to try."
More than ten days passed in a flash. This time, their customer was the child of a newly established noble family. He was quite talented, so his father had spent heavily to hire the entire team, hoping to find a four-hundred-year-old water- or poison-attribute soul beast for his son's Pufferfish martial soul.
With Ling Yu's addition, the Azure Wolf Soul Hunting Group had gradually risen to prominence, and this family had approached them on their own initiative.
Soul beasts often gathered to drink at the water sources in the Soul Hunting Forest, making those places highly dangerous.
After traveling all morning, the group reached the nearest water source and concealed themselves.
Lin Lei took Ling Yu along to scout and search, lightly equipped. Suddenly, a strange sight appeared within Ling Yu's perception.
A crocodile, golden all over, held a Pufferfish swollen with venomous spines in its jaws.
A Golden Crocodile's age was mainly determined by the protrusions on its back, each representing a hundred years, while a Pufferfish's age was determined by the thick spines on its body, each likewise representing a hundred years. The two before them were precisely the six-hundred-year-old and four-hundred-year-old soul beasts they needed.
Ling Yu immediately told Lin Lei the news. Delight instantly climbed to his brows, only for him to quickly suppress it.
Lin Lei knew full well that in the Soul Hunting Forest, making it out safely was what mattered most.
The two immediately returned, and Ling Yu led the others forward.
Everyone hid in the woods along the bank, watching the two battling soul beasts. The Pufferfish was covered in wounds and broken venomous spines. Its venom pierced into the Golden Crocodile's mouth, while the Golden Crocodile could not release its jaws. The two soul beasts seemed about to perish together.
"He Gang, you're on support. They aren't far from the bank. Fang Ling, Gao Fei, the three of us will go. Ling Yu, Xiao Wu, Lü Feng, protect our employers."
Everyone acknowledged the orders and underwent martial soul possession, preparing for battle.
In an instant, the three agility attack soul masters rushed out, gathering soul power beneath their feet to leap far out and skim across the water toward the battling soul beasts. He Gang, whose martial soul was a Black Tortoise, immediately charged into the water as well.
The three kicked almost simultaneously, sending the Golden Crocodile flying toward the bank, then swiftly activated their soul skills and rushed back.
He Gang reached the spot where the Golden Crocodile landed, clamped its jaws shut with both hands, twisted, and flung it toward the bank. The Golden Crocodile's thick tail slammed desperately against him. Fortunately, his was a defense-type martial soul, so he could withstand it for a while.
The three who had reached the bank immediately rushed to the Golden Crocodile's side and used their soul skills again to kick it into the woods. Ling Yu and the others immediately headed in that direction.
Once everyone arrived, Lü Feng took out two knives and handed them to the employer and Xiao Wu respectively. They then guarded the pair separately, gripping their wrists to drive the knives into the two soul beasts' vulnerable spots before swiftly retreating to wait for the beasts to die.
The Pufferfish was already at death's door, and a Soul Ring soon rippled out. With its thick hide and tough flesh, the Golden Crocodile was a formidable close-combat fighter, but unfortunately, it had been struck by the Pufferfish's deadly venom. With that knife thrust into its mouth as well, it did not last much longer before a Soul Ring emerged.
"Absorb them." Only after confirming that both soul beasts were completely dead did Lin Lei begin panting. They had recklessly ventured into the water; had they not run fast enough, the soul beasts in the water would probably have swarmed them already.
The employer immediately sat cross-legged to absorb the Soul Ring. Xiao Wu glanced at Ling Yu, a trace of hesitation flashing through her eyes, but she soon sat down to absorb hers.
Ling Yu's heart was also full of worry, and he grew uncertain. Only now did he realize that, just like Yu Xiaogang, he had treated Xiao Wu as a test subject without ever putting his ideas into practice.
God who governs reincarnation, please bless her and keep her safe. Ling Yu prayed to the god who had sent him to the Douluo Continent.
Doesn't that seem a little inauspicious?
Fortunately, nothing unusual happened while Xiao Wu absorbed the Soul Ring, and her presence remained steady throughout.
It seems the body after taking human form can't be judged by human age limits either.
Why are soul beasts that have taken human form so easily recognized? Is it because their presence is too pure? Ling Yu kept turning the questions over in his mind.
Four hours later, the two opened their eyes almost one right after the other.
"Move!" Lin Lei immediately gave the order. Everyone quickly packed up and left, finding a place farther away to pitch their tents.
Only after they left the Soul Hunting Forest the next day did Ling Yu ask about Xiao Wu's soul skill.
"Golden Body. For half an hour after activation, it increases resistance to abnormal conditions and doubles attack, defense, and speed," Xiao Wu replied after undergoing martial soul possession.
Huh? Isn't that Dai Mubai's thousand-year soul skill? Thoughts stirred in Ling Yu's mind.
"Huh, your martial soul...?" Ling Yu noticed some additional golden markings on Xiao Wu's body.
"Then...?"
Xiao Wu knew what Ling Yu meant, and she also knew what he was worried about. "Yes, it's faded a little."
An expression of confirmation immediately appeared on Ling Yu's face. When a soul beast that had taken human form absorbed another soul beast's Soul Ring, it would dissipate its own soul beast presence.