"Watch out!" With no time to think, Qi Ling darted forward and caught Xiao Wu in his arms, helping her regain her balance and stand on the ground.
"Th-thank you!" Xiao Wu said, still rather shaken. After all, even she had not expected what had just happened.
"Nothing for it, then. Looks like even heaven is on your side. Sometimes luck is a kind of strength, too," Qi Ling said helplessly.
"You won this match. From now on, you're Dorm Seven's Sister Xiao Wu!"
Only after hearing Qi Ling's words did everyone notice that, to save Xiao Wu, he had stepped half a foot outside the circle.
Under the rules he himself had set earlier, he had indeed lost to Xiao Wu.
"Th-this can't count! You only stepped outside to save me. This round doesn't count. Let's fight again!" Xiao Wu said unwillingly. She simply could not accept a victory like this.
"A result is a result. Whatever unexpected things happen, there's no starting over. A win is a win," Qi Ling said.
"Life doesn't give you a chance to start over!"
"Wang Sheng, are you back with the drinks yet?" Qi Ling turned and called.
Wang Sheng had long since returned with an armful of drinks. He immediately stepped forward and said, "Here, here! What do you need?"
"From now on, Xiao Wu is the face of Dorm Seven. Make sure you tell her all about the dorm leader's responsibilities," Qi Ling said with a smile. "I believe Xiao Wu is better suited to being our face than I am."
Although Xiao Wu still looked unwilling to accept it, a round of flattery from Wang Sheng immediately turned her displeasure into delight.
It had to be said that the boy really did have quite a way with words.
And so, Xiao Wu officially took up her position as the boss of the working students, and with her lively personality, she soon won everyone's affection.
As for Qi Ling, he was happy to have some peace and quiet. After all, he really could not work up any interest in these games of playing house.
A few more days passed, and Yu Xiaogang suddenly called Qi Ling and Tang San to his room together. During those days, Tang San had already taken Yu Xiaogang as his master and was receiving his instruction alongside Qi Ling.
"Tang San, Qi Ling, you both have innate full soul power. Over the past few days, I've gained some understanding of your situations."
Inside Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's room, Yu Xiaogang addressed both Qi Ling and Tang San before him.
"Make your preparations. Early tomorrow morning, I'll take you to the Soul Hunting Forest to select suitable first soul rings."
"Grandmaster, what types of soul rings suit our martial souls?" Qi Ling asked.
Grandmaster was quite dependable on such specialized questions. After all, he was the foremost theorist in the martial soul world.
"It's simple. Tang San, your martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, a plant-type martial soul. That means you only need to consider two traits and one function for your soul rings!"
Yu Xiaogang held up three fingers. "Toxicity and toughness, along with the ability to entangle!"
"With these, your Blue Silver Grass can become an outstanding control-type martial soul! It will greatly increase your fighting strength!"
Tang San and Qi Ling nodded silently. Yu Xiaogang's words made considerable sense. This was indeed the path of development best suited to Tang San.
"What about me, Grandmaster?" Qi Ling asked curiously. "How should my martial souls develop?"
"Ahem, as for you..." Yu Xiaogang frowned and said, "Qi Ling, your martial souls are too unusual. I can't give you a definitive answer either."
"However, based on your personality, I suggest you develop into a power-attack-type Battle Soul Master!"
"As for suitable soul rings, I've spent the past few days poring over ancient books, but I've only scratched the surface." Yu Xiaogang took out an ancient-looking book and continued.
"Your two martial souls, the Blood Devil Emperor and the Divine Dragon Emperor, are both extremely powerful, so they also have special requirements for soul rings!"
"When absorbing soul rings with your Blood Devil Emperor martial soul, you can only absorb those dropped by dark-attribute soul beasts. Only then can you bring out your martial soul's power. Otherwise, an incompatible attribute will greatly reduce your strength instead!"
"As for the Divine Dragon Emperor, its conditions are even more demanding, because divine dragons are extremely proud creatures to begin with! Every soul ring you absorb must therefore contain a dragon bloodline. Otherwise, you won't be able to absorb it at all."
After hearing Yu Xiaogang's analysis, Qi Ling's brow furrowed into three deep lines! He had never expected his two martial souls to be so troublesome!
When it came to soul rings, finding one of a suitable age was difficult enough, yet he actually had to absorb specific kinds as well. It was no different from fishing a needle out of the sea! Power really did come at a price.
"However, neither of you needs to feel too pressured. Tomorrow, we're only going to try our luck. Finding suitable soul rings would be best, but even if we don't, there's no need to lose heart," Yu Xiaogang reassured them.
"For soul masters, soul rings are of the utmost importance. Some people spend years searching for a suitable one! Since these are things that will accompany you for your entire lives, it's naturally better to be cautious."
"All right, that's everything I wanted to tell you today. Go back and prepare. The Soul Hunting Forest is a long way away, so we must make thorough preparations," Yu Xiaogang said. "We'll meet at the academy gates early tomorrow morning."
After returning to Dorm Seven, Qi Ling lay on his bed, feeling a little dejected as he thought back over his martial souls' special characteristics.
The Soul Hunting Forest Yu Xiaogang had mentioned was merely a hunting ground where the empire kept soul beasts. There could not possibly be any particularly high-level soul beasts there, let alone any that met his requirements!
I'll most likely come back empty-handed from this trip!
[Ding-dong! Host detected preparing to visit the Soul Hunting Forest. Please choose from the following options!] Option one: Go to the Soul Hunting Forest and hunt soul rings with Tang San and Yu Xiaogang. Reward: one random soul-tool weapon. Option two: Refuse to go to the Soul Hunting Forest. Reward: one five hundred year soul ring of an undetermined attribute.
Qi Ling looked at the options the system had offered. Although option two would give him a five hundred year soul ring, its attribute was uncertain, so he definitely would not choose it!
Because, just as Yu Xiaogang had said, if a soul ring was unsuitable, he would rather wait for the next opportunity. Better to go without than accept something inferior.
The soul-tool weapon, on the other hand, was very interesting. After all, there was no need to say any more about how rare soul-tool weapons were. Even Yu Xiaogang only had a single Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
"System, I choose option one!" Qi Ling said.
[Ding-dong! Congratulations, host, on choosing option one: go to the Soul Hunting Forest. Reward obtained: one soul-tool weapon. Your reward has been sent to your Infinite Space. Please check it!]
Having received his reward, Qi Ling casually opened his Infinite Space to see just what kind of weapon the system had given him. But the instant he saw it, his mouth fell open in surprise, and he could not speak.
Inside his Infinite Space sat a massive, jet-black weapon with an exceptionally intimidating appearance!
It could be said that every man dreamed of owning something like this. This was a man's true romance!
Qi Ling now felt that his choice had been worth every bit of it! He would not trade it even for a hundred thousand year soul ring, because sitting inside his Infinite Space was none other than a formidable Barrett Sniper Rifle!
At the same time, the Barrett Sniper Rifle's attributes appeared before Qi Ling:
Soul tool: Barrett Sniper Rifle (level 4) Attribute description: A powerful sniping weapon capable of firing tremendously powerful sniper rounds. Against opponents below the Soul Saint level, it possesses the power to kill in a single shot!
As a soul tool, this Barrett Sniper Rifle had clearly been modified!
Its body was even larger, and its power was likewise even more astonishing, but it only had two rounds. Moreover, because of its special construction, they could not be replenished at all!
But that was already enough. With this deadly weapon in hand, Qi Ling was full of confidence about this trip to the Soul Hunting Forest!