Scout Bugs and the Heavenly Dipper Bug

Although White Tiger Soul Masters varied in talent, even those fortunate enough to hunt down a Heavenly Dipper Bug and obtain its Soul Ring rarely gained a defensive Soul Skill that possessed all three of the bug's defensive effects.

But each of the Heavenly Dipper Bug's three defensive abilities was among the very best in the world, even taken on its own.

Thus, even if a White Tiger Soul Master had ordinary talent and his Heavenly Dipper Bug Soul Ring inherited only one of its defensive abilities, it was still exceptionally formidable.

Unfortunately, Scout Bugs were few in number and exceptionally rare Soul Beasts.

And for one possessing a king bug's bloodline to survive for over a thousand years despite having little offensive power and molt into a Heavenly Dipper Bug, calling it a rarity unmatched in the world was no exaggeration-

So although the Heavenly Dipper Bug was listed as the Soul Beast best suited to providing the White Tiger Martial Soul with a defensive Soul Skill,

Not a single member of the Dai Family, the imperial clan of the Star Luo Empire, possessed a defensive Soul Ring and Soul Skill from a Heavenly Dipper Bug.

Information about Heavenly Dipper Bugs, Heavenly Dipper Soul Rings, and Heavenly Dipper Defense Soul Skills existed only in the relevant imperial records. They could be considered the stuff of legend.

Dai Mubai had never expected to be fortunate enough to encounter a colony of Scout Bugs.

And among the colony was a Heavenly Dipper Bug that had completed its transformation and surpassed a thousand years in age.

After two days of searching for an Iron-Armored Tiger without finding a thing, Dai Mubai had been lamenting his poor luck to himself.

Now he had come across a Heavenly Dipper Bug, and such a stroke of good fortune had landed right on his head.

Even with Dai Mubai's exceptional control over his emotions, his heart suddenly raced and his blood surged. His cheeks flushed red with excitement and wild joy.

"Mubai, kid, your luck isn't bad. We haven't found an Iron-Armored Tiger that meets your requirements for your First Soul Ring these past two days."

"But your Second Soul Ring is within reach."

"This Holy Light Tiger is around six thousand years old. Both the kind of Soul Beast and its age meet the requirements you mentioned before."

Just as Dai Mubai stared in wild delight at the Heavenly Dipper Bug leading its colony in a desperate flight through the valley behind the small hill,

Flender, who had gone ahead of him and Zhao Wuji to scout, landed beside Dai Mubai and spoke, his voice full of excitement.

"My Second Soul Ring? A Holy Light Tiger around six thousand years old?"

Dai Mubai froze for a second at Flender's words. Then he followed Flender's gaze and finally understood what he meant.

His attention had been drawn to the Scout Bug colony and the Heavenly Dipper Bug, so he had overlooked the Soul Beast hunting them down.

Looking closely, he saw that it was just as Flender had said: the Soul Beast pursuing the Scout Bugs and Heavenly Dipper Bug was a fierce tiger over three meters tall.

The tiger had snow-white fur marked with golden stripes, and holy light shimmered all over its body. It was a Holy Light Tiger, the Soul Beast Dai Mubai needed for his Second Soul Ring.

Judging by its height and length, as well as the intensity of the holy light around it, the Holy Light Tiger was indeed around six thousand years old, just as Flender had said.

He had planned for the Soul Beast needed for his Second Soul Ring to be between 5,000 and 7,000 years old, so this Holy Light Tiger was a very good match.

Dai Mubai grew even more excited at the discovery.

He had searched painstakingly for the Soul Beast he needed for his First Soul Ring over the past few days, only to come away empty-handed.

Now, the Soul Beasts he needed for both his First and Second Soul Rings had appeared together.

"No, Dean Flender. It's not just my Second Soul Ring that's within reach. My First and Second Soul Rings are both within reach."

Dai Mubai spoke in a voice full of delight.

"Your First and Second Soul Rings? You mean the leader of those beetle Soul Beasts the Holy Light Tiger is chasing?"

Flender swept his gaze over the scene, then immediately fixed it on the huge purple beetle at the front of the colony being pursued by the Holy Light Tiger.

The other dark green beetles were all Hundred-Year Soul Beasts without exception. Only the purple beetle in the lead had surpassed a thousand years, reaching an age of over two thousand years, which was just right for Dai Mubai's requirements.

However, Scout Bugs and Heavenly Dipper Bugs were extremely rare. Even though Flender had spent many years roaming the Soul Master World and had Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, who boasted that his theories were unrivaled, as a good friend-

Flender still did not recognize what kind of Soul Beast it was, though he was not surprised by that himself.

There were countless kinds of Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent. No matter how knowledgeable or experienced a Soul Master was, he would not dare claim to know every Soul Beast on the continent.

Ordinary people naturally could not know about Soul Beasts as rare as Scout Bugs and Heavenly Dipper Bugs, which appeared only in the Star Luo Imperial Family's secret records.

Take the Soul Beast Shrek, which had been used to name Shrek Academy. It was an exceptionally rare and unique Soul Beast, and very few Soul Masters in the entire Soul Master World knew of it.

"Mubai, wasn't the Soul Beast you needed for your First Soul Ring an Iron-Armored Tiger? Why now...?" Flender was somewhat puzzled.

"Dean Flender, Teacher Zhao, the green beetles in front of us are called Scout Bugs, and the huge purple beetle at the very front is called a Heavenly Dipper Bug.

"According to generations of research by my family, the Iron-Armored Tiger is indeed suitable for the White Tiger Martial Soul's First Soul Ring, but the Heavenly Dipper Bug in front of us is even more suitable.

"You could even say it's the Soul Beast best suited to providing the White Tiger Martial Soul with a defensive Soul Ring and Soul Skill," Dai Mubai explained briefly.

"Is that so?" Dai Mubai recognized the unknown Soul Beasts before them, and generations of research by the family behind him had found that this kind of Soul Beast was the best match for the White Tiger Martial Soul.

Flender suspected nothing and was simply happy for Dai Mubai-

They had searched high and low for the Soul Beast needed for his First Soul Ring over the past two days without success, yet now both his First and Second Soul Rings were within reach.

It had to be said that this was even more cause for celebration.

"Dean Flender, Teacher Zhao, I'll leave this Heavenly Dipper Bug and Holy Light Tiger to you."

There was no time to lose, so Dai Mubai spoke up directly.

"All right, leave it to Old Zhao and me." With that, Flender spread the eagle wings behind him and charged straight toward the Heavenly Dipper Bug, which was leading its colony in a desperate flight below.

Zhao Wuji did not hesitate either. He leaped, his body rushing toward the Holy Light Tiger like a small mountain.

As a tiger-type Soul Beast, the Holy Light Tiger had a bloodline considered exceptionally high-ranking among Soul Beasts, and it was more than six thousand years old.

In the outer and middle regions of the Star Dou Forest, it could swagger wherever it pleased as long as no Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast appeared.

Unfortunately for it, today it had run into Zhao Wuji, a Seven-Ring Soul Sage.

Zhao Wuji did not even use his Martial Soul Avatar. He simply summoned his Great Strength Vajra Bear Martial Soul to possess him, then brought his third Soul Skill, Gravity Enhancement, crashing down.

The powerful gravitational field instantly crushed the Holy Light Tiger flat against the ground.

Zhao Wuji then used his second Soul Skill, Great Strength Vajra Palm. In just a few moves, he broke all four of the Holy Light Tiger's limbs, crushed its jawbone, and carried it back to Dai Mubai.

Flender was even faster.

Though the Heavenly Dipper Bug's defenses were formidable, it was still only a Soul Beast a little over two thousand years old. The gap between its strength and that of Flender, a level 78 Seven-Ring Soul Sage, was plain to see.

If Dai Mubai had been the one to attack, it might have taken some effort.

But when a Soul Saint like Flender made his move, a single strike broke through the Heavenly Dipper Bug's defenses and crippled it. He then grabbed it and flew back to Dai Mubai.