Thousand-Year Soul Ring, First Soul Skill (Part Two)

"Most of the Soul Beasts on the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest are Ten-Year or Hundred-Year Soul Beasts. Remember, you must not venture deep inside. Your Blue Silver Grass is a Control System, so your first choice for your First Soul Ring should be a Mandala Snake. Its poison and entangling attributes are the best match for your Martial Soul." Yu Xiaogang spoke gravely. "I've already scouted the area for you. There are traces of a Hundred-Year Mandala Snake on the western side of the forest. That's where we'll go."

Tang San nodded earnestly, committing every word to memory. He quietly activated his Purple Demon Eye and scanned his surroundings, far more composed than any six-year-old child.

Lin Chen stood at the very back of the group, holding Xiao Wu's hand. Both wore ordinary new-student uniforms and were entirely inconspicuous.

"Once we enter the forest, find a chance to slip away." Lin Chen kept his voice very low. "A Hundred-Year Soul Ring from the outskirts would be a waste of your talent. I'll take you farther in to find a Soul Ring from a Shattering Bone Rabbit around five hundred years old. Its attributes are the best match for you. As for me, my target is deeper inside."

Xiao Wu blinked and asked softly, "Won't that be dangerous? Brother Lin Chen, are you looking for a thousand-year one for your First Soul Ring?"

"Yes, a thousand-year Jade Phosphor Python." Lin Chen didn't hide it from her. "The Chaos Pearl can suppress toxins, so the risk is manageable. Don't worry, I won't gamble with my life."

Xiao Wu pursed her lips but voiced no objection. She simply tightened her grip on his hand. "Okay, I'll help you look for Soul Beasts, Brother Lin Chen."

Lin Chen smiled. "Then I'll be counting on you to watch my back."

The group set out for the Soul Hunting Forest. Two hours later, a dense forest appeared before them. Ancient trees towered into the sky, their branches and leaves blotting out the sun. Faint roars of Soul Beasts could be heard from its depths.

The new students were both excited and nervous, instinctively drawing closer together.

The teacher leading them called out a warning. "Everyone, stay close to the group! No leaving on your own! The outskirts are relatively safe, but there are thousand-year Soul Beasts deeper inside. Going in there is a one-way road to death. Do you understand?"

"We understand!" everyone answered in unison.

After entering the forest, the group slowed down. The teachers spread out around them, keeping watch as they led the new students on a slow search of the outskirts.

Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, took Tang San away from the main group and headed into the dense woods to the west, intending to hunt a Soul Ring for Tang San separately.

"Xiao San, remember, you don't have to kill the Soul Beast yourself when hunting for a Soul Ring, but you must deliver the final, fatal blow to maximize your absorption of the Soul Ring's energy." Yu Xiaogang explained as they walked. "The Mandala Snake's poison is potent. Probe it with your Blue Silver Grass first, then strike when the opportunity is right."

Tang San nodded, concentrating. Pale blue Blue Silver Grass quietly appeared in his right hand, Soul Power flowing around his fingertips.

He was growing ever more convinced by his teacher's theories, and he followed Yu Xiaogang's guidance to the letter at every step.

Elsewhere, the main group reached an open clearing in the woods. The teacher in charge ordered everyone to rest and eat some dry rations before continuing the search. The students sat down, taking out waterskins and wheat cakes as they chattered about the Ten-Year Soul Beasts they had just seen.

Lin Chen gave Xiao Wu a look. The two got up and pretended to head into the woods to relieve themselves. Before long, they had vanished behind the dense bushes.

As soon as they were out of the group's sight, they quickened their pace.

Lin Chen activated the Chaos Pearl within him, and a barely perceptible gray halo enveloped his body.

Wherever they passed, the low-level Soul Beasts that had been restless fell quiet, instinctively avoiding the presence that filled them with fear. This was the Chaos Pearl's innate ability, Myriad Beasts Suppression, which naturally suppressed low-level Soul Beasts.

"We'll head southeast." Lin Chen checked his bearings, his tone certain. "The group of four-hundred-year Soft Bone Rabbits is in the valley over there. Another thirty li in is the Jade Phosphor Python's swamp territory."

Xiao Wu followed beside him, her steps light as she leaped silently through the woods like a real little rabbit. Watching Lin Chen's back as he navigated the forest with ease, she felt utterly reliant on him. Brother Lin Chen seemed to know everything. Following him, she would never get lost.

Meanwhile, the group finished resting and soon discovered that two people were missing.

"Teacher, Lin Chen and Xiao Wu are gone!" one student called out.

Teacher Wang, who was leading the group, frowned. "Outrageous! How dare two children leave the group on their own?" He was about to send someone to look for them when Yu Xiaogang happened to return with Tang San. Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang snorted coldly.

"There's no need to look." Yu Xiaogang's tone was indifferent. "Two children who don't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth. Did they think a little talent was enough to venture deep into the Soul Hunting Forest? They've most likely run into a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, and their chances of survival are slim. We'll continue searching. We shouldn't delay the others' opportunities because of two reckless people."

Teacher Wang hesitated, but in the end he nodded. The Soul Hunting Forest was dangerous to begin with, and anyone who left the group on their own was responsible for their own life or death. The academy had laid down that rule long ago.

Tang San stood to the side, frowning slightly. He didn't think Lin Chen was reckless. The composure in that boy's eyes didn't seem like that of someone who would gamble with his life. But what exactly was he going deeper into the forest to do?

Could it be that he too wanted to hunt a Soul Ring of a greater age?

As soon as the thought surfaced, Tang San pushed it down. A Hundred-Year Soul Ring was already the limit of what a level-ten Soul Master could absorb. A Thousand-Year Soul Ring was simply impossible; it would only cause his body to explode.

He shook his head and thought no more about it, following Yu Xiaogang back toward the dense woods to the west. The Mandala Snake was his target now.

More than thirty li deeper into the forest to the southeast, the trees grew thicker and damper. The earth underfoot gradually became soft and muddy, and a sickly sweet stench of decay filled the air.

Lin Chen stopped and raised a hand, signaling Xiao Wu to be quiet.

"The Jade Phosphor Python's territory is just ahead." He lowered his voice. "The miasma in the swamp is thick. Stay behind this rock and don't come forward. The Jade Phosphor Python's poison mist is highly corrosive. Even getting a little on you would be troublesome."

Xiao Wu obediently nodded and stood on tiptoe to look ahead. Not far away lay a swamp several zhang across, its dark green mud bubbling. Beside a pile of rotting wood in the middle of the swamp, she could just make out several enormous dark green scales.

She could clearly sense that a Soul Beast with an extremely vicious presence was hiding beneath them, far more terrifying than any Hundred-Year Soul Beast she had ever seen.

"Brother Lin Chen, be careful." Xiao Wu clutched the hem of her clothes, her eyes full of worry.

"Don't worry." Lin Chen smiled at her, then turned and walked step by step toward the edge of the swamp.

He didn't release his Martial Soul immediately. Instead, he first circulated Chaos Soul Power throughout his body. Pale gray currents flowed through his meridians, and a thin film of light appeared on his skin. He activated the Chaos Pearl's ability to suppress all poisons to its fullest, maximizing his own defenses first.

Three zhang from the edge of the swamp, Lin Chen stopped, casually picked up a stone, and hurled it at the pile of rotting wood in the middle of the swamp.

The stone cut through the air and struck the rotting wood with a crack.