Thunderclap Nether Vine?

Yu Xiaogang and his group had moved quickly. They returned less than two days after Lin Qingchen got back to Nuoding Academy.

When Tang San walked into Dorm Seven looking refreshed, Lin Qingchen had no time to say anything before Xiao Wu, who had long been waiting for this moment, pounced on him.

"Little San! You're finally back!"

Tang San saw a blur before Xiao Wu slammed into him, making him stagger and nearly lose his footing.

Whoa, what strength!

Tang San stood there, secretly startled. He had clearly broken through to level twenty and obtained his Second Soul Ring, so why did it feel as though he still hadn't widened the gap between himself and Xiao Wu?

But...

Tang San looked at Lin Qingchen, who was watching him from a distance with the hint of a smile, and couldn't help straightening his back.

Now he had finally pulled completely ahead of him.

"What? You've broken through to level twenty too? Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Lei Nuo looked at Lin Qingchen in some surprise.

Lin Qingchen spread his hands. "I only broke through after you'd already set off."

"Ah, how about this? I'll take you to get a Soul Ring tomorrow. What do you say?"

Lin Qingchen shook his head. "It's all right, Dean Lei Nuo. I just wanted to let you know. I've decided to get this Second Soul Ring myself."

Lei Nuo was taken aback. He gave Lin Qingchen a long look.

Although Yu Xiaogang had always praised Tang San and belittled Lin Qingchen in front of him, and Tang San had now been the first to break through to two rings, Lei Nuo had always felt that Lin Qingchen was far more capable than Tang San, so he had paid more attention to him.

"Soul Hunting is dangerous. One careless mistake could leave you injured or even dead. You'd better think it through."

"But if I want to become strong, I can't always stay tucked beneath someone else's wing, can I?" Lin Qingchen said with a faint smile.

"Haha, you're right."

Seeing this, Lei Nuo stopped insisting. After thinking for a moment, he gave Lin Qingchen several approximate locations.

"These are the approximate locations of some Soul Beasts you might need that I just found in the Soul Hunting Forest. Generally speaking, Soul Beasts have their own fixed territories. The kind that wander around are relatively rare. Remember these; hopefully they'll save you some detours."

"Thank you, Dean."

Lei Nuo waved a hand and handed him a token. "What are you thanking me for? This is a Soul Hunting permit. Remember to prepare properly, and don't act rashly."

"Mm."

Lin Qingchen's Soul Hunting trip went smoothly, but not entirely so.

With the help of the approximate locations Lei Nuo had given him, he easily found Soul Beasts of all five attributes.

But none of them were particularly old. The strongest was only a seven-hundred-year-old Wood-Horned Frog.

That left Lin Qingchen in a quandary.

In his view, the Great Five Elements Divine Light never stopped exerting pressure on his body and mind, but at the same time, it was tempering them.

He was certain that, with the strength of his body as it was now, he could absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring without any difficulty.

Naturally, he wanted to find a suitable thousand-year Soul Beast to use as the basis for his fusion and absorption this time.

But there was nothing he could do. This was only the Soul Hunting Forest, not the Star Dou Great Forest. The Soul Hunting Forest was merely a place the empire had built to raise low-level Soul Beasts in captivity. Even Soul Beasts a few hundred years old were rare here, let alone thousand-year Soul Beasts.

Generally, thousand-year Soul Beasts were even deliberately cleared out, since their strength posed a serious threat to ordinary Soul Masters.

That made things difficult.

Lin Qingchen glanced at the five Soul Rings stored in the Book of Partial Understanding and decided to search more thoroughly and see if he could strike it lucky.

At last, it was the fifth day since he had entered the Soul Hunting Forest.

The sky was overcast, and it looked as though it would rain soon—and rain hard.

Lin Qingchen glanced at the sky and decided to search one last time. If he found nothing, he would leave.

Although he wasn't afraid of getting wet, he didn't want to waste any more time either.

Just then, Lin Qingchen heard a rumble in the distance and saw a thick bolt of lightning strike the forest.

It didn't look like an ordinary lightning strike. Rather, it seemed a Soul Beast was behind it, so he hurried over.

Only when he arrived did he discover that it was a small vine.

By now, rain had begun to drizzle down, and lightning continued to churn through the dark clouds overhead.

The vine suddenly reared up in the rain, blue-violet light flowing over it as though it were breathing, resonating with the lightning in the dark clouds above.

The next moment, another bolt of lightning crashed down, striking the vine directly.

An ordinary plant would likely have been charred black by that bolt, but the vine seemed unaffected. Instead, it devoured the lightning that struck it, making the light on its body shine a little brighter.

Watching this marvelous sight, Lin Qingchen had a vague guess.

"Could this be a Thunderclap Nether Vine?"

The Thunderclap Nether Vine was a being that stood among the very finest Plant-type Soul Beasts from birth. Not only did it possess a degree of innate intelligence, but after a hundred years, it could also actively draw down lightning to cultivate during thunderstorms.

The vast majority of Thunderclap Nether Vines grew deep in ancient mountain forests, in places untouched by human life, but ultimately perished from the destructive power of the lightning they continually absorbed and compressed as they grew.

On the other hand, the Thunderclap Nether Vine had no ability to entangle at all. From the moment it was born, it existed to attack.

For that reason, it had once been hailed as the strongest attacker among Plant-type Soul Beasts.

Lin Qingchen's eyes lit up. Good, you're the one!

He decisively abandoned his original choice of a wood-element Soul Ring. Although he had never read any records about the Thunderclap Nether Vine and therefore didn't know how old this one was, it would do as long as it was no more than a thousand years old.

Even if it was a little younger, so be it. The Thunderclap Nether Vine's qualities were enough to make up for it.

With that thought, Lin Qingchen attacked without hesitation.

Possessed by the Five Elements Qilin, Lin Qingchen used his First Soul Skill, the Five Elements Divine Body, and lunged straight at the Thunderclap Nether Vine.

The Thunderclap Nether Vine, which had been preparing to draw down more lightning, immediately noticed Lin Qingchen.

It shook its vines, and in the blink of an eye, a bolt of lightning struck at the intruder.

Lin Qingchen clapped his hands together.

"Great Five Elements Divine Light!"

An illusory five-colored light rose behind him, then formed a wall of light. It swept gently across the incoming lightning and neutralized it.

Startled, the Thunderclap Nether Vine refused to believe it and hurled dozens more bolts, only for Lin Qingchen to neutralize them all with ease.

Lin Qingchen was especially adept at dealing with Soul Beasts that relied purely on energy attacks.

Before his Soul Power ran out, it didn't matter what attack came his way. A sweep of the Great Five Elements Divine Light would neutralize them all.

Seeing that its attacks were useless, the Thunderclap Nether Vine hurried to draw down heavenly lightning again, attempting to attack with the lightning of nature, but Lin Qingchen had already charged right up to it.

With the Great Five Elements Divine Light wrapped around his palm, Lin Qingchen seized the Thunderclap Nether Vine and ripped it straight out of the ground, roots and all.

At the same time, fire-element power turned into flames, instantly setting the entire vine ablaze.

Before long, a yellow Soul Ring with a faint tinge of purple slowly rose.