r18novel Page 18
Page 18
'The speed of this first soul skill is truly worthy of a genius who has reached the first level in a thousand years!'
But I don't think I saw his spirit rings just now? Oh well, maybe I just didn't notice.
Haote thought to himself.
Dongfang Jing would never reveal all his trump cards to outsiders.
Even if someone calls Haote "Big Brother," it's just a single, casual address.
"Alright, the outcome is decided. Little Mirror will take on the reconnaissance mission. Do you all have any objections now?" Haote's tone was light and cheerful, as if he had finally gotten his revenge.
Everyone nodded in agreement; they had all seen it with their own eyes, so what other opinions could they possibly have?
The dark-faced man remained silent, but had nothing to say.
He glanced coldly in the direction of the young man still searching for the badge and snorted.
No longer waiting for its return.
The group then entered the frozen forest one after another.
Stepping into the frozen forest, a chilling coldness immediately hits you.
Just as Dongfang Jing had predicted, the temperature inside the forest was several degrees lower than outside.
Looking around, the trees were covered in ice and snow, with icicles hanging from their branches, crystal clear.
The forest, 'frozen', truly lives up to its name.
The group was still in the outer edge of the forest, and it was not yet time for Dongfang Jing to use his abilities to explore.
So he stayed by Haote's side and chatted with him.
Haote was also a talkative person. After hearing that Dongfang Jing came from out of town, he became even more enthusiastic and began to introduce him to Dongfang Jing.
"Little Mirror, this Frozen Forest, though not as dangerous as the Star Dou Great Forest, is still extremely perilous, with countless thousand-year-old and ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts. Most of the soul beasts here are water or ice-attribute, so only water or cold-attribute soul masters who need such soul rings will come here to hunt them."
For example, my martial soul—the Snow Soul Demon Bear—and my soul rings were all obtained from this frozen forest.
Hopefully, the trial will go well. Thank you for your support, everyone!
Chapter 18: Clear Mind, Soul Power Breakthrough to Level 20!
Haote became more and more excited as he talked.
They even forgot Dongfang Jing's age, and the conversation gradually took on a more adult tone.
This is understandable, as Dongfang Jing's true mind is not that of a child as he appears on the outside.
"Let me tell you, Little Mirror, in this Water Ripple City, there's an academy called Tianshui. All the students there have water or ice attribute martial souls. And, the girls at Tianshui Academy are all stunningly beautiful!"
Although the content sounded somewhat indecent, Haote's face showed no sign of lewdness.
On the contrary, he was quite calm.
It was as if he were simply stating a perfectly ordinary fact; this was a genuine expression of his feelings.
He truly is an honest man.
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jing replied, "I've heard of Tianshui Academy. It seems to be one of the Five Elemental Academies?"
"Hey, you're right! The Five Elemental Academies—Divine Wind, Thunder, Blazing Fire, Elephant Armor, and our Tianshui Academy in Shuilan City—are all advanced Soul Master academies. Soul Masters who graduate from them have unlimited potential. It's a pity that although my Martial Soul quality isn't bad, I still can't get into Tianshui Academy."
"Hmm? Why?" Dongfang Jing asked, somewhat puzzled.
He had only heard about these colleges and had no in-depth understanding of them.
"Because the Five Elements Academy only accepts Soul Masters with the same attribute Martial Soul. As for Tianshui Academy, although it's the only academy open to commoners, it only admits female students, and they all have to be beautiful, hahaha!"
Girls' school?
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jing understood.
It's good that it's open to the general public.
But why only accept beautiful women?
He had originally thought that if his younger sister were to awaken a water-type martial soul in the future, he might recommend her to Tianshui Academy.
But the bizarre rule that only accepts beautiful women made him immediately give up the idea.
Dongfang Jing couldn't help but speculate
Could it be that the dean of this academy is a man?
Is building a girls' school just a way to create a harem for himself?
Shaking his head to clear his mind of these random thoughts, he continued to listen attentively as Haote recounted various aspects of the Soul Master world.
It must be said that he benefited greatly from these experiences.
After a long time.
The group finally arrived at the boundary between the outer edge and the depths of the forest.
Everyone acted cautiously, and it was best not to go too deep into the area.
Although Haote is a Soul King, if he were to encounter a few Soul Beasts with cultivation levels of over ten thousand years, he would only face certain death.
Dongfang Jing also began his work.
Summon your martial spirit and use its mirroring ability to search for the target's trail.
Until sunset.
Having exhausted most of his soul and mental energy, Dongfang Jing gasped for breath and leaned against a tree to rest.
As expected of a soul beast that hadn't been captured for two months, he searched for a long time but couldn't find a trace of it.
Haote walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him, "It's alright, we can stay in the forest for a few more days. You rest first tonight, I'll keep watch."
Dongfang Jing nodded, not trying to be brave.
The group chose a relatively safe location to set up camp.
Inside the tent.
Dongfang Jing wasted no time. He used his Shattered Mirror Martial Soul to piece together a complete mirror and entered it to focus on cultivating his soul power.
His soul power has now reached more than half of level nineteen, and he should be able to break through to level twenty in a few more days.
He had already discussed it with Haote, and the Soul Coin reward for this mission was waived.
However, if he successfully hunts down the Mirror Beast, he hopes to have its spirit ring absorbed.
Haote already knew that the boy's first spirit ring was at the thousand-year level, so he readily agreed without hesitation.
And Dongfang Jing will never again recklessly absorb a spirit ring beyond its age limit, just like he did in Sunset Forest last time.
Even if this Mirror Beast is extremely rare, he will first determine its age before making a decision.
The next day.
Dongfang Jing continued searching for the target.
The other members of the team also knew that finding the Mirror Beast was extremely difficult, and they didn't want to make a wasted trip, so they all joined the search.
However, most of them are offensive or defensive Soul Masters, who can only rely on visual observation and do not have perception-type Soul Skills that can spread their spirit, making them very inefficient.
Another day passed, and still no trace of the Mirror Beast was found.
However, they did discover some other soul beasts, whose materials could also fetch a good price.
not far away.
Looking at the numerous corpses of soul beasts that had existed for decades, centuries, or even millennia, lying there in a pitiful state, and the various soul rings floating above them.
Dongfang Jing closed his eyes, unwilling to look.
evening.
Dongfang Jing, who was meditating and cultivating, felt that his soul power was progressing unusually slowly, and his mind was inexplicably agitated.
He stepped out of the tent, where a faint smell of blood still lingered in the air.
He leaped lightly onto the branch of a nearby tree.
Leaning against the main trunk, I looked up at the stars and the bright moon in the night sky.
In the frozen forest, perhaps only the night can be considered peaceful and beautiful.
Another wave of the stench of blood wafted on the wind and entered my nostrils.
This made him recall the tragic deaths of the soul beasts he had witnessed during the day, filling him with complex emotions.
He doesn't consider himself a saint, and he can be quite ruthless when he takes action.
For example, he could deal with the fallen soul master Wang Kun without hesitation.
If the situation hadn't been so urgent, he would have surely torn him to pieces to vent his anger.
In this world, a Soul Master must hunt Soul Beasts and absorb Soul Rings in order to break through to the next level.
This cannot be changed.
But soul beasts are also vibrant lives.
Some might argue that the cattle and sheep we eat daily are also living beings, so isn't it cruel to consume them?
“No, this is different,” Dongfang Jing murmured softly.
Soul beasts are not ignorant and domesticated livestock, but beings that have cultivated for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years, giving birth to wisdom, emotions, and even civilizations that are no less than those of humans.
They are wild and free, creatures that coexist and thrive alongside humans on this continent.
We consume livestock because it is essential for our survival.
Hunting soul beasts to obtain soul rings is a 'necessary evil' for soul masters to advance in their careers.
We have no other choice, but at least we should feel awe and remorse.
But if it's not for the sake of a spirit ring, but just for the sake of fur, flesh and blood, or even just for fun, then what's the difference between killing indiscriminately and killing an intelligent race?
This has long since transcended the realm of 'survival' and become a cruel form of arrogance.
If you want to make money, there are many other ways, so why choose killing?