"Teacher, what you're saying…"
Fang Ling had already understood, but deliberately played dumb:
"Even if someone radiates an evil aura, as long as their soul power is pure, they don't drink human blood, don't eat human flesh, don't harm the world, don't use human souls to cultivate, and don't slaughter soul beasts for cultivation, then they are still considered a good soul master?"
Normal examples don't prove much; extreme situations are the real test.
"Uh…"
Lin Tianyang was momentarily stunned by the question, then quickly replied:
"Of course. It's just that this type of soul master will be closely monitored by the Martial Soul Hall and must regularly undergo soul power purity checks."
A ripple stirred in Fang Ling's heart.
This standard for determining a fallen soul master was even more lenient than that of Shrek Academy ten thousand years later?
It didn't depend on martial souls or soul skills, but on a person's actions.
Even the Holy Angel, known for its hatred of evil, could distinguish right from wrong.
It actually made sense when you thought about it.
There were so many soul beasts, many very powerful ones came with soul skills of this nature. You couldn't just declare someone a fallen soul master the moment they obtained one.
Seeing that Fang Ling understood, Lin Tianyang continued:
"For you, whether you gain an attack boost, weak point detection, or a soul skill like bloodsucking and soul absorption, it's all beneficial."
"An attack boost can significantly enhance your direct combat ability. Given your reflexes and soul skill activation speed, it could be surprisingly effective."
"If the opponent is unprepared during combat, it's easy to catch them off guard and score a kill at first strike."
Meanwhile, the dean was diligently scouting the area using wind.
There were some thousand-year triangular horned bulls among the herd.
They weren't weak to the point of helplessness.
Their thick, armor-like hide and three massive, blade-like horns could inflict heavy damage if they charged together.
So the first step was to disrupt and scatter them.
If they encountered an enemy, the bloodthorn dragonflies would rise into the air to cover the bull herd's retreat.
This was also the perfect opportunity for Fang Ling to hunt his soul beast.
But the key was ensuring that no hidden ten-thousand-year soul beasts were lurking nearby.
The dean, as a powerful Soul Emperor, could handle regular ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
But if they accidentally provoked something truly terrifying, the consequences could be serious.
While the chances of that in the outer region of the Star Dou Forest were low, they weren't nonexistent.
Lin Tianyang watched closely as he continued explaining to Fang Ling:
"If you gain a bloodsucking or soul-absorbing soul skill, that's fine too."
"If you want to level up quickly, you'll need to engage in life-or-death battles to push yourself, which makes injury likely."
"The scythe's bloodsucking can provide limited healing, making it useful in emergencies. That's why many people choose skills like this."
Fang Ling frowned in confusion:
"I've fought so many battles, how come I've never come across this?"
Lin Tianyang chuckled:
"These types of soul beasts are hard to catch. And those who go into life-or-death battles usually don't have money or connections. In small places, such soul skills are rare."
"How many times have you been injured?"
Fang Ling paused: "Not many, just minor wounds…"
The teacher followed up: "Then how would you know whether others had such soul skills?"
Fang Ling smiled: "That's true."
If he killed his opponents before they could bleed, whether they had bloodsucking skills was irrelevant.
But now he was a Silver Spirit Fighter and heading to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
In a capital like Heaven Dou City, the battle arenas gathered the empire's elite.
High-level martial souls were everywhere, and the talents there couldn't be compared to those in small towns.
He would need to be far more cautious when engaging in life-or-death battles there.
As his level increased, battles might drag out longer, and he could get injured more. In such cases, a bloodsucking skill would be incredibly useful.
And for Fang Ling, absorbing soul power wasn't off the table either.
In the Slaughter City, such regenerative skills were practically broken in power.
Based on the reflection and digestion talents he received from his first soul ring, these likely counted as innate talents.
He would very likely gain a talent that absorbed blood and soul power.
For the sake of the Slaughter City, Fang Ling had originally planned to seek out a soul ring of this type later, but he hadn't expected to encounter it so soon.
"Let's wait and see how your father gets you the soul ring," Lin Tianyang said confidently. "It's just a herd of triangular horned bulls, none of them above a thousand years."
And just as he had said, it wasn't long before the dean had mapped out the general soul beast distribution in the area.
After confirming there were no troublesome soul beasts nearby, the dean took action.
If he were alone, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths, but he had a group of students with him.
He had to think of their safety.
The dean's fifth black soul ring suddenly flared with a deep glow.
A large-scale storm of wind blades spread out ahead.
His fifth soul skill, Windstorm Slash, used dozens or even hundreds of deep-blue blades to create a fierce storm.
It wasn't an ordinary storm, but a dense barrage of wind blades.
Each individual strike wasn't very powerful, but the continuous, collective assault slowly wore down the target.
The goal wasn't to kill, just to stir up the herd, so the attack was spread wide.
The bulls, grazing peacefully, yelped in pain and began stampeding in all directions away from the wind.
Several thousand-year bloodthorn dragonflies took to the air, torn between attacking and fleeing.
One particularly bold one charged directly at the soul-power-rich dean.
The rest immediately flew off.
They were just soul beasts, after all, although they were essentially herding the triangular horned bulls.
They were supposed to protect the livestock from invaders.
But that depended on who the enemy was.
A Soul Emperor was the equivalent of a powerful ten-thousand-year beast.
Against such an unbeatable foe, running together was the only smart option.
Only a fool would try to fight back.
The dean casually swung out two wind blades and killed it.
Then, surrounded by swirling winds, he darted toward a fleeing 700-year-old one.
The outcome was never in doubt.
It was only 700 years old, no way it could outrun a wind-type, speed-focused Soul Emperor.
He eventually landed on the mosquito-like bloodthorn dragonfly, motioning for Fang Ling to come quickly.
To hit a flying soul beast, he had to use soul skills.
Which made it hard to control his strength, the dragonfly was almost killed in a single blow.
If Fang Ling didn't hurry, they'd have to find another soul beast.
Understanding this, Fang Ling stepped forward and with one strike severed its head, ending its life.
The dean instructed:
"Begin the absorption. With your level, it should go quickly."
Fang Ling didn't hesitate. Suppressing his excitement, he immediately activated his soul power.
The newly formed yellow soul ring drifted toward him.
A powerful wave of soul power, far greater than what he experienced with his first ring, surged into his body.
Fang Ling remained calm, entering meditation and guiding the energy through his meridians.
To his surprise and delight, he discovered something new.
His digestion talent didn't just boost his energy efficiency with food, it also applied to soul power!
While it didn't help with normal cultivation outside of soul ring absorption for now, it would be incredibly useful later.
One hour later, the soul ring was successfully absorbed.
The soul skill was exactly what the teacher described, it came from the bloodthorn dragonfly's technique of concentrating soul power into its sharp proboscis, boosting its attack.
When activated, it condensed soul power into the scythe, making the next strike deal 250% damage.
Though the percentage didn't sound very elegant, the power was terrifying.
Naming it with familiar logic, he called the new skill Cursed Blade.
If you want to read 40 advanced chapters and 3 new chapters daily, please subscribe to my : patreon.com/Moorowkeel