"I am to meet the Pope, but before that, I need to obtain my first Spirit Ring?"
Meeting the Pope was within Wu Ling's expectations. What surprised him was that he had to obtain his first Spirit Ring before that meeting.
"Is it because my Martial Soul is mutated? They want to see its ability and potential before making a decision. Still, this suits me perfectly."
Once he understood the situation, Wu Ling looked up at the master of the Notting City Spirit Hall branch and said, "All right, my lord. When do we leave?"
The branch hall master smiled warmly.
"No need to keep calling me 'my lord.' From the moment you joined Spirit Hall, we became family. If you do not mind, call me Uncle Willow. It is about time anyway, so let us eat lunch first, then go."
As he said this, Hall Master Willow could not help envying Wu Ling. Even he did not have the qualifications to meet the Pope alone.
More than that, the Pope had sent one of her right and left hands for this boy, Lord Ghost Sage. Many disappearances among the opposition below had this lord's shadow behind them.
Of course, one could eat carelessly, but one could not speak carelessly. Hall Master Willow was firmly aligned with the current Pope's faction. The task Ghost Sage had given him, protecting Wu Ling while he obtained his first Spirit Ring, was something he had to complete seriously.
Besides, Wu Ling was a Spirit Master with innate full spirit power. Building a good relationship with him early was a bright road in itself.
So, under Uncle Willow's enthusiastic hospitality, Wu Ling ate the best meal he had tasted in this life so far.
Braised Bristle Boar. Poached Stonefish. Cold Iceblue Fruit salad. Stir-fried One-horned Lamb.
After several ten-year Soul Beast dishes came the finale: spicy hundred-year Softbone Rabbit.
In Wu Ling's eyes, the cooking techniques were extremely crude, but the flavor still crushed every ordinary dish he had carefully prepared himself.
"So this is what Soul Beast meat tastes like. Delicious. Even with rough cooking, it has an overwhelming advantage over ordinary ingredients. If this were a food anime, this would be the moment the protagonist arrived on a new map and prepared to conquer the title of Gourmet King."
After lunch, Uncle Willow gave several instructions, then brought Wu Ling to the place where the Polaris Empire kept captive Soul Beasts: the Soul Hunting Forest.
The lush forest was unmatched among every woodland Wu Ling had seen across both lives, though, admittedly, the total number of forests he had visited could be counted on two hands.
"If even a Soul Hunting Forest is like this, what would the Star Soul Forest be like?"
After entering the Soul Hunting Forest, Wu Ling took a deep breath. A natural aura rushed straight into his skull.
"The life aura here is so strong!"
"No, no, no. It is not life, Wu Ling. You need to understand that what you call life aura is actually spirit power. The spirit power in this forest is dense, which is why someone encountering it for the first time would feel that way. That is also why this place can serve as the Polaris Empire's captive Soul Beast forest.
"And this is only a small place. When you visit the Star Soul Forest in the future, the spirit power concentration there will truly surprise you."
After Uncle Willow finished explaining, Wu Ling nodded seriously. Even so, his attention had already been captured by the many strange Soul Beasts before him. This was the first time in both lives that he had seen such creatures.
"Those are Garlic Beasts. Those over there are Ink Cats. They are among the most common Soul Beasts. After you enter Spirit Hall and begin formal study, you will learn about them.
"Our purpose this time is to find a suitable Soul Beast for your first Spirit Ring. Do you have any requirements? Do you want to focus on attack or defense? Something that flies, or something that swims? These choices depend on your Martial Soul. Since your Martial Soul is an unprecedented mutation, I am not certain either, but as the Spirit Master, you should be able to sense a general direction."
Hearing Uncle Willow's explanation, Wu Ling summoned his Unregistered Spirit Origin Martial Soul.
"Uncle Willow, I feel like my first Spirit Ring... has something to do with a kind of swallow."
"A kind of swallow? You are that certain?" Uncle Willow frowned. This was not simple.
What he meant by "general direction" was only a subconscious choice. If someone's Martial Soul was a hammer, blade, axe, or something similar, they would obviously choose an attack-focused Soul Beast. If it was a beast Martial Soul, they would usually choose a Soul Beast of the same species as the Martial Soul.
In his mind, Wu Ling's Martial Soul was a mutation of some kind of disc. It should have leaned toward support. Yet Wu Ling immediately named a swallow, which sounded like a choice for an agility attack or flying beast Martial Soul. That made Uncle Willow doubtful and confused.
"Could it be a speed-focused Martial Soul?"
Since Uncle Willow had no clear direction from the start, he took the suspicious request seriously anyway.
What Uncle Willow did not know was that Wu Ling's Martial Soul had no fixed focus at all. Wu Ling did not care what kind of Soul Beast it was. The only thing that mattered was compatibility.
"Since I can currently choose only from one-star and two-star Heroic Spirits, those low-rarity war gods are my target.
"That one-star Archer and two-star Caster are powerful, yes, but one burns through my life, and the other burns through my teammates' lives, so I will not consider them yet.
"As for the others, it is hard to find animal compatibility for most of them. But one of them has both a deep connection and extremely nice strength."
"That sharp-beaked sparrow is decent, but unfortunately it is only ten years old. For you, Wu Ling, the first ring should be a hundred-year one, right?"
Uncle Willow's words interrupted Wu Ling's thoughts. Following his gaze, Wu Ling saw a bird with brown feathers and a cone-shaped beak tilting its head at them from a tree about ten paces away.
Wu Ling withdrew his gaze and nodded silently. "Yes. I hope my first Spirit Ring can be a hundred-year ring."
A ten-year ring would work, but if it could amplify the result, then a hundred-year ring was better. Wu Ling was not worried about drawing another Heroic Spirit either. After all, the other Heroic Spirit connected to swallows required at least a hundred-thousand-year, five-star level.
Time passed quickly while they searched for Soul Beasts. The sun began to slant westward, but Wu Ling still had not found one that caught his eye.
Beside him, Uncle Willow had already released his Martial Soul. It was an evergreen willow tree. His rings were white, yellow, purple, purple, purple.
Uncle Willow was annoyed. Wu Ling was far too picky. Sometimes the age and species were clearly suitable, yet Wu Ling still refused. His reason was that the creature was too ugly and he did not like the look of it.
"Wu Ling, it is getting dark. You have been walking all day, so you should rest. Let us head back now. We can come again tomorrow."
Wu Ling nodded regretfully. "Fine. Then we can return tomorrow."
But as soon as he spoke, a crawling sound drew their attention.
In the distance, a green figure appeared before them.
Uncle Willow named it at once when he saw it.
"A nearly four-hundred-year Mandala Snake."
As the distance closed, Wu Ling and Uncle Willow also saw the creature being chased by the Mandala Snake.
"A Proudbone Swallow. And it is five hundred years old."
At this point, the snake and the swallow were less than a hundred meters away from the two of them. Uncle Willow was about to move, but just before he acted, Wu Ling reached out and tugged him.
"Uncle Willow, do not kill those two Soul Beasts. I think I have found my first Spirit Ring."