Grandmaster reminded them repeatedly as the group slowly moved away from their landing spot, heading toward the destination in his mind.
"For your Sheep Spirit's second spirit ring, I recommend the Green Pouch Beast."
As he spoke, Grandmaster carefully explained all the details about the spirit beast he recommended to Qian Jue for his Sheep Spirit's second ring:
"This is a herbivorous spirit beast with exceptionally strong vitality. Its body is large, but it's very gentle. On its abdomen is a pouch. Normally, it secretes excess energy into a jade-green liquid stored inside this pouch. This liquid has powerful healing properties. When the Green Pouch Beast is injured, it absorbs the liquid back to heal itself.
Of course, this liquid also has potent healing effects for spirit masters. It's known among spirit masters as 'Green Pouch Fluid'. If a spirit master is injured in the forest and happens to find a Green Pouch Beast, their chances of survival greatly increase.
Fortunately, this liquid is difficult to preserve. Once separated from the beast's pouch, it quickly deteriorates and loses its effect. To this day, no method has been found to preserve it long-term. Because of that, spirit masters rarely hunt this kind of beast, so even in the Soul Hunting Forest, there should still be quite a few.
In addition, this type of beast prefers forests near water. When I surveyed the Soul Hunting Forest from the sky earlier, this region seemed suitable. So from now on, we'll need to move more cautiously. Xiao Jue, release your Wolf Spirit to scout from above."
"Alright!" Qian Jue replied, summoning his martial spirit. Outwardly, nothing seemed to change, but the Wolf Spirit had already taken flight above him.
Flender, watching from behind, kept his eyes fixed on Qian Jue and the sky above him. After a long while, he shook his head.
"Xiao Gang, this kid's martial spirit's invisibility is truly impressive. Even I can't sense it at all."
Grandmaster's lips curled slightly. "Xiao Jue said the reason the Wolf spirit has this ability is because it symbolizes death. Only those on the brink of death can see it. If you were able to see it, that would mean your time is almost up."
"Bah, bah, bah! Then I guess I'll never see it in this lifetime. Stop cursing me."
As Flender and Grandmaster bantered quietly, Qian Jue suddenly halted.
"Teacher, I think I've found a Green Pouch Beast!"
"Where is it? Look closely at the pouch—how many lines are on it?"
Calmly, Grandmaster instructed Qian Jue on how to determine the beast's age.
Qian Jue guided Kindred closer to the beast. Its appearance resembled a koala, but on its belly was a slightly bulging pouch. Through the skin, the jade-green liquid within gave off a faint glow.
Unlike a koala's silly cuteness, this beast was cautious. It munched on plants while constantly swiveling its head, alert to its surroundings.
Yet no matter how wary it was, when Kindred floated right before it, the beast didn't sense its presence.
"Teacher, its pouch has 6 lines—5 long and 1 short."
"That means it's a Green Pouch Beast over 500 years old. The lines on its pouch are the best way to judge its age. Each complete line represents 100 years. Once it reaches 1,000 years, the lines turn purple, and as it grows older, they gradually fade away. Don't bother with this one. Keep searching. Find one with 9 or 10 lines."
"Understood, Teacher."
Qian Jue answered firmly and continued commanding Wolf Spirit to scout. Grandmaster and Flender followed close behind, keeping an eye on the surroundings.
After more than an hour, Qian Jue finally spotted another Green Pouch Beast feeding in a dense grove. This one was clearly much larger than the first. Through Kindred's vision, he saw the pouch bore 10 lines, the last one nearly complete!
Excitedly, Qian Jue reported to Grandmaster. After hearing, Grandmaster immediately decided: "That's the one. You'll attempt to hunt it alone."
Qian Jue didn't hesitate. Though he had no experience fighting a near-1,000-year spirit beast, he wasn't afraid. After over 20 hunts before, he had already come to understand the true power of Kindred in battle.
Without wasting words, Qian Jue raised his left hand, and the
Behind him, Flender released his martial spirit, suppressing his aura as he and Grandmaster trailed behind. He raised no objection to Grandmaster's decision, though he doubted Qian Jue could win this fight.
After all, a spirit master at just over level 10 could usually only deal with spirit beasts under 300 years. Even many level-20 spirit masters struggled against century-old beasts and often got killed.
It wasn't that they lacked strength, but rather they lacked life-and-death combat experience. Fresh from their academies, most had never faced beasts that fought to the death with no restraint, and with so many unique abilities, it was easy to be caught off guard and slain.
Though Qian Jue's talent was extraordinary, the opponent he now faced was a near-1,000-year beast—something usually only Spirit Elders with three rings could rival.
Still, with him here, Flender wasn't too worried. If anything happened, he could step in. He decided to watch and see if Xiao Gang had exaggerated Qian Jue's potential.
---
As Flender pondered, Qian Jue closed in on the beast. When he was within about 100 meters, he stopped quietly. This was the ideal range for his Light Arrows. Any farther, the arrows would lose power quickly; any closer, and he'd give up the advantage of range. This spot was just right.
Qian Jue raised the Kindred Bow. Without much aiming, he loosed a Light Arrow. It struck the Green Pouch Beast's pouch from the side.
The arrow exploded on impact, tearing a large hole in the pouch. Green Pouch Fluid mixed with blood spilled down, staining the beast's fur brown.
At first stunned, the beast looked down to see its pouch ripped open, liquid and blood flowing freely. It let out a sharp cry, frantically trying to cover the wound with its short hands—but it couldn't reach.
Just then, another Light Arrow shot toward its eyes. This time, though, the beast reacted. Tilting its head, it avoided a fatal strike. The arrow blasted half its ear off instead.
It froze, glaring at the leaking pouch and broken ear. Its small eyes turned red, and it locked onto Qian Jue's position.
Another streak of white light shot into its vision.
Now utterly enraged, the beast lowered its head and blocked with its hard skull, withstanding the attack. Then it charged furiously, its stubby legs pounding the ground as it barreled toward Qian Jue.
Qian Jue fired two more arrows, but the beast twisted, taking the hits on its forehead. Despite three direct strikes, not a drop of blood came from its head.
Boom!
The beast crashed into the tree where Qian Jue had been. The trunk caved inward, and countless branches and leaves rained down.
But two seconds before the impact, Qian Jue had leapt aside, landing on another tree.
The beast raised its head, furious eyes glaring up at him. Locking onto his position, it rushed to the tree's base and began climbing rapidly.
The Green Pouch Beast was a skilled climber too!
Yet Qian Jue stayed calm. Standing on the branch, he fired a Light Arrow downward. It wasn't meant to kill, just to hinder its advance.
But the beast ignored the obvious shot, letting it pass harmlessly. Its venomous gaze fixed on Qian Jue as it clawed upward, then suddenly leapt at him.
Qian Jue stood unmoving on the branch. Behind his mask, no expression showed. He raised the Kindred Bow again, right hand pulling at the air. Another Light Arrow formed. It looked as though he intended to clash head-on.
Time seemed to slow. The beast's body closed in midair. Its small eyes glimmered with cruelty—though it was a gentle beast by nature, fury had driven it to savagery.
If its claws struck, the fragile human would be torn apart. Even with a bow, the human's arrows had proven weak. As long as they didn't pierce its eyes, his life force could endure anything.
Closer, and closer.
The beast raised its claws.
But suddenly, it felt something slam into its abdomen. Before it could look, searing pain flooded from its stomach, blanking its mind.
No!
Desperate survival instinct snapped it awake. It remembered it was still mid-battle. But just as it opened its eyes, blinding light filled its vision. That was the last sight of its life.
Bang!
The beast's corpse crashed to the ground, lifeless. The arrow had pierced through its eye socket, blasting apart its brain. Even with its famed vitality, survival was impossible.
Perched on the branch, Qian Jue felt the strengthening effect of the Kindred Mark. The full enhancement of both body and soul power brought him incomparable exhilaration.
…
When the fight was over, Grandmaster and Flender approached. Qian Jue leapt down from the tree.
"Not bad," Grandmaster praised. Even by his strict standards, Qian Jue's performance was excellent—luring the beast up the tree, seizing the critical moment for the killing blow, everything had been executed flawlessly.
Qian Jue withdrew the Kindred Mask, revealing a bright smile.
"Alright, begin absorbing it. We'll guard you."
"Yes, Teacher!"
Qian Jue sat cross-legged, repeating the ritual he hadn't performed in 2 years.
---