Chapter 17: Xiao Bai Can See Everything
Within the Star Dou Forest—
Golden Crocodile Douluo and Guang Ling walked side by side, leading Qian Renxue and Fan Chen through the dangerous, primitive jungle.
Golden Crocodile Douluo took the lead while Guang Ling guarded the rear, keeping the two children safely between them.
Their purpose here was simple: to help Fan Chen and Qian Renxue obtain their first soul rings.
Spirit City was relatively close to the Star Dou Forest, making it the best location for acquiring soul rings.
The Star Dou Forest was filled with soul beasts and was one of the most dangerous regions on the continent.
It was also one of the areas with the greatest concentration of soul beasts.
Within its depths, countless species lurked—a perfect place for Soul Masters seeking soul rings… and also a place where countless Soul Masters died each year.
But with two Titled Douluo—Golden Crocodile and Guang Ling—present, very few dangers in this forest could threaten them.
Besides, they weren't venturing into the inner regions. For the low-year soul rings the children needed, the outskirts were more than enough.
"Have you figured out what kind of soul ring you want?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo turned his head toward Fan Chen, asking for his opinion.
As for Qian Renxue, he wasn't worried. Her required soul rings were already determined by the strict ancestral guidelines of the Angel lineage.
Large clans across the continent—like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family or the Star Luo Royal family—also had fixed soul ring combinations passed down for generations.
"I don't know anything about this. Isn't this something you, as the teacher, should be concerned about?"
Fan Chen's comment made Qian Renxue laugh aloud, but… he wasn't wrong.
He was just a child—how would he know anything about soul ring selection? Wasn't that why he had a teacher?
"You brat… I'm giving you the privilege of choosing. And you don't even appreciate it."
Golden Crocodile Douluo flicked Fan Chen's little forehead. He really did love and hate this disciple at the same time.
Fan Chen was clever, talented, and capable—but also far too mischievous and prone to causing trouble. Still, he was a child; mischief was normal.
Golden Crocodile Douluo tolerated most things—as long as Fan Chen didn't cause another disaster like the one with Bibi Dong.
Even now, the thought of that incident made him break out in cold sweat.
The worst part was… each time, Fan Chen's troublemaking only escalated. Golden Crocodile Douluo was truly terrified that the boy might get himself killed someday.
Searching for soul beasts was tedious. Finding a suitable one required luck.
Sometimes you find one right after entering the forest. Sometimes you could wander for hours and find nothing.
After searching for a long while, they predictably found nothing.
They stopped to rest. Golden Crocodile Douluo and Guang Ling used almost no energy while walking, but Fan Chen and Qian Renxue were still young, so they were already a bit tired.
The two children sat against a fallen tree trunk to catch their breath.
Ever since the previous incident, Qian Renxue had grown extremely attached to Fan Chen.
If she hadn't been overwhelmed with responsibilities after awakening her martial soul, she would've stuck to him like glue every day.
It had been several days since she last saw him—until this outing for soul rings.
Fan Chen's soul imprint glowed, and Xiao Bai emerged.
Before leaving, Fan Chen had deliberately stored Xiao Bai away to conserve soul power.
Now that they were resting, he let Xiao Bai come out for some fresh air.
Xiao Bai circled Fan Chen once before immediately jumping into Qian Renxue's arms.
Qian Renxue adored Xiao Bai—and Xiao Bai adored her as well.
The reason?
Fan Chen wasn't sure.
Maybe they were both simply adorable.
But peaceful moments never lasted long. After their break, they resumed their search.
This time, Xiao Bai followed along outside, refusing to return to the soul imprint.
Fan Chen originally wanted to force him back… But Xiao Bai was smart—it went straight to Qian Renxue for protection.
In the end, Fan Chen could only give in.
Xiao Bai then cheekily perched itself on Guang Ling's shoulder.
Guang Ling didn't mind; in fact, he seemed rather intrigued.
After all, who wouldn't like a talking, affectionate, adorable little creature?
But this adorable little creature was about to surprise them all.
Not long after they resumed walking, Golden Crocodile Douluo abruptly stopped.
He raised a hand, signaling everyone else to halt.
His gaze locked onto a patch of bushes ahead—rustling with movement.
Something was hiding there.
Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't release his soul power. He wasn't here to scare soul beasts away—he was here to catch one.
If he released a Titled Douluo's aura, every suitable soul beast in the area would flee for their lives.
The rustling suddenly stopped—as if the creature realized it was discovered.
But Golden Crocodile Douluo knew better.
This was merely a trick to lower their guard.
To lure it out, Golden Crocodile Douluo deliberately looked away.
Sure enough—the moment he averted his gaze—the hidden soul beast pounced.
Golden Crocodile Douluo snorted, casually grabbing it mid-air and pinning it down.
"A roughly three-hundred-year Shadow Wolf. Perfect for your armor-type martial soul as a first soul ring."
Shadow Wolves weren't rare, but their dark attribute aligned well with Fan Chen's Reverse-Edge Demon Armor.
Matching attributes meant the gained soul skill would usually be decent.
"How about it? Do you want this one?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo asked, still allowing Fan Chen the final decision.
But before Fan Chen could speak—
"I don't want this one. It's bad."
Xiao Bai—still lying on Guang Ling's shoulder—spoke first, clearly disgusted by the wolf.
"It's not yours. Why are you complaining?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo rolled his eyes.
But Xiao Bai's next words shut him up completely.
"The energy inside it is too low. Brother can absorb way more than this. I won't let him absorb this weak thing."
"And also—it doesn't have that shiny bone inside."
Xiao Bai continued criticizing the Shadow Wolf.
But no one was listening to what he disliked.
Everyone was stunned by what his words implied.
"Soul bone? Energy? You can tell what soul ring age Fan Chen can safely absorb?!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo and Guang Ling froze.
They knew Xiao Bai could see whether humans had soul bones. But to see soul bones inside soul beasts? That meant he was a walking soul bone detector!
Soul bone drops were incredibly rare—only a hundred-thousand-year soul beasts guaranteed one.
All other soul beasts had only a 0.1% chance of dropping one.
And there was no "pity system." Every kill was a gamble.
As for knowing a person's safe soul ring age… That was even more shocking.
There was no accurate method to determine it. The "optimal soul ring age range" had been determined through the deaths of countless Soul Masters.
Generally:
First ring: ~300–400 years
Second ring: ~600–700 years
But these were averages. Every person differed depending on their talent and martial soul.
Soul Masters often encountered perfect attribute soul beasts—yet had to give up because the year was too high and too risky.
Others died because they gambled on a ring beyond their limits.
If one could know their absorption limit in advance, they could optimize their entire cultivation path without fear.
"Age? Xiao Bai doesn't know what that means. But this ugly thing definitely won't do. Sister can't absorb it either."
"Sister can absorb a lot of energy too… though not as much as Brother."
Xiao Bai's innocent voice made both Golden Crocodile Douluo and Guang Ling's scalps go numb.
"You… you can even see other people's absorption limits?!"
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End of Chapter