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**
Three days later.
Xiao Lin and the others arrived at the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest.
Just like the last time Xiao Lin came, the periphery of the Soul Hunting Forest resembled a bustling marketplace. The scene of large clusters of houses and shops built outside the forest, combined with the noisy shouting of hunting squads, left Tang San and Xiao Wu in a daze.
"With so many Soul Masters surrounding the Soul Beast forest, aren't they afraid of a Soul Beast riot?" Tang San watched a group of shouting hunting squads and curiously asked the question on his mind.
Beside him, Xiao Wu wore a similar expression.
In her view, the Star Dou Forest wasn't surrounded by such Soul Master squads. Otherwise, if the hundred thousand year Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Forest ever launched a beast tide, all these peripheral Soul Masters would surely die.
Xiao Lin chuckled and explained, "These Soul Beast forests are places where major powers raise Soul Beasts in captivity."
"It's not just this Soul Hunting Forest; the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial Family has forests specifically for raising other Soul Beasts, as does the Star Luo Imperial Family, the Three Upper Sects..."
"This Soul Hunting Forest is organized by Spirit Hall. They specifically send Spirit Hall personnel to periodically investigate the age of the Soul Beasts within the forest."
"Unless something unexpected happens, powerful Soul Beasts or those with exceptional organizational abilities—like the Bullet Bee swarms I mentioned before—will never appear here."
After explaining, Xiao Lin turned to look toward Brother Su Yuntao.
He saw Su Yuntao in the distance, bowing and apologizing to a short man with a watermelon-sized potbelly—Wang Fugui—patiently explaining the difficulty of the mission.
Xiao Lin couldn't help but frown.
There was absolutely no need for bowing or apologizing. He didn't know who had suggested the Bullet Bee to Wang Fugui, but choosing such a Soul Beast was practically asking for the entire team to be wiped out.
Watching the impatient expression on the pale, flabby face of Wang Fugui in the distance, Xiao Lin didn't think Brother Tao would succeed in persuading him. Xiao Lin saw no reason to force a rescue on someone determined to seek their own death.
Respect the lives of others; Amitabha.
Xiao Lin turned and quietly informed Tang San and Xiao Wu that the mission was likely cancelled, suggesting the three of them just gain some experience on their own.
If possible, it would be best to have Brother Tao come along as well and find them a new commission—the amount of money didn't matter.
Wang Fugui could die, but Brother Tao could not.
After all, Su Yuntao was the one who awakened Xiao Lin's Martial Soul. Xiao Lin couldn't simply watch him walk to the edge of death and do nothing.
A moment later, Su Yuntao's discussion with Wang Fugui ended fruitlessly. He returned to Xiao Lin's side with his head hung low.
"Xiao Lin, I spoke with Wang Fugui, but he refuse to change his mind. He says there are enough Soul Grandmasters around the Soul Hunting Forest to recruit more squads."
Su Yuntao was somewhat helpless.
As an attendant of Spirit Hall, his salary wasn't high. He relied on helping people hunt for Soul Rings every year to make money. He had to get married and support a family in the future; it was a massive expense.
"Brother Tao, did you mention the idea of switching to a better Soul Beast?"
Xiao Lin frowned.
Wang Fugui was so wealthy; he shouldn't be unable to afford the introduction fee for a new Soul Beast.
Su Yuntao shook his head and waved his hand helplessly.
"I mentioned it, but he doesn't believe a kid like you."
However, Su Yuntao soon forced a smile.
"Don't worry, Xiao Lin. With your Brother Tao's status in this Soul Hunting Forest, I'll find a mission for you guys in no time."
Su Yuntao gave a thumbs-up, flashing a grin with his bright white teeth.
"Wait for me, I'll have a mission ready in a moment."
With that, Su Yuntao went off alone to the hunting squads he was familiar with to ask if there were any suitable tasks, leaving the trio behind.
"This works out too. Soul Masters shouldn't kill Soul Beasts without cause anyway; it's better if there's a mission."
Xiao Lin nodded to Tang San and Xiao Wu as he spoke.
"By the way, Xiao San, your first soul skill doesn't consume much energy. From now on, keep it active on us, just in case."
Xiao Lin spoke suddenly.
He was cautious by nature and never liked to fight unprepared.
"Alright. First soul skill: Blue Silver Regeneration Bracelet."
Tang San immediately complied, summoning his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and unfolding his first soul ring.
As a yellow soul ring expanded, it transformed into streaks of light in the next second, flying toward the wrists of the three. Feeling the cool sensation of the Blue Silver Regeneration Bracelet on his wrist, Xiao Lin nodded with satisfaction.
Through the trials of breaking Blue Silver Grass over the past few months, the toughness of Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was already no less than the version in the original timeline where the first soul skill was Blue Silver Binding.
Now, this lightweight and sufficiently tough bracelet would basically not break unless facing a powerful, blade-like attack.
Besides this, Tang San had a new idea.
That was to release the Blue Silver Regeneration Bracelet around their necks. Since Soul Masters rarely used their heads to attack, and the neck was a vital point for human Soul Masters, having the bracelet there would be safer, more reliable, and less likely to break.
Furthermore, the cool healing sensation of the bracelet could keep a Soul Master clear-headed, making it easier to fight. Xiao Lin greatly admired Tang San's ability to apply his skills creatively, but he felt they should keep that move hidden for now—no need to expose everything.
The main reason was that Xiao Lin himself had Vajra Imperishable soul power, Xiao Wu attacked with her legs, and Tang San... well, he spoke for himself.
Tang San, having used his first soul skill on all three at once, frowned slightly before exhaling a breath of murky air, showing a relaxed smile.
"Brother Lin, my soul power is recovering. There's a lot of Blue Silver Grass in this Soul Hunting Forest, so my soul power consumption was replenished quickly."
Tang San was very excited about this.
If they were in a place without Blue Silver Grass, releasing three bracelets at once would consume nearly a third of his soul power before he could slowly recover via the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
But here in the wild, at the Soul Hunting Forest, Tang San found he could achieve zero net consumption.
In Xiao Lin's terms, was this "Infinite Mana"?
Regardless, Tang San was extremely grateful to Xiao Lin.
Because he chose to passively increase the vitality of his Blue Silver Grass for his first soul skill, his Martial Soul had changed. He could communicate with ordinary Blue Silver Grass, allowing them to sense for him and help him recover soul power.
"Not bad. Give one to Brother Tao when he gets back too. As for mine, you don't need to worry about maintaining it later."
Xiao Lin smiled.
Tang San's progress was currently similar to his—both were at the level of the Three-Aperture Governing Heart. It would be a bit straining for Tang San to pay attention to all three bracelets.
Since Xiao Lin had the soul power of the Horned Dragon Staff, he could just pay extra attention to protecting his own bracelet.
"50 Gold Spirit Coins for a Soul Grandmaster, take it or leave it! There's no shortage of other Soul Grandmasters here. If you don't do it, plenty of others will."
Suddenly, a very arrogant and domineering voice drifted from the distance.
Xiao Lin and the others turned to look and saw that Wang Fugui had approached the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest and was currently berating a Soul Grandmaster accompanying him.
"Young Master Wang, please, make it sixty Gold Spirit Coins. I have the old and the young to support, and this seven-hundred-year Bullet Bee is just too dangerous."
That Soul Grandmaster had a weathered, weary face. The degree of his bowing and scraping was even deeper than Su Yuntao's earlier; he was bowed at nearly ninety degrees.
Xiao Lin couldn't help but frown at the sight.
That Soul Grandmaster looked to be around the same age as Su Yuntao, but his fawning and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes made him look twenty years older, bearing a striking resemblance to a weary "coder" from Earth...
**
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your support! If you enjoy my work, you can check out my Patreon—there are 10 free chapters available, plus 60+ early access and exclusive content. I update 5 advanced chapter from Monday-Saturday
www.patreon.com/c/FanficTranslator
I truly appreciate it!