Earlier, Xiao San had once found the Earth Dragon, so I should be able to look for the Earth Dragon as well.
Just after stepping into the range of the Sunset Forest, Xiao Lin recalled what Tang San had told him.
He then began wandering through the Sunset Forest.
With Tang Hao no longer present, Xiao Lin was extremely cautious.
The Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand was gripped tightly and held at his waist. His body was further protected by an armor formed from indestructible soul power.
Once he had a clear goal in mind, Xiao Lin headed straight forward, moving directly in the direction Tang San had mentioned before.
The Earth Dragon—despite its name—was actually just a type of earthworm.
If it weren't for the fact that its mucus had some practical use, Xiao Lin might have just found any earth-attribute soul beast to make do.
It would be best if the creature could understand his words. That way, it would get good food and drink—and stay alive.
After all, Xiao Lin was Xiao Wu's elder brother. If he didn't need to kill a soul beast, then he wouldn't.
Unfortunately, if the Earth Dragon were a true dragon-type soul beast, Xiao Lin might even have been able to grant it a great fortune.
Not long after leaving the poisonous miasma behind, Xiao Lin quickly felt the primal nature of the Sunset Forest.
Before long, he sensed that quite a few soul beasts were watching him.
Given the inherent weight of the Coiling Dragon Staff, ordinary soul beasts would absolutely not dare approach him.
Any soul beast that dared to stare at him was definitely a tough one.
But soon, Xiao Lin stopped caring.
With his abilities, unless it was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, it wouldn't necessarily even be able to break through his defenses.
And the Sunset Forest didn't have any hundred-thousand-year soul beasts anyway.
…
Ignoring the various gazes, a few hours later—
Xiao Lin stepped onto slightly damp soil.
The ground was covered with dried fallen leaves. When he stepped on them, they produced crisp cracking sounds.
However, in the very next second, a giant centipede over three meters long burst out of the ground beneath Xiao Lin's feet.
Its speed was astonishing, as if it had wings.
The giant centipede immediately lunged toward the seemingly unresponsive Xiao Lin.
"Go."
Xiao Lin felt speechless and lightly flicked his finger.
A dent instantly appeared on the centipede's forehead, and its body was sent flying backward.
Sensing Xiao Lin's effortless movement and that strange, terrifying gravity, the giant centipede seemed to realize Xiao Lin was not someone to mess with.
Shaking its dizzy yet surprisingly unharmed head, it quickly retreated.
Xiao Lin scratched his head, feeling annoyed.
How should he put it? These soul beasts weren't very smart, yet their strength wasn't weak either—those were the most irritating ones.
Unlike weaker soul beasts that would immediately flee, these creatures would instead attack Xiao Lin.
And because of the overwhelming difference in strength, Xiao Lin couldn't just casually kill them.
"Xiao Lin, why don't you release your dragon might? That way you won't be harassed anymore."
"Lei Lei, if I do that, I might not be able to find any soul beasts at all."
Xiao Lin replied calmly.
Dragons were absolutely the kind of soul beasts that, in just a hundred years, could rival ten-thousand-year soul beasts in power.
Once that dragon might was released, it would be like announcing to every soul beast in the Sunset Forest that a demon king had arrived.
"Aaah! There's a centipede!"
Suddenly, a sharp scream with a trembling tone reached Xiao Lin's ears from ahead.
"Bing'er, quickly activate your martial soul and scare them away with pressure!"
Immediately after, a more commanding female voice shouted.
Then, Xiao Lin felt the temperature of the Sunset Forest drop as a wave of extreme cold swept toward him from ahead.
This is…?
Familiar with the original plot, Xiao Lin quickly understood—it was probably Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix martial soul from Tianshui Academy.
Because it had once countered Tang San's ice immunity in the original timeline and nearly beaten him into depression, Xiao Lin remembered it quite clearly.
They were also here in the Sunset Forest to obtain soul rings?
But for a high-level academy like this, with powerful teachers accompanying them, shouldn't they be hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, where there were more soul beasts?
Xiao Lin was puzzled, but his body instinctively moved in another direction.
He really didn't want to encounter the students of Tianshui Academy.
However, just as Xiao Lin was about to leave, a sharp cry suddenly stopped him.
"Teacher, it was him! The centipede was driven over from his direction!"
Very quickly, a group of beautiful girls from Tianshui Academy all glared angrily at Xiao Lin.
Among them, the girl with the most outstanding temperament and the most beautiful appearance showed no particular emotion.
Xiao Lin could tell that she was probably the captain of Tianshui Academy—Shui Bing'er.
With her Ice Phoenix martial soul active, she looked proud and aloof, but she bore no hostility toward Xiao Lin.
"Enough, Shui Yue'er. He's a soul master—how could he possibly control soul beasts to attack us?"
At this moment, a bespectacled woman with an imposing presence glanced at Xiao Lin and sharply scolded a girl who looked extremely similar to Shui Bing'er.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
Xiao Lin couldn't be bothered to waste time with a group of women. He turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait. You're alone—it's too dangerous. Why don't you come with us?"
The woman who was clearly Tianshui Academy's teacher suddenly said this.
"We're not heading the same way."
After speaking, Xiao Lin hugged the Coiling Dragon Staff and plunged straight into the Sunset Forest, completely disregarding its dangers, charging forward recklessly.
"That guy!"
The teacher let out a low shout, her face full of dissatisfaction.
In her eyes, letting Xiao Lin join their group was giving him a chance to survive in the Sunset Forest.
But now that Xiao Lin had run out of their line of sight, it was practically suicide.
"Teacher, why bother with him?"
Shui Yue'er also looked displeased. Ever since she suspected Xiao Lin of driving the giant centipede toward them, she had viewed him through biased lenses.
"That's enough. Say less."
The leading teacher, Shao Wanqing, had no time to think about such things.
"I really don't understand—you're all here to get soul rings. Why not go to the Extreme North, or the seaside? Why come here?"
Shao Wanqing's face was full of annoyance.
Recently, Shen Liuyu had broken through to level forty. The others—including Shui Yue'er—were also close to becoming Soul Ancestors.
Only Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and Yu Hairou had long since reached the Soul Ancestor realm.
Having to obtain soul rings for four students at once—and making a trip to the Sunset Forest first—was enough to give Shao Wanqing a headache.
"Teacher, Master Xiao Yan said that soul masters should obtain soul rings with the highest compatibility."
At this moment, Shui Bing'er spoke calmly.
"Oh yes, yes—you understand Master Xiao Yan the best. But where here are soul rings suitable for you all?"
Shao Wanqing couldn't help rolling her eyes. If not for the fact that Shui Bing'er was a once-in-a-century genius of Tianshui Academy with formidable strength, she wouldn't even bother.
"One dolphin, one crocodile, one sailfish, one perch—and you come here looking for soul rings?"
"Teacher, the most suitable soul ring for Shen Liuyu's Enamel Fortune Crocodile martial soul is the Diamond Rune Crocodile in the Sunset Forest."
"It's said that this soul beast possesses powerful defense and can also emit a strange sound that strengthens its physical body. It's extremely suitable for Shen Liuyu."
Shui Bing'er spoke righteously, leaving Shao Wanqing speechless.
"Then let's keep moving. We'll go look for the Diamond Rune Crocodile."
(End of Chapter)