radicalducati Chapter 8, Part 1: Nothing Gained
Chapter 8, Part 1: Nothing Gained
"Master is really something. This is your first time hunting a soul beast, Xiao Yan. Even though you're not his disciple, he should at least accompany you."
"Someone always has to keep busy at Uncle Norton's blacksmith shop, it's alright."
"But with my level fourteen soul power, I don't know if I can help you hunt down the soul beast you desire. Besides, Master is a Great Soul Master."
The rain pelted Xiao Yan's straw hat, initially causing a tingling sensation on his scalp, but now it was numb. He glanced helplessly at Yong Ge, and from the other's eyes, he knew that even if this kid's cultivation level surpassed his master's in the future, he would still be led by his master.
The two traveled a long and dusty journey, and soon arrived at the edge of the forest. Sure enough, with the heavy rain today, there were far fewer Soul Masters calling out to form teams than last time. The few carriages that were there were just displaying ordinary goods for sale, but the prices were more than twice as high as outside.
The forest was surrounded by a steel fence more than ten meters high, with spikes covering the inside. Two soldiers in steel armor guarded the entrance to the forest, their helmets obscuring their expressions. However, Xiao Yan thought that those who were on duty in this awful weather probably weren't in a good mood.
Not far from them was a camp, clearly left only for these two unfortunate fellows to guard the gate in this terrible weather.
Apprentice A Yong respectfully stepped forward, bent down and took out a token from his pocket. The token was completely black, and the character "soul" could be faintly seen in the center of the token.
The soldier glanced at the dark-skinned, muscular blacksmith apprentice, then looked down at the skinny little boy behind him, and asked curiously, "Are you going to hunt soul beasts? Why are you bringing a child with you?"
"No, sir, it's my brother who wants to hunt soul beasts."
"he?"
The soldier standing to the side seemed somewhat incredulous. Judging from the little boy's age, he estimated that the boy was about three years younger than his own child, who had only come to obtain a soul ring this year.
Although they had some doubts, it was the other party's freedom to enter the Soul Hunter Forest, and the soldiers couldn't interfere.
"This is a one-time warrant, so I'm taking it back on your behalf. If you need to hunt for spirit rings again, you can go to the Spirit Hall to complete the relevant procedures. Also, be careful after entering the forest. Remember to stay on the outer perimeter as much as possible. Although the Soul Hunting Forest is under our jurisdiction, there are some ferocious thousand-year-old spirit beasts deep inside, which you can't handle." The soldier who had been respectfully addressed as "commander" by A-Yong kindly offered this advice.
"Understood, sir. We will be careful."
After saying that, A Yong pulled Xiao Yan through the gate. As the outer door closed, he slowly exhaled and looked at Xiao Yan with a smug expression.
"Luckily, they didn't examine the token closely; the character 'soul' on it was almost worn away."
"Brother Yong, what is this token?"
"This piece was obtained by my master from the Spirit Hall a few years ago. Later, for some reason, he stopped hunting spirit beasts and couldn't bear to part with the money he had spent, so he kept it as a treasure."
Yes, that's very Norton-esque.
Xiao Yan took the rolling beast out of his arms, placed the straw hat on its head, and then let it jump onto his own head. There were many people around earlier, and although he could have explained it, he felt it was a bit troublesome, so he simply let the rolling beast hide.
The continuous torrential rain shrouded the entire Soul Hunter Forest in a gloomy atmosphere; although it was only morning, it felt as dark as dusk.
"Alright, Brother Xiao Yan, tell me what kind of soul beast you want to hunt and where you want to go, and I'll go with you."
A Yong naturally followed behind Xiao Yan. Ever since he obtained his first spirit ring, he had been impressed by Xiao Yan's wealth of information. Naturally, he trusted Xiao Yan's judgment. So when his master Norton asked him to accompany Xiao Yan to hunt for spirit rings, he was very happy to do so, as he could also broaden his horizons.
Xiao Yan looked around the forest. As the rain intensified, lightning flashed across the sky.
Although the torrential rain had indeed obscured many spirit beasts, they were undoubtedly stirring in the shadows. Only plant-type spirit beasts were visible, but fire and plants are inherently incompatible; finding one of the right age would be incredibly difficult, so he immediately ruled them out.
"Let's look around first, preferably something with a fire element."
"With the rain, they're probably all in their nests, it must be tough for them."
"It's alright, take your time."
Xiao Yan naturally knew that it would be a miracle if he encountered a fire-attribute soul beast taking a stroll on such a stormy day.
But he wasn't in a hurry. Since he had come to the Soul Hunting Forest, he naturally wanted to take a good look around. Besides, if he couldn't find a soul beast he liked, he had a plan B.
"A two-hundred-year-old iron-armed ape, that's not appropriate."
"What just darted past? It was flying so fast!"
"Even a 300-year-old kingfisher falcon is not suitable for me."
"Brother Xiao Yan, how about that one?"
"The Fire Arm Ape has really good attributes, but it's a pity it's only a little over two hundred years old, its lifespan is too short."
"..."
The two of them spent the whole morning trying, but still couldn't find a single soul beast that caught Xiao Yan's eye.
"Brother Xiao Yan, this isn't the outer perimeter yet, we can't go any further." Ah Yong looked at the sign in front of him and pulled Xiao Yan back from continuing forward.
"All right."
"Tell me, it's been all morning, and you still don't seem very satisfied. What kind of person are you looking for?"
"Brother Yong, let's go up to a higher place, the higher the better, preferably a mountain or hillside." The heavy rain blurred their vision, making it difficult to find a suitable soul beast.
"Hillside? This is a forest; if anything is high, it's the trees."
"There must be one, the Fiery Giant Lizard. I deliberately chose a rainy day to filter out some troublesome spirit beasts. The Fiery Giant Lizard prefers to live alone and has a strong sense of territory, which is perfect for us to hunt alone. Plus, it is also suitable for my spirit."
"Fire Giant Lizard?" Ah Yong clearly hadn't misheard.
"Yes, Brother Yong, it is the soul beast that Uncle Norton hunted for his second soul ring. I know that soul beasts that can maintain their own territory are usually powerful beings, but this giant lizard is different. Its nest is underground, which is for its own safety, so it is not too strong. The only problem is whether the age of this soul beast is suitable for my absorption."
The decision to hunt the Fiery Giant Lizard was made after Xiao Yan thought about it at home. He was not very familiar with the soul beasts in Douluo Continent. Apart from the ones the main characters encountered along the way, he had no idea what else they were.
And this Fiery Giant Lizard was exactly what Uncle Norton had mentioned, because Uncle Norton's second spirit ring was obtained from a giant lizard. With the spirit skill granted by this spirit ring, he was too lazy to even gather firewood, and he always relied on his second spirit skill to start a fire.
This is exactly what Xiao Yan wanted. Once Agumon evolves into Agumon, fire-type damage will be inevitable, and with the support of the Soul Ring, the attack power of the flames might be even stronger.
"Alright, since you've decided, let's go take a look. But let's make it clear, if this soul beast is over three hundred years old, we have to turn around and run. Soul beasts are measured in centuries, and only my master can handle a three-hundred-year-old soul beast."
"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say, Brother Yong."
Xiao Yan verbally agreed, but he didn't really think so. He came here this time to reach the limit of his soul ring age. Otherwise, all the physical training he had done over the past few years would be wasted. However, he knew that if he didn't agree to Brother Yong's request, the blacksmith apprentice might summon his martial soul, knock him unconscious with a hammer, and carry him back.
One's first spirit ring must be at least 450 years old.