Vic Iceblade City was located at the southernmost border of the Silvis Kingdom, near the intersection of three countries.
The Battle King Academy wasn't far from the Star Dou Great Forest, only a little over 200 kilometers away.
Naturally, this made it the best place to obtain spirit rings.
At around 100 kilometers away began the widespread area of Soul Hunting Town.
Because the distance wasn't too far, they didn't take a carriage and traveled on foot instead.
On the afternoon of the first day, the group arrived at Soul Hunting Town and took a short rest.
Then they traveled at full speed and arrived at their destination the next day.
What came into view was a grand and magnificent primeval forest.
The trees on the outskirts were towering, each at least over twenty meters tall.
The majestic trees stood densely packed together, forming a thick green barrier that separated the forest from the outside world.
Shadows overlapped, branches and vines intertwined, with no visible paths and no way to see the scenes inside.
As they approached the forest, a cool sensation spread through them, and the fresh vitality of nature flowed into their lungs with each breath, seemingly nourishing their bodies and cleansing their minds.
"Stop here for now. Rest for an hour, then we'll enter."
The dean waved his hand, signaling everyone to halt.
The teachers were fine, this distance was nothing to them.
But the students were clearly out of breath.
They were only first-ring spirit masters who hadn't obtained their second ring yet. Walking 100 kilometers per day for two days straight was quite a challenge for them.
If they were to enter in this state, they might overlook subtle dangers due to exhaustion, potentially resulting in casualties.
While the students rested, the teachers stood guard.
The dean and Lin Tianyang walked over to Fang Ling, who was drinking water nearby.
"What kind of spirit skill are you aiming for?"
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Ideally, it would be a space-type. I hope to get a teleportation skill that can complement my movement techniques and make up for my lack of long-range attacks."
Space-type, huh?
The two of them hesitated a bit. Spirit beasts with such abilities were rare.
Especially ones with teleportation, those were particularly hard to find.
Seeing their hesitation, Fang Ling didn't insist. "If that's not possible, anything that can boost attack power, sharpness, or hardness would be fine."
Any of those would give an immediate boost in strength and allow his martial soul to grow accordingly.
For Fang Ling, any of them would be a great improvement.
He had a system panel, he could raise the age of the spirit rings!
"Is that so?"
The two began to think. Lin Tianyang raised his eyebrows and smiled at Fang Ling. "Alright, when the time comes, your teacher will help you choose a powerful spirit beast."
"Don't worry. With your grand-teacher here, a strong century-old beast is nothing. As long as it's not some ridiculously powerful super-beast, we've got this."
The dean followed up on his son's words.
"Thank you, teacher. Thank you, grand-teacher," Fang Ling said happily.
As if he just remembered something, he quickly took out some homemade jerky from his Frost Snow Ring.
"Here, have a bite. I made it myself, it tastes pretty good."
It was emergency rations. Because the Frost Snow Ring had a large space, he had prepared several hundred pounds of it.
He also brought plenty of water.
The two accepted it with curiosity. After sniffing the jerky, a salty aroma wafted up. They each took a bite.
Dry but not tough, soft yet firm, very tasty.
"You know how to cook?" Lin Tianyang said in surprise. "It's been a year, how come I never knew?"
Fang Ling replied, "I'm actually pretty good. But at the academy, I've been focused on cultivation. Plus, I have money now, so I don't need to be as frugal as before. I just got used to eating in the cafeteria."
"I see."
The dean stroked the tuft of white hair on his forehead and asked for another bag as a snack.
The teacher also took a bag.
After the break, the group split into two teams and headed in different directions.
Experience had shown that traveling in too large a group might provoke spirit beasts to attack.
In a soul beast forest where the most aggressive beasts were only century-level and even millennium-level ones were rare, like in managed forests, this wouldn't be an issue.
Let the beasts attack all they want, and we'd just keep hunting.
But the Star Dou Great Forest was different.
As one of the three largest wild spirit beast habitats on the continent, its area was vast and its terrain complex, wetlands, swamps, rivers, lakes, you name it.
It was home to a wide variety of spirit beasts, many of which would occasionally leave the forest and were highly aggressive.
Millennium and even ten-thousand-year beasts could sometimes be found near the outskirts.
And it was said that even hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts lived deep within.
Fang Ling knew this wasn't just a rumor. The Sky Blue Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape were real.
There might even be more hidden within the depths.
But that wasn't relevant to their current journey, so they didn't need to worry about it.
Still, just the outer areas were dangerous enough. If their numbers drew too much attention, they could all die here.
Even the dean, a powerful Spirit Emperor, wasn't as carefree as usual, he was being much more cautious now.
Their formation was simple.
Teachers on the outside, students with better combat records in the middle, and those weaker further in.
Fang Ling, being the strongest, naturally stood near the outer middle.
Once the formation was set and the escape plan discussed in case of emergencies, they moved forward.
The terrain inside the Star Dou Great Forest was very complex. There were no paths, just tree branches and vines everywhere.
The dean was the strongest, but he had to remain vigilant in case of unexpected danger.
So the job of clearing the path fell to Lin Tianyang.
He gripped his Wind Blade, and a sharp gust sliced through the air, clearing a path dozens of meters ahead.
Fang Ling followed closely, eyes scanning in all directions, ears alert to every sound, ready to react to any danger.
The forest was filled with poisonous creatures. Even someone like him, with limited knowledge, could name quite a few.
The Mandala Snake that Tang San absorbed for his first spirit ring was just one of the lesser threats here.
There were also the Human-faced Venom Pearl, Green-scaled Crimson-ringed Snake, One-horned Viper, Plague Lizard, Blood-sucking Leech... too many to count.
If one of them was hiding somewhere and launched a sudden attack, even a Spirit Ancestor-level teacher could be in trouble.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. After walking a bit further, they came across two spirit beasts in a standoff.
One was a pitch-black mountain ape with blue and deep purple fur. Its hind legs were relatively thin, and it moved on all fours.
Its long fangs were sharp, its expression fierce, and its red-glowing eyes gave off a bloodthirsty aura.
Its opponent was a creature resembling an ostrich.
It had vine-like feathers and a long, pointed beak. Judging by the dried blood and jagged edges on its beak, it too was a vicious predator.
"A 300-year Violent Mountain Ape, and a 700-year Vine-feathered Sharp-beak Bird," the dean quickly identified and motioned for everyone to stop.
Running into a spirit beast clash this early, it was a good sign.
"The mountain ape has decent combat power, but the age is a bit low. Plus, its frenzy-type spirit skill has major drawbacks. In battle, rationality is key. I wouldn't recommend hunting this kind of beast," the dean explained softly, then gave instructions to his son.
"Tianyang, go scare the ape away. As for that bird, cut off its wings, beak, and feet, and bring it back."
After a quick observation, Lin Tianyang brushed away the fallen leaves.
Seeing no poisonous snakes or hidden natural traps, he dashed forward from the foliage.
The dean continued explaining to the others:
"The 700-year Vine-feathered Sharp-beak Bird isn't overly aggressive. Though it's carnivorous, it usually hides in the forest and ambushes prey with its hard beak. This one seems to have an injured leg and got caught by the ape."
"Is that beast meant for me?" Fang Ling asked as he walked over.
From the description, it matched his personality well.
"No, that one's not strong enough. It doesn't suit a battle genius like you. But it's more than enough for them," the dean said without hiding his favoritism.
"Your grand-teacher said he'd find something good for you. I've got a few places in mind where the right kind of spirit beast might be. Don't rush."
"Alright, thank you, grand-teacher." Fang Ling suppressed his excitement.
He focused on the high-speed battle unfolding ahead.
What kind of new spirit ring would he gain? What skill? What specialty?
He couldn't wait to find out.
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