"Ah! Teacher..."
"Maybe you should just choke my neck instead—my clothes are poor quality!"
"Shut up and open your eyes!"
"Or I'll choke you to death!"
Ye Tian covered his mouth, feeling speechless yet not daring to move recklessly.
He had no idea what Bi Bi Dong intended to do.
He had returned with breakfast to find her already changed into a sharp outfit. Right after eating, she grabbed him without a word and leaped down.
The large bun he'd eaten was nearly jolted out of him!
But Ye Tian also knew Bi Bi Dong's words made sense.
Steadying himself, Ye Tian slowly lowered his hands.
He opened his eyes.
Seeing the mountain face about to smash into him, his eyes widened and his breath hitched.
Ye Tian hurriedly circulated the Soul Power within his body,
finally feeling somewhat better.
Repeatedly brushing close to the mountain face—this was truly thrilling!
Yet after experiencing it, it became almost ordinary.
Within a few breaths.
After the brief panic, Ye Tian's tense body gradually relaxed.
But Bi Bi Dong's occasional wrist movements
still made Ye Tian worry he might be flung away by this unpredictable woman.
"Teacher, if you keep shaking, I'll throw up right here!"
"Then go ahead and try."
Bi Bi Dong cast a cold glance at Ye Tian, noticed his pale face, snorted coldly, and stopped deliberately moving her wrist.
She felt somewhat surprised by Ye Tian's adaptability.
Bi Bi Dong had to admit.
Ye Tian already possessed the initial qualities to become a strong expert—pity he was only a food system...
With Bi Bi Dong ceasing her antics, Ye Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't help asking: "Teacher, where are we going?"
"Soul Hunt."
Bi Bi Dong said indifferently.
"Soul Hunt!"
Delight flashed in Ye Tian's eyes—he hadn't expected Bi Bi Dong to be so proactive.
Given her usual aloof demeanor
Ye Tian had thought he, as her disciple, would have to beg for her help with the Soul Hunt.
It seemed he had been somewhat narrow-minded.
When Bi Bi Dong was normal, she could be quite reasonable.
"Where are we going for the Soul Hunt?"
Ye Tian gazed at the various buildings below and asked curiously.
He wasn't particularly interested in the enclosed Soul Hunting Forests, preferring to experience the vastness and wildness of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"..."
Bi Bi Dong didn't answer Ye Tian's question.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—with a few swift movements, she landed smoothly on level ground with Ye Tian.
Ye Tian looked up at the city wall before him.
Marveling at the power of Soul Masters, crossing half the city in less than half a quarter-hour.
Bi Bi Dong, still holding Ye Tian, commanded authoritatively:
"Immediately prepare a carriage to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Yes—!"
Upon hearing the order, the guard immediately accepted the command.
"Holy Maiden, please wait a moment."
As the words fell.
The guard captain sprang into action.
Many people watched curiously at Ye Tian held in Bi Bi Dong's hand.
Hearing the destination,
Ye Tian couldn't help showing joy, but when meeting those gazes
his face couldn't help but flush with warmth.
Being held like a monkey by a woman was indeed embarrassing.
"Holy Maiden, the carriage is ready!"
Fortunately.
The guard captain was efficient, quickly preparing the carriage.
Three spirited horses with Spirit Beast bloodlines,
accompanied by a Soul King coachman.
The configuration was impeccable.
"Depart immediately."
Bi Bi Dong nodded, then grabbed Ye Tian and swiftly entered the carriage.
"Giddy up—!"
The wheels turned, and the spirited horses galloped, quickly carrying them out of Spirit Hall City.
Inside the carriage.
Bi Bi Dong and Ye Tian sat facing each other across a small table.
Not long after they had set off,
Ye Tian couldn't resist opening the window to look outside.
It had been so long.
He had never seen the scenery outside Spirit Hall City before.
"Sit properly."
Bi Bi Dong's voice rang out.
Ye Tian turned his head,
and under her authoritative gaze, he slowly straightened his back and sat upright.
Bi Bi Dong withdrew her intimidating stare and said casually, "Next, I'll teach you how to determine the age of a Spirit Beast."
Ye Tian looked at Bi Bi Dong's empty hands.
A strange expression crossed his face.
"Teacher, are you just going to talk about it?"
"Don't you have any teaching materials or Spirit Beast guides? I heard this mainly relies on personal study and accumulation."
Bi Bi Dong glanced faintly at Ye Tian, her eyes holding both appreciation and a hint of mockery.
"Listen to me first."
"Alright."
Ye Tian looked curious, as he was genuinely eager to learn.
"Ahem..."
Bi Bi Dong cleared her throat theatrically and explained:
"The simplest and crudest method to determine a Spirit Beast's age is to observe the color of its Soul Power. It corresponds to the colors of Spirit Rings—white Soul Power indicates a ten-year Spirit Beast... and so on, excluding special Spirit Beasts."
"Yes, I know that."
Ye Tian nodded, listening attentively and with great interest, then urged:
"What else?"
"As you said, this kind of thing entirely depends on personal accumulation, so... take this Spirit Beast Compendium and study it. I'll quiz you at any time."
Bi Bi Dong's light, casual words
made Ye Tian's face stiffen, as if his sincere interest had been thrown to the dogs.
Bi Bi Dong smiled faintly.
With a casual flick of her hand, a black streak of light flew to the top of Ye Tian's head before dropping down.
"Gah—!"
Ye Tian's eyes widened, with no time to complain.
He frantically raised his hands to catch the massive object that was larger and thicker than his own body.
It definitely weighed over fifty pounds!
"Study this book well, and you can also pick out the Spirit Beasts that catch your eye... Also, it contains various notes I've made. The Soul Master system classifications are all quite simple—study hard."
Bi Bi Dong waved her hand dismissively, then propped her head up and pretended to doze off.
It had been a long time since she'd been in such a good mood.
"I..."
Ye Tian looked at the book in front of him, really wanting to curse.
But as a Soul Master, this was something he had to learn, even though Ye Tian already had a general idea of how Spirit Beast selection worked.
The prerequisite was to have sufficient understanding of Spirit Beasts.
Spirit Rings.
In Ye Tian's view, were mediums that could attach certain characteristics or multiple traits of a Spirit Beast to a Martial Soul, serving as the Soul Master's Soul Skills.
For example, take a dog Spirit Beast.
A Soul Master attaching a dog's Spirit Ring might gain powerful olfactory senses, fearsome bite strength, robust physique, or even berserker rage, along with the dog's own attack skills—perhaps sonic attacks like barking, physical attacks like... well, dog behavior, chemical attacks like... flatulence, and so on.
It could even utilize the dog's habits to make enemies emit certain scents, allowing for tracking and ensuring Soul Skills never miss their target.
This mechanism
was actually quite easy to understand.
The more prominent a certain characteristic of a Spirit Beast was, and the more it aligned with the Soul Master's Martial Soul,
the greater the likelihood of acquiring that characteristic.
And the same characteristic, when attached to different Martial Souls, would manifest differently.
For example, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and a snake-type Beast Martial Soul.
When attaching a Man-Faced Demon Spider, one can obtain both poison and entanglement characteristics.
However, the method of entanglement might differ.
Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters use grass for entanglement, while snake Martial Soul Soul Masters achieve close-range entanglement through body softening and serpentization.
Opening the massive tome before him, Ye Tian quickly became immersed in it. The delicate, small characters added later on the pages indeed contained some unique insights.
A pen was also tucked inside the book.
Bringing over his past reading habits, Ye Tian couldn't resist starting to highlight key points.
Occasionally, he would also write down possible obtainable Soul Skills.
Bi Bi Dong, propping her head up while feigning sleep, secretly opened her eyes and noticed Ye Tian writing.
With great interest, she directed her gaze to the book.
Seeing what Ye Tian had written, and even his supplements to her notes, Bi Bi Dong couldn't help but straighten her posture, her eyes revealing astonishment.
This little brat... is he really a monster?!
And a theoretical genius too?
He actually wrote the correct answer beneath the questions she had written years ago - an answer that only she knew in the entire Soul Master Realm after practical verification!