"Brain Devouring Orangutan," Qian Renxue whispered under her breath, her voice calm, yet her heart thudded with anticipation.
"Yes, Brain Devouring Orangutan. Barely a hundred years old." Manager Wang confirmed as he examined the unconscious beast caged in soul-suppressing restraints. "Its height matches the records just under a meter. The brain orangutan tribe grows about twenty centimeters every century past their first."
He adjusted the silver-rimmed lens on his eye and looked again. "Its third eye… golden hue, triangular fissures. Just like you described. Honestly, when you first mentioned this beast to me, I thought it was one of those mythical hybrids or just a scholar's speculation. I've never seen one in all my years working with soul beast traffickers."
Qian Renxue didn't respond to his subtle doubt. She simply stepped closer to the cage.
Inside, the Brain Devouring Orangutan lay on its side. Thick black fur matted with blood, breathing shallow and slow. A faint golden shimmer from the eye on its forehead, it was unconscious.
Manager Wang continued cheerfully, "Frankly, we were lucky. The hunting team found it by accident. A small brain orangutan tribe was found slaughtered, likely by an internal conflict. This fellow was the only survivor. The captain said it was gnawing on the skull of another orangutan when they arrived."
Qian Renxue's lips didn't twitch, but her eyes glimmered. 'Perfect evolution path. Just as the book described.'
"Normally it takes months, even years, to find a specific type of soul beast," Manager Wang said with a grin. "This might just be fate."
Qian Renxue stood silently, observing the beast which was unconscious in the cage.
Manager Wang finally noticed her focus and tried to offer assistance. "Don't worry about its condition, miss. With proper medication and spirit herbs, we can—"
Qian Renxue, however, interrupted him.
"No need."
Her tone was calm and deliberate. The kind that ended conversations.
She turned her gaze to the unconscious beast and added with a faint smile,
"Manager Wang, this exotic beast truly is amazing. I had only seen a faded portrait of it once in an obscure manuscript… but seeing it in the flesh like this…" Her tone dipped into admiration. "It makes me want to observe it properly."
The implication was clear.
Manager Wang, who had been in this business long enough to catch even unspoken requests, immediately understood he was being dismissed.
But that didn't bother him in the slightest. The young miss had already paid an advance of one thousand gold soul coins, far more than the worth of an injured, one-hundred-year-old soul beast. Whether she stared at it or killed it outright wasn't his concern.
What did concern him, however, was her background. Gaining favor with the young miss of Spirit Hall one who definitely have a very noble background, could open doors gold couldn't.
He chuckled awkwardly, trying to preserve a bit of face as he waved his hand.
"Well! Well! Little friend, I'll leave you to admire this rare creature in peace. Suddenly remembered something I must tend to. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to come to my office. I'll see to it personally!"
With that, he bowed slightly and stepped out of the room, the heavy door creaking shut behind him.
Silence returned to the chamber.
Qian Renxue didn't even turn her head. Still facing the cage, she said lightly,
"Wu Meng, you may leave as well."
The young maid, who had followed her since stepping from the carriage—hesitated. Her eyes glanced nervously between the unconscious soul beast and her mistress.
"But, Young Master…"
She didn't get to finish.
Qian Renxue turned. Her purple-gold eyes, gleaming with hidden power, locked onto the girl with an intensity that chilled the air.
It wasn't anger or malice. It was pure, absolute command. The kind of stare one might expect from a royal.
The maid's breath hitched. Her knees wobbled slightly under the pressure.
"Y-Yes, Young Master…" she murmured quickly, lowering her head and retreating without another word.
The moment the door closed and she was alone in the chamber, Qian Renxue's elegant posture melted into something far colder.
She reached into her soul guide tool and drew a dagger, its blade slender, curved, and forged from frost-tempered soul alloy.
It gleamed under the soul lamp like a silver crescent moon.
There was no hesitation in her next action.
With a flick of her wrist
Whish!
The dagger sailed silently through the air, with a glint of sharp light
Puchi!
And embedded itself directly into the golden third eye on the beast's forehead.
A brief spasm ran through the orangutan's body. Its limbs twitched. Its mouth opened in a silent scream. For a moment, its pupils dilated as it woke up after the attack only for a split second just enough to register fear, before all light left them.
Blood pooled beneath its skull, dyeing the frost-coated floor in a vivid crimson.
Then came the glow.
Faint at first, then brighter.
From the orangutan's corpse, soft golden-yellow light rose like mist, coalescing into a glowing ring a soul ring of warm, light yellow hue.
The first step… was complete.
Qian Renxue walked forward slowly, her expression unreadable, her heartbeat calm.
She stared at the ring floating before her warm, condensed spirit energy formed from a creature's life and soul.
To anyone else, this was a simple hundred-year soul ring.
But Qian Renxue knew better.
With Tianmeng's assistance, this ordinary ring would age and become legendary.
Her lips curled slightly.
"Let's begin."