"The most prominent feature of this Soul Hunting Forest is its seven large mountains. These seven mountains are connected, forming a mountain range covered by forest.
From here, the first four mountains are mostly inhabited by soul beasts under a thousand years old. The last three mountains are where soul beasts over a thousand years old appear."
Ma Ming explained the environment of the Soul Hunting Forest to Ma Hongjun.
Looking out, one couldn't see far. The first mountain was already a thousand meters high, blocking most of the scenery behind. However, one could vaguely see the mountaintops emerging behind, indicating that the mountains beyond were even higher.
It wasn't just mountains; the mountains were only the most prominent part. Most of the landscape consisted of undulating forests, with large tracts of forest between them.
The primeval atmosphere was very strong. Among the dense, tall trees, slightly dim spaces were formed, and danger might lurk beneath every patch of green.
Entering the forest required vigilance. Ma Ming had already given Ma Hongjun his iron spear and told him to be ready for battle at any time.
Ma Ping was very thoughtful, or rather, he genuinely cared about Ma Hongjun. He took out a set of silk armor and had Ma Hongjun put it on.
"Third Uncle, this armor is too precious, you..."
Ma Ming hesitated, knowing the price of the armor—at least seven hundred gold soul coins, and it was priceless. Although his third uncle was a deacon of the Spirit Hall, such an armor represented a significant portion of his wealth.
"No need to say more. Hongjun is the hope of our Ma Family Village. You don't want anything to happen to him, do you? Every extra layer of protection is beneficial, especially in the Soul Hunting Forest." Ma Ping waved his hand and said.
This truly moved Ma Hongjun; Ma Ping really cared about him.
"Thank you, Third Grandfather!"
Ma Ping nodded with satisfaction, then led the two forward. Soul beasts over five hundred years old were mostly found after the third mountain, so they bypassed the first two.
A faint glow emanated from both of them, ready to summon their spirits at any moment.
Along the way, Ma Ping and Ma Ming discussed their target soul beast.
"Based on my research over this period, the Silver Spear Martial Soul is very different from your Wooden Spear Martial Soul. Your wooden spear can use plant-type and beast-type soul beasts as soul rings. But Hongjun's Silver Spear is a metal-type, which is not suitable for plant-type soul beasts. I think it's best to use beast-type soul beasts.
The Silver Spear is undoubtedly an offensive weapon Martial Soul, and Hongjun's future development needs to focus on this direction.
Among soul beasts, tiger-type soul beasts are the most aggressive and domineering, making them the first choice to match the spear.
Next are snake-type soul beasts, as their attacks are the most deadly and insidious, and their attack methods are most compatible with the spear.
Then there are bear-type and leopard-type soul beasts, as these two types have strong explosive power and are also good choices."
"Scorpion-type soul beasts are also quite suitable…"
The two discussed, and Ma Hongjun listened, generally narrowing down their targets.
However, soul hunting requires luck. Even if you know what kind of soul beast is suitable, you still need to encounter it and be able to capture it.
In the vast forest, there are many soul beasts, and soul hunting also requires fate.
After a morning, they finally entered the area of the third mountain. The three began to slow down. There were far fewer people here, unlike in the first two mountains when they could still see groups of people.
Soul beasts generally do not attack people unless provoked, but they have a strong sense of territory. Especially powerful soul beasts will observe you in the dark, so if you stay in their territory for too long, they will come looking for you and drive you out.
"This is a solitary bamboo over a hundred years old. Look at its height; anything over ten meters is a hundred years old. This solitary bamboo is estimated to be over thirty meters tall, making it a soul beast over three hundred years old. My first soul ring came from it, also a solitary bamboo over three hundred years old.
Solitary bamboos live alone, unlike other bamboo species that grow in groups. This is why solitary bamboos are more resilient than most plants. It was because I absorbed the solitary bamboo as my first soul ring that my wooden spear martial soul gained its resilience.
The soul skill it gave me is Resilience. When I use my wooden spear martial soul in battle, it increases my attack power by ten percent, and the soul power consumption is minimal, the same as the consumption for maintaining my martial soul state. It's like I don't consume any soul power at all, and I can maintain this state for an hour."
Ma Hongjun understood immediately. Increasing attack power by ten percent wasn't scary; most hundred-year-old soul rings even had higher increases. But the fact that the soul skill didn't consume soul power was incredible, meaning he could use the soul skill indefinitely. You have to understand that most people's skills can only be maintained for a very short time. For example, Ma Hongjun can only maintain his martial soul state for a minute, and if he attacks, it's only for a few seconds.
This is the issue of burst damage versus sustained damage. Undoubtedly, Ma Ming is a very sustained, offensive Soul Master. Such individuals play a significant role in a team and possess exceptional team combat capabilities.
Although the Hundred-Year-Old Lonely Bamboo is also strong, its age is insufficient, so Ma Hongjun naturally wouldn't consider it. They continued forward. Ma Ming and Ma Ping would explain to Ma Hongjun any Soul Beasts they encountered, a hands-on, hands-on learning method that facilitated absorption and understanding.
Entering the mountain's interior, the surroundings were unusually quiet. The trees were sparse, but extremely tall, their dense foliage obscuring the sky.
Suddenly, a tiger's roar echoed. A pair of yellow eyes fixed on Ma Hongjun and his companions a hundred meters ahead. It spotted them first and let out a loud roar.
A large number of birds and Soul Beasts in the trees were startled and flew away, causing many leaves to fall from the forest.
The air seemed to chill. Ma Hongjun and his companions stood still. The striped tiger slowly approached. It had already issued a warning, yet the three humans still hadn't retreated, which greatly displeased it.
The three of them examined the striped tiger. Ma Ming was the first to speak up and judge: "It is a striped demon tiger, the king of tigers. Its yellow eyes prove that it is a hundred-year-old soul beast. Judging from its body, it should be around six hundred years old."
Seeing the majestic and domineering appearance of the spotted tiger, Ma Hongjun was tempted upon hearing it was a spirit beast around six hundred years old. Ma Ping had said that a domineering tiger was the first choice.
Ma Ping's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the spotted tiger, seemingly deep in thought.
He sighed softly, "It's less than six hundred years old. Look at its tail; it's only about eighty centimeters long. A six-hundred-year-old spotted tiger's tail is over eighty centimeters.
Among tiger-type spirit beasts, spotted tigers are among the most powerful, comparable to white tigers of the same level. It's indeed suitable for Hongjun, but its age is a bit low."
Clearly, he was also hesitant about hunting the spotted tiger. At this moment, the spotted tiger quickened its pace.
"Let's retreat first. It's only the first day. Let's go deeper and see. If we don't find a suitable spirit beast, we can come back and choose this spotted tiger." After
Ma Ping finished speaking, the three prepared to retreat, but the spotted tiger had clearly run out of patience. It opened its mouth wide, yellow light flashing in its eyes, and pounced.
"Hongjun, retreat!"
As soon as Ma Ping and his companion finished speaking, their martial spirits were summoned.
Two yellow halos shone on the wooden spear.
Three yellow halos shone on the wooden staff.
Ma Ming's first spirit ring lit up, activating its toughness effect, and he faced the Spotted Demon Tiger head-on.
Ma Ping's second spirit ring lit up, and he slammed his staff down on the Spotted Demon Tiger from mid-air.
The Spotted Demon Tiger extended its claws, which gleamed with yellow light, and engaged Ma Ping and his companion in a fierce battle.
Just as the two sides were locked in a fierce fight, a group of four people approached.
They were three adults and one child, and they were overjoyed to see the Spotted Demon Tiger.
"A Spotted Demon Tiger, about five hundred years old, very good, perfect for your second spirit ring."
Brothers, I'm very happy! The contract for this book has been filled out. After the contract is sent out, the contract status can be changed in a few days!
This is the first step!
I need everyone's continued support in the future!
(End of Chapter)