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Many teachers had their Martial Souls activated. The Soul Rings, shining with various colors, made these newly graduated Soul Master students feel both incredibly envious and strangely at ease.
Such a sight was rare within the Academy. It was only in the dangerous Hunting Soul Forest that they would display their full power like this.
Wang Li was among the students, but his heart had already taken flight. He wished he could break away from the team and find Soul Beasts on his own.
However, the process from hunting Soul Beasts to absorbing Soul Rings was filled with too many dangers and uncertainties. He had to be patient and follow the main group.
After all, they were all Soul Masters with soul power. Even without Soul Rings, their physical qualities were not bad. They moved through the forest without a single complaint, so their exploration speed was quite fast.
At this moment, Gou An, at the very front, stopped. Zhang Wei waved his hand, signaling the people behind him to halt.
Gou An activated the first Soul Skill of his white Soul Ring. He took a deep breath. All the smells—and the owners of those smells—within hundreds of meters nearby were instantly identified by him.
Then he said quickly in a deep voice:
"Dean, there is a bloody smell. It's from a Soft Bone Rabbit. The one that hunted it is a Forest Mantis. The age cannot be determined yet. The location is about 300 meters ahead."
Zhang Wei pondered for a moment and quickly said:
"Su Mo, protect the students. I will go and control this Forest Mantis first!"
At the very back of the team, Director Su Mo immediately responded:
"Yes, Dean!"
Zhang Wei nodded. He said in a low voice:
"Martial Soul, activate!"
In just an instant, a yellow airflow emerged from his body. It gradually gathered in his hand, eventually condensing into a large, simple bow. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple—4 Soul Rings floated up and down around him. To have cultivated to Soul Elder and run a Soul Master Academy, Zhang Wei certainly had the best Soul Ring configuration.
Under the glow of these 4 Soul Rings, even though Zhang Wei was middle-aged and slightly overweight, he still appeared tall and mighty.
His right foot stomped on the ground. His figure quickly flashed out, so fast that he was already tens of meters away in the blink of an eye.
With the dean gone, the director was now in charge.
Su Mo beckoned to everyone and said:
"We continue to move forward. Don't chase after the dean. Just continue to move forward at a constant speed, and be vigilant about the surrounding environment at all times."
Whether teachers or students, they all responded:
"Yes!"
Then they began to move forward. After some time, they finally caught up with Zhang Wei. He had already subdued a half-meter-long green mantis. Its original pair of sharp blades had been removed and thrown aside. The green, textured body was scarred all over, and its blood-red eyes were full of resentment.
When Zhang Wei saw everyone arrive, he didn't waste any words. He said directly:
"This is a Forest Mantis between 50 and 80 years old. Its pair of blades is extremely sharp. It's extremely fierce among low-level Soul Beasts. Sheng Kai, your martial soul is a knife. This Soul Beast is very suitable for you. Come here, kill it, and absorb the Soul Ring."
Hearing this, the student named Sheng Kai looked at the Forest Mantis, whose eyes were full of resentment. He swallowed hard. He was a little scared, but since he was already here, he would not back down.
He summoned his Martial Soul—a knife. He stepped forward and slashed at the Forest Mantis. He slashed with his eyes closed and didn't hit a vital point on the first try. He had to slash repeatedly many times before finally killing the Forest Mantis.
Zhang Wei remained calm throughout the process. These students were still too inexperienced. If they wanted to absorb the Soul Ring of a Soul Beast, they had to kill it with their own hands. This was also a kind of crucial experience for them.
"Watch carefully," Zhang Wei instructed. "The Soul Ring is about to appear. After the Soul Ring appears, you will sit down cross-legged, use your Martial Soul to call the Soul Ring, and then run your Meditation Technique to completely absorb the power in the Soul Ring."
"And all of you," he addressed the other students, "will go through this process. Hunting Soul Beasts and absorbing Soul Rings will accompany you throughout your Soul Master path."
While he was speaking, strands of white airflow floated out of the dead Forest Mantis, eventually forming a white Soul Ring above its corpse.
Sheng Kai was overjoyed and didn't bother to feel disgusted. He sat down cross-legged next to the Forest Mantis and stretched out his right hand holding his Martial Soul. The white Soul Ring responded to the call, floated onto the blade, and then merged into it. This was the official start of absorbing the Soul Ring.
All the students watched this scene. The others were both envious and full of longing, but Wang Li felt anxious.
The teacher team led by Zhang Wei and Su Mo was undoubtedly powerful and complete. But hunting a 10-year spirit beast for the students—a white soul ring—felt like they were just fooling around.
How can this work? Wang Li thought. He was planning to absorb a Century Soul Ring, even if he couldn't absorb one beyond his limit.
Trouble, quite troublesome, Wang Li frowned.
While Wang Li was thinking, only about 10 minutes or so passed before Sheng Kai had already completed the absorption of the Soul Ring. After all, it was only a 10-year spirit beast soul ring, so there was basically no danger.
Zhang Wei looked at Sheng Kai, who jumped up with an excited look on his face. He said with a straight face:
"Don't be proud. Even if you have a Soul Ring and can release Spirit Skills, you still have to follow arrangements. A 1-ring Soul Master is still the lowest level of existence in the Hunting Soul Forest. By the way, how do you feel? What kind of Spirit Skill did you get?"
Facing Zhang Wei, Sheng Kai was as well-behaved as the Soft Bone Rabbit hunted by the Forest Mantis. Hearing the question, he immediately replied:
"I feel very good! My whole body is full of power. The spirit skill I obtained is Cross Slash, which can increase attack and shot speed by 10%."
Zhang Wei nodded. "A very powerful Spirit Skill. Go back to the team first. We will continue to set off soon..."
At this time, Gou An flashed back with a nervous expression. He said urgently:
"Dean, I was exploring nearby and smelled a very strong, rank odor. It must be a Mountain Boar King, and its age will not be low. It is likely to be a Century Soul Ring Soul Beast! It's in the northwest direction, about 800 meters away!"
Zhang Wei's expression became serious. No Century Soul Ring Soul Beast could be underestimated. He himself wasn't afraid, but there were still so many Soul Master students with him. He needed to be very cautious.
"I'll go take a look first," he decided. "You follow cautiously. Don't get too close, lest you be affected."
After saying that, Zhang Wei quickly flashed out. After a while, he saw the Mountain Boar King that Gou An was talking about.
It was 3 to 4 meters in length and nearly 2 meters in height. Its whole body was covered with a layer of armor made of soil and rock. It had sharp fangs and a violent aura.
Zhang Wei couldn't help but widen his eyes. He then said in shock:
"How is it possible? How can such a Soul Beast appear on the periphery of the forest? Looking at its size, it's at least a 700 or 800-year-old Mountain Boar King—an existence that even a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast wouldn't dare confront head-on!"
At this time, this Mountain Boar King was covered in vines. But that violent power could not be held back by these vines. Under its constant tearing and trampling, vine branches fell all over the ground. The scene was extremely tragic.
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