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They definitely couldn't walk to the Hunting Soul Forest. After all, Nuoding City was a full 400 li away.
Nuoding Academy had sixth-grade graduates every year. And every year, they had to go to the Hunting Soul Forest to hunt Soul Beasts. So, naturally, they were well-prepared for this.
Four luxurious carriages, marked with the Nuoding Academy logo, left the academy and headed out of the city.
One carriage held the dean and the director. Another held 6 teachers. The remaining two carriages carried the 13 students, including Wang Li.
On the bustling streets, among the crowds coming and going, people saw the luxurious carriages with the Nuoding Academy logo. They all quickly made way, their eyes filled with awe.
Even at the city gate, the guarding soldiers were very understanding and let them pass first.
In the carriages, these Soul Masters—all with soul power at level 10—were eagerly discussing what kind of Soul Beast to hunt, what kind of Soul Ring to obtain, and what kind of Soul Master they wanted to become.
Wang Li didn't join the discussion. He wasn't very familiar with these senior students. The only person he knew well was Wang Sheng, from the same dormitory. At this time, Wang Li closed his eyes and thought to himself:
What kind of Soul Beast should I hunt? Tang San's path is only a reference. I must not copy him. After all, the teachers in the academy will definitely not help me capture a 400-year-old Mandala Snake.
My Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul isn't outstanding in attack or defense. At this stage, a control-type Soul Ring is still the most suitable.
To greatly enhance the extensibility and resilience of Blue Silver Grass itself, I should hunt a vine-type Soul Beast. Since they are both plants, it will be easier to absorb. The older the Soul Beast, the better—but that still depends on luck.
Thinking of this, Wang Li couldn't help but hope for good fortune. He hoped to encounter a vine-type Soul Beast suitable for him.
The artificially raised Hunting Soul Forest definitely didn't have as rich a variety of Soul Beasts as the wild. But under the care of the army and the patrols of the law enforcement team, there generally wouldn't be extremely ferocious Soul Beasts or any over 10,000 years old.
So, they would probably spend the next period in the Hunting Soul Forest until all the students had obtained Soul Rings.
To allow all students the best chance to hunt a suitable Soul Beast, the Academy had specially reserved 2 months.
Moreover, the dean and the director were personally leading the trip. This showed that the academy attached great importance to these sixth-grade graduates and was being dutiful and responsible.
After all, this was a group of Soul Masters who didn't even have a single Soul Ring. They couldn't put up a decent resistance if they encountered powerful Soul Beasts.
After a day and a night of travel, they officially arrived at the Hunting Soul Forest at noon the next day.
The periphery of the Hunting Soul Forest was a rather lively market. There were all kinds of shops, and shouts from vendors filled the air.
Even Soul Masters, usually rare, were shouting and asking to team up to hunt Soul Beasts.
As a regular visitor, the arrival of Nuoding Academy's carriages attracted a lot of attention.
With Zhang Wei, a Soul Elder powerhouse, in charge, Nuoding Academy was undoubtedly an entity everyone wanted to curry favor with. However, Nuoding Academy had its own team of teachers and wouldn't allow outside Soul Masters to join.
They found a hotel to settle down in, leaving the coachmen and carriages there. They had lunch and rested for a while.
Then, Zhang Wei and Su Mo led all the teachers and students to the entrance of the Hunting Soul Forest. The Hunting Soul Forest was a place where Soul Beasts were raised in captivity. The periphery had a circle of fine iron fences as high as 10 meters. The entrance had an open gate, but there were also at least 100 fully armed soldiers guarding it. It was not a place that could be trespassed easily.
Their strength was secondary; the real power behind them was the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall. Although the true ownership of the Hunting Soul Forest was somewhat unclear, if a third-party force wanted to seize it, they would inevitably face suppression from both major powers.
However, Zhang Wei, as a Soul Elder, received true respect from these soldiers. After they checked the warrant, they let the Nuoding Academy group in.
Less than 100 meters after entering the Hunting Soul Forest, Zhang Wei turned to look at everyone—especially all the students. His expression was solemn, not angry but authoritative.
"Listen carefully," he said. "We have now truly entered the Hunting Soul Forest. It is full of dangers. Powerful Soul Beasts may appear at any time. What you need to do is to follow arrangements."
"Don't panic at what you see or hear. Don't run around. Report everything you do. You will be responsible for the consequences if you leave the team without permission!"
When the students saw the dean was so serious, they all became nervous. They responded loudly:
"Yes!"
Zhang Wei nodded. He then looked at the other teachers and said:
"Assume your usual positions. Get ready!"
All the teachers also responded:
"Yes!"
Then, one after another, Martial Souls were activated. Su Mo's body swelled, antlers grew on his head, and the hair on his body grew wildly. Three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—gradually appeared. He stood at the end of the team.
A female teacher named Fiona appeared with a staff in her hand. Two yellow Soul Rings floated up around her. She was a support-type Soul Master and stood in the middle of all the students.
A teacher named Gou An's teeth became sharp, his nails grew long, and his hair grew wildly, like a werewolf. But in fact, his Martial Soul was a dog. He had one white and one yellow Soul Ring. He sniffed something and then quickly flashed out, scouting ahead.
The other 4 teachers—whose Martial Souls were a broadsword, a dagger, a black panther, and an ape, respectively—all had the standard civilian configuration of one white and one yellow Soul Ring. They stood protectively around all the students.
As for Zhang Wei, he didn't summon his Martial Soul. He stood at the very front of everyone, obviously very confident in his strength.
Then, Zhang Wei waved his hand and shouted in a deep voice:
"Let's go!"
Led by Zhang Wei, the Nuoding Academy group began to explore the Hunting Soul Forest.
However, they did not go deep into the forest. Instead, they wandered around the periphery. Soul Masters without a Soul Ring were too fragile, so the teachers needed to activate their Martial Souls and be ready to guard them at all times.
Once they entered the depths of the Hunting Soul Forest, they were likely to encounter Hundred-Year Soul Beasts or even Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. They weren't afraid of Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, and they could even retreat completely if they encountered Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
But these students were very likely to be injured or killed. Casualties could occur among the graduates every year, but there couldn't be a large number of casualties.
This was detrimental to the academy's reputation. So, the Academy had an unwritten rule: unless necessary—such as when students paid extra money or when students had extremely strong backgrounds—under normal circumstances, they would all select Soul Beasts for the students from the Ten-Year Spirit Beasts in the periphery of the Hunting Soul Forest.
Although there were occasionally Hundred-Year Soul Beasts in the periphery, the quantity and quality couldn't be compared with the Soul Beasts in the depths of the Hunting Soul Forest.
If they encountered such a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, then the student would be blessed. Being able to obtain a Hundred-Year Soul Ring was a privilege that even Xiao Chenyu, the city lord's son, did not have.
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