Chapter 6: The Qingnang Beast
Although Ye Wen was making steady progress with his primary martial spirit, the Containment Cloth, his second martial spirit remained a mystery. All he knew was that it was a mutated spirit inherited from his mother, whose martial spirit, according to Ye Buyi, was a beautiful glass like bead.
His second martial spirit was a transparent blue orb with twelve golden rings around it, resembling the markings on a clock. No matter how much soul power he channeled into it, he couldn't figure out its purpose. All he knew was that when he drained his soul power completely, the orb would radiate with a brilliant light, and he'd feel as if he were being "scanned" and that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Still, as a twin martial spirit, its quality had to be on par with his primary one. If his Containment Cloth had an innate storage ability, then this dazzling yet mysterious orb surely had some active functionality; he just hadn't figured out how to use it. Every month, Ye Wen would pour all his soul power into it, hoping to unlock some hint of its latent ability. So far, however, his efforts had led nowhere.
When Ye Wen returned home with the stunningly beautiful Ah Yin, Ye Buyi was taken aback, clutching his beard in astonishment. "If only your father had half your charm, I'd have had a grandchild sooner!"
Seeing his grandson's future looking as promising as their ancestors', Ye Buyi couldn't help but joke. Ye Wen only sighed, shrugging at the blunt humor of this era. Ah Yin, who had learned much about human society thanks to Ye Wen's lessons, blushed slightly but didn't outright reject the teasing, leaving her looking both shy and adorable.
The sight comforted Ye Buyi. The family legacy was secure, and his grandson, young as he was, seemed adept in matters of the heart. It looked as though having great grandchildren was practically a done deal.
Ah Yin, too, had fully let down her guard around Ye Wen and was enjoying life with him in ease and joy. Meanwhile, Ye Wen was preparing to obtain his first soul ring, unlike Ah Yin, who could condense one on her own as a soul beast. After classes began, Ye Wen requested three noble certified permits to the Soul Hunting Forest from the academy's headmaster one of the benefits of attending school.
In general, the nobility would never give such permits to commoners, and Soul Hunting Forests were off limits to independent Soul Masters. Only students could receive permits, and once they left the academy, they'd have to venture to places like the Great Star Dou Forest, where soul beasts gathered freely.
To be honest, Ye Wen had already self studied all of Notting Academy's curriculum. This "knowledge base" barely matched the first two years of primary school back in his old world; he'd been able to breeze through it all with minimal effort. This elementary academy didn't so much teach new information as it provided supervision to ensure that budding Soul Masters honed their soul power correctly and to catch potential errors in their cultivation.
The role of the intermediate and advanced academies wasn't much different.
"Ah Yin, I'll be counting on you for this hunt."
"Leave it to me!" Ah Yin said confidently, patting her chest. The two spent a day traveling to the nearest Soul Hunting Forest. Taking in the dense crowd of Soul Masters around them, the two newcomers became more cautious, dropping their usual carefree attitude.
"Need two more for a team hunting a power type soul beast! Permit in hand!"
"Looking for agility type beast hunters! Permit ready! Ten gold soul coins!" The calls rang out all around them.
Taking in this chaotic scene, Ye Wen frowned, realizing that the lives of low level Soul Masters were even more difficult and precarious than he'd imagined. Still, it wasn't his place to intervene, so he brushed the thought aside, presenting his permit to the two imperial guards at the forest entrance.
"A basic permit from the academy? Didn't your teacher accompany you? With just your skills, you could easily be eaten by the soul beasts inside," said one of the guards, an elderly man with a gruff face lined with years of hardship. His voice was firm but carried a hint of concern for the two young students.
"A kind old man," Ye Wen thought, somewhat surprised. "I'd expected some sleazy guard trying to give us a hard time."
"We're here to hunt a century old soul ring," Ye Wen replied. "Our teachers felt we weren't skilled enough to warrant their assistance, so we're just here to try our luck. If we fail this time, we'll save up money to hire a Soul Elder to help us next time."
The older guard furrowed his brow, understanding immediately. These two couldn't have been more than eight years old. Reaching ten levels of soul power at such a young age was remarkable, especially for commoners. But they had no support, not even a stronger family member to help, so they'd come to the forest themselves to try their luck. He'd seen plenty like them over the years, but very few returned alive.
"Go on, then. What type of soul beast are you looking for? If I know where to find it, I'll tell you," the old guard said, voice still gruff but gentle. He'd decided to give them a hand; if these two were brave enough to face this danger alone, he had no reason to hold them back.
Surprised by this unexpected kindness, Ye Wen hesitated, then smiled gratefully. He'd encountered a real benefactor today.
"I'm looking for a hundred year old Qingnang Beast. Do you know where I might find one?"
At the mention of this soul beast, the old guard's expression turned a bit odd. It wasn't that the beast was strong in fact, it had no offensive abilities at all. Its only skill, when encountering a stronger enemy, was to regurgitate the Blue Silver Grass it had eaten, creating a pleasant scent that briefly distracted its attacker, allowing it to escape.
The old guard pointed to the east. "Follow the path eastward until you reach a small creek. There are sometimes century old Qingnang Beasts drinking water there. Whether you find one will depend on your luck."
(End of Chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10