Sunset Forest, West.
This is the furthest direction from Heaven Dou City. The shortest route to Heaven Dou City from here requires traversing the entire Sunset Forest.
At this moment, before Lin Yu stood a spirit beast, the Speed Hound, with just over two hundred years of cultivation. It was a wind-attribute spirit beast, entirely white with strange blue markings. A wolf-dog family, it was rumored to be distantly related to the high-level spirit beast, the Gale Demon Wolf.
The Speed Hound, as its name suggested, was incredibly fast, but like the Emerald Demon Bird, it possessed a speed-type spirit.
Even though Lin Yu's spirit had undergone some mutation—his Giant Wing Emerald Demon Bird spirit had reduced speed but increased defense—his speed was still comparable to any agility-type spirit master of the same level.
Having only barely reached the threshold of a Great Spirit Master, the Speed Hound showed no fear of the higher-level Lin Yu. Utilizing its wind element, a flash of blue light appeared, and it instantly arrived beside Lin Yu.
Lin Yu reacted swiftly, sidestepping and then forcefully pushing off with his left leg, his entire body leaning towards the side of the Speed Hound.
At that moment, a pair of azure wings suddenly appeared on Lin Yu's body, behind which was a phantom of a giant bird with broad wings, adorned with crimson, green, and cyan feathers. Two
spirit rings, one yellow and one purple, appeared. With a thought from Lin Yu, a faint light flashed on the yellow spirit ring, and a crimson beam of light appeared. The crimson feather instantly transformed into a beam of red light, striking the Speed Hound's head before it could react, at a distance of only three to five meters.
The red beam was incredibly hot, and the Speed Hound howled in agony upon being hit.
In a short while, the crimson beam pierced through the Speed Hound's skull, and with the appearance of the pale yellow spirit ring, its life was over.
After killing the Speed Hound, Lin Yu, wielding the Autumn Ink Dagger engraved with Lou Gao's name, went straight to its side.
Without a word, he casually scattered the eye-catching spirit ring and began harvesting the best parts of the Speed Hound's body.
From claws to fur, wielding the dagger forged by the master craftsman Lou Gao, Lin Yu quickly collected the best parts of the Speed Hound, not even leaving the dog skin behind.
Watching Lin Yu squatting on the ground, working diligently, She Long was suddenly speechless. "Hey Lin Yu, you're supposed to be the son of a nobleman, do you really need to go to such lengths?"
"Why not? Why waste a spirit beast with two hundred years of cultivation?"
Lin Yu, busy butchering the Speed Hound, casually said to She Long without turning his head, inwardly complaining: He has a storage spirit tool; even if he can't take everything, he could at least take some of the important parts of the spirit beast. Why does he have to leave the spirit beast's corpse there after getting the spirit ring? (My biggest complaint is, do the main characters lack soul tools, or is soul beast meat just not tasty?)
While the Douluo Continent has a trade in soul beast meat, it's mostly run by low-level soul master mercenary groups with no powerful backing.
Even students in the junior academies still scoff at collecting soul beast corpses.
But Lin Yu doesn't care. Admittedly, his family is wealthy, but that doesn't stop him from making money. When it comes to making money, nothing is shameful.
After Lin Yu dismembered the Speed Hound, She Long took him to challenge many more soul beasts.
These soul beasts were intentionally selected by She Long, their strength ranging from weak to strong, each level increasing every fifty years.
After Lin Yu defeated an eight-hundred-year-old withered tree python using his superior soul skills and movement techniques, She Long fell into deep thought.
"This kid's strength is indeed much stronger than his peers, but he hasn't reached his limit yet. After all, he's already used the sword the Grand Elder gave him.
No, we need to get him a stronger one and train him properly, otherwise how will he protect the young master in the future?"
She Long and Ci Xue were similar to Lin Zhan, directly subordinates of Qian Daoliu. They had only moved from the Hall of Worship to the Hall of Elders in recent years after breaking through their titles.
Qian Renxue was someone these elders in the Hall of Worship had watched grow up. The thought that Lin Yu might kidnap their young master made She Long feel uneasy, so he could only train Lin Yu more.
While keeping an eye on Lin Yu's safety, She Long was also secretly looking for a powerful soul beast.
Suddenly, a white, giant bear, a little over three meters tall, with transparent crystals attached to its body, appeared in She Long's sight.
She Long's eyes lit up. "Good heavens, a Crystal Bear, one of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear branches, less than a thousand years old. It should be fine. That kid really likes bear paws. I'm in a good mood, so I'll grant your wish today."
The Crystal Bear, who was comfortably sleeping in its cave, never expected that a pair of large hands condensed from soul power would quietly imprison it. Before it could react, She Long threw it out. "Go!"
The fat white giant bear streaked across the sky like a meteor, flying directly towards Lin Yu's location.
Having just finished regulating his soul power, Lin Yu opened his eyes and casually complained to She Long, "Really, he makes me kill soul beasts all day long. I wonder when this will end."
With a thud, the Crystal Bear, which had been sleeping soundly, was thrown out of its cave by She Long and was thrown around, which also attracted Lin Yu's attention.
"This... Crystal Bear, Elder She Long, are you trying to cause trouble?!"
As soon as Lin Yu finished speaking, She Long appeared beside him. "Hey, kid, the Crystal Bear's abilities are certainly troublesome, but you also need to understand that among soul beasts, and even in the soul master world, there are far more bizarre methods than this. If you want to become a true powerhouse, don't always think about running away. When you encounter any difficulties, don't have any opportunistic thoughts. Only by facing difficulties head-on can you become a true powerhouse."
She Long had long regarded Lin Yu as his junior; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to waste so much breath on him.
Hearing She Long's warning, Lin Yu naturally understood. Some things can't be avoided by hiding; everything requires facing difficulties head-on. But the Crystal Bear's disgusting crystallization ability naturally needed to be guarded against.
A clear cry rang out, and the phantom of the Giant-Winged Emerald Demon Bird appeared behind Lin Yu, its pair of azure wings carrying him away from the ground.
Then came a crisp sword cry, and the Frost Sword appeared in Lin Yu's hand.
Although the Crystal Bear was not as strong as its ancestor, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, it was still much stronger than Lin Yu.
The only way Lin Yu could defeat it in a fight was to overcome its brute force with superior technique!
[Learn to be a Soul Beast first, then learn to kill; everything needs a transition.]
(End of Chapter)