Checking into the Seven Treasures Inn.
Inside the guest room.
Dongfang Jing gently stroked his younger sister's head and solemnly said, "Yao'er, you're very smart, so I won't hide it from you anymore. In a few days, I'll be going to obtain a Soul Ring, which is very dangerous, and I won't be able to take you with me anymore."
"Yes, Yao'er understands,"the little girl said, neither crying nor making a fuss, but simply lowering her head, her eyes and nose red.
Her sensible appearance left Dongfang Jinta at a loss for words.
He took out more than twenty bulging bags from his large bag and explained, "These are all the Soul Coins our parents left behind. Each bag contains 100 Gold Soul Coins, and I've left them all for you."
Hearing this, Dongfang Yao suddenly looked up, her big eyes filled with confusion.
Since their parents passed away, her brother had become much more frugal.
But he had never skimped on spending money on her.
She had thought that her brother was being so thrifty because the family was short of money.
Now, he had suddenly pulled out more than two thousand Gold Soul Coins!
You should know that one Gold Soul Coin is enough for an ordinary family of three to cover their normal expenses for several months.
Dongfang Jing chuckled and gently pinched the girl's nose, explaining, "Of course we have to be frugal. Once you awaken your martial soul and become a soul master, there will be many expenses. These two thousand gold soul coins won't be nearly enough."
"If you get hungry, just call room service and have them bring you food. Don't wander off; just stay in your room. I need to do some preparations for our trip to the forest these next few days. When I get back, I'll take you to the city for a good time."
Dongfang Jing instructed her carefully, not wanting to miss any details.
"Half a month. If I haven't returned by half a month..."
"No!!!"
Dongfang Yao interrupted him, sobbing, "Yao Yao'er will wait for her brother."
Then, she gently kissed him on the cheek, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Brother, you must come back safely."
"Yes, I will come back."
Sunset Forest is very close from Winchester City.
Centered on Heaven Dou City, most Soul Masters from nearby cities choose Sunset Forest to hunt Soul Beasts.
The forest has a pleasant temperature, and many plants are temperate species unique to the north, giving it a refreshing feel.
Fortunately, these plants aren't very tall, making movement much easier.
Dongfang Jing walked alone in the forest.
He held a longsword forged from refined iron, and carried a full-length mirror as tall as himself on his back.
If it weren't for Wang Kun's past offense, he might have hired a Soul Hunting Team to help him obtain Soul Rings.
But there were too many uncertainties, and Dongfang Jing knew the wickedness of human nature, so he found it difficult to trust others.
He dared to enter the Soul Beast Forest alone, of course, because he had methods to protect himself.
First, there was his ability to switch places with his mirror image.
In the blink of an eye, he could retreat ten meters.
During the past few days of preparation, aside from purchasing necessities for the wilderness, he spent the rest of his time familiarizing himself with his martial soul and cultivating his physical and mental strength within the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors .
He could easily use the position-switching technique six or seven times in a row.
His second means of survival was the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors.
Dongfang Jing discovered that to enter it, besides touching the mirrors, anything that reflected his entire appearance would work.
For example, lakes, rivers, metal walls, and large puddles.
The Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors was an independent space; only by summoning his martial soul and touching the mirrors could he connect with reality.
If he couldn't win, he could simply hide, hiding for as long as possible.
Not long after entering the Sunset Forest, he heard various sounds coming from all directions, sending chills down his spine.
Dongfang Jing didn't back down at all, taking steady steps to find a suitable soul beast.
In his mind, his first soul skill had to be an offensive soul skill.
Ideally, it should simultaneously possess acceleration, dash, and high burst damage.
And soul beasts with these characteristics were not uncommon.
Any speed-type mammalian beast, such as canines or felines, generally possesses considerable leg strength and biting power, making them his first choice.
As for age, Dongfang Jing decided to play it safe and choose beasts over three or four hundred years old.
As he walked, he suddenly stopped, immediately summoning his martial spirit and gripping his longsword tightly, the tip pointing directly at the rustling grass beside him.
Since the other party refused to reveal itself, Dongfang Jing dared not be careless. He slowly retreated, manipulating his mirror image to sense the situation within the grass.
Once the mirror image passed through the low weeds, the scene before him made him breathe a sigh of relief.
It was a spider.
Its size was five or six times larger than the small spiders commonly found in homes.
This seemed to be a type of soul beast, but its soul power fluctuations were pitifully weak, less than ten years old.
And this spider was now using its silk to bind a squirrel even larger than itself.
Interestingly, this squirrel was also a soul beast.
Although larger than the spider, its soul power was even weaker!
Dongfang Jing only glanced at this predator-prey scene before ignoring it further.
The survival of the fittest is the law of nature.
Even though the squirrel was huddled up in fear, looking pitiful with tear stains on its chubby face,Dongfang Jing had no intention of meddling.
*Swish! Swish! *
The spider silk was easily severed by the longsword.
The spider, with its eight legs giving full speed, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
'Could it be that I bullied the little one, and the old one is coming soon?'
Dongfang Jing, continuing his search for his first spirit ring, felt a pounding fear in his heart.
Behind him, a small, brown, furry creature had been following him.
Ignoring the squirrel, Dongfang Jing stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"Even if this is the outer edge of the forest, it shouldn't be this quiet."
He had been in the forest for some time, and apart from the spider and the squirrel, he hadn't encountered a single ten-year spirit beast.
"Could there be an even more terrifying spirit beast here, scaring away all the others?"
Thinking this, Dongfang Jing turned to look at the squirrel behind him.
Its small, round, black eyes were full of wisdom.
"Sigh," he sighed helplessly, deciding to venture deeper.
But he hadn't taken two steps when a sudden, violent explosion erupted!
A deafening boom!
Like a heavy hammer slamming into solid wood, the sound shook the ground beneath his feet.
Then came a series of cracking sounds, like branches being snapped in two.
A short, high-pitched, violent roar tore through the air, making Dongfang Jing's eardrums ring. The aftershocks, carrying countless broken branches and leaves, lashed towards Dongfang Jing's face.
He reacted incredibly quickly, able to deflect bullets, instantly performing several backflips and hiding behind a boulder.
The squirrel was less fortunate; its small body was blown away by the storm.
Dongfang Jing couldn't bear to watch, grabbing its long tail to save it from two fatal blows.
After tossing the squirrel aside, he instantly tensed up.
This earth-shattering roar was no ordinary soul beast.
He crouched down, trying to conceal his presence, while simultaneously peering into the distance, attempting to discern what it was.
Upon seeing it clearly, his pupils constricted.
"An armored saber-toothed leopard!"
(End of Chapter)