Chapter 14: The Gale Demon Wolf

Two days later.

“Xiao Hui, why don’t you switch your soul beast? Other wind-attribute bird-type soul beasts might have soul skills that aren’t necessarily worse than the Azure Rainbow Falcon’s.”

After searching for two days without finding a suitable Azure Rainbow Falcon, Li Ya couldn’t help but suggest this to Mo Hui.

Though the Azure Rainbow Falcon wasn’t an extraordinarily rare soul beast, finding one that fit perfectly was not easy.

“Sigh~”

Hearing this, Mo Hui sighed as well.

In the past two days, they had encountered two Azure Rainbow Falcons, but unfortunately, neither was old enough. The oldest was only a little over eighty years, far below Mo Hui’s requirements.

“If we really can’t find one, powerful wind-attribute soul beasts like the Gale Eagle or Azure Wind Hawk will do.”

Mo Hui naturally wouldn’t force Mo Hen and the two instructors to find an Azure Rainbow Falcon for him. Although it was the ideal choice, if luck didn’t favor him, he could only blame himself. Nothing in life was ever perfect, after all.

“Gale Eagle or Azure Wind Hawk, got it.”

Li Ya nodded. Though these two were also formidable soul beasts, they were clearly easier to find than the Azure Rainbow Falcon.

Sure enough, after broadening the search range, Director Su and the others quickly found a hundred-year-old Azure Wind Hawk.

“Xiao Hui, judging by its size, this Azure Wind Hawk should be around one hundred and fifty years old. It’s perfect for your first soul ring, and with your physique, absorbing it won’t be dangerous.”

Mo Hen glanced at the Azure Wind Hawk perched on the cliff, estimated its age, and then excitedly told Mo Hui.

For an ordinary soul master, absorbing a soul ring from a soul beast around two hundred years old was relatively safe. Those with better physiques and perfect compatibility between their soul beast and martial soul could stretch that limit a bit, but generally not beyond four hundred years, as going over that risked bodily rupture.

Yuxiao Gang once claimed that the absorption limit for a first soul ring was 423 years, but that was clearly a mistaken statement.

For an average soul master, if they deliberately chose a 422-year-old soul beast based on Yuxiao Gang’s theory, their inevitable fate would be bodily rupture.

The absorption limit depends on many factors: the absorber’s physique, the strength of their martial soul, whether the soul beast type matches their martial soul, even the absorber’s mental willpower. Different people can tolerate completely different soul ring ages for different soul beasts; it’s not a one-size-fits-all matter.

Yuxiao Gang’s 423-year figure probably came from reading records in the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect and the Spirit Hall’s archives, where it was noted that someone had successfully absorbed a 423-year-old soul beast. He mistakenly took that as the absolute limit for a first soul ring, but that was merely an isolated case and not definitive.

In truth, almost every faction on Douluo Continent has their own experiential guidelines about soul ring absorption age limits. Some are higher, some lower, but all are vague and flexible, adjusted according to the individual absorber’s situation.

Yuxiao Gang was the first to make such a direct and absolute claim about the 423-year limit for a first soul ring.

“Xiao Hui, are you sure you want this Azure Wind Hawk as your first soul ring? If so, I’ll take it down for you now!”

Director Su asked Mo Hui nearby.

Just as Mo Hui was about to nod, an unexpected incident made him change his mind.

“Bobo~”

Bobo, circling in the air, seemed to have discovered something. It quickly landed beside Mo Hui, gesturing excitedly.

Since the martial soul and its owner are one entity, though they couldn’t speak the same language, Mo Hui easily understood what Bobo was trying to convey.

“Bobo says there’s a powerful wolf-type soul beast coming this way.”

After grasping Bobo’s meaning, Mo Hui warned Mo Hen and the others.

“A powerful wolf-type soul beast?”

Hearing this, the expressions of Mo Hen and the others changed.

After these two days together, they had a clear understanding of Bobo’s strength. It was definitely no weaker than some soul beasts several decades old, and even some ordinary hundred-year soul beasts couldn’t match it. If Bobo considered it strong, even if it wasn’t a thousand-year soul beast, it would be tough to handle.

So the three quickly formed a protective circle around Mo Hui, their martial souls manifesting.

Director Su moved quickest, a wooden longbow instantly appearing in his right hand, surrounded by three soul rings of white, yellow, and purple, radiating the aura of a Soul Master.

Second fastest was Mo Hen. His martial soul was a black crow named Black Raven. As he summoned it, some of its traits appeared on his body. Two soul rings—white and yellow—floated beside him, attesting to his rank as a level 26 Great Soul Master.

Slowest was Li Ya, whose soul power was lowest at level 24, but her soul ring configuration was the best. She was the only one among them with a first soul ring over a hundred years old.

Li Ya’s martial soul was a type of bell, which had shown great range control and healing abilities during their recent actions.

Not long after the trio summoned their martial souls, a large blue wolf nearly two meters at the shoulder and three to four meters in length appeared before them.

The blue wolf glared fiercely at the group, but when it saw Director Su’s three soul rings, its eyes flickered with a trace of solemnity.

“That’s the Gale Wind Demon Wolf. Judging by its size, at least three hundred years old!” Mo Hen said gravely.

The Gale Wind Demon Wolf was a mid-to-high-level soul beast with formidable strength. With over three hundred years of cultivation, it could be considered a minor overlord in this forest where thousand-year soul beasts were scarce.

However, Mo Hen wasn’t overly worried. If it were just him and Li Ya protecting Mo Hui, the situation would indeed be dangerous. But with Director Su, a level 38 Soul Master, present, things were different.

“Gale Wind Demon Wolf~”

At the same time, Mo Hui was assessing the Gale Wind Demon Wolf before him.

Among all soul beasts, the Gale Wind Demon Wolf was relatively strong. With its innate ability Wind Blade, it could easily dominate many soul beasts that relied solely on physical strength.

Even against formidable low-level soul beasts like the Mandrake Snake, the Gale Wind Demon Wolf could kite them using its Wind Blade and impressive speed.

“Bobo, what do you think of this Gale Wind Demon Wolf?” Mo Hui asked, exchanging glances with his martial soul.

After the commotion, the hundred-and-fifty-year-old Azure Wind Hawk had flown away. Finding another suitable bird-type soul beast would take more effort.

Though the Gale Wind Demon Wolf wasn’t a bird-type soul beast, it was still a powerful wind-attribute soul beast.

Its compatibility might be somewhat lower, but its three hundred-year age more than made up for that. The hundred-and-fifty-year-old Azure Wind Hawk was compatible, but Mo Hui felt its age was a bit low.

“Bobo~”

Seeing this, Bobo began carefully observing the Gale Wind Demon Wolf nearby.

After a moment, Bobo gave a nod to Mo Hui, indicating it was acceptable.