Chapter 56: Journey to the Sunset Forest

After a long while, Mo Hui’s excited heart finally settled, though a faint smile still lingered on his face.

What did it mean to be level forty at thirteen years old? In the original story, Tang San and the others were just a little over level thirty at that age, only barely reaching Soul Sect around fourteen with the help of immortal herbs.

But Mo Hui hadn’t taken any immortal herbs. Relying solely on his own cultivation and the enhancement from Hurricane Gorge, he had reached level forty at thirteen. Such an achievement was unprecedented — at the very least, unheard of before.

“It’s time to hunt for the soul ring,” he thought. With that, Mo Hui leapt onto the back of his Bibird, transforming into a streak of blue light as he flew out of Hurricane Gorge.

Although soul masters can still accumulate soul power through meditation after reaching the current maximum level, the speed of cultivation from three rings is far slower than from four. Unless there is a special need, training beyond the max level is mostly a waste of time.

Soon, Mo Hui knocked on Feng Qingcang’s office door and entered.

Seeing Mo Hui, Feng Qingcang smiled briefly, but his expression changed abruptly the next moment, filled with surprise and joy. “Mo Hui, you’re level forty already?”

“That’s right. I just broke through to level forty,” Mo Hui nodded in response.

“Hoo~” Feng Qingcang sucked in a breath sharply upon hearing this.

Although he knew that with Mo Hui’s diligence, breakthrough to level forty was only a matter of time, he hadn’t expected it to come this quickly.

Originally, Feng Qingcang had estimated that Mo Hui would need at least another year to reach level forty. After all, the Golden Generation of the Martial Soul Hall only broke through to Soul Sect around fifteen or sixteen years old. Mo Hui being faster than them was already astonishing.

Yet Mo Hui had surpassed even those expectations, achieving level forty at thirteen. Such cultivation speed could no longer be described as genius; it was terrifyingly extraordinary.

Calming himself slightly, Feng Qingcang immediately guessed Mo Hui’s purpose. “So you want me to help you hunt for the soul ring?”

Mo Hui nodded again.

For an ordinary person, seeking the dean’s help to obtain soul rings would be nearly impossible. But Mo Hui was different.

As the most outstanding student of the current Wind God Academy and the creator of the Air Blade Fusion and Cutting Wind Wheel techniques, Mo Hui’s significance to the academy was self-evident. He deserved the best resources for soul ring acquisition.

Seeing Mo Hui’s nod, Feng Qingcang lowered his head to think—not about whether to help, but where to go to acquire the fourth soul ring.

The required years for the fourth soul ring were high. The soul hunting grounds of the Empire and Martial Soul Hall were obviously insufficient. To find a suitable soul ring, they had to venture into a primordial forest. The choice was between the Starfall Great Forest and the Sunset Forest.

The Starfall Great Forest’s advantage was obvious: it contained the richest soul beast resources on the continent, making it easier to encounter suitable soul beasts.

In comparison, while the Sunset Forest also had abundant soul beast species, it was far less impressive than Starfall.

However, after some thought, Feng Qingcang decided to take Mo Hui to the Sunset Forest.

Although the Sunset Forest was somewhat inferior to Starfall, it was still sufficient for obtaining the fourth soul ring. Moreover, it had an advantage: safety.

The Starfall Great Forest, while rich in number and variety of soul beasts, also harbored many powerful beasts—some rumored to be ten-thousand-year-old. If luck ran out and they encountered one, Feng Qingcang feared he couldn’t protect Mo Hui.

Mo Hui was the trump card of Wind God Academy; failure was not an option.

The Sunset Forest was different. Although it also contained high-level soul beasts, those over fifty thousand years old were rare. Even if they accidentally met one, Feng Qingcang could assemble a small team of soul emperors to buy time, allowing Mo Hui to escape.

With this in mind, Feng Qingcang said to Mo Hui, “Wait a moment. I need to make some preparations with the teachers.”

“All right, I’ll rest in the dormitory. Call me when you’re ready,” Mo Hui nodded and left the office.

Having trained tirelessly for months, he was mentally fatigued. To absorb each ring in the best state, rest was necessary.

After Mo Hui left, Feng Qingcang furrowed his brow. “Who should I select for this soul hunting team?”

At noon, Mo Hui was awakened from his sleep by knocking outside the dormitory. When he opened the door, he was stunned.

Outside stood Feng Qingcang along with six others, all smiling warmly at him.

“Just adding a fourth soul ring, no need for so many people, right?” Mo Hui was surprised, as the six were all soul emperor-level teachers, and among them, strong figures.

Feng Qingcang smiled awkwardly. “Normally, no. But when they heard you needed to add a fourth soul ring, they all eagerly volunteered. I’ve already screened them; otherwise, even more would have come.”

This traced back to six or seven hours earlier. Feng Qingcang had initially planned to recruit just two or three capable teachers to assist Mo Hui. After all, helping Mo Hui acquire his fourth soul ring only required three or four soul emperors.

But the situation escalated unexpectedly. Most teachers at Wind God Academy had been guided by Mo Hui and owed him gratitude. Upon learning of his need, they wanted to drop their duties to accompany Feng Qingcang in assisting Mo Hui.

Excluding those who felt their strength was insufficient and remained at soul king level, otherwise, more than half the teachers at Wind God Academy would have joined Mo Hui.

“Oh, I see. Thanks to all of you, then,” Mo Hui said thoughtfully.

At this, a teacher about forty years old with refined features spoke: “Without your guidance, we wouldn’t have learned Air Blade Fusion and Cutting Wind Wheel as quickly. This small favor is nothing.”

This was Feng Yi, Wind Yunfan’s father, who was the most grateful to Mo Hui among them.

His martial soul was the wind sail, primarily auxiliary and weak in combat. After learning Mo Hui’s two self-created techniques, his combat power skyrocketed, rivaling combat soul masters of the same level. Naturally, he was deeply thankful to Mo Hui as both creator and teacher of these soul techniques.

The others felt similarly. Mastering Mo Hui’s two techniques was like gaining two powerful ten-thousand-year soul techniques, giving them significant advantage over other soul masters.

Thus, led by these teachers, Mo Hui set out for the Sunset Forest to begin acquiring his fourth soul ring.