Chapter 81: Shocked Xiao Wu

Back at Dorm Seven of Nuoding Academy, Xiao Lin sat on his bed, lightly touching the area on his forehead where his Great Strength Demon Bull Horn was located.

The evolution of the Great Strength Demon Bull Horn had been quite a surprise to Xiao Lin.

It was already miraculous enough that the Coiling Dragon Rod had retained part of the Titan Giant Ape's (also referred here as Great Strength Diamond Bull's) consciousness.

Then that consciousness fused with the horn, triggering an evolution.

This left Xiao Lin unsure—did the Coiling Dragon Rod merely preserve the beast's consciousness, or was it intentionally aiding in the horn's evolution?

Even if it was just the former, that was still an extraordinary ability.

If in the future, Xiao Lin could retain the consciousness of the soul beasts from which he absorbed soul rings, then—

Just imagine the spiritual impact of a ten-thousand-year soul beast's consciousness—those are quite powerful!

Wouldn't that mean, under the Coiling Dragon Rod, he might be able to preserve near-complete consciousnesses?

Wouldn't that be almost like a sacrifice?

In a way, it felt similar to Huo Yuhao's Soul Spirits.

If he could obtain the Yellow Soul Grass that Tang San once mentioned, perhaps it would be worth trying out.

Wouldn't that mean he could basically become a Pokémon Trainer?

Shaking his head slightly, he pushed aside those wild thoughts.

He focused on the fact that his Great Strength Demon Bull Horn had evolved, and even its soul power storage efficiency had improved to 40%.

So now he could continue cultivating a bit longer and store more soul power. When Tang San also reached level 20, they could go to the Star Dou Great Forest together to hunt soul beasts.

Of course, this all depended on what Tang San and Xiao Wu decided.

Half-lying on his bed, Xiao Lin glanced toward Tang San, who was diligently cultivating, and nodded slightly in approval.

Ever since Tang San learned that Xiao Lin could store soul power and would wait for them to catch up, he had been cultivating with extra urgency.

Originally, Tang San just cultivated normally—but like three people's worth of effort in one body.

He had to practice cultivation, study herbal and medicinal knowledge of this world, and even forge hidden weapons.

So it was understandable that he had been caught up to by Xiao Wu.

Now, Tang San was fully focused on cultivating the Xuan Tian Technique and soul power.

That silly bunny was probably going to fall behind again.

Thinking about how Xiao Wu had declared before returning home that she would catch up to him, Xiao Lin couldn't help but find it amusing.

While waiting for Xiao Wu, he might as well read some more.

Half-lying on his bed, Xiao Lin pulled out a book from his soul guide: Hundred Soul Beasts Explained, and began reading.

By now, he had already shortlisted three soul beasts that suited him best. Of course, if he encountered something better, he wouldn't mind adjusting his choices.

Among the three currently selected soul beasts—

The first was the Silver Wolf.

When Xiao Lin first saw this soul beast, he had a moment of hesitation.

"Is this the same Silver Wolf I remember?" He vaguely recalled it being from the Sun Moon Continent.

This wolf fed on Mithril, and its soul power was of a chaotic attribute, capable of releasing various elemental attacks depending on the type of mithril it had consumed.

But upon closer examination, Xiao Lin realized that this Silver Wolf wasn't the same one from the Sun Moon Empire.

The Silver Wolf of the Douluo Continent—or at least the one from this time period—was still just an ordinary high-level soul beast.

It was only called a Silver Wolf due to its shiny silver fur.

This reminded Xiao Lin that some knowledge really had to come from books—you couldn't just rely on hazy memories from a past life.

According to the book, Silver Wolves were large, solitary beasts with shoulder heights ranging from 1.5 to over 2 meters. They specialized in endurance and rapid assault. Their silver fur provided strong defense, and they had terrifying bite force—meaning decent attack power.

Overall, it was well-balanced and fairly fast, though not quite the extreme speed type Xiao Lin truly wanted.

He preferred soul skills that could amplify his own speed as much as possible.

The second and third beasts were the Lightning Leopard and Ming Wind Owl.

The Lightning Leopard had electric sparks crackling across its body and could enter a special "charging" state that boosted both attack and speed. It was a high-tier soul beast.

And its combat duration was incredibly short—meaning its energy consumption was minimal.

Its speed was exceptional. If not for its poor endurance, it could be considered a top-tier soul beast.

But endurance was the one thing Xiao Lin didn't have to worry about.

As long as he didn't use his martial soul avatar, the Coiling Dragon Rod barely consumed any soul power at all.

That's why Xiao Lin prioritized self-amplification type soul skills over attack-oriented ones.

As for the Ming Wind Owl, it was also a fast-moving soul beast. Its speed came from its control over wind, airflow perception, and its incredible reflexes.

It was said that even if someone ambushed it from behind, the Ming Wind Owl could sense the airflow change and evade the attack.

Its speed came from wind-based flight, combining its wings with its wind-attributed soul power to accelerate.

It could even boost its offspring's speed—if Xiao Lin obtained such a soul skill, there was a chance of acquiring a group acceleration ability.

From the owl, what Xiao Lin wanted most was its wind perception and reflexes. The flight speed and wind magic were strong too, though not as extreme as the Lightning Leopard.

Personally, Xiao Lin leaned more toward the Lightning Leopard.

But the Star Dou Forest was enormous. Finding a soul beast that fit perfectly was incredibly difficult.

After all, in the original story, even the Dragon Serpent Couple—a Soul Douluo and Soul Emperor who used a powerful martial soul fusion technique to repel a Title Douluo—had to just absorb whatever seemingly decent soul beast they encountered.

If even experts like that couldn't handpick ideal soul beasts...

And honestly, Xiao Lin never felt that Meng Yiran absorbing the Phoenix-Tail Crest Serpent and the Man-Faced Demon Spider was a great idea.

Leaving aside their compatibility—what use were skills like hyper-speed entanglement or toxic stingers?

A snake staff martial soul using entanglement? Xiao Lin couldn't imagine it.

What then? Entangle once and that's it? Not even a one-for-one trade is likely.

If she had gotten a speed-boosting soul skill, maybe... but the Man-Faced Demon Spider?

No.

So ideally, they needed Xiao Wu the scout—a soul beast spy—to help.

If Xiao Wu had a good relationship with them, it'd be best if she just took them straight to the ideal soul beasts.

That way, they could also avoid unnecessary killing along the journey.

Just as Xiao Lin was skimming for new potential soul beasts, the door to Dorm Seven opened.

A girl with a scorpion-braid and pink dress strode in, backlit by sunlight:

"Ha! The princess has returned! Xiao Linzi, Xiao Sanzi—kneel before me!"

Xiao Wu had just returned and saw both Xiao Lin and Tang San reading and cultivating.

Thinking she had gotten much stronger, Xiao Wu now felt she could challenge their dominance.

"Hmph, how dare you rebel, silly rabbit?"

Oddly enough, the most excited about Xiao Wu's return wasn't Tang San, but Xiao Lin.

He needed Xiao Wu to lead them to the best soul beasts, while Tang San was still immersed in cultivating the Xuan Tian Technique, trying to reach level 20.

"What do you mean silly rabbit, Xiao Linzi? Call me Sister Xiao Wu!"

Seeing that Tang San remained motionless with eyes closed, Xiao Wu felt slightly ignored—but when provoked by Xiao Lin's words, she immediately rebelled, trying to seize the position of Dorm Seven boss.

"Oh? Judging by that tone, you're already at level 20? A Grand Soul Master?"

Xiao Lin asked with fake admiration.

"N-no... so what? I'm a hundred times stronger than before!"

Xiao Wu immediately lost confidence but still shouted boldly.

"Great. I am level 20. Just need to go to the Star Dou Forest to get my second ring."

Xiao Lin said this as he released the soul power aura of a level 20 Grand Soul Master.

Xiao Wu was stunned, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Wait... who's the actual hundred-thousand-year soul beast disguised as a human again!?"

(End of Chapter)