"[Show me your martial soul and I'll look for the most compatible soul beast I can find nearby.]"
She nodded shyly and took a few steps back. She focused for a few seconds, and when she activated her martial possession, a very faint yellow light surrounded her body. In front of her right palm, a blurry shape began to materialize, which then took a defined form. A short wooden bow, simple, with barely visible engravings along its body.
"It's called Forest Bow. It doesn't have any special abilities. It just shoots very weak arrows made using a lot of soul power…" she said, somewhat embarrassed, looking at the ground.
Zhen Len observed her in silence for a moment before replying with written fire.
"[A tool-type martial soul. It has little offensive power in its early levels, but it can become very powerful if you absorb good soul rings. It will improve with good aim and external support. Also, you said it can already shoot just by using soul power, which means you don't need all your soul rings to be offensive abilities. You can look for soul rings that enhance the general power of the bow.]"
"[It seems compatible with wind- or agility-attributed soul beasts, or those with piercing traits like porcupines, but due to the material of your martial soul, the most compatible would be plant-type soul beasts.]"
Zhen Len explained vaguely. He didn't want to overwhelm her with complex theories.
"[Your soul rings should enhance the speed and power of your projectiles. But instead of focusing on the abilities you might obtain, we'll improve the basic traits of your martial soul. Give me a moment to observe the surroundings and see if there's a soul beast nearby that fits what we're looking for.]"
Zhen Len nimbly climbed to the top of the tallest nearby tree. He activated the Eye of Truth and the Purple Demon Eyes technique, narrowing his eyes while scanning the terrain. He also detected a group still searching for the girl further south but completely ignored them.
He found several soul beasts over 100 years old. Some were promising. Several were thorny vines under 400 years old that could improve the bow's flexibility and the arrows' piercing ability, a 450-year-old poisonous needle porcupine whose soul ring would give a multi-arrow attack ability, and would also add speed and power to the arrows she created, possibly even a very weak poison… but being a very aggressive terrestrial animal-type soul beast, its soul ring would be too dangerous to absorb for someone who doesn't have a soul beast-type martial soul to enhance their physique. Also, she hadn't trained her body or learned cultivation techniques, so it was absolutely certain she would die.
And then, he saw it.
A clearing hidden by low mist, with withered, tall, leafless trees. Their trunks were thin but tense, and their branches extended like dry arms. They weren't simple dead trees. They were a group of Bloodspine Crown Trees.
Each of these trees had thick, dark thorns. Some sprouted directly from the trunk, others hung menacingly from the branches. For every five years of cultivation, the soul beast developed a new thorn.
When a single Bloodspine Crown Tree surpasses 300 years, others begin to grow around it, and they become interconnected through deep roots and internal networks, like a hive of defensive trees. If one is attacked, all respond instantly, which is why they tend to thrive easily, as any soul beast that approaches and attacks them dies within seconds without realizing it.
Zhen Len was able to count at least twenty of them, connected to one another. But one, at the center of the group, was clearly the mother. Taller, denser, more covered in thorns, and appeared to be 800 years old, but several others around 400 or 500 years old were suitable for the girl.
He descended silently and wrote in front of the young girl."[I found the ideal soul beast for your first soul ring.]"
She looked up with high expectations. She believed he would get her a 100-year-old soul ring compatible with her martial soul.
"[They're called Bloodspine Crown Trees. They're plant-type soul beasts. They can't move, but they're extremely resilient. Every five years, they develop a new thorn. At 300 years, they begin to form a swarm connected by shared roots. If you attack one, they all respond.]"
"[Their thorns can be launched when provoked. They can pierce rocks if given enough force. In the clearing, there's one around 410 years of cultivation. That's the one you need.]"
She swallowed hard, overwhelmed.
"Four hundred ten…? That sounds like too much…" she said quietly. She never believed she would obtain a soul ring over 200 years. She would have been content with a compatible 100-year soul beast when Zhen Len said he would find her one matching her martial soul. But the soul beast before her was offering a great opportunity that could completely change her life. She had only been born with 4 innate soul power levels and had worked hard to reach level 10 by the time she turned 10 years old, which is why her mother had such high hopes for her.
Obtaining a 410-year-old soul ring, which approached the limit of what soul masters could absorb as their first soul ring, was incredible. She looked at Zhen Len with deep devotion and vowed to help him however she could if she became a powerful soul master. No, even if she didn't become a powerful soul master, she would help him in anything he asked, as long as it didn't involve killing someone important to her.
Zhen Len, seeing the big change in her emotions, nodded calmly.
"[I'll take care of defeating them. I'll make them use up their thorns, one by one, and when they're exposed, I'll cut it down and you'll start stabbing it quickly with the knife, because they die shortly after being separated from the roots.]"
Zhen Len carried the girl and ran for several kilometers before gently letting her down. When she finally descended, her exhaustion was evident. Even her hair, which had been neatly arranged before entering the Star Duo Forest, was now a mess, and sweat coated her body. She truly felt like she would die if she fell off Zhen Len while he was running.
Zhen Len waited for her to calm down and picked up fist-sized stones, one by one, and began throwing them accurately at the branches and trunks of the Bloodspine Crown Trees. Each impact triggered an immediate reaction. The Crown Trees shot their thorns violently as a group toward the source of the stimulus.
The rocks were pulverized within seconds of impact or lost among the trees, but Zhen Len didn't stop throwing. One after another. Rhythmic. Steady.
After a few minutes, the entire clearing resembled a war zone. The trunks shook slightly with each volley, and the ground was already covered in thorns, deeply buried in the earth and in the trees themselves.
He kept watching silently, observing every detail of the trees. Each Bloodspine Crown Tree, for every five years of cultivation, developed a zone where a new thorn could grow. The younger ones had completely exhausted theirs. The older ones still had some left… but were entering the critical threshold.
Then, everything stopped.
The Bloodspine Crown Trees ceased their counterattack.
Zhen Len stood still, watching. He knew what it meant.
The oldest Bloodspine Crown Trees had used up 80% of all their thorns. When a Bloodspine Crown Tree drops below that threshold, it conserves its last thorns as a final defense. They would only react to a truly strong blow from a large entity or if one of them died.
Zhen Len calmly wrote in front of the girl.
"[They won't shoot anymore. Only if I hit them hard or destroy one will they react again.]"
"[I'm going to cut through one of their trunks. You'll stab it quickly while it's still alive. You don't need to worry about stabbing it with great strength, because it will lose its life within seconds. But, since you'll be the last to strike the trunk, it will count as if you killed it. You must be determined and react quickly, or you'll lose this chance and I won't get you another soul ring.]"
He wasn't truly willing to help someone who hesitated in crucial moments. Nor did he like killing soul beasts unless he intended to use them as materials, food, or if they invaded his territory. He still planned to use the trunk to create a few low-level soul tools, but one trunk was enough to make several. In fact, that mindset of wasting nothing had always been with him in all his lives, and was especially strong during his time as a blacksmith, because materials were expensive, and every time he failed at something related to forging, he felt an emptiness in his chest over wasting such precious resources.
The girl swallowed hard but nodded with determination.
Zhen Len advanced toward the target. Thanks to the Tang Sect techniques, his steps went completely unnoticed. When he reached the 410-year-old Bloodthorn Crown Tree, he raised his right paw, and his claws, already a milky jade color, began to emit a faint glow before being coated in flame-devouring metal. Then, with his innate ability, he wrapped them in a layer of blue fire.
He simply swung his paw swiftly, and upon impact with the trunk, it was like slicing through butter with a hot knife. There was no resistance. But instantly, all Bloodthorn Crown Trees over 400 years old, including the 800-year-old mother, launched all their remaining thorns as they detected one of them had died. Not because they truly distinguished between life and death, but because they reacted to stimuli as a defense mechanism.
Zhen Len wasn't pierced by all the thorns. Instead, he left behind only a residual image at the place he had stood. As soon as the trunk was severed from its roots, it was hurled several meters toward the girl.
The girl ran and knelt in front of the trunk. With both hands, she plunged the knife into the living bark again and again, though she barely managed to pierce a few centimeters.
The soul beast showed no change, so she clenched her teeth and kept stabbing, tears streaming down her cheeks without knowing exactly why.
It was an act of violence and determination, but also one of transformation.
When the Bloodthorn Crown Tree's life was extinguished, the soul ring began to separate from its body. Bright and stable, a yellow soul ring.
Zhen Len, who was already by her side, wrote again.
"[Go ahead, I'll protect you while you absorb it, and I'll keep an eye on your group so I don't lose track of them. Absorb it calmly.]"
She felt deep gratitude at how considerate he was. Not only was he keeping his promise to let her go, but he also helped her obtain a soul ring and was even watching over her group to guide her back instead of abandoning her in the middle of Star Duo Forest. He had said he wanted her to visit once a year, but she planned to come every six months… no, even every three months.
She began meditating before absorbing it. The pressure was intense, but due to her martial soul's compatibility with the Bloodthorn Crown Tree, it didn't take too much effort. In a couple of hours, she absorbed it fully, panting and soaked in sweat.
Zhen Len watched her in silence.
She murmured in a trembling voice.
"I did it… right?"
He nodded once, without needing to write anything else.
She had meant to thank him but then realized something.
"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Zhou Linlan, but you can just call me Linlan. Also… since I've introduced myself, would you mind telling me your name? Do soul beasts name themselves? And… why are you wearing that pretty necklace?"
She was genuinely curious to learn more about Zhen Len.
Zhen Len fell into thought. In his first life, he had been named Ryan Pérez Ceballos, and in his second, Zhen Len. So he believed it was fitting to carry a new name in honor of both lives he had lived, even if no one else knew about them.
"[Zhen Pérez Len Ryan, but you can simply call me Zhen Len. As for the necklace, if you're wondering, I forged it myself using my flames and some metals.]"
He was already used to being called Zhen Len and still felt grateful to his master.
She smiled and said "Zhen Len," repeating it a few times.
Zhen Len, seeing the complexity of Zhou Linlan's emotions, was caught off guard. They were much deeper than those of his siblings or any soul beast he had met. He thought it would be easy to see through human hearts using the Eye of Truth, but it seemed he still had room for improvement.
"[By the way, take this. Hide it in one of your pockets and don't let anyone see it. It's something I forged with my flames. If this necklace comes within 10 kilometers, I'll be able to detect it through mine. So you just need to reach the area where your group was, and I'll find you. Also, it has internal storage space of 4 cubic meters and a function that will protect you from any fatal attack, as long as it comes from a soul master with six soul rings or fewer. If the attacker has less than three soul rings, the protection lasts a couple of minutes. It only works once and must be recharged, though I'm not sure how long that would take if you use your own soul power.]"
This was one of the spare necklaces, in case his siblings lost theirs. It had the same functions, though they couldn't use them to their full potential. They still dragged the carcasses they hunted instead of storing them, and teaching them how to use it was difficult because low-level soul beasts could only use their soul power to activate racial abilities. He had never even seen them use fire fangs, they were only ten-year-old soul beasts without the experience or knowledge he had.
When Zhou Linlan read about the necklace, her eyes were filled only with shock. Something like that was worth many gold coins, and she had only heard that high-class nobles or extremely powerful soul masters possessed such storage soul tools. And not only that, it could protect her from a lethal attack by a six-ring soul master. People would kill for such a treasure.
She felt like she had clung to a powerful figure, but there was some bitterness in her heart. She felt that even if she spent her whole life thanking him, it would never be enough to repay the gift. But Zhen Len ignored her worries, and before she could say anything, he wrote again.
While she was tangled in her thoughts, Zhen Len stayed alert in case he detected any trace of greed or malice in her. But seeing that her feelings were only positive toward him, and nothing malicious, he relaxed a little.
"[Get on my back quickly. You've been missing for several hours, and while your mother may not want to give up the search, the rest of the group might force her to leave. To them, you'll already be dead if they don't find you soon.]"
She felt a bit resentful knowing she had to part ways with him. She had experienced too many intense emotions in a short time and knew she wouldn't see him again for quite a while. But despite her sadness, she didn't want to worry her mother too much, so she climbed onto Zhen Len's back reluctantly, then murmured.
"I promise I'll visit you again very soon."