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Ye Tianshui's innocent eyes brimmed with anticipation as she gazed curiously at the soul beast Ye Wen had mentioned.
Her little hands tugged incessantly at Ye Wen's shirt, urging him, "Daddy, hurry up! Daddy, hurry up!"
The group soon arrived at the lakeside.
Though the three children possessed Sea God martial souls modeled after themselves, they currently lacked the ability to dive into the water and drag out the hidden creature.
At this moment, Ye Wen was eager to demonstrate his prowess.
"Watch Daddy show you a trick. Open!"
With that, the lake water, previously shimmering with green ripples, abruptly split apart, revealing the lakebed below.
"Ohhh!"
All five children were awestruck by the sight, clapping enthusiastically and praising Ye Wen's impressive display.
Though the Sea God governed only the oceans, his essence was fundamentally tied to water. Controlling the waters of a small lake was child's play.
Some fish that hadn't escaped in time were now flopping on the exposed lakebed, utterly bewildered. What happened? Where did the water go?
Meanwhile, the pseudo-dragon soul beast Ye Wen sought had appeared before everyone's eyes.
It was a large golden turtle, its body covered in dragon scales, and its head bore a distinct resemblance to a dragon.
In the world of Douluo Continent, there was a hidden rule: soul beasts with golden or silver coloring were of exceptionally high bloodline status.
Turtles were renowned for their defensive capabilities.
Looking at this massive turtle, Ye Wen couldn't help but recall an unfortunate soul beast from Douluo II—the Golden Tortoise. Despite possessing cultivation equivalent to Hundred Thousand years, it had suffered indigestion after consuming the Essence of Life Metal, causing its strength to plummet. In the end, it became Xu San Shi's spirit companion.
Though this soul beast bore some resemblance to the Golden Tortoise, Ye Wen had already identified its true species.
He proceeded to educate the five youngsters.
"This is a hybrid between a dragon-type soul beast and a turtle-type soul beast. Its scientific name is the Golden Dragon Tortoise.
Don't underestimate it just because it has short legs. Though this one is only around a thousand years old, in a real fight, it's no weaker than some ordinary five-thousand-year soul beasts."
The five children were deeply impressed. Under Ye Wen's guidance, they understood what a five-thousand-year soul beast represented—a level of strength capable of rivaling weaker Soul Kings, the sixth title among soul masters.
However, Ye Tianshui pouted unhappily.
"Daddy, I don't like this soul beast. It's so ugly."
Ah…
Indeed, the aesthetic differences between boys and girls seemed vast. To Ye Wen, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar, the Golden Dragon Tortoise appeared majestic and imposing. If kept as a pet, it would surely be a source of pride.
But to soft-spoken little girls like Ye Tianshui, it did look rather fierce and mismatched with her preferred aesthetic.
Ye Wen could only pat her head consolingly.
"Little Tianshui, think about it this way: cute creatures can be kept as pets, but these fierce-looking ones are perfect for becoming soul rings. Once it dies, all that will remain is a shiny purple soul ring. Don't you want a beautiful soul ring?"
Ye Wen's patient reasoning gradually won over Ye Tianshui's acceptance of the Golden Dragon Tortoise.
Adhering to the principle of "out of sight, out of mind," the little loli Ye Tianshui closed her eyes and said,
"All right, Daddy. Let me end its life."
Ye Wen chuckled softly as he restrained the Golden Dragon Tortoise. Before his overwhelming power, the beast had no chance to resist and was swiftly dispatched by Ye Tianshui's strike.
The absorption of the soul ring proceeded smoothly. After all, whether in terms of physical endurance or bloodline superiority, the Golden Dragon Tortoise was no match for the Ice Dragon King lineage.
Next up were Ma Hongjun and Oscar. Though fire-attribute soul masters were common, finding a fire-attribute soul beast in a forest was quite challenging, especially since setting fires in an artificial Spirit Hunting Forest was strictly prohibited.
Otherwise, the patrol enforcement team would toss you into prison to teach you a lesson about the law.
Unfortunately, even with Ye Wen's enhanced perception, no suitable fire-attribute bird soul beast was found for Ma Hongjun.
Still, there was no rush. Arrangements could be made back at the academy later. Even without a soul ring, Ma Hongjun could continue cultivating.
This left the chubby Ma Hongjun feeling dejected. His companions were acquiring their soul rings one by one, while he remained stuck.
But since he hadn't yet reached the pinnacle of ultimate fire, carelessness in selecting a soul ring was unacceptable.
Frankly speaking, in the original story, Ma Hongjun only obtained the secondary Phoenix God position, which Ye Wen considered a complete waste of his potential.
After being purified by the Chicken Crest Phoenix Sunflower, his ultimate fire surpassed even Tang San's Hao Tian Hammer in quality.
While the Hao Tian Hammer might dominate in Douluo I, it would be utterly overshadowed in the god-tier battles of Douluo II and beyond.
Finally, it was Oscar's turn. In the original story, Oscar's first two soul rings were, frankly, lackluster.
The first was the Recovery Sausage, and the second was the Detoxification Sausage.
Setting aside their effects, even a casual guess would reveal that the abilities granted by century-level soul rings wouldn't be particularly strong.
The recovery provided by a century-level soul ring was only useful in the early stages, and the same went for the detoxification sausage.
In fact, these types of abilities should ideally have been acquired later, as soul masters' recovery needs and defenses against bizarre attacks in the later stages heavily relied on such support.
Acquiring duplicate soul rings of this type later on would be wasteful.
For someone like Oscar, whose food-based martial soul inherently progressed slower than beast or weapon martial souls, it was crucial to prioritize soul rings that aided cultivation in the early stages.
Historically, not a single food-based Title Douluo had ever been recorded. Such abilities could compensate for his slow initial progress.
Moreover, once his cultivation advanced, his first soul skill could provide widespread support to the lower ranks of his affiliated faction, making it versatile and far from wasted.
Thus, Shrek Academy truly squandered its talents.
Despite having two prodigies of unparalleled potential, they were mishandled to the point of mediocrity. After graduation, Oscar was left to wander the continent alone—a truly baffling decision.
Since auxiliary cultivation was needed, it naturally required hunting similar soul beasts—or more specifically, beneficial soul beasts.
Within the soul beast forests, there were indeed soul beasts that ensured their own safety by aiding the cultivation of other soul beasts. These were predominantly plant-type soul beasts.
Ordinary soul masters rarely hunted them because attempting to do so would provoke attacks from multiple other soul beasts.
Unless one had strong backing or close allies, most soul masters wouldn't risk hunting such soul beasts.
Before long, Ye Wen discovered a suitable soul beast for Oscar—an Empty Tree, perfectly aged at 400 years.
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