Many teachers had their Spirits manifested, and the shining spirit rings of various colors made these fledgling Spirit Scholar students feel extremely envious and reassured.
Such a scene could not be seen in the academy; it only happened in the perilous Hunting Soul Forest.
Wang Li was mixed among the students, but his heart had long since soared; he wished he could leave the team and go find a Spirit Beast on his own.
However, the process from hunting a Spirit Beast to absorbing a spirit ring involved too many dangers and uncertainties, so he could only be patient and move forward with the main group.
They were all Spirit Scholars with spirit power, and even without spirit rings, their physical qualities were not bad. Traversing the forest, not one of them complained, so their exploration speed was not slow.
At this moment, Gou An, who was at the very front, stopped. Dean Zhang waved his hand, signaling the people behind him to stop.
Gou An activated his first Spirit Ability from his white spirit ring, taking a deep breath. Within several hundred meters, all scents and their owners were distinguished by him.
Then he said in a deep, rapid voice:
"Dean, there's a scent of blood, from a Soft Bones Rabbit, and the one that hunted it is a Forest Mantis. Its age cannot be determined for now, but its location is approximately three hundred meters ahead."
Dean Zhang pondered for a moment, then quickly said:
"Su Mo, protect the students. I'll go control this Forest Mantis first!"
At the very back of the team, Director Su Mo immediately responded:
"Yes, Dean!"
Dean Zhang nodded upon hearing this, and softly commanded:
"Spirit, manifest!"
In an instant, yellow qi flowed out from his body, gradually converging in his hand, finally forming an ancient-looking greatbow. Yellow, yellow, purple, and purple, four spirit rings floated up and down. To be able to cultivate to Spirit Ancestor and even establish a Spirit Master academy, Dean Zhang naturally possessed the optimal spirit ring configuration.
Under the set off of these four spirit rings, even though Dean Zhang was middle-aged and slightly fat, he still appeared tall and mighty.
He pushed off the ground with his right foot, and his figure swiftly flashed out, moving so fast that he was dozens of meters away in the blink of an eye.
With the Dean gone, the Director was in charge.
Su Mo greeted everyone and said:
"Let's continue forward. There's no need to chase the Dean. Just keep moving at a steady pace and always be alert to the surrounding environment."
Both teachers and students responded in unison:
"Yes!"
They then continued to advance, and after some time, finally caught up with Dean Zhang. At this point, he had already subdued a half-meter-long green mantis. Its original pair of sharp blades had been removed and discarded to the side. Its green, patterned body was covered in wounds, and its blood-red eyes were filled with hatred.
Upon seeing everyone arrive, Dean Zhang didn't waste words and directly said:
"This is a Forest Mantis between fifty and eighty years old. Its pair of blades are incredibly sharp, and it's notoriously fierce among low-level Spirit Beasts. Sheng Kai, your Spirit is a blade. This Spirit Beast is very suitable for you. Come over, kill it, and absorb its spirit ring."
Upon hearing this, the student named Sheng Kai looked at the Forest Mantis, whose eyes were filled with hatred, and swallowed. He was a bit scared, but since he had come this far, he wouldn't back down.
He summoned his Spirit, which was a blade, and stepped forward, wildly hacking at the Forest Mantis. He chopped with his eyes closed, missing the vital spot the first time, and only after repeatedly hacking did he finally kill the Forest Mantis.
Dean Zhang remained calm throughout. These students were still too naive. To absorb a Spirit Beast's spirit ring, they had to kill it with their own hands. This was also a form of training for them:
"Watch carefully, the spirit ring is about to appear. Once the spirit ring appears, sit down cross-legged, use your Spirit to call upon the spirit ring, then circulate the Meditation Technique to fully absorb the power within the spirit ring."
"And you all, you will all experience this process. Hunting Spirit Beasts and absorbing spirit rings will accompany you throughout your entire Spirit Master journey."
As he spoke, streams of white qi floated out from the dead Forest Mantis, eventually forming a white spirit ring above its corpse.
Sheng Kai was overjoyed and no longer felt nauseous. He sat down cross-legged beside the Forest Mantis, extending his right hand, which held his Spirit. The white spirit ring responded to his call, floated onto the blade, and then merged into it.
This marked the beginning of the formal spirit ring absorption. This scene was witnessed by all the students, who were filled with envy and longing, but Wang Li was anxious.
This team of teachers, led by Dean Zhang and Su Mo, was undoubtedly powerful and complete, but the Spirit Beast they hunted for the students, a ten-year Spirit Beast with a white spirit ring, was just a perfunctory effort.
How could this be acceptable?
Wang Li had been planning to absorb at least a hundred-year spirit ring, even if he couldn't exceed the limit of spirit ring absorption.
Troublesome, quite troublesome. Wang Li had already furrowed his brows.
While Wang Li was deep in thought, about ten minutes passed, and Sheng Kai had already completed the absorption of the spirit ring. After all, it was only a ten-year spirit ring, with basically no danger.
Dean Zhang looked at Sheng Kai, who had jumped up with an excited expression, and said with a stern face:
"Don't be arrogant. Even with a spirit ring and the ability to unleash Spirit Abilities, you still need to follow instructions. A one-ring Spirit Master is still at the lowest level of existence in the Hunting Soul Forest. By the way, how do you feel? What kind of Spirit Ability did you gain?"
Sheng Kai faced Dean Zhang, as docile as a Soft Bones Rabbit hunted by a Forest Mantis. Upon hearing this, he immediately replied:
"I feel great, my whole body is full of power. The Spirit Ability I gained is Cross Slash, which can increase attack and attack speed by ten percent."
Dean Zhang nodded and said:
"A very powerful Spirit Ability. You should return to the team first. We are about to continue our journey…"
At this moment, Gou An returned with a nervous expression, flashing back. He said urgently:
"Dean, I was scouting nearby and smelled a very strong, foul odor. It must be a Mountain Boar King, and its age won't be low. It's very likely a hundred-year Spirit Beast, located in the northwest direction, about eight hundred meters away!"
Dean Zhang's expression became serious. No hundred-year Spirit Beast could be underestimated. He himself was not afraid, but with so many Spirit Scholar students, he needed to be extremely cautious:
"I'll go take a look first. You all follow cautiously, don't get too close, so as not to be affected."
After speaking, Dean Zhang quickly flashed out. Not long after, he saw the Mountain Boar King Gou An had mentioned.
It was nearly four meters long and almost two meters tall, its entire body covered in armor made of mud and rock. Its tusks were sharp, and its aura was wild.
Dean Zhang couldn't help but widen his eyes, then said in shock:
"How is this possible? How could such a Spirit Beast appear on the outskirts of the forest? Judging by its size, it's at least a seven- or eight-hundred-year-old Mountain Boar King, an existence that even thousand-year Spirit Beasts wouldn't dare to confront head-on!"
At this moment, this Mountain Boar King was completely entwined with vines, but its violent strength was such that these vines couldn't hold it back. Under its constant tearing and trampling, broken vine branches fell all over the ground, a truly tragic sight.