"Young Master Wang, I think we should kick him out of our hunting team. Having one more useless person will only affect our team's morale."
"Yeah, instead of giving him the money, we should keep it for ourselves. At least we have coordination, and our combat strength will be stronger."
A tall and thin man beside Wang Fugui spoke with disdain.
In his view, adding a lone soul master who doesn't cooperate with the team wouldn't be of much use.
"What's worse than lack of cooperation is when he messes up the coordination within the team."
"Hahaha, the captain is right."
"Exactly, what's the use of his wool ball martial soul?"
"He should go home and knit sweaters!"
"Hahaha!"
Wang Fugui and the rest of the hunting team laughed loudly, completely ignoring the helpless expression of the big soul master. They turned and entered the Soul Hunting Forest, leaving the big soul master standing there, still in a daze. He didn't even notice that his fingernails had dug into his flesh, causing it to bleed.
From a distance, Xiao Lin watched the scene, feeling deeply moved.
This was the first time he saw how difficult life could be for bottom-tier soul masters.
He had always thought that no matter how tough a soul master's life was, they could always become a servant in the Spirit Hall, like Tao Ge, and help ordinary people awaken their martial souls.
Xiao Lin fell silent. If the bottom-tier soul masters had it so tough, what about the common people?
Wherever there are people, there will be oppression. Xiao Lin recalled that in the original story, when Tang San destroyed a Spirit Hall, the common people in the entire city cheered.
Maybe I can change this situation and stop soul masters and ordinary people from being so insignificant.
The Spirit Hall does help ordinary people awaken their martial souls, and even if their upper management is corrupt, it is still better than the feudal period of the Tang Sect thousands of years later.
Such acts of kindness must not be allowed to fade.
Xiao Lin thought for a moment. He decided that when he had time, he would publish a paper on the soul master's understanding of martial souls.
He wanted all soul masters to better understand the advantages of their martial souls and choose more suitable soul rings.
Take that wool ball soul master, for example.
Even though Xiao Lin hadn't seen his martial soul, he could already guess what advantages it might have based on its name.
For instance, it might be long and thin, which would make it perfect for stealth in the Soul Beast Forest.
While Xiao Lin was lost in thought, Tao Ge had returned with a new mission and was walking over to Xiao Lin and the others.
With a broad smile, Tao Ge greeted them: "Alright, your Tao Ge still has some influence. I managed to find you a new mission."
"But there's a catch. You three don't have much money, so you'll only earn Soul Coins if you contribute to the hunt."
Saying this, Tao Ge picked up his bag from the ground and led Xiao Lin, Tang San, and Xiao Wu to a new hunting team.
"This hunting team is called the War Tiger Team. The captain is my good buddy, Wang Neng. His martial soul is the War Tiger, and he's a Soul Master of rank 32. He helped me get my second soul ring."
Tao Ge led the trio to a hunting team and pointed to a tall, muscular middle-aged man, introducing him with a smile: "You can just call him Brother Wang."
Tang San, noticing Wang Neng's martial soul, muttered to himself, "His martial soul is the War Tiger. Isn't Wang Sheng's martial soul also a War Tiger?"
"Oh? You know Wang Sheng? He's from my Wang family village. He still calls me 'second uncle.'"
Wang Neng, with keen hearing, smiled when he heard Wang Sheng's name. "That kid said he wants to become a Soul Master and reach Soul Grandmaster. But up to now, he hasn't even become a Soul Master. When he comes back this semester, I'll teach him a lesson."
Xiao Lin and the others couldn't help but laugh. With someone they knew in the team, everyone soon became more familiar.
"By the way, I heard that your second soul ring was chosen with Wang Neng's advice? I should thank you too."
Suddenly, Wang Neng turned to Xiao Lin and said, which made Xiao Lin look at Tao Ge with a somewhat strange expression.
Tao Ge was such a big mouth.
"After I helped Tao Ge get his second soul ring, I also made a breakthrough. When I thought about Tao Ge's soul ring skill, I had an idea and chose a similar one."
Wang Neng explained, and after finishing, he scratched his head, his honest face showing a bit of embarrassment.
"Brother Xiao Lin, could you help us think about Wang Sheng's future soul ring? I won't charge for the hunting fees this time. I just hope you can give him some advice on choosing a good soul ring."
"Brother Wang, don't worry about the money. Wang Sheng is our classmate, so I'll definitely help."
Xiao Lin couldn't bring himself to take money from someone he knew, especially since Wang Sheng's potential wasn't great and he couldn't obtain a perfect soul skill.
It wouldn't be hard for Xiao Lin to suggest something; it would be as easy as breathing.
Soon, after a bit more small talk, Xiao Lin, Tang San, and Xiao Wu followed Wang Neng's team into the Soul Hunting Forest to begin their mission.
As they entered the forest, the once noisy surroundings quickly quieted down. Xiao Lin and the others were placed at the back of the War Tiger Team, with the mission's client, a girl around twelve or thirteen years old, walking in front. She wore simple clothes, showing no signs of wealth.
Tang San and Xiao Wu remained alert, constantly observing their surroundings.
Tang San, in particular, left traces of his Blue Silver Grass along the path to prevent them from getting lost.
"Our hunting team is a full-attack team. The vice-captain, Shi Dan, is 26th rank with a War Chicken martial soul and is a speed-based soul master. Then there's Xu Yi, 24th rank, with a Lazy Pig martial soul and is a power-based soul master."
Wang Neng introduced the other two members of the team. Shi Dan, the vice-captain, was small in stature but had sharp eyes, resembling a war chicken. Xu Yi, on the other hand, was a bit chubby and looked friendly and honest.
Xiao Lin nodded in approval after hearing the introduction. "I see. Although it's a full-attack team, it's actually very well-rounded."
"Wang Neng, the team captain, is a strong attacker with his War Tiger. Shi Dan, the vice-captain, is a scout with his War Chicken martial soul and speed, and Xu Yi's Lazy Pig martial soul, as I understand, provides both strong offense and some defense."
"With Tao Ge's Lone Wolf martial soul, this team should be quite competitive in the Soul Hunting Forest."
Xiao Lin thought highly of this team's composition. With such a balanced lineup, they should at least be able to protect their employer even if they didn't catch any soul beasts.
Soon after Xiao Lin's analysis, Shi Dan activated his martial soul, and his arms transformed into chicken wings as he flew ahead to scout the area.
Like the Dragon or Phoenix martial souls, the War Chicken, while not as powerful, had an innate ability to counter toxic creatures.
As Shi Dan activated his martial soul, releasing his soul power, Tang San realized that they wouldn't need to use their insect-repelling powder, as the War Chicken would handle that.
"Brother Xiao Lin, you really know a lot about theory. Your grades must be great, and your strength is far superior to Wang Sheng's."
As they continued, Wang Neng couldn't help but express his admiration for Xiao Lin's knowledge, which made him grumble about Wang Sheng's lack of effort.
But soon, he refocused and continued explaining the mission. Wang Neng pointed at the girl in front and said:
"This girl is a student from Notting Academy, her name is Xiao Gui. Her talent isn't great, and her martial soul is just an ordinary osmanthus. She wants to obtain a healing-type soul beast to help support her family."
"The money for this mission has been borrowed in advance. After she becomes a healer or treatment-type soul master, she will repay the debt."
"I originally wanted to recruit her into our team so she wouldn't have to repay the money, but it's too dangerous. She refused."
"This time, her target is a healing soul beast around 300 years of age, one that can absorb soul rings to the limit, as Master Lin Dong said."
"Nowadays, many people are trying to find better soul rings, which is why Xiao Gui is willing to owe money for a better soul skill."
Wang Neng spoke with a trace of respect and gratitude in his eyes when mentioning Lin Dong.
Thanks to Lin Dong's paper, the hunting missions they accepted now were much more profitable.
(End of Chapter)