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"Dean exploded!"
Shen Xin clutched Lin Jin's arm, shaking it hard. Her voice trembled as she stared into the blood-red mist.
"Yeah... it did."
Lin Jin's reply was flat. He hadn't seen anything this brutal on Earth.
If this hadn't happened right in front of him, he figured his weak nerves might've given out.
As his mind finally caught up, Lin Jin let out a long breath of relief.
But just as quickly, his expression shifted to confusion. Something didn't feel right.
He turned to Shen Xin and glared at him.
"What do you mean, the dean exploded? I'm standing right here!"
Shen Xin pouted. "I meant the big bird."
"What big bird? That's an Iron-Winged Eagle! A spirit beast!"
Lin Jin looked smug.
'See? This is the difference between a dean and a student.'
The knowledge gap is real.
'What? You think I'm just relying on the system? Isn't the system mine to begin with?'
As the blood mist cleared, Lin Jin realized his hand, still gripping the ruler, was trembling.
He quickly glanced at Shen Xin. She wasn't looking—thankfully.
He withdrew his Martial Spirit. Then, spotting something in the air, his eyes lit up.
He pointed at a glowing yellow ring hovering above.
"See that? That's a spirit ring."
"Where? Where is it?"
Shen Xin looked around excitedly until her eyes landed on the floating ring.
She stared at it, then turned to Lin Jin, her voice bubbling with hope.
"Dean, can I absorb this spirit ring?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because this spirit ring is way beyond what you can handle."
He paused before adding, "And more importantly, the spirit ring must be absorbed by the one who delivers the final blow to the spirit beast."
Shen Xin's face fell with disappointment. Lin Jin reached out and patted her head, a small smile forming on her face.
"Come on. You're in the Great Star Dou Forest. Think you won't find a spirit ring that's just right for you?"
"Let's keep moving. That one'll disappear in about an hour anyway."
They continued exploring the Star Dou Forest.
Thanks to the system's radar, their pace was calm and unhurried—not the least bit tense.
Lin Jin didn't take Shen Xin too deep into the forest.
Even though he was a Spirit Sect with a spirit power of 47—more than capable of handling thousand-year spirit beasts—he knew the Star Dou Forest wasn't just about spirit beasts.
There were three renowned danger zones on the Douluo Continent:
-Extreme North in the North,
-Wanren Mountains in the far west,
-Star Dou Great Forest in the central east.
Among them, the Extreme North and the Wanren Mountains were infamous for their deadly environments.
The Extreme North was a frozen world—a land of endless snow and ice.
Vast and desolate, its boundaries were said to stretch beyond the known world.
Some even whispered that past the farthest edge of the cold lay a sea sealed beneath eternal ice...
Wanren Mountain is a vast plateau where the air is thin and life is scarce.
Towering peaks pierce the sky, and thousands of deep canyons carve through the land like scars.
As for what lies beyond the mountains—no one knows.
The Star Dou Forest, though located in the heart of the Douluo Continent, remains largely unexplored.
Few dare to set foot in it. Aside from spirit masters seeking spirit rings, others fear it as they would a den of tigers.
It is the largest spirit beast forest on the continent. Together with the Setting Sun Forest of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Extreme North, it forms the trio known as the Three Great Spirit Beast Domains.
"Although your martial spirit appears to be a seven-colored flower, it's actually a Seven-Aperture Flower," Lin Jin explained.
"In reality, it's a medicinal herb. So, while it appears to be a plant-type martial spirit, it actually belongs to the food system.
"Food system?"
"Is that the kind of spirit that can only... eat, but not fight?"
"Only eat? No fighting?"
Disappointed, Shen Xin frowned.
"So... isn't it basically a useless martial spirit?"
Lin Jin stopped walking. He turned to her with a gentle smile.
"A man named Yu Xiaogang once said, 'There are no useless martial spirits, only useless spirit masters.' I couldn't agree more."
"If a spirit master doesn't believe in their own martial spirit, how can they ever become truly powerful?"
"And anyway, food-type spirits aren't trash. They're support spirits—part of the auxiliary class. Martial spirits are categorized not just by type but by function. The five main classifications are: Attack, Control, Agility, Defense, and Auxiliary. The support class is just as vital as the others."
"In combat, auxiliary spirit masters are the backbone of a team's survival. A good support can make a team far more effective."
He paused, glanced sideways at her, and smirked.
"Besides... girls don't always need to be on the front lines. Better to leave the fighting and killing to the boys and stay safe in the back, right?"
Shen Xin looked down, murmuring, "Well... I guess that makes sense."
Lin Jin, who had already turned away, nearly stumbled at her response.
He straightened his robes with a dark look on his face.
"Makes sense? I am the dean! Everything I say makes perfect sense!"
Though the Star Dou Forest teemed with spirit beasts, finding the right one still took time.
They needed to match not just age and strength, but also compatibility.
From noon to dusk, they searched tirelessly. Most of the beasts they encountered were ten years old or less, with a few that were a hundred or two hundred years old.
Still, none of them were suitable.
The campfire crackled, casting warm, flickering light across their faces.
Shen Xin sat on a fallen log, her chubby cheeks resting on her hands, clearly bored.
"Dean, didn't you say the Star Dou Forest was full of spirit beasts? Why can't I find one that suits me?"
Lin Jin replied calmly, "Because... It's fate."
"Are you kidding me?"
Shen Xin stared at him, clearly unconvinced. Her gaze was sharp, almost piercing, as if she could see right through him.
Lin Jin held up his hands in surrender, letting out a sigh.
"Okay, okay... I admit it. We're just not having much luck today."
"Sigh..." ×2