Chapter 326
The Spirit Hall's move is a great achievement.
Just then, a clear sneer rang out, breaking the slightly heavy nostalgic atmosphere.
The one who made the sound was Lin Xia.
The firelight illuminated his sharply defined profile, and his usual calm smile was now tinged with a distinct sarcasm. His eyes, reflected in the flickering flames, appeared exceptionally deep and sharp.
"reason?"
Lin Xia's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone present, carrying a cold, penetrating quality.
"Isn't the reason quite simple?"
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Flanders, Meng Shu, and Chao Tianxiang, before finally landing on the forest in the darkness that seemed to harbor countless lives. His tone was calm, yet every word was like a knife.
"Isn't this all caused by our own actions?"
"Although soul beasts are fierce and bloodthirsty, they follow the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak."
The silver coin reappeared on Lin Xia's fingertips, slowly and steadily turning between her fingers, reflecting the dim light of the campfire.
"But aren't we Soul Masters an even more 'fierce' existence?"
"We possess wisdom, know how to cooperate, research soul skills, create tools, formulate hunting plans... Most importantly, our path to cultivation and becoming stronger is directly based on hunting and plundering their core power—soul rings."
These words were like ice water poured onto a hot coal fire, making the atmosphere seem to cool down considerably.
Flanders frowned, Meng Shu paused slightly while stroking his beard, and a glint of light flashed in Chao Tianxiang's cloudy old eyes.
Even Zhu Zhuqing and the others, who were seemingly resting but actually listening intently, quieted down and involuntarily turned their gazes toward them.
"Lord Lin, what... do you mean by that?"
Flanders hesitated for a moment, adjusted his glasses, and asked the question that had puzzled everyone.
Although he vaguely sensed that the decrease in soul beasts might be related to the hunting by soul masters, he had never so directly and sharply linked the two causes together.
Meng Shu also said in a deep voice:
"Does Lord Lin mean that the decline in soul beasts is due to the excessive hunting by soul masters?"
His tone carried a questioning tone, but also a hint of the instinctive skepticism of a powerful Soul Master.
The law of the jungle prevails, and it is only natural for Soul Masters to hunt for Soul Rings; this has been an ironclad rule in the Soul Master world for thousands of years.
Lin Xia did not answer directly, but instead posed a more specific question.
"How many years does it take for a Soul Master to go from awakening their Martial Soul to becoming a Soul Emperor, Soul Saint, or even a higher level?"
“Those with exceptional talent can become Soul Emperors in twenty or thirty years. Even ordinary Soul Masters, if they have the right opportunity, can reach the Soul Saint level in fifty or sixty years.”
As the dean of the academy, Flander was very familiar with the progress of the training.
"very good."
Lin Xia nodded, and the silver coin stopped at his fingertips.
"So, how many soul rings does a Soul Emperor need during their decades of cultivation?"
"At least six. One for every ten levels, from Soul Warrior to Soul Saint."
Chaotianxiang answered.
"Not bad, at least six spirit rings."
Lin Xia's gaze swept over the crowd once more.
"Does that mean a Soul Master will acquire a Soul Ring?"
"What does this mean? It means that a Soul Master needs to hunt at least one Soul Beast to go from beginner to becoming a powerful one. And that doesn't include poachers!" His voice gradually became more forceful, carrying a calm and analytical power.
"And this is just one Soul Master. How many Soul Masters are there on the continent? How many new Soul Masters awaken each year? Although Soul Masters make up a small percentage of the total population, the cumulative number is an absolutely terrifying figure."
"On the other hand, look at the soul beasts!"
Lin Xia changed the subject.
"Their cultivation is much more difficult and slower than ours. Otherwise, we wouldn't simply use 'years' to crudely classify their strength."
"Ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years... each threshold requires a long period of accumulation, opportunities, and fierce competition for survival."
"Their reproduction rate, especially that of high-level soul beasts, is far behind the rate at which soul masters hunt them."
Xiao Wu's expression changed immediately after hearing Lin Xia's words.
It has become complicated.
Xiao Wu never expected that among everyone here, the one who understood Soul Masters the most was actually Lin Xia!
"The number of soul beasts seems large, and the forest seems vast."
Lin Xia concluded, her voice returning to calm, yet sounding even heavier.
"But if this unrestrained, indiscriminate killing continues, the number of soul beasts, especially powerful ones, will only continue to decrease."
“Killing one means losing one. Especially for soul beasts that are over ten thousand years old, whose growth cycle is often measured in thousands of years, it is extremely difficult to replenish them once one is killed.”
Lin Xia paused, her gaze seemingly fixed on the distant future.
"At this rate, I'm afraid that many years from now, not only will ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts become legends, but even thousand-year-old soul beasts will be hard to find on the outskirts of this Star Dou Great Forest."
"Where will the spirit rings needed for a spirit master's advancement come from? Will they all have to risk their lives in the core area? Or... attack spirit beasts of lower age to barely make up the numbers?"
His words silenced the surrounding area.
Flander's expression was grave. As the academy's dean, he knew all too well that finding suitable spirit rings for the students was becoming increasingly difficult.
Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang looked at each other. They were older and more experienced. Upon careful reflection, they could indeed feel this trend of "reduction," but they had never been able to pinpoint the root cause so clearly before.
Tang San, Dai Mubai, and other young people were deeply shaken. From a young age, they were taught that hunting for spirit rings was an essential path for spirit masters, a source of glory and power. No one had ever analyzed the potential dangers from the perspective of spirit beast survival and ecological balance so profoundly.
The silence lasted for a moment.
Meng Shu exhaled a long breath, breaking the silence, and sighed with a complex tone:
"Hearing Lord Lin's words is truly... thought-provoking. In the past, I only thought that the difficulty in finding soul beasts was due to bad luck or that they were hiding deeper, but I never thought of this. The continuous killing will eventually come to an end."
Flanders nodded slowly, his gaze behind his glasses filled with worry.
"If that's the case, it's indeed worrying in the long run. Will the path of the Soul Master decline in the future due to the extinction of Soul Rings?"
Chaotianxiang suddenly remembered something and said:
"In that case, we really should thank the Spirit Hall for its foresight."
Seeing everyone's gaze upon her, she explained:
"Many years ago, the Spirit Hall issued a decree to establish a large number of captive hunting forests around the main spirit beast forests of the two empires."
"Although most of the soul beasts inside have a short lifespan and their types are controlled, it at least ensures that low-level soul masters, especially commoner soul masters, have a relatively safe and stable source when acquiring their first few soul rings."
"At the same time, the Spirit Hall has always emphasized that the hunting of spirit beasts must be done in moderation and that indiscriminate killing is prohibited, especially for spirit beasts that are pregnant or young, where large-scale hunting is strictly prohibited."
"Now it seems that the Spirit Hall may have foreseen the potential depletion of spirit beast resources and prepared for it in advance."
Flanders pondered:
"That's true. The existence of the Soul Hunting Forest has alleviated the pressure on wild soul beast forests, especially core areas like the Star Dou Great Forest, to some extent. The Spirit Hall's move is a contribution for generations to come." (End of Chapter)