After leaving Balak Junior Soul Master Academy, Yu Yan rented a fast horse in Balak City. Relying on his physical fitness, which was comparable to a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, he quickly subdued the animal and rode toward the Sunset Forest.
This trip to the Sunset Forest was still Yu Yan alone; Xiao Wu stayed in Balak City.
If they didn't separate, Xiao Wu wouldn't have the chance to condense a spirit ring on her own.
Standing on a small hill beside the mandatory road leading from Balak City to the Sunset Forest, Xiao Wu watched Yu Yan leave before heading toward Shimo Village.
Shimo Village was the village where the two had their first Soul Master Guild mission. The underground cave where the Human-Faced Cicadas hid near this village was very secluded, and Xiao Wu planned to condense her second spirit ring there.
"What will my Second Spirit Ability be?"
Xiao Wu, walking toward her destination, couldn't help but start imagining... After galloping on the main road for several days, Yu Yan successfully reached the Soul Hunting Town at the southeast entrance of the Sunset Forest, Southeast Town.
Southeast Town, as the name suggests, was a small town located to the southeast of the Sunset Forest.
Upon entering the Soul Hunting Town, Yu Yan first found an Inn and took a good night's rest.
The day after arriving at Southeast Town, Yu Yan tidied himself up and appeared in the town looking like a young man in his twenties, dressed in luxurious clothing with a Dragon-Shaped Jade Pendant hanging from his waist.
Next, he intended to use gold coins to hire a soul hunting squad with at least two Spirit Kings to hunt a Frost Ash Remnant Dragon.
Under normal circumstances, a Spirit King could handle a Spirit Beast under five thousand years old, but the Frost Ash Remnant Dragon was no ordinary Spirit Beast. As a Sub-Dragon Type Spirit Beast, its combat power was startlingly high.
A soul hunting squad with only one Spirit King wouldn't dare to provoke it.
Disguising himself as a twenty-year-old could hide his natural talent, luxurious clothing could save him from many unnecessary doubts and troubles, and the Dragon-Shaped Jade Pendant specifically worn at his waist was a symbol of the Sacred Dragon Sect, which could help him avoid potential malice from soul hunting squads.
The Sacred Dragon Sect Dragon-Shaped Jade Pendant was naturally fake, but it was fine as long as the people here didn't know that.
The Sacred Dragon Sect was a subordinate Sect of the Spirit Hall and a powerful Sect with a Titled Douluo. In the original work, the Sacred Dragon Sect was one of the new Seven Great Sects after the re-selection by Spirit Hall, appearing very few times.
As everyone knows, the Waiters are very well-informed.
When he chose an Inn to rest yesterday, Yu Yan used one silver coin to ask the waiter about the most reputable soul hunting squad in Southeast Town that possessed several Spirit Kings: the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad.
The cautious Yu Yan didn't completely trust the waiter's words. He spent another sum of gold coins repeatedly inquiring about the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad within Southeast Town. Only after confirming they were his best choice did he head toward their base.
The Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad was a squad with three Spirit Kings. Their mission completion rate and reputation were among the best in Southeast Town; their only drawback was that they were expensive.
"Hello, is anyone from the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad here? I've come to request their help in hunting a spirit ring."
Arriving at the entrance of the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad's base, Yu Yan asked if they were in while also stating his purpose for coming.
"Young Master, Boss Qing Yi and the others are all at the base. Please come in and wait for a moment; I'll go call them right away."
Fine feathers make fine birds; people are judged by their clothes. Yu Yan's luxurious attire made the guard at the gate respectfully invite him into the base's reception hall, after which the guard hurriedly ran to find the three bosses of the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad.
The guard's attitude was exactly why Yu Yan wore luxurious clothes; one should wear appropriate clothing for the occasion.
After waiting five or six minutes, the guard from the entrance brought two women and one man—the three Spirit Kings of the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad—to the reception hall.
Qing Yi, Spirit: Azure Bird, a Level 56 Spirit King of the attack system.
Azure Profound, Spirit: Azure Bird, a Level 54 Spirit King of the agility-attack system.
Qing Zishan, Spirit: Azure Bird, a Level 51 Spirit King of the attack system.
According to the information Yu Yan gathered, the three were siblings, and their father was the boss of the previous generation's Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad.
Standing at the front, the big sister boss, Qing Yi, dressed in green martial attire, looked Yu Yan up and down, her gaze lingering on the Dragon-Shaped Jade Pendant at his waist several times.
Having roughly confirmed the person's background, Qing Yi looked at Yu Yan: "What Spirit Beast do you plan to have us hunt? What's the approximate age?"
"A Frost Ash Remnant Dragon. As for the age, between 4,500 and 5,000 years; the closer to 5,000 years, the better."
Appreciating Qing Yi's straightforward personality, Yu Yan also stated his requirements directly.
"A Frost Ash Remnant Dragon of such high age... this will be difficult to handle."
Azure Profound, wearing round gold-rimmed glasses, smiled and emphasized the difficulty of the matter.
"That's why I sought out the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad, which has three Spirit Kings and can easily complete the hunt."
She emphasized the difficulty to raise the price; Yu Yan naturally had to emphasize that it wasn't difficult for the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad, so they wouldn't try to hike the price.
Before Azure Profound could continue talking about the difficulties, Yu Yan directly addressed the most important issue:
"There's no need to argue over these minor details. Give me a fair price. As long as there are no major issues, I'll choose your Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad."
"Under normal circumstances, hiring one Spirit King to hunt a Spirit Beast of the age you mentioned costs between 4,000 and 6,000 gold coins. The price fluctuates based on the strength of the Spirit King and the Spirit Beast."
"The Frost Ash Remnant Dragon is powerful. To kill it smoothly, three Spirit Kings must act together, with four Spirit Ancestors assisting from the side."
"Because there's a high probability of a smooth kill, I won't cheat you. We'll charge 5,000 gold coins per Spirit King and 1,000 gold coins per Spirit Ancestor. For three Spirit Kings and four Spirit Ancestors, that's a total of 19,000 gold coins. What do you think?"
Hearing Azure Profound's words, Yu Yan nodded in agreement without hesitation.
To be honest, this price was much lower than he had anticipated. He had originally come with the thought of spending thirty thousand gold coins. Who would have thought that hunting a Frost Ash Remnant Dragon would only cost nineteen thousand gold coins?
This way, he would have quite a few gold coins left over, which was truly wonderful.
Oh no!
I asked for too little!
Seeing the other party agree so quickly without even bargaining, how could Azure Profound not realize she had asked for too little? However, the words had already been spoken; to raise the price now would be like slapping her own face.
Even though she had made a profit, Azure Profound still felt a bit uncomfortable and could only smile at Yu Yan, saying, "I hope our cooperation will be pleasant."
"Since the agreement is reached, our Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad needs to organize and prepare. How about we set out for the Sunset Forest to hunt tomorrow morning?"
Seeing that the deal was settled, Qing Yi stepped forward to explain the departure schedule to Yu Yan.
"Of course, I'll see you tomorrow."
Yu Yan had no objections to this arrangement.