NOVEL FROG Chapter 18: The Slap of Reality
Chapter 18: The Slap of Reality
As the Black-Backed Boar rooted around in the soil, it suddenly shuddered the moment Su Mo released his arrow.
Clearly, the soul beast's instinct for danger had kicked in, alerting it to the impending threat.
Thud!
But before the Black-Backed Boar could react or dodge, a black line streaked through the air, piercing its ear in an instant.
Screeeech—
The boar let out a blood-curdling scream, thrashing wildly in place as it tried desperately to dislodge the arrow embedded in its head.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
However, before the boar could attempt an escape, another volley of arrows came flying at it.
Thwack, thwack, thwack—
Though not all the arrows hit vital spots, each one struck true, embedding itself into the boar's thick hide. The wounds were not deep, but they were enough to sap the creature's remaining strength.
After a few moments of frantic struggle, the Black-Backed Boar collapsed to the ground, its life extinguished.
The first arrow had been fatal, piercing deep into the boar's brain. It was a miracle the creature had managed to struggle at all.
Buzz—
A moment later, a white soul ring, indicative of a ten-year-old soul ring, emerged from the corpse of the fifty-year-old Black-Backed Boar.
"This…"
Seeing how easily Su Mo had dispatched a fifty-year-old soul beast, Bibi Dong stood there in stunned silence.
She had never imagined that Su Mo could successfully hunt a soul beast, especially with such ease, and without any soul skills.
"That bow…"
Bibi Dong finally noticed the peculiar design of the bow in Su Mo's hands. It didn't resemble any bow she had seen before.
But what caught her attention was the power behind it—far greater than that of a typical bow. With a well-aimed shot, it could even kill soul beasts with centuries of cultivation.
"This bow… It's somewhat similar to the Zhuge Crossbow that Tang San will create in the future, though the Zhuge Crossbow is more refined and powerful…"
Shaken, Bibi Dong quickly realized that Su Mo's success was largely due to the compound bow in his hands. This wasn't about Su Mo's raw abilities—his victory was the result of utilizing the bow and a well-timed sneak attack.
Yet despite this, Bibi Dong couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She had been so confident in her warnings, convinced that Su Mo was overestimating himself.
But now, she had been thoroughly proven wrong, and the sting of that realization was undeniable.
If she had known Su Mo was this capable, she wouldn't have bothered to intervene.
Su Mo, unaware of Bibi Dong's internal struggle, approached the fallen Black-Backed Boar. The sight of the white soul ring confirmed that the creature was indeed dead.
Su Mo then walked up to the boar's lifeless body.
Staring at the white soul ring floating above the soul beast's corpse, Su Mo's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"So this is a soul ring… It's almost like loot dropping from a game…"
He marveled at the sight of the soul ring, but Su Mo had no intention of absorbing this ten-year soul ring from the fifty-year-old boar. The whole point of this hunt was to test how difficult it would be to take down a soul beast.
And now he knew—soul beasts weren't as formidable as he had thought.
He hadn't even set any traps yet!
Su Mo retrieved the arrows from the boar's body, satisfied with the bow's performance. Though the bow was crudely made compared to Tang San's future Zhuge Crossbow, it was still far superior to an ordinary bow.
Next, Su Mo summoned his Hunting Soul Spear and jabbed it into the boar's corpse.
Sure enough, with his current martial soul's strength, even a dead Black-Backed Boar was difficult to pierce.
But when Su Mo fused his Hunting Soul Spear with the forged iron spear, the results were different.
Thwack, thwack, thwack—
With each thrust and pull of the spear, Su Mo punctured the boar's corpse with ease, leaving several gaping, bloody holes.
As expected.
If martial skills aren't enough, rely on weapons!
No matter how skilled you are, you'll still fear a sharp blade!
Humans must learn to utilize every tool at their disposal.
After completing his tests, Su Mo twirled the spear in a flourish, shaking off the blood from its tip with a sharp flick.
"Goddess Sister!"
Su Mo finally turned to look at Bibi Dong.
"What is it?"
Bibi Dong, still feeling a bit irritated, was reluctant to engage, expecting Su Mo to mock her for underestimating his abilities earlier.
"Goddess Sister, the maximum limit for absorbing a soul ring depends on the strength of the martial soul and the physical strength of the individual, right?"
Contrary to Bibi Dong's expectations, Su Mo didn't mock her at all. Instead, he asked a serious question.
"That's correct. Are you asking about the maximum limit of the first soul ring you can absorb?"
Bibi Dong gave Su Mo a surprised look before responding, her tone confident, despite phrasing it as a question. She was quite certain that was exactly what Su Mo was asking about.
Given Su Mo's competitive nature, it was likely he wanted to push the limits as much as possible when absorbing his first soul ring.
After all, that was exactly what she had done when she was in his position.
"Yeah, Goddess Sister, do you think you can estimate the maximum age of the soul ring I can absorb for my first one?"
Su Mo nodded, deciding to take advantage of Bibi Dong's presence to get her input.
While he had his own ideas, he was eager to hear Bibi Dong's assessment as well. In terms of physical strength, Su Mo believed he was much stronger than Tang San had been at the age of six. However, when it came to the strength of his martial soul, he wasn't as confident in comparison to Tang San.
Based on the knowledge he had acquired so far, Su Mo wasn't sure how much weight should be given to physical strength versus martial soul strength when it came to absorbing a soul ring.
If Bibi Dong hadn't appeared, Su Mo would have targeted a soul beast with around four to five hundred years of cultivation. But now, he was curious to hear what Bibi Dong had to say.
"Let me think…"
Upon hearing Su Mo's confirmation, Bibi Dong began to consider his question carefully.
She realized it was time to improve their relationship. Things couldn't continue as they had been, and after being proven wrong by Su Mo multiple times, she wanted to reassert herself.
As she focused on Su Mo, Bibi Dong began calculating.
She had always been aware of Su Mo's high physical strength, having observed his progress over the years. But it wasn't until she thought about it in detail that she realized how impressive his physical condition had become—comparable to that of a Grandmaster-level soul master.
In reality, a soul master's ability to absorb a soul ring primarily depended on their physical strength, with the strength of their martial soul playing a secondary, though still important, role.
It was about a 70-30 split.
After thoroughly analyzing Su Mo's current condition, Bibi Dong was shocked by the result.
She then looked at Su Mo in surprise and said, "Little one, the maximum age for your first soul ring is 600 years! That's over a hundred years more than Tang San!"
To be honest, Bibi Dong was taken aback by this calculation.
Su Mo's potential for his first soul ring was even greater than Tang San's!
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