Blind Douluo? Is that you?

Quickly switching to his strongest form, Pikachu, Wang Shòu quietly follows the human group.

Despite having known the Wooden Monkey Clan for only two weeks, Wang Shòu sincerely treats them as friends and does not wish to see them die or become spirit rings for humans.

After careful consideration, he decides not to run ahead quickly to warn the Wooden Monkey Clan, as the human group is already too close to their habitat, and doing so would alert the humans.

Recklessly warning the Wooden Monkey Clan and potentially alerting the young man who is obviously the strongest in the group, would be very stupid.

Given that spirit masters have strong perception and that the young man's strength is unknown, the best course of action would be to follow them stealthily, assess the man's strength, and then attack them by surprise.

With this thought in mind, Wang Shòu quietly follows behind them, with the human group unaware that a yellow furry mouse is sneakily trailing them.

----------------

"M-mister Su Yuntao, are you sure this is safe?" a timid, eight-year-old chubby boy asks, obviously afraid of being out in the wild for the first time.

"Of course, it is safe, Zhang Wei! Su Yuntao is a spirit elder and can easily defeat any dangers that come our way!" says another tall, thin boy of the same age, reproaching Zhang Wei beside him.

"B-but Pai Wei, we're in the Great Star Dou Forest! Dangerous spirit beasts could come out at any time!"

"Pshaw! We're in the outer region, and it's the weakest area of the outer region! The strongest spirit beast here is only 200 years old, which Su Yuntao can easily defeat, right, mister?"

Pai Wei says confidently, turning to the only adult in the group.

"Hahaha, of course. I'm a spirit elder. Not only can I easily defeat a 200-year-old spirit beast, but even a 1,000-year-old spirit beast is no problem for me," says a young, handsome, blond man about 26 years old, Su Yuntao, smiling and exuding confidence in his strength.

"Really, mister? You're so cool and awesome!" Pai Wei says, his eyes shining with admiration.

"Haha, thanks. Anyway, Zhang Wei, you don't need to be afraid. As a spirit elder, I can easily handle any danger that comes our way. Besides, we're in the weakest area of the outer region. What could go wrong?" Su Yuntao says, comforting and reassuring the timid, chubby boy.

"O-oh okay...if you say so, mister..."

Zhang Wei says, bowing his head. But despite what Su Yuntao said, he can't shake off the uneasiness in his heart.

Zhang Wei has a martial spirit called Golden Pocket Watch. It is unknown what the Golden Pocket Watch can do, as it is a mutation of the martial spirit Pocket Watch that his father has. But for some reason, the Golden Pocket Watch seems to be spinning out of control ever since the group entered the Great Star Dou Forest.

This bizarre sight makes Zhang Wei feel very uneasy and timid. However, he tries to convince himself that having Su Yuntao, a spirit elder, with them should alleviate any concerns. Hypnotizing himself, Zhang Wei quickly got rid of the fear he felt.

Unbeknownst to him, Su Yuntao is quietly watching him.

'It seems that Zhang Wei is not afraid anymore...that's good. Powerful spirit masters must have the quality of being fearless in the face of danger,' Su Yuntao thought, feeling relieved by Zhang Wei's action.

Su Yuntao is a spirit elder of rank 32 working for the Spirit Pagoda. Today, his job is to acquire spirit rings for the five kids.

Every year, the Spirit Pagoda selects five kids who come from the slums or impoverished families. These five kids must all without exception have awaken spirit power above 5 and have a mutation in their martial spirit.

The purpose is to judge if these kids are worth investing in. In the vast world, mutations in martial spirits happen every day, and while some mutations are weak, others can be very powerful!

Therefore, the Spirit Pagoda seeks out kids from poor families or slums who have mutation martial spirits and invests in them by providing powerful spirit souls and excellent resources.

However, powerful mutation martial spirits are very rare, only one in every hundred mutation martial spirits. Often, the kids that the Spirit Pagoda invests in end up having weaker mutation martial souls, and the resources would go to waste.

In a dilemma to find powerful mutation martial spirits and not waste resources, a high-ranking person in the Spirit Pagoda proposed an idea.

The Spirit Pagoda would select five kids every year and allow them to acquire spirit rings from the Great Star Dou Forest. The death of five spirit beasts for spirit rings would not significantly affect the Great Star Dou Forest.

If the kids show enough improvement and demonstrate that their mutation martial spirit is powerful and worth investing in, the Spirit Pagoda will provide them with excellent spirit souls, nurture them, and make them members of the Spirit Pagoda.

But if it turns out to be a weaker mutation spirit soul, that's okay. The Spirit Pagoda didn't waste too many resources, and they also gain public support for being generous enough to give poor kids the opportunity to acquire spirit rings from the Great Star Dou Forest.

So, going to the Great Star Dou Forest every year to acquire spirit rings for the five kids has become a routine.

And now Su Yuntao is the lucky person with the job of acquiring spirit rings for the five kids.

'Sigh, why do I, a spirit elder, a prestigious spirit master, have to be a babysitter for those brats?'

Su Yuntao sighs, not happy with his situation. He always believed that being a spirit master is a noble profession beyond the reach of common people. Thus, getting spirit rings for the five brats is beneath his dignity as a spirit elder.

But he has no choice since it's the order of the Spirit Pagoda, and besides, those five kids might surpass him in the future, so having them indebted to him would benefit him a lot.

Su Yuntao thinks while looking at the five kids. The group consists of three boys, Zhang Wei, Pai Wei, and Hao Yu, and two girls, Ruo Xi and Yi Han.

Zhang Wei is a timid, black-haired, chubby boy with a mutation martial spirit called Golden Pocket Watch, and his spirit power awakened to 6.

Pai Wei is a confident red-haired boy with a martial spirit called Lightning Reptile Dog, a mutation of the Lightning Dog, and his awakened spirit power was 7.

Hao Yu is a small, delicate boy who always seems to be smiling. His martial spirit is Shadow Sickle, a mutation of the originally farming sickle, and his spirit power upon awakening is 6.

Ruo Xi is a cheerful, blue-haired girl with a martial spirit called Jade Violin, a unique music mutation martial spirit, and her spirit power upon awakening is 5, the lowest in the group.

Yi Han is a purple-haired, seven-year-old girl who always has a cold expression on her face. She possesses a martial spirit called Purple Ice Bird, a mutation from the beast type Bird, and her spirit power upon awakening is 7.

Seeing this, Su Yuntao felt really envious. Their spirit power upon awakening is much stronger than his, and their martial spirits is better than his martial spirit, Lone Wolf.

Especially Yi Han and Pai Wei, who undoubtedly have the potential to be geniuses.

'Sigh. I hope nothing goes wrong on this trip to acquire spirit rings...' Su Yuntao sighs. If something goes wrong, and something happens to the five kids, the high-ranking people in the Spirit Pagoda will undoubtedly hold him responsible.

Aware of this, Su Yuntao shudders and unconsciously becomes more vigilant as they head towards the direction of the Wooden Monkey Clan, unaware that a yellow furry mouse is watching their every move.