After the vilge chief finished expining the situation, the others began discussing among themselves. Lin Chong stood up.

  "Everyone, you all know my situation. Consider this as me borrowing from you. I hope you can lend me your support. I will repay every single coin in the future," Lin Chong pleaded, his eyes scanning the crowd.

  "Dad..." Lin Yongming could sense his father's emotions and felt a wave of gratitude in his heart.

  Indeed, it was extremely difficult for Lin Yongming to obtain a soul beast of his own. The vilge was filled with ordinary people, and with his current ability to "see" through his mind's eye, he couldn't even discern directions outside the vilge, let alone travel the thousand miles to the Star Dou Great Forest.

  As for the Hunting Soul Forest and Sunset Forest, if they were near Suotuo City, they were even farther than the Star Dou Great Forest.

  Moreover, due to the special restrictions imposed by the Divine Realm on the Douluo Continent, without a soul ring to advance to the next level, even with his Wave Secret Technique, Lin Yongming couldn't continue to break through.

  So, Lin Yongming truly needed a soul ring to progress.

  "Brother Lin, don't say that. We've been neighbors for almost a lifetime. This little help, I can offer. I can contribute two gold soul coins," said a vilger around Lin Chong's age, standing up.

  With the first vilger stepping forward, others began to offer their support.

  "Brother Chong, I can give three."

  "I'll give two."

  ...

  Lin Yongming took in the vilgers' gestures of kindness, silently thinking, "Thank you, everyone."

  But he knew that the amount of money they were pooling wouldn't even be enough to hire hunters to kill a ten-year soul beast, let alone a hundred-year one. The cost of transporting the soul beast to the vilge alone would likely exceed a thousand gold soul coins.

  "Vilge Chief, but we don't know how much it costs to hire a soul master to hunt a soul beast. Soul masters are noble beings, and I'm afraid the money we've gathered won't even cover their travel expenses," a vilger who often went to the town to sell goods raised a concern.

  "You're right. Tomorrow, when you go to the town, make some inquiries," the vilge chief immediately responded.

  After some more discussion, the sky darkened, and everyone returned home.

  "Ming'er, don't worry. Dad will do everything he can to get you a soul ring," Lin Chong said, holding Lin Yongming's hand on their way back.

  "Mm, I believe in you, Dad. But don't push yourself too hard. Even if I get a soul ring, what difference will it make?" Lin Yongming replied.

  Hearing his son's mature words, Lin Chong felt a pang of heartache but didn't know how to comfort him. A father's love was often silent.

  The next day, Lin Yongming asked his mother for a piece of bck gauze to cover his already sightless eyes.

  Of course, Lin Yongming had a reason for this. Although he couldn't open his eyes, the direct sunlight during the day made his vision slightly hazy.

  The first chapter of the Wave Secret Technique was the "Chapter of Darkness." Only by fully immersing himself in darkness could he comprehend the light within it.

  When Yingn asked why he needed the gauze, Lin Yongming expined that it was to train his ability to discern directions through sound. Yingn didn't object.

  In truth, Lin Yongming couldn't see his own hair, which wasn't the bck hair of his previous life but a light blue. With the bck gauze covering his eyes and his bangs falling to the sides of his temples, he looked rather cool.

  Lin Yongming then went to the small hill behind the vilge and summoned his Thunder Bde to practice his basic skills.

  Squeak...

  "Wave Ssh!"

  A mouse scurried out, and Lin Yongming's ears twitched. Moving at lightning speed, he appeared ten meters away in less than a second, right where the mouse was.

  The Wave Ssh hit the mouse dead center. Since it was powered by soul force, the attack spread out in a blue Bagua (Eight Trigrams) formation, with the center having a restraining effect until the Wave Ssh ended.

  However, the mouse couldn't withstand the soul force-infused Wave Ssh and disintegrated into pieces.

  Unknowingly, Lin Yongming practiced from dawn until afternoon.

  "Vilge Chief, Brother Lin, I've found out that hiring soul masters to capture a ten-year soul beast and transport it to the vilge costs six hundred gold soul coins. For a hundred-year soul beast, it's three thousand gold soul coins," the vilger reported after gathering the information.

  "How can it be so expensive? Our vilge can only pool around four hundred gold soul coins," Lin Yongming's father said, his face darkening at the underestimated cost.

  This was normal. On the continent, there were many soul masters who helped hunt soul beasts. However, soul beasts were proud creatures, and some would rather destroy themselves than be captured.

  Thus, each hunting operation required a team of four or five people, and for powerful soul beasts, even ten or more.

  Even capturing a ten-year soul beast for Lin Yongming would require at least four people to ensure the soul beast could be safely brought back.

  "Vilge Chief, I'll have to think of another way," Lin Chong said with a bitter smile, feeling a deep sense of helplessness.

  He then left the vilge chief's house, looking dejected.

  "Brother Chong, how did it go?" Yingn asked as she greeted him at the door.

  "Sigh, it's still not enough," Lin Chong sighed.

  "Where's Ming'er?"

  "He went out this morning and hasn't returned yet. He said he was going to practice at the hill behind the vilge. I hope he didn't get lost," Yingn said worriedly.

  "Sigh, Ming'er is still feeling hopeless. Ever since his spirit awakening, he's been practicing with his spirit all day long."

  "Dad, Mom, I'm back," Lin Yongming said as he entered the courtyard.

  After activating his mind's eye, Lin Yongming no longer relied on a walking stick. Even with his eyes closed, he walked like a normal person.

  "Ming'er, come eat lunch."

  At the dinner table, Lin Chong didn't hide the situation from Lin Yongming and expined it to him.

  "It's okay, Dad. Maybe tonight, the heavens will send a soul beast to our vilge," Lin Yongming said jokingly, his head lowered as he ate.

  "Don't talk nonsense. If a soul beast came to the vilge, it would cause chaos," Lin Chong scolded with a ugh.

  "What should I do?" Lin Yongming frowned slightly, unable to think of a solution.

  The day passed quickly, though for Lin Yongming, there was no difference between day and night.

  Late at night, on a small path, eight people were pulling a cage containing a leopard. The leopard was about three meters long, covered in wounds.

  "Alright, let's rest by the roadside tonight. We should reach the trading point tomorrow and make a hefty profit."

  "Yes, Captain."

  "As usual, take turns keeping watch. Be careful. Don't let the Thunder Leopard escape. This is worth sixty thousand gold soul coins. And remember, there are vilges within ten miles. If it harms any vilgers, you know the consequences."

  "Captain, we understand."

  The group left two people on watch. By eleven o'clock, after days of travel, the two on watch, seeing the Thunder Leopard looking half-dead and feeling exhausted themselves, began to doze off.

  However, the Thunder Leopard, which had seemed weak, suddenly revealed a fierce glint in its eyes and slowly stood up.

  Thunderous energy crackled around the leopard as it bit down on one of the iron bars, snapping it with a crack. It then rammed its head against the broken bar, forcing an opening in the cage.

  "What's that noise!"

  "Get up! The Thunder Leopard is escaping!"

  The group woke up, but the leopard was already halfway out of the cage. Seeing that the humans had noticed, it quickly leaped out of the cage and dashed into the roadside grass, disappearing into the night.

  "Idiots! Chase it! Hurry!"

  Lin Yongming, who had been sleeping, sensed an unusual fluctuation of soul force and immediately woke up.