That Scythe Weasel's cultivation had indeed reached the ten-thousand-year level, but it was still quite a distance from twenty thousand years.
No matter what, Li Yongyue was an inner court disciple of Shrek Academy. There were no accidents during the process of absorbing a soul ring of this level. In less than an hour, he completed the absorption and leaped up from the ground in delight.
This top-quality soul ring with attributes that matched his martial soul perfectly had far exceeded his expectations in terms of improvement and amplification. Moreover, the soul skill it granted him was incredibly powerful. Just relying on this sixth soul skill alone, he was confident he could secure a place for himself even among the inner court disciples of Shrek Academy.
Li Yongyue walked up to Xu Zihuang and once again expressed his gratitude with sincerity.
"Thank you, Junior Brother Yu."
Xu Zihuang gave a faint smile.
"No need to be polite, Senior Brother Li. We're all fellow students. Besides, we're a team now. Helping each other while hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest is only natural."
Li Yongyue's excitement still hadn't subsided, but he no longer expressed his thanks with empty words.
With the team atmosphere so harmonious, Zhang Lexuan was naturally pleased. At the same time, she also noticed Wang Qiu'er, who had always remained somewhat apart from the group.
However, she simply attributed it to Wang Qiu'er's personality. With continued interaction and adjustment in the future, she would surely integrate into the team.
With this in mind, Zhang Lexuan had Xu Zihuang lead the group once again to search for suitable soul beasts.
With Xu Zihuang extending his spiritual power to sense the surroundings in advance, the group basically faced no pressure along the way.
The limit of Xu Zihuang's current spiritual power, when extended outward, could reach a terrifying diameter of thirty kilometers. As they ventured deeper into the mixed zone, the area covered naturally became very large. Naturally, the efficiency of finding soul beasts became very high.
It didn't take long before Xu Zihuang led the group to find the second suitable soul beast.
This was an ant about one meter in length. Its body was covered in a layer of dark golden shell, with six thick and powerful short legs. Its sharp and ferocious mouthparts were currently sucking the juice from a thousand-year Snake Dragon Orchid.
The Snake Dragon Orchid held a fatal attraction for low-level soul beasts. If this were in the outer zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, it would be impossible for one to grow to such an age.
The ant-type soul beast also noticed the group's presence and slowly raised its head. On its head were six eyes, four large and two small, emitting eerie green light.
Everyone immediately recognized the species of this ant-type soul beast: it was a Thousand Weight Ant.
Aside from Xu Zihuang, who had known in advance, everyone present showed surprise on their faces.
"Is this a Thousand Weight Ant?"
Generally speaking, a ten-year Thousand Weight Ant was only about three inches long, a hundred-year one wouldn't exceed six inches, and only at the thousand-year level was it possible to reach about a foot.
Thousand-year Thousand Weight Ants were already quite rare. They had no powerful life-saving abilities, and within their own clans, they often engaged in mutual killing.
Yet the Thousand Weight Ant before them not only had its originally pitch-black hard shell turned dark gold, but its body length was close to one meter. This meant its cultivation had fully reached over twenty thousand years.
More precisely, this Thousand Weight Ant should be called a Thousand Jin Ant King.
The Thousand Jin Ant Kings, with over ten-thousand-year cultivation, had very few records throughout the history of soul masters.
After carefully determining the age of this Thousand Jin Ant King, Zhang Lexuan asked Wang Qiu'er and Mo Xuan:
"This Thousand Jin Ant King's cultivation is just barely past twenty thousand years, right at the suitable limit for a sixth soul ring. Wang Qiu'er, Mo Xuan, which one of you needs it?"
Although the Thousand Weight Ant wasn't considered an especially powerful soul beast, reaching such a level of cultivation meant it must have something extraordinary. And the Thousand Weight Ant excelled most in strength, making its attributes an extremely good match for Wang Qiu'er's martial soul.
However, this Thousand Jin Ant King was also very suitable for Mo Xuan. Mo Xuan's martial soul was the Light Ring; if he absorbed the Thousand Jin Ant King's soul ring, there was a high chance he would obtain a soul skill that could amplify strength in a wide area.
Mo Xuan, who disliked competing, instinctively looked toward Wang Qiu'er.
Wang Qiu'er, however, didn't even glance at Mo Xuan. Her beautiful face was full of arrogance as she said indifferently:
"This Thousand Jin Ant King still doesn't meet my expected requirements."
"Eldest Senior Sister, then I'll take it." With that, Mo Xuan had nothing left to hesitate about and replied excitedly.
Zhang Lexuan's eyes carried a smile. In her view, Wang Qiu'er seemed to be a cold-on-the-outside but warm-on-the-inside girl. Sometimes one shouldn't pay too much attention to what someone said, but rather look at what they did.
Wang Qiu'er appeared to be disdainful of this Thousand Jin Ant King's soul ring, but undeniably, by saying so, she avoided any potential conflict.
"In that case… Tianhuang, Ning Tian, Wang Qiu'er, you three will be responsible for capturing this Thousand Jin Ant King alive. Wang Qiu'er will face it head-on, while Tianhuang and Ning Tian provide support and assistance from the sides."
Hearing Zhang Lexuan's arrangement, both Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian remained calm. Xu Zihuang needed no explanation, and Ning Tian, being an intelligent girl, instantly understood Zhang Lexuan's intention.
Zhang Lexuan had noticed the barrier between Wang Qiu'er and the rest of the team. As control-type and support-type soul masters in the team, Yu Tianhuang and Ning Tian would find it easier to coordinate with Wang Qiu'er for the first time, which could also help her gradually integrate into the team.
Wang Qiu'er was momentarily stunned but said nothing more. She released her martial soul, tapped the ground with her toe, and in the next instant appeared in front of the Thousand Jin Ant King. Where she had just stood, the ground was already covered in layers of cracks.
A resounding dragon roar rang out. Two yellow, two purple, one black, five soul rings rose simultaneously from beneath her feet.
The first soul ring flashed, and in an instant, a layer of intense golden light covered every inch of her body.
First soul skill: Golden Dragon Lion Body.
The third soul ring lit up right after. She threw a punch. Golden Dragon Lion Fist.
The moment her fist struck out, it completely turned brilliant gold, condensing into a golden dragon head. The dragon head looked almost solid, as if truly carved from gold. The originally resounding dragon roar became low and deep, shaking the surrounding trees until leaves rustled and fell.
When the Thousand Jin Ant King first sensed Xu Zihuang and the others' presence, it did not flee immediately but weighed the pros and cons.
After all, this thousand-year Snake Dragon Orchid was of considerable benefit to it.
Ever since it broke through to the ten-thousand-year level, it had mutated and gained several exceptionally powerful defensive soul skills. Soul beasts of the same level simply could not break through its defense.
That was why it dared swagger so boldly into the depths of the mixed zone.
Moreover, the opponents were merely humans. So it instinctively believed they posed no threat.
Ant-type soul beasts were still somewhat lacking in intelligence and the ability to sense danger. Just this brief moment of hesitation and delay had already sealed its fate.
Right as Wang Qiu'er unleashed this punch, the Thousand Jin Ant King trembled violently and unhesitatingly used its strongest defensive soul skill.
A rich glow burst from its dark golden shell, then expanded upward, forming a dark golden arc-shaped barrier.
But at this moment, Ning Tian, who had reacted, also released her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul to amplify Wang Qiu'er.
"Nine Treasures turn out with Glazed Tile, first: Strength."
Ning Tian raised the palm of her right hand to rest it in front of her. The dazzling Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda loomed above her. With her soft cry, a nine-colored beam of light shot out from the pagoda and landed on Wang Qiu'er.
Wang Qiu'er's body hovered in midair. Her slender figure shifted, and the motion of her right fist punching forward was grand and sweeping, full of violent beauty.
With the amplification from Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the intense golden light covering her body became even more blinding.
Boom—
The right fist, transformed into a golden dragon head, shattered the Thousand Jin Ant King's Thousand Weight Barrier like crushing thin ice. It then drove straight through and slammed heavily into the dark golden shell on the ant king's back.
The earth itself seemed to tremble.
Layers of fine cracks quietly appeared on the Thousand Jin Ant King's shell.
Wang Qiu'er blasted out a pit more than half a meter deep and roughly three meters in diameter. The twenty-thousand-year Thousand Jin Ant King lay right in the center of that pit.
Its shell was shattered, blood splattered everywhere, and it had completely lost the ability to resist. Only its six thick and powerful short legs occasionally twitched.
Wang Qiu'er turned back to look at the group, her gaze lingering slightly on Ning Tian. Even someone as proud as her had to admit the terrifying auxiliary power of Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul.
A sixty percent strength amplification had increased her overall power by at least thirty percent. Without Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda amplification, she could still have crushed the Thousand Jin Ant King, but she absolutely could not have done it so effortlessly.
Ning Tian gave Wang Qiu'er a friendly smile.
Li Yongyue, Mo Xuan, and Dai Luoli didn't quite dare meet Wang Qiu'er's eyes.
That fighting style was simply too violent.
Only after Zhang Lexuan spoke did the three snap out of it.
"Mo Xuan, hurry and absorb this Thousand Jin Ant King's soul ring."
"Yes, Eldest Senior Sister." Mo Xuan quickly responded. When he passed by Wang Qiu'er, a bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He secretly grumbled in his heart:
This girl's appearance is flawless, and her strength is terrifying, but probably no one could handle her.
Mo Xuan spent quite some effort before finally using his dagger to pierce the relatively soft neck of the Thousand Jin Ant King. A pitch-black soul ring slowly rose from its corpse. Compared to the earlier ten-thousand-year Scythe Weasel soul ring, this one felt heavier and more viscous—likely due to the Thousand Jin Ant King's specialization in power.
The energy characteristics contained within a soul ring were related to the type of soul beast. Absorbing this Thousand Jin Ant King's soul ring could greatly enhance a soul master's strength and physical qualities. When Li Yongyue absorbed the ten-thousand-year Scythe Weasel soul ring, it had greatly increased his speed.
Just like how Xu Zihuang had once absorbed two pure-mental-attribute Evil Eye Tyrant soul rings, which contained vast spiritual power.
This was also one of the reasons soul masters chose to hunt soul beasts whose attributes matched their martial souls before absorbing their soul rings.
As a support-type soul master absorbing a twenty-thousand-year-level soul ring, Mo Xuan did not have as easy a time as Li Yongyue.
He struggled for more than an hour before barely suppressing the soul's resentment within the ring. Though his aura had stabilized, fully fusing with it would still take several more hours.
By now, the sky had gradually darkened.
Zhang Lexuan glanced at the thousand-year Snake Dragon Orchid that had been half-devoured by the Thousand Jin Ant King, then looked up through the gaps in the leaves at the sky. She said gravely:
"Our current position is roughly deep in the mixed zone, close to the core zone. Nighttime is not favorable for movement, and Mo Xuan still needs time to absorb the soul ring. Everyone, let's rest here for tonight."
As she spoke, she surveyed the surroundings.
Aside from Dai Luoli, everyone present had experience spending nights inside the Star Dou Great Forest.
Li Yongyue volunteered:
"Eldest Senior Sister, I'll go clear the nearby bushes to keep the line of sight open."
Zhang Lexuan nodded. Their current location was on relatively high ground, perfect for a camp.
Li Yongyue wielded his elegantly curved moon blades and swept out several blade lights, quickly clearing the bushes in the area.
Under the cover of night and the tall, dense trees, the light inside the Star Dou Great Forest was rather dim.
Everyone sat in a circle around Mo Xuan, who was fusing with the soul ring, eating jerky and various dried rations to recover stamina.
Ning Tian rested her head on Xu Zihuang's shoulder. Xu Zihuang gently stroked her hair while conversing with Zhang Lexuan.
"Eldest Senior Sister, I've thought about it. For tonight's night watch, it's better if we take turns."
"That works too." Zhang Lexuan naturally understood Xu Zihuang's reasoning.
Leaving aside Mo Xuan, who needed to absorb the soul ring, neither Li Yongyue nor Ning Tian's martial souls were suited for night watch, and Dai Luoli's cultivation was relatively weak.
She and Yu Tianhuang both had spiritual power that could extend over a large area, and their strength was the greatest. Splitting the watch between them was clearly the most appropriate.
"Alright then. Tianhuang, you and Wang Qiu'er take the first half of the night. I'll handle the second half."
Wang Qiu'er remained silent as always. But after their brief time together, everyone knew her personality; silence meant agreement.
Zhang Lexuan and Li Yongyue then entered meditation.
Dai Luoli, however, who was experiencing her first night camping in the Star Dou Great Forest, found it hard to settle down and couldn't calm her mind.
Noticing this, Xu Zihuang reached out and patted her shoulder.
"Luoli, if you really can't calm down, don't force yourself."
"Brother Yu, I really am a bit unaccustomed to it." Dai Luoli looked at Xu Zihuang beside her with some embarrassment.
Xu Zihuang gave a slight smile.
"Then keep me company and chat for a while."
"Okay."
Xu Zihuang looked across at Wang Qiu'er, fell silent for a moment, then asked a question that left everyone still awake, completely baffled.
"Luoli, is the sesame pancake from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion kitchen really that delicious?"
"Huh? Brother Yu, why are you suddenly asking that?" Dai Luoli blinked in confusion.
"But when I was little, I really liked eating them."
"Just asking casually." Xu Zihuang chuckled lightly. In his heart, however, he was pondering whether he could obtain Wang Qiu'er's soul rings and soul bones. The soul rings and soul bones of an Emperor Auspicious Beast could not be absorbed by human soul masters under normal circumstances, but if she willingly offered a sacrifice to a human soul master, that would be another story.
Soul beasts weren't always the sharpest thinkers. It wasn't entirely impossible.
But he quickly dismissed the idea. At this stage, it was best for him to avoid overly deep contact with Wang Qiu'er.
Ning Tian, who had been resting with her eyes closed in Xu Zihuang's arms, opened her eyes and asked in confusion:
"Tianhuang, do you want to eat sesame pancakes? I happen to have some prepared in my storage ring."
"Then let's share them with everyone." Xu Zihuang took the sesame pancakes Ning Tian handed him and passed some to Dai Luoli and Wang Qiu'er.
Wang Qiu'er also blankly accepted them, completely puzzled about what Xu Zihuang was thinking.
Xu Zihuang, however, paid no further attention to Wang Qiu'er. He elegantly chewed the sesame pancake stuffed with braised meat, a faint, inexplicable look in his eyes.
Truly amazing, sigh-inducing.
He had the pancake now, but unfortunately, he had no "pancake story" to move Wang Qiu'er into throwing herself at him.
Perhaps everyone's luck was simply good; no soul beasts attacked them the entire night.
But Xu Zihuang had an ominous premonition. This felt like the calm before a storm. As a spiritual-attribute soul master whose spiritual power had reached the tangible and qualitative stage, he had always been especially sensitive to such things.
And what followed proved him right.
At dawn, everyone was startled awake by a sudden, low roar with no warning.
A terrifying flash of light streaked through the air. Wherever the horrifying dark golden blade passed, all plants were instantly torn to shreds. The sharp aura even sliced five pitch-black gashes through the air, clear signs of space itself being ripped apart.
Fortunately, the position where the dark golden claw shadow erupted was still some distance from the group, so they were not affected.
Countless towering ancient trees were reduced to dust. Then a massive, burly bear over eight meters tall appeared in everyone's line of sight. Its dark golden fur and the chilling giant claws left no doubt about its identity.
Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear, this was unmistakably a ten-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear!
Even a mere ten-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear could contend with ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
Yet such a powerful ten-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear was actually fleeing.
And the direction of its flight perfectly overlapped with the group's location. In the blink of an eye, the distance between them had shrunk to within a few hundred meters.
Zhang Lexuan's expression changed slightly as she shouted:
"Ten-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear, get out of here first!"
The others immediately tensed, feeling a chill.
Xu Zihuang keenly sensed that this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, covered in blood, had an extremely weakened aura. Combined with his memories from his previous life, he immediately made the connection.
After unleashing that one attack, the ten-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear seemed to have reached its limit. Though it still let out furious roars, it could no longer struggle. After staggering a few steps, it collapsed heavily to the ground.
At the same moment, three old men arrived.
These three old men appeared to be at least seventy years old. Shockingly, the three old men looked identical, and even their clothing was the same.
They were thin, with faces full of deep wrinkles. Their gray-white hair was simply draped behind them. Their eyes were dull yellow, giving off an air of decay. A distinctive feature was their hooked eagle noses and thin lips.
The three old men wore gray robes, each leaning on a black staff about one zhang (3.3 meters) long, with a human-head-sized gray gem embedded at the top.
The old man on the left let out a hoarse laugh, sounding like a broken bellows, utterly unpleasant.
"Hahaha, after wearing this beast down for three days and three nights, it's finally ours. A twenty-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear's beast soul, this trip was worth it."
But before his words even finished, a brilliant golden light flashed past. A long spear instantly pierced through the ten-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear's head.
It was called a long spear, but it looked more like a long lance. And this lance was different from ordinary ones; it was double-pointed and shaped like a narrow shuttle.
The three old men froze, staring at the heroic pink-blue-haired girl before them. Veins bulged terrifyingly on their foreheads.
These three old men were precisely the Zhongli Three Brothers, whom Xu Zihuang had known about from his previous life's memories.
The one who had killed the ten-thousand-year Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear was none other than Wang Qiu'er.
Wang Qiu'er's icy gaze was filled with fury and killing intent.
She could see that the Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear was already beyond saving. She would rather kill it with her own hands than allow these evil soul masters to enslave its beast soul and torment it for eternity.
And Wang Qiu'er's reckless action had likewise exposed the entire group's presence.
"Little beast, die!" The old man who had laughed hoarsely, Zhongli Di, let out a furious shriek, his rage overflowing.
They, the three brothers, had spent three full days and nights, expending who-knows how many beast souls, just to finally wear down this Dark gold Terrorclaw Bear.
Yet because of Wang Qiu'er, all their efforts had come to nothing.
"This old man will definitely enslave your soul and make you suffer for eternity without reincarnation!"
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