Hearing that the trio still needed to hunt soul beasts, Shi Hao's expression turned a little troubled.
That would take a lot of time… and that meant delaying the rescue of his mother. His father had told him—his mother must be missing them just as much. Every day apart was torment. Shi Hao didn't want to wait.
"Hunting soul beasts… right! If they have to hunt, then why don't I help them?"
His eyes lit up. He turned to the white tiger still gnawing on its meat and said, "Big Cat, help them out, will you? That'll make it a lot faster."
The tiger paused mid-chew, raised one huge paw, and pointed at itself, letting out a low growl. It used beast-tongue to speak to Shi Hao.
"You want me to help? You do realize I'm a soul beast, right? Isn't it a little weird to ask a soul beast to help hunt other soul beasts?"
Shi Hao looked at the blood-stained corners of the tiger's mouth, then at the corpse of the wolf still lying nearby.
"But… you sure seem to enjoy eating soul beasts."
The white tiger: "…"
After a few awkward chuckles, it finally nodded in agreement. When Shi Hao shared the idea with Hu Liena and the others, the trio was instantly overjoyed.
Having a 30,000-year soul beast helping them hunt? That was practically a miracle.
The white tiger was a top-tier predator among soul beasts. Its efficiency could even rival a Titled Douluo. Without hesitation, Hu Liena, Yan, and Xie Yue followed the tiger deeper into the forest to search for their fifth soul rings.
Shi Hao didn't tag along. He wasn't good at hunting soul beasts anyway—he'd rather spend the time eating.
Before heading out, Yan left him with plenty of food, and Shi Hao was more than happy to wait at the camp.
Thanks to their seamless teamwork and the tiger's terrifying tracking ability, Xie Yue's fifth soul ring came surprisingly easily. On the second day, they brought down a ten-thousand-year demon-armored turtle—a defensive-type soul beast, perfect for him.
The turtle had absurdly high defense. Even after an intense assault from the trio, they could barely scratch it. In the end, it was the white tiger who flipped the beast over, exposing its weak underbelly.
That's when they struck all at once and finished it off.
Xie Yue absorbed the ten-thousand-year soul ring and finally broke through to five rings, his soul power reaching rank 52—a huge leap in strength.
Now, only Hu Liena still lacked her fifth ring.
Because of the unique nature of her martial soul, it was hard to find a suitable soul beast. It took them two more days before they finally tracked one down.
…
"This shadow centipede is ridiculously slippery… we spent all this effort just to get a trace of it. We can't let it escape again."
"No matter what, this one's for Nana. Even if it costs me my life."
The three stood in a triangular formation, closing in on a certain direction. Yan couldn't resist showing off, trying to win points with Hu Liena.
But she ignored him, eyes locked on a spot up ahead.
Suddenly, the white tiger, leading the way, halted and quieted its breath. Clearly, it had found something.
"Shh… it's coming!"
Hu Liena narrowed her eyes and whispered. Yan and Xie Yue immediately sobered, their playful attitude vanishing.
The next moment—rustle rustle rustle!—a terrifying noise erupted behind them. The ground split open, and a massive, foul-smelling maw lunged toward them from behind.
"Watch out!"
Hu Liena's face changed dramatically. She hadn't expected the shadow centipede's earlier trail to be a ruse. The beast had been planning an ambush!
"Martial souls, activate!"
As members of the Golden Generation, they weren't amateurs. Instantly, they activated their martial souls and leapt backward to gain distance.
Once repositioned, they launched a barrage of soul skills at the shadow centipede.
ROOOAR!!
The white tiger let out a deafening roar and joined the attack. Its mouth opened wide, blasting a beam of white light straight at the centipede!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The battlefield exploded into chaos.
Despite their efforts, the shadow centipede was far too cunning. One moment it was there, the next it vanished—yet it remained within their encirclement.
Hu Liena frowned. Their current tactic wasn't working. Drawing on her experience as a control-type soul master, she quickly devised a new strategy.
She barked out orders as she moved, unleashing her soul power.
"Yan, Xie Yue, and Tiger—you three focus on its head. Keep it disoriented and block its retreat! I'll take the rear. I'll try to restrict its tail movement and unbalance it."
The other three nodded and instantly moved to their positions, flanking the white tiger.
Yan's Flame Lord martial soul erupted behind him in a blaze. He drew a deep breath, channeling his soul power as flames wrapped around him, growing more intense.
With a thunderous shout, he thrust both hands forward.
Fwoooosh—!
A blazing firewave burst out like a dragon, tearing across the battlefield. The air shimmered from the heat, and even the ground began to scorch.
Yan's full power was on display. His gaze burned with resolve—he was going to help Hu Liena claim this ring no matter what.
Xie Yue activated his third soul skill: Shatter.
His body glowed faintly as red blade-light gathered on his moon blades, then exploded outward like a storm. The violent blade aura surged toward the centipede like a crimson tide.
Seeing their ferocity, the white tiger also began charging its next attack.
The combined might of these three was enough to slice that centipede into chunks and turn them to charcoal.
Of course, they were holding back their strongest fourth-ring soul skills. The final blow had to be left for Hu Liena.
But then—everything went sideways.
The shadow centipede suddenly twisted around and lashed out with its tail, slamming Hu Liena through the air!
She was flung dozens of meters before she managed to stabilize herself.
That brief moment of disruption broke their formation—leaving an opening in the encirclement.
The centipede's crimson eyes flashed with glee!
_
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