At the same time.
In a certain fiery basin of the Sunset Forest.
A lion, with flames burning on its neck and above, was running through the basin.
The sound of air being torn apart rang out as dozens of wind blades traced arcs in the air, blocking the lion's path.
However, just as these wind blades were about to hit, the lion's flaming mane suddenly shimmered, and it quickly formed a fire ring that deflected the wind blades away.
"Opportunity!" A flash of sharpness appeared in Feng Xiaotian's eyes, and his fourth soul ring lit up.
Fourth Soul Skill: Wind Blade Claw!
Feng Xiaotian's fingers flicked, and three long blades, about one and a half feet long, shot out from the bones of his fingers. An illusory wolf-shaped light shadow appeared behind him.
He then spread his hands apart, and six blades of green light shot out, extending nearly a yard in length. The blades hit the lion just as the fire ring disappeared.
The lion, known as the Red Flame Lion, had a cultivation age of around 1500 years.
The Red Flame Lion had a natural soul skill, the Red Flame Fire Ring, which could only be used a certain number of times depending on its cultivation age: once per day for a ten-year-old lion, twice for a hundred-year-old, and three times for a thousand-year-old.
The Red Flame Fire Ring that the lion just released was the last one it could use that day.
Not only that, but the Red Flame Lion had just finished using the fire ring and was temporarily immobilized in a brief period of stiffness after the skill's release, making it unable to dodge.
Thus, the Red Flame Lion could only watch helplessly as the massive pale blue wind blade struck it.
The wind blade pierced through the Red Flame Lion, and the sound of flesh tearing apart echoed, followed by the lion's desperate and painful roar.
In mid-air, Feng Xiaotian looked down at the Red Flame Lion, which had fallen into a pool of blood. He withdrew the illusory wings on his back and slowly descended to the ground. He then gently spoke to Huo Wu, who was not far away:
"Xiao Wu, it's your turn."
"Mm." Huo Wu, looking at Feng Xiaotian's impressive display, slightly blushed. She nodded softly and moved forward to end the Red Flame Lion's life, beginning to absorb its soul ring.
Since the battle in the Sunset Forest two years ago, Feng Xiaotian had completely changed in Huo Wu's eyes.
He no longer humbly tried to please her. He had become serious about cultivation and began to show an astonishingly fast cultivation speed, which was in line with his innate full soul power.
Two years ago, Feng Xiaotian's soul power was only level 33.
But just three months ago, he had already broken through to level 40.
At that time, Feng Xiaotian was still a month short of turning 18.
In just one year and eight months, his soul power had risen from level 33 to level 40, an average increase of four levels per year.
This left Huo Wu often marveling at how amazing the cultivation speed could be for someone with full innate soul power.
Three months after breaking through to the Soul Grandmaster rank, Feng Xiaotian's soul power advanced again, reaching level 43.
Feng Xiaotian's transformation ignited Huo Wu's competitive spirit, and she began to devote herself even more to her cultivation.
Two years ago, Huo Wu's soul power was only level 25 at the age of 11.
In the past two years, she had already broken through to level 30.
At the age of 13, she had already broken the historical record of the Blaze Fire Academy since its founding, becoming a Soul Respect.
Huo Wu was confident that she would break through to level 40 before turning 18, not falling behind Feng Xiaotian.
However, she also understood that starting from 18, as their ages increased, the difference in their soul power would also grow larger.
Two hours later.
Feng Xiaotian saw Huo Wu waking up and quickly walked over to ask:
"Xiao Wu, how is it? Does the soul skill meet your expectations?"
"Even beyond my expectations." Huo Wu smiled and answered, then explained the effect of her third soul skill to Feng Xiaotian.
"My third soul skill is called Resisting Fire Ring. Like the Red Flame Lion's Red Flame Fire Ring, it can push all enemies within the fire ring range back a certain distance."
"The skill covers a range of 60 meters in diameter and 3 meters in height. As long as the opponent's attack skill is no more than ten soul power levels higher than mine, I can ignore any skill or defense and force the opponent out of the fire ring range."
"Moreover, my Resisting Fire Ring is different from the Red Flame Lion's Red Flame Fire Ring in that it has no usage limit. As long as my soul power is sufficient, I can use it continuously."
"That's great, Xiao Wu." Feng Xiaotian congratulated her.
"This Resisting Fire Ring will have a strong control effect in the high-level Soul Master Elite Competition in the entire continent."
"In the next competition, your Blaze Fire Academy will achieve excellent results."
Huo Wu nodded in agreement and, seeing that Feng Xiaotian brought it up, she casually asked:
"Big Brother Tian, will you participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition next year?"
Feng Xiaotian thought for a moment after hearing this, then replied:
"I won't participate in next year's competition."
"By then, although my soul power will be close to that of a Soul King, relying solely on my strength, I won't be able to bridge the gap between my Shinfeng Academy and the seed team of the Spirit Hall."
"But I will participate in the competition six years later."
"By then, at the age of 24, I will at least be a high-level Soul King, perhaps even a Soul Emperor."
"At that time, I will have the confidence to lead Shinfeng Academy to win the championship from the Spirit Hall and become the second team after the Star Luo Empire to take the title from them."
"Xiao Wu, if we encounter each other on the field, then, well, I'll go easy on you."
As he said this, Feng Xiaotian scratched his head with embarrassment.
"Big Brother Tian, you're being a bit overconfident." Huo Wu lightly teased in response:
"I've heard that the Spirit Hall has three exceptional geniuses in their direct Soul Master Academy, two of whom even have a martial soul fusion skill."
"In six years, these three might break through to Soul King level."
"At that time, with three Soul Kings and two with martial soul fusion skills, do you still feel confident about winning?"
"Moreover, even if you manage to hold off those three Soul Kings, your six teammates may not be able to defeat the remaining four from the Spirit Hall."
Feng Xiaotian was stunned after hearing this.
In the past two years, he had been completely immersed in his cultivation, and apart from Huo Wu, he hadn't paid attention to anything happening in the outside world.
The Spirit Hall began to hype up the golden generation of these three individuals only a year ago.
So, Feng Xiaotian had no idea about the Golden Generation until Huo Wu mentioned it.
Seeing Feng Xiaotian standing in silence, Huo Wu couldn't help but laugh, then comforted him:
"Don't worry, Big Brother Tian."
"If you want to win the championship, I can help you."
Seeing the confused expression on Feng Xiaotian's face, Huo Wu smiled and explained:
"It's quite simple. At that time, I can let the main Soul Grandmasters from Blaze Fire Academy temporarily join Shinfeng Academy, and that way, your academy will have seven main Soul Grandmaster-level fighters."
"My father is the dean of Blaze Fire Academy, so this won't be difficult for me."