Du Weilun scanned the scene quickly. Every evil soul master's forehead bore a neat hole—and their brain marrow had been completely drained.
His brow furrowed deeply.
Brain-eating soul beasts weren't rare.
But…
"Could it be the Golden Demon Bird?"
As Du Weilun pondered, he swept his gaze over the area once more. Finding nothing else of value, he sighed.
"Never mind. Let's return to the group."
He wouldn't risk his students' safety by lingering. With a powerful flap of his Crimson Winged Golden Eagle wings, he shot back along their path.
The corpses could wait.
Back at camp, the team was already on edge.
"Director Du, you're back! Those evil soul masters—" Zhao Gang began, relief evident in his voice.
But before he could finish—
"Who!?"
A golden blur shot from the trees like a drawn bowstring—its needle-sharp beak aimed straight at Du Weilun's skull.
"Director Du, watch out!" Huo Yuhao cried, his white soul ring flaring beneath his feet.
Chen Junting reacted instantly, stepping in front of Huo Yuhao. The Seven Kill Sword lashed out—faster than lightning—its tip clashing against the bird's metallic beak with a sharp ding!
For a moment, it was needle against needle—blade against bone.
The creature before them radiated a chilling aura, its beak smeared with fresh blood. There was no doubt: this was the one that had devoured the evil soul masters' brains.
And now—it had chosen its next target.
Huo Yuhao, the weakest in cultivation, possessed the most tempting brain marrow of all.
Realizing it had picked the wrong opponent, the Golden Demon Bird switched targets mid-air. With a secondary burst of speed—propelled by gales of azure wind—it vanished and reappeared before Huo Yuhao, its beak pressing against his brow.
But Zhao Gang was ready.
His third soul ring blazed. "Third soul skill—Gravity Amplification!" He clenched his fist—and the Golden Demon Bird's body jerked, its speed halved.
Still, the bird was terrifyingly fast. Even Du Weilun's desperate swipe—sleeves crackling with Soul Douluo-level soul power—only grazed it.
Then—
"Swish—!"
A dark gold claw erupted from Chen Junting's left hand. The Seven Kill Sword, wreathed in killing intent, slashed downward.
The blade struck the Golden Demon Bird's fragile neck with surgical precision.
The bird screeched—a sound of fury and pain—then collapsed.
Du Weilun exhaled sharply, staring at the shallow cut on his palm.
'This bird… injured me?'
As a high-tier Soul Douluo with a near-top-tier martial soul, such a wound was astonishing.
He tossed the stunned bird to the ground. "Zhao Gang—apply Gravity Amplification and Compression. Don't let it wake up."
Then he turned to Chen Junting. "It's yours."
Chen Junting nodded. "I'll absorb it now—before it recovers."
After a brief discussion, Wu Feng sidled up, voice low. "Sword-face… what do you think? Could this really be the Golden Demon Bird?"
"60-70% chance it is," Chen Junting replied.
He explained: "According to Director Du, the evil soul masters attacked this beast—but it killed them all in one strike. No claw marks on trees or ground… it flies. That narrows the possibilities drastically."
The others agreed. This had to be it—the very soul beast they'd been hunting.
Unbeknownst to Du Weilun, shortly after he'd left the corpse site, a golden figure had perched on a high branch, watching his retreat. Lured by the scent of brain marrow, the last descendant of the nearly extinct Emerald Demon Bird lineage had taken a fatal risk.
And now—it paid the price.
Du Weilun watched and gave a timely reminder. "Remember—the 10,000-year soul ring always brings soul shock. Stay vigilant."
Chen Junting merely smiled.
He sat down cross-legged, the Seven Kill Sword resting on his lap. He cleared his mind, then drew the black 10,000-year soul ring toward him.
The moment contact was made, a torrent of terrifying energy flooded his body—accompanied by a vengeful soul shock aimed straight at his consciousness.
But Chen Junting held firm.
As time passed, black threads of energy seeped from the soul ring, sinking into him. Some coiled into the Seven Kill Sword, etching a new pentagram onto its blade. The rest merged with his soul power.
The soul shock and physical strain were immense—but within his limits.
Half an hour later, his soul rings—yellow, purple, purple, black—pulsed in unison, then condensed into four shimmering stars.
"I've succeeded," Chen Junting said softly.
His cultivation had broken through to Level 42—officially a Soul Ancestor.
Only Electrolux, observing silently from his spiritual sea, noticed the subtle shift—the faint, almost imperceptible change in Chen Junting's aura.
Meanwhile, Zhao Gang sneered at the bird. "Good riddance to that monster."
Indeed—this Golden Demon Bird was worth every moment of their search.
And justice, for once, had been swift.
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