Chapter 1 Soul Hunting Commission.
"Wen Hui! Xiao Xuan! Run! I'll hold this beast off." A man's eyes were resolute, his gaze fixed on the black giant tiger devouring a corpse.
"But you..." The woman opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words.
"Run! If we don't run now, it'll be too late!" the man roared.
Tears welled in the woman's eyes, her teeth clenched, and she grabbed the young boy beside her, rushing towards the outer area. She knew this would be their last meeting.
A Dark Demon Evil God Tiger of ten thousand years—even if the two of them attacked together, let alone the man, they would only die.
But she couldn't die now; she had to protect their only child.
The young boy seemed to understand the life-or-death crisis. He turned his head away from the man, releasing his second soul skill. With a gentle breeze attached, the mother and son's speed increased several times over. But their good fortune didn't last long. Only about five minutes later, a tiger's roar that shook the mountains and forests came from behind. The expressions of the mother and son changed simultaneously.
"Xiao Xuan, run! Run! Remember, you must survive!" The mother stopped, standing still, looking lovingly at the boy who was running with all his might.
"Mother! Mother!" Shouts rang out, and in the dimly lit room, a young man suddenly woke up from his sleep. He was covered in cold sweat, his eyes bloodshot.
"Sigh! It's that scene from two and a half years ago again! I never thought that I, a transmigrator from another world, would end up so miserable." The young man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and smiled bitterly.
The young man's name was Wu Xuan, and his actual age was only eleven years and a few months. Although he was young, he was already a level 30, two-ring Soul Master.
Wu Xuan got out of bed, washed his face, and then noticed that it was already dawn. So he quickly added a few tufts of beard and pushed open the door.
"Brother Yang, what are you howling about so early in the morning, disturbing our sweet dreams?" A burly man complained from outside the room.
Yang Ming was the alias Wu Xuan used when he joined this Soul Hunting Team. Without having a few sirens on hand when traveling, Wu Xuan never felt truly at ease.
"Sorry, Brother Wang Zhen, I had another nightmare this morning," Wu Xuan said apologetically with a sheepish grin, disguised.
"Nightmare? Not to criticize you, but you're almost thirty, short and with ridiculously pale skin, and yet you're having nightmares like a girl. You have no manliness at all," Wang Zhen retorted sarcastically.
"Hmph!" Wu Xuan snorted, too lazy to listen to the burly man's nonsense.
"Oh ho! You don't like it when I say a few words? Who would bother lecturing you if we weren't brothers who'd risk our lives for each other?" Wang Zhen said, displeased.
"Old Wang, shut up. It's normal for Brother Yang Ming to have nightmares! Criticizing him so early in the morning is getting more and more outrageous," a thin, middle-aged man came out from another room to advise.
"Hmph! If he didn't howl so early in the morning, who would want to talk to him? I'm only saying this for his own good," Wang Zhen said, dissatisfied.
"Alright! Alright! Enough talk, let's get down to business. We got a job yesterday," Qin Lan said, waving her hand.
"We got one! Old Qin, let me tell you, this client needs a thousand-year soul ring. Looking across the entire Qingsong Town, besides us, which other soul-hunting team could handle a thousand-year soul ring? Haha!" Wang Zhen laughed smugly.
"A thousand-year soul ring? That's a big order indeed. Brother Yang Ming, can you participate in this commission today?" The middle-aged man looked at Wu Xuan with a smile.
"Brother Qin, you're overthinking it. Of course, I have no problem," Wu Xuan said calmly.
"Since there's no problem, the profit sharing will be the same as before. I'll take 40% of the commission, and you and Xiao Ming will each take 30%. Old Qin and I will each take 40% of the soul beast corpse, and you, Xiao Ming, will take 20%. Old Qin and I will choose the parts of the corpse first," Wang Zhen said in a deep voice.
"Okay! I have no objections," Wu Xuan said indifferently.
"Alright! Let's get ready then, and we'll set off when the client arrives!" Qin Lan waved her hand, confirming today's plan.
Wu Xuan nodded and went back to his room to pack his things. He had been working under an alias in this Soul Hunting Team for almost a year, waiting for the greatest opportunity in this world. He was naturally very familiar with the tasks.
Star Dou Great Forest, Outer Zone.
"Roar~!!"
A shrill scream came from not far away, and a giant red tiger, over three meters long and more than a meter tall at the shoulder, suddenly leaped out from the tall bushes.
Several bloody wounds oozed from the tiger's crimson fur, but these were not fatal. The truly fatal wound was on its abdomen, reaching all the way to its left thigh.
The crimson tiger staggered a few steps, finally unable to run any further. Turning back, its single, bloodshot eye radiated a terrifying ferocity.
"You beast! Where do you think you're going?" A wild laugh rang out, and the next second, three figures leaped out of the bushes, slowly encircling the crimson tiger in a triangular formation.
This crimson tiger was a newly awakened thousand-year-old soul beast, named the Crimson Flame Tiger, the very target of Wu Xuan and his companions' mission.
Before the three could complete the encirclement, flames erupted around the Crimson Flame Tiger, and with a roar, it unleashed a torrent of scorching fire at the figure at the front of the three, wielding a giant axe.
Three soul rings—one white and two yellow—rose around Wang Zhen, who held the axe. Then, the second yellow soul ring flashed, and a pale red axe shadow instantly condensed on the blade.
The axe shadow struck, colliding with the Crimson Flame Tiger's fire ray.
"Whoosh!!"
A wave of heat roared as the axe blade sliced through the fire. Wang Zhen, wielding the axe, his face flushed red, his blood surging, and he was forced back several steps by the impact of the flames.
Just as the Crimson Flame Tiger was about to seize the opportunity to fight for its life...
A short figure wielding a sharp-edged spear seized the opportunity when the Crimson Flame Tiger unleashed its soul skill. A whirlwind lashed out from his palm, striking the tiger squarely in the right eye. Blood spurted instantly, and a piercing scream echoed from the tiger's mouth.
"Well done, Xiao Ming!" Qin Lan shouted in approval.
"Third Soul Skill, Earth Pit!"
The third yellow soul ring around Qin Lan lit up as he slammed his claw into the ground. The ground trembled violently, and the screaming Crimson Flame Tiger's limbs were suddenly sank into the earth.
Wu Xuan wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity. A cold glint flashed on the tip of his spear, but no soul ring lit up. Clearly, the spear was just an ordinary iron weapon. With the whirlwind's amplification, the spear pierced the Crimson Flame Tiger's abdomen. Then, Wu Xuan released the spear, a gentle breeze swirling beneath his feet, instantly retreating three meters away.
As soon as Wu Xuan retreated, the blind Crimson Flame Tiger let out a bloodcurdling roar, its entire body instantly engulfed in flames. With a sudden burst of strength, it broke free from the ground and began to thrash wildly.
"Second Soul Skill, Giant Blade Slash!"
Taking advantage of the Crimson Flame Tiger's frenzied attack, Wang Zhen charged forward, his giant axe slashing into the tiger's other side, where it was already bleeding profusely. The Crimson Flame
Tiger cried out in pain and struggled again with all its might.
Wang Zhen's expression hardened, and he rolled away, dodging the tiger's wild swings. He said in a deep voice, "Don't kill it. Hold the beast back; it won't last much longer."
"Yes!" Wu Xuan and Qin Lan responded in unison.
"Second Soul Skill, Light Breeze!"
Wu Xuan's second soul ring quietly lit up, and the three of them, with the addition of a gentle breeze, suddenly increased their speed by fifty percent.
Wu Xuan's spear thrust deep into its abdomen and Wang Zhen's axe wound, several feet long, successfully and severely injured the Crimson Flame Tiger.
Such injuries didn't require anyone's intervention; the weakness from bleeding would quickly leave him utterly exhausted, until death.
The protagonist awakens his martial soul, and later, for example, hunts his first and second spirit rings—there was actually an outline for that.
To clarify:
For his first spirit ring, he hunted a 500-year-old Wind Spirit.
Or his second spirit ring, he hunted an 800-year-old Shadow Wind Leopard.
(End of Chapter)