Teacher Mo

The next day, evening.

Soul Hunting Forest, Core Area.

In a clearing somewhere within the forest.

Teacher Mo was drying the freshly washed clothes by the campfire.

It was said that not only in forests, but in any place inhabited by soul beasts, lighting a fire was an extremely dangerous act.

The smoke rising from the fire could expose one's whereabouts and draw the attention of certain Soul Masters and soul beasts.

However, this was a man-made Soul Hunting Forest. Patrols were on duty around the clock, and Teacher Mo himself was strong enough, so there was no need to worry about such things.

After drying his own clothes, Teacher Mo placed Xia Liang's clothes over the fire to dry.

Once tonight passed, it would be their sixth day in the Soul Hunting Forest, yet they had still found no trace of the Netherworld Ghost Bear.

Teacher Mo did not complain. Back when he worked for the Mercenary Group, there had been one occasion when it took a full three months to help a client find the soul beast they wanted.

Compared to that, six short days was nothing.

Finding the right soul beast required a certain amount of luck to begin with.

Just then, a cluster of Black-Purple Ghost Fire slowly drifted down from the air and landed on Xia Liang's shoulder.

Ending his meditation, Xia Liang opened his eyes. As he listened to the message conveyed by the Black-Purple Ghost Fire through soul power, a hint of delight appeared in his eyes.

"Found it?" Teacher Mo asked.

Xia Liang smiled and nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go. Don't let the prey get away."

As he spoke, Teacher Mo extinguished the campfire. Without even having time to pack up the tent, he followed Xia Liang down the pitch-black path ahead.

About five minutes later.

The two arrived near a lake.

Dense woods lined the shore.

A black bear with golden light shining from its eyes was crouched against the trunk of a large tree, seemingly about to do something.

Xia Liang and Teacher Mo hid behind two trees, poking their heads out to watch the black bear's every move from twenty meters away.

The lake reflected the light of the stars and moon above, making it possible to see in the otherwise dark surroundings.

Xia Liang clearly saw that the black bear crouched on the trunk was preparing to dig honey out of a tree hollow. A large swarm of bees circled around it, their piercing buzzing rising and falling through the air.

Some bees raised the stingers on their abdomens and crazily jabbed them into the black bear.

But the bear's hide was too thick. It completely ignored the bees' stings, focusing on digging out the honey from the hollow and stuffing it into its mouth.

Three minutes later.

The black bear had eaten all the honey in the tree hollow. It turned and glared furiously at the swarm stinging its back.

Its two thick arms suddenly rose, and an earth-shaking roar exploded from its mouth.

ROAR—

All the bees circling its body were killed by the surging soundwaves unleashed by the roar. By the time some fell to the ground, their bodies had already been torn apart.

Xia Liang and Teacher Mo, hidden behind the two trees, almost simultaneously covered their ears with both hands. Even from twenty meters away, when the black bear roared, it was like a bomb exploding beside their ears. Their eardrums shook violently, as though they were about to rupture.

The roar alone was enough to tell that this black bear was definitely a strength-type soul beast.

Only a roar enhanced by Soul Power could possess such tyrannical force.

The instant the black bear turned around, Xia Liang and Teacher Mo both saw the two white crisscrossing markings on its chest. These were the unique fur markings of the Netherworld Ghost Bear.

The two crisscrossing markings on the chest of a hundred-year Netherworld Ghost Bear tended toward white.

For a thousand-year one, they would be dark gray.

As for a ten-thousand-year Netherworld Ghost Bear, the only markings on its body would turn completely black from dark gray. At that point, its entire body would become pure black, without the slightest trace of any other color.

According to the Soul Beast Compendium Yu Xiaogang had provided, a ten-thousand-year Netherworld Ghost Bear had already evolved the bloodline of a king. The terrifying strength of its bear paws would touch upon the domain of the death attribute, increasing the lethality of every attack.

The crisscrossing markings on the Netherworld Ghost Bear before them leaned toward white, clearly indicating that it had only a hundred years of cultivation.

The two markings extended diagonally downward from its shoulders to its abdomen. Judging from their length and shade, this Netherworld Ghost Bear had at least five hundred years of cultivation.

"Teacher Mo, I want this one," Xia Liang said in a low voice.

Teacher Mo was somewhat surprised by this, but before he could object, the Netherworld Ghost Bear twenty meters away had already fixed them with a savage gaze.

With their whereabouts exposed ahead of time, Teacher Mo tried to draw all its hostility toward himself. He stepped out from behind the tree and stopped ten meters from the Netherworld Ghost Bear.

"A Liang. We'll talk about this later. I'll subdue this Netherworld Ghost Bear first. Stay hidden, and keep the Skeleton Martial Soul's Rib Defense active at all times so you don't get caught in the crossfire."

The instant his voice faded, a resonant bird cry rang out.

An eagle wrapped in Azure Lightning materialized illusion-like behind Teacher Mo.

Its wings, imbued with the aura of lightning, spread to either side, making the Lightning Eagle appear even larger than the five-meter-tall Netherworld Ghost Bear.

Lightning Eagle—this was Teacher Mo's martial soul.

The moment his Martial Soul appeared, three Soul Rings—white, yellow, and purple—began revolving around his body, shining with dazzling light.

Roar—

Facing the oppressive aura of Teacher Mo's Thunder Eagle Martial Soul, the Netherworld Ghost Bear let out a roar and spread its two thick arms wide, preparing to pounce on Teacher Mo.

But when the three Soul Rings appeared, the Netherworld Ghost Bear immediately abandoned that idea and instead noticed Xia Liang behind Teacher Mo, who had just activated Rib Defense.

Bullying the weak was not only the norm in the Soul Master World, but also an instinct engraved into Soul Beasts' genes.

With another roar, the Netherworld Ghost Bear used the surging soundwaves as momentum. Its massive body lunged forward, somehow brushing past Teacher Mo like a ghost as it pounced toward Xia Liang.

Teacher Mo had clearly not expected the Netherworld Ghost Bear to be so decisive. Knowing it was outmatched, it neither fled nor fought, but instead locked onto the weaker target.

Everything happened too suddenly.

Having learned all his Soul Beast Knowledge from books, this was Xia Liang's first time dealing with a Soul Beast. Faced with the Netherworld Ghost Bear's sudden attack, he froze in place as though suppressed by some force.

Was this domineering force the Netherworld Ghost Bear's Soul Power aura? Logically speaking, only ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts developed intelligence. Why did this Netherworld Ghost Bear seem capable of human thought, even thinking to pick on the weak first? As the massive black bear lunged toward him, Xia Liang was still stunned. Fortunately, he had already covered his entire body with the Skeleton Martial Soul's Rib Defense. Even if he could not dodge in time, he would at least avoid being slapped to death in one blow.

At that moment, a flash of azure lightning streaked over.

When Xia Liang came back to his senses, what appeared in his sight was not the Netherworld Ghost Bear's paw, but Teacher Mo's back.

By then, Teacher Mo had already completed his Thunder Eagle possession. His lightning-wreathed Eagle Claws collided head-on with the Netherworld Ghost Bear's swinging paw.

Besides its astonishing strength, the Netherworld Ghost Bear also possessed excellent defense. Under the combined effects of its strength and defense, its bear paw was actually able to contend with Teacher Mo's lightning Eagle Claws for a short time.