Three Years Later

"With the fastest speed, we help employers find the Soul Beasts they need and complete tasks in the shortest time possible. That is the advantage that sets our Speed Reach Mercenary Group apart from other Mercenary Groups. And that advantage requires a large amount of Ghost Fire to improve our efficiency in locating Soul Beasts."

Teacher Mo smiled at Xia Liang. "A Liang, you are the core of our Speed Reach Mercenary Group and the main selling point that attracts employers. From now on, I'll give you an extra ten percent of the rewards we earn from completing missions."

"Isn't that inappropriate?" Xia Liang glanced at the two women beside him.

One of them, a woman with long black hair, smiled faintly. "A Liang, don't stand on ceremony with Aunt Liu. Old Mo, my younger sister, and I are family anyway. It makes no difference who gets more or less. The important thing is that we can't shortchange you."

"Exactly, exactly. Little brother A Liang, you've been working yourself to the bone with us. You should get something extra, shouldn't you? Then it's settled!" said the oval-faced girl standing beside the black-haired woman.

She was Teacher Mo's Sister-in-law, Liu Shu. Twenty-eight years old, her Martial Soul was the Lightning Rabbit. She was a Level Thirty-One Agility Attack System Battle Soul Elder, with one white and two yellow Soul Rings.

The black-haired woman who called herself Aunt Liu was Teacher Mo's wife. Thirty-five years old, she was a Level Thirty-Five Support System Tool Soul Master, with three yellow Soul Rings. Her Martial Soul was the Thunder Five Rings, which could only possess five Soul Rings.

When Xia Liang had been a first-year student at Nuoding Academy, he had visited Teacher Mo's home as a guest and had already gotten to know Aunt Liu.

Liu Shu had been there as well. This older unmarried woman had even praised Xia Liang for being handsome and good at cooking, saying he would definitely be her ideal type once he grew up.

The members of the Speed Reach Mercenary Group were all acquaintances, which was why Xia Liang had dared to ask Teacher Mo to help him obtain his First Soul Ring. It was also why he had considered joining the Mercenary Group.

At this first gathering, the four of them did not run out of things to say. Instead, it felt more like a get-together, and they got along exceptionally well.

"Alright. Everyone has received their Warrants. Next, we'll begin working as members of the Speed Reach Mercenary Group. Yesterday, I received our first employer's request."

As he spoke, Teacher Mo hired a Carriage at the City Gate and introduced the mission to everyone. "The city we're heading to is Suotuo City, located within the Balak Kingdom. The employer is a wealthy merchant. The mission only asks us to help his son obtain a suitable hundred-year First Soul Ring. The reward is one thousand Gold Soul Coins."

"If no specific Soul Ring age is stated, a Soul Master's hundred-year First Soul Ring is generally obtained from a Soul Beast with two to three hundred years of cultivation. For a team like ours, with three Soul Elders and one Soul Master, it won't be difficult. Our Speed Reach Mercenary Group has just been established, and we still need to build our teamwork. This mission is perfect for getting some practice. Let's go. Get in first."

Xia Liang, Aunt Liu, and the others boarded the Carriage and continued discussing the mission.

A long while later.

The basic details of the mission had been settled. Teacher Mo, Aunt Liu, and Liu Shu began chatting about household matters, while Xia Liang, having nothing to do, lifted the Carriage curtain and looked outside.

He had to make full use of these years of experience in the Speed Reach Mercenary Group—learn every kind of knowledge and hone every kind of combat technique.

Once he cautiously made it to his Second Soul Ring, gained sufficient combat experience, and acquired some ability to protect himself, he could find a way to obtain an Immortal Herb opportunity and use it to improve the strength and quality of his Martial Soul.

Three years later.

Within the Heaven Dou Empire.

Outside Silvis City of the Silves Kingdom.

In a forest without any Soul Beasts, the four members of the Speed Reach Mercenary Group were camping for the night.

Outside the tent, Xia Liang wore a colorful Apron and stood before a stove, preparing breakfast.

Working for the Mercenary Group, they ate Soul Beast Meat obtained from killing Soul Beasts for their employers. Coupled with frequent training, he received ample nutrition, and his body developed faster than those of his peers.

Though he was only eleven, Xia Liang had already reached a height of 1.78 meters. He looked more like an eighteen-year-old youth in the prime of his life.

However, because he was a Living Dead, the influence of the Undead Attribute had completely robbed him of the vitality young people should have. Whether in appearance or temperament, he gave others a lifeless, listless impression.

He lit the fire, poured in oil, and heated the pan.

The sizzling crackle of boiling oil rose and fell throughout the forest.

Besides searching for Soul Beasts, Xia Liang also worked part-time as the Speed Reach Mercenary Group's cook. Thus, from the rewards earned by killing Soul Beasts for employers, he received the largest share among the four.

The Mercenary Group's work truly was profitable. In three years, he had saved up fifteen thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Today was the Mercenary Group's day off. Tomorrow, they would begin another new mission.

Teacher Mo had already gone to nearby Silvis City to seek out new employers, while Aunt Liu was still asleep in the tent.

Liu Shu had kept watch last night. Only when the oil began sizzling did she wake from meditation with a start. "It smells so good."

Having just placed a flour-coated chicken breast into the pan, Xia Liang looked at the startled Liu Shu and teased, "Sister Shu, good thing there are no Soul Beasts in this forest. Otherwise, if you kept watch like that last night, we'd become Soul Beast midnight snacks sooner or later."

Liu Shu glared at Xia Liang irritably. "You still have the nerve to say that. Who told you to grow so quickly? You've made me feel pressured. A Liang, are you really born with Innate Level Five Soul Power? Setting aside how you reached Level Ten Soul Power after cultivating for only two years, in the mere three years since then, you've gone from Level Thirteen to Level Twenty-Three Soul Power. Ten levels in three years. Is that the cultivation speed someone with Innate Level Five Soul Power should have?"

"At this rate, won't you reach Level Thirty-Three Soul Power in a few more years?"

After hearing Liu Shu's account, Xia Liang seriously corrected her. "How can you calculate it that way? In these three years, I actually only raised my Soul Power by seven levels. The other three levels came from the benefits of absorbing a nine-hundred-year Second Soul Ring."

"By that calculation, my Soul Power only rises by two levels a year. The older a Soul Master gets, the harder cultivation becomes. I'm already eleven now. My cultivation speed is clearly slower than before."

At that point, Xia Liang shook his head helplessly and pretended to be dejected. "Besides, Master Su Yuntao said my Skeleton Martial Soul is a Crippled Martial Soul. Do you understand? A Crippled Martial Soul is innately defective. I might end up like Master Yu Xiaogang from Nuoding Academy, unable to break through the Level Thirty bottleneck for my entire life. A three-ring Soul Elder... perhaps I'll never reach that realm."

Seeing Xia Liang looking depressed while frying chicken, Liu Shu walked behind him and massaged his shoulders. Her gentle yet unaffected voice comforted him. "Listen to yourself. You and I were both born with Innate Level Five Soul Power, yet I still broke through the Level Thirty bottleneck before turning thirty. Your Soul Ring configuration is so much better than mine, so you'll definitely be able to do it too. Don't worry so much."

"Let's talk about your Second Soul Skill instead. Why did you choose another enhancement-type Soul Skill? Don't tell me you saw how powerful the stacked enhancements from my first and second Soul Skills were and decided to copy me?"

"That was part of the reason. But the main reason was that I happened to encounter a suitable Soul Beast."

Recalling his experience of hunting a Soul Beast and absorbing its Soul Ring a few days earlier, Xia Liang's eyes revealed a thoughtful glint.

"The Iron-backed Demonic Scorpion. This type of scorpion Soul Beast abandons the scorpion's Poison Attribute and focuses on cultivating its body. Not only does it possess astonishing iron-armored defenses, but its pincers are incredibly powerful."