Li Chang'an's Black Heart...

There was no need to look. Ling Chang'an knew that Gale Wolf was already dead. In this kind of close-range frontal clash, his Pangu Axe had never feared anything.

But since he had already made his move, Ling Chang'an had no intention of stopping. Finishing the battle before him as quickly as possible was what mattered.

Ling Chang'an slowly spread open his left hand, and the Eastern Emperor Bell enveloped his body. After offering Muxi a few reassuring words, he charged forward with the Pangu Axe in hand.

"B-Be careful..." Muxi watched Ling Chang'an charge out so openly and could not help worrying.

Yet she soon discovered that the Gale Wolves' claws could not harm even a corner of Ling Chang'an's clothes. Instead, whenever their claws approached him, they were directly knocked away.

Ling Chang'an did not foolishly waste Soul Skills fighting these Gale Wolves. Instead, he leaped straight out of the encirclement, then sprinted to its outer edge.

A black Gale Wolf about three meters long, with powerful limbs, stood there. It was the wolf pack's king—a thousand-year Soul Beast!

Seeing Ling Chang'an head directly for the Wolf King, Director Song and Duolunka both grew tense. They were even ready to intervene, because they did not dare let Ling Chang'an suffer the slightest injury.

The Gale Wolf King moved incredibly fast. Ling Chang'an could barely catch sight of it; he only saw a black afterimage flash past before feeling its sharp claws slam heavily against his Eastern Emperor Bell, forcing him back several steps.

Even so, the Gale Wolf King's prideful claws failed to break through Ling Chang'an's defenses. They only pushed him back a few steps.

"Hehe, feeling bad?" Once Ling Chang'an confirmed that his opponent could do nothing to him, he relaxed considerably. His purple first soul ring slowly lit up, and a streak of purple light cleaved straight at the Gale Wolf King!

Although Ling Chang'an had timed his attack perfectly, the Gale Wolf King was even faster. Just as Heaven and Earth Cleave struck, the Wolf King turned into a black shadow and dodged aside. Only a few strands of wolf fur were cut off.

"Awwooo!"

Seeing its tail stripped bare, the Gale Wolf King flew into a rage. It viciously clawed at the dirt beneath it and charged at Ling Chang'an once more.

Yet Ling Chang'an remained standing there, steady as a mountain. He continued increasing the supply of Soul Power to the Eastern Emperor Bell and directly sent the Gale Wolf King flying instead.

The Gale Wolf King felt utterly aggrieved. Fine, it could not break through his defense—but it could not win in offense either. Its prideful speed seemed completely useless before this human.

"You dodged once. Let's see if you can dodge again!" Ling Chang'an raised the Pangu Axe high once more, purple light flickering along its blade. This time, however, he did not unleash a slash. He simply gripped the axe and chopped downward.

The Gale Wolf King once again used its nimble body to dodge to the right. But as it moved right, it discovered that Ling Chang'an—who had leaped into the air—seemed to have predicted it all along. His body continued falling, but the Pangu Axe was hurled directly at the Gale Wolf King on the right.

Until its death, the Gale Wolf King could not understand how this human could be so black-hearted. He had clearly said he was chopping over there, yet he had secretly been prepared to throw his axe over here at any moment...

"Ding! You successfully achieved Divine Manifestation before Duolunka. Points +12."

"Ding! You successfully achieved Divine Manifestation before Song Rentou. Points +6..."

"Ding..."

Clearly, no one had expected Ling Chang'an, a child of around six, to kill such a troublesome thousand-year Soul Beast as a Gale Wolf on his own. Song Rentou felt that even if he had acted himself, he might not have been faster than Ling Chang'an.

Sure enough, this child was terrifying. I need to be more careful around him in the future, Song Rentou warned himself once again.

With the Wolf King dead, the other Gale Wolves had lost their command and naturally died in short order as well. Jiang Yi was the most impressive among them, killing eight Gale Wolves by himself!

"Keep moving!" Director Song gave everyone no time to rest. With so many corpses here, more Soul Beasts would soon come over. Continuing onward was the best choice.

"Are you... are you okay?" Muxi poked Ling Chang'an in the back with a tiny finger and asked in a soft, gentle voice.

Ling Chang'an casually shook his head. "That was nothing. I'm fine."

But then a handkerchief suddenly appeared before his eyes. Muxi said from behind him, "W-Wipe your sweat."

Ling Chang'an did not reject the kind gesture. The battle just now had indeed been mentally exhausting, but he had not expected a girl like Muxi to be so considerate.

As they ventured deeper, Ling Chang'an and the others encountered several groups of Soul Beasts that tried to ambush them. However, Song Rentou gradually began taking action from the rear, so there were no major problems.

Moreover, they found suitable soul rings for three of the students along the way. Their gains could be considered quite good.

Those still lacking soul rings were Ling Chang'an, Muxi the support-type soul master, Song Rentou the quasi-Soul King, and Jiang Yi.

Among them, Ling Chang'an and Song Rentou simply looked down on low-level Soul Beasts, while Muxi and Jiang Yi had special martial souls and did not want to settle.

"Sit down and rest for now. We'll continue onward shortly." After Director Song spoke, he walked over to Ling Chang'an and sat down beside him.

"Chang'an, I know roughly about your situation. What age Soul Beast do you need for your second ring this time? Three thousand years, or five thousand?"

Director Song knew that Ling Chang'an's first soul ring was around a thousand years old. Thus, he had mentally prepared himself for Ling Chang'an's second soul ring. Given Ling Chang'an's status, he had long been ready for a prolonged battle.

"Director Song, I won't hide it from you. For my second soul ring, I may really have to trouble you and the vice dean. What I want is one around nine thousand years old!"

Ling Chang'an spoke quietly with Director Song, since this was rather significant.

"What?!" Director Song looked as though he had seen a ghost. A nine-thousand-year second soul ring? With that little body of yours, can you withstand it? And you advanced so quickly in less than two months—your soul rings are this absurd too. What did you grow up eating, kid?

Director Song immediately reported the matter to Duolunka. Duolunka then came over personally. After confirming it repeatedly, he silently nodded and said nothing more, but that already indicated his support.

The sheer amount of information was simply too overwhelming, leaving Duolunka speechless for the moment.

But Ling Chang'an's identity was there for all to see. As long as he remained the Pope's personal disciple and a member of Spirit Hall, no one would dare say anything, no matter how monstrous he was.

"Chang'an, I... I feel there's a Soul Beast nearby that suits me." Muxi poked Ling Chang'an's arm and spoke softly.

Ling Chang'an immediately became alert and surveyed the surroundings. Muxi's martial soul was very special. Since she said there was a Soul Beast suitable for her, they naturally could not let it go.

Under Ling Chang'an's vigilant watch, a swan flew over from afar, its body as beautiful as jade...