A Familiar Posture

On a low forest slope, Lin Xuan walked through the grass, with an Azure Leaf Sword Grass behind him and Xu Xiaoyan hanging from it.

"Something's not right! With Xu Xiaoyan's aura, we shouldn't have gone this long without seeing a Soul Beast."

Lin Xuan frowned as he pondered.

Ever since he started flying a kite... no, flying Xu Xiaoyan around, Soul Beasts had been coming one after another over the past few hours.

In just that short time, he had gained nearly two hundred years of soul power. He only needed a few more decades before he could undergo Spirit Ascension again.

But at this crucial moment, the nearby Soul Beasts seemed to have gone extinct. There wasn't a single trace of one.

"Xu Xiaoyan! Can you see any signs of Soul Beasts from up there?"

Lin Xuan called out, but Xu Xiaoyan did not answer for a long while. He looked up, and black lines immediately formed across his forehead.

Xu Xiaoyan was lying on her back in midair, her arms hanging straight down and her eyes tightly shut. She had actually fallen asleep up there.

Lin Xuan: ...

You really have no sense of danger!

"Xu Xiaoyan! Wake up."

Lin Xuan called again irritably, then controlled an Azure Leaf Sword Grass to rise and poke her butt.

"Ow!"

Xu Xiaoyan immediately opened her eyes and cried out in pain, rubbing her butt with one hand.

"Is sleeping up there really that comfortable?"

Lin Xuan rolled his eyes at Xu Xiaoyan.

"Hehe! It's alright. It's just that your Martial Soul is against my waist, and it's kind of uncomfortable."

"By the way, what did you just ask?"

Xu Xiaoyan chuckled before asking Lin Xuan again.

"I asked whether you saw anything new up there."

Lin Xuan said wearily. You're really giving me a review now?

"Oh, right! Let me look!"

Xu Xiaoyan nodded her little head, raised her gaze into the distance, and looked around before speaking to Lin Xuan below.

"There's one on the slope ahead. It looks like it's a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but there are people over there."

Over the past few hours, Xu Xiaoyan had figured it out. Lin Xuan was treating her entirely as a Soul Beast trap. Still, she did not mind. As long as she could muddle through the remaining time, that was enough.

"A thousand years! Let's go over."

Lin Xuan's expression brightened at those words. This one would be enough to make up the remaining years he needed.

He first lowered Xu Xiaoyan, then, amid her startled cry, scooped her up and darted swiftly toward the front.

A Thousand-Year Soul Beast was not something a Hundred-Year Soul Beast could compare to. It was better to be cautious, and it would also keep them from alerting the enemy.

"Xie Xie! Circle behind it and draw its attention!"

Tang Wulin shouted. Then he turned to look at Gu Yue behind him, and a trace of gloom flashed through his eyes.

Gu Yue was around four or five meters away from him, nearly separated from their formation. Normally, Gu Yue would never stay so far from him.

"Gu Yue, use wind element to speed me up."

Tang Wulin quickly adjusted his mood and spoke to Gu Yue. Their top priority was taking down this Thousand-Year Flame Demon Lion. Then his Soul Spirit's Spirit Ascension would be guaranteed.

Gu Yue did not answer Tang Wulin, but with a wave of both hands, a breeze rose up. Flecks of green wind element swirled around Tang Wulin's feet.

"Thanks!"

After saying that, Tang Wulin stomped down and charged toward the Flame Demon Lion in the distance.

"Roar!"

The Flame Demon Lion swiped a paw and snapped a nearby tree. The trunk flew sideways as countless fallen leaves fluttered through the air.

This flea-like human was truly too annoying.

"Light Dragon Blade!"

Xie Xie called out coldly. His figure reappeared to the Flame Demon Lion's left, and the Light Dragon Dagger in his hand slashed diagonally forward.

The sharp blade cut a long bloody gash across the Flame Demon Lion's hide, but that was all. The powerful muscles beneath its skin clamped tightly around the Light Dragon Dagger.

"Roar!"

The Flame Demon Lion roared furiously in pain, raising its paw and slamming it toward Xie Xie.

At that moment, an ice shield appeared out of thin air before Xie Xie. The paw shattered it with a blow, but Xie Xie calmly retreated through that opening.

The Flame Demon Lion turned its beastly eyes toward Gu Yue in the distance, its rage boiling over. This woman was the most annoying one. It opened its mouth and let out a long howl, sending a piercing soundwave rippling outward.

The three people on the field froze for an instant. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Flame Demon Lion spat several balls of blazing fire toward Gu Yue in the distance.

"Not good! Watch out!"

Tang Wulin, who had just charged over, shouted and turned to look at Gu Yue. Gu Yue was too far away on her own. He had no time to go back and defend her.

Gu Yue had also recovered from the shockwave. Wind element wrapped around her feet as she tried to leave, but the several fireballs followed closely after her.

She could only retreat while releasing ice to try to stop them. Yet in the end, one fireball broke through her interception and came hurtling down at her head.

Gu Yue lowered her hands, her expression calm under the firelight. At this distance, she could not stop it.

"Why did you give up? When you were beating me up, you were like a turret."

A soft laugh rang out. Then a hand suddenly appeared, wrapping around Gu Yue's waist and exerting a little force as it pulled her backward in a leap, dodging the fireball.

Smelling that familiar scent at the tip of her nose, Gu Yue instinctively leaned into Lin Xuan's embrace, resting her head against his shoulder. But she immediately came to her senses and forcefully broke free.

Lin Xuan looked at Gu Yue with amusement in his eyes. Na'er loved doing that exact same thing.

Damn muscle memory!

A faint blush spread across Gu Yue's face as embarrassment and irritation filled her heart. Just as she was about to say something, she saw a small figure run over.

"Wow! What a huge kitty! Lin Xuan, can we really beat it?"

Xu Xiaoyan walked over, tugged Lin Xuan's hand, and pointed at the Flame Demon Lion in the distance as she exclaimed.

"Hmph!"

Gu Yue's face turned cold. She stomped on Lin Xuan's foot and walked toward the battlefield without looking back.

"Hiss—"

Lin Xuan sucked in a breath. Why was she repaying kindness with hostility?

"It should be fine. But this Soul Beast belongs to them."

Lin Xuan shrugged but did not make a move. The three of them had found it first, so it would not be right for him to steal it.

"Oh!"

Xu Xiaoyan blinked as she looked at the three people in the distance. They seemed pretty strong too.

Seeing Lin Xuan appear, Tang Wulin also let out a sigh of relief.

"Golden Dragon Claw!"

Tang Wulin turned back to see the Flame Demon Lion's enormous paw swinging toward him. There was no fear on his face as his right Golden Dragon Claw met it head-on.

"Bang!"

The Flame Demon Lion's huge body was sent flying, crashing into a large tree behind it.

The battle seemed about to come to an end.

At that moment, in the monitoring room outside the Spirit Pagoda, Wu Changkong showed no joy as he watched everyone's performance. Instead, he snorted coldly.

"Not a shred of vigilance."

"Teacher Wu, these children are already doing very well. Even experienced old Soul Masters would probably find it difficult to realize that these Flame Demon Lions had set a trap here."

The Spirit Pagoda staff member beside him said with a smile. In his view, Teacher Wu was simply too strict.

On the surveillance screen, one could see Flame Demon Lions concealed throughout the forest around Lin Xuan and the others gathering toward the center. Among them was a golden-maned lion, a full size larger than the surrounding Flame Demon Lions.

This was the Flame Lion King!

This area was the territory of the Flame Demon Lion pack.

That was also why Lin Xuan had not found any other Soul Beasts nearby. Other Soul Beasts did not dare approach, while the Flame Demon Lions had all hidden themselves away. Naturally, the area appeared completely empty.

If Lin Xuan had not lowered Xu Xiaoyan, she might have noticed something unusual. This time, Lin Xuan had been overly cautious.

Something came up today, so I can only post two chapters...

There's a cat here. Pet it once with a vote, and there's a chance it'll turn into a catgirl and go home with you (.)

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