The Enraged Mystic Water Turtle

The Enraged Mystic Water Turtle

Watching the Guard walk downward with grim resolve, the Guard Captain could not help letting out a long sigh.

Such was the helplessness of people at the bottom. A few scraps tossed aside by nobles after a meal were rare opportunities to him, things they had to fight for with their lives, sometimes even at the cost of their entire families.

Yet he did not dare stop the Guard. If he did, it would mean sabotaging the Empress's plan. Offending the Empress would ruin the rest of his life.

"Fourth Highness, I can only hope you remain safe and sound."

The area inhabited by Mystic Water Turtles was exceptionally damp. Walking through this forest, Dai Yao felt terribly uncomfortable.

The sun blazed overhead, and sweat poured down him like rain.

Along the way, he had spotted quite a few Mystic Water Turtles, but they were only a few decades old or barely over a hundred years old, still far from his target.

A Mystic Water Turtle's age could be roughly judged by its size. Generally, before reaching a thousand years, its body length increased by half a meter for every hundred years. A five-hundred-year Mystic Water Turtle could reach two and a half meters in length.

The Mystic Water Turtles Dai Yao encountered were all under one meter long.

It's almost dark. This won't do. Do I really have to go deeper in? Dai Yao thought.

No. Mystic Water Turtles are gentle and usually do not attack humans, but entering their territory will still anger them. I should hold steady for now. Unless I have no other choice, I shouldn't go where the Soul Beasts are older.

After searching for a while longer, he still found nothing.

After giving it some thought, he decided to search deeper inside.

As he ventured farther in, the Soul Beasts grew older. At one pond, he even discovered a three-hundred-year Mystic Water Turtle.

"This one will do as a backup." Dai Yao marked the location on his map.

The closer each Spirit Ring was to its age limit, the greater the boost it gave a Soul Master.

In the original story, the maximum age a Soul Master's First Spirit Ring could endure was four hundred and twenty-three years, so the closer to four hundred and twenty-three years, the better.

"My body is still malnourished. The Spirit Ring age limit I can endure might not even reach four hundred and twenty-three years, so I should lower my expectations and choose a Mystic Water Turtle close to four hundred years old."

"As long as I grow steadily, once I become a high-level Soul Master, I can add Spirit Rings to my second Martial Soul. With the domineering talent of Twin Martial Souls, where on this continent could I not go?"

"As long as I stay steady now, I may not be able to match a monster like Tang San, but surpassing the other members of the Seven Devils will be effortless."

After marking the spot, Dai Yao continued onward.

Suddenly, his footsteps came to a halt. He swallowed nervously, for on the shore of the pool directly ahead lay a Mystic Water Turtle over three and a half meters long and more than two meters tall.

To Dai Yao, who had only just reached one meter in height, this Mystic Water Turtle was undoubtedly a colossal beast.

He nervously backed away. Mystic Water Turtles were Soul Beasts that valued their territory, but they generally did not attack humans. As long as he withdrew from its territory in time, he would remain unharmed.

The Mystic Water Turtle's fist-sized eyes glanced at him as well. Seeing that he was leaving its territory, it made no move to pursue him.

Seeing that the Mystic Water Turtle remained motionless, Dai Yao's tightly wound nerves gradually eased.

"That was close. Why is there such an old Mystic Water Turtle living here? Good thing it didn't attack, or I'd really be dead."

No one in the Star Luo Royal Beast Garden would help him hunt Soul Beasts. The rules of competition for the throne were this cruel. Would anyone help him hunt Soul Beasts? If he could not survive, he could only blame his own lack of strength.

Dai Yao understood the cruel rules of competition for the throne, but when hunting Soul Beasts, there would usually be people assigned to protect princes and rescue them if they encountered danger.

Yet ever since he entered the Star Luo Royal Beast Garden, he had not seen a single Soul Master assigned to protect him.

The Empress must have stopped them. What a fine scheme they have. Without anyone to help me, I can't take risks, and I can only obtain an inferior Spirit Ring. He frowned inwardly.

However, in the instant Dai Yao relaxed, a figure appeared in the woods. It was that Guard.

He took out the porcelain bottle the Palace Maid had given him, removed its stopper, and gently blew the powder inside toward the Mystic Water Turtle.

Most of the powder dispersed into the air, but a small amount was still carried by the wind above the Mystic Water Turtle.

"Even a tiny dose of this Beast Heart Powder can drive a Mystic Water Turtle mad. I've applied medicine to myself, so the Mystic Water Turtle won't notice me. Haha, the mission is unexpectedly easy. My descendants will finally obtain Martial Souls that can cultivate." The Guard suppressed the wild joy in his heart. As long as the Mystic Water Turtle killed Dai Yao, his long-cherished wish would finally come true.

The Mystic Water Turtle sensed that something was amiss. It sniffed the air, and in an instant, its clear eyes turned bloodshot.

It let out a roar, swept its gaze around, then charged toward Dai Yao. Though it was a turtle, it was not slow in the slightest when it ran.

Its limbs alternated so quickly they left afterimages. Its massive body shot toward Dai Yao like a cannonball.

What the hell? Why did it suddenly go berserk?! Watching the charging Mystic Water Turtle and feeling the ground quake, Dai Yao's heart lurched.

He had no time to think. He immediately used Martial Soul Possession, pumping his short legs as he fled the Mystic Water Turtle's territory. As the vibrations in the ground drew ever closer, his scalp went numb.

He looked back and was so frightened his soul nearly left his body. The Mystic Water Turtle was only a dozen meters away from him.

Seeing its thick scales, he immediately judged that Eight Extremes Collapse could never pierce them. The Mystic Water Turtle's weakness lay at the very center of its plastron. Not only did it possess high defense, but it was also fast, its body pressed tightly to the ground. Striking its weakness in a single blow would be far from easy.

Unfortunately, his wings could not yet carry him into flight. Otherwise, if he flew into the sky, the Mystic Water Turtle would be helpless against him.

For now, he could only run.

In the midst of life and death, inspiration suddenly struck him.

He could gather the Qi cultivated from the Green Lotus in his hand to unleash a devastating Eight Extremes Collapse. What would happen if he gathered that Qi beneath his feet instead?

The Mystic Water Turtle's savage face drew closer and closer. Dai Yao gritted his teeth and swiftly directed the Qi to his feet.

Boom—

He stomped heavily on the ground with a dull thud, sending the snow on the ground flying. In the next instant, he shot four or five meters away, staggering upon landing and nearly falling.

Fortunately, he recovered in time. His feet alternated as he bounded across the ground.

The distance between him and the Mystic Water Turtle remained unchanged, yet it still pursued Dai Yao relentlessly.

Dai Yao considered how to escape. He was too far from the edge of the circular pit to seek help from the guards, but when he saw the map at his waist, an idea immediately came to him. I can lure it to that Mystic Water Turtle that's only a little over three hundred years old. That Mystic Water Turtle will fight it over territory, and then I can escape amid the chaos.

He immediately changed direction, calculating the Qi within his body as he leaped toward the location marked on the map.

Finally, after consuming twenty percent of his Qi, he successfully reached his destination.

Seeing the giant Mystic Water Turtle charging after Dai Yao, the Mystic Water Turtle that had been lazily basking in the sun immediately widened its eyes.

What a disaster falling from the sky.