Successful Hunt—Please Keep Reading

Successful Hunt—Please Keep Reading

This area seemed to be the territory of Golden-Backed Dragon Lizards. The three continued onward for some distance and encountered several more Golden-Backed Dragon Lizards in succession, but none of their cultivation ages were particularly satisfactory.

As they had discussed before entering the Soul Hunting Forest, the Soul Ring Xu Changqing needed was around four hundred years old. Since they were adding a Soul Ring to his martial soul and had sufficient strength, they naturally had to pursue the best possible quality.

As for why they were being so strict about it, that had to do with Xu Changqing's physique. In the original story, the first Soul Ring Tang San hunted was over 420 years old, which was the limit of what Tang San could absorb as his first Soul Ring.

Tang San had exercised regularly since childhood and also had the Mysterious Heaven Skill. In terms of physique, he was undoubtedly stronger than Xu Changqing. Innate Full Soul Power could not make up for the difference in physical conditioning gained through training.

To be safe, Xu Changqing chose a soul beast around four hundred years old. There was no need to take such a risk in pursuit of the human body's absorption limit. He had the System, and he could slowly increase the age of his Soul Rings later.

His own life was what mattered most!

The sky gradually darkened.

The three had traveled for nearly an hour without finding a Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard of the right age. Their luck was somewhat poor. Just as Su Yuntao, who was walking at the front, was about to give up for the moment, his eyes suddenly lit up.

More than twenty meters ahead, a Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard was poking its head out of a cave. Then, with all four legs moving in a flamboyant gait, it crawled toward the dense forest beyond the mining area.

"Four golden lines, and the fifth has only just begun to emerge. That's the one!" Su Yuntao said energetically to the two behind him. "This Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard is exactly the right age. From the looks of it, night is approaching and it's preparing to go out hunting. Let's follow it. We'll finish this quickly before the sun fully sets!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he darted forward, completing his martial soul possession as he moved.

Si Si also summoned her martial soul. She grabbed the slightly excited Xu Changqing and hurried after him, though the two of them were a beat slower than Su Yuntao because they had to look after Xu Changqing.

By the time they reached the dense woods, Su Yuntao had already engaged the four-hundred-year Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard.

Calling it a battle was not quite accurate. Su Yuntao was practically toying with the soul beast, moving around the field with ease. He did not take the initiative to attack, deliberately stalling as he waited for reinforcements.

Su Yuntao was a strength-attack Soul Master, and speed was not his forte. However, he possessed abundant combat experience. Against a soul beast with low intelligence like a Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard, that experience was enough to compensate for his lack of speed.

The Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's methods of attack were fairly limited: biting with its jaws and sweeping with its tail. It was not fast, and was even somewhat clumsy. As long as a Soul Master deliberately avoided the areas where it could easily attack and struck from its side, they could remain invincible.

That was exactly what Su Yuntao was doing. Every step he took was positioned perfectly, keeping himself constantly at the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's flank.

The man and beast seemed to be endlessly circling in place.

"I'll go help. Be careful on your own. The sounds of battle might attract other soul beasts, so keep an eye on your surroundings," Si Si instructed Xu Changqing before charging into the fight with her Long Spear in hand.

To prevent himself from being ambushed by another soul beast, Xu Changqing swiftly climbed a large tree nearby. Sitting on one of its branches, he stared unblinkingly at the battle below. This was all precious combat experience, not something he could easily see under normal circumstances.

"First Soul Skill, Wind Blade."

The moment Si Si joined the battle, Su Yuntao began to exert himself. With a sweep of his hand, an energy crescent nearly a meter long shot forth, slicing through the air with a mournful howl. In the blink of an eye, it slammed into the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's back, leaving a deep wound.

"Roooar!"

Pain made the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard swell its throat and let out an enraged roar. Its muddy yellow eyes locked onto Su Yuntao, the culprit, as it charged at him with its head and tail swaying, completely unaware that the greater danger was actually behind it.

"First Soul Skill, Star Point."

Si Si would not waste the opportunity Su Yuntao had deliberately created for her. The two had fought together many times, and their tacit understanding had long since formed.

Red Soul Power surged over the Red Moon Spear. The yellow Century Soul Ring carried that red light as it spiraled upward from the butt of the spear, ultimately gathering and condensing all the red radiance covering the weapon at its tip.

The moment had come. With the Red Moon Spear in hand, Si Si rushed to the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's rear flank in just a few strides and thrust out. The air boomed. Like piercing tofu, the Red Moon Spear met no resistance as it drove straight into the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's body and emerged from its abdomen. With a sharp thunk, most of the spear shaft plunged into the ground beneath it.

With a single strike, the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard was nailed to the ground, its body pierced through and grievously wounded.

Having succeeded, Si Si immediately abandoned her spear and retreated quickly. The next moment, the crazed Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard had already spun around with a roar, its jaws wide as it bit toward her. Naturally, it bit only air.

It glared viciously, wanting to rush forward and tear that hateful human into pieces. Yet the moment its four legs moved, a wave of excruciating pain shot through its body. Only then did it realize that it had been pinned to the ground by a spear, restricting its movements. This made it even more furious.

However, before it could make another move, another Wind Blade whistled in from behind and instantly slashed across its body. Its scales shattered, bright red blood splattered, and another wound appeared. The Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard roared again and again in rage.

"What great teamwork!" Xu Changqing watched from the tree with keen interest. Su Yuntao and Si Si's tactic of attacking from both front and back was downright shameless, but it was extremely effective.

When hunting soul beasts, the safest and easiest method was naturally the best. In Xu Changqing's eyes, their coordination resembled the military strategy from his past life on Blue Star: when the enemy advanced, retreat; when the enemy retreated, advance; when the enemy tired, strike.

Back when he had watched the original animated story, Yu Xiaogang, a level twenty-nine Great Soul Master, had nearly lost his life hunting a four-hundred-year Mandala Snake. He had thought soul beasts were not so easy to hunt.

He had not expected Su Yuntao and Si Si to make it look so easy when working together.

How long had it been since the battle started?

Probably not even three minutes.

Yet the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard pinned to the ground was clearly on the verge of death. Its former ferocity had vanished. Under Su Yuntao's occasional Wind Blade attacks, it kept whimpering, its entire body covered in wounds.

Si Si smiled and waved at Xu Changqing, who was curled up in the tree. Understanding her meaning, Xu Changqing quickly climbed down, drew his dagger, stepped forward a few paces, and asked, "Si Si Jie, can I kill it now?"

"Wait a little longer. Don't rush, little Changqing. I'll teach you your second lesson now. Soul beasts have strong vitality, and they're cunning too. Don't be fooled by how it looks half-dead right now. It definitely still has some strength left. If you go over now, you might suffer a desperate counterattack before it dies." Si Si rubbed Xu Changqing's head as she explained.

"Then how can we determine whether this soul beast has completely lost its ability to fight back?" Xu Changqing asked curiously.

"That's a good question." Si Si smiled. "Soul beasts are like humans. When they are near death, their pupils begin to dilate and grow dull. That is the most basic method of judgment among Soul Masters. Beyond that, you need your own experience—sensing their aura, observing how much blood they have lost, and so on. You still have much to learn. Your sister will teach you slowly in the future."

Xu Changqing nodded and committed all of that knowledge to memory.

About two more minutes passed. After Su Yuntao released his final Wind Blade, he walked over slowly. He stopped some distance from the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard to observe it, then said, "It should be about done. To be safe, I'll hold down its head. Little Changqing, stab the dagger into its eye. Remember, soul beast skulls are hard. Stabbing through the eye is the most effective way to kill it in one strike."

"Okay." Xu Changqing nodded. Under Si Si's protection, he walked over and stopped two meters away.

The Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's breathing was now extremely faint, nearly inaudible. A large pool of bright red blood had spread around it, and the stench was unpleasant.

Su Yuntao did not care in the slightest. With a light leap, he landed on the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's back, then sat down on its neck and stretched out both hands to pin its head tightly to the ground.

He carefully felt for movement. Although the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard still breathed faintly, it did not move at all. It had likely gone into shock from excessive blood loss. Only then did he say with relief, "All right. Come over."

Hiss...

Tao Shu was actually willing to go this far for him. Xu Changqing would have been lying if he said he was not moved.

Tao Shu truly treated him like a nephew. He did not want Xu Changqing to take even the slightest risk.

Moved or not, there was still work to do.

Xu Changqing stepped forward in two or three strides and thrust his dagger into the Golden-Backed Dragon Lizard's tightly shut eyelid. Even after driving it in, he still did not feel at ease. Afraid it was not dead enough, he twisted the dagger forcefully several more times, turning its brain into mush before finally stopping.

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(End of Chapter)