Main Quest Reappears!

A month later, Tang San and Yu Yan both leveled up. It was time for them to obtain their Soul Rings. Xiao Wu had reached level twenty half a month earlier. Since she had originally taken human form from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, all her Soul Rings came from herself. Of course, aside from Wu Liang, no one else knew this, including little Kanna. Wu Liang was not one to blab, so he would not say anything before Xiao Wu came clean herself.

Little Kanna had officially reached level nineteen. Bai Qi and Wu Liang were both level sixteen. After asking Seria, they learned that a battle servant's level could never exceed that of its host. In other words, no matter how gifted one was at cultivation, one could at most remain at the same level as Wu Liang.

After learning this, Wu Liang changed his formerly lazy ways and began seriously meditating to cultivate Soul Power at night.

Early one morning, Seria suddenly popped out and said to Wu Liang, "Host, the main quest has appeared again. Do you want to do it? If not, I can decline it for you."

"Main quests can be declined? Also, ever since we entered the academy, no main quest has appeared. There have only been scattered triggered quests. So what is this main quest about?" Wu Liang asked in confusion.

Seria said, "This main quest is not about you, so you may choose not to do it."

"Not about me? Then who is this main quest related to, and what is the reward?" Wu Liang asked.

Seria said,

Main Quest: Luo San Pao's Advancement.

Because of his Martial Soul, Grandmaster has always been deeply insecure. As Grandmaster's disciple, you should bear the responsibility of doing something for him. During Grandmaster's trip to obtain Soul Rings for Tang San and Yu Yan, he will encounter an extremely rare Soul Beast. Help Grandmaster kill it and obtain its blood to advance Grandmaster's Martial Soul.

Quest Requirement: Help Grandmaster kill the rare thousand-year Soul Beast, Dragon Lizard, and have Luo San Pao Devour its blood.

Quest Reward: One drop of diluted Golden Sacred Dragon Blood.

After reading the quest, Wu Liang finally understood why Seria had said he could choose whether to do it. At a glance, the quest reward was clearly not meant for him.

Golden Sacred Dragon Blood: Diluted Golden Sacred Dragon Blood. After being absorbed by a dragon-type Spirit Master, it would make up for five levels of Innate Soul Power.

Wu Liang shook his head. What else was there to say? The system had already said they would definitely encounter the Dragon Lizard on this trip. It was a simple matter, so of course he would do it. Although he had only acknowledged Grandmaster as his teacher to complete quests at first, over the past few months, Grandmaster had truly treated them well. After learning that Wu Liang and little Kanna were orphans, Grandmaster had wanted to take them in as his adopted son and daughter. Wu Liang had refused, but little Kanna had agreed. Now little Kanna was Grandmaster's goddaughter. Wu Liang's reason for refusing was simple: just as Tang San had once said, a teacher for a day was a father for life. There was no need to add anything more.

After accepting the quest, Grandmaster soon arrived with Tang San and Yu Yan. The four packed their things and returned to the familiar Soul Beast Forest. They had not come out for several months, and Wu Liang felt as though all they did here was cultivate. There was nothing else to do.

"Our target this time is a valley in the eastern part of the Soul Beast Forest. There, we will find the Soul Ring Yu Yan needs, and we may also find Tang San's Soul Ring there. I have researched this for a long time. For little Yu Yan's first Soul Ring, she should fuse with the Soul Ring of an avian Soul Beast with Phoenix bloodline. As far as I know, the nearest place with such Soul Beasts is the eastern mountains of the Soul Beast Forest. Most importantly, those Soul Beasts are also wind-attributed. As for Tang San's Soul Ring, I recommend Ghost Vine. That plant-type Martial Soul can also be found in the eastern forest," Grandmaster said calmly on the way.

"What's the name of the Soul Beast suitable for Yu Yan?" Wu Liang asked with his hands behind his head.

"It is a Soul Beast called Sand Sculpture. It flies quickly and possesses the wind-attributed Soul Skill, Sky-Ripping Wave. Most importantly, it carries a faint Phoenix bloodline within its body.

"And whether the speculation in A Liang's and my hearts can be proven depends on this Sand Sculpture," Grandmaster said seriously.

"Pfft." x2

Upon hearing the Soul Beast's name, Wu Liang and Tang San simply could not hold it in. Sand Sculpture.

"What is it?" Grandmaster asked doubtfully when he heard Wu Liang and Tang San laugh.

"Nothing, nothing. I just thought of something happy," Wu Liang hurriedly covered up.

"Yes, yes, me too," Tang San quickly said, suppressing his smile.

"What happy thing?" Yu Yan immediately grew curious.

"I forgot to leave breakfast for Xiao Wu," Wu Liang hurriedly said.

"And you, Senior Brother?" Yu Yan turned to Tang San. She had always felt that their smiles were filled with ill intent toward her.

"I also forgot to leave breakfast for Xiao Wu," Tang San said with a nod.

"You two... forget it. I'm going back to tell Sister Xiao Wu that you deliberately didn't leave her breakfast. Hmph!" After saying that, Yu Yan angrily followed behind Grandmaster. Those two were definitely hiding something from her.

Only after Yu Yan left did Wu Liang and Tang San let out a breath. They really had not been able to hold it in just now.

The four entered the forest. Afraid of alerting any powerful Soul Beasts, they did not move very quickly. After all, their destination was too close to the center of the forest, so they could only proceed cautiously.

Wu Liang was not particularly afraid, but because of the main quest, he had to follow Grandmaster. Therefore, wherever Grandmaster went, he had to follow. A journey that should have taken only five days in a straight line ended up taking nearly eight days. Fortunately, they would reach their destination tonight. It was a stretch of mountains in the eastern region where Sand Sculptures nested.

That night, they camped not far from a small river. Since they would enter the Sand Sculptures' habitat tomorrow to hunt them, everyone went to sleep especially early. They had to be well-rested to face those astonishingly fast Soul Beasts.

Early the next morning, the four officially entered the valley where the Sand Sculptures nested. From afar, Wu Liang saw many nests scattered across the cliffs of the valley. "Teacher, how do we lure them down?"

"These Sand Sculptures generally do not stay in their nests during the day unless there are unhatched eggs inside. Look over there. On the other side of the valley is their hunting ground. Although the valley is where they nest, their hunting range is not very large. The Soul Beast world has its own rules as well. We only need to lie in ambush by the river on the other side of the valley," Grandmaster said, pointing to the river beyond the mountain wall.

The four continued forward along the river. Fortunately, the Sand Sculptures' hunting range was not far away, or they would have had to travel another long distance.

Upstream, Grandmaster stopped beneath several large trees by the river. He took a wild boar carcass from his storage bracelet and hung it from a tree, then had the three spread out and hide in ambush.

Wu Liang hid behind a large tree some distance away and watched the Sand Sculptures circling in the sky. These were all hundred-year Sand Sculptures. Their massive bodies were comparable to helicopters from his previous life. Their feathers were earthy yellow, resembling sand at a glance. No wonder they were called Sand Sculptures.

Suddenly, one Sand Sculpture broke away from the flock. Its sharp eyes spotted the wild boar Grandmaster had hung from the tree, and it dived straight toward it. Just as its talons were about to seize the boar, Grandmaster threw Luo San Pao out and shouted, "Second Soul Skill: Fart Like Smoke, Sleep-Inducing Slumber, Luo San Pao!"

With a puff, Luo San Pao released a cloud of sleep-inducing fart in midair. Because the Sand Sculpture had slowed down to catch its prey, it was hit squarely in the face by Luo San Pao's fart. The Sand Sculpture, its face covered in fart, was just about to see who had dared fart at it when it suddenly froze as dizziness overtook it, and it crashed headfirst to the ground.

"Quick, break its wings! San Pao's sleeping gas won't work on it for long!" Grandmaster shouted urgently when he saw the Sand Sculpture fall.

The Sand Sculpture had landed closest to Wu Liang. Wu Liang reacted immediately, condensing a greatsword from Soul Power. He leaped out and unleashed a Mountain Crash. The greatsword smashed down directly onto the Sand Sculpture's wing, breaking it in one blow. However, it was not completely severed, with a strip of flesh and tendon still connecting it.

The Sand Sculpture, dazed by the sleeping gas, immediately woke after suffering such a serious injury. But because its wing had been broken, the enraged beast could not take flight. It could only open its huge beak at Wu Liang and fire a Sky-Ripping Wave.

Of course, all of that was futile. The moment Wu Liang saw it open its mouth, he knew it was about to use a skill. He had already used Seven-Segment Strike to slash away, dodging the Sky-Ripping Wave before turning back, closing in, and using another Mountain Crash to sever its other wing.

Without both wings, the Sand Sculpture was like a tiger that had lost its fangs. It was no longer much of a threat. Grandmaster, Tang San, and Yu Yan approached Wu Liang. "Well done, Xiao Liang. Your reaction was very fast," Grandmaster said.

Since Tang San had been too far from the Sand Sculpture, he had been unable to help. Once he got close, he could only activate his Soul Skill, Entanglement, binding the Sand Sculpture tightly. He wrapped its beak especially securely to prevent it from using Sky-Ripping Wave again.

Watching the Sand Sculpture get tied up tight in less than a minute through Grandmaster and the others' cooperation, Yu Yan stared with her mouth open in surprise. "Teacher, did you rehearse this? How did you coordinate so well?"

"It was nothing special. As long as you grasp the timing well, a battle can end in an instant. Xiao Liang did very well. The moment San Pao brought it down, Xiao Liang swiftly broke its wings. He also dodged the Sand Sculpture's Sky-Ripping Wave very well." Grandmaster took out a short sword and handed it to Yu Yan. "All right. With Tang San's Soul Skill binding it so tightly, the Sand Sculpture cannot fight back. Go kill it."

Yu Yan took the short sword and approached the tightly bound Sand Sculpture. Tang San loosened the vines around its head slightly, exposing its eyes. Yu Yan looked at Tang San and nodded, then plunged her sword into the Sand Sculpture's eye. The tightly bound Sand Sculpture, struck with a fatal blow, struggled even more violently, but Tang San held it down firmly. Before long, it stopped moving. A deep yellow glow condensed into a Soul Ring that floated above the Sand Sculpture's corpse.

Yu Yan walked over to the Sand Sculpture's corpse and sat cross-legged. She drew the Soul Ring before herself and began absorbing its energy with all her strength.

Seeing Yu Yan begin to absorb the Soul Ring, Grandmaster said to Wu Liang and Tang San, "All right. For the next few hours, guard your junior sister in case anything unexpected happens. Fortunately, we chose a good ambush spot. These large trees can serve as cover, preventing the Sand Sculpture flock above from discovering us."

Wu Liang had no objections and immediately stood guard not far from Yu Yan. Tang San guarded the other side. After more than three hours, Yu Yan's aura gradually began to strengthen as she absorbed the Soul Ring. Level eleven, level twelve, all the way until level thirteen, where it finally stopped. Meanwhile, several more tail feathers split from the tail of Yu Yan's Martial Soul, and its body became sleeker and less awkward-looking.

Seeing the changes in Yu Yan's Martial Soul, Grandmaster said to Wu Liang, "Xiao Liang, it seems your guess was correct. Though the Sand Sculpture contains very little Phoenix bloodline, so little that it can nearly be ignored, it still had an effect on Xiao Yanzi's Martial Soul. I can sense that her Martial Soul is becoming more complete."

Wu Liang nodded at this. "Teacher, Xiao Yanzi's Martial Soul is rather special. Her future cultivation will be more difficult than ours. Although the Sand Sculpture's Soul Ring provided her with a great deal of Soul Power and raised her to level thirteen, she will have to work harder than others if she wants to level up in the future. Otherwise, advancing will be very difficult. I only discovered this recently. Logically, she awakened with level-nine Soul Power and should not have needed long to reach level ten, yet it took her more than a month. So her slow cultivation speed is the fatal flaw of her Martial Soul. At first, I thought her Martial Soul mutation was perfect, but I never expected this."

After hearing him, Grandmaster fell into thought. After a long while, he said, "Although she cultivates slowly, there should be no need to worry during the early stages. With your biscuits and juice as a foundation, she should be able to keep up with you. But later on, it will be hard to say."

"It's all right, Teacher. I'll help her. My biscuits and juice are only the most basic version. There will be better ones in the future," Wu Liang reassured him.

"I hope so. I do not want her to end up like me, unable to advance to a higher realm." Grandmaster sounded somewhat dejected.

"Teacher, I will help you too. Your Martial Soul will get better, and you will be able to advance to a higher realm," Wu Liang said firmly as he looked at Grandmaster.

Seeing Wu Liang's determined gaze, Grandmaster smiled in relief. "I hope so."