Sixth Soul Ring

Upon arriving at the Spirit Beast Forest, the father and son headed straight for the Fire Feather Bird Flock. Their target was clear: the Fire Feather Bird King.

The sooner they hunted the spirit beast, the sooner Di Hong could return.

They arrived deep within the forest.

They looked at the Fire Feather Bird Flock gathered not far away.

At the center of the flock rested an enormous Fire Feather Bird. It was far larger than the surrounding birds, measuring nearly twenty meters long.

The father and son exchanged a glance. Then Di Yuan directly activated his Martial Soul Avatar, transforming into a massive Vermilion Bird and pouncing toward the Fire Feather Bird King. His goal was to lure it away, since fighting here could easily wipe out the entire Fire Feather Bird Flock.

He could not drain the pond to catch all the fish. There were already not many Fire Feather Birds here; if they killed them all, they would have to travel farther away to hunt spirit beasts in the future.

Meanwhile, Di Hong went to their designated location and hid there to wait.

The resting flock instantly became alert upon sensing the powerful aura. The Fire Feather Bird King flew into the air, ready to fight at any moment. When it saw the Vermilion Bird Di Yuan had transformed into, it was immediately enraged.

Though the creature before it was a Vermilion Bird, it knew this aura all too well. It belonged to the human who had fought it before.

He had come once six years ago. It had not expected him to return this time, and so openly at that.

With an enraged, piercing cry, the Fire Feather Bird King's entire body became covered in blazing flames as it charged straight at Di Yuan.

Di Yuan did not confront it head-on. After taunting it for a while, he turned and fled. However, he did not fly too quickly, maintaining a certain distance from the Fire Feather Bird King to prevent it from turning back midway. The bird king had a particularly strong sense of territory.

Moreover, it generally would not leave the boundaries of its territory.

On a large tree in the distance, Di Hong hid amid the lush branches, with only his head exposed as he watched the sky.

Before long, Di Yuan flew over, with the massive Fire Feather Bird King pursuing him from behind.

After reaching the designated spot, Di Yuan stopped and turned to face the bird king chasing him.

The Vermilion Bird and the Fire Feather Bird clashed fiercely in the air. Flames scattered in all directions, soul power swirled wildly, and the surrounding trees caught in the aftermath burst into blazing fires.

Di Hong continued waiting for an opportunity. A few minutes later, seeing that the timing was right, he made his move.

After Martial Soul Possession, he flew behind the bird king.

"Fourth Spirit Skill: Vermilion Bird Roar!"

A massive phantom of a Vermilion Bird appeared and let out a shrill, piercing cry. Rolling sound waves spread outward, and the Fire Feather Bird King, which had been fighting Di Yuan, suddenly swayed as its mind suffered a powerful attack.

At that moment, its head was in complete chaos, like a pot of paste.

Although Di Hong's Soul Power Level was only Level 60, it was enough to affect the Fire Feather Bird King in a sneak attack. Besides, it had been wholly focused on fighting Di Yuan and had never expected anyone else to be here.

It had no way to guard against such a sudden ambush.

Seizing the opportunity, Di Yuan immediately circulated his soul power and unleashed his spirit skills in a fierce assault.

Before long, the Fire Feather Bird King, which had been overwhelmingly powerful moments ago, was covered in wounds. Another final blow left it severely injured.

"Boom!"

The Fire Feather Bird King crashed to the ground. It still wanted to resist, but its injuries were too severe, and even getting back up was difficult.

"Now, Hong'er, kill it quickly."

A spirit beast of this age could self-destruct if they were not careful, so they had to kill it immediately.

Di Hong took out a longsword from his Soul Tool and threw it. The sword pierced through the Fire Feather Bird King's head, killing it. Then he sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Spirit Ring.

Di Yuan, having released his Martial Soul Avatar, did not hurry to recover his soul power. While Di Hong absorbed the Spirit Ring, he suddenly noticed something.

A faint glow was emanating from the Fire Feather Bird King's corpse.

"A soul bone?"

Di Yuan was overjoyed. The previous times he had helped Di Yuan hunt spirit beasts, no soul bones had appeared. Di Hong only had one soul bone so far, and that had been a family heirloom. He had not expected this hunt to produce one.

"As expected of the Fire Feather Bird King. It really is different from ordinary spirit beasts."

The value of a soul bone went without saying, but despite seeing it, he did not immediately retrieve it.

Di Hong was still absorbing the Spirit Ring. Absorbing the Sixty Thousand Year Fire Feather Bird King's Spirit Ring still placed some pressure on him, but he could endure it. Compared to becoming stronger, what did this little pressure matter?

If he could not even endure this much hardship, then what was the point of cultivating? Wouldn't it be better to just lie down?

Half an hour later, he finally finished absorbing the Spirit Ring, and the aura around him flowed into his body.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the dead Fire Feather Bird King, noticing the glow as well.

"What good luck. It actually produced a soul bone."

"Hurry up and absorb it, lest something unexpected happen," Di Yuan reminded him.

A Sixty Thousand Year Soul Bone was enough to make many people take desperate risks.

"Mm." Di Hong nodded, then took out the soul bone and sat cross-legged to begin absorbing it. It was a left arm bone.

Absorbing a soul bone was not nearly as troublesome. Before long, he had completed the absorption.

After absorbing the soul bone, his Soul Power Level had reached Level 63. Combined with the three levels gained from the Spirit Ring, he was extremely satisfied. After all, he was only twelve years old.

"This spirit beast hunt truly brought a bountiful harvest. Your Soul Power Level rose by three levels, and you even obtained a soul bone." Di Yuan smiled happily. Such luck was rare even on the Douluo Continent.

"Alright, let's head back."

Since this was a targeted hunt, it did not take long. The sky was still bright, so they could head straight back without any need to linger here.

On the way back, Di Hong saw many more refugees fleeing here. These people were even more bedraggled than the ones he had seen before, though there were also some dressed in fine clothes among them. Some were fallen nobles, while others were merchants.

However, because the Star Luo Empire had conquered the towns where they lived and looted them, most of their property had been taken away. Coming here for refuge was now their best option. No one knew how long it would be before Star Luo's army returned after leaving.

"Those who suffer in this world are often just the common people at the bottom."

Di Hong was filled with emotion. In his previous life, he had lived in a peaceful environment. In this life, he was part of the royal family and far from the border battlefield. It could be said that in both lives, he had never experienced the cruelty of war.

After returning to Silvis City, he could clearly sense that something was off about the atmosphere in the city. There had never been this many City Defense Army patrols in the past, but today, there were far more than usual.

And there were even people from Spirit Hall.

"How long has it even been?"

Di Hong almost suspected that he had transmigrated again. Things had been one way before he left, yet entirely different after he returned.

"It seems the situation at the border has already become extremely severe." Di Yuan was very perceptive. Just by observing the refugees in the city, he could tell that the situation at the border had likely worsened. Otherwise, so many people would not have fled here.

Star Luo's repeated provocations clearly showed that it wanted Heaven Dou to take the initiative and start a war.