Spined Pig

Flender kept Tang San behind, and Xiao Wu, who was inseparable from him, naturally stayed to wait for him.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xuan planned to head back and catch up on some sleep. After all, Flender had told them to rest well, so Zhao Xuan found himself a perfectly good excuse.

But after only a few steps, several village children suddenly came running over in a panic, shouting toward Flender, "Lord Flender! Lord Flender!"

Zhao Xuan stopped and looked at the children with some curiosity.

"What is it?"

Flender revealed a kind smile, startling Xiao Wu beside him.

Was this really the face of that profiteering uncle? Anyone capable of such a smile had to be an imposter, right?!

The children were breathless from their frantic run. After panting for quite a while, they finally said excitedly, "Lord Flender, a Spirit Beast has entered the other side of the village."

"Oh?"

Flender frowned and asked, "What does that Spirit Beast look like?"

A somewhat chubby boy gestured with his hands. "It was... this big. It looked like a pig, and it had spikes on its back."

"It runs really fast too. My dad and the others couldn't catch it," a little girl added timidly.

Flender's frown eased. A Spined Pig, huh? There were quite a few of these Spirit Beasts in the forest south of Suotuo City. They usually only had ten years of cultivation, and ones that reached a hundred years were rare. He had not expected one to wander all the way here.

He glanced around the training ground. Aside from Ning Rongrong, Oscar, Tang San, and Xiao Wu, only Hermione and Zhao Xuan remained. Everyone else had vanished long ago.

"Zhao Xuan, Hermione, the two of you go take care of it. It's only a small Spirit Beast. Catch it, and we'll have something extra for dinner. Be careful not to let that Spined Pig charge into the village and hurt anyone," Flender instructed them.

Then he crouched down and said to the children, "Take those two big brothers and sisters there."

"Okay!"

The children replied energetically, then immediately ran over to Zhao Xuan.

Zhao Xuan had not wanted to go, but the children stared at him with bright, curious, expectant eyes, and he could not bear it anymore.

"Hermione, let's go," he called.

The village was not large to begin with. Halfway along the small path leading to the cafeteria was a fork in the road. Following that branch all the way forward would take one through the entire village.

Led by the children, the two soon arrived at their destination. At the other end of the village lay a wheat field. It was still summer, and the wheat was lush and green.

Several middle-aged men stood around one section of the field with helpless expressions. From the middle of that patch, rustling sounds occasionally emerged.

When they saw the children arrive with a young man and woman, one middle-aged man hurried over.

His gaze toward them was curious, and there was faint respect on his face. After all, they were Soul Masters! Even if they were only teenagers, they still belonged to the most honored class in the world.

"Lord Soul Masters," the middle-aged man said respectfully.

Zhao Xuan felt slightly uncomfortable, but he did not say anything. Such notions were deeply ingrained.

He glanced at the wheat field and asked, "Is the Spirit Beast in there?"

The middle-aged man was clearly more knowledgeable than the children. He recognized the type of Spirit Beast and said, "It's inside. That Spined Pig has sharp spikes on its back, and it can be very fast at times. We couldn't catch it. It even knocked one person over, and the spikes on its back pierced his arm."

Zhao Xuan nodded, but then looked troubled as he stared at the field. This wheat field was not small, and the Spined Pig was in the center. Under normal circumstances, catching such a little pig would be easy, but fighting in the field would inevitably destroy the crops, which Zhao Xuan did not want to see.

"Hermione, do you have any way to lure it out?" Zhao Xuan suddenly thought that this book-loving girl might have an idea when he caught sight of her from the corner of his eye.

Hermione touched her delicate chin with her right hand, a thoughtful look appearing in her brown eyes.

"I remember reading in a book that Spined Pigs like to eat fruit," she said suddenly, her eyes lighting up as she spoke to Zhao Xuan with delight.

"You heard her, right?" Zhao Xuan nodded and asked the middle-aged man beside them.

"Understood." The man nodded, suddenly feeling relieved. These two youngsters might look young, but they had considered things quite thoroughly.

The middle-aged man went into the village to find a pile of fruit, then placed it outside the wheat field. To ensure that the Spined Pig could smell it, all the fruit was cut into pieces, allowing its sweet fragrance to carry far away.

Afterward, Zhao Xuan had everyone guarding around the wheat field move farther away, while he and Hermione remained nearby to wait.

"When it comes out, I'll use my First Soul Skill, Immovable Shift, to hold it in place. Then you release Phoenix Rocket." Crouched behind a large tree, Zhao Xuan explained the plan to Hermione.

The tree trunk was straight, its branches and leaves thick and luxuriant, forming a broad canopy that cast a large patch of shade beneath it.

Although Zhao Xuan could easily capture the Spined Pig by himself, he would never pass up an opportunity to take it easy.

"Mm." Hermione nodded seriously.

The two stood behind the tree. Though its trunk was wide, hiding both of them was still somewhat cramped, so they had to stand close together.

Leaning against each other, Hermione could even feel the warmth radiating from Zhao Xuan's body, along with a peculiar, fresh scent.

For some reason, Hermione's ears reddened slightly. She secretly glanced at Zhao Xuan and found him intently watching the movements ahead. His profile was as smooth and gentle as warm white jade, sometimes making it difficult to tell whether he should be called handsome or beautiful.

His black eyes were as deep as the night sky, making it hard to read his thoughts. As for his soft, silky black hair, even Hermione, as a girl, felt a little jealous of it.

After staring blankly at Zhao Xuan for a while, Hermione murmured, "He actually looks pretty good when he isn't acting foolish."

"Hm? What did you say?" Hearing her, Zhao Xuan turned around curiously.

Seeing his handsome face so close at hand, Hermione panicked and quickly said, "Nothing."

"How strange..." Zhao Xuan muttered as he stared at the blonde girl before turning back around.

Hermione glared at Zhao Xuan with puffed cheeks. Sure enough, she could not expect anything from this idiot.

The two waited for quite some time before movement finally came from the wheat field. A Spined Pig about the same size as San Pao poked its head out at the edge of the field and cautiously observed its surroundings for a while.

Its tiny eyes kept darting toward the fruit in the distance. Hermione and Zhao Xuan widened their eyes and watched it closely without blinking.

Whoosh!

Like a gust of wind, the Spined Pig's black body shot out of the green wheat field and raced toward the fruit.

Zhao Xuan summoned his martial soul: a phone. The phone appeared out of thin air and transformed into a bracelet around his left wrist, with a square screen on the side facing the back of his hand.

When Zhao Xuan had first discovered this function, he had complained that it looked just like a children's smartwatch. If he had to shout a couple of lines every time he activated a Soul Skill, he felt like he could go endorse advertisements.

But no matter how much he complained, this form was the most practical for combat.

Three Soul Rings rose up. The First Soul Ring lit up as Zhao Xuan activated his First Soul Skill.

First Soul Skill: Immovable Shift.

For every increase of one Soul Power Level, the immobilization time increased by 0.1 seconds. However, it was limited by the Soul Power Level of the target. For every five levels the target exceeded Zhao Xuan, the immobilization time decreased by 0.2 seconds.

Against Zhao Wuji, Zhao Xuan could immobilize him for around two seconds, but against this little Spirit Beast, he could unleash the full power of his First Soul Skill.

At the same time Zhao Xuan activated his First Soul Skill, Hermione summoned her wand and began chanting. The greater the power and number of arrows she wanted to produce, the longer it took.

But with Zhao Xuan's immobilization, Hermione only empowered one Phoenix Rocket. Though there was only one, its power increased considerably.

A Phoenix Rocket streaked through the air amid dazzling crimson sparks. After drawing a brilliant arc, it plunged into the Spined Pig's throat.

Without any chance to resist, the Spined Pig struggled briefly before becoming still. At the same time, a white Soul Ring slowly rose.

Zhao Xuan ran over excitedly. After using Soul Power to disperse the Soul Ring, he lifted the Spined Pig in one hand under the villagers' astonished gazes.

"Hermione, dinner's taken care of tonight."

Hermione looked at Zhao Xuan silently. Sure enough, once he started acting unreliable, it did not matter how good-looking he was...