Crisis Strikes

Village Chief Ye looked over and saw that the fifth Wood Wolf had somehow circled behind Ye Hongling and was about to attack her.

The Wood Wolf lunged straight at Ye Hongling, frightening her badly. She had little combat ability herself and could only raise both hands in front of her, trying to block the attack.

Just as the Wood Wolf was about to succeed, someone else stepped in front of Ye Hongling. It was Tang Chenfeng.

The Wood Wolf pounced onto Tang Chenfeng and clamped its jaws fiercely around his left arm. But Tang Chenfeng was not someone to be trifled with. With his Martial Soul activated, both his strength and size surpassed that of the Wood Wolf.

He grabbed the Wood Wolf by the neck with his right hand. Ignoring how it tore at his left arm, he yanked it off, leaving two bloody gashes on his arm. But he paid them no mind. He lifted the Wood Wolf up and slammed it viciously into the ground, then followed up with two heavy punches to its head. Cracks actually appeared across the exoskeleton on its skull, and blood seeped from its nose and mouth. The power of those two punches was clear.

"Whimper..." The Wood Wolf let out a mournful cry, collapsed to the ground, and stopped moving.

After dealing with the Wood Wolf, waves of searing pain finally shot through Tang Chenfeng's injured arm, blood running down it.

"Brother Feng, are you okay?" Seeing that Tang Chenfeng had taken care of the Wood Wolf, Ye Hongling hurried over, covered his injured arm, and poured life force into it. The wound that had been bleeding nonstop began healing at a visible rate.

"Because you're here. Because you're here, I dare fight without worrying about the consequences. Look, the wound healed in no time." Tang Chenfeng seemed not to feel any pain at all, merely smiling as he praised Ye Hongling.

Ye Hongling's cheeks warmed slightly. Then she said somewhat guiltily, "Even if you say that, Brother Feng, if I could use soul skills too, maybe you wouldn't have been hurt."

Village Chief Ye came over and said, "Don't say that, Ling'er. Injuries are hard to avoid in battle, but because you are here, we do not fear getting hurt and dare to face danger. Besides, although you both did well just now, both you, Ling'er, and Xiaofeng still need to keep growing."

At that moment, faint white lights gradually emerged from the five Wood Wolves nearby. The lights slowly gathered in the air, forming rings that eventually became white halos.

"See? Those are the Soul Rings produced by Soul Beasts." Following Village Chief Ye's gaze, the two of them looked toward the Soul Rings. The white rings floated quietly in the air, looking incredibly fragile, as though the slightest breeze could scatter them.

Village Chief Ye continued, "A Soul Beast's Soul Ring can only be absorbed by the person who killed it. So if we encounter a Soul Beast suitable for Ling'er, she must deliver the final blow. Otherwise, she will not be able to absorb it."

"Village Chief, then what should we do with these Soul Rings?" Tang Chenfeng asked as he looked at them.

Village Chief Ye replied helplessly, "It is a bit of a shame, but these Soul Beasts are too low-level, and Ling'er did not kill any of them, so she cannot absorb them. Besides, neither you nor I need Soul Rings for now. We can only let them slowly dissipate."

"I see. That really is a shame." Tang Chenfeng also found it deeply regrettable.

Ye Hongling hesitated before asking, "Grandpa, do I have to kill Soul Beasts myself? I feel like I might not be able to do that. Is there a more peaceful way?"

Village Chief Ye thought for a moment. "Well, it is not impossible. If a Soul Beast willingly offers itself as a sacrifice or is willing to become your Spirit Soul, then it can be done. Legend also speaks of powerful Soul Beasts capable of granting humans Soul Rings by passing down their power as an inheritance. But..." As he spoke, Village Chief Ye walked over and gently patted Ye Hongling's head. "But naturally, we have no chance of finding such beings. And the relationship between humans and Soul Beasts is getting worse and worse. Sacrifices and such are no longer likely. All we can do is avoid fighting Soul Beasts whenever possible. If it becomes necessary, then we can only try our best to let them pass into the next life with as little pain as possible."

"Alright." Ye Hongling spoke somewhat dejectedly.

While the grandfather and granddaughter were talking, no one noticed that Tang Chenfeng seemed to have disappeared. He was now examining the Soul Rings that were about to dissipate.

Standing before a Wood Wolf's corpse, Tang Chenfeng stared at the flickering Soul Ring above it and sighed. "It still feels like such a waste. It would be great if I could absorb it." As he thought this, he suddenly felt something in his pocket growing warm. Reaching in, he found Starshine. At first, Tang Chenfeng had wanted to put it into his bracelet, but no matter what he tried, Starshine simply could not be stored inside. So he had kept it in his pocket instead. But now, it was glowing.

Tiny points of light flickered on Starshine. Then the Ten-Year Soul Ring produced by the Wood Wolf seemed to be drawn toward it, descending onto Starshine before being absorbed by it. At the same time, Tang Chenfeng felt his strength increase slightly. It was only a little, but it had truly grown stronger. Could Starshine absorb energy and convert it?

While Tang Chenfeng was deep in thought, Village Chief Ye had finished comforting Ye Hongling. "Xiaofeng, stop looking. Come over and rest for a while. Have something to eat first."

"Oh, coming." Tang Chenfeng decided to set his thoughts aside for now. Eating came first.

After the three of them hastily finished dinner and dealt with the Wood Wolves' corpses, it was already ten at night. They decided that Village Chief Ye would take the first watch, then they would rotate every three hours. Thus, the three of them spent a relatively safe night in the forest.

The next morning, before the sun had fully risen and the sky was only beginning to brighten, Village Chief Ye had been on watch for two hours when he sensed that something was wrong. Encountering Soul Beasts at night in the Sunset Great Forest was normal, just like the previous night. Yet ever since then, nothing had happened. They had not even seen the shadow of a single Soul Beast. The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, with only the rustling of wind through leaves to be heard.

Village Chief Ye frowned deeply as he pondered. "Something is wrong. This is far too wrong. It is frighteningly quiet around here. I'm afraid this is the calm before the storm."

Although Village Chief Ye did not believe that any Soul Beast beyond his ability to handle would appear at the forest's outskirts, the important thing was that the two children were here. He had to ensure their safety first. "Xiaofeng, Ling'er, wake up. We need to leave this place quickly."

"Oh, okay." Their voices were sleepy. Both of them had taken turns keeping watch, and they had only just woken up, so they were not fully alert yet. But they quickly became much more awake—or rather, wary—because through his connection with the plants, Village Chief Ye sensed that something huge seemed to be heading toward their current location.

"You two, get close to me. Something big is approaching us. It is at least a Thousand Year Soul Beast." There was rare urgency in Village Chief Ye's voice. The other two hurriedly moved closer as well. A Thousand Year Soul Beast was not something they could necessarily escape on their own, and staying beside Village Chief Ye was safer.

In just over ten seconds, that huge creature had already reached their vicinity. When it arrived, all three of them could not help drawing in a cold breath. A massive figure leaped back and forth among the giant trees before finally landing before them. The Soul Beast that had arrived was an enormous Wood Wolf, over five meters tall at the shoulder and at least thirteen meters long. Its eyes were emerald green, while the wooden shell covering its body bore patterns like those of a century-old tree. The green glow flowing through those patterns was actually energy surging within the Wood Wolf's body, enough to prove its power. It was undoubtedly the largest Soul Beast the three had seen since entering the forest.

Village Chief Ye immediately assumed a fighting stance and said in a low voice, "I'll hold it back. Xiaofeng, take Ling'er and run." Urgency filled his voice because he realized his judgment had been wrong. He had previously believed it to be a Thousand Year Soul Beast based on the sensations transmitted by the plants on the ground, but it had been leaping through the trees, which had thrown off his assessment. This was actually a Ten Thousand Year Wood Wolf, perhaps even one approaching one hundred thousand years.

Yet strangely, this Ten Thousand Year Wood Wolf did not attack the three of them directly. Instead, it kept circling them and observing them. Tang Chenfeng noticed what seemed to be an emotion in its eyes: confusion.