First Soul Ring

In the dense forest beyond the Golden Lion Plains of the Hot Springs Mountain Range, the Flame Lion Pack, Crimson Flame Lion, and Inferno Demon Lion—three different fire-attributed lion soul beasts—had encountered one another by chance. Thanks to some of Yan's arrangements, these lion soul beasts had now come face-to-face.

This time, in order to find a suitable soul beast in the Hot Springs Mountain Range and obtain a soul ring, Yan had done extensive preparation, including researching how to attract powerful fire-attributed soul beasts.

When the Crimsonfire Monkey Horde had attacked them earlier, Yan had instructed Feng Lin to make a few discreet moves. The battle between the Crimsonfire Monkey Horde and the fire wolf pack should not originally have drawn so many soul beasts, but as the thick scent of blood and the effects of the drugs spread, many fire-attributed soul beasts had rushed over under the pull of instinct.

This area of the Golden Lion Plains was not considered the heart of the Hot Springs Mountain Range. Although thousand-year soul beasts appeared here, truly powerful soul beasts were few. Yet perhaps due to some connection to the legendary Golden Lion King, this region had many lion-type soul beasts, many of them possessing powerful bloodlines, with fire attributes being the most common.

Because of Yan's scheme, this melee had evolved into a standoff between competing lion packs. Yet soul beasts were not known for their patience, especially in such a tense confrontation. The three lion factions restrained themselves for only a short while before battle erupted.

"Roar~~~"

The Flame Lion Pack held the advantage in numbers, and the Flame Lion King was a thousand-year soul beast. Naturally, it would not be polite toward these two challengers that were only a little over a hundred years old. With an enraged roar from the lion king, numerous young male lions with over a hundred years of cultivation charged out.

Flame Lions were rather impressive soul beasts, skilled in both close combat and long-range attacks. Their cultivation age was also easy to identify from their size and flames.

Whenever Flame Lions unleashed Soul Power, dazzling flames would rise from their bodies. The greatest distinction between ten-year, hundred-year, and thousand-year Flame Lions lay in the color of their flames: pale red for ten years, crimson for a hundred years, and orange-yellow for a thousand years.

At present, there was only one cluster of orange-yellow flames in the field, while the other several dozen were crimson. More than ten hundred-year Flame Lions charged toward the Crimson Flame Lion and Inferno Demon Lion. As they rushed forward, they opened their jaws wide and spat out clusters of dazzling crimson flames.

Facing the challenge of the hundred-year Flame Lions, the Crimson Flame Lion merely opened its mouth. A pillar of fire resembling magma shot toward the many Flame Lions.

Then something strange happened. That crimson fire pillar abruptly split into more than ten streams in midair. After swallowing the flames spat out by the Flame Lions, it fused together again, expanding to more than twice its original size before sweeping through the charging Flame Lions one after another along a peculiar arc.

"Boom boom boom..."

Wherever the magma fire pillar passed, blazing flames erupted. Even with their powerful resistance to fire, these hundred-year Flame Lions could not escape being consumed by the flames, and were swiftly all swept aside.

The Crimson Flame Lion possessed formidable control over flames, able to manipulate the surrounding fire elements to the utmost degree. Although it was only barely over five hundred years old, it still absolutely crushed these hundred-year Flame Lions.

While the Crimson Flame Lion displayed its overwhelming command of fire, the Inferno Demon Lion was even simpler and more brutal. With an earth-shaking lion's roar, endless flames immediately swept across the wilderness.

"Awooo~~~"

The Inferno Demon Lion threw back its head and roared in fury. The tremendous sound waves echoed between heaven and earth as crimson flames surged from its body, shooting more than ten meters into the air. A vast sea of fire rapidly spread outward, and the temperature beyond the forests of the Golden Lion Plains rose sharply.

The Inferno Demon Lion, with its kingly bloodline, was hailed as a controller of flames. It excelled most at wide-range attacks. One of its more famous soul skills was the Repelling Flame Ring, which could attack and defend alike. If Yan remembered correctly, Huo Wu of Blazing Academy possessed a soul skill like that as well.

The Inferno Demon Lion was the king among beasts. Facing the challenge of the hundred-year Flame Lions, it roared and charged forward, spewing flames from its mouth to cover a large area before rushing straight at the Flame Lions.

"Bang bang bang..."

The hundred-year Flame Lions clashed fiercely with the Inferno Demon Lion, but they had no ability to resist its overwhelming strength. The might of a king was unstoppable. With only a few swipes of its paws, the Inferno Demon Lion sent the Flame Lions flying.

"Stay here."

At the tip of an ancient tree on the edge of the forest, Feng Lin, Yan, and Liya closely watched the battle. When Feng Lin saw the Inferno Demon Lion's extraordinary valor and felt it unleash its kingly might, a sharp glint flashed through his weathered eyes. After giving Yan and Liya a brief instruction, he shot out directly.

"Roar~~~"

The instant Feng Lin released his Gale Eagle martial soul and appeared in the sky, the three lion kings that had been preparing to clash all looked upward at once. Then they sensed the threat Feng Lin posed.

Even the strongest Inferno Demon Lion was filled with caution at that moment. The Inferno Demon Lion was not a Titan Giant Ape. Even a hundred-year Titan Giant Ape would likely gain no advantage against a Soul King.

When soul masters faced soul beasts of the same level, their greatest strength was never the ability to fight head-on, but comprehensive combat power centered on endurance, intelligence, and the like. Feng Lin was exceedingly shrewd. He chose the right moment and, after releasing his martial soul, charged directly toward the Inferno Demon Lion.

"Roar..."

Naturally, the Inferno Demon Lion would not sit still and await death before Feng Lin. Raising its head, it spat out an enormous golden fireball.

Feng Lin's Gale Eagle martial soul followed the Agility Attack path, and he reacted swiftly to the Inferno Demon Lion's attack. He abruptly veered sideways to evade the fireball, then accelerated again and charged straight toward the Inferno Demon Lion.

The Inferno Demon Lion roared in fury, and the flames on its body instantly changed from crimson to golden-red. The surrounding temperature immediately surged.

"Whoosh!"

At that moment, Feng Lin's fifth soul ring lit up. A mass of cyan wind-attributed energy swirled around him like a whirlwind, shielding him from the blazing heat while greatly increasing his speed.

A streak of cyan light flashed past like lightning. Before the Inferno Demon Lion could even respond properly, Feng Lin's killing move had arrived.

"Pfft..."

As the cyan light swept past and faded, its lower abdomen suddenly split open. Great patches of crimson fur were severed and scattered away, while fresh blood gushed from the wound, instantly staining the ground red.

"Whoosh!"

A cyan shadow circling in the sky rapidly descended before the Inferno Demon Lion. After handing Yan a longsword and giving him an encouraging look, Feng Lin openly released the powerful aura of a Soul King, forcing the surrounding soul beasts to retreat.

Yan walked before the severely weakened Inferno Demon Lion. It had been badly injured by Feng Lin's soul skill. Though it was not dead yet, it had little combat strength remaining. It could only glare at Yan in a bluffing warning posture, but the longsword in Yan's hand did not hesitate in the slightest.

As the longsword pierced through its throat, the Inferno Demon Lion finally collapsed before Yan. Seeing the yellow glow beginning to gather over the fallen soul beast, eagerness filled his eyes.

About a quarter of an hour later, orange-yellow radiance lit up over the Inferno Demon Lion's corpse. An orange-yellow ring rose above its remains.

"First Soul Ring, don't disappoint me."

Yan did not hesitate any longer. He sat down cross-legged, circulated his Soul Power, and reached toward the ring. With a whoosh, the orange-yellow ring slipped over Yan's hand. He slowly closed his eyes and began refining his first soul ring.