Five Days of Practical Combat

Xiao Tianyang had a few scattered flames clinging to his body as his First Soul Ring lit up.

First Soul Skill, Myriad Transformation Flame.

Three fireballs appeared beside him in succession. With a casual point, the one on the left instantly transformed into a Flame Spear.

"Watch out!"

Xiao Tianyang gave a warning, then waved his hand, sending the Flame Spear flying free of his control. It targeted not the Starlight Thunder Tiger's vital points, but its back.

The Starlight Thunder Tiger was startled. Its beastly instincts told it that if it was hit, it would definitely be seriously injured.

It hurriedly lowered its body and, without caring how undignified it looked, slid across the ground to the side. It crashed into a tree root, and by the time it climbed back up, it was covered in dust and dirt.

The stronger its charge had been just now, the dizzier it was now.

But Xiao Tianyang seized the opportunity and stepped forward, striking with his palm. His Soul Power took the form of a roaming dragon and slammed into the Starlight Thunder Tiger's flank.

"Awooo!"

With a miserable cry, the Starlight Thunder Tiger was sent flying, snapping two trees along the way.

"Looks like I hit too hard..."

Xiao Tianyang withdrew his palm. Realizing he had not controlled his strength and seemed to have seriously injured the Starlight Thunder Tiger, he could not help frowning.

He took two steps forward and warily looked at the Starlight Thunder Tiger struggling on the ground, its eyes filled with fear and hatred.

Although there were no obvious external wounds, Xiao Tianyang's strike had broken several of the Starlight Thunder Tiger's ribs and injured its internal organs.

"Ugh, what a hassle."

Xiao Tianyang pointed at another fireball. Its color changed from orange to green before sinking into the Starlight Thunder Tiger's body beneath its unwilling gaze.

There was none of the pain it had expected. The Starlight Thunder Tiger froze for a moment, then could not help letting out a feline purr, showing just how comfortable it felt.

Xiao Tianyang's First Soul Ring actually had two effects.

One was ordinary offense: it could transform flames into any weapon, and under his control, their direction could be changed at will.

The second was transforming the flames into the Spirit of the Flame, which could not only heal injuries but also restore stamina and Soul Power.

The healing did not take long. The Starlight Thunder Tiger soon climbed back to its feet. It did not let down its guard around Xiao Tianyang, but it slowly backed away, admitting it was no match for him.

"Congratulations, Host, for defeating the thousand-year Soul Beast Starlight Thunder Tiger. Lottery Points ×10 obtained!"

"Mm, not bad."

Xiao Tianyang nodded. Having tasted the benefits, he immediately took Bubu hunting around the area.

Of course, he did not kill the Soul Beasts he defeated, because there was no need to.

If they were too badly injured, he would even heal them, ensuring they would not be driven into a dead end because of him.

Three days later, after Xiao Tianyang challenged his tenth Soul Beast, news of this also spread.

A strange human had appeared in the Soul Hunting Forest. He did not kill Soul Beasts, only challenged them, and if they were too badly injured, he would even treat them.

As a result, all the battle-loving Soul Beasts came rushing over to challenge Xiao Tianyang, leaving him both delighted and helpless.

Naturally, he was delighted because his mission completion progress and Lottery Points kept rising.

What left him helpless was that the fighting styles of those challengers were simply too ferocious.

Not only did the Soul Beasts get injured, but even Xiao Tianyang himself suffered injuries.

As for Soul Beasts at this level, although they did not possess human-like intelligence, they could still make basic judgments of good and evil.

To them, Xiao Tianyang possessed an inexplicable sense of affinity. As long as he harbored no killing intent, some even tried to approach him.

Unfortunately, Xiao Tianyang could not understand what they were saying, so he could only treat them all as challengers.

On the fifth day, as the sun slanted westward, Xiao Tianyang knocked a three-meter-tall Soul Beast to the ground. He then sat on a rock, panting. "You guys really never stop. Can't you take a break?"

As he spoke, a prompt came from the system.

"Congratulations, Host, for defeating the thousand-year Soul Beast Ironhide Ape. Lottery Points ×30 obtained!"

"Congratulations, Host, for completing the Side Quest, [Challenge]!"

"Reward obtained: Specialty Skill [Firearms Grandmaster]!"

A flood of memories surged into his mind. Xiao Tianyang closed his eyes. At that moment, he was experiencing an entire lifetime of carrying guns.

The structure, aiming, shooting, maintenance, and every other piece of knowledge related to firearms all entered his mind. Though it was vaguely uncomfortable, he was already used to the feeling.

The fatigue faded away. Xiao Tianyang let out a breath and opened his eyes. "What's the use of having this Specialty Skill? It would be better if you gave me a gun."

Right now, he was as awkward as a swordsmanship master without a sword—no, his situation was even worse.

A swordsmanship master without a sword could still use something else as a substitute, since they might excel at winning without a sword.

But as a Firearms Grandmaster, without a gun, he had lost the tool of his trade. Was this a joke?

Did they expect him to pick up a branch and go biubiubiu?

He could, but he would only laugh his enemies to death rather than shoot them to death.

As Xiao Tianyang lamented, the Ironhide Ape had already climbed up from the ground. Only after seeing Xiao Tianyang look over did it raise its fists and pound its chest in a show of bravado before turning around and leaving.

The moment it fell earlier, the Ironhide Ape had admitted defeat.

And as a four-thousand-year Soul Beast, it could not possibly have suffered any serious injuries under Xiao Tianyang's deliberate control, so it did not need treatment.

Its chest-pounding gesture just now was merely meant to say that it would return to challenge him again.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

Seeing the next Soul Beast approach, Xiao Tianyang could not help waving his hand.

The other party seemed to understand what he meant. It tilted its head, then turned and left.

That surprised Xiao Tianyang somewhat. "Did not expect Soul Beasts to be so reasonable about this."

Actually, he had misunderstood. Soul Beasts were naturally hostile toward humans.

After all, humans needed to hunt Soul Beasts to improve their strength. It was equivalent to climbing to the peak atop the other side's corpses. How could such a relationship possibly be good?

But Xiao Tianyang was different. He had an inexplicable affinity that made those who stayed near him for a long time lower their guard on their own.

However, just as Xiao Tianyang was about to get up and leave, another System Prompt sounded in his mind.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, Host. Your Lottery Points have reached � or above. Level 2 Draw unlocked!"

Xiao Tianyang instinctively asked, "What is the difference between the two unlocked draws?"

"The former is a Level 1 Draw, while the latter is a Level 2 Draw. Their values differ."

The system was as sparing with words as ever.

"Fine, that tells me nothing."

Xiao Tianyang shook his head, then looked toward the distant bushes. "Bubu, stop hiding. We're going home."

"Woof!"

Bubu sprang out of the bushes, sat before Xiao Tianyang, and wagged its tail.

Xiao Tianyang reached out and rubbed its head, then hummed a tune as he began the journey back.

His gains over the five days had exceeded his expectations. Not only had he completed the mission, but he had also obtained � Lottery Points.

The only slight regret was that he had not found a suitable Soul Beast for Bubu.