When the Snipe and Clam Fought, the Fisherman Profited

Finally!

A sinister, brutal aura far more powerful than the previous two soul beasts was drawn from the depths of the forest by the bloody feast here!

Han Yuchen's expression instantly turned grave.

It was here!

A giant ape over three meters tall, covered in black fur yet bearing a face eerily similar to a human's, appeared soundlessly atop a nearby tree canopy.

Cunning and cruelty gleamed in its scarlet eyes.

[Name: Thousand-Year Human-Faced Demon Ape]

[Traits: Highly intelligent, combines speed and strength, extremely brutal and bloodthirsty.]

This Human-Faced Demon Ape was clearly far smarter than the previous two brutes. Rather than charging into the battlefield immediately, it observed from the shadows, searching for the best moment to strike.

It saw the Ironclad Rhinoceros being besieged by vines and already on the brink of death, and greed flashed through its eyes.

And this was precisely the moment Han Yuchen had been waiting for!

He quietly circled around to the Human-Faced Demon Ape's flank and flicked out another pebble carrying his aura.

But this pebble was not aimed at the demon ape. Instead, it struck the center of the battlefield, exploding beside the Ironclad Rhinoceros and sending dirt flying!

This move instantly shattered the stalemate!

The Human-Faced Demon Ape thought a third party had come to compete for its prey, and it flew into a rage! No longer concealing itself, it let out a piercing shriek as its enormous body descended like a black cannonball, smashing viciously into the center of the battlefield!

Boom!

Its massive fist pulverized more than a dozen vines into pulp!

The arrival of a Thousand-Year Soul Beast sent the already chaotic battlefield into complete turmoil!

The Human-Faced Demon Ape's target was the dying Ironclad Rhinoceros. The Soul Devouring Ghost Vine's target was every living creature that stepped into its territory!

A three-way melee erupted at once!

The Human-Faced Demon Ape displayed the terrifying strength of a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Its claws swung through the air, leaving streaks of afterimages as they effortlessly tore apart the tough vines.

It was far more agile than the Ironclad Rhinoceros, darting and weaving through the vines' assault.

However, the Soul Devouring Ghost Vine's core mother plant seemed to sense the fatal threat and went completely mad!

The ground split open with wider cracks, and several "main vines," twice as thick as before and darker in color, burst from the earth and lashed at the Human-Faced Demon Ape like giant pythons!

The bloody, frenzied slaughter continued for nearly half an hour.

In the end, after paying a terrible price, the Human-Faced Demon Ape pierced the Ironclad Rhinoceros's skull with one claw, ending its life.

But its greed had also left it tightly bound by hundreds of vines, unable to move.

"Roar—!"

The Human-Faced Demon Ape let out the final roar of its life! All the Soul Power in its body erupted without restraint, and a dark-purple wave of energy exploded outward from its center!

Boom—!

The violent explosion tore up the entire clearing! The hundreds of vines wrapped around it, along with vast swaths of underground roots, were blasted into fragments that filled the sky in that final self-destructive attack!

When the smoke cleared.

The clearing was a complete mess.

The remains of the Black-Maned Demonic Pig, the Ironclad Rhinoceros's corpse, the Human-Faced Demon Ape's charred body, and shattered vines strewn across the ground.

All three sides had perished together.

Behind the bushes, Han Yuchen watched from beginning to end as the bloody spectacle he had orchestrated unfolded. His gaze was calm as water, deep as an abyss.

"Now."

At the exact instant the Human-Faced Demon Ape's life force completely vanished.

A thought crossed his mind.

[Star Atlas], activate!

[Plunder and Evolve]!

A brilliant yet almost imperceptible ray of Starlight, visible only to him, shot from between his brows.

Like the most skilled hunter, it ignored all the chaotic energy and precisely entered the corpses of the four soul beasts.

Buzz—

Four lights, two yellow and two purple, slowly rose from the four corpses.

But they did not condense into soul rings. Instead, the Starlight mercilessly dragged and dismantled them in midair, turning them into four streams of the purest, most immense unclaimed Soul Power. Like a whale drawing in water, the Star Atlas instantly absorbed every last trace!

[Ding!]

[Successfully plundered the origin energy of a two-hundred-year Soul Devouring Ghost Vine! *20]

[Successfully plundered the origin energy of a three-hundred-year soul beast, Black-Maned Demonic Pig!]

[Successfully plundered the origin energy of an eight-hundred-year soul beast, Ironclad Rhinoceros!]

[Successfully plundered the origin energy of a one-thousand-two-hundred-year soul beast, Human-Faced Demon Ape!]

[Successfully plundered the origin energy of a one-thousand-three-hundred-year Soul Devouring Ghost Vine Mother Vine!]

[Atlas energy reserve greatly replenished!]

[Analysis complete. Extracted the weak talent [Harden] from the Ironclad Rhinoceros's origin. Can be used for physical tempering.]

[Analysis complete. Extracted the rare talent [Berserk] from the Human-Faced Demon Ape's origin. May be selectively absorbed to strengthen offensive soul skills.]

[Analysis complete. Extracted the rare talent [Drain] from the Soul Devouring Ghost Vine Mother Vine's origin. May be selectively absorbed to strengthen offensive soul skills.]

"What a haul."

Feeling the surging energy within the atlas, Han Yuchen nodded in satisfaction.

Without lifting a finger, he had taken all the energy from so many soul beasts for free and even gained three decent talents.

This deal could not have been more worthwhile.

Han Yuchen directly dismantled [Harden] and used it to temper his body.

He absorbed the talents [Berserk] and [Drain] into [Blade of Flowing Water], increasing its power and granting it a small Soul Power recovery effect.

He rose to his feet, brushed the fallen leaves from his clothes, and calmly walked into the battlefield.

He did not spare the corpses another glance. To him, they were merely resources.

Having eliminated this potential threat and completed a round of primitive accumulation, he checked his bearings and formally began heading deeper into the forest.

He could clearly feel that the Soul Fragment belonging to him was calling to him from the depths in that direction.

He was getting closer and closer.

After traveling for about another half day.

The surroundings grew increasingly primitive and dangerous. Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, breaking it into countless tiny shards of light, while the forest's dimness resembled eternal twilight.

At that moment, Han Yuchen stopped once again.

His Water Element Perception had detected some... man-made traces that did not belong in this forest.

A branch had been severed by some sharp Soul Tool. The cut was smooth as a mirror and still fresh.

Not far away was a campfire that had not been extinguished long ago. Even its ashes retained a faint lingering warmth.

Several faint traces of Soul Power belonging to human soul masters still lingered in the air.

"Looks like I'm already close to the main activity area of the soul masters on the outskirts."

He analyzed the lingering auras in the air. "Five people in total: one Soul Elder and four Soul Grandmasters. Looks like a standard soul-hunting party."

Star Dou Town, the place filled with all kinds of people, opportunities, and dangers in the original story, was not far away.

And where there were people, there were stories.

Perhaps there would even be some new "fun."