Dragon

"This feeling..."

At the outermost edge of the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, a dragon-type soul beast with ninety thousand years of cultivation slowly opened its eyes.

It sensed a familiar aura.

As a member of the Hell Demon Dragon Clan, it possessed the unique Yin Water attribute.

"Interesting. If I can capture that kid and bring him back, I'll have a good chance of breaking through to a hundred thousand years."

One hundred thousand years was a major hurdle that troubled the vast majority of soul beasts.

Although it was a genius among dragons, it did not wish to rely too heavily on the power of the dragon clan.

Its wings spread wide. Its enormous body rose into the air.

In just a few breaths, the giant dragon shot straight into the clouds.

"What a powerful aura. Since when did such a powerful soul beast appear here?"

As frogs at the bottom of the well in the outermost reaches of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape, both of whom had reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation, sensed this powerful force immediately.

"Should we go take a look?"

Titan Giant Ape was the first to suggest it.

Although this force was powerful, and its owner was very likely a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast,

no matter what, he himself was also a powerful being with a hundred thousand years of cultivation.

Besides, the Sky Azure Bull Python was here as well.

Even if the other party truly was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, there was no way the two of them would lose in a two-on-one fight.

"Mm, let's go take a look!"

Its body, dozens of meters long, slowly shifted as the Sky Azure Bull Python made its decision.

Over all these years, there had only been a handful of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts here.

A new powerful presence could very well disrupt the hard-won balance.

After the Azure Sea Spirit Ape died, the Wind Baboons under its command scattered as well.

They had never possessed much will to fight in the first place. They had merely been driven by the Azure Sea Spirit Ape.

Now that the Azure Sea Spirit Ape controlling them was dead, they naturally would not continue fighting these troublesome humans before them.

"Student Su Chen, how are you?"

Finally free from danger, the two teachers leading the group hurriedly picked up Su Chen, who lay in a pool of blood.

As teachers of Skywater Academy, they naturally understood Su Chen's importance.

If anything happened to Su Chen during this soul-hunting trip, their careers as soul masters would likely come to an end as well.

"He's... not breathing anymore."

The teacher leading the group gently placed a finger beneath Su Chen's nose, her eyes already brimming with tears.

No breath, no pulse.

Su Chen was already dead.

"Teacher... is Student Su Chen really dead?"

"Teacher..."

Though they tried with all their strength to stand again and reach their teachers,

the perilous battle just now had drained the last of their strength.

Their legs gave out, and the two who had just risen fell back to the ground.

"What do we do now..."

The teacher responsible for defense was nearly in tears.

Not only because of Su Chen's death, but also because of her own bleak future.

"Let's take him back first. Even if he's only a corpse, he's still a student of Skywater Academy."

The Soul King responsible for offense was even more grief-stricken.

Unlike the defensive Soul King who had been dealing with the Wind Baboons,

Su Chen had saved her life.

She knew clearly that if Su Chen had not forcibly interrupted that heavy blow, it would have absolutely taken her life.

Holding Su Chen's lifeless body, she slowly headed in the direction of Skywater Academy.

"Why? Why did this happen?!"

The attack by the soul beast horde, a rare soul beast with over ten thousand years of cultivation, a classmate dying before their very eyes...

These overwhelming shocks caused one student to break down completely.

"Didn't the teacher say that only Thousand-Year Soul Beasts should exist in a place like this? Why? Why did a soul beast horde like this appear?!"

Clutching her head, unable to bear the pressure, she painfully dropped to her knees and burst into tears.

"The world of soul masters isn't as simple as what you learn in class."

Having just lost a genius, the teachers leading the group had no mood to reprimand this student who had already broken down.

"What's this?"

As they passed the Azure Sea Spirit Ape, Su Chen's seemingly lifeless body twitched slightly.

"Isn't this Su Chen's first soul skill?"

Little Black and Little White emerged from Su Chen's body, greatly delighting the two teachers.

If a person had died, their soul rings could no longer have any effect.

Since these two balls of Soul Power still existed, could it be that Su Chen was not dead yet?

A pitch-black soul ring floated out from the Azure Sea Spirit Ape's body, proving its cultivation as a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast.

That soul ring slowly drifted toward Little Black and Little White.

"A soul ring?"

Everyone present unconsciously stopped walking. Could Su Chen still absorb a soul ring under such circumstances?

That seemed impossible. Absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring as his Third Soul Ring was simply unheard of.

There were occasionally legendary geniuses who absorbed a ten-thousand-year soul ring as their fourth soul ring.

But reaching the ten-thousand-year level with a Third Soul Ring was far too outrageous.

Yet the joy lasted only an instant before cold reality quickly descended.

After the soul ring floated toward Little Black and Little White, the miracle they had hoped for did not occur.

The black Soul Power split into two streams, flowing into Little Black and Little White along with the soul attached to the soul ring.

In just a few minutes, the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring had been completely devoured.

Little Black and Little White also began to mutate. Their bodies had now expanded from tiny spheres into basketball-sized balls.

The two balls of Soul Power seemed unwilling to return to the soul rings just like that. Instead, they faced one another in midair and slowly revolved.

In the end, they transformed into a massive ball of Soul Power where black and white intertwined, then flowed back into Su Chen's body.

"Su Chen, please! Wake up!"

Everyone prayed ceaselessly in their hearts. Though coming back from the dead seemed utterly unbelievable,

he was, after all, the academy's greatest genius since its founding. If it was him, perhaps it really was possible.

But reality was always cold, and their prayers had no effect.

Little Black and Little White quickly merged into Su Chen's body, and everything came to an abrupt end.

Yet Su Chen remained completely motionless.

The sky suddenly darkened, causing the hearts of the two teachers leading the group to sink.

A giant dragon with a body length of ten meters appeared in midair.

Dragon-type soul beasts were already at the pinnacle of soul beasts in terms of overall strength. A creature of this size could not possibly be weak.

Even if the two of them joined forces while at full strength, they would not be able to defeat such a monster.

Much less now, after they had just gone through a fierce battle and had less than a tenth of their strength remaining.

"Humans, put down the man in your arms."

A majestic voice rang beside the two teachers' ears as the giant dragon covered in purple scales descended before them.

As a genius among soul beasts, directly communicating with humans through spiritual power was no difficult task for it.