Easy Capture

Deathly silence.

It was as if even the wind had stopped moving. The entire Rocky Beach was left only with everyone's heavy, ragged breathing, and... the silent "sound" of immense, heart-palpitating pure Fire Attribute energy flowing through the air.

That invincible twenty-thousand-year Earth Fire Dragon King, whose pressure rivaled that of a Titled Douluo, was just... gone?

There had been no brutal battle, no difficult resistance, not even a glimpse of any dazzling Soul Skill radiance.

Just a casual wave of the hand.

Like brushing a speck of dust from one's sleeve.

Then that terrifying existence, which had brought a pressure like the end of the world, had completely turned into the most fundamental energy, leaving not even a trace behind.

Such power, beyond comprehension and overturning all common sense, brought not joy, but a chill and confusion that seeped into their bones.

Huo Wushuang leaned against the rock wall, staring blankly at Zhang Bufan's still-unruffled back, then at the empty area ahead, where only hazy red energy remained. His dry throat bobbed, but he could not make a sound. The worldview of Soul Masters that he had built over decades had completely collapsed and shattered at that moment, leaving not even scraps behind. Soul Ring age limits, the superiority of Soul Skills, the invincibility of Titled Douluo... before that young man, they had all become a ridiculous joke.

Teacher Chen and Teacher Li, the two Soul Emperors, stood frozen like statues, all color drained from their faces. They understood better than the younger ones what a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast meant. It was practically an existence that required Spirit Hall elders to mobilize in order to hunt! Yet right before their eyes, it had been casually erased by a young man who looked under twenty, as though swatting a mosquito. This could no longer be described as "genius." Was this... a miracle? Or... a Devil?

"Sen... Senior..." Teacher Chen's voice was hoarse like a broken gong, trembling uncontrollably. "You... you actually..."

Zhang Bufan turned around. The trace of displeasure from being interrupted had vanished from his face, replaced by a relaxed expression akin to someone who had just taken out the trash. He waved a hand and interrupted Teacher Chen again. "I told you already, don't call me Senior. It sounds awkward. Call me Zhang Bufan or Little Zhang."

Little Zhang? Everyone's mouths twitched. Who would dare call you Little Zhang?! We still wanted to live a few more years!

Huo Wu finally came back to her senses from her overwhelming shock. Looking at the figure standing before her, not especially broad, yet seeming capable of blocking all storms and holding up the entire sky, her heart was filled with mixed emotions. Relief at surviving the disaster, reverence for overwhelming power, and endless curiosity about Zhang Bufan's identity intertwined, making her heart pound like a drum.

But even more than that, a sense of dependence that she herself had not noticed quietly took root within her. It felt as though, as long as that figure was there, she would not need to fear any danger.

"Are... are you hurt?" Huo Wu asked instinctively, her voice carrying concern she had not even noticed herself. Only after asking did she feel foolish. How could someone capable of casually erasing a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast possibly be injured?

At her words, Zhang Bufan's eyes immediately lit up. He stepped closer, grinning at her. "Oh? Wu'er is worried about me? Don't worry, don't worry. A little crawler like that isn't even qualified to scratch my itch." He pointed at the immense pure energy in the air. "But you, you were interrupted just now. Has your Soul Power stabilized? Hurry up and continue. Don't waste this... well, the quality's average, but there's quite a lot of this snack."

Sn... snack?!

Everyone looked at the vast energy that would drive any Fire Attribute Soul Master mad, then heard Zhang Bufan's casual appraisal and nearly spat out blood. This was the source energy of a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast! Even Titled Douluo would turn green with envy at such a thing, and he called it a snack?! He even said the quality was average?!

Huo Wu was choked by his description as well, unable to laugh or cry. But she knew Zhang Bufan was right. This was not the time to space out. She took a deep breath, forced down her turbulent emotions, and sat cross-legged again, preparing to continue guiding and absorbing the Soul Ring energy that had originally belonged to the Lava Lizard, along with... the even more immense "snack" in the air.

However, just as she closed her eyes and prepared to calm her mind—

"Oh, right." Zhang Bufan suddenly seemed to remember something and slapped his forehead. "I was so busy taking out the trash that I nearly forgot the important business."

Important business? Everyone was stunned. Was instantly killing the Earth Fire Dragon King not important business?

Zhang Bufan casually swept his gaze toward a pile of rocks some distance away, where that five-thousand-year Lava Lizard had previously hidden. The rock pile was trembling faintly. Clearly, the Lava Lizard, which had luckily escaped disaster—or rather, had been ignored—had been so terrified by the Earth Fire Dragon King's appearance and Zhang Bufan's dragon-destroying wave that it was shaking uncontrollably, lacking even the courage to flee.

"Why are you hiding there? Come out." Zhang Bufan spoke toward the pile of rocks in a calm tone, as though calling to a pet he kept at home.

There was no response. Only the rocks shook even harder.

Zhang Bufan curled his lip, seeming a little impatient. He stretched out his right hand toward the pile of rocks and made a light grabbing motion through the air.

There was no Soul Power fluctuation, no flash of light.

Yet under everyone's horrified gazes, the air in that area seemed to instantly solidify and compress! Then, amid a teeth-grating creaking sound, a huge Lava Lizard covered in Dark Red scales was forcibly "picked" from between the rocks by an invisible giant hand!

Its four claws left the ground, its massive body imprisoned in midair by an utterly irresistible force. It struggled futilely and let out terrified, despairing hisses. Those originally savage eyes now held only endless fear and pleading.

It looked at Zhang Bufan as though he were a god who held its life and death in his hands.

Zhang Bufan examined the Lava Lizard he had caught with his "remote retrieval" and nodded. "Mm, around five thousand years old. The attribute matches too. It'll do."

He was like an aunt at a market picking ingredients, weighing the quality of a potato.

Then he casually tossed it—

Bang!

That Lava Lizard, weighing several thousand jin, was precisely thrown onto the open ground not far in front of Huo Wu like a weightless rag doll. The force restraining it vanished at the instant it landed, but it slumped limply on the ground, without even the strength to stand. It could only stare at Zhang Bufan with eyes filled with extreme terror, its entire body shaking like a sieve.

Zhang Bufan clapped his hands as if he had done something insignificant. Looking at Huo Wu, who had just opened her eyes and was once again left dumbstruck by the scene before her, he spoke in a tone as casual as asking her to pick up a cabbage:

"There, your Soul Ring. Hurry and absorb it. No one will interrupt you this time."

"..."

Silence.

An even deeper silence than when the Earth Fire Dragon King had vanished.

If erasing the Earth Fire Dragon King had displayed destructive, incomprehensible power, then this act of capturing a five-thousand-year Soul Beast from afar and accurately delivering it displayed another equally incomprehensible kind of power: effortless control down to the finest detail!

He had not even summoned his Martial Soul!

With just a casual grab and throw, a five-thousand-year Soul Beast that Blazing Fire Academy's elite team had treated as a serious threat and prepared detailed battle plans for had become a lamb awaiting slaughter, delivered right in front of Huo Wu to await the absorption of its Soul Ring?

This had already gone beyond being "powerful." This was practically... playing with the Rules!

Huo Wushuang looked at the Lava Lizard lying limp on the ground without any ability to resist, then thought of how he had solemnly declared that he would protect his sister and personally hunt a Soul Ring for her... An immense sense of absurdity and helplessness surged through him. Before absolute power, all their efforts and preparations seemed so laughable and feeble.

Teacher Chen and Teacher Li exchanged a glance, seeing the same numbness in each other's eyes. They had been shocked to the point of numbness. Everything they had witnessed today would be enough for them to spend the rest of their lives processing, enough to make them question life itself.

Huo Wu looked at the Lava Lizard before her, completely devoid of fighting spirit and at the mercy of others, then raised her head toward Zhang Bufan, whose face seemed to say, Hurry up and praise me. Her emotions were complicated beyond measure.

She had originally thought obtaining her Fourth Soul Ring would be a difficult battle, an important trial and experience on her path as a Soul Master. She had been prepared to be injured, even to face danger.

But what was reality?

Danger had come, and it had been World-destroying-level danger, but Zhang Bufan had casually swatted it away.

Training? Battle? Neither existed. The Soul Beast had been directly "packaged and delivered to her door," and it was even the "scared stiff" version, sparing her the final step of making it resist.

This feeling... was like preparing to take an important exam with clenched fists, only for the examiner to carry you straight to the top-score seat and stuff the answers into your hands...

It was a little... too unreal.

"What are you standing around for?" Seeing that Huo Wu had not moved, Zhang Bufan urged her, "Hurry up. Once you finish it, we can head back. This place gets stifling if we stay too long."

His tone was so matter-of-fact, as though hunting a Soul Ring were as simple as eating and drinking.

Huo Wu took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the complicated emotions in her heart. She knew this was not the time to dwell on such things. No matter how absurd the process had been, the result was that she urgently needed this Soul Ring to break through.

She stood and walked toward the limp Lava Lizard. Sensing her approach, the Lava Lizard merely let out a weak whimper. It did not even have the strength to lift a claw.

Huo Wu summoned her Flame Martial Soul, blazing fire condensing in her palm. Looking at this Soul Beast, which should originally have been a formidable opponent but was now like a lamb awaiting slaughter, she felt no joy of victory. Instead, she felt an inexplicable... emptiness.

But she did not hesitate. The world of Soul Masters had always been one where the strong preyed upon the weak.

Her hand rose, and the Flame Blade fell.

It precisely ended the Lava Lizard's life.

A deep Purple Soul Ring slowly condensed and rose from its corpse, emitting immense energy fluctuations.

This time, there were no more accidents.

Huo Wu sat cross-legged and began guiding this Fourth Soul Ring that belonged to her.

Meanwhile, Zhang Bufan somehow produced another fruit, leaned against a nearby rock, and leisurely began eating it, as though everything that had happened had nothing to do with him.

Only the immense energy left behind by the Earth Fire Dragon King, not yet fully dissipated in the air, and the Lava Lizard lying limp on the ground, freshly dead, silently told of how earth-shattering everything that had just happened truly was.

The others from Blazing Fire Academy surrounded Huo Wu like the most loyal guards. Yet their gazes could not help drifting toward the young man eating fruit, their eyes filled with reverence, fear, and a trace of bewilderment at an existence that no longer seemed human.