Thirty Thousand Year Soul Bone, Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent

Suddenly, a faint fluctuation of Soul Power came from the Earth Flame Lizard's foreleg, instantly drawing Lin Mu's attention.

With a pull of his Soul Power, Lin Mu drew a Spirit Bone faintly glowing red into his hand.

"It actually dropped a left arm bone."

Looking at the left arm bone in his hand, a trace of surprise flashed through Lin Mu's eyes. He had not expected his luck to be this good, casually obtaining a Spirit Bone just like that.

This was a Thirty Thousand Year Soul Bone. Though it could not be called top-tier, it was still an exceedingly rare treasure.

After all, a certain Titled Douluo did not even possess a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Lin Mu stored the Spirit Bone in his Storage Soul Tool. Just as he was about to take Tang San and Xiao Wu deeper into the forest, he suddenly sensed the aura of another Soul Beast rapidly approaching.

Very soon, a pale red figure swept through the air. It was a serpent-type Soul Beast with a fleshy crest, a slender body, and astonishing speed.

"A Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent?"

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and noticed that this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was injured. It had clearly already been targeted by other Soul Masters.

Phoenix-tail Crested Serpents were relatively rare Soul Beasts. This one was just over a thousand years old and was injured, so it was basically certain that the ones pursuing it were either Snake Dowager or Zhao Wuji.

Soon, Lin Mu sensed two figures hurrying in this direction as well.

One old and one young. If nothing unexpected happened, they should be Snake Dowager and her granddaughter, Meng Yiran.

After a brief moment of thought, Lin Mu made up his mind.

With a casual punch, he sent a flaming fist straight into the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's abdomen, knocking it from the sky. It crashed heavily onto the ground, blood pouring ceaselessly from its belly, already unable to move.

Seeing the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent fall from the sky, Snake Dowager and Meng Yiran quickened their pace once more.

Before long, the two arrived nearby. Seeing the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent barely clinging to life ahead of them, their hearts jolted. Who had attacked it?

Turning her gaze, Snake Dowager noticed Lin Mu's group of three in the distance.

"They must have severely wounded the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent."

Snake Dowager had no time to think further and was about to step forward to offer thanks. Yet when she saw their youthful faces, she froze where she stood.

"How was this possible?!"

Seeing that the one who had acted was such a young man, Snake Dowager's heart churned with shock.

In her view, anyone capable of so easily subduing a Thousand-Year Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent known for its speed should at least have been a middle-aged Soul Master in his thirties or forties, perhaps even a Soul Sage-level expert.

But the person before her was clearly only a young man in his early twenties!

His face was handsome without lacking masculine vigor, and a sharp edge hid between his brows. Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she never would have believed that the one who subdued the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent could be so young.

Meng Yiran beside her widened her beautiful eyes, her cherry lips slightly parted, her face filled with disbelief.

She looked at the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent struggling on the ground, then at the calm Lin Mu, and her mind could barely process it.

Even Grandma had been unable to subdue the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. This man did not seem much older than her, yet he had restrained it so easily.

Could his strength actually surpass Grandma's?

"To possess such formidable strength at such a young age, could he be some monster raised by a reclusive sect?"

Snake Dowager had lived for most of her life and considered herself highly knowledgeable, yet at this moment, she felt as though her understanding of the world had been overturned.

She took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the shock in her heart. Not daring to show the slightest neglect, she hurried forward a step and spoke with unprecedented solemnity.

"This old woman is Chao Tianxiang. Thank you, sir, for lending a hand and subduing this beast. This Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is extremely important to my granddaughter. Might you be willing to accommodate us?"

"This Soul Beast is of no use to us. Do as you please."

Lin Mu waved his hand and spoke casually.

Hearing this, Snake Dowager immediately breathed a sigh of relief, her vigilance completely vanishing. She said gratefully, "Thank you for granting us this favor. This old woman is endlessly grateful."

Only after hearing her grandmother speak did Meng Yiran recover from her shock. She quickly gave Lin Mu a slight bow and said, "Th-thank you, Senior."

There was a trace of hesitation and timidity in her voice. Facing this powerful Soul Master who was not much older than her, she instinctively felt a sense of distance and pressure.

Hearing this, Meng Yiran's face lit up with joy. She took out a dagger and prepared to step forward to deliver the final blow.

"Rustle—"

Just then, a series of footsteps suddenly came from behind them.

Immediately afterward, a somewhat bedraggled group emerged. They were the members of Shrek Academy led by Zhao Wuji.

Since their group had no healing-type Soul Master, Zhao Wuji's injuries had not recovered much. His face was still bruised and swollen.

"You call yourselves geniuses, yet this is the pathetic state of your teamwork? You can't even handle a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Uh?!"

Zhao Wuji had been scolding Dai Mubai and the other four, but before he could finish, he saw the figure that had given him nightmares all night.

"It's him!"

Zhao Wuji's pupils shook violently, and the muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably. His once-straight back instinctively bent a little, his eyes filled with terror and disbelief.

In this vast Star Dou Great Forest, why did they have to run into this great demon?

"Wh-why is he here?!"

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun turned pale as well, nearly spinning around and fleeing on the spot.

Seeing these people suddenly appear, Snake Dowager and Meng Yiran became alert once more. In the Star Dou Great Forest, there was no shortage of incidents involving murder for treasure or stealing Soul Rings.

"Master."

Tang San immediately moved to Lin Mu's side, his gaze instantly locking onto Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun. His expression was grave, and he was already prepared to fight.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, looked preoccupied, as though she could not muster any interest.

Lin Mu calmly swept his gaze over Zhao Wuji and the others. A faint curve appeared at the corner of his lips as he said, "Don't be so nervous. I said yesterday that we were even, so naturally I won't settle scores with you afterward."

Hearing this, Zhao Wuji, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Excellency is noble and magnanimous. Naturally, you would not lower yourself to our level."

Zhao Wuji forced out a smile uglier than crying, feeling incomparably fortunate. Luckily, this senior was a good person. Otherwise, they might have been finished.

After thinking it over for an entire night, Zhao Wuji had become increasingly certain that Lin Mu was a Titled Douluo, which was why he addressed him as Your Excellency.

There was another reason as well. This man looked at least twenty years younger than him, and calling him Senior somehow felt strange.

Lin Mu remained calm in the face of Zhao Wuji's flattery.

At that moment, Oscar walked to Zhao Wuji's side and quietly reminded him, "Teacher Zhao Wuji, this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is about to die."

Hearing this, Zhao Wuji's heart tightened. He immediately looked toward the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent and saw that it truly was on its last breath. It would likely die completely within an hour.