Four-Hundred-Year Crimson Fang Tiger

Early in the morning, Cheng Yao and Huangfu Ji left the inn and headed for the Soul Beast Forest.

Upon reaching the entrance, the captain there clearly knew Cheng Yao, so he did not inspect their permits and simply let them through.

It was now September, and the morning weather had already turned cool, without the stifling heat of July and August.

Once they entered the forest, Huangfu Ji immediately felt the surroundings grow quiet. Breathing in the forest's fresh air, he felt utterly refreshed.

The two ventured deeper, seeing quite a few soul masters traveling in teams to hunt soul beasts along the way. They also saw Spirit Hall soul masters on patrol, whose duty was to inspect permits and prevent those without them from sneaking inside.

Although there were many soul beasts on the continent, their numbers were ultimately limited, especially high-age soul beasts.

The soul rings and Soul Bones produced by soul beasts were vital—even indispensable—to soul masters.

Soul Bones in particular.

Soul Bones were incomparably precious. There were not many soul masters across the entire continent who possessed them, and for a soul master to obtain even a thousand-year Soul Bone required exceptional luck.

Low-level soul masters basically had no Soul Bones. Even soul masters at the level of Titled Douluo did not possess many.

Among Titled Douluo, those with more might have one or two, while those with fewer had only one. Those who possessed three or more were exceedingly rare.

Across the entire continent, those who could gather a complete set of six Soul Bones were almost nonexistent. There might not even be any known publicly.

Huangfu Ji knew that Spirit Hall possessed six inherited Soul Bones, but the only one who could truly absorb all six in the future would be Qian Renxue, because she became a god.

Qian Xunji had only absorbed two. As for Qian Daoliu, that was unclear.

There were roughly several dozen Titled Douluo across the continent. Spirit Hall alone had nine elders and seven Grand Priests, making sixteen in total.

Of all those Titled Douluo on the continent, only two had managed to cultivate to Rank 99: Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen. Bo Saixi could not be counted as a soul master of the Douluo Continent.

Even these three peerless Douluo might not have possessed a complete set of six Soul Bones.

Tang Chen might have. After all, among the three peerless Douluo, he was the only soul master who had cultivated to Rank 99 through his own efforts, and he was also the strongest of the two.

In the future, only Tang San, Bibi Dong, and Qian Renxue would possess six Soul Bones. All three of them became gods.

That alone showed how difficult Soul Bones were to obtain.

The appearance of a single Soul Bone could easily trigger a bloody storm. Even the closest friends could turn against one another over it.

To prevent soul masters from wantonly slaughtering soul beasts, the two Empires and Spirit Hall had established rules strictly prohibiting such acts.

Whenever they encountered soul beasts along the way, Cheng Yao explained them to Huangfu Ji.

Seeing Huangfu Ji's serious expression, he sighed inwardly, his eyes carrying a trace of conflict.

He hoped Huangfu Ji would grow stronger, lead them in defeating Yuan Hao, and reclaim the Duchy's authority. Yet he also did not want Huangfu Ji to become too powerful—he himself was destined never to achieve much in this life.

He only wanted to protect his current interests. By supporting Huangfu Ji, he could safeguard those interests, and expanding them would be even better.

He had seen Huangfu Ji's hard work. He only hoped that after Huangfu Ji grew up, he would be like his father and govern the Duchy together with these old ministers and nobles.

Before long, they encountered a two-hundred-year Rock Bear.

The Rock Bear was entirely earth-brown, with incredibly solid muscles and a massive frame. Its body was covered in a layer of protection like rock.

"This Rock Bear is already two hundred years old. It would be perfect for your First Soul Ring."

Cheng Yao looked at Huangfu Ji. Their luck was good; not long after entering the forest, they had encountered a two-hundred-year soul beast.

However, after taking only one look at the Rock Bear, Huangfu Ji shook his head.

"Though the Rock Bear is decent, it is still only two hundred years old. My ideal range starts at three hundred years."

If this Rock Bear had reached three hundred years, he might have chosen it immediately. Ever since awakening his martial soul, his physique had strengthened to some extent. Besides, he was not trying to absorb a five- or six-hundred-year, or even a seven- or eight-hundred-year soul ring for his First Soul Ring.

If he could not even absorb a three- or four-hundred-year soul ring, then he might as well go back, obediently be a puppet, and wait to die.

"But..." Cheng Yao still wanted to insist, but just as he was about to persuade him, he was interrupted.

Huangfu Ji said, "I must become stronger so that I can defeat Yuan Hao in the future and reclaim power."

At the mention of Yuan Hao, Cheng Yao froze for a moment before nodding.

"Fine. Let's keep looking."

There was no helping it. Yuan Hao was now their greatest enemy, and Huangfu Ji was their hope of defeating him.

At that moment, he also realized that his attitude toward Huangfu Ji might have become somewhat different.

Sometimes, there was nothing he could do. He truly did not know how to face Huangfu Ji.

Huangfu Ji was Grand Duke Qingyang, but he was also only a six-year-old child. Cheng Yao had been too impatient.

The two continued deeper into the forest. Around noon, they finally found a suitable soul beast.

"A four-hundred-year Crimson Fang Tiger."

Upon hearing that it was a four-hundred-year Crimson Fang Tiger, Huangfu Ji's eyes immediately lit up. He looked into the distance, where a tiger with a crimson body, black stripes, and a pair of red fangs was staring at them viciously.

From its pair of crimson fangs and distinctive short tail, Huangfu Ji also confirmed that it was a Crimson Fang Tiger.

"I never expected there to be a Crimson Fang Tiger here too."

Crimson Fang Tigers were relatively rare soul beasts on the continent and were seldom encountered. To find one here—and a four-hundred-year one at that—his luck was almost too good.

Blood was dripping from the Crimson Fang Tiger's fangs, and several human corpses lay not far from it.

It was clear that someone had discovered this Crimson Fang Tiger before they arrived. They had only failed to kill it and been killed instead.

Several wounds were clearly visible on the Crimson Fang Tiger's body.

"Uncle Cheng, this is the one."

Huangfu Ji stopped looking. He would use this Crimson Fang Tiger for his First Soul Ring.

Cheng Yao nodded. "Grand Duke, fall back. I'll take it down."

As he spoke, a deep blue radiance flared from his body. Fish scales covered his face and hands, while a sharp horn emerged from his forehead. Two yellow and three purple Soul Rings rose beneath his feet.

Cheng Yao's Martial Soul was the Unicorn Barracuda, a mutated Martial Soul.

Sensing the threat, the Crimson Fang Tiger did not choose to flee. Instead, it struck first.

"Roar!"

The tiger's roar sent birds scattering and beasts fleeing from the surrounding woods. Then it lunged at Cheng Yao.

Huangfu Ji had already retreated twenty meters away to avoid being caught in the battle. By himself, he would have found it difficult to defeat this Crimson Fang Tiger, so he could only rely on Cheng Yao.

Watching the Crimson Fang Tiger pounce, Cheng Yao gave a low shout as his Third Soul Ring lit up.

He raised a hand, and a wave of water surged toward the Crimson Fang Tiger.

The wave slammed the Crimson Fang Tiger to the ground, soaking its fur from head to toe. Cheng Yao's third Soul Skill was [Tidal Wave], which released water waves to slow opponents and weaken their defenses.

With the strength of a Soul King, dealing with a four-hundred-year Soul Beast was effortless for him.

However, he held back during the fight, intending only to injure it rather than kill it.

Sensing the human's strength, the Crimson Fang Tiger no longer wished to fight. It glanced in one direction and decisively fled that way.

"Trying to run? No chance."

Blue light burst from Cheng Yao's body, and his Fourth Soul Ring lit up. His entire body seemed to melt into flowing water as he rapidly pursued the Crimson Fang Tiger, quickly cutting off its escape.