Return of the Departed (Seeking Readership)

The dragon claw phantom precisely grasped the transparent light mass that was struggling violently.

The Void Mayfly's shrill cry abruptly stopped, turning into a fine ripple of space that dissipated in Yu Tiancheng's palm.

Its body rapidly solidified, eventually transforming into a palm-sized exuviae, as if carved from crystal, lying quietly in Yu Tiancheng's hand.

A bright purple soul ring rose from the exuviae, hovering in mid-air, emitting fluctuations that subtly resonated with the surrounding space.

"A thousand-year soul ring..." Yu Tiancheng took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

He didn't absorb it immediately. Instead, he cautiously checked the surrounding environment, confirming that no other spirit beasts had been attracted by the commotion.

Afterward, he found a relatively hidden tree hollow, used dry branches and fallen leaves for simple camouflage, and put on his cloak before sitting down cross-legged.

The Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul was quietly released, a faint silver-gray halo enveloping his entire body.

The purple soul ring was drawn, slowly descending and settling onto the martial soul phantom.

Absorption began.

Unlike the gentleness of absorbing the First Soul Ring, the soul ring energy of the Void Mayfly carried a distinct "space" characteristic.

The moment the energy entered his body, Yu Tiancheng felt as if his body had been pulled into some distorted dimension, his limbs and bones experiencing the illusion of being torn by space power.

He steadied his mind, circulated his spirit power with all his might, guiding this special energy along his meridians, and finally converging it into his Dantian.

Time passed bit by bit.

Outside the tree hollow, the sun was setting in the west, and the light in the forest gradually dimmed.

However, Yu Tiancheng's aura was steadily climbing.

The light of the purple soul ring gradually receded, perfectly merging with the silver-gray halo of his martial soul.

A new understanding related to space was slowly taking shape in the depths of his consciousness.

At the same time, about five li to the northwest.

Hu Liena and her group of five were traversing the forest.

The golden chrysanthemum on Yue Guan's fingertip spun slowly, emitting invisible probing ripples. Ghostly, like a true phantom, his figure flickered unpredictably, constantly vigilant of his surroundings.

"Nana, is the direction you sensed roughly around here?" Yue Guan stopped, looking at Hu Liena.

Hu Liena closed her eyes, concentrating. Her Demon Fox Martial Soul's spiritual power finely sensed the surroundings.

She couldn't sense any specific spirit beast aura, of course, but she could feel—this area had a subtle similarity to the residual spirit power in the area where Yu Tiancheng had hidden earlier.

It was the mixed spirit power environment unique to the edge of the mixed zone.

"It should be this direction, but the specific location... is very vague."

She opened her eyes, a hint of confusion appearing on her face at the right moment. "Perhaps that spirit beast has already left, or is hidden very deeply."

Yan said from the side, "Nana, don't rush. Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts are hard to find. Let's search a bit more."

Xie Yue didn't speak, only vigilantly observing the surrounding environment. As the leader of the Golden Generation, he always maintained the highest level of alertness.

Just then, Ghostly's figure suddenly solidified beside an ancient tree.

"There's movement," his hoarse voice sounded. "Southeast direction, about a mile away, there's spirit power fluctuation... very weak, like the residual energy leaked when a Spirit Master absorbs a spirit ring."

Yue Guan raised an eyebrow. "Absorbing a spirit ring? On the edge of this mixed zone? That's quite rare. Let's go take a look."

Hu Liena's heart stirred.

Absorbing a spirit ring... could it be that Yu Tiancheng?

She showed no emotion on her face, merely nodding lightly. "That's fine too. Perhaps we can encounter other Spirit Masters and inquire if there are any special spirit beasts appearing nearby."

The five people quietly changed direction, stealthily moving towards the location Ghostly indicated.

Inside the tree hollow, Yu Tiancheng suddenly opened his eyes.

A flash of silver-gray light flickered in his pupils, and his aura completely stabilized.

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, which actually caused subtle spatial ripples in the air, only to subside after a moment.

"It succeeded... level twenty-one."

He felt the surging spirit power within his body, and the new power in his spirit that was closely connected to space, a strong sense of joy rising in his heart.

The information for his Second Soul Skill also clearly appeared in his mind.

[Second Soul Skill: Void Flash]

Effect: Short-range spatial displacement, maximum distance of ten meters.

The trajectory of displacement is difficult to predict, accompanied by slight spatial disturbances during activation, which can interfere with lock-on spirit skills.

"Spatial displacement!" Yu Tiancheng's eyes lit up.

This was an excellent ability for survival and surprise attacks. Although the distance was short and the number of uses limited, its strategic value was extremely high.

Just as he was immersed in the joy of obtaining a new spirit skill, suddenly, an extremely subtle yet powerful and heart-pounding probing fluctuation swept across the area like spilled mercury.

Yu Tiancheng's body instantly tensed.

This fluctuation... it's a Titled Douluo! And more than one!

"How could it be such a coincidence?" His heart sounded an alarm. Almost instinctively, he activated the Stealth Cloak, concealing his aura to the extreme, and quietly peered out through the gaps in the tree hollow.

He saw five figures slowly emerge in the clearing not far away.

It was Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, who had returned, along with the three members of the Golden Generation!

Hu Liena's gaze swept around casually before finally landing on the ground in this area.

A hint of confusion flashed in her eyes.

The spirit power environment in this area... was too similar to where Yu Tiancheng had hidden before.

It was the Mixed Spirit Power unique to the edge of the mixed zone, and there were faint, indescribable spatial fluctuations lingering.

More importantly, she noticed several unnatural marks on the ground—marks where dead leaves had been deliberately placed, and the cuts on a few broken branches were still fresh.

Someone had been active nearby, and had likely just left.

"Strange, I clearly felt spirit power fluctuations here just now..." Yue Guan frowned slightly, the golden chrysanthemum light flowing on his fingertips as he probed more meticulously.

But this time, he also frowned.

"It's gone?" Yue Guan was somewhat puzzled. "I clearly detected a residual fluctuation of spirit power just now, but now I can't sense anything."

Ghostly's figure solidified beside an ancient tree, and his hoarse voice rang out: "There are two possibilities. Either the other party has already left, or they used some advanced concealment technique."

He paused and added, "If it's the latter, then the other party's concealment ability is probably not simple."

Yu Tiancheng held his breath inside the tree hollow, secretly brewing the prelude to activating Void Flash.

The effect of the Stealth Cloak was indeed powerful, able to conceal even the probes of Titled Douluo.

But the problem was... the other party had already locked onto this area.

Although they couldn't find him, they could wait here.

A distance of ten meters was not enough to escape the pursuit of a Titled Douluo, but it might buy him a sliver of hope.

At this stalemate, Hu Liena suddenly spoke.

"Elder, look over there." She pointed to the side of the tree hollow—there were indeed extremely subtle traces left by Yu Tiancheng when he set up traps.

Yue Guan and Ghostly's attention was drawn over.

She suspected someone was hiding here.

But she wasn't sure who, or their exact location.

Ghostly suddenly spoke, his voice echoing through the forest, cold and irrefutable:

"Friend hiding, come out. We mean no harm, we just have some things... we want to ask."

This was a probe.

If someone was truly hiding, hearing the voice of a Titled Douluo, someone with weaker mental fortitude might reveal a flaw.

If no one was there, they would lose nothing.

Yu Tiancheng's heart sank.

The other party was bluffing.

But the problem was... this bluff was very effective.

Because he was indeed here.

Moreover, the other party had already locked onto this area. Even if he continued to hide, he would be found sooner or later—Titled Douluo had plenty of ways to force him out.

Escape directly? Facing two Titled Douluo, the success rate was almost zero.

Use the Second Soul Skill Void Flash? The distance was too short, and it wouldn't mean much in front of Titled Douluo.

Therefore, there was only one option...

He took a deep breath and made a decision.

Rather than being forced out by the other party's methods, it was better to reveal himself proactively and retain a sliver of initiative.

He slowly retracted the effect of the Stealth Cloak, letting his aura "gradually" reveal itself—from nothing to something, from faint to clear, simulating a state of just having retracted his aura and now being forced to undo his stealth.

Then, he pushed aside the disguised dead branches and slowly walked out of the tree hollow.

His face carried an appropriate level of vigilance, nervousness, and a trace of the awe a young Spirit Master would show when encountering a powerful expert.

"Junior Lin Fan, greets seniors." He cupped his fists in a salute, his voice deliberately lowered, sounding a bit hoarse, "May I ask what instructions seniors have for calling junior out?"

"Lin Fan?" Hu Liena softly repeated the name, a barely perceptible flicker of an unusual color in her eyes.

She didn't recognize "Yu Tiancheng," but she had noticed a few details:

First, the timing of this young man's appearance was too coincidental—he appeared immediately after they called out, having previously evaded the search of Titled Douluo and remained undiscovered.

Second, and most importantly—although this young man only had twenty-one levels of Spirit Power, his nervousness and awe when facing two Titled Douluo were too textbook.

Standard, as if rehearsed.

Yue Guan sized him up, his gaze sharp as a knife, "Were you absorbing a Spirit Ring just now? Your Second Soul Ring?"

"Yes." "Lin Fan" nodded honestly, "Junior was fortunate enough to hunt down an injured Hundred Year Spirit Beast and just finished absorbing it."

Yu Tiancheng specifically emphasized it was a Hundred Year Spirit Beast, not wanting to reveal his abnormality.

"Alone?" Ghostly asked.

"My elders originally wanted to accompany me, but something came up last minute. They instructed me to find a suitable spirit beast in the outer regions," Yu Tiancheng replied, half-truthfully, half-falsely, rationalizing his "solo spirit hunting."

Yue Guan and Ghostly exchanged a glance. A youth just past level twenty, hunting for his Second Soul Ring alone in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, was a bit risky, but not entirely impossible.

Especially if the spirit beast was already injured, that would explain it.

"Your stealth technique is good," Yue Guan said slowly, the golden chrysanthemum light on his fingertips flickering slightly. "Is it a spirit skill? Or... a special Soul Tool?"