Mandala Snake, the Unlucky Damp Master

Setting out from Notting City, a carriage carried Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, Lei Hong, and Wang Sheng over mountains and rivers, heading straight for the Soul Hunting Forest.

Since Lei Hong and Wang Sheng were along for the journey,

Yu Xiaogang did not give Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night to Tang San. He only gave Tang San a dagger for self-defense after entering the Soul Hunting Forest.

After traveling for a full day and night,

by noon the next day, the carriage finally arrived at a Market Town outside the Soul Hunting Forest.

After entering the Market Town, Yu Xiaogang introduced Tang San to the origins of the town and the Soul Hunting Groups calling out along the roadside.

As the carriage passed through the Market Town and arrived before a heavily guarded fortress,

it finally came to a stop.

After getting out of the carriage, the four headed toward the fortress ahead.

This fortress was the entrance to the Soul Hunting Forest.

A seemingly endless ring of iron fencing surrounded the fortress. The fence stood over three men tall, and countless sharp spikes protruded from its top and the side facing the forest within.

In addition, fully armed squads of soldiers could be seen constantly patrolling around the iron fence.

With security this tight, sneaking into the Soul Hunting Forest would undoubtedly be extremely difficult!

However, both Yu Xiaogang and Lei Hong had already obtained entry passes for the Soul Hunting Forest.

After entering the fortress, passing through a corridor, and arriving before the gate leading into the Soul Hunting Forest,

Yu Xiaogang and Lei Hong presented their entry passes.

Once a captain guarding the gate inspected them and confirmed they were valid, the two were quickly allowed through, leading Wang Sheng and Tang San into the Soul Hunting Forest.

"So this is the Soul Hunting Forest? The trees are huge!"

After entering the Soul Hunting Forest and seeing ancient trees all around them, each thicker than a man could wrap his arms around and over a hundred meters tall, Wang Sheng could not help but stare in shock.

Lei Hong merely laughed heartily and patted Wang Sheng on the shoulder.

"Kid, these trees are nothing. Wait until you visit the Star Dou Great Forest—that's when you'll truly have your eyes opened. Let's head in first!"

With that, Lei Hong took the lead down a path worn by countless travelers, heading deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest.

Under Lei Hong's lead, the group ventured deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest.

After passing through the outskirts and officially entering the interior of the Soul Hunting Forest,

Soul Beasts finally began appearing before the four of them.

"That's a Mottled Cat, a feline Soul Beast. It isn't particularly aggressive, but it isn't weak either. For ordinary Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls, its Soul Ring would be a decent choice. Unfortunately, this Mottled Cat is too small."

When a mottled, lynx-like feline Soul Beast burst from the bushes and dashed past them, Lei Hong pointed at the Mottled Cat's retreating figure and introduced it regretfully.

After that, the group successively encountered green baboons resting in the trees—the Soul Beasts known as Wind Baboons.

There were also Wind Gliding Squirrels soaring through the woods, Shadow Leopards sprawled on tree branches, herds of Blue Spirit Deer drinking by streams, Netherworld Wolves hunting in packs, solitary Adamant Tigers on the hunt, the plant Soul Beast Gu Zhu growing alone, Azure Vines coexisting with trees, and more.

Although Lei Hong knew many of the Soul Beasts they encountered, he was still not as knowledgeable as Master.

Thus, whenever they encountered a Soul Beast, Master was often the one to instantly identify it and point out its characteristics and cultivation.

This made Wang Sheng view him in a new light.

Though this Master was rather high-minded despite his limited abilities and loved to put on airs, he really did know a lot about Soul Beasts!

But if that was the case, why didn't he teach at our Notting Academy?

Wang Sheng was puzzled.

As long as he could prove that he possessed outstanding knowledge and ability, hardly everyone at Notting Academy would secretly call him Clown Master and a freeloader!

Traveling through the Soul Hunting Forest, the group of four looked around constantly, searching for Soul Beasts along the way to see whether they could find suitable ones for Tang San and Wang Sheng.

Unfortunately, after searching the entire afternoon, they encountered quite a few wolf, tiger, and leopard-type Soul Beasts, but all of them were under a hundred years old and not the best fit for Wang Sheng.

After discussing it, Wang Sheng decided not to hunt one for the time being.

If they still could not find a suitable hundred-year Soul Beast by the time they reached the depths of the Soul Hunting Forest, they could always return and hunt the eighty-year-old Adamant Tiger they had encountered earlier.

As for Tang San, the most suitable Soul Beast they had encountered was only a Gu Zhu that was just over a hundred years old, so he likewise decided to keep looking.

Just like that, evening arrived in the blink of an eye.

Since it was already late, the group could only find an open patch of ground to set up camp and scatter realgar powder around it to ward off snakes and insects.

They then lit a bonfire and began chewing on the dry rations they had brought.

As night fell,

the campfire attracted a group of uninvited guests—a pack of Netherworld Wolves.

"Awwooo!"

As low growls came from the dark forest around them, pairs of ghostly green eyes steadily approached. Lei Hong snorted coldly, rose to his feet, and began grumbling curses.

"Hmph! They're just a pack of Netherworld Wolves. Their wolf king hasn't even cultivated for a hundred years, yet it dares spy on us? It's courting death!"

With that, Lei Hong strode out of the camp, roared, and summoned his Martial Soul.

"Rockhide Boar, possess me!"

Following Lei Hong's roar, a yellow light flashed. A yellowish-brown wild boar with two sharp, upturned tusks protruding from the corners of its mouth appeared behind Lei Hong with a vigorous bellow, then plunged into his body.

In an instant, Lei Hong's body grew taller, his muscles rapidly swelled, his hair turned yellowish-brown, his skin became like the hide of a Rockhide Boar, and two sharp protruding tusks grew from the corners of his mouth.

At the same time, three Soul Rings—white, yellow, and yellow—rose from beneath Lei Hong's feet and circled his body.

"Second Soul Skill: Rampage Earth Spike!"

After completing Martial Soul Possession, Lei Hong's eyes flashed. With an angry roar, he immediately unleashed his second Soul Skill, clenched both hands into fists, and slammed them into the ground amid a burst of yellowish-brown light.

Bang!

With a muffled boom, yellowish-brown light burst from where Lei Hong's fists struck the ground and shot in a straight line toward the Netherworld Wolf Pack.

Wherever the yellowish-brown light passed, sharp stone spikes of varying sizes burst from the earth. In the blink of an eye, they reached the Netherworld Wolf Pack.

Several Netherworld Wolves that could not dodge in time were pierced through their bodies and impaled atop the spikes.

Though the wolves behind them dodged in time, the pack still lost four Netherworld Wolves.

Yet the attacking Netherworld Wolf Pack only had a dozen or so wolves to begin with!

Realizing that the human before it was so powerful, the Netherworld Wolf King was instantly terrified. After letting out a mournful howl toward the sky, it swiftly led the pack away.

"Ah, what a pity!"

Watching the Netherworld Wolf Pack retreat, Lei Hong looked at the dead wolves falling to the ground as the stone spikes vanished, white Soul Rings condensing above their corpses, and could not help feeling regretful.

Though the Soul Rings of these Netherworld Wolves were useless,

their bodies were still useful. They could add something to the meal.

Not wanting to waste anything, Lei Hong dragged the wolf corpses back to camp, intending to roast some meat. He was getting tired of eating nothing but dry rations.

Wang Sheng and Tang San were both delighted at the prospect of roasted meat.

As children from rural villages, eating meat had been difficult for them. They had rarely eaten much meat growing up, so they craved it.

However, just as Lei Hong was cutting up the wolf meat, skewering it on sticks, and roasting it over the bonfire,

Luo Sanpao, Master's Martial Soul that had been summoned to stand watch, suddenly let out a series of grunting cries and tugged at Master's pant leg.

Yu Xiaogang abruptly got to his feet and looked in the direction Luo Sanpao was pointing.

When he saw a pair of ghostly green vertical pupils slowly rise in the distant forest and caught a faint stench in the air, Master's expression changed at once.

"This is bad. Something's coming!"

As he spoke, Master took out a firestarter and threw it toward the green eyes. The firestarter ignited in the wind, flaring brightly and instantly illuminating the distant forest.

In that instant, all four of them turned pale and sucked in a sharp breath.

For in the forest ahead lay a massive dark-green serpent. It was over three meters long, its enormous head larger than a water vat, and its triangular snake head was mottled dark green and blood red, making it especially terrifying.

"This is... a Mandala Snake, and one with over three hundred years of cultivation!"

Upon seeing the dark-green serpent clearly, Yu Xiaogang forced down his shock and shouted.

"Damn it, how did we run into this thing?!"

Lei Hong immediately cursed, his face turning ugly.

The Mandala Snake was an exceptionally powerful serpent-type Soul Beast. Its strength far surpassed Soul Masters of the same level, and it was highly venomous.

When ordinary Soul Masters encountered one of these things, even Soul Elders had to run.

After all, getting bitten by this thing was no joke. Even a Soul Elder would certainly die!

If there had been a Control System Soul Master at the Soul Elder level beside him, Lei Hong might have dared to take on this three-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake.

But with someone like Yu Xiaogang, a Soul Grandmaster who was practically useless, Lei Hong did not dare entrust his back to Yu Xiaogang.

If he rushed in and Yu Xiaogang failed to restrain the Mandala Snake, then if he was bitten even once by the snake, he would be finished for sure!

He still had a wife and child!

With the meager salary of a Notting Academy teacher, what fucking idiot would risk his life against a Mandala Snake?!

Whether it was Wang Sheng, Tang San, or Yu Xiaogang, they were merely ordinary students and colleagues to Lei Hong. He had no intention of risking his life for the three of them.

It simply was not worth it!

Thus, the first thought that rose in Lei Hong's mind upon seeing this three-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake was:

Run! We have to run now!

"This three-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake is too dangerous. One mistake and we're all dead. We can't fight it head-on. I'll hold it back for a moment. Master, help out too—let Tang San and Wang Sheng run first!"

Before fleeing, Lei Hong kept his eyes fixed on the Mandala Snake and gritted his teeth, telling Wang Sheng and Tang San to run first.

After saying that, Lei Hong roared again, summoned his Rockhide Boar Martial Soul, activated his second Soul Skill, Rampage Earth Spike, and slammed a fist into the ground.

As the second Soul Ring circling Lei Hong lit up,

yellowish-brown light burst from the fist he had struck against the ground and shot straight toward the Mandala Snake. Along the way, stone spikes of varying sizes burst from the earth one after another, rapidly closing in on the Mandala Snake!

"SSS!"

Seeing Lei Hong's attack, the Mandala Snake raised its head and released a sharp hiss. Its long dark-green body twisted rapidly, and it swiftly dodged the earth spikes at incredible speed.

But Master had already prepared for this.

After taking a handful of white radishes from his Storage Soul Tool and tossing them into Luo Sanpao's mouth, Master summoned two yellow hundred-year Soul Rings and activated his Soul Skills.

"First Soul Skill: Thunderous Fart—Sky-Shattering Luo Sanpao!"

"Second Soul Skill: Smoky Fart—Sleep-Inducing Luo Sanpao!"

Following Yu Xiaogang's two successive shouts,

he violently flung out the Soul Rings circling his body, placing them around Luo Sanpao as it leaped into the air.

Luo Sanpao, resembling a purple long-eared furry pig, abruptly turned around, aimed its butt at the Mandala Snake, then opened its mouth and inhaled sharply. Its body instantly expanded like a giant balloon.

Bang!

Bang!

The next moment, with two thunderous booms, two condensed yellowish-white balls of gas shot from Luo Sanpao's butt like cannonballs and instantly struck the Mandala Snake, exploding violently.

As the blast sent the Mandala Snake flying, the enormous amount of yellowish-white foul gas released by the explosion whipped up howling winds and swept in every direction, rapidly spreading a nauseating stench.

"Ah!"

While Lei Hong and Yu Xiaogang used their Soul Skills to drive back the Mandala Snake and buy time for Wang Sheng and Tang San to escape, Wang Sheng and Tang San ran while glancing back.

When Wang Sheng saw Yu Xiaogang throw white radishes into Luo Sanpao's mouth, only for Luo Sanpao to unleash cannonball-like stink-fart attacks that blasted the Mandala Snake away, he was completely dumbfounded.

What the... fuck!

Master had bought so many white radishes earlier, and when asked about them, he had been vague and mysterious.

Who would have thought he bought all those radishes just to feed Luo Sanpao so it could launch stink-fart attacks?

This Master Yu Xiaogang was not only useless in cultivation—even his Soul Skills were this uniquely bizarre. They were farts?!

Fart Soul Skills?!

That was way too embarrassing and ridiculous!

No wonder people called him a useless Clown Master.

Not only was his cultivation useless, but his Martial Soul and Soul Skills were useless too.

Yet he was still so high-minded despite his limited abilities, so proud of his status, so pretentious and arrogant. Not only did he refuse to teach at Notting Academy, he even rejected those who wanted to take him as their master. Where did he get such confidence and pride?!

Wang Sheng was utterly baffled.

"Run!"

Meanwhile, after using his second Soul Skill, Rampage Earth Spike, to force back the Mandala Snake,

Lei Hong saw Yu Xiaogang follow up with his fart Soul Skills and blast the Mandala Snake away. Though shocked, he covered his nose and mouth, shouted, then turned and ran.

As Lei Hong fled, Yu Xiaogang naturally turned and ran as well after using his Soul Skills, taking his Martial Soul Luo Sanpao with him as he tried to escape the Mandala Snake's pursuit.

"SSS!"

However, after being blasted away by Yu Xiaogang's fart attack, the Mandala Snake seemed completely unaffected. After raising its head and hissing furiously, it darted through the forest like lightning and chased after the fleeing group.

Faced with the Mandala Snake's pursuit,

there was still quite a distance between the fleeing group and the Mandala Snake.

But the Mandala Snake was simply too fast!

As it pursued them, the distance between it and the fleeing Lei Hong and Yu Xiaogang steadily shrank.

Since Lei Hong ran much faster than Yu Xiaogang,

Yu Xiaogang fell to the very back.

Seeing the Mandala Snake getting closer and closer behind him, Yu Xiaogang panicked, sweat pouring from his forehead. He could only control Luo Sanpao and have it turn around to charge straight at the Mandala Snake, hoping it could hold the serpent back.

Unfortunately, when faced with the charging Luo Sanpao, the Mandala Snake hissed angrily and sent Luo Sanpao flying with a sweep of its tail. It then accelerated and chased directly after Yu Xiaogang, who had fallen behind.

"Teacher, watch out!!"

At the front, Tang San ran while looking back.

When he saw the Mandala Snake had caught up to Yu Xiaogang, raised its long body, opened its enormous maw, and lunged to bite his teacher, Tang San shouted anxiously.

But it was already too late.

The Mandala Snake opened its enormous maw and pounced on Yu Xiaogang. As it bit down, it swallowed Yu Xiaogang whole in a single gulp.

Lei Hong, Wang Sheng, and Tang San, who were fleeing ahead, were instantly horrified, shocked and enraged.

"Master!" x2

"Teacher!"

Seeing Master swallowed whole by the Mandala Snake, Lei Hong gritted his teeth, abruptly stopped, spun around to face the Mandala Snake, and roared.

"Stop running! We can't outrun this Mandala Snake. While it's swallowed Master, let's kill it together!"