"Forget it,"
Tang Wulin took a deep breath and suppressed the helplessness and faint irritation in his heart. "We can't let him disrupt our rhythm. Stick to the original plan. First, find favorable terrain and ensure our safety, then consider what comes next."
He had to take responsibility for the remaining four.
Gu Yue withdrew her gaze from the direction Situ Xuan had left in, a complicated, indecipherable expression flickering through her eyes.
She could sense the dangerous aura coming from that direction, but she could also sense Situ Xuan's resolute fighting spirit, one that would never turn back.
"Let's go."
Gu Yue spoke softly, supporting Tang Wulin's decision.
The moment the six members of Zero Class entered the Rioting Spirit Ascension Platform, Situ Xuan's solitary departure had effectively split them into two groups.
One group was Tang Wulin's team of five, seeking cooperation and survival.
The other was a lone figure who had willingly thrown himself into danger and battle—the hunter, Situ Xuan.
Deep within the forest, Situ Xuan sped through the trees. His senses were pushed to their limits, tracking not only Soul Beast trails but also keenly searching for the auras of his "fellow travelers."
"Peak three rings... Don't make me wait too long."
He licked his somewhat dry lips, cold yet excited light flashing in his eyes.
His own "exam" had only truly begun now.
During this riot period, he would verify his path and pave his road to strength with battle and Malevolent Qi!
Situ Xuan darted through the dense forest, swift and silent as a ghost melting into the shadows. His target was clear: lone Soul Beasts at the hundred-year level.
Before long, his gaze locked onto a Tusk Wild Boar gnawing on tree roots.
The boar was massive and sturdy, radiating Soul Power fluctuations of roughly two hundred years.
Situ Xuan did not hesitate in the slightest. He pushed off the ground, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Soul Power gathered around his fist, wrapped in cold, solid Malevolent Qi.
"Pfft!"
With a dull thud, his fist precisely shattered the boar's throat bone. The boar crashed to the ground, and a yellow halo several times denser than usual rose from its corpse. As though drawn in, it quickly gathered around Situ Xuan, circling slowly about his body.
Situ Xuan did not even glance at the spiritual energy halo, much less stop to absorb it.
Instead, he swiftly changed positions under the cover of the trees. This time, however, he made no effort to conceal himself. He merely stood at the edge of a relatively open clearing, allowing the yellow halo to shine around him like a beacon.
First one. He silently counted, calmly sweeping his gaze across the surroundings.
Rather than hide, he chose to openly wear this bait upon himself!
He wanted to tell every predator in this forest—there was a moving "treasure trove of spiritual energy" here. If they had the guts, they could come and take it!
This was not recklessness, but a grand and upright course born from absolute confidence in his own strength!
Using himself as bait, he intended to hook the fools driven by greed, as well as... the true powerhouses worthy of exchanging blows with him!
Before long, those drawn by the spiritual energy fluctuations were no longer merely Soul Beasts.
Faint footsteps sounded from behind the bushes to his right. Immediately afterward, three figures cautiously emerged.
They were three youths who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old. Considerable Soul Power fluctuations surged from their bodies; all three were clearly two-ring Soul Grandmasters. At once, they spotted Situ Xuan standing alone, surrounded by a conspicuous yellow halo.
"Big Brother, look! That kid has a spiritual energy halo around him! There's only one cluster, so he probably just killed a hundred-year Soul Beast."
Greed flashed through the eyes of a tall, skinny youth.
The leader was a broad, muscular youth. He cautiously sized Situ Xuan up and saw that his opponent was merely a younger-looking boy whose Soul Power fluctuations did not seem particularly strong. His courage immediately swelled.
"Kid, if you know what's good for you, leave and withdraw from the Spirit Ascension Platform. That way, you can avoid suffering."
The muscular youth stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice. At the same time, he released his martial soul, and one white and one yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet.
The other two immediately released their martial souls as well, closing in on Situ Xuan in a half-encirclement.
Situ Xuan looked at them without the slightest ripple in his eyes, as though he were looking at three moving stones.
He could not even be bothered to waste words. He merely crooked a finger at them.
That contemptuous gesture completely enraged the three youths.
"You're courting death!"
"Attack!"
All three activated their soul skills at once. A wind blade, a fireball, and a figure whose speed suddenly surged attacked Situ Xuan from different directions.
Faced with the attacks, Situ Xuan moved.
His movements were simple, direct, and efficient.
His footwork shifted, and he effortlessly evaded the wind blade and fireball like a phantom before directly meeting the Agility Attack System Soul Master, who was the fastest of the three.
Under that Soul Master's astonished gaze, Situ Xuan's hand struck after his yet arrived first, precisely seizing his swinging wrist before pulling and twisting it!
"Crack!"
A bone-breaking sound that set teeth on edge rang out, accompanied by a shrill scream.
Situ Xuan did not pause. His elbow smashed backward like a heavy hammer, meeting the muscular youth charging at him from behind.
"Bang!"
Amid a dull impact, the muscular youth flew backward even faster than he had come. His chest caved in as blood sprayed wildly from his mouth.
The last Soul Master, who had launched the ranged attack, was scared out of his wits and turned to run.
Situ Xuan flicked up a pebble with the tip of his foot, infused it with Soul Power, and kicked it out with explosive force!
"Whoosh—pfft!"
The pebble caught up to the fleeing youth like a cannonball and pierced straight through his calf. The man screamed and fell to the ground.
From the start of the battle to its end, only a few short breaths had passed.
The three two-ring Soul Grandmasters had been like clay chickens and pottery dogs before Situ Xuan, utterly unable to withstand a single blow.
Three yellow halos of varying sizes rose from where the three youths had disappeared and swiftly flew toward Situ Xuan. They merged with his original halo, making the spiritual energy glow around him even more dazzling, like a small orb of light walking through the forest.
Situ Xuan still did not absorb them. He did not even spare the three defeated people another glance.
Standing where he was, he lightly shook his wrist as though he had merely done something trivial.
"Trash... Not even worthy of being an appetizer."
He muttered under his breath and looked toward the depths of the forest again, a trace of dissatisfaction in his eyes. "I hope the next one can take a little more punishment."
The four spiritual energy halos around him now radiated an even greater temptation.
They were no longer simple bait. They were more like a banner, one declaring, "The strong are here. The weak, retreat!"
He continued onward, neither hurried nor slow, walking through the perilous forest. Wherever he went, the roars of Soul Beasts and the gazes secretly watching him from the shadows grew denser and more dangerous.
He was using the most direct method possible to screen his opponents.
Those who could resist the temptation of spiritual energy yet dared not act were cowards; those blinded by temptation who attacked rashly were fools; only those who could sense both the temptation and the danger, yet still chose to risk everything and strike... perhaps they alone deserved to be called—prey!
Situ Xuan's hunt had begun in this domineering and direct fashion.
Like cold water poured into boiling oil, he was destined to stir up towering waves within this Rioting Spirit Ascension Platform!
Before you continue