"Sorry for the trouble, Senior. Please take us to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain a Spirit Ring."
Su Wen didn't put on airs as a disciple of the Pope. He simply asked politely.
Ao Debiao first froze, then received a voice transmission and immediately understood the situation.
"Your Highnesses, please follow me!"
Just after Su Wen and the others had left Spirit Hall,
an angry voice suddenly rang out from Elder Hall:
"My flowers! Aah! Who was it? Who?!"
Bibi Dong, who was handling official business, heard the voice and furrowed her pretty brows slightly.
She looked at the flowers on her desk, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but lift a little.
"Someone, go tell Chrysanthemum Douluo that his flowers are lovely. I couldn't resist the urge to pluck a few."
At that moment, on the carriage bound for the Soul Hunting Forest,
Su Wen suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.
He rubbed his nose and looked at Hu Liena, who seemed distracted.
"Strange. Nana, what's wrong?"
"Senior Brother, Teacher said I can't handle such a high age!"
Hu Liena's little face was full of conflicted uncertainty. What she really wanted to say was that she didn't know whether to believe Aunt Ye or Teacher.
"Then do you believe Senior Brother?"
Chapter 19: Crimson Flame Fox King
"Mm, Nana believes Senior Brother!"
Hu Liena immediately felt reassured.
She clenched her little fists and stopped worrying about it.
There was no mistake in listening to Senior Brother.
"Your Highnesses, we've arrived!"
Just then, Ao Debiao's voice came from outside.
Su Wen led Hu Liena down from the carriage.
The Soul Hunting Forest was a place where Spirit Hall raised Spirit Beasts.
It was mainly home to Hundred-Year and Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts, so the danger level was very low.
Almost every kingdom had a forest like this, where Spirit Beasts were raised for low-level Soul Masters to hunt and for the children of noble families to train.
The forest was guarded by dedicated sentries, and there was even a map at the entrance.
The Fire Fox Bibi Dong had mentioned was properly called the Crimson Flame Fox. It lived in the Fire Fox Forest.
Su Wen easily found its location on the map.
He couldn't help sighing. Human-run breeding grounds really were different.
The map clearly marked which Spirit Beasts lived where.
Ao Debiao showed his token to the guards, and the three of them headed toward the Fire Fox Forest.
"Your Highnesses can wait here for a while. At His Holiness the Pope's instruction, I'll catch a four-hundred-year-old Crimson Flame Fox."
"Of course, His Holiness also said that the two of you may venture farther into the forest if you wish."
When they reached the edge of the Fire Fox Forest, Ao Debiao spoke up.
"Then sorry for the trouble, Senior. My junior sister and I will wait here. Try to catch a few more if you can, preferably ones over five hundred years old. I want to roast some spicy rabbit heads!"
With a free leopard to do the work, Su Wen wasn't about to hold back.
"Your Highness is joking. I'm not worthy of being called Senior. If you don't mind, you can call me Little Biao!"
Ao Debiao hadn't expected His Holiness the Pope's disciple to be so approachable.
As a disciple of the Pope, he was not only envied by the Cardinals and White-Clad Bishops, but might even inherit the position of Pope one day.
Ao Debiao summoned his Flame Leopard,
full of energy.
After Martial Soul Possession, he nimbly darted into the forest.
The Flame Leopard was extremely fast.
In just fifteen minutes,
he returned with several beasts.
The Crimson Flame Foxes were fiery red all over, with bright fur and a long tail behind them.
But among the three foxes, Su Wen saw that one had two tails.
"Your Highness, this Fire Fox has mutated. It may have become a Crimson Flame Fox King. Unfortunately, it's already six hundred years old; otherwise, it would've been a good fit for Her Highness Hu Liena."
"This one is over four hundred years old, and the other is over seven hundred. Her Highness Hu Liena should absorb the one over four hundred years old."
Ao Debiao ended his Martial Soul Possession and kicked the four-hundred-year-old fox, which was already on its last legs, toward them.
Su Wen's eyes lit up. A mutated Crimson Flame Fox King—now that was exciting.
He cleared his throat. "All right, but please catch a few more Fire Foxes. Two spicy heads won't be enough for us!"
"Sure!"
Ao Debiao chuckled. He really hadn't expected His Highness to be such a glutton, but he didn't refuse. Dealing with these Hundred-Year Spirit Beasts was a simple matter.
After Ao Debiao left, Su Wen took a dagger from his Soul Tool.
"Nana, today Senior Brother will teach you an important lesson on the path of a Soul Master: kill the Crimson Flame Fox King!"
"N-Nana understands!"
Hu Liena took the dagger. Her little hand trembled slightly as she approached the Crimson Flame Fox King.
She took a deep breath, then thrust the blade into its throat.
By the time Ao Debiao returned, Hu Liena was already absorbing the Spirit Ring.
Ao Debiao smiled in approval. These two Highnesses were braver than he'd imagined.
Suddenly, his expression froze. The two Fire Foxes in his hands dropped to the ground with a smack, and he fell heavily to his knees.
"The Crimson Flame Fox King!"
Ao Debiao checked again and again to make sure the Spirit Ring Hu Liena was absorbing belonged to the Crimson Flame Fox King.
He knew he was finished. He could already picture His Holiness the Pope's fury: his son dressed in mourning white, his wife in another man's arms, his family fortune belonging to someone else, and nothing left for him but graves in the dirt.
"Relax!"
Su Wen walked over and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
He looked relaxed, but he was a little nervous inside too.
The Crimson Flame Fox King had indeed exceeded the estimated limit.
Seeing Hu Liena's pained expression, with a little blood even spilling from the corner of her mouth, Su Wen clenched his fists. All he could do was wait.
Fortunately, after fifteen minutes, Hu Liena's expression gradually returned to normal, and the aura around her suddenly surged.
"H-How is this possible?!"
Ao Debiao was weeping bitterly, but when he saw Hu Liena's condition, he knew she had successfully absorbed it.
That was a six-hundred-year Spirit Ring!
Wasn't the first Spirit Ring supposed to be incapable of exceeding five hundred years?
Hadn't a Grandmaster even calculated the limit down to the exact year?
"S-Senior Brother, Nana did it!"
Hu Liena stood up and ran happily toward Su Wen, not caring about the blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Well done, Nana!"
Su Wen praised her and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "How's the Spirit Skill?"
"Senior Brother, it's called Fox Fire Command. When I use it, my attack power and spiritual power both increase by 100%. It's a group attack. Fox Fire forms in my hand, and the flames are extremely hot and can corrode an enemy's spiritual power."
Hu Liena was thrilled, but Su Wen froze. Even Ao Debiao beside them looked surprised.
A group flame attack that also boosted her abilities—this Spirit Skill was on par with a Thousand-Year Spirit Skill.
Thinking back to how much effort it had taken to fight the Crimson Flame Fox King, Ao Debiao understood. Although the Crimson Flame Fox King was only six hundred years old, it could go up against a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast without any trouble.
"Brother Biao, keep what happened today a secret."
"Your Highness, don't worry. Ao Debiao's lips are sealed!"
Ao Debiao knew full well that if word got out, it would shock the entire Soul Master World's theories.
If outsiders learned that the Pope's disciple had such extraordinary talent, she would undoubtedly be targeted for assassination in the future.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had a Titled Douluo who liked to secretly kill geniuses.
"Let's go. We're heading back!"
Pope Hall!
Bibi Dong listened to Ao Debiao's report, then glanced at the two little ones who had returned.
"So, Nana's Spirit Ring was six hundred years old?"
Before you continue