The boy with the Flame Chicken martial soul immediately ran over to the Flame Bird and slit its throat.
Several minutes later, he succeeded. He then used Martial Soul Possession, and a rooster's crow rang out.
"Are you fucking looking to die? Screeching like that will attract soul beasts." Kelse truly wanted to crush this guy to death.
"Teacher, another soul beast is already approaching. It seems very interested in that chicken." Nan Xuan used his First Soul Skill to keep watch over their surroundings.
"Clean up and move out, now! These soul beasts are all linked in the food chain. If we don't run, we'll end up becoming their extra meal." Suppressing his anger, Kelse shouted at everyone.
Nan Xuan increased his spiritual power output and clearly saw the soul beast's appearance. "Teacher, it's a Seal Eagle. It suits my martial soul perfectly, and its age is just right for me."
Hearing this, Kelse hesitated. If they left, it would be difficult to encounter another suitable one later. But if they stayed...
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "How many?"
Nan Xuan replied, "One."
"Sigh, get ready. Everyone hide. A Seal Eagle's wings can form a Seal Formation that seals Soul Power and spiritual power. We have to kill it in one strike." Kelse ultimately decided to stay and take down the eagle.
"Control-type Soul Masters, prepare your soul skills. Release them when I give the order," Kelse instructed.
The two Control-type Soul Masters in the team nodded to show they understood.
A streak of green light cut down from the sky. Then, a Seal Eagle over one and a half meters tall appeared beside the Flame Bird's corpse and lowered its head to sniff it.
"Release!"
At Kelse's command, the Control-type Soul Masters unleashed their strongest control skills.
Using that brief window, Kelse drove a heavy punch into the eagle's head. A bird's skull was much harder than the bones elsewhere on its body, so Kelse's blow only left it half-injured.
Seeing that the Seal Eagle could still fight back, Bibi Dong immediately used her third soul skill, Death Spider Web Restraint.
Then came the powerful output of her Second Soul Skill. The Seal Eagle's skull shattered. Nan Xuan kept a close eye on the battle, and just as the soul beast was about to die, he sent a flying knife over, catching it at exactly the right moment.
"Uh, sorry. I didn't control it very well," Bibi Dong said apologetically.
No one said anything. Kelse could only feel that his surname should have been Fan, not Ke.
Nan Xuan walked over to Bibi Dong and gently patted her small hand, showing that it was fine and she needn't worry.
Nan Xuan sat down, summoned his martial soul, and began drawing in the soul ring formed by the Seal Eagle before placing it onto his martial soul.
"Wait, something's wrong. This Seal Eagle had a wingspan of four meters. According to Spirit Hall's research records, it should be 5,500 years old. No one has ever absorbed a soul ring of that age as their Fourth Soul Ring." Kelse stared at the Seal Eagle's corpse as he suddenly remembered, only to find that Nan Xuan had already begun.
Kelse raised his arm, about to strike Nan Xuan, but Bibi Dong stopped him just in time.
"Assistant Bibi Dong, what are you doing? If we don't interrupt his absorption of the soul ring now, his body will directly explode from excessive Soul Power, and he'll die." Seeing Bibi Dong block him, Kelse was utterly baffled. He even suspected the two had a grudge against each other.
"Teacher Kelse, I can guarantee that Nan Xuan will absorb it safely. He explained the situation to me before. Things were just too urgent earlier, so he didn't get the chance to say it. Please wait quietly," Bibi Dong said in a slightly cold tone.
Looking at the trouble Nan Xuan had left behind, Bibi Dong was somewhat speechless. He actually wanted her to clean up after him. If she hadn't known that he could absorb soul rings beyond his level, she would have been worried sick.
Nan Xuan's face had turned somewhat pale, and his back was drenched in sweat, making even the usually calm Bibi Dong begin to panic.
Kelse was also extremely nervous. If something happened to a student, he wouldn't have an easy time when he returned.
Fortunately, the situation did not last long. After around forty minutes, Nan Xuan's aura had completely stabilized.
An hour later, Nan Xuan had fully absorbed the soul ring.
When he stood up, he felt an itch on his back. However, he did not check it and instead activated his First Soul Skill.
His expression suddenly turned alarmed, and he shouted to Kelse and the others, "Teacher, tell everyone to leave quickly! A flock of Vultures is coming."
"What? Damn it, not one of the students I brought has brought me any luck." Kelse cursed loudly while shouting for everyone to stay alert and leave quickly.
A huge rumble came from the sky, caused by the Vultures flapping their wings. These soul beasts enjoyed eating carrion, but they also sometimes favored special soul beast corpses, such as hard-to-hunt Seal Eagles and Soul Masters.
Nan Xuan pulled Bibi Dong toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. Everyone else followed behind them, while Kelse chose to stay at the rear to protect the group.
They knew Nan Xuan's soul skill could sense the surrounding area, so they trusted that his route was relatively safe.
And it was indeed so. Along the way, they encountered only some low-level soul beasts.
However, that also meant the other five students who had yet to obtain soul rings might have to return empty-handed.
Looking at the five disappointed students, Kelse thought for a moment before walking over to Nan Xuan. "Nan Xuan, how far can your perception reach? If possible, we can look around the outskirts. If that really doesn't work, we can take another route to the central region."
"1,500 meters," Nan Xuan said casually.
Hearing that number, Bibi Dong rolled her eyes at him and complained inwardly, Last time, you told me it was already 4,500 meters. How did it get shorter the more you cultivated? I really believed your Ghost Douluo.
Nan Xuan said, "Sorry, but everything you know is fake."
"Ah-choo." Ghost Douluo, far away at Spirit Hall headquarters, sneezed.
"I'm a ghost. I'm not even sure whether I have a physical body. How could I sneeze?"
Unable to figure it out after thinking for a while, he stopped pondering it and decided to go play with Old Chrysanthemum instead.
Back in the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Alright, we'll do as I said. Nan Xuan, tell us if your Soul Power is exhausted so we can adjust and rest, just in case." Kelse had been scared out of his wits today. A bunch of unlucky students had worn him out.
Nan Xuan did not hesitate and immediately spread out his soul skill to survey the outskirts of the forest.
After several days of exploration, three people had found suitable soul beasts in the forest outskirts. Although their ages were slightly lower than usual, it did not matter much.
A few days later, the final two students also found suitable soul rings at the border between the central region and the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
At the exit of the Star Dou Great Forest's outskirts.
"Teacher Kelse, I would like to request permission to leave the group. The reason is that I've been away from home for eight years. I'm an orphan who was raised by the village chief, so I want to go back and see him." Nan Xuan looked at Kelse and spoke half-truthfully.
Kelse, as the team leader, knew a little about this. But as a teacher, he still had to prioritize safety. Looking at Nan Xuan, he said somewhat reluctantly, "Nan Xuan, you're a Support-type Soul Master. Your home is still some distance from here. How about you wait until next time..."
"Teacher Kelse, I can accompany Nan Xuan. I happen to need to gather some information from the Spirit Hall branch over there, so I can protect him along the way." Bibi Dong spoke with an indifferent expression.
"Really? Then thank you so much, Assistant Bibi Dong." Seeing his wife come in with the assist, Nan Xuan quickly said.
Kelse could only compromise. He sometimes worked at Spirit Hall too and knew that this assistant instructor's status was not simple. With the two of them playing along like this, what else could he say?
After receiving Kelse's approval, Nan Xuan led Bibi Dong toward Heaven Dou Empire territory. Upon entering the Heaven Dou Empire, Nan Xuan rented a carriage and headed for Iron Box Village.
Though they were heading to the village, Nan Xuan still took Bibi Dong around the cities along the way to see the local sights.
A few days later, the two finally arrived at Iron Box Village.
Nan Xuan jumped down from the carriage and helped Bibi Dong down.
"Don't be so gentlemanly. It's a little hard to get used to," Bibi Dong teased as she looked at him.
"How could I not? If I'm not good to my girlfriend and the villagers see it, I'll get scolded." Nan Xuan looked at Bibi Dong with a grin and said it casually.
"Oh, right. No one has lived in my home for a long time. I don't know whether the little wooden house is still there. If there's nowhere to stay, we'll have to make do on the grass outside." Nan Xuan gave her a meaningful look, making Bibi Dong blush.
For some reason, Nan Xuan had just sensed a trace of killing intent.
However, it disappeared in an instant. Nan Xuan could figure out with his toes that it was the tail following them. It was probably someone Qian Xunji had sent to protect Bibi Dong, though calling it surveillance would not be wrong either.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Nan Xuan's grave expression, Bibi Dong asked worriedly.
"Nothing. I'm just afraid you'll have to suffer with me." Nan Xuan did not tell Bibi Dong about it and instead gave her a foolish grin.
"Smooth talker." Bibi Dong rolled her eyes at him, turned, and walked into the village herself.
Nan Xuan hurriedly followed. They first went to the village chief's house.
Along the way, Bibi Dong was quite popular, surrounded by a group of children asking her all sorts of questions.
Bibi Dong smiled without answering and turned her gaze toward Nan Xuan.
Nan Xuan spread his hands to show he could not help, then pushed open the village chief's front door.
"Grandpa Village Chief, I'm Nan Xuan. I'm back."
Village Chief Nan Lu had been absorbed in calculating the account books. Upon hearing the name Nan Xuan, he immediately looked up and then walked out of the room.
"It really is you, Little Xuan. You've grown so much taller these years." Seeing the youth before him, the village chief said excitedly with a smile.
In truth, anyone familiar with Nan Xuan could still recognize him easily. After all, the better-looking someone became, the more distinctive they were.
"Hehe, Grandpa Village Chief, I came back this time to see you and visit my parents too." Nan Xuan helped the village chief over to a stool, sat down, and said with a smile.
"Sigh, eight years have passed in the blink of an eye. You've grown up too." The village chief looked at Nan Xuan and sighed.
"Grandpa Village Chief, did you receive the money I sent to you and the village these past few years?" Although Nan Xuan had seen that every household had repaired their homes when he entered the village, he still asked with concern.
"We received it all, so don't worry. But I do hope the village can produce a few more Soul Masters. After all, Soul Masters are the mainstream of this continent." The village chief looked at Nan Xuan with a weathered expression.
Nan Xuan did not respond. After all, this was not something money could change.
"Little Xuan, what rank is your Soul Power now?" The village chief remembered that Nan Xuan had possessed Innate Full Soul Power when he awakened his martial soul. By now, he should at least be a Soul Grandmaster.
"Grandpa Village Chief, I'm now a level 42 Soul Ancestor." Nan Xuan summoned his martial soul, revealed his soul rings, and said with a smile.
"What? A Soul Ancestor already?" The village chief's hearing was still quite good. He simply had not expected Nan Xuan's mutated martial soul to cultivate to the Soul Ancestor level.
"Good, good, wonderful. I originally wanted to give you the position of village chief, but it seems that won't work now." The village chief shook his head with a smile. Though he sounded somewhat disappointed, he was delighted inside.
"Oh, right, Grandpa Village Chief. I brought someone back with me this time. Dong'er." Nan Xuan smiled and called outside.
Hearing him, Bibi Dong was finally freed.
Before you continue