"This Soul Beast is called a White Jade Bee. Its entire body is as white as jade, and after it dies, its surface turns to jade, making it look like a work of art."
"White Jade Bees feed on nectar and have a habit of stockpiling honey."
"The honey they produce is called White Jade Healing Honey. Not only can consuming it heal injuries and neutralize poison, it also has a miraculous effect on restoring mental strength. Its effects are so powerful that they're every bit as good as the Soul Skill of a healing-type Soul Master of the same level."
"This one in the dean's hand is a ten-year White Jade Bee. If Xiao Ao absorbs a Millennium White Jade Bee Soul Ring, his Third Soul Skill might gain one to three of these effects: healing, detoxification, and restoring mental strength."
"Whichever of those effects he inherits, it'll make Xiao Ao's Soul Skill more versatile. He'll be much more capable when it comes to providing logistical support in the future."
"I have to say, the dean really brought Xiao Ao a wonderful gift this time."
Oscar's eyes lit up. "Haha, in that case, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry and find the White Jade Bees' nest."
Flender smiled faintly. "Follow me. The White Jade Bees' nest is in a tree thirty li from here."
Without Dai Mubai, everything seemed to be going smoothly for the group.
Shen Feng led the way himself, Oscar took over Shen Feng's former position, and everyone else kept their places.
The group covered the thirty li in less than an hour.
After passing through the dense forest, the view before them suddenly opened up.
A massive tree, more than ten meters in diameter and forty to fifty meters tall, stood alone, occupying a radius of nearly a hundred meters.
Beneath its sprawling canopy, not a blade of grass grew on the ground.
A huge, white-jade-colored beehive, over twenty meters in diameter and nearly thirty meters tall, clung to the middle of the giant tree's thick trunk like an enormous tumor.
Thousands upon thousands of White Jade Bees flew in and out of the enormous hive. Their rapidly beating wings produced a buzz that made their ears ring.
"Holy crap!" Ma Hongjun couldn't help blurting out his heartfelt astonishment.
Oscar smiled wryly and shook his head. "How about we just give up? Who knows how many White Jade Bees are inside a hive this big?"
"With this many White Jade Bees swarming us, even a Soul Douluo would probably have to flee."
"Other Soul Beasts' Soul Rings should be able to heal injuries and restore mental strength too. Maybe we should look for something else."
When Soul Masters hunted Soul Beasts, the worst thing they could encounter was one living in a huge group. It wasn't that they couldn't win; it was that they could never kill them all.
Even the most powerful Soul Masters had only so much Soul Power. Once it ran out, they were no different from tigers without claws or fangs, left at the mercy of others.
Zhao Wuji waved a hand. "Hey, what a pity it'd be to give up on such a good Soul Ring!"
"Don't forget, my Martial Soul is the Vajra Bear."
"White Jade Bees are still bees. As long as they're bees, they fall under my jurisdiction."
"Wait a moment. Watch me use just a little trick to get you that Soul Ring."
As he spoke, a heavy aura abruptly rose from Zhao Wuji. "Vajra Bear, Martial Soul Possession!"
The next instant, Zhao Wuji's height of just over 1.6 meters shot up. In the blink of an eye, with his Martial Soul Possession, he had become a burly man a full 2.5 meters tall.
His muscles bulged, and his yellow-brown eyes radiated an overbearing aura.
Seven Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, and black—rose one after another from beneath his feet. Vast Soul Power burst from his body, sending faint ripples through the air.
Sensing the threat, the White Jade Bees, which had been flying about busily, abruptly stopped. In unison, they turned and charged fiercely toward Zhao Wuji and the others.
Zhao Wuji's lips curled slightly as his Third Soul Skill suddenly lit up.
"Third Soul Skill: Gravity Enhancement."
Shen Feng felt his body suddenly grow heavy, as if he were carrying a thousand jin or had sunk into a muddy swamp. The sudden increase in gravity caught him unprepared; his legs gave way, and he nearly fell.
Turning around, he saw Oscar already squatting on the ground.
Ma Hongjun was in even worse shape. He lay flat on the ground like a salted fish, barely able to roll over.
Besides Zhao Wuji, the one who had activated the Soul Skill, only Flender and Shen Feng could still stand upright.
The White Jade Bees swooping toward them were pulled to the ground as soon as they entered the area affected by Gravity Enhancement. Crushed by the force of gravity, they stuck fast to the ground, impossible to pry loose.
No wonder he was a Soul Saint. His understanding of Soul Skills was on another level. If the timing was right, even a restrictive Soul Skill cast on allies could work wonders.
Just like now: against these numerous, unintelligent White Jade Bees that were difficult to kill, laying a trap and waiting for them to come was the best strategy.
A single gravity trap had already taken out more than a fifth of the White Jade Bees.
The deaths of so many of their kind threw the swarm into chaos. They didn't dare charge again, but they also couldn't abandon their nest and flee.
With no other choice, they circled slowly around the invisible area of enhanced gravity, trying to surround these intruders of unknown origin.
"Impressive, impressive, Teacher Zhao! You barely lifted a finger, and all these White Jade Bees were dealt with!"
Seeing the bees' attack halted, Ma Hongjun immediately shouted excitedly from the ground.
Zhao Wuji's lips curled slightly. "Haha, this is nothing. Nothing at all."
After the ten-year White Jade Bees failed to break through, the queen finally sent out the hive's fighting force: several hundred century-old White Jade Bees and more than a dozen Millennium White Jade Bees.
The century-old White Jade Bees were over fifty centimeters long. Their sharp stingers were more than ten centimeters long and glinted with a dark green sheen. They clearly weren't to be trifled with.
The Millennium White Jade Bees were over a meter long, with bodies the color of aged jade. Their stingers were ink-black and reflected no light.
When Shen Feng saw the Millennium White Jade Bees appear, his eyes lit up. "Teacher Zhao, now we're talking!"
"The big ones with black stingers are the Millennium White Jade Bees. The third one from the right is between 1,600 and 1,800 years old. It's the most suitable for Xiao Ao's Soul Ring."
Zhao Wuji chuckled. "Got it. Watch me take it down with ease!"
He extended his right hand, and the black Fifth Soul Ring on Zhao Wuji suddenly lit up.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Gravity Squeeze!"
The next instant, a powerful force of attraction burst from Zhao Wuji's right palm. The tremendous gravity became an invisible pair of hands, precisely seizing the Millennium White Jade Bee Shen Feng had pointed out from among the dense swarm.
"Come here, little darling!"
Zhao Wuji flexed his five fingers. The Millennium White Jade Bee was far weaker than he was and couldn't react in time; the invisible force of gravity squeezed its body and pulled it toward him.
But a Millennium White Jade Bee, with a thousand years of cultivation, wasn't one to simply sit back and wait for death. Besides, bees were naturally willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of the swarm.
Though it was a Millennium White Jade Bee, it still couldn't defy its instinct to survive.
Trapped by Zhao Wuji's Gravity Squeeze, the White Jade Bee couldn't break free. But in its final moment, it managed to turn its body and point its venomous, ink-black stinger at Zhao Wuji's palm.
"Crush!"
Zhao Wuji chuckled and clenched his right hand. The gravity squeezing the Millennium White Jade Bee suddenly intensified and became violently erratic.
Hiss—
With a shrill cry, the Millennium White Jade Bee's fragile wings and slender legs snapped at once. The jade-colored scales covering its body shattered, and bodily fluids seeped out. It was instantly left on the brink of death.
The Millennium White Jade Bee's near-death state sent the swarm into a frenzy. Ten-year, century-old, and thousand-year White Jade Bees—thousands upon thousands of them—charged at the group from every direction, heedless of their own lives.
Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted. He reached out and snatched the dying Millennium White Jade Bee. "We've got our target Soul Beast. No need to get tangled up with them. Retreat!"
Flender nodded. Soul Power surged through his body, and he instantly entered a state of Martial Soul Possession.
His wings beat behind him, lifting him into the air.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Hurricane Assault!"
Flender's black ten-thousand-year Sixth Soul Ring lit up. He swept his enormous wings, sending two tornadoes spiraling toward the White Jade Bee swarm behind the group.
"First Soul Skill: Phoenix Fire Line!"
Ma Hongjun followed close behind, using up all his Soul Power to release his First Soul Skill.
The wind fanned the flames. A wall of purple-black fire held back the White Jade Bees' counterattack.
"Palm Thunder!"
Shen Feng hurled the crackling purple-black lightning orb in his hand. A large number of ten-year White Jade Bees fell to the ground trailing smoke, clearing a path for everyone's escape.
"Retreat!"
With a shout, the group fled for their lives, running thirty li.
They didn't stop until they could no longer hear the buzz of the White Jade Bees' wings overhead. By then, they were all gasping for breath.
Zhao Wuji released his perception and carefully checked their surroundings. Only after confirming there was no danger did he toss the nearly dead Millennium White Jade Bee to the ground.
"We finally shook off that troublesome swarm. This place is safe enough. Xiao Ao, absorb your Soul Ring here."
Oscar nodded, pulled out a short knife, and plunged it into the Millennium White Jade Bee's head.
Before long, purple motes began to rise from the White Jade Bee. They gathered in midair, forming a brilliant purple Soul Ring.
Oscar let out a long breath and sat cross-legged on the ground. "May the God of Sausages bless me with the greatest Third Soul Skill in history."
He summoned his Big Sausage Martial Soul. Bathed in a pale pink glow, Oscar drew the Millennium White Jade Bee's Soul Ring toward his Martial Soul and began absorbing the third Soul Ring of his life.
Oscar settled into meditation to absorb his Soul Ring. Shen Feng and the other three stood around him, guarding him.
Absorbing a Millennium Soul Ring wasn't easy. Several hours passed. Only when the light in the Star Dou Forest began to dim again did Oscar slowly open his eyes.
His Soul Power surged violently within him, and a burst of pink light radiated from his body. In an instant, it bathed him from head to toe in a brilliant pink glow.
He slowly rose to his feet. Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring rose from beneath him, while the Soul Power fluctuations unique to a Soul Elder spread without restraint.
Shen Feng's lips curled slightly as he congratulated Oscar. "Congratulations, Xiao Ao. A twelve-year-old Food System Soul Elder—you can certainly call that unprecedented."
Oscar was brimming with excitement. "Xiao Feng, you deserve the credit for my breakthrough happening so quickly."
"Ten levels in three years. If you hadn't helped me cultivate day after day for years, I never would've advanced this quickly on my own."
Shen Feng waved a hand. "That's not quite right."
"Today's fruit came from the seeds you planted in the past. Your breakthrough to level thirty at twelve is mainly thanks to your own outstanding talent and years of hard work. My help was just a little push, hardly worth mentioning."
Oscar shook his head. "No. The Oscar I was before I turned eight and the Oscar I became after you showed up when I was eight were completely different people."
"Before I turned eight, I gained five levels in two years. After I turned eight, I gained four levels in one year. After reaching level twenty, I could still gain three levels a year."
"Doesn't that huge difference prove how much you helped me?"
"I can say this with certainty: without you, Shen Feng, there'd be no Oscar today!"
Shen Feng shook his head helplessly. "Xiao Ao..."
"Cough, cough!"
Shen Feng was just about to say something when Zhao Wuji's cough interrupted him.
"You two, stop flattering each other."
"Except for this kid Hongjun, which of us here—Flender or me—doesn't know you two inside and out?"
"Rather than listening to you praise each other, I'd much rather know what amazing effects Xiao Ao's Third Soul Skill has."
Oscar scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "Since Teacher Zhao wants to know, I'll show everyone."
"I guarantee this sausage won't disappoint anyone in terms of taste."
He raised his right hand and recited his unique Soul Incantation. "Laozi Has a Sweet Sausage."
A pinkish-white light blossomed from Oscar's palm, and he formed a delicate sausage that was translucent and as white as jade from end to end.
"What kind of sausage is that? It looks pretty exquisite."
Honestly, Zhao Wuji had never seen a white-jade-colored sausage before.
Oscar chuckled. "I call it the White Jade Healing Spirit Sausage."
Flender raised an eyebrow. "White Jade Healing Spirit Sausage? White Jade Healing Honey!"
"Xiao Ao, did your Third Soul Skill inherit all the effects of the White Jade Healing Honey?"
Oscar nodded excitedly. "With the God of Sausages' blessing, it inherited everything: detoxification, healing injuries, and restoring mental strength."
"You could also say my White Jade Healing Spirit Sausage is an alternative form of White Jade Healing Honey."
"Damn—" With that one simple word, Ma Hongjun expressed the shock surging deep inside him.
"One Soul Skill, three effects! Brother Ao, you're aiming for the heavens!"
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