The moment Oscar finished speaking, a sudden change occurred below. The Ox Dragon let out a furious roar and raised its front hooves high. Arcs of electricity began to burst from its body, and its spiraling horns stabbed toward the sky, blazing with dazzling lightning.
Shen Feng's pupils contracted sharply. "Holy shit!"
"Teacher Zhao, save them!"
They could leave Soul Masters of unknown identity to fend for themselves, but they couldn't just stand by and let these clearly identified Soul Masters die.
Especially when they were their own people.
Without a word, Zhao Wuji activated Martial Soul Possession, pushed off with both legs, and leaped high into the air, diving straight toward the battlefield below.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Gravity Squeeze!"
While still in midair, Zhao Wuji used his Fifth Soul Skill. An immense force of gravity bore down on the Ox Dragon, briefly restricting its movements.
Bang—
A gunshot rang out, not particularly loud, and one of the Ox Dragon's forelegs immediately snapped.
"Roar!"
The Ox Dragon let out a mournful cry, then slammed its remaining front hoof into the ground.
Boom—
Thunder roared and lightning flashed in every direction. Arcs of electricity sprayed outward, and the six people surrounding the Ox Dragon were blasted away by the impact—all except the Soul King.
"Wretched beast, you will not hurt anyone!"
Zhao Wuji roared from midair as the Second, Third, and Fourth Soul Rings on his body lit up in succession.
His hands transformed into bear paws as large as iron pots. He descended from the sky with the force of Mount Tai bearing down, striking at the Ox Dragon pinned beneath the weight of gravity.
The Ox Dragon stood on three legs, its eyes bloodshot. It raised its head high and aimed its spiraling horns—gathering countless bolts of lightning, ready to unleash them—at Zhao Wuji above.
Crackle—
Lightning burst outward. A thick pillar of thunder shot from between the Ox Dragon's horns, hurtling toward Zhao Wuji in midair.
Zhao Wuji's expression turned solemn, and his First Soul Ring lit up.
Brilliant golden light erupted from his body. He withstood the thunder with his bare flesh and charged straight through the lightning pillar.
Vajra Palm—
His bear paw swung down heavily, slamming into the Ox Dragon's enormous head.
Crack—
Its horns snapped, and the massive Ox Dragon, weighing over ten tons, was sent flying by Zhao Wuji's blow.
Zhao Wuji landed heavily on both feet. The over-six-foot-tall man, with a face full of tough flesh, rolled his neck, walked over to the Ox Dragon as it tried to get up, and planted a foot on its head.
"Xiao Feng, Xiao Ao, come on out."
Seeing the seven Soul Rings on Zhao Wuji, the Five-Ring Soul King in the Soul Master squad saw his pupils contract sharply.
He hurried over to Zhao Wuji and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for saving our lives, Senior Soul Saint. I'm Lin De, a squad leader in the Soul Hunting Guild's intelligence team."
Zhao Wuji waved impatiently. "All right, all right. Who asked you to introduce yourself?"
"I'm good friends with your president, Shen Rui. Otherwise, why do you think I'd have bothered saving you?"
"Your young president is here too. Just report everything to him. I can't be bothered to listen."
Lin De froze, then his eyes lit up. "The young president is here too?"
"That's right, that's right. The Soul Tool that attacked the Ox Dragon just now was clearly a Breaker. I should have realized that sooner!"
"Uncle Lin!" Shen Feng and Oscar came running down the mountain.
"Young President, Xiao Ao—it really is you!"
Seeing Shen Feng and Oscar appear, Lin De finally felt completely at ease.
Shen Feng glanced at the badly injured members of the intelligence team. "Uncle Lin, we can talk later. Let's save everyone first."
"Xiao Ao, White Jade Healing Spirit Sausage."
Oscar's Third Soul Skill came in clutch. The five Soul Masters seriously injured by the Ox Dragon soon stabilized.
Even the two Soul Elders with the weakest abilities had recovered from their injuries. With Oscar's help, they had regained most of their fighting strength as well.
Once everyone had more or less recovered, Shen Feng finally asked, "Uncle Lin, what are you doing here?"
Lin De sighed. "The vice president personally assigned us a task. He sent our intelligence team out to look for a dragon-type thunder-attribute Soul Beast around seven thousand years old."
"We searched around Thundercloud Canyon for a week before finally finding a suitable target. Who would've thought we'd run into this Ox Dragon on our way back?"
"If Senior Soul Saint and you, Young President, hadn't arrived in time, the six of us might all have been buried here."
Shen Feng's expression stiffened. He managed an extremely awkward smile. I really am the worst.
What did he mean, "arrived in time"?
If Xiao Ao hadn't taken a good look, Shen Feng would probably have done nothing but build them thicker coffins out of guilt.
Zhao Wuji and Oscar nearly burst out laughing at Shen Feng's expression. They both turned away, afraid to look him in the eye.
Lin De suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Young President, what brings you here?"
Shen Feng's expression remained stiff. "Well, we're here looking for a Soul Beast too."
Lin De was delighted. "Did the vice president assign you the same task?"
Shen Feng nodded awkwardly. "You could say that. Hahaha..."
"Then that's wonderful! I was just worrying that we had nothing to offer in return for Senior's help. We'll hand this mission over to you, Young President."
"The reward isn't much, but it's a token of our gratitude. I hope you and the Young President won't refuse."
Then, ignoring Shen Feng's protests, Lin De told him everything about the targets they had found, while Shen Feng wore an expression of utter embarrassment.
Afterward, he led his team away from the Star Dou Forest as quickly as they could.
"Hahaha, Xiao Feng, I'll be able to tease you about this for a whole year!"
After Lin De and the others left, Zhao Wuji could no longer hold back. He mercilessly made fun of Shen Feng.
Oscar also covered his mouth and snickered, completely ignoring Shen Feng's awkward expression.
Seeing the two of them behave like this, Shen Feng could only helplessly accept it.
"Enough laughing. I'm going to absorb a Soul Ring. Don't disturb me."
Shen Feng walked over to the badly injured Ox Dragon. Ignoring the hatred in its eyes, he summoned the Leiming Blade and plunged it straight through the Ox Dragon's eye.
Purple-black motes drifted from the Ox Dragon's corpse and quickly gathered in midair, forming a purple-black Soul Ring.
Shen Feng took a deep breath, pushed aside his distracting thoughts, sat cross-legged, and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
The tallest tree caught the most wind.
Being ten years old and already at level thirty, with a seven-thousand-year Third Soul Ring—any one of those would be astonishing news if it got out.
The seven-thousand-year Third Soul Ring was especially shocking. After all, even the Fifth Soul Ring of many Soul Kings was only around that age.
To avoid attracting the attention of anyone with ulterior motives, Shen Feng's Soul Ring Configuration was a secret known to only a handful of people in the Soul Hunting Guild.
That was why Lin De's team had only been tasked with locating the Soul Beast. Shen Feng had waited until they left before beginning to absorb the Soul Ring.
A Soul Ring approaching seven thousand years was no easy thing to absorb, especially when it came from a dragon-type Soul Beast with the most violent of attributes: lightning.
As soon as he drew the Ox Dragon's Soul Ring toward himself, Shen Feng's features twisted into a knot, and sharp crackling sounds began to come from his bones.
Purple-black Soul Power, flickering with traces of lightning, poured into Shen Feng's body like rivers flowing into the sea.
Holy shit! There's something wrong with this Ox Dragon!
The moment the thought surfaced, Shen Feng's consciousness was overwhelmed by the surging, incredibly violent lightning-attribute Soul Power.
Pfft—
The powerful Soul Power raced wildly through his body. Shen Feng felt as if he were about to split apart, and the agony made him spit out a mouthful of blood.
"W-what's happening? Teacher Zhao, what's wrong with Xiao Feng?"
Seeing Shen Feng suddenly spit blood, Oscar's heart lurched. He had absorbed Soul Rings before, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone bleed while absorbing one.
Worried sick, Oscar could only turn to Zhao Wuji for help.
Zhao Wuji's brow furrowed, and his voice was heavy. "Maybe we all misjudged this Ox Dragon's actual age."
"Estimating a Soul Beast's cultivation age from its physical traits is only ever a rough approximation."
"Even humans can be short and underdeveloped. Why should Soul Beasts be any different?"
"This Ox Dragon must be the same. It had the physical traits of one around seven thousand years old, but its actual cultivation is over eight thousand years."
Oscar's throat bobbed as he struggled to swallow. His face was full of panic. "What do we do, then? Is there any way to help Xiao Feng?"
Zhao Wuji shook his head helplessly. "You can't use outside help when absorbing a Soul Ring. Forcing our way in could very well make things worse."
"Now all we can do is trust Xiao Feng. Trust that he can hold on, and that he can bring the Ox Dragon's Soul Ring under his control."
Waiting was agonizing, especially when an important companion's life was hanging in the balance.
One minute, ten minutes, thirty minutes, one hour, two hours...
Time dragged by second by second in a torment of anxiety. In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.
Shen Feng's condition showed no improvement at all. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse.
Blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, his nostrils, his eyes, and his ears.
Even the skin covering his body had turned rosy red. It was a sign that the capillaries inside him had ruptured and blood was being forced through his pores.
His bones continued to crack and pop inside him, like they were being struck by a hammer or short-circuiting under high voltage. The sounds had continued without pause.
Shen Feng's brow was tightly furrowed, his jaw clenched, and his lips pressed together. His body kept convulsing. His blood vessels were bursting under the strain, and his bones were being ground over and over. One could only imagine the agony he was enduring.
Oscar looked anxiously at Zhao Wuji. "Teacher Zhao, should we let this continue?"
"Xiao Feng's body is already nearing its limit. If this keeps up, he'll be in danger."
Zhao Wuji's brow remained tightly furrowed. "I know, but I can't interrupt him."
"You've never seen a Soul Master fail to absorb a Soul Ring. I have."
"Their fates are always miserable. At best, their meridians are severed and they become ordinary people. At worst, they're paralyzed from head to toe and reduced to living corpses."
"Which of those two do you think Xiao Feng would choose?"
"Th-this..." Oscar was speechless. For a long while, he couldn't manage another word.
Neither choice was a good ending. One meant living without dignity, and the other meant "dying" without dignity.
Zhao Wuji glanced at Oscar and sighed. "Let's wait a little longer. This is the moment when Xiao Feng's willpower is being tested."
"If the moment comes when a choice must be made, I'll be the one to do the dirty work!"
The reason Zhao Wuji dared to keep waiting was Shen Feng's steady nature, which gave him confidence.
Earlier, Shen Feng had once said while bantering with Oscar that he could absorb an eight-thousand-year Soul Ring. It would be difficult, but he was still willing to take the risk.
Zhao Wuji knew Shen Feng was an extremely steady person. Even when joking, he never bragged or made grand claims.
If he said he dared to challenge an eight-thousand-year Soul Ring, that meant he had at least a ninety percent chance of success. Otherwise, to Shen Feng, that would just be bragging and talking big.
What Zhao Wuji didn't know was that Shen Feng wasn't absorbing an eight-thousand-year Soul Ring, or even a nine-thousand-year one. He was absorbing the Soul Ring of an Ox Dragon with a cultivation of 9,999 years—one year short of breaking through to ten thousand.
How did Shen Feng know its age so precisely? Because, fueled by its intense hatred, the Ox Dragon's remnant soul had manifested in his sea of consciousness.
"I'll get you for this, you damned bullhead!"
Lightning flickered throughout the vast, purple-black sea of consciousness.
Before you continue