The Bold Feast and the Timid Starve

"Ha, what did you say? You planned to lure over a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? You old miser, were you insane?"

Early in the morning, the burning bonfire crackled, but Zhao Wuji's voice completely drowned it out.

Li Yusong and the other two looked at Flender, equally baffled.

Seeing Zhao Wuji practically spraying spit, Flender waved his hand in disgust.

"I said, Zhao, don't get so worked up. Besides, could you listen properly? I said attract."

"Did you forget? A long time ago, didn't I mention that I had an inheritance? It just couldn't be fully opened until I became a Spirit Saint.

"Now that I'm a Spirit Saint, haven't you noticed anything different about me?"

As he spoke, Flender extended his index finger. Tiny gusts immediately gathered at his fingertip, condensing into a miniature tornado.

At the same time, the symbol of his Martial Soul appeared on the back of Flender's hand, giving off a faint glow.

Zhao Wuji glanced at it casually, then his eyes suddenly widened.

"You bastard, how did your Martial Soul change?!"

"I told you, inheritance~"

As he spoke, Flender narrowed his eyes slightly at Zhao Wuji, his hawk-like gaze shooting toward him.

Zhao Wuji abruptly took a step back, his body instinctively tensing in vigilance. It was as if some ferocious beast had fixed its eyes on him, sending a chill down his spine.

"Hey, what the hell is that?"

Zhao Wuji was extremely wary. The reason he had stuck with Flender was partly for mutual support, and partly because he could not beat Flender.

But being unable to defeat Flender did not mean Zhao Wuji lacked the power to fight back. Between him and that old miser, at worst he stood a three-to-seven chance, and at best, four-to-six.

It was simply because Flender's Cat-Eagle Martial Soul came with the ability to fly. Although Zhao Wuji was stronger than Flender, he lost far too much in speed.

Not to mention that ground units were inherently at a disadvantage against flying units.

But now, when Zhao Wuji faced Flender, it was no longer merely a difference in compatibility. It was the gap in the food chain, like a Rabbit facing a golden eagle.

With that single look from Flender, Zhao Wuji felt as though he were a bear cub facing a roc. One bite would be all it took.

Seeing Zhao Wuji look as though he had seen a ghost, Flender smiled gently.

"This is my improvement. My ordinary Beast Martial Soul has evolved into a Top-Tier Beast Martial Soul, and its attribute has transformed into Ultimate Wind."

"A Top-Tier Beast Martial Soul? Ultimate Wind?!"

Zhao Wuji shouted in astonishment. He was unclear about the latter, but the former truly shocked him.

The Vajra Bear was already considered an advanced Beast Martial Soul. Zhao Wuji's title of Immovable Bright King also relied on this very Martial Soul.

Even against the Strength Gorilla Martial Soul of the Strength Clan, Zhao Wuji held a slight advantage. Yet when facing the current Flender, he had actually retreated.

After the shock and lingering fear came a faint trace of jealousy, but it was quickly replaced by wild delight.

"You old miser actually got such a blessing. Heaven really is unfair!" Zhao Wuji laughed and cursed. "Then let's give it a try. How do you plan to lure—no, attract—the Soul Beast you want?"

Just as Flender had been the first to advance to Spirit Saint, the stronger Flender became, the more beneficial it was to their little team, which had long since become bound together.

As for when Flender had become like this, Zhao Wuji was not foolish enough to ask. Brothers could joke about anything, but some matters were not to be casually questioned.

"It's simple. Wind is everywhere, especially in a forest like this. Right now, I can sense the breaths of countless lives within Sunset Forest."

"Once I find a suitable Soul Beast, I'll completely release my ultimate aura. As a fellow wind attribute, any Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast will never be able to endure it and will come over on its own."

"The only problem is that it might trigger a beast stampede, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast we attract will most likely start at eighty thousand years."

"The former can be avoided. For the latter, we'll have to risk our lives."

Flender explained. Compared to other elements, wind had the greatest advantage in terms of terrain. Wherever carbon-based life existed, wind existed.

On the surface, the Wind Domain could slow enemies and speed himself up, but in practice, it could be used far more precisely.

Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were all local overlords, each with their own territory. The one suitable for Flender would certainly share the wind attribute.

That way, with the quality of Flender's newly attained Spirit Saint-level Soul Power, he could suppress every Soul Beast below ten thousand years within that Soul Beast's territory.

And Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were not cabbages. There would only be two or three at most in any one territory.

Flender would handle the main one, Zhao Wuji would hold off another, and the remaining three would provide support and coordination. In theory, it was more than enough.

"In short, I'm eighty percent certain I can handle them."

"You really have a huge appetite."

Zhao Wuji bared his teeth. Though he knew about Flender's Martial Soul Avatar Bone Armor Theory, the thought of directly targeting Soul Beasts eighty or ninety thousand years old still stunned him.

"Will you go crazy with me?"

Flender looked toward his old companions. That was why he wanted them all to come along.

"You've put it that way. How could we refuse? Could a few feathered beasts possibly be worse than sixteen Spirit Hall bishops? I'll go crazy with you!"

Zhao Wuji slapped his chest fiercely. The bold feasted, while the timid starved.

"Madmen..." Li Yusong, relatively the oldest of the five, shook his head and sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come." Lu Qibin, the control-type Spirit Master among the five, tossed out a casual complaint.

"Is it still too late to leave?" Shao Xin echoed.

"So..." Flender shrugged with a smile.

"We'll take the gamble with you."

The three exchanged smiles. They were merely being a little crazier than before.

"Then let's get moving. Zhao, Li, protect me while I do this. Lu, Shao, get ready."

"Got it." "Fine." "Heard you." "..."

After quite a while, they found an open clearing. Winds blew in from every direction, making the Blue Silver Grass scattered across the ground sway this way and that.

Zhao Wuji and Li Yusong each summoned their Martial Souls. A bear phantom emerged, while a long staff appeared in hand. They stood to one side, their gazes cautiously sweeping the surroundings.

Flender stood at the very center, where he could best sense the direction of the wind.

Wind Domain!

Whoosh~

A gentle, friendly breeze emerged. It stirred no great commotion, like a drop of water merging into the sea, blending perfectly into it.

Flender's consciousness likewise drifted freely through Sunset Forest with that wind.

He sensed the rustling of leaves on towering trees, the ripples of a nearby stream, the flapping wings of birds in the sky, the hidden growls of tigers and leopards in the shadows, the snorting sounds of digging, the tapping of billiard balls...

A hundred meters, a thousand meters, ten thousand meters...

He merged his own wind with the winds of Sunset Forest. He did not attack or move on his own, merely following the existing currents as he wandered through the entire forest.

The flowing wind over every inch of land conveyed sensations to him. Flender was like a valley, taking in every gust that passed through before allowing each one to depart.

He kept only their lingering echoes for himself, sensing the places the wind had passed through.

Very soon, the wind brought the sound of a roar, like a combination of a beast and a bird of prey. The rank stench of a wild animal seemed to spread beneath his nose as well.

!

Flender abruptly opened his eyes and withdrew that small stream of scattered wind. Only an echo remained in the valley.

"Found it." Flender smiled happily.

"Wind?"

In a place thick with poisonous miasma, brilliantly colored exotic flowers bloomed in competition. Dugu Bo rubbed the strange sensation at his fingertips, a suspicious look appearing on his face.

Could it be that beast had gone berserk again?