Abyssal Power

In the Yellow Rock Bear's perception, although it couldn't sense even the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power from the humans before it, it still had the illusion that if Duke Molong and the others were like an endless ocean, then Xia Linyuan was an unfathomable abyss.

A predator's instincts warned it that if it didn't retreat now, death was the only thing waiting for it!

While it hesitated, Xia Linyuan had already walked to within ten meters of it.

"Actually..." Xia Linyuan lightly tapped the flat of his dagger against his palm. His golden eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured, "I'm not really fond of... fights with nothing to gain!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a blur flashed through the air and vanished. In less than a second, a huge bloom of blood burst open across the Yellow Rock Bear's chest.

After piercing the Yellow Rock Bear's thickset body, the blur slowed only slightly. It continued at nearly the same speed until it disappeared into the trunk of a massive tree dozens of meters away.

With its body pierced through, the Yellow Rock Bear stood frozen for a second before crashing to the ground. Then, a shimmering white Spirit Ring rose from its corpse.

Duke Molong and the others watched in utter astonishment, unable to believe what they had just seen.

With their abilities, they could clearly make out that the blur that had flashed through the air was the dagger Duke Molong had given Xia Linyuan for self-defense.

Even though the Yellow Rock Bear was only a Ten-Year Soul Beast, it had skin like bronze and bones like iron, impervious to ordinary blades and spears. Yet a six-year-old child who had only just awakened his Martial Soul had killed it with a single strike!

The dagger Duke Molong had just given Xia Linyuan was an ordinary military knife. It shouldn't have been able to cut through the Yellow Rock Bear's flesh as effortlessly as chopping vegetables!

Duke Molong went to examine the Yellow Rock Bear's corpse. The sight made him tremble.

A huge hole had been torn open in the Yellow Rock Bear's chest, and its fist-sized heart had been ground to pieces by some unknown force.

A single strike had killed it!

Duke Molong looked up at the massive tree dozens of meters away. The very next moment, almost in the blink of an eye, he was standing before it. His calloused hand slapped hard against the trunk, and a dagger stained with bright-red blood clattered to the ground.

Duke Molong paid no attention to the blood on the blade. He picked up the dagger and examined it closely.

By rights, a military knife thrust into the Yellow Rock Bear's iron-hard hide should at least have been dulled. Yet the blade showed no signs of wear.

Recalling the cold aura that had suddenly emanated from Xia Linyuan just moments ago, Duke Molong had a few suspicions. Though the aura had appeared and vanished in an instant, he had still sensed the fluctuation of power.

Putting the knife away, Duke Molong walked over to Xia Linyuan. "Did you just infuse this knife with Soul Power?"

Xia Linyuan deliberately looked surprised and nodded. "I just wanted to see what would happen if I infused a weapon with Soul Power. I didn't expect it to pierce the Yellow Rock Bear's iron-hard hide. Dad, was I impressive?"

Duke Molong gave him a long look, deeply shaken.

Ordinary Soul Power infused into a military knife couldn't possibly have such power. The only explanation was that Xia Linyuan's Soul Power had some special property that allowed it to inflict such damage.

Duke Molong's guess was almost exactly right. If Xia Linyuan had used Soul Power, he might not even have left a mark on the Yellow Rock Bear's iron-hard flesh.

But was what Xia Linyuan used Soul Power?

No!

What he had used was Abyssal Power!

What was Abyssal Power?

It was the most primal, purest power of destruction and nothingness—a force that could annihilate things at their very source!

With such an overwhelming power behind it, Xia Linyuan could have pierced the Yellow Rock Bear straight through with nothing more than a dead branch.

Duke Molong patted Xia Linyuan's hair. "Linyuan, you're amazing. You awakened your Martial Soul only recently, and you've already killed a Ten-Year Yellow Rock Bear."

Xia Linyuan smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits, seeming to relish Duke Molong's praise.

But no one noticed that beneath those golden eyes lay nothing but cold indifference, untouched by any emotion.

"Let's go. The smell of blood will attract quite a few Spirit Beasts. They'll be relatively weak, but enough ants can still kill an elephant."

Going around the Yellow Rock Bear's corpse, Xia Linyuan and the others set off again in search of Spirit Beasts.

He had no idea what kind of Spirit Beast Duke Molong intended to find for Xia Linyuan's First Soul Ring.

And so, a day passed.

Although the Star Dou Great Forest was the largest gathering place for Spirit Beasts in Peerless Tang Sect, with all kinds of Spirit Beasts in abundance, finding a suitable one still came down to luck.

Its attributes might be suitable, but its age might not be. Its age might be suitable, but its attributes might not. Going around in that same loop over and over was exhausting.

For reasons of his own, Duke Molong had told Xia Linyuan not to kill weak Spirit Beasts at random, then had him practice on the Yellow Rock Bear. After Xia Linyuan killed it with his first strike, Duke Molong never let him make another move.

With nothing to do, Xia Linyuan spread out his divine sense, covering the entire Star Dou Great Forest.

In an instant, he took in everything from the smallest blade of grass to the most powerful Spirit Beasts in the forest, all from an omniscient perspective.

Hmm...

He also found an interesting fellow, sleeping underground in a beautiful, otherworldly place deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

That fellow was probably the Lord of Spirit Beasts—the Silver Dragon King.

Not only that, he also found that Big Worm.

It didn't seem to be doing too well.

But none of that had anything to do with Xia Linyuan. He wasn't interested in that worm. It could hold out until Huo Yuhao came to the Star Dou Great Forest alone six years later, anyway.

Beneath his formidable divine sense, everything was laid out before him with perfect clarity.

At last, Xia Linyuan's gaze settled on a golden figure.

It was shaped like a lion, its entire body possessing the strange sheen of translucent golden crystal. Its four paws were like dragon claws, each surrounded by golden flames. Even more astonishingly, a third eye sat in the middle of its brow.

"Is that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?" Xia Linyuan murmured, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "What a tragic fate. Under Tang San's control, it became half of Tang Wutong's existence, and even Huo Yuhao forgot about it."

"Perhaps it could make a pretty good chess piece."

With sunset approaching, Duke Molong found a river and settled down for the time being.