"Strange, where have all the Soul Beasts around here gone? Do Soul Beasts migrate, too?" Xiao Yu had circled through the forest for a long time, yet hadn't spotted a single Hundred-Year Soul Beast. He was thoroughly puzzled.
He didn't know that it was his very presence that had driven every Soul Beast within twenty li far away, for fear of disturbing this Wing-Type King.
As his strength grew, the range of this deterrent would only expand. That was the vast difference between a king and an ordinary Soul Beast.
"Looks like I'll have to fly farther to find a target." Xiao Yu felt rather helpless.
He didn't want to stray far from this place unless he had no other choice, but it seemed he had no alternative.
He picked a direction at random and flew off, beating his wings.
By coincidence, that direction happened to be the route Xue Qinghe and the others had taken into the forest. You could say they were headed straight for each other.
After flying beyond the twenty-li stretch of silence, Soul Beasts gradually began to appear.
"A tiger? It looks intimidating. Never mind."
"A bear? Its paw is bigger than my whole body, and it's tough as nails. Better not."
"A rhino? Its armor's even harder than a bear's hide. No good, either."
As he picked and chose along the way, Xiao Yu drew closer and closer to the forest entrance without realizing it.
Just then, a pair of huge, vertical pupils locked onto him from among the dense branches above!
Before Xiao Yu could notice, the owner of those eyes—a Hundred-Year Datura Snake—coiled up and shot toward him like an arrow loosed from a bow! Four sharp fangs glinted inside its open, venomous jaws as it lunged straight for him!
Though Xiao Yu hadn't sensed the hostile gaze, as a Wing-Type Elf King, he was exceptionally sensitive to shifts in the airflow.
The instant the Datura Snake launched its ambush, he sensed the violent disturbance in the air!
He instinctively beat his wings, and his body shot upward!
Whoosh—the venomous snake's deadly bite grazed past him and struck nothing but air.
Xiao Yu patted his chest with a tiny claw and let out a long breath, then fixed his sharp gaze on the Datura Snake coiled below.
"I was just worrying that I couldn't find a suitable opponent, and here you are, delivered right to my door!" A flash of excitement lit Xiao Yu's eyes.
Snakes had powerful muscles and tremendous striking force, but their defenses were nowhere near as strong as a bear's or a rhino's. Their attacks were also quite limited: they could only ram or bite. As long as he dodged properly, Xiao Yu was confident he could handle one with ease.
Eagles were the natural enemies of snakes, and eagles were wing-types, too. As the Wing-Type Elf King, wouldn't he be even better equipped to keep one in check?
Xiao Yu swooped down, a teasing note in his voice. "Want to bite me? Come on!"
After its first attack missed, the Datura Snake had already begun to retreat. It had keenly sensed the aura radiating from Xiao Yu, an aura that made it tremble.
But the vicious nature of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast overpowered its reason. Seeing its prey actually turn back to taunt it, it flew into a rage and opened its jaws to bite again!
But if it had missed when attacking by surprise, it had even less chance of hitting Xiao Yu now that he was prepared.
Xiao Yu gave a light flick of his little wings and easily dodged the clumsy attack.
"Your aim's terrible. You'll have to practice more." Xiao Yu was growing more and more amused, and began to tease the furious snake.
The Datura Snake launched one fierce attack after another, only for Xiao Yu to dodge each one with effortless ease.
"Hiss—!!!" After missing again and again, the Datura Snake went berserk, rattling the branches it had coiled around.
Watching the snake fume in frustration, unable to do anything about him, Xiao Yu gave a mocking chuckle and rubbed salt in the wound. "I just love seeing how much you hate me, when there's nothing you can do about it."
Before the words had even left his mouth, he nimbly dodged another attack.
At the same time, the sound of leaves rustling violently reached Xue Qinghe's group on a nearby path.
"Your Highness, there's a strange noise ahead. It sounds like Soul Beasts are fighting," a soldier reported in a low voice. Soul Beasts were constantly locked in struggles for survival; fighting among themselves was commonplace.
"Mm. Let's go take a look." Xue Qinghe gave a slight nod.
They had been in the forest for several hours, but none of the few Soul Beasts they had encountered had suited their needs.
They had nothing else to do, so they might as well investigate.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Two soldiers led the way, and the three soon crept close to the scene, hiding behind a thicket.
"It's a Datura Snake." The soldiers recognized the Soul Beast attacking from the tree at a glance.
"Then what's that other Soul Beast..." When they tried to identify Xiao Yu, they couldn't help frowning. They had never seen such a strange little beast before.
Xue Qinghe furrowed her delicate brows as well.
Even with her experience as the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire and the granddaughter of Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, she couldn't identify the little beast.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness. This subordinate is too ignorant to recognize what kind of beast it is." The soldier bowed in apology.
"It's all right. I don't recognize it, either." Xue Qinghe waved a hand, her curious gaze fixed on Xiao Yu.
Most of the little beast's body was covered in pure white feathers, while the rest was dotted with strange black-and-white feathers that constantly shifted in appearance.
It was nothing like an ordinary Soul Beast. It looked more like the young of some legendary divine beast!
But how could that be? Divine beasts should only exist in ancient forbidden lands like the Star Dou Forest.
"From what I can tell, that mysterious little beast seems to be toying with the Datura Snake." Unable to identify it, the soldier turned to analyzing the fight instead.
"Indeed. The little beast has had several chances to counterattack, but it keeps passing them up and only dodges the Datura Snake's attacks," another soldier agreed.
Xue Qinghe nodded. "It's so playful. It seems the little beast is still young."
"I wonder what kind of rare Soul Beast it is. It's astonishing that one so young can toy with a Hundred-Year Datura Snake." The soldier followed her train of thought with a sigh.
"Look! It seems the little beast has had enough and is about to attack!" A soldier suddenly cried out. The little beast in the air had changed its stance and stopped dodging.
"That's enough playing. Time to finish you off." Xiao Yu dodged another lunge and hovered in midair, no longer baiting the snake.
At a thought, the airflow around him suddenly began to swirl faster. In an instant, the leaves around them trembled!
"Wind?! That Soul Beast can actually wield Wind Force?!" One of the soldiers nearby couldn't help exclaiming at the sight.
Although Soul Beasts each had their own attributes, they usually drew on their own bodies to unleash their power. A fire-type Blaze Tiger, for example, attacked by spewing flames from its mouth.
Most other Soul Beasts were the same, but this one was different. The wind it controlled seemed to come from the surrounding environment—it was drawing on the power of heaven and earth.
Xue Qinghe's eyes shone even brighter.
Such a talent at such a young age—it had to be an extraordinarily rare and powerful Soul Beast! And young ones were the easiest to tame... Could such a fortuitous encounter be heaven's will?
"Air Cutter!" Xiao Yu suddenly unleashed his power. The airflow around him instantly gathered into two sharp, invisible blades of wind that slashed through the air toward the Datura Snake!
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