Shadow Moon Wolf

The moment Yue Guan withdrew the pressure of his Soul Power, Xie Yue and Hu Liena immediately ran toward where Yan had fallen.

"Yan!"

The two hurried to Yan's side in concern. Xie Yue crouched down and helped him up.

"Are you okay?" Xie Yue asked worriedly.

Yan panted heavily and shook his head, unable to even muster the strength to speak.

"No wonder you dared to claim you could challenge a thousand-year Soul Ring. You truly have the confidence for it."

Yue Guan also stepped up before Yan. Yan's earlier performance had proven that he was qualified to absorb a thousand-year first Soul Ring.

"This Elder will find you a suitable thousand-year fire-attribute soul beast. However, if anything goes wrong during the absorption process, this Elder will immediately intervene and stop it."

"Thank you, Elder Yue Guan."

Yan spoke weakly. He knew this was already Yue Guan's greatest concession.

"Enough. Rest where you are for now. Once your strength has recovered, we'll continue the soul hunt."

Yue Guan said no more. He turned and walked beneath a nearby tree, closing his eyes to rest.

"Yes."

Everyone quickly replied.

An hour passed quickly.

Thanks to the powerful recovery ability granted by his physique, Yan had recovered most of his strength.

Only then did the Soul Hunting Team continue onward.

Deep within the Soul Hunting Forest, in a relatively open woodland clearing.

Yue Guan stood on a tree branch with his hands behind his back, his calm gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

Resak stood on the ground, his aura steady and imposing. Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan stood behind him alongside the other members of the Soul Hunting Squad, holding their breaths as they stared intently ahead.

Their prey had appeared.

A gigantic wolf nearly one and a half meters tall at the shoulder slowly emerged from the shadows. Its fur was black as ink, save for a crescent-shaped silver marking on its forehead.

It moved without a sound, as though it had merged with the forest shadows. Only its eyes, gleaming with a cold, ghostly green light, swept over the area.

This was a five-hundred-year Shadow Moon Wolf, Xie Yue's choice for his first Soul Ring.

Suddenly, the Shadow Moon Wolf stopped. Its nose twitched as it caught an unusual scent. Without the slightest hesitation, it turned to flee.

"Beast, what a sharp nose!"

Resak laughed loudly and leaped out of the dense forest. "Trying to run? It won't be that easy!"

Resak's voice boomed like a bell, shaking the surrounding leaves until they rustled.

He moved with incredible speed and landed firmly in the Shadow Moon Wolf's escape route, cutting it off.

The formidable aura of a Soul Saint burst forth without restraint, like an invisible wall. The Shadow Moon Wolf, swift as the wind moments ago, suddenly froze, and a trace of humanlike terror flashed through its ghostly green eyes.

"Roar—!"

Its retreat cut off and its body locked onto by a powerful foe's aura, the Shadow Moon Wolf's ferocity erupted.

It let out a low growl. Every strand of its black fur stood upright like steel needles, while the silver crescent marking on its forehead suddenly glowed with a dim light.

The next moment, its body became blurry, as if it were about to melt into the shadows cast by the surrounding trees.

Its speed surged. Rather than fleeing in a straight line, it traced a strange arc in an attempt to circle around Resak.

At the same time, its claws unleashed several curved shadow blades carrying a frigid aura toward Resak's flank, intending to distract him.

"Trivial tricks!" Resak snorted disdainfully, not even summoning his martial soul.

He raised his right palm, spiritual light gathering in it, then struck forward through the air.

A solid, mighty palm imprint formed from Soul Power arrived after yet struck first, blasting directly into the Shadow Moon Wolf and sending it flying.

As for the curved shadow blades unleashed by the Shadow Moon Wolf's claws, Resak did not bother dodging at all. With a casual sweep of his hand, he shattered them outright.

By then, the Shadow Moon Wolf had also fallen feebly to the ground, blood spilling from its mouth and nose as it clung to life.

For a Soul Saint to deal with a mere hundred-year soul beast was effortlessly easy.

Resak withdrew his Soul Power and looked toward the Soul Hunting Squad. "Xie Yue, go kill the Shadow Moon Wolf."

"Yes, Teacher Resak!"

Xie Yue had long been eager to try. Upon hearing Resak's command, he summoned his Soul Power, and the top-tier weapon martial soul, Moon Blade, instantly appeared.

He ran toward the Shadow Moon Wolf and killed it with a single slash. A yellow Soul Ring immediately emerged from its corpse.

"Xie Yue, absorb the Soul Ring according to the method I taught you. Guard your mind and guide your Soul Power!" Resak's timely reminder rang out.

"Yes."

Xie Yue immediately sat cross-legged beside the Soul Ring and began drawing it in. The yellow Soul Ring gradually floated over, shrank, and settled around the Moon Blade in Xie Yue's right hand.

The members of the Soul Hunting Squad spontaneously gathered around Xie Yue to stand guard for him.

During the absorption process, the Moon Blade in Xie Yue's hand quietly began to change. A dark hue gradually appeared on its originally snow-white blade, resembling the Shadow Moon Wolf's fur.

The edge of the Moon Blade also became sharper, as though its cutting aura were about to pierce forth.

Time passed bit by bit. By the time Xie Yue had completely absorbed the Soul Ring, evening had arrived.

Xie Yue opened his eyes and rose to his feet. The Moon Blade automatically appeared in his hand, its cold gleam seeming more restrained yet even more dangerous.

With a casual swing, the Soul Ring behind him flashed. The Moon Blade in Xie Yue's hand blurred for an instant, as if turning into two afterimages that slashed forward in a crossing pattern.

Two crescent-shaped silver blades shot forth at tremendous speed, their trajectories elusive.

With faint tearing sounds, they flew seven or eight meters and smoothly severed two small trees as thick as bowls ahead. The cuts were smooth as mirrors, with traces of shadow aura lingering upon them.

This was the first soul skill Xie Yue gained by absorbing the five-hundred-year Shadow Moon Wolf: Shadow Moon Consecutive Slash. Its attacks were fierce and incredibly fast, imbued with the power of shadows and possessing a cutting effect.

It was absolutely an exceptional single-target offensive soul skill.

Xie Yue's own Soul Power had also reached level thirteen.

This was the benefit of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond one's limit. The increase in Soul Power levels was greater than what ordinary Soul Rings could provide.

"Not a bad soul skill."

Yue Guan came before Xie Yue. With his keen eye, he could naturally see the effect of Xie Yue's first soul skill, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Elder Yue Guan."

Feeling the much fuller Soul Power within him and the strength he had newly obtained, Xie Yue was brimming with excitement. He respectfully bowed to Yue Guan and Resak. "Thank you, Elder Yue Guan. Thank you, Teacher Resak."

Yue Guan gave a slight nod, then turned his gaze toward Hu Liena. "Next is Nana's Charm Heart Fox. Before the sky fully darkens, we move at full speed toward the Charm Heart Fox's territory."

At Yue Guan's command, everyone immediately sprang into action. Even Xie Yue, who had just finished absorbing his Soul Ring, answered with a serious expression.

Resak took the lead, his formidable Soul Saint aura deliberately sweeping across the path ahead. It frightened away many low-level soul beasts that might have caused trouble, clearing the way.