"Oscar, this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent seemed to have been injured before. Combined with our recent attacks, it had barely any life force left. We needed to hurry," Tang San said with a frown.
"Got it!"
Oscar drew a short dagger from his waist. Just as he was about to step forward and finish off the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, a sharp cry rang out from the woods.
"Stop!"
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw two figures emerge from the dense forest.
The first to appear was a girl of sixteen or seventeen, with short hair cut to her ears. Her neat, fitted combat clothes outlined her well-developed figure, and she held a snake-headed cane in her hand.
Behind her followed an elderly woman in her sixties, holding a snake-headed cane similar to the girl's. Six Soul Rings circled her body—she was unmistakably a six-ringed Soul Emperor!
The air fell silent at once.
Flender adjusted his glasses, a professional smile appearing on his face. "Miss, there's an order to these things. We subdued this serpent first."
The short-haired girl's brows shot up. "Nonsense! We chased it for an entire day! If it hadn't fled into this area, we would have caught it long ago!"
She pointed her snake-headed cane at the dying Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent on the ground. "See that? There are still wounds on its belly left by my grandmother!"
Everyone looked down and indeed saw two shallow cuts on the serpent's abdomen.
Oscar immediately grew anxious. "Headmaster, we can't let this prize slip through our fingers!"
Before Flender could speak, the elderly woman opposite them slowly opened her mouth, her voice hoarse.
"I am Chao Tianxiang. My fellow Soul Masters have been kind enough to call me the Snake Matriarch. This is my granddaughter, Meng Yiran."
Her gaze swept