The next day, in a clearing in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Su Yan, Tang Chi, and Zhu Zhuqing stood in a triangle around the flaming boar in the center.
Su Yan struck first. With the Fire Wolf possessing him, he raked the Fire Boar's back with his claws, but all he left behind were faint marks, like those from a massage.
"Now that's tough!" Su Yan steadied himself and stared intently at the Fire Boar.
The Fire Boar grunted after being scratched, flames gushing from its body as it charged at Su Yan's stomach.
Su Yan kicked it in the face. The Fire Boar veered off and charged at Tang Chi instead.
Tang Chi was gathering power, but he was so startled he nearly dropped his hammer. He hurriedly dodged to the side. "I thought you said we wouldn't have to face a Soul Beast directly!"
Su Yan stomped forward, braced himself against the Fire Boar's head, and shouted, "Tang Chi, hurry!"
"Take this! Thunderquake Wave!" Tang Chi sprang into action, concentrating the lightning across the face of his hammer before striking the Fire Boar's back. Blue light ravaged the area, and both the Fire Boar and Su Yan went numb all over.
Before the lightning had even faded, Tang Chi had already flashed over to Bibi Dong's side.
The final blow belonged to Zhu Qing.
She took a deep breath. This was her first time using a Soul Skill in actual combat.
"Resonance Step, Shadow Instant Kill!"
Zhu Qing bent her knees slightly and appeared in front of the Fire Boar almost instantly. Dozens of claw strikes pierced the weakest spots across its body with pinpoint accuracy.
Its neck.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, but Zhu Qing remained spotless. It all splashed onto Su Yan, who was standing closest.
"Brother Yan, sorry." Zhu Qing looked at Su Yan with wide, sparkling eyes. Her cheeks were faintly red, perhaps because she felt bad about what she'd done.
"It's fine." Su Yan wiped the blood from his face and praised her. "That was fast!"
He could barely make out how Zhu Qing had attacked. He'd only felt a gust of wind pass by, and the fight was already over.
As a white Soul Ring rose into the air, the Fire Boar's life finally ebbed away.
Bibi Dong leaned against a tree trunk. She could suddenly understand why her master had once been so exasperated. "Xiaoyan, you have to hold the Fire Boar firmly and create an opening for your teammates to use their Soul Skills. Xiao Chi, be a little braver and trust your teammates. And try to keep your Soul Skill's range smaller. Zhu Qing, very good."
"Yeah, try to control it better. You nearly electrocuted me to death." Su Yan sat on the ground, covered in blood, with sparks occasionally crackling around him.
"You didn't even hold the Soul Beast still. You scared me to death!" Tang Chi complained indignantly, still shaken as he patted his chest. "Zhu Qing, you're so fast. What's your first Soul Skill called?"
"Resonance Step." Zhu Qing used it again, almost instantly appearing beside Su Yan. Her brow furrowed. "It consumes quite a bit of Soul Power."
"Resonance Step? What Soul Beast's Soul Ring did you absorb?" Su Yan asked.
Zhu Qing thought for a moment, then demonstrated with her hands. "About as tall as a person, completely black, with white bones for a face and hands, and a pointed nose sticking out."
She stuck out both index fingers and pressed them against her nose. "Something like this."
Tang Chi laughed. "Are there really Soul Beasts that look that strange?"
Su Yan swallowed.
That might not have been a Soul Beast at all. It might have been a Hollow.
A Gillian from Bleach... a juvenile.
An evil spirit that had lost its heart and fed on human souls.
And that thing could produce a Soul Ring?
"Instructor, what was that Soul Beast called?" Zhu Qing asked.
Bibi Dong shrugged and spread her hands. "I don't know. It wasn't in any records. When I encountered it, I saw that it was fast and its attributes were a good match. Its bones could also strengthen Zhu Qing's claws. The Soul Ring's energy was around four hundred years, so it was just right."
"A Great Hollow." Su Yan shivered. "That monster is called a Great Hollow, and it was a Gillian."
All three of them turned to look at him.
"Xiaoyan, you know what it is?"
"I know a little." Su Yan's expression turned unusually serious. "That monster feeds on human souls. Soul Masters have stronger souls, which makes them the best food for them."
"Then we'll have to be careful." Bibi Dong fell into thought. "But I was nearby at the time and looked around. I didn't see any other Great Hollows."
"Maybe it got lost," Zhu Qing said, admiring her Soul Ring. "We got lucky."
No one seemed particularly concerned about the Great Hollow's appearance. Bibi Dong made another circuit of the area, but didn't find any more.
Night fell. Beneath the moon, the scent of cooking drifted up into the sky.
The day's spoils, the Fire Boar, was roasting over a fire. The flames weren't from firewood, but from Su Yan.
Burning Blue Silver Grass coiled beneath the Fire Boar, its flames steadily roasting the meat.
Su Yan even used his first Soul Skill, Blazing Entanglement, to wrap the Fire Boar in Blue Silver Grass and distribute the heat more evenly.
The aroma was irresistible.
The fragile Blue Silver Grass couldn't hold a Soul Beast in place, but it was certainly useful for roasting one.
"Is it ready yet?" Tang Chi kept swallowing, but his mouth couldn't hold back the drool.
Zhu Qing's usually cold gaze softened for once. Her dark eyes reflected both a flame and a pig.
Bibi Dong extended her spider legs and poked hole after hole in the Fire Boar. Fat dripped out with a sizzling crackle.
It smelled so good—unbelievably good!
Only Su Yan looked utterly exhausted. Between him and the Fire Boar, one of them was bound to give out first.
"If only we had a Food Soul Master on the team," Tang Chi said, his stomach rumbling. "That Soul Dish we had yesterday was really good."
Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes gleamed as she looked at Su Yan, her smile growing more and more unrestrained. "Xiaoyan, next time I'll take you to the New Divine Land and bring back all their Martial Souls."
Zhu Qing raised her delicate brows and fixed Su Yan with an utterly undisguised stare.
Tang Chi was no less eager. He was already imagining a feast of every dish under the sun.
"You—you two!" Su Yan was exhausted. Just destroy me already.
Fortunately, the Fire Boar was finally cooked through. Bibi Dong used a spider leg to cut through its skin, and the steam mingled with the aroma as it wafted through the air.
She used one leg as a knife, cut off some meat, and placed it on clean leaves before handing it to the three of them.
"Delicious!" Su Yan took a deep breath. He'd earned every bite with his hard work.
He glared at the other two, who'd done nothing and simply sat back to reap the rewards, then angrily bit into a piece of meat.
The two of them had also learned what Su Yan's Martial Soul really looked like.
It truly gathered the strengths of countless others—a Martial Soul suited to the late game.
If he awakened Martial Soul Gems like crazy in the early stages, his cultivation speed would fall far behind.
But once he reached the later stages, no one could match him with all the possible combinations.
After their late-night meal, Bibi Dong found a cave where the four of them could spend the night.
Everyone except Bibi Dong had to take a turn standing watch.
The lucky one on the first night wasn't Su Yan, but Tang Chi.
Yawning, he had no choice but to sit by the cave entrance.
Su Yan was exhausted in both body and mind, but he still forced himself to sit cross-legged and meditate.
Bibi Dong taught them a new cultivation route, something she'd openly taken from Yu Xiaogang's research institute. No one had seen her do it, though.
She said it was his research, but it was really just an old book called Yi Jin Jing.
Following his master's instructions, Su Yan had tried only two cycles of the method before feeling half his exhaustion melt away. The meridians throughout his body also felt clearer.
The cave was brightly lit by the fire, its glow turning the rock walls a ruddy red.
Now and then, beasts roared outside the cave, and the wind howled past.
Tang Chi trembled a little as he held the Thunderclap Hammer in front of himself. At least it gave him some peace of mind.
For three days in a row, they trained the same way, and the three of them grew more and more coordinated.
"Thunderquake Wave!" Tang Chi leaped out with his hammer.
Su Yan saw him coming, lowered his center of gravity, and hurled the massive Crimson Blood Wind Wolf in front of him into the air. The lightning struck it head-on!
A gust of wind swept by.
"Resonance Step, Shadow Instant Kill!"
Dozens of claw strikes took its life.
They had dinner covered for the day.
Su Yan finally relaxed. His master's Survival Training Method was much gentler than the Courage Training Method.
If things kept going like this, finishing the training and getting the Flame-Flame Fruit was just around the corner!
Late that night, it was Su Yan's turn to keep watch. Tang Chi and Zhu Qing sat cross-legged inside the cave, meditating. The power of the Yi Jin Jing was plain to see, and their Soul Power Levels were rising rapidly.
Tang Chi had already reached level fifteen, and Zhu Qing wasn't far behind at level fourteen. Only Su Yan was still lagging at level twelve.
Bibi Dong walked to the cave entrance and knocked the unsuspecting Su Yan unconscious with a chop to the neck. She carried him inside, then sealed the entrance with spiderwebs.
As for her, she walked into the forest and disappeared into the darkness.
Before you continue