On the seventh day after A'Man joined Xiao Qing's team, they were on a hill thirty miles from the tree hollow, at the edge of Star Dou Forest.
A six-hundred-and-thirty-year-old Iron-Armed Ape was sent flying by a single slap from A'Man, who was clad in Rock Armor. It crashed hard into a fruit-laden tree nearby.
One by one, bright-red fruits shook loose and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Their juice mingled with the Iron-Armed Ape's blood, filling the air with a rich fruity scent and the stench of blood.
"What a shame. Such fine Crimson Fruits."
Xiao Qing emerged from behind a tree twenty meters away. The Prism Ball in his hand glimmered faintly, signaling that experience points had been credited.
Ever since he had captured A'Man as his second pet, the experience points Xiao Qing's team earned from battles had risen to one-ninth of their opponents' years!
However, the experience distribution wasn't the even split Xiao Qing had originally expected.
Instead, the Soul Beast that first rendered the opponent unable to fight during battle received three-quarters of the experience points, while the other received only the remaining quarter.
Even if it had dealt the most damage.
However, if its years far exceeded those of its opponent, the experience points it received were reduced by one-tenth.
Although this method of distribution seemed a little unfair, everything had its drawbacks and advantages. Xiao Qing could use this rule to level up A'Man quickly.
So, over the past week, Xiao Qing had fought nearly every Soul Beast of a suitable age within fifty miles of the tree hollow.
The Iron-Armed Ape before them was one of the last few. Once he had fought them all, if Xiao Qing wanted to keep earning experience points,
he would either have to challenge thousand-year Soul Beasts or, as he had done before A'Man joined, travel farther afield to find suitable Soul Beasts.
"After defeating this Iron-Armed Ape, Xiao Feng, at nine hundred and eighty-six years, gained one year of experience, while A'Man, at seven hundred and twenty-four years, gained fifty-two years."
"Now Xiao Feng is only thirteen years away from becoming a thousand-year Soul Beast!"
Xiao Qing smiled as he put away the Prism Ball. He checked the sky, saw there was still time to reach the next location, then stood on A'Man's shoulder and began picking Crimson Fruits.
It was just past noon. Sunlight briefly reached the ground, which was usually hidden beneath the canopy.
The Iron-Armed Ape was the third Soul Beast they had taken down that day, and each had been over four hundred years old.
A week ago, Xiao Qing wouldn't even have dreamed of fighting so frequently. Back then, Xiao Feng had faced Soul Beasts that were only a few hundred years old, and even with Xiao Qing's help, defeating or killing them had come at a heavy price.
But things were different now.
A'Man's defense was overwhelming. Even when the Iron-Armed Ape put all its strength into a punch to A'Man's chest, it only made him pause for a moment.
Then A'Man knocked the Iron-Armed Ape down with a swinging punch, giving Xiao Feng enough time to attack while it was on the ground.
After all their training, A'Man and Xiao Feng had grown more and more in sync. A'Man took attacks head-on and created openings, while Xiao Feng circled around, looking for a chance to strike a fatal blow.
As for Xiao Qing, he stayed back, using a slingshot to fire pebbles or poisoned darts and ropes and traps to limit the Soul Beasts' movements, turning the battlefield to their advantage.
"Rest here for fifteen minutes."
Xiao Qing gave the order.
Xiao Feng immediately crouched low, ears pricked as he warily scanned their surroundings. A'Man plopped down on the ground and took out a small leather pouch.
Xiao Qing had sewn the pouch from tanned deer hide. It held roasted meat and dried fruit. A'Man grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing with a deep, forceful crunch.
Xiao Qing leaned against an ancient tree and took a couple of sips from his waterskin. The bottleneck at level twenty-three had begun to loosen. At this rate, he would break through to level twenty-three after no more than two battles. And Xiao Feng's thousand-year bottleneck was right before him.
When that happened, perhaps he could try challenging some of the more powerful thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Xiao Qing opened his eyes, his gaze calm. Before he ran into another Soul Master looking to capture him for a bounty, he had to be able to protect himself.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Xiao Qing stood up. Xiao Feng and A'Man stopped eating and keeping watch at the same time, turning their eyes to him.
"Five miles northeast, there's a ravine with a stream. Judging by the tracks, at least three Bloodthirsty Tusk Boars have been active there," Xiao Qing said. "Bloodthirsty Tusk Boars live in groups and are good at working together. If conditions allow, we can try to take on two at once."
"A'Man, your job is to hold the front and keep at least two of them occupied. Xiao Feng, you and I will focus on taking down the third, then turn back to help."
"Remember, the Bloodthirsty Tusk Boars' weak spots are their eyes and throats. Their skulls are hard, so don't waste your strength."
Xiao Feng gave a low whine to show he understood. A'Man thumped his chest with a bear paw, the blows landing with dull thuds.
They set out.
The battle by the stream was over within ten minutes.
Even faster than expected.
The three Bloodthirsty Tusk Boars each weighed four hundred pounds. Their tusks jutted out, and their coats were as hard as iron needles. The moment they spotted the intruders, they charged in a triangular formation, moving in such perfect coordination that they seemed like one creature.
A'Man met the two on the left head-on. With a dull thud, he stopped them both. His body rocked slightly, and their tusks scraped two white lines across his chest, but didn't break the skin.
In that opening, Xiao Qing drew a short knife from behind his waist. He had found it on a dead Soul Master. The blade was long and narrow, with a blood groove, and had been well cared for.
Xiao Qing ducked beneath the Bloodthirsty Tusk Boar's lunge and stabbed its throat from below. He twisted his wrist and pulled; blood gushed out. At the same time, Xiao Feng leaped up and raked both eyes of the Bloodthirsty Tusk Boar with his forepaws.
The first Bloodthirsty Tusk Boar fell.
The other two let out furious roars and tried to turn back to help, but A'Man held fast between them. His bear paws weren't fast, but every blow carried tremendous force. The boars didn't dare take a hit, and could only keep retreating.
With Xiao Qing and Xiao Feng joining in, the second Bloodthirsty Tusk Boar's throat was soon pierced by the short knife. Xiao Feng bit through the third one's hind-leg tendons. Once it fell, A'Man smashed its skull with a full-force punch.
The battle was over, and the Prism Ball began absorbing the experience points. But this time, something was different: the Prism Ball was growing hot.
Xiao Qing frowned and raised the Prism Ball to eye level. Just as he was about to inspect it closely, a message appeared in his mind.
"Detected that Xiao Feng has reached nine hundred and ninety-nine years. Bloodline evolution conditions met."
"Evolution route: Wind Shadow Wolf → Storm Wolf King."
"Materials required for evolution:"
"One: a thousand-year wind-attribute Soul Beast egg. (The stronger the bloodline of the Soul Beast egg, the better the evolution.)"
"Two: three Storm Irises. (They bloom only for one hour during a storm.)"
"Three: the lifeblood of a wolf king, taken from a wolf Soul Beast that offers it willingly. (Only a willing offering can help Xiao Feng survive the evolution.)"
"Once all materials have been gathered, the evolution ritual can begin. Failure carries no penalty, but it can only be attempted once. After evolving, Xiao Feng will gain a new innate ability."
After taking in all that information, Xiao Qing stood still for a long time without a word.
Xiao Feng sensed something was off and came over to nuzzle his leg. A'Man came closer, too, lowering his huge bear head. His brown eyes were full of questions.
"It's nothing." Xiao Qing patted Xiao Feng's head, then clapped A'Man on his thick shoulder. "It's good news. The best news."
After briefly explaining things to Xiao Feng and A'Man, Xiao Qing gave a new order.
"From here on, we'll put battles on hold and focus on finding the materials."
The Storm Irises and the corpse of a thousand-year wind-attribute Soul Beast were easy enough to find. The third item was what gave Xiao Qing the biggest headache.
A willing offering!
That meant Xiao Qing couldn't get it by hunting. And a wolf Soul Beast worthy of being called a "king" would have to be at least a thousand years old and have a pack of its own.
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