As Xiao Qing drew closer to the howling, the smell of blood in the air grew stronger.
The howling came from a thicket. Xiao Qing cautiously approached and parted the bushes. A Wind Shadow Wolf with a severed left foreleg and a faint, faltering breath came into view.
"A Wind Shadow Wolf?! Looks like it was hunting with its pack and got injured by another Soul Beast."
The moment he saw the Wind Shadow Wolf, Xiao Qing guessed why it was here.
Although Wind Shadow Wolf packs sometimes cared for old and disabled wolves, such cases were rare. Most severely injured wolves would "leave" the pack and fend for themselves.
Hearing the sound, the Wind Shadow Wolf struggled to open its eyes and look at Xiao Qing. Its howling grew a little louder, as if begging him for help.
Xiao Qing sensed the wolf's powerful will to survive.
"You want me to save you? If you do, then keep quiet and stop howling."
To Xiao Qing's surprise, after he said this, the dying Wind Shadow Wolf lying on the ground really did fall silent.
With its breath hanging by a thread, the Wind Shadow Wolf watched Xiao Qing quietly, waiting for his next move.
At that moment, the Prism Ball in Xiao Qing's hand kept urging him to throw it at the Wind Shadow Wolf before him.
But could he really save this dying Wind Shadow Wolf?
Xiao Qing had been hesitating, but after glancing at the Prism Ball in his hand, he burst out laughing.
"Who else can I trust right now, if not you?"
After putting aside his doubts, Xiao Qing threw the Prism Ball without hesitation.
The instant the Prism Ball touched the Wind Shadow Wolf, the entire wolf turned into a streak of light and was sucked inside.
After absorbing the Wind Shadow Wolf, the Prism Ball hovered in the air and gave a few perfunctory shakes before returning to Xiao Qing's hand.
The moment he got the Prism Ball back, Xiao Qing finally understood what his Martial Soul was for!
With the Prism Ball as his Martial Soul, Xiao Qing wasn't an Auxiliary Soul Master at all!
His Martial Soul allowed him to summon the Soul Beasts he had tamed, making him the first Trainer on the Douluo Continent!
More importantly, the Soul Beasts Xiao Qing tamed weren't stuck at one level of strength. They gained experience through battle!
Once they had enough experience, they could increase their age, thereby raising the age of Xiao Qing's Soul Rings.
That said, when Xiao Qing saw the white Soul Ring appear beneath his feet, he still couldn't quite keep it together.
He hadn't yet cultivated to level ten, but he had already obtained his First Soul Ring, putting him far ahead of his peers.
But according to his plan, he should have waited until he reached level ten, then arranged to hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Beast for his First Soul Ring—not ended up with a Ten-Year Soul Ring!
"Whatever. Having my First Soul Ring won't affect my future cultivation. And since Soul Rings can grow, I'll just have to accept that it's white for now."
Xiao Qing put away the Prism Ball and shrugged indifferently. A person shouldn't be too greedy.
With that little interruption out of the way, Xiao Qing continued toward the lake. Nothing could stop him from getting there.
By the time Xiao Qing reached the lakeshore, it was already afternoon.
The lake was just as vast as the journal had described. Its far shore lay at the edge of Xiao Qing's vision, blurred into a green line.
Four rivers, each more than ten times wider than the stream by Clear Spring Village, flowed into the lake.
Xiao Qing didn't linger to admire the view. His most important task now was to build a safe shelter.
Fenghe City, Spirit Hall Branch.
Matthew had returned to Spirit Hall and was sitting in a private room, talking with the person in charge of the local branch.
Or rather, it was less a conversation than the branch head apologizing to Matthew.
Heaven knew how shocked and terrified the man had been when he heard that Matthew had gone to Clear Spring Village and encountered a once-in-a-century Soul Beast stampede.
He had even prepared his will on the spot, waiting for Spirit Hall to announce his impending death.
Fortunately, Matthew wasn't one to hold a grudge. He immediately said he wouldn't blame the branch head for his negligence.
"Lord Matthew, thank you for your kindness! I've already done as you asked. My people drew a portrait of Xiao Qing based on the villagers' descriptions. Please take a look!"
The branch head's face, usually so used to throwing his weight around, wore a rare, ingratiating smile—one he hadn't shown in many years.
Matthew took a sip of tea and calmly looked at the portrait the branch head handed him.
Xiao Qing had been rendered with remarkable precision. Even the faint scar on his left cheek had been drawn.
"Good. You've handled this well enough. Pass on my order: quietly add the person in this portrait to the wanted list! The reward is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"
Hearing the reward Matthew had announced, the branch head couldn't help swallowing. One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins—for a child who didn't even have a Soul Ring!
"However, I have one condition. He must be brought to me completely unharmed! Otherwise, there'll be no reward!"
"And I don't want anyone from Spirit Hall getting involved."
There was a note of warning in Matthew's voice. One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins would be enough to tempt Soul Masters of modest strength to search for Xiao Qing and give him the chance to hone his skills.
But Matthew didn't want anyone using Spirit Hall's power to arrest Xiao Qing just to curry favor with him. That would defeat the purpose of the trial!
After all, there was nothing in this world that Spirit Hall couldn't do!
Once the branch head had left, Matthew stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing silently toward Star Dou Forest. He murmured,
"Xiao Qing, I hope that the next time we meet, you'll have the strength to match your ambition!"
When Xiao Qing's name appeared on the wanted list, the people of Clear Spring Village erupted into a commotion.
They didn't know why someone had put Xiao Qing on the wanted list, but in their minds, as long as he was still alive, he would surely return to Clear Spring Village.
Not only because it was his hometown in name, but also because his parents were buried in the hills behind the village.
The villagers immediately began thinking about returning to Clear Spring Village. In their eyes, Xiao Qing was worth one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins now!
This was especially true for Chang Feng, who hadn't managed to secure an official position at Spirit Hall. He was counting on the reward to make up for his losses.
And so, the people of Clear Spring Village, who had been given shelter at Spirit Hall, one after another made excuses to leave and set off on the journey back to their village.
The Spirit Hall worker in charge of the Clear Spring Village refugees didn't stop them. It would mean less work for him once they were gone.
"How strange. They've got food and drink here, but they insist on going back to that pile of ruins. What for?"
He had already heard from a colleague who had returned from scouting Clear Spring Village that Soul Beasts had reduced the place to ruins.
All of this was unknown to Xiao Qing, the person at the center of the affair.
At that moment, Xiao Qing was figuring out how to kill the Golden Winged Bird in the tree hollow before him.
The Golden Winged Bird's hollow faced the lake, with abundant resources all around it. It was exactly the kind of nest Xiao Qing dreamed of!
"According to the journal, Golden Winged Birds hunt during the day and rest at night. Their night vision is extremely poor."
"From the look of it, the best plan is to wait until dark, then use the moonlight to climb into the hollow and strike the Golden Winged Bird a fatal blow!"
After working out his plan, Xiao Qing found a place to rest not far from the hollow.
Night soon fell. Pure white moonlight spilled over the earth, illuminating the Golden Winged Bird's hollow for Xiao Qing.
With a long knife clenched between his teeth, Xiao Qing slowly climbed up to the hollow. His eyes swept coldly over the inside.
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