Su Yun and Tang San followed behind.
They had both realized that the Self-Strengthening Group was unreliable.
They hadn't decided in advance what Spirit Beast to hunt, nor planned any team tactics. They were just a makeshift crew hastily thrown together from seven people.
Fortunately, Su Yun and Tang San hadn't been counting on them in the first place.
The group soon arrived at the outskirts of the forest.
A massive Steel Fence encircled the area. Facing the forest, its side bristled with countless spikes.
The fence stood over ten meters tall and looked extremely sturdy.
Outside the fence, a hundred soldiers patrolled. They all wore full suits of Refined Iron armor and carried spears. Their ranks were neat and disciplined. A hundred Steel Warriors stood together, giving off a grim, murderous air.
Jiang Min quickly stepped forward to speak with them.
One permit allowed seven people in.
After inspecting the permit, the soldier in charge let his gaze linger on Su Yun and Tang San for quite some time.
Clearly, he was surprised to see children of their age coming to the Soul Beast Forest.
Who knew where these little geniuses had come from?
After a few simple questions, he focused his attention on Jiang Min and the others.
After all, no matter how young those two were, it was obvious they had come to hunt for Spirit Rings. It wasn't as if they'd come to the Soul Beast Forest to die or kill Spirit Beasts for fun, right?
So Jiang Min and the other members of the Soul Hunting Group were more worthy of their "attention." Fortunately, after verifying the information, the soldier in charge of checking permits ordered his men to clear a path. He didn't make things difficult for them, perhaps knowing that there wasn't much to squeeze out of this bunch of paupers.
Once they passed through the Steel Fence and entered the forest, all the clamor seemed to vanish in an instant.
The air around them was fresh, too, and breathing it brought a sense of ease. Still, all seven of them, including Su Yun, grew tense.
Although Su Yun was confident in his strength, he was still wary of being caught off guard. Jiang Min finally began to look a little like a team leader.
He took the lead, had Su Yun bring up the rear, and placed Tang San in the relatively safe middle. The others kept watch on the flanks.
The group advanced cautiously as Su Yun opened the system panel.
As 14,000 Friendship Points were deducted,
[Your purchased Spirit Ring will arrive in half an hour]
After reading the system notification, Su Yun closed the panel and quietly waited for the Spirit Beast to arrive.
The others had no idea.
In half an hour, a thousand-year Spirit Beast would attack.
The group had been walking for ten minutes when someone suddenly grew excited.
He had found a suitable Spirit Beast: a Solitary Bamboo over ten meters tall. Its body swayed gently, and its branches moved with the breeze.
Everyone present except Su Yun and Tang San had attended a junior Soul Master Academy. They might not recognize every Spirit Beast, but they knew most of them.
Wen Wu said excitedly,
"It's a Hundred-Year Solitary Bamboo! Its attack power is weak, but its defense is strong. Once I absorb it as a Spirit Ring, it'll make my Martial Soul even stronger! Even if the Spirit Skill turns into bamboo arrows, they'll still be much stronger than my wooden arrows."
Hearing Wen Wu, Tang San, who had only recently entered the Soul Master World, nodded slightly.
He had to admit, this Hundred-Year Solitary Bamboo really was a good fit for Wen Wu.
In fact, Wen Wu wasn't the only one tempted. Jiang Min was interested, too. His Iron Bull was strongest when it came to raw power and its thick hide.
The Solitary Bamboo would only improve his defense, but it was still a Hundred-Year Soul Ring! The words "hundred years" alone could make up for its other shortcomings.
But as the team leader—and since Wen Wu had found the Solitary Bamboo—he ultimately kept his thoughts to himself.
The group stopped and waited as Jiang Min took a small knife from his pack and began to kill the Solitary Bamboo.
Fifteen minutes later, the ten-meter-long Solitary Bamboo crashed to the ground. A yellow ring of light rose from its corpse.
Seeing a Spirit Ring for the first time, Tang San examined it with great curiosity.
Wen Wu struggled to contain his joy and spoke in an unusually gentle voice.
"I'm about to absorb the Spirit Ring. I'll be counting on everyone to guard me."
"Sure."
"No problem."
"Don't worry."
Everyone agreed. Jiang Min even thumped his chest in assurance.
"Go ahead and absorb it. I'll keep watch for you."
But Wen Wu turned to Su Yun with a false smile.
"I'll be counting on you, too."
"Sure. It's no trouble."
Su Yun smiled brightly, looking just like a sunny young girl.
Tang San watched from the side and shook his head. Xiao Yun was still too kind. She didn't understand how dangerous people could be.
Given this man's character, once he obtained a Spirit Ring and grew stronger, he might very well come back for revenge.
But it was fine!
Yun only needed to stay in the sunlight. I'll shoulder the darkness. As her older brother, it's my duty to shield my little sister from every danger.
A murderous glint flashed in Tang San's eyes.
And, indeed, even after Su Yun agreed, Wen Wu's resentment still didn't fade.
He was even thinking of using his Spirit Skill to kill Su Yun and take his Soul Tool.
No matter how strong Su Yun was, he was still a Soul Master without a Spirit Ring. As long as Wen Wu waited until they were fighting a Spirit Beast, he could shoot them all in the back. He was confident he could kill everyone. Then nothing that happened here would ever get out.
And even if Su Yun really was absurdly strong, surely he wouldn't be able to move while absorbing a Spirit Ring?
At a moment like that, all it would take was a tiny accident. At best, Su Yun would be injured; at worst, he'd die on the spot.
Wen Wu's fantasy was certainly a beautiful one.
But reality was cruel.
Looking at Wen Wu sitting cross-legged as he absorbed the Spirit Ring, Su Yun's lips curled into a smile.
Time was running short.
So, five minutes later,
while Wen Wu was still absorbing the Spirit Ring, the ground shook violently. To everyone's horror, an eight-meter-tall monster barged into view.
They called it a monster rather than a Spirit Beast because they had never seen a creature like it.
It looked like a living mountain, forcibly fused from endless terror and alien flesh. Its overall outline was indistinct, as though countless tormented souls and misshapen monsters had been crushed together and smelted into one by some invisible force.
Its twisted limbs, savage heads, and jagged bone spikes grew in defiance of nature's laws, entangling and coiling together into a nauseating, constantly writhing mass.
As it moved, the whole "mountain" rumbled dully, accompanied by a grating sound that set their teeth on edge.
Not only had they never seen a monster like this—they'd never even heard of one.
Confusion flashed in everyone's eyes.
Only Su Yun looked stunned.
The system had actually brought out a boss from the Warcraft world: the Terror Aggregate.
But he had to admit, among its many skills, there really was one that fit the requirements for the Spirit Skill he had purchased.
Cracked Skardin: Hostile creatures spawned from shattered fragments. They attack nearby players, and after merging, they can even recover health.
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