Battle

By the light of a faint oil lamp, the group began eating their rations.

For a while, the sound of chewing echoed through the cave.

Twenty minutes later, after they had eaten their fill, it was time to take watch.

Su Yun and the others naturally didn't need to stand watch. Their Soul Power Levels were low, and they had spent the entire day trudging through the snow, leaving them nearly exhausted in both body and mind. They leaned against the rock wall and closed their eyes to rest.

As for the six members of the Promise-Worth-a-Thousand-Gold Hunting Group, they split into three pairs. Each pair would keep watch for three hours, until dawn.

Even though he didn't have to stand watch, Su Yun didn't dare actually fall asleep. He wasn't the only one; the others also kept their eyes closed in a light doze, remaining alert to their surroundings.

This was the Frozen Forest, a gathering place for wild Spirit Beasts. You never knew whether tomorrow or disaster would come first. If you really fell asleep, you might not even know how you died.

The Frozen Forest was far from peaceful at night. The howling wind and snow outside the cave grew louder, and icy gusts blew in from time to time. Even with Soul Power protecting them, they couldn't help shivering.

Fortunately, Su Yun had brought two blankets. He and Tang San each wrapped one tightly around themselves.

Time passed slowly, and the second half of the night arrived.

Just as Su Yun was starting to feel drowsy—

"Spirit Beasts are coming!"

At the shout, the other members of the Promise-Worth-a-Thousand-Gold Hunting Group immediately got to their feet, completing their Martial Soul Possession as they rose.

In an instant, fourteen Spirit Rings lit up the entire cave.

A wave of tension swept through the cave. Even Su Yun and Tang San grew serious.

The two of them stood and moved the other bosses behind them.

Tang San was already thinking about an escape route for himself and Su Yun in case the Promise-Worth-a-Thousand-Gold Hunting Group couldn't hold their ground.

As for Su Yun, he was assessing the group's overall strength. He glanced around and saw that only Hua Hua and Zhang Qingsong, who were closest to him, had the best Spirit Ring configurations.

The others were different. Snow Leopard and Qian Kaixin each had one hundred-year and one yellow Spirit Ring.

Gu Yifeng and Kuang Nu, the two Soul Elders, each had one white, one yellow, and one purple Spirit Ring.

The six quickly advanced, forming a T-shaped line as they guarded the cave entrance.

Outside the cave, through the snowstorm, several pairs of green eyes were drawing closer.

"Ice wolves! Eleven of them!"

Kuang Nu's face darkened at once. Not one of the Ice Snow Wolves before them was under eight hundred years old, and the pack leader had reached two thousand years. Under their leader's command, they formed a fan around the entire cave entrance.

With battle about to erupt, Hua Hua didn't hesitate to boost the others.

She swept her staff, and the First and Second Spirit Rings around her lit up at the same time.

A green spectral line appeared on the Spring-Greeting Staff, then split into two, linking Hua Hua to Kuang Nu and Gu Yifeng.

These were Hua Hua's two Spirit Skills: Amplification Line and Split Line.

The former increased all attributes of the target it linked to by ten percent.

The latter split the spectral line, allowing the divided lines to provide the same amplification. However, given Hua Hua's current control, she could only split it into two lines.

Seeing this, Su Yun instinctively thought, Ming Shiyin!

There was no denying that Hua Hua's Martial Soul was quite impressive. Aside from the unmatched Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, it could still be considered an excellent one.

Other support-type Martial Souls provided boosts ranging from five to fifteen percent.

Hua Hua's Martial Soul boosted all attributes by ten percent, putting it near the top—and that was an astonishing increase to every attribute.

Originally, she could only boost one person at a time, but she had managed to split the line in two with her Second Spirit Skill.

In theory, Lingling should have been able to split it into even more lines.

But she couldn't control them. After all, not every support-type Soul Master had a cultivation method like "Heart Separation Control."

With Hua Hua's boost in place, the Promise-Worth-a-Thousand-Gold Team made the first move.

Zhang Qingsong slammed both hands onto the ground, and the First Spirit Ring around him suddenly lit up.

First Spirit Skill—Azure Bind.

Four thick Azure Vines burst from the ground some distance away. Like snakes, they shot toward the Ice Snow Wolf at the edge of the pack.

Caught off guard, the Ice Snow Wolf was quick, dodging two of the incoming Azure Vines with a few swift sidesteps. But the other two wrapped around it. Like giant pythons seizing their prey, they coiled tightly around the wolf's body, leaving it unable to struggle.

The other members of the Promise-Worth-a-Thousand-Gold Hunting Group naturally wouldn't miss such a glaring opening.

They had worked together countless times. The moment Zhang Qingsong made his move, Snow Leopard was already in motion.

So when the Ice Snow Wolf hit the ground, Snow Leopard was already in front of it.

The Second Spirit Ring blazed with brilliant light. The claws on his hands instantly grew ten centimeters longer. He crossed his arms, then lunged forward. In the next moment, a thirty-centimeter blood-red claw mark slashed toward the Ice Snow Wolf's belly.

It was Xian Ruifeng's Second Spirit Skill—Blood Cross Claw.

The Blood Cross Claw struck the Ice Snow Wolf and ripped its belly open in an instant. Blood and organs splattered across the ground, while a faint yellow ring of light rose from its corpse, signifying that the wolf was dead.

Seeing the Promise-Worth-a-Thousand-Gold Team kill an Ice Snow Wolf so easily, the bosses all breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang San also thought their teamwork was excellent. They had a chance of winning, so there was no need to run.

Su Yun, meanwhile, was itching to fight. His eyes were fixed on the leader of the Ice Snow Wolves, a creature as white as snow, without a single blemish.

When an Ice Snow Wolf that had lived for a hundred years surpassed a thousand years, it had a chance to awaken its bloodline and become a Snow Wolf. It could then command the power of ice and snow for both offense and defense.

Su Yun wanted to see how strong the Snow Wolf's defense was—its Ice Snow Shield. After all, several days had passed since he obtained his First Spirit Ring, and he still hadn't tested it. This was the perfect chance to try it out.

But after thinking it over, Su Yun ultimately held back. To maximize his gains, he could afford to put those unnecessary thoughts aside.

Just like when he had manipulated Little San Sheep, a debt of gratitude for saving someone's life would earn more friendship points than acting now.

The members of the Promise-Worth-a-Thousand-Gold Team had no idea what Su Yun was thinking. They were all delighted to have killed a Snow Wolf right off the bat, and their confidence soared.

While Zhang Qingsong and Snow Leopard attacked, Kuang Nu and Qian Kaixin didn't just stand around. They surrounded another Ice Snow Wolf, attacking it from the front and behind.

Clearly, their plan was to bring all their strength to bear and take the wolves down one at a time. But one surprise attack was one thing; carrying on like this was clearly underestimating the Ice Snow Wolf pack.

At the Snow Wolf leader's howl, seven Ice Snow Wolves lunged at the two men.

As for the Snow Wolf, it charged toward the cave entrance with the remaining two Ice Snow Wolves. The moment it caught sight of Hua Hua, Soul Power surged through its body.