Danger! Danger! Danger!

Preparing a big move right there?

Snow Leopard had already fallen back to defend, and he clearly wasn't about to let this chance slip by. While Ice Snow Wolf was preparing to attack, he lunged for its neck.

But Cold Ice Wolf, standing beside Ice Snow Wolf, reacted quickly and charged straight at him.

With Cold Ice Wolf right in front of him, Snow Leopard could even smell the stench from its mouth. The next instant, he would be dead between the wolf's jaws, yet he still neither dodged nor flinched. At the same time, his First Soul Ring lit up.

Though it was Snow Leopard's First Spirit Skill, and came from a mere 260-year-old Spirit Beast, it was an incredibly powerful enhancement skill. It boosted all attributes of Snow Leopard's next attack by three hundred percent—though, of course, only for that one strike.

So after using his First Spirit Skill, Snow Leopard immediately used his Second Spirit Skill: Blood Cross Claw.

Snow Leopard crossed his claws and swung. The Blood Cross Claw, originally thirty centimeters long, stretched to a full meter under the enhancement. It was faster, and its power was even more terrifying.

Releasing three Spirit Skills in a row took a tremendous toll, and Snow Leopard's face went pale. Ice Plains Wolf's jaws were now just a centimeter from his neck. Even at this life-or-death moment, Snow Leopard remained unafraid. It looked like he was trading his life for the enemy's, but in truth, he trusted his teammates.

Sure enough, several Azure Vines suddenly shot up from the ground. Their targets weren't just Cold Ice Wolf, which was lunging at Snow Leopard—even the other wolf was caught in their attack.

The Cold Ice Wolf attacking Snow Leopard was stopped, giving him a chance to breathe and retreat at high speed.

Snow Leopard had escaped, but the Blood Cross Claw still struck Cold Ice Wolf. It had been preparing to attack and had no way to dodge. Worse, the other Cold Ice Wolf beside it was briefly held back as well.

Just as the Blood Cross Claw was about to gut it, a white barrier appeared around Ice Snow Wolf. It was crystal-clear, patterned all over with regular blue, six-pointed snowflakes.

It was one of Ice Snow Wolf's two innate skills: Ice Snow Shield.

The instant Blood Cross Claw touched Frost Shield, there was no explosion, nor any sound of shattering glass.

Silently, Blood Cross Claw was stopped—and its power began to fade, as though melting snow.

During that brief delay, the other Cold Ice Wolf had already dodged the Azure Vines. The moment Frost Shield broke, it reached Ice Snow Wolf's side and took the Blood Cross Claw's attack for him.

"Pfft..."

Even weakened by Frost Shield, Snow Leopard's blow was no easy thing to withstand. The thousand-year-old Cold Ice Wolf was sent flying, blood spraying across the snow.

"Thud..."

When it hit the ground hard, a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring had already appeared above its corpse.

At that moment, the eyes of the bosses in the cave lit up. Every one of them wanted to rush over and absorb it.

Never mind whether it suited them—that was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring! If they could absorb it, they couldn't even imagine how incredible it would feel. Of course, they knew it was only wishful thinking.

Su Yun felt regret.

There was no denying that the Promise Worth a Thousand Gold Team was excellent at seizing opportunities, and their teamwork was flawless. But they had underestimated Ice Snow Wolf's defense.

If Cold Ice Wolf was a high-burst assassin, then Ice Snow Wolf, after awakening its bloodline, had become a noble mage. Naturally, while its attack had grown stronger, it hadn't forgotten to reinforce its weakness—defense.

So in that coordinated attack, they hadn't gained any advantage over Ice Snow Wolf.

Tang San, meanwhile, was excited.

This was the first time Tang San had seen a team of Soul Masters in battle. His fists were clenched tight.

The world of Soul Masters really wasn't simple.

One day, Yun and I will form a team of Soul Masters, too. We'll entrust our backs—and our lives—to each other like this. And our teamwork will be even more perfect.

While Tang San was indulging in grand fantasies, Ice Snow Wolf had finished preparing its big move. More than ten ice blades, radiating bone-chilling cold, flew toward Hua Hua.

It clearly understood who among them needed to be eliminated first.

Looking at the dozen or so ice blades streaking toward her, crystal-clear as glass, Su Yun raised an eyebrow and instinctively glanced at Hua Hua beside him.

She was still focused on supporting Kuang Nu and Qian Kaixin, paying no attention at all to the incoming attack.

She trusted her teammates.

Sure enough, the next second, Gu Yifeng stepped forward without hesitation, placing himself in front.

Even facing an attack from a thousand-year Spirit Beast, he showed no fear. After all, he was the vice-leader of the Promise Worth a Thousand Gold Team and one of its only two Soul Elders. His First and Second Soul Rings lit up.

Yellow light flashed. Gu Yifeng's already sturdy body swelled several times over, and he grew to two and a half meters tall. His body became like a small mountain, his skin coated in earthy yellow, and an imposing, reassuring weight radiated from him.

These were his First and Second Spirit Skills: Earth Armor and Defense Enhancement. With both skills boosting him, Gu Yifeng stood like a city wall, firmly blocking the cave entrance.

In an instant, the ice blades slammed into Gu Yifeng, sending stone fragments flying.

Even with the two Spirit Skills bolstering him, the stone armor covering Gu Yifeng was battered and pitted. His mountain-like body shrank rapidly, and he stumbled backward, leaving two furrows in the ground.

His hands and feet were trembling. The veins on his forehead bulged, but even so, he gritted his teeth and held on.

At last, all the ice blades shattered. Just as everyone thought he had stopped them, Gu Yifeng toppled over with the rigid stiffness of a block of ice. A closer look revealed frost caked around his mouth and nose.

If these had been ordinary ice blades, Gu Yifeng could have blocked them easily with his Spirit Skills. But this was a prepared big move. It didn't just attack physically—it also carried invisible attacks on the mind and against Spirit Skills.

The ice blades struck Gu Yifeng again and again. The cold invaded his body, freezing his meridians and slowing the flow of Soul Power.

"Yifeng!"

Hua Hua panicked, but there was nothing she could do.

With Gu Yifeng down, the back line was completely exposed to Ice Snow Wolf.

Ice Snow Wolf threw back its head and howled. Another Cold Ice Wolf charged into the cave.

As for Ice Plains Wolf, it began preparing once more, but this time it wasn't making ice blades—it was preparing a defensive skill: Ice Snow Shield.

As Soul Power surged, the snow-white barrier around it, once as thin as paper, grew more and more solid. All the members of the Promise Worth a Thousand Gold Team could do was watch helplessly.

The other thousand-year-old Cold Ice Wolf had already charged inside.

Danger was at hand, yet Hua Hua didn't dare retreat. She had to keep supporting Kuang Nu and Qian Kaixin.

After all, the two of them were up against seven Cold Ice Wolves in total. Five were eight hundred years old, and two had already crossed the thousand-year mark.

Without her support, the two of them couldn't hope to beat seven Cold Ice Wolves working in perfect coordination—not even hold them off.

With Gu Yifeng out of the fight, Zhang Qingsong and Snow Leopard had no choice but to grit their teeth and take his place.

But Snow Leopard, with almost all his Soul Power spent, could only rely on his speed as an agility-type Soul Master to barely hold off the thousand-year-old Cold Ice Wolf alongside Zhang Qingsong.