Thunderbolt Golden Snake

This incredibly precious corpse, did it just... dissipate because he touched it?

After a few seconds of panic, Wang Hong quickly dismissed this possibility.

He had merely made contact with the remains of that Soul Beast; he had performed no other unnecessary actions. Rather than him destroying the remains, it was more likely that the remains were so fragile they could not withstand even the slightest touch.

For these fragile remains to have stayed intact on the ground until Wang Hong found them was already a miracle of the highest order.

Wang Hong looked at the ground; fortunately, the ashes had not been completely blown away by the wind, and a small amount still remained on the earth.

To prevent any further accidents, a purple Soul Ring appeared at his side, and a transparent bubble with a diameter of one meter instantly manifested before him.

The bubble descended slowly, directly enveloping the patch of ground that still held the remnants of the ashes.

When Wang Hong activated his Soul Tool again, the entire chunk of earth was collected along with the bubble.

"That should be enough to keep those guys at the Soul Beast Research Institute busy for a while."

After confirming that no traces remained in the vicinity, he began to head back toward the direction of Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao, but just then, a strange sound reached his ears.

The sound resembled the lively beating of drums during a festival, but it was accompanied by an unnatural "crackle."

"This sound is... it!"

Wang Hong's speed increased, and in less than a minute, he had sprinted to the two children's campsite. However, his first glance revealed no sign of them.

"Brother Wang Hong!" A faint shout came from the side, and as he turned to look, he saw Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei, who had already hidden themselves.

"Did you hear that sound?" Wang Hong walked into the thicket where the two were hiding. He looked left and right; it was a rather good spot that could conceal their entire bodies while allowing them to observe the surrounding situation.

"Yes, there is no doubt that this roar is our target for this time!"

"The Thunderbolt Golden Snake!"

Bei Bei's voice carried suppressed excitement. He was staring intently in the direction from which the sound originated—the very river where Huo Yuhao had been catching fish just yesterday.

"By the way, Brother Wang Hong, were the remains of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm found?" Huo Yuhao asked suddenly. Although Brother Sky Dream had said he had already dealt with the remains, he was still worried that something might go wrong.

"Regrettably, the remains dissipated on their own; I suspect it is a unique property of this type of Soul Beast. But the good news is that a little bit remains to take back and fulfill the mission." Wang Hong pointed to his storage Soul Tool.

Huo Yuhao breathed a sigh of relief; if it was only a little bit of ash, there shouldn't be any problems.

Wang Hong crouched down with the two of them, waiting for the Thunderbolt Golden Snake to appear, ready to strike and kill at any moment.

However, at this moment, Huo Yuhao had a curious question.

"Brother Wang Hong, I remember you saying that Brother Bei Bei needed a sub-dragon type Soul Beast, so why is it called a Thunderbolt Golden Snake?"

Seeming to have anticipated Huo Yuhao's confusion, Bei Bei began to explain:

"According to the Soul Beast Encyclopedia, among all sub-dragon type Soul Beasts, the lightning and water attributes are the two most special categories."

"General sub-dragon type Soul Beasts have body shapes closer to lizards or crocodiles. But only with these two attributes are they almost indistinguishable from snake-type Soul Beasts."

"Consequently, these two types of sub-dragon Soul Beasts are mostly crowned with the name 'snake'."

After listening to Bei Bei's explanation, Huo Yuhao was certain that this was another piece of knowledge that did not exist in his own memories.

Aren't there only a few types of dragon-type Soul Beasts? A snake-shaped dragon-type Soul Beast? To him, it was as strange as putting white sugar instead of cumin on grilled fish.

Just as Huo Yuhao was still pondering the difference between a snake shape and a dragon type, Wang Hong suddenly spoke:

"It's here."

Following the direction Wang Hong pointed, Huo Yuhao saw the Soul Beast the other was talking about, and at a single glance, he knew the name Thunderbolt Golden Snake was perfectly appropriate:

The snake was estimated to be about five meters long, with its entire body covered in azure scales. Yet, under the sunlight, these scales reflected a golden shimmer, looking as if several bolts of lightning were flashing across a clear, blue sky.

On the snake's head grew a single golden horn, upon which flickered actual lightning.

The Thunderbolt Golden Snake—it lived up to its name just by its appearance.

"This is the Thunderbolt Golden Snake... so cool!" Huo Yuhao exclaimed, and Wang Hong and Bei Bei nodded in agreement:

"Not only is it cool, but this type of Soul Beast is also a top-tier master of lightning element control. Judging by its size, this Thunderbolt Golden Snake is between 1,800 and 2,300 years old, an excellent choice for Brother Bei Bei!"

Wang Hong and Bei Bei exchanged a look. After confirming the target, a purple thousand-year Soul Ring appeared at Wang Hong's side, the ring distributed with large and small circular patterns.

At the same time, a silver, transparent bubble emerged from his right hand. Following his guidance, the bubble slowly sank into the ground, moving toward the direction of the Thunderbolt Golden Snake.

Wang Hong's Martial Soul was named Bubble. When it first awakened, it was just a soap bubble that could be popped with a casual touch, but he could attach various properties to the bubbles through his Soul Rings.

The one he used earlier to collect the ashes of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was his third soul skill, "Bubble of Cutting Things."

And now, the one stealthily approaching the Thunderbolt Golden Snake was his fourth soul skill, "Bubble of Piercing Space."

The exterior of the bubble could not touch any real-world objects, and it could be destroyed by the tip of a needle.

But regardless of which of Wang Hong's soul skills it was, the bubble possessed one fixed property:

It would perform an indiscriminate soul power explosion on whatever was trapped inside, with the power of the explosion depending on the age of the Soul Ring.

Of course, Huo Yuhao did not know this, but when he saw that bubble, his senses told him that it contained a massive amount of soul power.

While Huo Yuhao was still wondering what kind of Martial Soul this was, the bubble had already drifted beneath the Thunderbolt Golden Snake, and Wang Hong was closely observing the snake's movements with his naked eye.

Although his Martial Soul was powerful, due to the nature of the bubbles, their movement speed was slightly slow, except for those created by specific soul skills.

He had to seize every movement of the snake, predict its trajectory, and make it walk into his trap voluntarily to ensure a one-hit kill.

Yet, at this very instant, Wang Hong suddenly felt his field of vision shift.

Everything around him became incomparably clear; every shift in the muscles of the Thunderbolt Golden Snake and every glint of light off its scales became razor-sharp.

Not only that, but it was as if countless eyes had been installed within a hundred-meter radius centered on him; as long as he willed it, he could instantly capture every minute detail.

He felt as though his consciousness had detached from his body, his thoughts moving at a speed that seemed to transcend sound and light.

He appeared to have near-infinite time to contemplate his next trajectory, allowing him to control his body and soul power with unparalleled precision.

He immediately sensed the source of this sensation and looked back at Huo Yuhao in disbelief, whose eyes were currently swirling with a light interwoven with purple and silver.