Soul Beast Bounty

Huo Yuhao had already boarded the Soul Guidance Flying Carriage, while Wang Hong remained outside, listening to Wang Yan's nagging. The content was simple: he was to ensure Huo Yuhao's safety at all costs.

"This is my most precious student, so you'd better keep a close eye on him. If anything goes wrong, just wait and see how I deal with you when I get home for winter break!"

"I know, Cousin. Besides, this is a mission for the Martial Soul Hall. Even though we can't act recklessly, his safety is certainly guaranteed."

"It better be..." Wang Yan had been talking for so long that his throat felt dry. He took a sip of hot water from a thermos he pulled from his Soul Tool, then waved his hand at Wang Hong.

"I won't say anything more. Get going, and come back soon."

Wang Hong plopped into the driver's seat, gave a quick acknowledgment, and yanked the reins. The Sky Soul Horse responsible for pulling the carriage instantly spread its wings, its leg muscles tensing as it began to accelerate toward the open space ahead.

In the blink of an eye, the neigh of the Sky Soul Horse still lingered at the starting point, but the carriage, powered by its Soul Guidance engine, had already vanished from Wang Yan's sight, becoming a tiny black speck on the horizon.

Meanwhile, inside the Soul Guidance Flying Carriage, Huo Yuhao could perceive the slight vibrations during the start-up through his Martial Soul, unlike his first time riding one. Yet, this didn't lead him to think that 'Soul Guidance Flying Carriages' were nothing special; after all, even across the entire Douluo Continent, there were very few who could match Huo Yuhao in terms of spiritual power.

The fact that even Huo Yuhao could feel a slight tremor showed just how incredibly optimized the carriage's shock-absorption system had become.

"Come to think of it, Brother Wang Hong, what exactly is my mission this time? To make the Martial Soul Hall offer such precious rewards, this mission can't be simple, right?"

Huo Yuhao leaned against the window connecting the cabin to the driver's seat and asked.

"It's certainly not simple. In fact, what I said in Cousin Wang Yan's office earlier was just a cover for outsiders. This mission was actually prepared specifically for you."

"According to Director Si Qing, the target of this mission is quite special—a plant-type soul beast that specializes in spiritual cultivation. In terms of physical combat power, this soul beast might not even withstand a strike from an ordinary kitchen knife, but when it comes to spiritual power, it ranks in the top ten of the continent."

"Top ten of the continent?" Huo Yuhao was surprised. Now he understood why this mission required him specifically.

The Dream Silkworm, which was the first soul ring Wang Hong helped him register at the Martial Soul Hall, was a soul beast that could be considered a strong contender for the top of the continent in terms of spiritual power. Yet, even a soul beast of that caliber ended up becoming his soul ring through a series of coincidences. Either Huo Yuhao's luck was extraordinary, or the spiritual power granted by his Martial Soul far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

And clearly, the Martial Soul Hall was more inclined to believe the latter.

"That's right. This soul beast is called the Soul-Pulling Ghost Vine. According to records, it is a mutated species evolved from a soul beast known as the Ghost Vine ten thousand years ago. It sacrificed its originally excellent reproductive ability in exchange for the power to influence the minds of humans and other soul beasts."

"A century-level Soul-Pulling Ghost Vine possesses the ability to drag people into illusions. The level of realism is so high that even a Soul King-level soul master could fall for it and be used as its nutrients."

"Even a Soul King could fall for it..." Huo Yuhao found it hard to imagine. In his impression, century-level soul beasts were usually playthings in the hands of Soul King-level soul masters. To think this Soul-Pulling Ghost Vine could actually turn the tables and make a Soul King its food—what kind of terrifying spiritual power must that be?

But... if that were the only reason, Huo Yuhao couldn't figure out why the Martial Soul Hall would want to hunt this soul beast. Did they feel it posed too great a threat to humanity, fearing it might grow to a level even the Martial Soul Hall couldn't handle?

"Brother Wang Hong, let me ask just in case: why does the Martial Soul Hall want to hunt it, or rather, them?" Huo Yuhao felt that the reason he imagined didn't hold up; there had to be a more logical explanation.

"As for the reason, there's no harm in telling you: Director Si Qing's daughter, Tang Ya, has reached level twenty in soul power and happens to need a suitable soul ring."

"According to witness records, that Soul-Pulling Ghost Vine is between six hundred and nine hundred years old. Miss Tang Ya happens to need such a second soul ring with powerful spiritual attributes, so the mission to hunt it was released in the name of the Martial Soul Hall."

"However, because the spiritual-type soul masters sent on the first mission underestimated the strength of the Soul-Pulling Ghost Vine, the first team had to evacuate urgently. Our mission this time is to follow the second team and help Miss Tang Ya create an opportunity for the final blow."

"My Bubble Martial Soul can trap the Soul-Pulling Ghost Vine inside. After all, aside from spiritual attacks, its main body is actually very fragile. With your spiritual power and soul skills, Lord Huo Yuhao, resisting its spiritual attacks shouldn't be difficult. Your task is to use your weapons to reduce its state to the point where it can be killed in one strike."

After listening to Wang Hong's explanation, Huo Yuhao nodded, indicating he understood.

The general sequence of events was that Tang You needed a century-level spiritual-attribute soul ring for his daughter, Tang Ya, and the Soul-Pulling Ghost Vine was the best choice he could find.

But as it happened, this soul beast required a soul master with strong spiritual cultivation to cooperate with a soul master possessing powerful control abilities. Tang You just happened to think of Huo Yuhao and Wang Hong.

Thus, he left the opportunity to execute this mission to Huo Yuhao, even being willing to use the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and the Aromatic Silk Beauty—two immortal-grade herbs—to ensure he would accept the mission.

Although it seemed now that Tang You's worry was clearly unnecessary, in reality, even if the rewards for this mission were very ordinary, Huo Yuhao would likely have accepted it anyway.

After all, in this world where the Martial Soul Hall still existed, the landscape of the soul master world was bound to undergo massive changes, and these missions were the simplest way for Huo Yuhao to witness those changes at his age.

But setting that aside, the other information revealed in Wang Hong's words was also worth Huo Yuhao's consideration.

For instance, the point Huo Yuhao was most curious about now: what exactly was Tang Ya's Martial Soul?

Huo Yuhao could be certain that whether it was the ordinary Blue Silver Grass, the Dark Blue Silver Grass of his past life, or the legendary Blue Silver King or Blue Silver Emperor, spiritual attributes were not even worth mentioning as a secondary trait for them.

To put it more bluntly, spiritual attributes were completely useless for a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul; they weren't even worth keeping, let alone something anyone would want for free.

Huo Yuhao thought about it carefully. It seemed that in this life, he really didn't know the current state of Tang Ya's Martial Soul, but considering she needed a spiritual-attribute second soul ring... Huo Yuhao couldn't help but suspect that the current Tang Ya was also a spiritual-type soul master.

"Brother Wang Hong, it might be a bit presumptuous... but I'm curious, what is Sister Tang Ya's Martial Soul? How could she need a spiritual-attribute second soul ring?"

"Miss Tang Ya's Martial Soul?" Wang Hong rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and said:

"It seems to be a special kind of Blue Silver Grass with silver-white patterns?"