Holy Light Sparrow

"Kid, still not asleep?" Flender's voice came from the darkness.

"Going to sleep now."

Ma Hongjun crawled into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

That night, he had a dream.

In the dream, a golden phoenix spread its wings and soared through boundless radiance.

Its entire body burned with pure golden flames, every feather seemingly woven from sunlight.

It cried out to the heavens, its voice piercing the clouds and changing the color of the world.

Ma Hongjun stood on the ground, looking up at the phoenix as an indescribable impulse surged within him.

That was the path he wanted to take.

Early the next morning, while the sky was still dim, Ma Hongjun was awakened by Flender.

"Get up. Soul beasts are more active in the morning, so it'll be easier to find our target."

Ma Hongjun rubbed his eyes, quickly packed up his sleeping bag, took a few bites of dried rations, and followed Flender into the depths of the forest.

The morning air in the Soul Hunting Forest was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.

Sunlight filtered through layer upon layer of leaves, casting dappled shadows across the woods.

Birdsong rose and fell in the distance, occasionally mixed with the deep roars of some soul beast.

Flender walked ahead, releasing the aura of a Soul Saint and driving away all the low-level soul beasts nearby.

Ma Hongjun followed behind, looking around as he walked, trying to spot traces of a Holy Light Sparrow among the treetops.

"Holy Light Sparrows like to nest high up where there is plenty of sunlight,"

Flender explained as he walked. "They feed by absorbing sunlight, so they are most active in the morning and at noon. Look at the canopy. If you see an unusual golden reflection somewhere, it is very likely a Holy Light Sparrow."

Ma Hongjun raised his head as instructed, sweeping his gaze across the crowns of the towering trees.

An hour passed.

Then two hours passed.

They had practically searched through a third of the outer area and encountered more than a dozen different kinds of soul beasts.

Wind Wolves, Iron-Back Bears, Thorn Pythons... but not a single trace of a Light Element soul beast.

Ma Hongjun's heart gradually sank.

"Teacher, what if there aren't any Holy Light Sparrows?" he could not help asking.

Flender did not answer, his brows drawing together slightly.

Although the Soul Hunting Forest contained many captive soul beasts, Light Element soul beasts were indeed far too rare.

If they could not find one today, he would have to take Ma Hongjun somewhere farther away, or settle for another type of soul beast.

Just then, Ma Hongjun's gaze suddenly froze.

About two hundred meters to the southeast stood an exceptionally tall oak tree.

Something at the very top of its canopy was sparkling.

It was not the reflection of dew, but a soft golden glow, as though a tiny sun had fallen upon the treetop.

"Teacher, look over there!" Ma Hongjun lowered his voice and pointed at the oak.

Flender followed his finger, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

"Holy Light Sparrow."

There was a trace of delight in his voice.

The two quietly approached.

Beneath the oak, Ma Hongjun finally saw what that golden glow truly was.

It was a palm-sized bird covered in golden-yellow feathers, with a tuft of fiery red crest feathers atop its head, as though it wore a tiny crown.

Its wings were slightly spread, and the edges of every flight feather shimmered with faint flames, gleaming brightly beneath the sun.

It was using its slender beak to groom its feathers, occasionally tilting its head to peck at tiny insects crawling across the trunk.

A Holy Light Sparrow, and not a small one either. It looked to have at least three or four hundred years of cultivation.

"Not bad luck," Flender said quietly. "This Holy Light Sparrow is around four hundred years old, just near your absorption limit."

Ma Hongjun's heartbeat suddenly quickened.

This was the one.

"Teacher, I want this one." His voice was firm, without the slightest hesitation.

Flender nodded without saying anything more.

He raised his right hand, and seven Soul Rings silently emerged: two yellow, two purple, and three black. Yet only the first yellow ring lit up.

Using his first soul skill against a century-old soul beast was already giving it too much respect.

An invisible vortex of wind shot from Flender's palm, swift and soundless.

The Holy Light Sparrow sensed danger and abruptly spread its wings to flee, but it was already too late.

The wind vortex precisely wrapped around its body, firmly imprisoning it in midair.

The Holy Light Sparrow let out a piercing cry and struggled desperately. Its golden feathers flared open as it erupted with a mass of scorching Holy Light Flame, trying to burn through the Wind Binding.

But before the power of a Soul Saint, that little flame did not even count as a scratch.

Flender clenched his five fingers, and the wind vortex suddenly tightened.

The Holy Light Sparrow gave a mournful cry, its body stiffened, and it fell from the air.

"Go. Deliver the final blow," Flender told Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun took a deep breath and stepped forward.

The Holy Light Sparrow was not dead yet, but the Wind Binding had already constricted it to the brink of death. Its golden feathers were in complete disarray, and a thread of blood seeped from the corner of its beak.

Ma Hongjun crouched down and pressed his right hand against the Holy Light Sparrow's head.

Soul Power surged within him, and dark-red Evil Fire burst from his palm, enveloping the Holy Light Sparrow's head.

The Holy Light Sparrow struggled once more before its breath completely faded.

A yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from the Holy Light Sparrow's corpse, floating in the air and radiating a gentle glow.

A century-old Soul Ring, yellow.

And especially bright.

Unlike the yellow Soul Rings of ordinary soul beasts, this was the distinctive color of a Light Element soul beast.

Ma Hongjun stared at the bright yellow Soul Ring, his heart pounding wildly.

"Sit cross-legged. Relax your mind, and use your Soul Power to draw in the Soul Ring," Flender's voice sounded beside his ear.

"Remember, do not resist the energy in the Soul Ring, but do not let it take control either. You are the master. It is the outsider."

Ma Hongjun sat cross-legged as instructed, closed his eyes, and released his martial soul.

The phantom of a dark-red turkey appeared behind him, and the aura of Evil Fire spread outward.

As if sensing something, the bright yellow Soul Ring slowly drifted toward him and settled over his head.

A vast surge of energy poured into his body.

Ma Hongjun's body jolted violently.

That energy was scorching yet pure. Unlike the dry heat of the Evil Fire within him, it was a warm heat carrying the essence of sunlight.

The two flames collided, intertwined, and resisted each other within his body, as though fighting for dominance.

Pain.

Not a tearing agony, but a burning sensation that reached deep into his bones.

It felt as though something were cleansing his meridians, burning away the impurities within them bit by bit.

Ma Hongjun clenched his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead as sweat poured down like rain.

Flender stood to one side, watching him anxiously.

Absorbing a century-old Soul Ring should not have been this difficult for a genius with Innate Full Soul Power.

But Ma Hongjun's situation was special.

His martial soul carried an evil nature, while the Holy Light Sparrow's Soul Ring possessed a Light Element attribute.

The two attributes clashed within his body, making the pain far worse than during an ordinary absorption.

But this was a road he had to pass.

If he endured it, the world would open before him.

Ma Hongjun's consciousness began to blur, but he desperately guarded the last trace of clarity in his mind.

I can't pass out.

This was the first step toward changing his fate. He absolutely could not fall here.