Huo Yuhao heard him, and delight practically spilled from his eyes. A 1,300-year-old Nightmare Beast was right at the upper limit of what he could withstand, and its Soul Skill was an extremely rare mental attack. It was practically a gift from heaven.
"Senior, then I..."
"Go ahead," Jiang Che said. "Use the mental power of your Spirit Eye to lock onto it. Leave the rest to me."
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and fully activated his Spirit Eye Martial Soul. A milky-white Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, and his mental power spread slowly toward the Nightmare Beast by the stream, like invisible tendrils.
The Nightmare Beast's senses were exceptionally sharp. The instant Huo Yuhao's mental power touched it, its tightly shut eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of dusky purple, vertical pupils. It seemed as if mist churned within them, giving off a dangerous, hallucinatory aura.
It raised its head. Its gaze passed over Huo Yuhao and landed on Jiang Che behind him.
At just one glance, every strand of the Nightmare Beast's snow-white fur stood on end. Its long tail went taut, and the ripples made by its tail tip shattered at once.
It sensed an unfathomably terrifying aura, like that of an abyss. This was an overwhelming difference in strength—a pressure on the level of a Titled Douluo.
The Nightmare Beast thrust off with all four legs and turned into a white blur, fleeing wildly upstream.
Unfortunately, though it was fast, Jiang Che was faster!
No one even saw how he moved. He merely flicked his right hand, and a shard of silvery-blue ice shot from his fingertips, moving so fast the air had no time to make a sound.
The ice struck the Nightmare Beast's hind leg with pinpoint accuracy. It didn't pierce through; there was only a crisp crack. The beast's hind leg snapped, and its body tumbled through the air before slamming onto the gravel bank beside the stream, scattering water and stones.
It struggled to stand, but the agony in its hind leg left it unable to support its body. It could only lie on the gravel, its dusky purple eyes filled with terror and despair as it let out a low whimper, as if begging for mercy—or keening in grief.
Huo Yuhao stared blankly at the scene, mouth slightly open. He seemed at a loss for words, and for a moment, he even forgot to step forward.
That was a thousand-year Soul Beast! It hadn't lasted a single second in front of his senior. It hadn't even had a chance to escape before a casual strike left it gravely wounded.
"Why are you still standing there?" Jiang Che's voice came from behind him, edged with exasperation. "Go finish it off. You have to obtain the Soul Ring yourself for it to count."
"Ah!" Huo Yuhao snapped back to his senses and hurried toward the Nightmare Beast.
When the Nightmare Beast saw him approach, the terror in its eyes deepened. It desperately scrabbled at the gravel with its forelegs, trying to drag itself backward, but its injured hind leg left it completely unable to move.
Huo Yuhao stopped in front of it and looked into those dusky purple eyes. He felt a pang of pity, but only for a moment; then he forced it down.
This was the rule of the Soul Master world: hunt Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings. It had been that way since ancient times. If he let pity stay his hand, how could he grow stronger? How could he return to the White Tiger Duke Mansion and get justice?
"I'm sorry," Huo Yuhao murmured. He took out the dagger his mother had given him when he left the Duke's Mansion and plunged it into the Nightmare Beast's forehead.
The Nightmare Beast's body stiffened. Its dusky purple eyes slowly lost their light, turning at last to a lifeless gray-white. A flash of white light passed, and its breath was gone.
A moment later, a purple Soul Ring slowly took shape above the Nightmare Beast's corpse. Purple light swirled through it, carrying the depth and weight unique to a thousand-year Soul Ring.
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged and circulated his Soul Power, drawing the purple Soul Ring toward himself.
The instant the Soul Ring touched his body, a vast, pure mental force surged into his Sea of Consciousness like a tide, slowly merging with the power at the source of his Spirit Eye Martial Soul.
There was no pain, no rejection. Jiang Che's strike had already utterly crushed the Nightmare Beast's lingering consciousness, leaving only its purest source energy, which flowed docilely into Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul.
The entire process lasted less than the time it took an incense stick to burn—far smoother than Huo Yuhao had expected.
As the last wisp of purple light sank into his body, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes. A glimmer of dusky purple flashed in their depths, then vanished, leaving his Spirit Eye clear as before.
He stood and felt the power brought by his newly acquired Second Soul Ring. His heart brimmed with excitement and joy.
His second Soul Skill was "Nightmare." It could invade a target's Sea of Consciousness and create the most terrifying dreams, leaving enemies unable to fight in their sleep—or even killing them outright.
The Soul Skill's power far exceeded his expectations.
"How does it feel?" Jiang Che asked.
"Great!" Huo Yuhao nodded emphatically, unable to hide his grin. "Senior, thank you!"
Jiang Che waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to thank him.
Ice Empress walked over from behind. She hadn't had anything to do during the entire trip, but now she came over to caution Huo Yuhao. "The Nightmare Beast's Soul Skill suits your Spirit Eye Martial Soul, but don't rely on it too much. If you run into an opponent with stronger mental power, the backlash won't be pretty."
Huo Yuhao's heart tightened, and he quickly nodded. "Thanks for the reminder, Bingbing. I'll be careful."
Jiang Che glanced at the sky. The sun had already begun to sink, and the forest was much dimmer than it had been at noon.
"Let's go. It's time to head back," Jiang Che said. "We'll leave the Star Dou Great Forest before dark and return to the academy first thing tomorrow morning."
The three headed back the way they had come. They passed through the dense broadleaf forest, crossed the clear stream, and walked through the patch of ten-year-old Solitary Bamboo.
The forest grew darker and darker. The canopy overhead blocked out the light completely, and a gloomy silence settled around them, broken only by the rustle of leaves under their feet and the occasional distant growl of a Soul Beast.
When they reached an area where the trees grew sparse, Jiang Che suddenly stopped.
Ice Empress stopped at the same time. Her yellow-diamond eyes narrowed slightly as she looked toward a certain direction deep in the forest.
"What's wrong, Senior?" Huo Yuhao sensed that something was off and asked in a lowered voice.
Jiang Che didn't answer. Just then, his mental power had sensed a strange aura. It wasn't particularly powerful, but it was exceptionally pure, bearing an indescribable, ancient nobility.
"There's something over there." Jiang Che looked southeast, his brow furrowing slightly.
Ice Empress had sensed it too. Her expression was even more grave than Jiang Che's, and a flicker of surprise and wariness passed through her yellow-diamond eyes. "That's...the aura of the Emperor Auspicious Beast."
"The Emperor Auspicious Beast? What's that?" Huo Yuhao asked, utterly baffled. He had no idea what Ice Empress meant by the Emperor Auspicious Beast. It was well beyond anything he knew.
"What should we do?" Ice Empress didn't answer Huo Yuhao's question. Instead, she looked to Jiang Che.
Jiang Che inwardly cursed the trouble. He clearly hadn't expected to run into the Three-Eyed Golden Lion on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Before Jiang Che could answer, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed to sense something and came charging straight toward them.
Before you continue