Thousand-Year Crimson Fire Boa

The Crimson Shadow was incredibly fast, so fast that Xiao Yan hadn't even reacted before it was already upon him.

He could only manage a side-roll to barely evade it. Fortunately, when Beibei and Huo Yuhao were discussing his first soul skill earlier, they had intended for him to test the skill's duration, which allowed him to continue enjoying the benefits of Spiritual Detection Sharing and narrowly dodge the Crimson Shadow's strike.

"We have a situation!"

He immediately shouted toward Beibei. Seeing this, Beibei didn't waste words; he cleanly and decisively activated Martial Soul Possession, Thunderous Might.

Seeing the ambush fail, the crimson figure stalled, preparing to seek out the next opportunity.

"Little Brother Xiao Yan, this is a fire-attribute soul beast, a Crimson Fire Boa. Judging by its size, it's at least a thousand years old."

"A thousand years? That's a bit big."

Xiao Yan gasped. Logically speaking, the maximum age for a soul master's first soul ring was around three hundred years. This guy before them was not only more than three times that limit, but it was also a Dragon Kind, a more ferocious type of soul beast with a trace of dragon blood flowing in its veins.

Such a soul ring would be troublesome even for a Soul Elder to absorb. He was merely a soul master who hadn't even obtained his first ring yet; if he dared to absorb such a ring, he would likely explode and die instantly.

"Regardless of whether I want its soul ring, we absolutely cannot let it disturb Xiao Ya while she absorbs hers!"

After weighing the pros and cons, Xiao Yan spoke up. Beibei nodded; he could tell that Xiao Yan wanted to try absorbing a thousand-year soul ring, but it was merely a desire to try, lacking the fervent obsession of "I must absorb a thousand-year ring for my first."

This showed that Xiao Yan wasn't an idiot, and it was no wonder he had secured an interview spot at Shrek Academy.

"Alright, we'll focus on defense. If an opportunity arises, we'll consider taking it down!"

Thunder crackled on Beibei's hands as his second soul ring lit up: Thunderous Might.

At the same time, Xiao Yan completed his Little Fire Dragon possession, igniting a ring of fire one meter around him. Thunder and fire intertwined, continuously triggering Confringo explosions, leaving the Crimson Fire Boa with no openings to exploit.

It had to be said that after possessing the Little Fire Dragon, Xiao Yan's control over flames reached a point of absolute freedom. If it weren't for the fact that doing so consumed too much soul power and mental energy, Xiao Yan could even mindlessly spew fire to Burn Heaven Boil Sea.

Seeing the wall of fire rise, the Crimson Fire Boa didn't go out of its way to court disaster. It wasn't particularly afraid of a simple wall of fire, as it possessed some fire resistance, but the thunder behind the flames and the chain explosions caused by the interweaving of thunder and fire were the sources of its wariness.

Seeing that it couldn't break through after a long struggle, the Crimson Fire Boa gradually retreated into the forest. However, through Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, Xiao Yan knew it hadn't run far; it was merely hiding in the woods, waiting for the next opportunity.

"Phew, we can save some soul power now, otherwise we might not last until Teacher Xiao Ya wakes up."

Beibei's face was somewhat pale; continuously releasing his second soul skill was a significant burden for him. Xiao Yan was the same; he hadn't fully recovered from before, and fighting two battles in a row left him feeling overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan had made full preparations for this trip to Shrek Academy. He fished a porcelain bottle from his robes, poured out three pills, and tossed one each to Beibei and Huo Yuhao.

"These are pills I refined myself. They have the effect of rapidly recovering soul power and mental energy."

He gave a brief introduction, explaining that these were pills he had refined himself after exchanging the clan's remaining contributions for herbs. This made Beibei's eyes widen.

"You know how to refine medicine?"

Xiao Yan blinked, stunned for a moment.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Phew, I didn't expect to run into a wild alchemist. Little Brother Xiao Yan, let me ask you, would you like to join the Tang Sect?"

Xiao Yan was completely dumbfounded. What did he mean by a "wild alchemist"? Was it possible that there were alchemists on the Douluo Continent, and they had formed an Alchemist Association where one had to get certified and take exams for an alchemist license?

Seeing Xiao Yan's confusion, Beibei explained:

"Heh, there are very few people on the Douluo Continent skilled in the art of refining medicine. Most people simply consume herbs directly to obtain their medicinal power, but that is not absolute."

"Some families specifically cultivate soul masters who can concentrate and refine the medicinal power of herbs, storing it for long-term use."

"It's just that such soul masters are rare, usually found only in large families or major sects. Even within Shrek Academy, there are no such soul masters."

Xiao Yan suddenly realized and nodded. No wonder his own family had no stock of pills; it turned out the Xiao Clan was just a small family lacking the foundation to cultivate such alchemists.

As for himself, he had taught himself to refine pills based on formulas from webnovels he had read in his past life, which had turned out to be a lucky strike.

"Thank you for your kindness, but joining the Tang Sect is out of the question. I already have an organization."

"Oh? You have a faith? Which deity is it?"

Beibei asked curiously.

The Martial Soul Hall of ten thousand years ago was an organization similar to a church. Now, ten thousand years later, although the Martial Soul Hall had fallen, there were still devout believers who worshipped deities.

"Ah, regarding that, Beibei, could I take a moment of your time? I would like to introduce you to our beacon and savior, Mr. Fool."

"I, myself, am called the Fool. In the past, in the present, and in the future..."

"Alright, alright, alright..."

Beibei felt a headache coming on, and even Huo Yuhao felt a bit dizzy, his face turning pale.

Xiao Yan had no choice but to give up. The three of them took the pills, and immediately, a cooling sensation welled up within them. Their soul power seemed to be cheering and leaping, as if a nearly dried-up river had been replenished once more.

During the time everyone spent bickering and recovering, Tang Ya had gradually finished absorbing her soul ring and woke up. She jumped up from the ground in excitement, three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—lighting up around her. From this moment on, Tang Ya had also become a level 30 Soul Elder powerhouse.

"Success!"

She excitedly wanted to share this good news with Beibei, only to see that they were surrounded by raging flames, and in Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection field, a large crimson python was lurking nearby.

"Ah!? This is..."

"It's a Crimson Fire Boa. Sister Xiao Ya, it's perfect that you're awake. Test out your new soul skill; use that guy."

"Ah... oh, alright!"

"Third soul skill, Shara Serpent Net!"

Tang Ya beamed with joy as blue vines manifested in her hands. With a graceful flick of her wrist, a net woven from growing Blue Silver Grass flew toward the Crimson Fire Boa.

"Hiss~"

The Crimson Fire Boa flicked its tongue, then opened its massive maw to spew a torrent of flames, scorching the Shara Serpent Net.

"Perfect chance! Xiao Ya, Blue Silver Bind! Beibei, Thunderous Might!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Following Xiao Yan's command, Tang Ya struck again. A Blue Silver vine grew wildly, coiling around the crimson python. Immediately after, a bolt of lightning descended as the Blue Lightning Dragon Claw prepared to strike!

"I'll add to the stakes! Buddha Fury Fire Lotus!"

Having taken several hits, the Crimson Fire Boa was severely wounded and attempted to flee, but the binding of the Blue Silver Grass and the paralysis from countless tiny lightning snakes made movement difficult. Just then, Xiao Yan unleashed his ultimate killing move.

That crimson lotus bloomed once more, before slamming ruthlessly into the body of the Crimson Fire Boa.