Xiao Yan Seeks to Hunt Souls

Xu Sanshi gritted his teeth to withstand the assault, only to feel a biting chill permeating the fierce winds around him.

"What kind of flame is this? It actually managed to freeze my Mysterious Underworld Shield!?"

It was the Pseudo Bone Spirit Fire.

The Mysterious Underworld Shield was water-attributed, so logically, it should have been simple to block fire-attributed attacks. However, the nature of the Pseudo Bone Spirit Fire was close to the Bone Spirit Cold Fire; it was a flame that carried ice attributes.

Ice and water shared the same origin. While the Mysterious Underworld Shield was busy blocking the fire attack, that frigid cold bypassed the shield's defense, quietly freezing both him and the surface of his shield.

Xiao Yan raised his hand and clenched it in the void. The cold air emitted by the Pseudo Bone Spirit Fire climbed rapidly, and Xu Sanshi's body was frozen by the ice at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Using ice to deal with me? Too naive!"

"Mysterious Underworld Shield Formation!"

Xu Sanshi roared, and his shield split into three parts, rapidly shattering the ice that had congealed on his body. But would Xiao Yan sit by and watch his opponent break free from the control?

He condensed another Fire Lotus and threw it toward Xu Sanshi, not expecting to break his defense, but merely hoping to harass him.

Unexpectedly, Xu Sanshi was so focused on defending against the icy aura that he failed to free up his hands to defend against the flames, taking the full brunt of the Buddha Fury Fire Lotus.

Boom!

Flames swept across the area. Xu Sanshi coughed a few times, his face turning somewhat pale.

"Good technique!"

He spat out these words through gritted teeth. He wanted to raise his shield to attack again, but he appeared somewhat powerless, eventually collapsing limply to the ground, unable to rise again.

After the match, Xiao Yan casually tossed a bottle of Essence Replenishment Pill to Xu Sanshi, but the latter blocked it with his hand.

"Keep such good things for yourself, Junior Brother. It's not as if I don't have anything for healing."

"However, regarding Jiang Nannan..."

Xu Sanshi leaned in, smiling mysteriously.

"Of course, Senior Brother just needs to wait for a period of time."

"But remember, opening your heart is the most important thing. Between lovers, only by sharing each other's pain can you walk a longer path together."

Xiao Yan casually conjured a folding fan out of Pale Blue Flame and began to fan himself, adopting the demeanor of a refined young master offering sage advice.

Xu Sanshi frowned, suspicious.

"Although what you say makes sense, Junior Brother, but..."

"Is doing this really useful?"

Xiao Yan closed the folding fan and said with breezy indifference:

"Well, I've said my piece. Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Senior Brother."

"Let's go, Hagi-Xiao, time to go back and cultivate after the fight."

Xiao Yulü froze, trembling as he asked:

"We... we still have to cultivate?"

"Of course. If we don't cultivate, how can we reach level 20 before the Freshman Tournament?"

Xiao Yan knocked Xiao Yulü on the head. The latter looked at Xiao Yan with pleading eyes; the young master of the Xiao Clan had been accustomed to a life of leisure since childhood, and continuing this grueling training was truly a hardship for him.

"After all, the status of a Core Disciple is very important."

"Ah, so you two are aiming to be Core Disciples."

Xu Sanshi pondered for a moment and said:

"Hmm, with your strength, becoming Core Disciples within the next few years is basically a certainty. As long as you keep cultivating and improving steadily, you will eventually make it. There's no need to push yourselves so hard."

Xiao Yan's expression suddenly went blank, and then he appeared somewhat despondent.

"Is that so... yes, it is."

Seeming to notice his good brother's despondency, Xiao Yulü quickly stepped forward and smilingly draped his arm over Xiao Yan's shoulder:

"Alright, alright, let's go back and cultivate. Senior Brother, we'll be heading off now~"

Xu Sanshi watched the two figures gradually receding and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

It seemed that the story of these two youths was even more convoluted and bizarre than he had imagined?

Back in the dormitory, Xiao Yan did not immediately enter a state of cultivation.

Why exactly did he have to cultivate so hard?

Xiao Yan's goal was to dominate the ages, but that was not a goal that could be achieved in a short time. As the saying goes, where the heart is directed, day by day there will be progress; there was no need to rush.

After deep thought for a long time, Xiao Yan still could not figure out the source of the sense of urgency in his heart.

He paced back and forth for a long time, which greatly disturbed Xiao Yulü, who wanted to cultivate. Annoyed, he scratched his hair.

"Hey, I say, Old Xiao, are you still dwelling on your parents' affairs?"

"Ah, yes."

Xiao Yan was startled. Why would Xiao Yulü suddenly bring up his cheap parents?

"If you ask me, the departed are gone, and we the living can only inherit their will and forge ahead..."

"Get lost, stop spouting such grand nonsense."

Being interrupted by Xiao Yulü, Xiao Yan recalled a few scenes: the night, the giant beasts, the humid touch, and a series of human faces.

Unfortunately, beyond that, Xiao Yan could not recall any other information, yet it still made him feel much more at ease.

"Phew, forget about all that. As long as I step onto the path of the Emperor, achieve the supreme, and stand alone through the ages, these difficulties will eventually be resolved."

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged and re-entered a state of cultivation.

As the saying goes, time holds no meaning in cultivation. Although Xiao Yan's practice was not absolutely focused and was still subject to the interference of mundane trifles (attending classes, eating), his progress was quite gratifying.

One week before the freshman assessment, Xiao Yan finally broke through to level 19 and prepared to hunt for his second soul ring.

To be honest, improving one level in two months was truly a bit slow.

But there was no help for it; Xiao Yan needed to solidify his foundation, otherwise, consecutive breakthroughs would certainly lead to a hollow foundation. Moreover, this was helpful for the future evolution of his Charmeleon into an Ultimate Fire martial soul. Once accustomed to compressing soul power, the bonuses of an Ultimate martial soul would be further enhanced.

As for Xiao Yulü, he had long since broken through the 20-level barrier and sent a letter home, having his family bring him to hunt for his second soul ring.

Young Master Xiao had always acted this way: the greatest prodigy of the entire Xiao Clan, the darling who gathered all resources unto himself, a person who could become a powerhouse without Shrek. Coming to Shrek was merely the icing on the cake.

Xiao Yan did not consider himself as extravagant as him, able to hire a team to escort him every time he hunted for souls; he could only rely on himself.

In fact, with Xiao Yan's current strength, a conventional thousand-year soul beast was not his match. Under the amplification of his Blazing Sun Domain, Xiao Yan's attack power could even rival a Soul King, making it very simple to hunt for a thousand-year soul ring.

The reason he had dragged it out until now was that only just now had Xiao Yan received intelligence on fire-attribute soul beasts in the Sunset Forest from Xiao Yulü.

Students were not permitted to enter the Star Dou Forest from the front. If he took a detour, the round trip would consume a significant amount of time, and he certainly wouldn't be able to return within a week to participate in the freshman assessment, not to mention the time required to search for and hunt a soul beast.

At this moment, Xiao Yan actually missed Elder Yi and the soul spirit system. If his first soul ring had been produced by a soul spirit, he wouldn't need to worry about his second ring either; he could head straight for a ten-thousand-year ring for his third, continue producing them for his fourth and fifth, and then plan for a hundred-thousand-year soul ring for his sixth.

This was not empty talk. With Xiao Yan's alchemy, refining pills to increase the absorption limit of soul rings was not a difficult task, but it was a pity that without soul spirits, this idea could only remain a thought.

"Hmm... Earth Fire Lizard Herd, Crimson Flame Lizard Queen, Fire Scorched Ox..."

"These are all rather mediocre soul beasts. Aren't there any stronger ones..."

Xiao Yan looked at the intelligence, then suddenly froze, his gaze locking onto the end of the report.

"Golden-Haired Blazing Lion King, cultivation... approaching ten thousand years?"