Datura Snake

Xiao Yan didn't use Martial Soul Possession. Instead, he stood some distance away, directing Little Fire Dragon in battle.

That was the advantage of an intelligent Martial Soul. Unfortunately, Xiao Yan didn't have a Soul Tool on hand. Otherwise, he could have directed Little Fire Dragon while using the Soul Tool to provide support himself.

When Beibei saw Xiao Yan join the fight, he had meant to tell him to back off, but then noticed that Xiao Yan himself was still standing with Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao. Only then did he understand.

It seemed Xiao Yan was an intelligent Martial Soul user, just like the teacher of the Tang Sect's founder from ten thousand years ago.

Thinking of the core of the Golden Iron Triangle, a strange look flickered in Beibei's eyes.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for? Help control it!"

Seeing Beibei dazed, Xiao Yan hurriedly called out to him. Only then did Beibei seem to come to his senses and release his second Soul Skill once more.

Seeing how smoothly the two had worked together on their first try, Tang Ya couldn't help feeling excited.

This meant her Thousand-Year Soul Ring was probably in the bag.

As for Huo Yuhao, seeing Xiao Yan, who was three years younger than him, fighting alongside Big Brother Beibei and coordinating with him so well, he couldn't help feeling envious.

He wanted to help Beibei and Tang Ya too. He didn't want to be useless, or a vase that needed protecting.

At that thought, he hurriedly circulated his Soul Power, and his First Soul Ring began to glow.

The next instant, Xiao Yan, Xiao Fire Dragon, Beibei, and Tang Ya all froze for a moment. Xiao Yan was the first to react.

Huo Yuhao's First Soul Skill, Spiritual Detection Sharing!

There was no denying how powerful a Soul Skill granted by a Million-Year Soul Ring was. At that moment, Xiao Yan felt as though he had entered a third-person view. Everything within a thirty-meter radius was crystal clear.

What's more, Spiritual Detection Sharing came with an effect similar to bullet time. Everything around him seemed to slow down. It was practically like turning on Fenglingyueying.

With a huge cheat like this, how could they possibly lose?

"Beibei!"

"Roar! I know!"

Xiao Yan shouted, and Beibei immediately understood. With Spiritual Detection Sharing bolstering them, they could easily dodge the Datura Snake's attacks. There was no need to pin it down with control. Xiao Yan wanted Beibei to use his strongest attacking Soul Skill!

A deep rumble suddenly erupted from Beibei, like thunder raging in fury. The purple Third Soul Ring on his body shone with dazzling light.

"Third Soul Skill, Thunder Fury!"

The Datura Snake wasn't stupid. Seeing Beibei's aura surge, it immediately gave up on fighting. It spat a mouthful of poison gas at him, then turned and fled.

But while Beibei had been releasing his Soul Skill, Xiao Yan had already circled around behind it!

"Martial Soul, Possession!"

Xiao Yan raised both hands, and Little Fire Dragon instantly became a streak of golden light that shot into his body!

The next instant, golden Dragon Scales covered Xiao Yan's hands and feet, and a similarly bright golden Dragon Tail grew behind him. A flame burned fiercely at its tip.

What magnificent Golden Dragon Scale Armor! What a splendid Xiao Fire Dragon form!

Seeing Xiao Yan like this, Beibei's eyes widened. Th-this... wasn't this the appearance of the Golden Sacred Dragon, the Mutated Martial Soul passed down through his family? Xiao Yan didn't have dragon wings, but could he be a blood relative who'd been lost outside the family? Or had his Martial Soul mutated, causing his original family to cast him out...

Xiao Yan had no idea how much Beibei's imagination was running away with him. In truth, he was only thinking about one thing.

Would Buddha Fury Fire Lotus kill the Datura Snake outright, leaving Tang Ya without the final blow and unable to absorb its Soul Ring?

He pondered for a moment, though under the accelerated thought process, that moment was no more than an instant. Then Xiao Yan made his choice.

No matter. Even without Buddha Fury Fire Lotus, he had a way to subdue this Ferocious Beast!

Flames surged around Xiao Yan, gradually gathering into the shape of a fist in midair!

"Blazing Fist, Heaven Blasting!"

The blazing fist-shaped shadow shot forward and slammed into the Datura Snake. Its attempt to flee came to an abrupt halt, and the punch even sent it flying backward.

"Teacher Xiao Ya!"

Seeing this, Beibei hurriedly called out. Tang Ya stopped watching and leaped high into the air. A flying knife about half a foot long appeared in her hand. Then she held her breath and focused, a hint of purple tinting her pupils.

Tang Sect Secret Arts—Purple Demon Eye!

The next instant, the girl gave her wrist a slight flick, and the flying knife shot out, striking the Datura Snake precisely in its open mouth as it shrieked in pain. Its wicked life came to an end.

The flames died down, and the thunder subsided.

When the purple Soul Ring floated up from the Datura Snake's body, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hurry and get started. I never expected us to encounter a Thousand-Year Soul Beast even this close to the edge of Star Dou Forest. The quality of the Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest really keeps getting better."

"Mm!"

Tang Ya giggled and sat cross-legged beside the Datura Snake. A blue glow lit up in her hands. She raised one hand, and the purple Soul Ring was drawn toward her by the blue light, moving to merge with her.

Absorbing a Soul Ring required absolute concentration, so Tang Ya's smile gradually faded.

"Teacher Xiao Ya is already a level-thirty Soul Elder... But what's her Martial Soul?"

"Xiao Ya's Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."

Beibei kindly answered Huo Yuhao, then went on to launch into a long explanation about how the Tang Sect's founder had possessed Blue Silver Grass ten thousand years ago, and how later generations had chosen Tang Sect leaders from among those with Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls to honor their ancestor. The whole thing gave Xiao Yan a headache.

For starters, God King Tang's Martial Soul wasn't Blue Silver Grass at all. It was Blue Silver Emperor. And the Tang Sect was a sect that used Hidden Weapons. Instead of choosing its leader based on cultivation or skill in making Hidden Weapons, it chose based on whether their Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass.

Tell me, if the Tang Sect didn't fall into decline, who would?

Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, with its powerful Martial Soul, had died out ten thousand years ago, leaving only a few bloodlines that had inherited the Martial Soul. Yet the Tang Sect still had two lone descendants. That was truly beyond Xiao Yan's expectations.

While they waited for Tang Ya to absorb the Soul Ring, Xiao Yan grew bored. He played tic-tac-toe with Little Fire Dragon, drawing a grid in the dirt, while Huo Yuhao and Beibei chatted away.

They talked about the Datura Snake's aggression, Huo Yuhao's First Soul Skill, and the cultivation of the Tang Sect's techniques.

Of course, the last topic was discussed where Xiao Yan couldn't hear. After all, he wasn't a member of the Tang Sect, so it wouldn't have been appropriate for him to overhear its secret arts.

Absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring took quite a long time, and a few Soul Beasts came by to provoke them. Beibei promptly scattered some powder that drove off Soul Beasts, keeping the nearby ten-year and hundred-year Soul Beasts from disturbing Tang Ya's cultivation.

But the Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest weren't all hundred-year ones.

Rustle... Rustle...

Xiao Yan was playing chess with Little Fire Dragon when he suddenly sensed something was wrong. The next instant, a crimson shadow lunged at them!