Sudden Development

As the Son of the Plane of Douluo Continent, the transmigrator had also inherited the fate and fortune that had originally belonged to Huo Yuhao.

For those chosen by Heavenly Fate, there was no such thing as smooth sailing. For them, the so-called absence of accidents was often the greatest accident of all.

According to the original plan, Huo Yuhao had led the hunting party to the territory that should have been occupied by a tribe of Big-Headed Spirit Apes.

What Huo Yuhao had set his sights on this time was the Soul Ring of the Big-Headed Spirit Ape leader, one that had only just broken through to the thousand-year level.

With Huo Yuhao's current physical condition, it would be somewhat difficult, but with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's help and his improved physique, absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring would be more than manageable.

However, the information Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had previously gathered by spreading his Spiritual Power through this forest and shared with Huo Yuhao had undergone some subtle changes.

The forest was abnormally quiet, and there were scarcely any traces of other Soul Beasts moving about. Only Huo Yuhao, through the Eye of Truth, could keenly perceive the tracks that had been concealed.

What's going on? Big-Headed Spirit Apes are considered relatively intelligent among Soul Beasts, but concealing their movements within their own territory doesn't seem to fit their habits.

Has something else changed? As he thought, Huo Yuhao made a gesture to the others, signaling them to remain alert.

Lie Yong narrowed his eyes and said, "Something isn't right. We seem to have entered some Soul Beast's territory, and it's probably the troublesome kind. Stay on your guard."

The Soul Sage's Soul Power surged forth, and a fiery pressure spread through the surroundings. Though Lie Yong was not targeting Huo Yuhao and the others, the immense gap in Soul Power still left them feeling suffocated.

As Lie Yong's Soul Power spread outward, the previously silent forest began to stir. Weaker Soul Beasts in the distance fled the area, while stronger Soul Beasts farther away revealed their auras and pushed back against Lie Yong's Soul Power.

However, due to the territorial instincts of Soul Beasts, the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts deeper within the forest, though restless, did not casually cross into another's territory to confront Lie Yong.

Huo Yuhao and the others also entered their Martial Soul Possession states, warily watching their surroundings. Under the pressure of Lie Yong's Soul Power aura, the Soul Beasts hidden throughout this territory revealed their own auras one after another.

"Screech, screech, screech!" Apes atop the canopy let out piercing cries. At the same time, the surrounding trees began to sway despite the lack of wind, and the disturbance gradually drew closer to Huo Yuhao's group.

Then, within the dim forest, pairs of glowing eyes fixed tightly upon Huo Yuhao and the others.

Among them were several Big-Headed Spirit Apes with particularly powerful auras and heads far larger than those of the others. They had clearly either approached or barely reached the thousand-year level.

Lie Yong's expression darkened. He had already entered his Martial Soul Possession state, his entire body bestialized into a humanoid lion. His flame-like hair had become a long mane flowing down his back, blazing fiercely.

At the same time, armor resembling molten lava covered his body. This was the complete form of his Martial Soul, the Molten Blazing Lion.

Through the canopy, Big-Headed Spirit Apes around the hundred-year level watched Huo Yuhao's group from above.

There were roughly thirty of these Soul Beasts. They naturally amounted to nothing in the eyes of a Soul Sage from Shrek Academy like Lie Yong, but aside from himself, the group also included four students who were not particularly strong.

Spiritual Attribute Soul Beasts had always been known for attacks that were unpredictable, impossible to guard against, treacherous, and sinister.

Although Big-Headed Spirit Apes were viewed as support-type Beast Martial Souls among Soul Masters, that was not the case in the wild.

Due to their social nature, a Big-Headed Spirit Ape tribe could innately and temporarily bestow part of its Spiritual Power upon other members, or amplify the Spiritual Power of its kin.

Coupled with the Big-Headed Spirit Apes' exceptionally powerful innate Spiritual Power, they could draw on the strength of the entire tribe to defeat enemies whose individual strength far exceeded the tribe's average.

Big-Headed Spirit Apes were herbivores and would not actively attack other Soul Beasts. As a result, among Soul Beasts below the ten-thousand-year level, almost none would choose to provoke them and invite trouble.

Most of the Big-Headed Spirit Apes' natural enemies were other Spiritual Attribute Soul Beasts. Aside from leader-type spiritual Soul Beasts born from mutations within certain tribes, Spiritual Attribute Soul Beasts generally acted alone.

The brain matter of Big-Headed Spirit Apes could replenish the Spiritual Power depleted by those solitary Spiritual Attribute Soul Beasts, and could even increase the foundation of their Spiritual Power, making it greatly beneficial to them.

Thus, some powerful Spiritual Attribute Soul Beasts would specifically ambush and harass Big-Headed Spirit Ape tribes, snatching away lone apes for food before the tribe could react and enter a full combat state.

That was why Big-Headed Spirit Apes, despite possessing the means to defend themselves and being prized prey in the eyes of solitary Spiritual Attribute Soul Beasts, rarely produced particularly formidable individuals or tribes even when they had a certain population size.

However, this tribe of Big-Headed Spirit Apes seemed different. In Huo Yuhao's eyes, one Soul Beast hidden deep within the forest's shadows possessed a Soul Power structure and Spiritual Power entirely unlike those of the other Big-Headed Spirit Apes, and much stronger than theirs.

Its Soul Power was likely around the thousand-year level, but its Spiritual Power far surpassed that of ordinary Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. It could even contend with some Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts that did not excel in Spiritual Power.

Huh? A Three-Eyed Demonic Ape? Strange. When I scanned the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest with my Spiritual Power before, I didn't find any trace of this fellow.

And under normal circumstances, Three-Eyed Demonic Apes and Big-Headed Spirit Apes don't belong to the same tribe. Why is this one here?

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice echoed through Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea. When Huo Yuhao sensed that something was amiss, he had used Spiritual Sharing to awaken the previously sleeping Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

Could it have been drawn here by the fluctuations from your Spiritual Power earlier? Huo Yuhao asked Sky Dream Ice Silkworm through Spiritual Sharing.

Mm, that's possible. No, this Three-Eyed Demonic Ape probably isn't an ordinary one. It may be some kind of mutated Soul Beast, which is why it was expelled from the Mixed Zone.

Three-Eyed Demonic Apes are already adept at creating fear and exerting spiritual control. I can sense that its Spiritual Power frequency is vastly different from that of ordinary three-eyed apes. Its mutation should have enhanced its command-type spiritual abilities.

And I can tell that compared to ordinary Three-Eyed Demonic Apes, this fellow's aura is colder and darker. It should have mutated in the direction of an Evil Soul Beast.

That should also be why this Big-Headed Spirit Ape tribe, which originally numbered around sixty, now has only a little over thirty left.

No wonder it was able to become the leader of this Big-Headed Spirit Ape tribe. The innate bloodline of a Three-Eyed Demonic Ape, coupled with the advantage of being a mutant, makes it far stronger than an ordinary Big-Headed Spirit Ape.

Heh heh, looks like you're in serious trouble this time. A mutated Three-Eyed Demonic Ape together with a tribe of thirty Big-Headed Spirit Apes won't be easy to handle.

Because the mutated Three-Eyed Demonic Ape had concealed its aura with Spiritual Power, Lie Yong, whose attention was focused on the Big-Headed Spirit Apes around them, had not detected where it was hiding.

His eyes were filled with deep wariness. Group-dwelling Soul Beasts were already difficult to deal with, not to mention Spiritual Attribute Soul Beasts.

He had originally intended to use the strength of a Soul Sage to temporarily drive off the Soul Beast tribe here. Who would have thought that these Big-Headed Spirit Apes would still dare attack them? Did they have a death wish?

However, Lie Yong glanced at Huo Yuhao beside him. "Big-Headed Spirit Apes. What do you think of this kind of Soul Beast? Would one be suitable as your second Soul Ring?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. "Yes, it was indeed one of my target Soul Beasts. But I can sense that the several Big-Headed Spirit Apes with stronger auras that have appeared aren't the true leader of the tribe."

Then Huo Yuhao looked toward an inconspicuous patch of grass in the distance. "I can sense an extremely concealed spiritual fluctuation there. It just isn't very noticeable amid the Spiritual Power emitted by the Big-Headed Spirit Apes."

At those words, Lie Yong raised a brow. Although he was a Soul Sage, he was not proficient in the use of Spiritual Power. His strength and increased Spiritual Power merely allowed him to resist the effects of spiritual Soul Skills more easily.

Yet under the interference of the Spiritual Power frequencies emitted by so many Big-Headed Spirit Apes, he had failed to distinguish the Three-Eyed Demonic Ape's presence. Lie Yong roared, instantly assuming his Martial Soul Avatar form, and the Sixth Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.

From behind him, a crimson lion formed of Soul Power and clad in molten armor lunged toward the spot Huo Yuhao had been watching.

At the same time, the light of Lie Yong's Fifth Soul Skill flashed. Under his deliberate control, a crimson soundwave shot toward the several strongest Big-Headed Spirit Apes.

Those Big-Headed Spirit Apes had no time to dodge and no way to resist. Struck by the soundwave, they fell straight from the trees, severely injured and unconscious.

At this sight, the Big-Headed Spirit Apes screeched anxiously. Then, several hundred-year Big-Headed Spirit Apes, their eyes filled with terror, nevertheless charged recklessly at the Blazing Lion created by Lie Yong's Sixth Soul Skill.

But how could hundred-year Big-Headed Spirit Apes rely on their inherently weak physical strength to obstruct a Soul Sage's Sixth Soul Skill after it had been amplified by a Martial Soul Avatar?

Even though those Big-Headed Spirit Apes had raised a barrier around themselves with the Soul Power and Spiritual Power in their bodies before the Soul Skill struck, the barrier was like a punctured bubble and offered no resistance whatsoever.

This was a move to strike where the enemy had to respond—capture the ringleader first. Though Lie Yong was somewhat restrained by the presence of the students, he had immediately chosen to trust that they could protect themselves.

He then prepared to resolve the leader among these Big-Headed Spirit Apes as quickly as possible. Though the Big-Headed Spirit Apes were organized and disciplined,

that was precisely what exposed their greatest weakness. As the saying went, although Big-Headed Spirit Apes were quite intelligent Soul Beasts, they were Soul Beasts in the end.

They could never achieve such unified action and perfect obedience on their own. There had to be another Soul Beast commanding and controlling them from behind the scenes.

Such control also had its drawbacks. While it could maximize the Big-Headed Spirit Apes' strength, once the controller itself came under threat, the Big-Headed Spirit Apes influenced by its control would certainly prioritize the controller.

With that in mind, Lie Yong made the fastest possible decision: besiege Wei to rescue Zhao. He would force the Big-Headed Spirit Apes to abandon their attack on the comparatively weak students and instead rush to protect their leader.

That would allow him to seize control of the battle's pace once more. Though the Big-Headed Spirit Apes were numerous, killing or driving them off would be no difficult task for an elite Soul Sage.

Under Lie Yong's deliberate control, he slowed the Blazing Lion's assault, giving the Soul Beast leader manipulating matters from behind the scenes ample time to react. At the same time, he took the opportunity to reduce the number of Big-Headed Spirit Apes as much as possible.

With just one strike, more than a dozen Big-Headed Spirit Apes were either killed or wounded. Yet at the same time, the power of Lie Yong's Sixth Soul Skill was greatly diminished before it was shattered by a streak of Purple Dark Soul Power from the shadows.

Then Huo Yuhao felt a faint ripple suddenly arise in his Spiritual Sea, followed by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's cold snort.

Hmph, this little monkey actually wants to touch my people? Yuhao, this is the one. Although it's only around 1,100 years old, it should suit you extremely well. With me here, absorb its Soul Ring without hesitation.

As for the shortfall in its Soul Ring's age, I'll use the origin of my Spiritual Power to raise it again in the future. I guarantee that every one of your Soul Rings will reach the 100,000-Year level!

Mm, but that isn't the most urgent matter right now, Huo Yuhao replied. His hands moved like lightning, and dozens of silver needles shot out, piercing the acupoints around the other three students' bodies.

Before those students could react, they collapsed straight to the ground. At the same time, they mumbled incoherently, their eyes turning vacant.

It was obvious that their limbs could no longer obey the commands of their brains. Only then did Huo Yuhao say, "Teacher Lie, that thing hiding there is trying to affect us with Spiritual Power. I can't hold out for long either. Please end this quickly."

Huo Yuhao then activated the Level Three Soul Power Circuit he had prepared in advance—Refraction. Seeing that their leader's spiritual control had failed, the surrounding Big-Headed Spirit Apes shrieked repeatedly. For the moment, they had no other effective means of attack.