Most important was the power of bloodline. This stuff should be useful for strengthening the origin power of the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone.
After devouring all the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider corpses here, Yang Hao had also gained much better control over the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone.
He returned to the cave and collected as much as he could of the bomb fragments and broken weapon pieces. He also put the three bodies into his Storage Soul Tool.
Only after checking several times to make sure he hadn't missed anything did he go outside and gather a large pile of dead branches and firewood. He lit them, further erasing every trace.
Yang Hao glanced at the roaring flames burning inside the cave, then turned and left.
If he didn't return for a long time, the Strength Clan would surely send someone to investigate. He had to leave as soon as possible—perhaps even leave the Star Luo Empire.
Unfortunately, life was full of disappointments. Before he could even leave the Star Dou Forest, someone had set their sights on him.
"Shrek."
Seeing the academy badges on those eight people, Yang Hao grew wary. What was more, all eight looked hostile.
"A child."
"Is he an Evil Soul Master?"
The group exchanged glances, hardly believing that a young boy with such an innocent-looking face could be an Evil Soul Master.
"My senses can't be wrong. He must be an Evil Soul Master. The evil power on him is incredibly strong."
The girl holding a golden scepter spoke with certainty.
Her Martial Soul was the Holy Scepter, which possessed the Holy Attribute and was highly sensitive to evil auras. Her Second Soul Ring was also a perception-type ability. She had sensed something just now, which was why she'd come over.
And the closer she got, the more clearly she sensed the evil power on the boy—a tremendously powerful evil force. He had to be an Evil Soul Master.
Chapter 5: Shrek Team
"Kid, come with us."
"After we investigate and verify your identity, we'll teach you accordingly, as long as you haven't done anything evil. It would be best if your Martial Soul can be purified."
The teacher leading the group spoke. Shrek never let Evil Soul Masters go, even if they were still young.
Otherwise, if they let one go and he grew stronger, who knew how many innocent people he would harm?
Besides, they were near the inner reaches of the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast territory, an extremely dangerous place. It was already suspicious for a child to be here alone.
There had to be something wrong!
"Do I really have to go with you?"
Yang Hao sighed. He didn't like killing people, but some insisted on courting death.
At the same time, he realized it was probably because of the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone. He had only just obtained it and hadn't yet fully assimilated or mastered it, which was why they had sensed it.
"Kid, don't make us use force."
A young man stepped forward, ready to attack.
"Grandpa Zhong, take care of them cleanly."
Yang Hao looked calmly past the group, as if a powerful elder stood behind them, ready to slaughter them all.
The group's hearts jolted. Instinctively, they turned to look behind them, but when they did, there was no one there. They all froze for a moment.
At the same time, Yang Hao hurled out his second big bomb. He took out the enormous shield and used it to protect himself, crouching down and tilting it to reduce the surface area exposed to the blast.
Boom!
A thunderous roar shook the air, and flames blazed. Countless weapon fragments flew out, piercing the group's bodies. Only one person, protected by a Soul Power barrier, was blasted away. He must have had a high-level Defensive Soul Tool.
Before Yang Hao could get up and give chase, that person fled in a panic, his face filled with terror. He had clearly been scared out of his wits.
"What a shame!"
Watching the figure rapidly disappear into the distance, Yang Hao felt regret.
"Your Martial Soul is rather interesting."
His gaze shifted to the girl with the Holy Scepter Martial Soul. He'd taken a bit of an interest in her—well, in her Martial Soul.
Ignoring her terrified, pleading expression and pretty face, he decisively drove the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone into her and began devouring her Martial Soul Soul Power.
Soul Masters had much stronger bodies and vitality than ordinary people. Though they had experienced that enormous explosion at close range, they hadn't died immediately. Still, they were close.
The teacher leading the group, blood continually spilling from his mouth, was furious. He truly hadn't expected a child to have such a deadly weapon.
He was a Tool Martial Soul Soul Master, so his physical defenses were weak. On top of that, he'd been caught off guard. The blast had broken his spine, leaving him unable to move, let alone protect his students.
After devouring the girl's entire Martial Soul Origin, Yang Hao put the bodies and remains into his Storage Soul Tool. He took out the clothes stored inside their Soul Tools, set them on fire, and scattered all the seasonings over them.
Only after finishing all this did he run off at once. He even activated the One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul bound to his Soul Bone. His body grew immensely larger, and his physical strength surged with it, boosting his speed and helping him flee faster.
This place wasn't far from Shrek Academy. If the person who escaped ran into other Shrek teachers or students, they would surely come after him. He had to get away as fast as possible.
Hopefully, no Soul Master with tracking abilities would come after him anytime soon. Otherwise, he'd be in trouble.
Yang Hao's physique was already quite good. While refining the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone, his blood and vital energy had strengthened his body as well. His physical fitness was now no worse than a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster's. With the boost from One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul Possession, he was extremely fast.
At the same time, the stench of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast droppings clung to him, keeping the surrounding Soul Beasts from approaching.
Yang Hao sprinted like this for an entire day before finally escaping the Star Dou Forest.
After leaving the Star Dou Forest, he came across a river and immediately plunged in, using the water to wash away his scent.
A hundred li behind him, seven people were sprinting after him. They were this generation's Shrek Reserve Team, with Dai Yueheng leading the pursuit.
His Martial Soul was White Tiger. After Martial Soul Possession, his sense of smell improved considerably, helping him track the other person's scent.
Combined with their other tracking methods, they could keep close on the person's trail.
"He's almost out of the Star Dou Forest."
As they ran, Ma Xiaotao voiced her displeasure to Dai Yueheng. The scent he'd left behind was still fairly clear within the Star Dou Forest, but once he entered a human city, it would get mixed up with all the other smells. If he took a bath and sprayed on some perfume, they'd have no way to track him.
After all, the heightened senses of Beast Martial Soul Soul Masters were limited. They couldn't truly compare to wild beasts or Soul Beasts.
Besides, this was their team's first independent mission. If they really failed, they'd lose face.
Dai Yueheng shot Ma Xiaotao a sidelong glance and sped up. The others could only follow suit.
Fortunately, running was one of the academy's main training methods, especially running with weights. That had given them good speed and stamina, allowing them to keep up the pursuit for so long.
Even Gongyang Mo, an Auxiliary Soul Master, could keep up without stopping to gasp for breath.
The group picked up speed and soon covered a hundred li, reaching the river Yang Hao had entered.
"The scent's gone."
Dai Yueheng, in Martial Soul Possession, sniffed carefully, his expression darkening.
They'd rushed to the scene as soon as they got the news, but the man was too cunning. He'd burned seasonings there, especially chili peppers, creating a pungent stench. It had taken them a long time to lock onto his scent, and that was how they'd tracked him this far.
Now there was no way to continue the pursuit. The other person had clearly come here on purpose, using the river to mask his scent and thwart their tracking.
The river was quite wide, with dense grass and trees along both banks. He could have climbed out anywhere.
And after being washed by the river, his scent would have faded. If he covered it up with something else, he'd be even harder to search for.
Besides, they didn't know how long he'd been in the water. If it had been a while, who knew how far away he was by now?
In short, the seven of them alone couldn't continue the pursuit.
"Damn Evil Soul Master! Just wait until I catch you!"
Hot-tempered Ma Xiaotao swept her fire-attribute Soul Power across the reeds in front of her, burning them clean away. She was thoroughly annoyed.
"What do we do now?"
Gongyang Mo asked, a little out of breath and just as annoyed.
They'd pursued him all this way, only for him to escape after all.
And this was their team's first independent mission, yet they'd botched it like this.
"We'll return to the academy. Once that junior helps the teacher draw a portrait of the man, I'll write home and have a wanted notice posted. I'll also have the academy contact the Heaven Dou Empire and Dou Ling Empire and ask them to cooperate."
Dai Yueheng spoke. For now, they could only rely on the power of the state.
After all, the other person was alone, and finding him wouldn't be easy. The few of them weren't nearly enough; they'd need the strength of the academy and the three great empires.
Of course, the empires could do little more than post wanted notices and help inspect people at checkpoints.
"Maybe we should be paying more attention to this new type of Soul Tool Bomb."
Xixi, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke. She held a fragment of Iron Essence in her hand, one she'd found at the scene.
According to that junior's recollection, there had been a powerful explosion. It was clearly a Soul Tool Bomb, but it was very different from the Soul Tool Bombs she knew.
The scent left on it was strange. Was this a new type of Soul Tool Bomb?
"The academy should have already sent people to investigate further. We should learn something new once we get back."
Dai Yueheng had noticed this too, but he didn't know much about Soul Tools. They'd have to wait for the Soul Tool Department to test and study it. Hopefully, the results wouldn't be too bad.
Chapter 6: Cultivating Xuantian
Leaving aside the Shrek Reserve Team, which had returned empty-handed, Yang Hao had already climbed out of the river.
He didn't run off immediately. Instead, he took out a fitted set of women's clothes and put them on. He'd deliberately kept them earlier. Then he used cosmetics to make himself up, made a wig himself, and hid it beneath a hat, transforming into a girl with a head of big, wavy hair.
Fortunately, he'd watched some makeup videos by experts in his previous life, especially those by men who were skilled at cross-dressing. Doing this now didn't feel unfamiliar.
Besides, he was young and had delicate features, and his Adam's apple wasn't prominent. After dressing up like this, he really did look like a girl.
He checked himself in a small mirror. Only after confirming there were no flaws did he head to a nearby town to buy some supplies, then enter the barren mountains to cultivate in seclusion.
He'd probably been sensed by that group because of the evil, dark aura of the Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone.
So he had to fully refine the Soul Bone and suppress its aura before he could safely go on the run.
He found a secluded spot, took out a shovel, and began digging. In the end, he dug ten meters down, then widened the space underground and propped it up with tree trunks he'd collected on the way, creating a living space.
"Good thing I used to scroll through Douyin all the time in my previous life and watched videos about living in the wild. Otherwise, this would've been a real pain."
After confirming that the support structure made of wooden posts was stable, Yang Hao nodded in satisfaction. This would be where he lived for the foreseeable future, and he'd be staying a while.
He took out the flatbread he'd bought in town and chewed it down with some clean water. Once he'd filled his stomach, he began taking stock of what he'd gained.
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