"Sisi!"
The Datura Snake excitedly wagged its tail and immediately flicked out its pink tongue, catching the scents in the forest.
In less than two seconds,
It nimbly climbed a towering tree, passed the vines wrapped around its trunk, and reached the canopy, quickly locking onto the scent.
It even pinpointed a teal figure in the sky.
It climbed down the ancient tree and said to Xia Yan, "Sisi!"
Follow me!
Xia Yan understood what it meant and immediately followed.
Half an hour later,
They reached a sheer cliff. The thousand-meter drop was enough to make anyone's blood run cold. All kinds of plants grew along the cliff face, but they still couldn't conceal its sheer, axe-hewn verticality.
Xia Yan and the Datura Snake hid in the bushes,
Watching the dozen or so large teal birds resting on a jutting point of the cliff ahead.
They were long-bodied but not slender, their frames brimming with strength. Their beaks were razor-sharp, and their pupils were a deep jade, like precious stones.
The largest stood over three meters tall and was estimated to be more than two thousand years old. The weakest looked barely over a hundred years old and wasn't even half a meter tall.
Xia Yan noticed one particularly graceful Jade Green Bird.
It was almost exactly a thousand years old.
That's the one!
Without hesitation, Xia Yan summoned the Demon Suppressing Pagoda and locked onto that Soul Beast.
"Chirp!?"
"Chirp, chirp!!"
The Demon Suppressing Pagoda flew into the air, growing several times larger. The sight naturally alarmed the Jade Green Birds.
They didn't flee immediately. Instead, they took up attacking stances.
But what they hadn't expected was—
The Demon Suppressing Pagoda hovered in midair and suddenly unleashed a tremendous suction force. The graceful thousand-year-old Jade Green Bird didn't even have time to resist
before it was sucked inside the pagoda.
"Chirp—!"
The Demon Suppressing Pagoda vanished at once.
The remaining Jade Green Birds had no idea what had happened.
"Chirp, chirp?!"
"Chirp!!"
They had never seen anything so bizarre, and the Jade Green Birds were completely at a loss. They didn't even know what to do, so they could only urgently call upon their survival instincts.
But their survival instincts told them it was time to use their survival speed!
A teal light shimmered across their bodies, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished into the distance.
At the same time,
Back inside the pagoda, Xia Yan's aura began to surge rapidly. His Soul Power broke through the level-twenty barrier, reaching level twenty-one, then level twenty-two...
It finally stopped at level twenty-three and a half.
His frame grew more elongated, the lines of his muscles more defined, and his skin turned paler.
Beside Xia Yan,
The Datura Snake's aura was rising too. It swiftly surpassed seven hundred years, then eight hundred, and shot straight up to eleven hundred years!
It shed its skin where it stood. Its originally seven-meter-long, dark-green body shrank back to just one meter, and even turned crimson.
This wasn't a sign of weakness. On the contrary,
It was proof that the snake had entered the thousand-year ranks! Proof of its strength!
"Sss!!"
I'm stronger!
As Xia Yan's aura rose, the second floor of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda opened up.
It had been a vast emptiness before,
But now, beneath the broad, lofty, clear sky, lay countless shattered cliffs. Winds from an unknown source swept over the plants clinging to their faces,
As if they would never stop.
The cliffs came in all shapes and forms, broad as flatlands or sharp as blades of stone. Flowers bloomed on some; forests flourished on others,
While others had been scoured by the wind until not a blade of grass remained.
The Jade Green Bird flew through the sky, beating its wings. This was its territory, its sky.
"Chirp!!"
Its cry rang clear, louder than the howling wind.
On a broad cliff below, flat as a plain,
Xia Yan appeared soundlessly, the Datura Snake coiled around him.
Xia Yan gazed into the distance. Gusts of wind swept over him now and then, stirring the hem of his shirt.
He loosely clenched his left hand. The muscles in his forearm were more pronounced and taut; his body felt lighter, his Soul Power circulated faster, and his meridians were tougher.
Compared with the improvements that required long, steady effort, these sudden changes were much easier to feel.
Of course, this wasn't entirely due to his increased Soul Power.
Most of it came from the Datura Snake's advancement and his contract with the Jade Green Bird, which had strengthened his entire body—including his strength, speed, and reflexes. And as the Soul Beasts grew, he would continue to grow stronger as well.
In other words,
Once the Datura Snake and the others reached a hundred thousand years, Xia Yan could easily defeat an ordinary Soul Master with nothing but his physical strength,
Without even relying on Soul Power.
The Jade Green Bird had also brought him an additional boost to his speed. It wasn't an active or passive Soul Skill, just a permanent increase to his attributes.
And there was also the Soul Skill:
Jade Shadow Flowing Light.
It increased his speed by fifty percent—a Soul Skill that boosted his abilities.
Xia Yan wasn't surprised. It was exactly what he'd expected.
However,
Snake Shadow Binding had grown more powerful too.
Its range, the strength and resilience of the snake shadows, and even their poison...
Everything had improved.
So Soul Skills could evolve?
"Sisi!!"
As he pondered, the crimson Datura Snake coiled around Xia Yan and tapped his back with its tail. "Sisi!"
It's here!
The Jade Green Bird landed a meter in front of Xia Yan and obediently lowered its head, showing its submission.
"Chirp~"
Xia Yan reached out and stroked its teal feathers. They felt as smooth and silky as satin, yet incredibly tough.
The Datura Snake crawled along Xia Yan's arm,
Then burrowed into the green feathers and disappeared from sight.
"Sisi!"
All that could be heard was its excited rustling as it crawled around. It was obvious—
It absolutely loved the silky feathers.
Only—
"Chirp, chirp!"
That tickles!
High above the Star Dou Great Forest,
A teal figure streaked across the sky.
"Sisi—!"
Xia Yan sat on the Jade Green Bird's back, the wind howling past his ears and his black hair whipping wildly.
The Datura Snake clung tightly to his arm, its head pressed to his chest. It was clearly a little nervous, but it was also obvious—
This was thrilling, and it loved it.
Two days later,
Notting Academy.
In the dean's office, behind a black desk, the dean, dressed in a brown robe, looked proud yet reluctant.
"You've long since reached the level required to graduate, and the academy truly has nothing left to teach you..."
"All right. I approve your graduation application."
Xia Yan said, "Thank you, Dean."
At a junior Soul Master Academy, students could apply to graduate once they reached the first ring. Xia Yan had waited until he reached the second ring before leaving mainly because he'd been too weak before.
He could avoid most dangers, but a first-ring Soul Master really didn't have much strength.
Notting Academy had provided him with a stable environment,
But now that he'd reached the second ring and grown stronger, there was no need to stay any longer.
The dean smiled and shook his head. "What are you thanking me for? There wasn't much I could do for you..."
"You've always been decisive. I imagine you've already chosen where to go next, haven't you?"
Xia Yan nodded. "I'm planning to attend a mid-level Soul Master Academy."
The dean wasn't surprised. Talented students usually went to one of two places: a great sect or a higher-level Soul Master Academy.
He stamped the graduation application in his hand with a red seal, then solemnly handed it to Xia Yan.
"When are you leaving?"
Xia Yan hesitated. "I'll leave as soon as I've submitted the graduation application."
The dean was surprised. "So soon?"
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to your classmates?"
Xia Yan said, "No."
Before you continue