Before long, one of the team members let out a quiet cry.
"Captain, come look!"
Yu Tieshan and Yu Hong hurried over.
On the far side of the lake, a huge Soul Beast was sprawled across a boulder, basking in the sun.
It was an enormous sub-dragon, about five meters long, its body covered in golden-white scales that gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight.
But what shocked everyone was that the sub-dragon had three heads!
The three dragon heads grew side by side on a thick neck. Each had a pair of golden eyes, which were lazily closed at that moment.
"W-what is going on?!" Yu Tieshan's face changed dramatically. "The map clearly marked an ordinary Holy Light Sub-Dragon. How did it turn into a three-headed one?!"
"And this Soul Beast's aura..." Another team member swallowed. "It's at least two thousand years old!"
Everyone's faces turned grim.
They were confident they could take down a fifteen-hundred-year-old Holy Light Sub-Dragon.
But a two-thousand-year-old Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon?
That was already beyond their capabilities!
"Young Master Yu Hong, this Soul Beast has mutated, and it's far older than we expected." Yu Tieshan looked at Yu Hong, his face filled with worry. "How about we find another one?"
Yu Hong didn't answer. His attention was completely fixed on the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon.
No—to be precise, it was the Primordial White Stone inside him that was drawn to it.
From the first moment he saw the Soul Beast, he felt the Primordial White Stone in his dantian begin to tremble violently, radiating an intense longing.
It felt like a starving person seeing a feast, or a parched traveler spotting a clear spring.
The Primordial White Stone craved the Soul Ring of that Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon!
"Young Master Yu Hong?" Seeing that Yu Hong wasn't answering, Yu Tieshan called out again.
Yu Hong came back to himself, took a deep breath, and made his decision.
"This is the one."
"What?!" Yu Tieshan thought he'd misheard. "Young Master Yu Hong, that's a two-thousand-year-old mutated Soul Beast! You're only at level twenty. There's no way you can withstand a two-thousand-year Soul Ring!"
"I know." Yu Hong nodded. "But I have to have this one."
He didn't explain further, because he couldn't put it into words himself.
He only knew that the Primordial White Stone needed this Soul Beast's Soul Ring.
If he missed this chance, he didn't know how long he'd have to wait for another.
Yu Tieshan looked at Yu Hong's resolute expression, his heart torn.
He wanted to persuade Yu Hong to give up, but then he remembered what had happened last time.
Yu Hong had been just as determined then, and he'd succeeded.
Could he... succeed again this time?
"Young Master Yu Hong, are you really sure?" Yu Tieshan asked one last time.
"I'm sure." There wasn't the slightest wavering in Yu Hong's voice.
Yu Tieshan fell silent for a moment, then finally sighed.
"All right. Since Young Master Yu Hong insists, we'll give it a try." He turned to the other team members. "Everyone, get ready. Our target is the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon. Remember, this Soul Beast is powerful. Be careful!"
"Yes!"
The group spread out, quietly surrounding the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon.
The Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon seemed to sense danger. All three heads opened their eyes at once, six golden eyes warily scanning their surroundings.
"Roar!!!"
All three heads roared in unison. The deafening sound made the trees around them tremble and rustle.
"Attack!"
At Yu Tieshan's command, several figures charged forward at once.
The Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon reacted incredibly quickly. All three heads opened their mouths and spewed out dazzling golden beams.
That was its attack: Holy Light Breath.
The three beams intertwined, forming an ocean of light that engulfed everything around them.
"Scatter!"
Yu Tieshan shouted, flashing aside to evade the sea of light.
The other team members dodged as well, launching attacks on the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon from different directions.
This battle was far more difficult than their last hunt for the Sun-Day Dragon Lizard.
The Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon was not only powerful, but also had three heads, allowing it to deal with attacks from three directions at once.
Although Yu Tieshan and the others had the numbers, they could only keep their opponent barely suppressed. They couldn't defeat it in a short time.
The battle dragged on for nearly half an hour.
Yu Tieshan and the others were already growing tired, but the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon was still putting up a fierce resistance.
"Damn it, this Soul Beast is too tough!" one of the team members panted.
"Just hold on a little longer!" Yu Tieshan gritted his teeth. "It's almost out of stamina too!"
Sure enough, the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon's movements had slowed considerably, and all three heads were attacking much less often.
"Now!"
Yu Tieshan seized the opportunity and unleashed his full strength.
His Martial Soul was a giant axe, now blazing with dazzling light.
"Overlord Slash!"
A massive arc of axe light descended from above and cleaved into the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon.
"Roar!!!"
The Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon let out a pained howl, its enormous body crashing to the ground.
The other team members rushed in and used every means at their disposal to completely subdue it.
"Young Master Yu Hong, it's ready!" Yu Tieshan called.
Yu Hong stepped forward and drew the short knife from his waist.
The Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon's six eyes fixed on Yu Hong, filled with fury and unwillingness.
But it no longer had the strength to fight back.
Without hesitation, Yu Hong raised the short knife, aimed at the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon's vital spot, and plunged it down.
"Squish—"
Blood gushed out. The Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon's body convulsed a few times, then gradually fell still.
At the same time, a purple ring of light rose from the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon's body.
"A two-thousand-year Soul Ring..." Yu Tieshan looked at the ring, his face filled with worry. "Young Master Yu Hong, are you really going to absorb it?"
Yu Hong nodded and sat cross-legged beside the Three-Headed Mutant Holy Light Sub-Dragon's corpse.
He closed his eyes and began guiding the purple Soul Ring into his body.
The purple Soul Ring slowly descended and settled around Yu Hong.
The next instant, a surge of violent energy several times stronger than before flooded into Yu Hong's body.
"Ugh!"
Yu Hong grunted, his face turning deathly pale.
The energy was too powerful, like a frenzied giant beast rampaging through his meridians, trying to tear his body apart.
Yu Hong clenched his teeth and circulated his Soul Power with all his might, trying to suppress the rampaging energy.
But he soon realized that with his current strength, he couldn't fully suppress it.
The energy of a two-thousand-year Soul Ring far exceeded what he could withstand.
"Damn it..." Yu Hong cursed inwardly.
Was he really going to fail?
Before you continue