Chu Qing took a moment to recover, then opened his eyes. All the teachers were standing around him in a circle, looking at him with concern.
"Xiao Qing, what happened? You were fine just a moment ago, then suddenly you fainted. You scared us half to death." The moment Director Su saw Chu Qing wake up, he hurriedly asked.
"Maybe refining the beast's corpse took too much energy. It's nothing serious," Chu Qing said.
Seeing all the teachers gathered around him with such concern, he felt warmth flow through his heart.
"Good, as long as you're all right. As long as you're all right. You scared me half to death," Director Su said with a sigh of relief.
"Should we head back to the school and rest for now, then come back for a Soul Ring another time?" Teacher Mo asked.
Chu Qing struggled to his feet and said, "I'm fine. I'm just a little exhausted, but I'm all right now."
Then, worried they wouldn't believe him, he even swung his fist around.
Seeing the young boy put on a mature act, everyone couldn't help but smile.
"As long as you're fine. We can rest here for a while before moving on," Director Su said.
The group sat down where they were, spread out the supplies they had brought, took out some food, and began to rest.
Chu Qing quietly checked how his body felt, then sighed to himself. It seemed the Void Devouring Flame's devouring ability didn't come without a cost.
Back in the village, refining ordinary beasts hadn't taken much out of him. But today, trying to refine a three-hundred-year-old Soul Beast had taken a heavy toll on his mind.
Looks like I can't absorb Soul Beast power without restraint. I should only do it when I find one truly worth the effort, Chu Qing thought.
The group rested for over half an hour. Seeing that Chu Qing was no longer in any danger, the teachers packed up and set out again, heading deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest toward Blazing Mountain.
They encountered a few Soul Beasts along the way. Though they had some strength, they were no match for Director Su and the others, and were quickly dealt with one by one.
Chu Qing didn't try to refine and absorb any of them again. These low-ranked Soul Beasts weren't worth the mental backlash that came with absorbing them, so he simply helped the teachers hunt them and didn't linger.
Before long, the group arrived at Blazing Mountain.
The scenery around the mountain was unlike the rest of the Soul Hunting Forest. Much of the ground was barren, covered in red rock, with only a few plants that could withstand the heat. On the mountain was a natural magma pool, bubbling and steaming.
A searing heat hung over the entire mountain.
Director Su stared at the scene with a solemn expression. "It's been years since I last came here. It seems different from before. There's something more."
When he had brought students to hunt their First Soul Ring in the past, most of them had ordinary Martial Souls, so he rarely came here.
The last time he visited, the fire-attribute Soul Beasts here had been very active. This time, however, the place was eerily quiet.
It couldn't be that all the fire-attribute Soul Beasts here had been hunted to extinction, could it?
But Director Su's question was soon answered.
A crimson figure suddenly appeared in the sky ahead. As it flew lower, it grew larger and larger. It was unmistakably a huge red bird!
"Heaven-Burning Crane!"
"So this is the Heaven-Burning Crane!" Chu Qing exclaimed in surprise. It was the Soul Beast he had found in the academy library—the one best suited to his Martial Soul!
Excitedly, he turned to the teachers. "Teachers, this is the Soul Beast I've been looking for. Please help me hunt it!"
Director Su stared gravely at the Heaven-Burning Crane. "We can hunt it, no problem. But it's a full six hundred years old. Are you sure you can handle it?"
Chu Qing nodded firmly. It had to be this one! If he was going to do it, he would do it right!
Seeing him nod, Director Su said no more and immediately revealed his three Soul Rings.
First Soul Skill! Thunder Blade Instant Stab!
A streak of lightning shot from Director Su's sword, heading straight for the Heaven-Burning Crane in the sky.
Second Soul Skill! Thunder Light Flash!
With a boom, the bird's wing was pierced, leaving a wound.
The other teachers launched their own attacks. The bird seemed enraged. It spread its wings and, in an instant, fired flames down at the ground!
Everyone hurriedly dodged, then unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks against the bird!
Seeing this, Chu Qing also channeled his Soul Power. A strange black flame appeared!
Strangely, the bird showed no fear despite being hit by the teachers' successive attacks. It even had enough strength to fight back. But when Chu Qing's black flame appeared, fear flashed in its eyes! It slumped and fell to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, everyone hurried to press their attack. Soon, the bird was on its last breath. Yet even then, it still didn't dare resist Chu Qing's black flame.
"How strange. The bird is actually afraid of Xiao Qing's Martial Soul?" Director Su said in wonder. That day, the black flame had already turned his understanding upside down several times.
Chu Qing chuckled to himself. How could they know that this unassuming black flame was the second-ranked Heavenly Flame on the Dou Qi Continent? How could a mere fire-attribute bird that was only a few hundred years old compare?
This was the suppression of bloodlines!
"All right, it's about time. You can start now. But are you sure you can absorb a six-hundred-year Soul Ring?" Director Su asked him sternly.
The other teachers all looked at Chu Qing with grave expressions, too.
Chu Qing smiled. "Don't worry, teachers. I know my limits."
Then he paid the others no more attention and focused intently on refining the Soul Ring.
Before long, Chu Qing felt a stream of pure energy flow into his body. The yellow Soul Ring was absorbed in no time!
He quietly checked his Soul Power. It had already broken through to Level 13!
Seeing Chu Qing absorb a six-hundred-year Soul Ring so quickly, the others looked shocked. For an ordinary person, absorbing a Soul Ring of such an age as their First Soul Ring would have been enough to make them explode. Yet Chu Qing had not only managed to absorb it, he had done so incredibly quickly!
This boy was destined for greatness!
Chu Qing looked at the teachers' astonished faces—which he had lost count of by now—and smiled warmly.
The Void Devouring Flame's greatest ability was devouring! If it couldn't even refine a Martial Soul, what could it say for itself as the second-ranked Heavenly Flame?
The teachers hurriedly asked, "Xiao Qing, with such a powerful Soul Ring, your Soul Skill must be impressive, too. Tell us about it!"
Chu Qing replied, "Thank you, teachers. This Soul Skill really is quite good."
Then he began demonstrating his First Soul Skill. "My First Soul Skill is Flame Devouring Heaven Burning! As for what it does..."
He raised his hand and unleashed the Soul Skill at a distant mountain peak. A mass of black flame shot toward the mountainside. In an instant, a crater ten meters across appeared! The shattered rocks inside it were burned to nothing in the blink of an eye!