Jiang Nannan!

The next day.

In the Soul Beast Forest, at the previous campsite, Fang Le was busy with some manual labor.

"Damn it, I am never doing woodworking again in my life!!"

Holding the Twin Star in his hand, Fang Le gritted his teeth and cursed while working on the piece of wood, displaying his "excellent" creative abilities.

However, judging by the pile of discarded wood scraps around him, his craftsmanship was not exactly stellar.

Although the Twin Star was sharp, Fang Le's fingers could not wield it very well.

Either he used too much force and snapped the wood in two, or he was too hasty and let the blade make intimate contact with his fingers.

It left Fang Le feeling utterly frazzled; after all, he had never been a patient guy.

But this mission was just that troublesome, and it was meant to help temper his temperament.

He had to craft tools that met the requirements and then use them to defeat specific monsters.

For a guy like Fang Le, whose manual labor experience was limited to watching others and never actually doing it himself, this was pure torture.

Furthermore, he didn't know why, but he felt like these trials were ravaging his body and mind just like "M"C.

He was clearly the kind of free player who would never change his ways and would immediately switch to Creative Mode the moment trouble arose.

Could this be retribution for all the times he had used Creative Mode in the past?

"Kid, are you actually capable of anything? I recall that you humans are quite skilled at making tools.

Forget about those complex Soul Tool devices; I've seen ten-thousand-year-old monkeys in the Star Dou Forest make things faster than you."

Scarlet King watched Fang Le sinking into misery during his work and couldn't help but mock him.

How could he be so clumsy? Was he a soul beast?

"These things can't be generalized, and everyone has their own talents.

I'm just slightly less skilled in this area! There! Mission accomplished!"

His mouth was the only thing about him that remained tough.

However, after Fang Le's relentless tinkering, a barely passable integrated wooden hoe finally took shape.

And this was the final item required for the mission.

"Hahaha! You call that 'mission accomplished'?

The handle is square—how come I remember other humans having round ones? And that hoe head, it's neither square nor round, and it's smaller than a fruit? Are you sure you can even till the ground with that?"

The truth is often the most heart-piercing, but it is also what makes people the happiest.

The crux of the matter lies only in who is speaking and the situation in which it is said.

Scarlet King: I don't know why, but saying it out loud just feels so satisfying and refreshing!

"You... Hmph! What's wrong with being square? I'm a Block Person! Besides, small is cute."

Fang Le decided it was better not to invite further humiliation; in this situation, it was best to finish the mission and claim the reward first.

He would seek his "repayment" (a good beating) once his strength increased in the future.

Just as the indignant Fang Le placed the finished tools together, a beam of light flew out from his body, circling the five tools as if conducting an evaluation.

After flying around a few times, the ball of light transformed into a straight stream of light and shot off into the distance.

"Is this second mission over just like that? Or are there other conditions that need to be met?"

Di Tian stared at the departing stream of light and asked.

Having witnessed how miraculous Fang Le's first soul skill was, Di Tian felt a strong curiosity regarding the second ability he was about to obtain.

Would this be another ability that defied common sense?

"Not yet, the next part is the easy monster-slaying phase!

Let's go! I really want to see what a zombie looks like in this world."

Fang Le stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and walked in the direction the stream of light had vanished.

"Is there something fun again? Then let's hurry! Oh, right, Fang Le, do you want to ride on me? It'll be faster!"

"Sure..."

Di Tian and Scarlet King (with black lines on their faces): A girl grown up is hard to keep!!

Even though they were both still just little ones, it felt as if one could see their future at a glance.

Auspicious Beast, is it really okay for you to be this easy to get?!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest.

"Nannan, keep going! As long as you obtain a soul ring and become a Soul Master, you can earn more money, and then Mother will..."

A group of five people moved in a single file.

Two adults and three children, with Jiang Nannan and the other two children positioned in the middle of the formation.

As they cautiously ventured deeper, she couldn't help but cheer herself on in her heart.

Her father had passed away early, and young Jiang Nannan had been raised solely by her mother.

However, perhaps due to years of toil or some hidden illness, her mother's health had suddenly collapsed two years ago.

If not for the fact that Jiang Nannan had been lucky enough to awaken a Soft Bone Rabbit with innate rank eight soul power during her martial soul awakening shortly after, she might have already been an orphan by now.

Therefore, upon learning that becoming a Soul Master would allow her to earn more money to treat her mother's illness, Jiang Nannan became desperate to grow stronger. This intense conviction drove her to practice diligently every single day.

In less than three months, she broke through two levels to become a rank ten quasi-Soul Master.

Afterward, with the help of the noble who invested in her, she came to the nearby Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for a soul ring.

Just as she was excitedly anticipating her first soul ring, a surprised voice from one of the children beside her reached her ears.

"What is that!!"

Following the direction of his gaze, all five of them looked up toward the sky.

They saw a streak of light charging straight toward their location.

Then, it plunged deep into the ground not far ahead of them.

"Crack, hiss, hiss, hiss! Boom!"

Before they could even step forward to investigate, a violent commotion erupted.

Then, under a large tree not far in front of them, the ground split open, and a tattered, cyan-black palm burst forth from the earth.

Immediately after, they felt a powerful aura surging from the ground.

The earth shattered with a roar, and even the large tree that had been growing there was sent flying, slamming into the ground with a thunderous crash.

A massive cloud of dust and mist billowed into the air.

"What kind of monster is this!!"

Before Jiang Nannan could even see what was happening, she heard the lead Soul Master in front of them cry out in alarm.

The wind in the forest was ever-present, and the dust could not block their vision for long.

The moment Jiang Nannan saw what was inside, she was so terrified that she retreated again and again.

Standing within the dust was a humanoid creature with a cyan face and fangs.

The monster's clothing was tattered, and its limbs were clearly damaged, with joints even visible.

Yet, strangely, despite this, the monster's posture was not the least bit hunched; it stood perfectly straight.

At the same time, its two hands, with fingernails as long as blades, were held level in front of its chest, which was very bizarre.

Even more shocking was the aura emanating from its body.

The lead Soul Master was, at the very least, a Soul Ancestor nearing the level of a Soul King.

But compared to that monster, he was clearly more than a notch weaker.

"Roar!"

The monster's scarlet eyes seemed born for slaughter.

With a roar, it charged toward them, and to the shock of everyone present, five soul rings—white, yellow, purple, purple, and black—slowly descended and settled around the monster's body.

A Soul King!

Am I going to die here?