The Wolves' Anomaly, Sensing the Evil Soul Masters Behind Them.

The battle between the Wolf Bandit leader and Ban Shu was about to begin in the arena.

On Ban Shu's side stood the members of the hunting party led by Li Yan, their eyes locked on the opposition to prevent any sudden sneak attacks.

The Wolf Bandits across from them were doing the same, glaring with such hatred they wished they could tear their enemies to pieces; unfortunately, Ban Shu's terrifying strength kept them in check.

As long as Ban Shu stood there, these beasts—who bullied the weak and feared the strong—dared not approach.

"To die under my halberd can be considered your honor."

Ban Shu raised his Painted Halberd and pointed it at the Wolf Bandit leader.

"Roar!"

The cyan-furred Wolf Bandit did not grow angry at the provocation; instead, it slowly crouched low, pacing constantly as it attempted to find a flaw in its opponent's defense.

"Hmm?"

Seeing the creature so calm, Ban Shu was taken aback. He hadn't expected the leader to possess such intelligence, marking it as distinctly different from the other feral, beast-like bandits.

"Interesting."

Ban Shu knew his soul power was already running low from the previous string of battles, so he decided to unleash his full strength and end this quickly.

"First Soul Skill, Thunder Demon!"

"Second Soul Skill, God-Demon Body!"

Ignoring everything else, Ban Shu grabbed the Painted Halberd and swung it forward: "I don't care what you are, die!"

Seeing Ban Shu charge in recklessly, a glimmer of excitement appeared in the Wolf Bandit leader's eyes. It feigned a retreat while secretly gathering power in its feet.

Li Yan, watching from the sidelines, had already seen through the bandit's trick. Just as he was about to shout a warning, he saw the corner of Ban Shu's mouth curl up, and he dismissed the thought.

It seems Ban Shu saw through the bandit's intentions long ago and already has a countermeasure. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, Li Yan thought to himself.

Inside the arena, Ban Shu swung his halberd in a wide, reckless sweep, leaving his chest wide open. The Wolf Bandit immediately leaped into mid-air, its feet glowing with cyan light as it kicked toward Ban Shu's chest.

"I was waiting for you!"

To the bandit's surprise, Ban Shu's attack had been nothing more than a feint to lure it into striking.

The moment he saw its feet leave the ground, Ban Shu leaned back and arched his waist, dodging the kick at an incredibly tricky angle.

"Didn't expect that, did you?"

Ban Shu straightened his posture, electricity erupting from the Painted Halberd as he thrust it fiercely into the Wolf Bandit leader's heart.

"Die!"

Ban Shu channeled all his remaining soul power, flooding the bandit's body with endless lightning that tore through everything inside it.

Feeling the terror of death, the Wolf Bandit instinctively grabbed the Painted Halberd, only to be jolted by the electricity until it shrieked in agony.

"Hah!"

Seeing the bandit still struggling, Ban Shu tensed the muscles in his arms, veins bulging on his neck as he forced the creature into the ground.

A moment later, the Wolf Bandit leader finally collapsed, vomiting blood as its body charred and went still.

Seeing their leader defeated, the surrounding Wolf Bandits fled, only to run straight into Yue Guan's reinforcements and find themselves surrounded.

As for Ban Shu, after finishing off the leader, he finally let out a breath and slowly sat on the ground.

Once the battle ended, the seemingly inexhaustible strength vanished, replaced by an incomparable sense of exhaustion.

The side effects of overdrawing his soul power were brutal; Ban Shu felt dizzy, his limbs heavy, and he had to lean on his Painted Halberd just to keep from collapsing.

At that moment, Bibi Dong walked over. Seeing the piles of Wolf Bandit corpses, she looked surprised.

"Xiao Ban, did you kill all of these?"

"Mm."

Ban Shu was so sore and exhausted he didn't want to speak, merely nodding in response.

"What's wrong with you?"

Bibi Dong keenly sensed something was off and hurriedly crouched down, carefully checking to see if Ban Shu was injured.

"Sister Dong'er, don't! Not there!"

Despite Ban Shu's desperate protests, Bibi Dong didn't stop: "Sister Dong'er, I'm fine. I just overdrew my soul power; I'll be fine after a rest."

"That's good."

Bibi Dong breathed a sigh of relief; she would have been worried to death if something had happened to Ban Shu.

"Xiao Ban, I'm going to go clear the battlefield. Rest for a while."

After confirming Ban Shu was not in any serious danger, Bibi Dong went back to help.

The battle was nearly over. With Li Yan and Yue Guan, both Soul Saints, holding the line, the hunting party hadn't suffered any deaths, only a few injuries.

Before long, Yue Guan also came over to Ban Shu.

"My Lord, I heard you are suffering from the side effects of soul power exhaustion."

Yue Guan hurriedly pulled out a bottle of pills: "These are pills I refined myself. They can quickly restore soul power and alleviate the side effects. Take them quickly."

"Thank you, Bishop Yue Guan."

Ban Shu nodded, took the pill, swallowed it, and then sat cross-legged to begin refining its medicinal power.

After about a quarter of an hour, the dizzy sensation in his head gradually faded. Ban Shu finally let out a sigh of relief and slowly stood up.

"Many thanks to Bishop Yue Guan for giving me such a precious pill. I will certainly repay this kindness in the future."

"Oh, you are too polite, my lord. This is nothing," Yue Guan said with a wave of his hand and a smile.

"Bishop Yue Guan, please don't call me 'my lord' anymore. Given our ages, you are my elder. Just call me Xiao Ban."

"Then I shall not decline."

Ban Shu stood up, pulled the Painted Halberd from the body of the wolf bandit leader, and prepared to dispose of the corpse.

"Huh?"

It was only then that Ban Shu noticed something on the wolf bandit's leg. He sliced the thigh open and found a cyan-glowing spirit bone inside.

"Good stuff!"

Ban Shu held it in his hand; it felt as warm and smooth as jade. It was a real treasure.

"Bishop Yue Guan, look."

Ban Shu handed the spirit bone to Yue Guan.

"This is?" Yue Guan asked, full of curiosity.

"It dropped from the wolf bandit leader I killed. I assume this is a spirit bone, right?"

"Correct."

Feeling the surging energy within it, Yue Guan nodded. "This is indeed a spirit bone. Judging by its quality, it is at least a thousand-year spirit bone."

"That is truly excellent."

Ban Shu nodded with a smile, then shared his thoughts regarding the spirit bone: "Bishop Yue Guan, I intend to exchange this spirit bone for gold spirit coins and distribute them among everyone."

"Why do that?"

Hearing this, Yue Guan was taken aback. "Logically speaking, this spirit bone belongs to you. You don't need to share it with others."

Ban Shu merely smiled. "This hunt was everyone's achievement. I cannot claim it all for myself. My mind is made up."

"Very well, then."

"There is one more thing." Ban Shu held the spirit bone, lost in thought.

"Oh? What is it?"

Yue Guan watched Ban Shu, who had fallen into contemplation, feeling a bit curious. Did he have other ideas?

"Bishop Yue Guan, don't you think all of this is a bit strange?"

Ban Shu frowned. "You know the habits of wolf bandits. They would never bring so many living creatures back to their nest, let alone have a leader with such intelligence. This is too abnormal."

"You mean..."

Yue Guan had clearly also sensed that something was wrong. "There is a fallen one controlling these wolf bandits?"