Back in Half an Hour-We Won't Let the Soul Beast We Hunted Become Someone Else's Wedding Dress!

After saying this, Lost Butterfly lowered her head, not daring to look Blood Eagle in the eyes.

Her butterfly wings drew in slightly as she curled up on the branch, looking especially uneasy.

After hearing Lost Butterfly's explanation, the coldness on Blood Eagle's face vanished in an instant.

The change came so quickly that it was somewhat jarring. One moment, he was like a blade drawn from its sheath; the next, he had become a gentle spring breeze.

He reached out and lightly brushed Lost Butterfly's cheek, his rough fingertips slowly gliding across her delicate skin as a faint smile appeared on his face.

"What you said makes a lot of sense."

Blood Eagle's voice turned gentle, as though the person who had threatened Lost Butterfly with his gaze just moments ago had not been him at all.

"If the other side really has guards, and if they're stronger than us, then they would have shown themselves when we threatened that brat. A great family's genius was being used as bait by a few Soul Kings—if you were his guard, could you stand for that?"

He withdrew his hand and turned around, his gaze once again falling upon the quiet forest behind them.

The warmth on his face vanished the moment he turned, replaced by shrewd calculation.

"However..."

He drew out the last word, as if deliberately keeping them in suspense.

"However what, Boss?"

Miles leaned closer with a curious look on his face. Bat Wings fluttered gently behind him, stirring a faint current of air.

"Perhaps he's alone, but he definitely has some trump card that can defeat that Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Blood Eagle's voice lowered, and a look of recollection appeared in his eyes.

"Because... the expression on his face was far too calm."

Lost Butterfly's words had awakened him, and the scene of encountering that young man earlier involuntarily resurfaced in Blood Eagle's mind.

That stern face, those eyes as still as an ancient well, that strange long weapon held across his front—from beginning to end, the young man had never shown the slightest trace of panic or fear.

Even when the three of them had rushed at him and Lost Butterfly had unleashed her illusion-type soul skill, the young man's expression had not changed in the slightest.

That was not the blankness of someone frightened witless, but a kind of... detached disdain from on high.

It was as if the three Soul Kings were nothing more than a pack of clowns in his eyes.

"Going by what you're saying, Boss, could that Bi-Wing Bird really have been dealt with by that brat?"

Miles fell silent for a moment, and a glint of greed flashed through his small eyes.

"Should we go back and take a look?"

Blood Eagle did not answer Miles's suggestion immediately.

"We're not going back?"

Seeing Blood Eagle remain silent, Miles instantly grew anxious, his voice rising.

"That's a Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! Even if we can't absorb its Soul Ring, its hide and flesh are all treasures! And... if it dropped a Soul Bone, we'd strike it rich!"

The more Miles spoke, the more excited he became. An eager flush appeared on his bat-like face.

He unconsciously beat Bat Wings, making his whole body sway slightly atop the branch, as if he could not wait to fly back at once.

Yet Blood Eagle remained unmoved. His calm demeanor turned the excited flush on Miles's face into confusion, and even the beating of his wings slowed considerably.

He even began to wonder whether Blood Eagle had changed his nature.

After all, the man was famous for stripping a passing goose clean. Let alone the corpse of a Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—even if a Ten-Year Soul Beast had died by the roadside, he would go over to see if there was anything he could peel off it.

"It's not that we're not going back. We're just going back later."

Blood Eagle shook his head, a confident expression appearing on his face, as though everything lay within his calculations.

"Later?"

Miles froze.

"Wait for what?"

"Use your brain."

Blood Eagle glanced at Miles, his tone carrying a trace of impatience.

"Who knows whether that brat's trump card has a time limit? Who knows whether that kind of explosive power can be used continuously? If we rush back all excited and happen to run into him while he's still in that state, do you think the three of us can last longer than that Bi-Wing Bird?"

Miles opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Think about it. The five of us Soul Kings couldn't beat that Bi-Wing Bird and even lost two men. Even if that brat really has some trump card capable of taking down the Bi-Wing Bird, do you think he can easily deal with the three of us?"

Blood Eagle's voice became low and grave.

"If that brat truly has that kind of strength, what difference is there between the three of us and three ants in his eyes? Going back just to die?"

Those words left Miles completely speechless, and even Lost Butterfly instinctively shrank back.

"Then... then what do we do?"

Miles's voice was somewhat weak.

"Wait."

Blood Eagle held up a finger and spoke with complete confidence.

"To be safe, we'll wait half an hour before going back."

"Half an hour?"

Miles frowned.

"That Bi-Wing Bird is so huge. Even if that brat really killed it, there's no way he can finish clearing it up within half an hour."

The corner of Blood Eagle's mouth lifted into a determined smile.

"Half an hour is enough for the effects of his trump card to fade. Even if he still has some strength left, half an hour is enough to make him lower his guard. Then the three of us will strike together. A brat at the Soul Ancestor level won't be able to stir up any trouble."

After hearing this, the worry on Miles's face was gradually replaced by greed, and he grinned.

"Boss is right. No matter how strong that brat is, he can't possibly unleash power of that level twice in a row. Once he's exhausted, won't he be at our mercy?"

"And..."

Blood Eagle suddenly changed the subject, his gaze falling on Lost Butterfly as he smiled ambiguously.

"If that brat has really dealt with the Bi-Wing Bird, then he must have other good things on him. How could a twelve- or thirteen-year-old Soul Ancestor possibly have no treasures? When the time comes..."

He did not finish his sentence, but both Miles and Lost Butterfly understood what he meant.

Miles gave a wicked chuckle, Bat Wings flapping excitedly behind him.

Lost Butterfly lowered her head without speaking, merely giving a slight nod.

"Then it's settled."

Blood Eagle rose from the branch, his gaze passing over the overlapping canopy toward the quiet forest behind them. Greed and viciousness flickered together in his eyes.

"Find a place to hide and rest for half an hour. After half an hour, we'll go back and reel in the net."

Three figures swept up from the branches and flew toward a concealed cliff nearby.

Meanwhile, amid the wreckage several thousand meters away, Yang Jian still stood behind the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear as deep black Soul Power slowly merged into his body.

His eyes were closed, his breathing steady. The fluctuations of Soul Power around him had gradually settled from their initial violent turbulence.

Beneath his feet, that pitch-black Soul Ring had already shrunk by a third. Within half an hour, he would absorb it successfully.