Stealing Tang San's Soul Beast, Yu Xiaogang Breaks His Leg!

Huo Si flung the assault rifle in his hands. Long Weiguo rolled across the ground and caught it, then, without a moment's hesitation, switched to burst fire.

Bang, bang, bang!!!

The 7.62 rounds were like reapers, harvesting Soul Beasts with deadly precision. Several yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings and Ten-Year Soul Rings rose into the air, and the other Soul Beasts scattered in every direction.

Chu Youwei slowly emerged from behind the Plane Star Gate, her face pale.

"Pioneer, you... were too reckless."

"If that whole pack of Soul Beasts had joined forces, you could have been hurt."

Seeing Huo Si's pale face, Chu Youwei hurried over and helped him up.

"Reckless?"

"Relax. There shouldn't be any thousand-year Soul Beasts in Soul Hunting Forest."

"Even if there are..."

Huo Si glanced at the sniper rifle on Long Weiguo's back.

"We can still take them out with ease."

Long Weiguo finished his last shots. After killing every one of the dozens of Soul Beasts crowding the area, he came over to Huo Si.

"Sir, all the Soul Beasts have been killed."

"What should we do with the bodies?"

Huo Si turned to Xiao Bai.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!!!

Xiao Bai understood Huo Si's look. Excitedly, she slithered forward, picked out a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, and opened her jaws to swallow it whole.

Huo Si didn't hesitate. He recalled his Martial Soul and refined the Soul Power.

As soon as Xiao Bai devoured the Hundred-Year Soul Beast, Huo Si's body was almost instantly filled with Soul Power.

He was tempted to use the Hundred-Year Soul Beast to break through to level eighteen, but then he remembered the rules of Soul Hunting Forest.

"Chu Youwei, collect all the Soul Beast corpses. We need to leave Soul Hunting Forest as quickly as possible."

"We made too much of a racket in here. The patrol might come to investigate."

"We need to get out before they find us. We'll fight as we retreat. We won't need to come back here for a while."

Huo Si didn't want anything to go wrong—not even for anyone to realize that there was something unusual about their group.

Aside from him, neither Long Weiguo nor Chu Youwei had even awakened their Martial Souls, yet they had managed to kill so many Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.

It was obvious that something was wrong.

Besides, the rules of Soul Hunting Forest didn't allow so many Hundred-Year Soul Beasts to disappear or die.

After clearing the scene, the three of them quickly hunted their way out of the depths of Soul Hunting Forest.

Meanwhile, at the forest's outskirts,

a tall figure and a small one were slowly making their way inside.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!!!

"Careful, it's a Datura Snake! How could this kind of Soul Beast be at the outskirts of Soul Hunting Forest? Xiao San, run!"

"Earth-Shattering Luo San Pao!!"

"Sir, there are people up ahead!"

Long Weiguo raised his binoculars, his brow furrowing slightly.

Huo Si took the binoculars. When he saw the scene through them, his pupils shrank sharply.

There was no other reason.

He had spotted one of the few characters from the original story he'd encountered since arriving in this world.

Yu Xiaogang!

A surge of rage welled up inside him—the anger he'd been bottling up for almost a week.

It was the urge to prove himself now that he had power.

"Let's go!"

By the time Huo Si reached Yu Xiaogang, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had already been bitten by the Datura Snake. A child in plain clothes had driven his long sword deep into the snake's mouth.

Writhing in agony, the Datura Snake thrashed wildly on the ground.

"Excellent, Xiao San!"

"This Datura Snake is perfect for you. Once you absorb its Soul Ring, you..."

Bang!

Before Yu Xiaogang could finish, a deafening gunshot rang out.

The Datura Snake's thrashing head exploded.

"Well, well. We've been apart for a few days, and our Grandmaster's really fallen off."

Huo Si came out slowly with Chu Youwei and Long Weiguo.

The deafening gunshot startled Yu Xiaogang and the six-year-old boy.

When Yu Xiaogang saw Huo Si emerging from the depths of Soul Hunting Forest,

his expression suddenly changed.

And when he heard the tone of Huo Si's voice, his face turned ugly in an instant.

"It's you! Huo Si, what are you doing here?"

"And that Datura Snake was almost dead already! Why did you steal it?"

"Don't you know the Soul Master rule? The Soul Beast belongs to whoever finds it first!"

Yu Xiaogang endured the excruciating pain of the Datura Snake's bite. His lips had turned purple as he glared at Huo Si.

Huo Si turned to the six-year-old boy beside Yu Xiaogang.

"So this must be the little Xiao San from the original story?"

That's right—Huo Si had done it on purpose. He'd deliberately stolen the kill.

Seeing Tang San eye the assault rifle in his hands warily, Huo Si smiled and slowly handed it back to Long Weiguo.

Everyone knew that only the person who dealt the final blow to a Soul Beast could absorb its Soul Ring.

When Huo Si fired, he'd circulated Soul Power and infused the bullets with it. He had killed the Datura Snake with a headshot, so only Huo Si could absorb its Soul Ring.

"Yu Xiaogang, how can you be so sure we weren't the ones who found this Datura Snake first?"

Huo Si walked over to the Datura Snake and pointed to a torn patch of flesh on its body, giving Long Weiguo a look.

Bang!

The Datura Snake's corpse exploded once more.

"We found this Datura Snake first. Something happened while we were chasing it, and it got away."

"So, strictly speaking, this Datura Snake belongs to us."

Seeing the people behind Huo Si and the terrifying weapons they carried, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San's pupils shrank sharply again.

"Huo Si, you!"

Yu Xiaogang pointed at Huo Si, his purple lips trembling. In the end, he staggered.

Fortunately, Tang San caught him before he could collapse completely.

"You can have the Soul Ring."

At last, Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and slumped to the ground.

"Xiao San, I've been poisoned by the Datura Snake. I might not be able to hunt a Soul Beast and get you a Soul Ring."

"But don't lose heart. We'll go back and regroup."

"You have Innate Full Soul Power. There's no way you can be compared to those frauds who awakened their Martial Souls at six, then came to take another Martial Soul awakening test at twenty and pretended to have Innate Full Soul Power!"

"Your future is full of endless possibilities..."

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Huo Si's face darkened.

Tang San looked up at Huo Si.

So he's the one my teacher said came to him pretending to have Innate Full Soul Power after taking a Martial Soul Awakening test at six?

And from the way he spoke earlier, and my teacher's attitude toward him, he's clearly up to no good.

Out here in the wilderness, if a fight breaks out—and he has those strange hidden weapons with him...

Tang San quietly hid his right hand behind his back, wary. He figured that if the other party made a single suspicious move, he'd strike first.

The instant the thought appeared, a pair of icy eyes turned toward him.

"I advise you not to try anything. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll make it out of Soul Hunting Forest."

Long Weiguo's voice was cold. He'd received special training and didn't care whether the other party was a child or not. On the battlefield, he'd seen child soldiers brainwashed into launching suicide attacks before.

He'd sensed killing intent from that child just now. If the boy hadn't stopped short of taking action, Long Weiguo would have been within his rights to shoot.

"Hah. Narrow-minded, short-sighted. You see everything like a frog in a well!"

Huo Si raised his hand, and a deep yellow Soul Ring appeared.

Hiss!

A white snake, over a meter long, appeared in an instant. It flicked its tongue, its eyes clear and hungry.

"More than four hundred years old. I'm not interested."

"Go on. Eat your fill."

At Huo Si's command, the White Snake didn't hesitate. It slithered forward and swallowed the Datura Snake alive.

"Th-this is impossible!"

Seeing the state of Huo Si's Martial Soul and the deep yellow Soul Ring around him, Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Your Martial Soul was barely the size of a thumb. It had no attack power, no control ability, not even any poison. It was the textbook definition of a trash Martial Soul!"

"How could it have changed so much in just a few days, after you obtained your First Soul Ring?"

"What did you do to your Martial Soul?!"

Yu Xiaogang stared at Huo Si in shock, deep envy hidden in the depths of his eyes.

A Martial Soul the size of a thumb had grown to over a meter in just a few days. That was a power increase of dozens, even hundreds of times.

Put it this way: a snake just a few centimeters long couldn't have any attack power or control ability. Its fangs probably couldn't even pierce skin, never mind whether it had poison.

But once a Martial Soul reached a meter in length, it could do plenty. It could restrain someone, or even bite... and...

Yu Xiaogang watched with his own eyes as Huo Si's Martial Soul swallowed the Datura Snake, leaving only a small section of its body sticking out.

"And this is only the beginning."

A smile slowly curled at the corner of Huo Si's mouth.

The First Soul Ring on his body flashed.

"First Soul Skill, Gigantification!"

Hum!

The White Snake, which was devouring the Datura Snake, shuddered. The next moment, it swelled dramatically, tripling in size.

Its Gigantification let Xiao Bai swallow the Datura Snake whole.

After eating the Datura Snake, Xiao Bai obediently slithered over to Huo Si and rubbed herself against him.

The instant he recalled his Martial Soul, Huo Si secretly circulated the Martial Soul Devouring Method.

Hum! Bang!

[Level 18!]

The Soul Power throughout Huo Si's body surged, and he broke through to level eighteen.

"Yu Xiaogang, I have you to thank. Without your mockery, I wouldn't have made it this far."

For a moment, Yu Xiaogang's face became ghastly.

He looked at Huo Si's White Snake, which had grown to three meters and undergone Gigantification, then turned to look at Luo Sanpao beside him, who resembled a pig. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

"W-what did you do to your Martial Soul?"

"You have a snake-type Martial Soul, but you aren't developing poison techniques? You're wasting a god-given gift!"

"If you tell me what you did to your Martial Soul and share your special Soul Power cultivation method, I'll take you on as my disciple. I'll guide you properly in cultivating your Martial Soul and put it on the right path!"

Pfft!

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Huo Si couldn't help laughing.

"I think I'll pass."

"Right, didn't someone say there are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters? Maybe the Grandmaster's theories are wrong."

"After some research, my little snake Martial Soul might even turn into a dragon. Your Martial Soul, Grandmaster, should just keep being a pig."

Pfft!

When Yu Xiaogang heard Huo Si's words, his expression turned hideous. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood and collapsed, completely unconscious.

"Teacher!"

"Teacher!!"

Seeing Yu Xiaogang pass out, Tang San panicked. He immediately pulled out a dagger, ready to let blood from Yu Xiaogang to treat him.

"You're a child. A six-year-old child. Do you know how to treat someone bitten by a venomous snake?"

Huo Si narrowed his eyes and looked at Tang San with a smile.

Tang San stiffened. A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

That's right. I'm only six years old. Do I really know what to do?

That's right. Huo Si wasn't leaving. He was deliberately stalling because he wanted to see Yu Xiaogang's bitten leg crippled.

"I... I saw someone in our village get bitten by a venomous snake, so..."

Huo Si's expression was perfectly solemn.

"Oh?"

"But you only watched someone else treat them. Do you know that if you handle it wrong, someone could... die?"

"If something happens, even though Yu Xiaogang and I have a bit of a history, I'll still report this to Nuoding City Lord's Mansion and have them investigate your village. If they find nothing, you'll be in for a world of trouble."

"After all, this is a living, breathing human life."

Tang San's lips trembled. Looking at Huo Si, he suddenly felt that he was going to be a real handful.

But time was slipping away, and if the teacher wasn't in trouble yet, he soon would be.

Tang San gritted his teeth. Yu Xiaogang was his teacher. He absolutely couldn't...

"Forget it. Nothing to lose by trying. As his disciple, I can't just stand by and watch my teacher die, can I?"

Huo Si's eyes narrowed slightly. He absolutely couldn't let Yu Xiaogang get off easy. Just looking at Tang San, he could tell what the boy was about to do.

"This is easy. Just cut off the leg that got bitten."

When Chu Youwei saw Huo Si and Yu Xiaogang glaring daggers at each other, and realized that even though it was time to leave, they still weren't going anywhere, she immediately understood what Huo Si was up to and made the suggestion.

At Chu Youwei's words, Tang San's mouth twitched violently.

He looked up at the dashing, slightly wicked older sister and hesitantly began to speak.

"I... I don't think... there's... there's any need for that, do you?"

Chu Youwei gave Long Weiguo a look.

Long Weiguo nodded.

"I've got experience. I'll..."

Long Weiguo shoved Tang San aside.

"Kid, stand back. You'll get blood all over your face in a moment."

Tang San raised a hand to stop him. He had a hundred ways to cure Yu Xiaogang, but this bunch was just too eager to help.

Squelch!

"Aaargh!!!!"

A shrill scream rang out at once. The pain jolted Yu Xiaogang awake. He saw his foot in Long Weiguo's hand, severed clean off, and his eyes went wide.

The next moment, he fainted again.

"Wait, the teacher was bitten on his left leg. Why did you cut off his right?"

At Tang San's words, Huo Si's mouth twitched fiercely.

Damn, who knew Chu Youwei and Long Weiguo could be this ruthless too?

"I didn't know! His right leg was so swollen, I thought that was the one."

Tang San covered his face, his scalp prickling.

"The teacher just fell a moment ago..."

Long Weiguo kept a perfectly straight face.

"Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to save him. I've studied first aid." The next moment, as Tang San watched in horror, Long Weiguo grabbed the blood vessels and tied them off by force to stop the bleeding.

"Looks like the poison in his left leg hasn't spread very far. It's not fatal. You should've said so earlier. I can bleed him and put some medicine on it, and he'll be fine."

Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang's right foot, severed clean off by Long Weiguo, and his treated left leg. He couldn't help feeling that something was wrong.

Good news: They didn't have to cut off the teacher's poisoned leg.

It wasn't fatal. Bleeding it and applying some medicine would do the trick.

Bad news: They'd cut off the teacher's right foot, thinking it was the poisoned one.