Hiring a Soul Ancestor Team

The Whale Hunting Grand Assembly had ended, and the last batch of whale oil had been shipped out of Whale Hunting City. The final two batches had failed to yield even a single piece of Whale Rubber, which Cheng Xiao found rather regrettable.

But after only a moment, Cheng Xiao adjusted his mindset.

The three pieces of Whale Rubber had raised his Soul Ring limit by fifteen hundred years. That was already enough; wanting more would be greedy.

Even after Cheng Xiao displayed his talent, there were still voices of opposition within the family. They worried that if Cheng Xiao were devoured by a Soul Beast before he had fully matured, would not all their investments go down the drain?

Fortunately, Cheng Yu mediated among them and persuaded the others in the family to gamble everything they had on Cheng Xiao.

The Cheng Family quietly mortgaged its businesses through various means, borrowing a large sum of Gold Soul Coins. Together with most of the family's liquid funds, they finally hired a team of Soul Ancestors.

The strongest member of this team was level forty-seven, while the weakest was level forty-two. It had Control System, Power Attack System, Agility Attack System, and Auxiliary System Soul Masters alike. In terms of composition, it was a well-rounded team.

"My name is Dai Chong, captain of this team, a level forty-seven Battle Soul Ancestor." A burly man stepped forward and introduced himself.

"I'm..."

The others introduced themselves in turn. After Cheng Xiao had learned all their names, he finally introduced himself. "Everyone, my name is Cheng Xiao. This mission is to help me complete an academy field study. I need you to hunt seven Soul Beasts of various types."

Cheng Xiao had disguised this mission as an academy theoretical research expedition. To obtain an acceptance letter from an Advanced Soul Master Academy, he needed an impressive enough record, which was why he had hired this Soul Ancestor team.

It was a plausible reason. Not every student at an Advanced Soul Master Academy was a muscle-brained Soul Master. There were also students devoted to theory, though such students were relatively discriminated against and unpopular.

Take Heaven Dou Royal Academy, for example. Apart from the talented students who could compete for Heaven Dou's first and second teams, most people there were not particularly strong. Some enrolled through their noble status, while others were admitted by the academy because of their outstanding theoretical results.

If an academy only needed Soul Masters who could fight and kill, then what was the point of its existence? It would be more fitting to rename it a sect.

Dai Chong and the others merely assumed that the student before them lacked cultivation talent and wanted to pursue theoretical research in order to gain special admission to an Advanced Soul Master Academy. They did not suspect anything further.

"According to the mission requirements, you do not need to worry about leaving the Soul Beasts with their last breath. You only need to kill them as quickly as possible. But after killing them, you must withdraw and stand guard. I will perform blood collection and other procedures on them myself. You are not permitted to watch."

Cheng Xiao's goal was not to absorb Soul Rings, but to obtain Soul Beast shadows. Thus, he did not care who the Soul Rings belonged to. Once he had gathered enough shadows, he could try hunting Soul Beasts himself without needing the help of others.

"No problem. But according to the requirements on this list, there are at least seven Soul Beasts that are two to three thousand years old, and the species are even specified. That price will not be cheap. I wonder whether you have prepared it?" Dai Chong flicked the mission sheet in his hand, but his gaze was directed at Cheng Yu behind Cheng Xiao.

Cheng Yu took out a purple card and placed it on the table before them. "Half the mission payment. The remaining half will be issued to you through the Spirit Hall Commission Office after the mission ends."

The instant they saw the purple card, Dai Chong and the others' eyes lit up. They pocketed the card without the slightest hesitation. "When do we leave?"

"Today!"

Cheng Xiao had no intention of delaying any longer. He wanted to set out immediately.

Dai Chong and the others exchanged looks, then nodded in agreement. "We have no problem with that."

Soon, everyone made their preparations, and the seven-man Soul Ancestor team set off with Cheng Xiao.

"Be careful." As they departed, Cheng Yu's face was solemn, without the slightest sign of ease. He knew the dangers Soul Masters faced. They might leave upright today and return lying down tomorrow.

"Mm."

The eight of them set off. Watching their figures gradually vanish from sight, Cheng Yu's gaze slowly lost focus. His lips moved soundlessly, and after a long while, a faint voice emerged.

"I hope everything goes smoothly..."

Starlight dotted the night sky. Outside the quiet Star Dou Great Forest, the eight people sat around a campfire and discussed the next day's arrangements.

"The first Soul Beast... a Diamond Tiger?"

After hearing Cheng Xiao's target, Dai Chong could not help drawing in a sharp breath. Baring his teeth, he said, "Little brother, your Soul Coins really are not easy to earn."

The Diamond Tiger could be considered a dominant force among Soul Beasts. Its strength, attack power, and defense were all among the best. Moreover, Cheng Xiao wanted a two-thousand-year Diamond Tiger. Even their team might suffer casualties if they were careless.

"Heh, otherwise, why would I spend so much to hire you?" Cheng Xiao said with a smile.

Dai Chong scratched his itchy scalp. "Tsk, this is troublesome..."

"What? Are you planning to abandon this commission?" Cheng Xiao raised a brow.

"Not at all. Diamond Tigers prefer living alone, and their movements are unpredictable, so they are not easy to find." Vice-captain Yang Lie explained, "Mercenaries like us have rough maps of Soul Beast activity areas. If we want to hunt a Diamond Tiger, we will need to prepare for a long time. The danger will increase greatly."

Generally, when obtaining Soul Rings, people simply attacked whenever they encountered a Soul Beast with the appropriate age and attributes. They rarely specified a particular Soul Beast outright, as that would consume a great deal of time.

And remaining in the Star Dou Great Forest for an extended period would greatly increase the danger.

Major sects generally did not worry about such problems. With elders at Soul Douluo level or above leading them, they would not need to be overly concerned even if they stayed in the Star Dou Great Forest for one or two months, unless they encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Then again, how many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were there in the Star Dou Great Forest? How could one be encountered so easily? If they truly encountered one, they could only blame their own bad luck.

They were merely a Soul Ancestor team, however, and clearly lacked the confidence to wander around the Star Dou Great Forest for long.

"I see..." Cheng Xiao pondered for a long while. Since that would not work, he changed his approach.

"I have several types of targets in mind. You can consider how to find them more quickly and conveniently."

Thus, Cheng Xiao explained his selection criteria to them.

"The first must have sufficiently powerful attack strength, at least something renowned for it. The second must have sufficiently high defense. The third needs to be fast enough, and its damage cannot be too low. The fourth must be balanced in all aspects..."

Cheng Xiao's selection criteria covered attack, defense, speed, endurance, control, and other aspects.

Even if the Shadow Soul Beast team formed this way was weaker than the Soul Beasts had been in life, it could still defeat stronger enemies or Soul Beasts through sufficiently perfect coordination.

If they truly could not defeat an enemy, they could rely on his Soul Power supply to revive endlessly and wear the opponent to death.

Under the night sky, an indescribable gleam flashed in Cheng Xiao's clear eyes. His Shadow Team was finally about to take shape!