Counterkill!

With six two- to three-thousand-year Soul Beasts at his side, Cheng Xiao had gained considerable confidence. He felt no fear at all about venturing alone into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Although the six Soul Beasts had weakened somewhat after becoming shadows, no matter how much weaker they became, they were still in the two-thousand-year range.

Under Cheng Xiao's command, the six Soul Beast shadows worked together. They also possessed Immortal Bodies and could revive endlessly with only a small amount of Cheng Xiao's Soul Power. They could easily wear down and kill a Soul Beast nearing three thousand years of cultivation.

Thus, in just one day, Cheng Xiao's Shadow Legion killed three three-thousand-year Soul Beasts in succession.

With nine Soul Beasts, Cheng Xiao's confidence swelled once more. At this rate, it would not be long before he gathered fifteen Soul Beast shadows and formed a Shadow Soul Beast regiment.

The more Soul Beasts he killed, the larger Cheng Xiao's Shadow Legion became, and the faster and easier it was to surround and kill other Soul Beasts. The snowball effect was truly terrifying!

Since things were progressing much faster than expected, Cheng Xiao was unwilling to stop. He hunted several more Soul Beasts over three thousand years old, but without exception, he failed to summon their shadows.

After repeated tests, Cheng Xiao confirmed one thing: Shadow Summoning had a limit as well!

He could not wield all of the Power of Shadow. This meant his authority as a "Monarch" was insufficient. Since his strength was also lacking, the undead Soul Beasts could resist his commands. Powerful undead would not submit to the weak.

And the limit of Shadow Summoning was very likely related to the cultivation limit of the Soul Rings he could absorb!

He had calculated it carefully. Before his martial souls awakened, his absorption limit had been around one thousand years. After consuming three complete pieces of thousand-year Whale Rubber, it had risen to roughly two thousand five hundred years.

The upper limit for Soul Ring absorption was determined jointly by martial soul quality, physical constitution, and spiritual strength. After his martial souls awakened, he had finally become a true wielder of Twin Martial Souls. To some extent, this counted as a Martial Soul Evolution, and it would certainly raise his Soul Ring absorption limit to a certain degree.

As for how much it had risen, that was hard to say. Without testing it, Cheng Xiao did not dare rashly push the limit higher.

But now that he had discovered Shadow Summoning also had an upper limit, Cheng Xiao instinctively felt that he should not exceed it.

"Heh, that makes things simple. Before absorbing a Soul Ring in the future, I'll summon its shadow first. If I can't summon it, I won't absorb it."

Cheng Xiao suddenly realized that he no longer needed to rack his brains calculating his Soul Ring absorption limit. Whether it worked or not, he would know after trying.

Does this count as exploiting a bug? Under the red glow of the campfire, Cheng Xiao's expression turned somewhat strange.

Shaking his head and casting aside the stray thoughts, Cheng Xiao spread out his Shadow Domain and released thirteen Soul Beast shadows.

The thirteen Soul Beasts, each of different size, surrounded Cheng Xiao and slowly lowered themselves in a gesture of reverence.

"Keep watch for me!"

The thirteen Soul Beasts looked at one another and began chattering in low voices.

In any case, Cheng Xiao could not understand what they were saying. Soul Beasts probably had their own language...

After becoming shadows, their strength had declined, but their intelligence had been raised considerably. Unfortunately, they still had not reached the point where they could speak human language.

After a bout of "argument," eight Soul Beasts were pushed out and slipped into the shadows in eight different directions. The remaining five settled down around the tent and campfire to rest. Cheng Xiao's mouth twitched at the sight.

Cheng Xiao crawled into the makeshift tent, intending to get some sleep. Tomorrow, after hunting the remaining two Soul Beasts, he would return to Nuoding City.

"Hm?" Cheng Xiao suddenly raised his brows, sensing a faint disturbance.

Within his perception, a shadow had quietly entered the range of his domain and was prowling around its edge.

That shadow did not belong to an unfamiliar Soul Beast. It belonged to one of the seven people who had helped him hunt Soul Beasts earlier!

"Interesting. I'll give you a grand gift tomorrow!" Cheng Xiao grinned with a teasing smile.

The next day, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

Following the marks left behind by Third Brother, Dai Chong and the other six finally caught up.

"Third Brother, how is it?" Dai Chong asked.

"I've been following him. Didn't lose him. That kid really is strange!" Third Brother looked excited. "I followed him all the way. That kid can take down three-thousand-year Soul Beasts all by himself, and he's killed quite a few! With that kind of ability, why would he need to hire us?"

"I knew it! That kid definitely has a Secret Technique!" Sixth Brother exclaimed happily.

"But if he has that kind of strength, can we really take him down?" someone voiced his concern.

"He's been hunting three-thousand-year Soul Beasts the whole time. It looks like three thousand years is all he can handle, which means he isn't as strong as we imagined!" Sixth Brother explained. "Besides, all seven of us are Soul Ancestors, while he's alone—and he's just a child! As long as we set a trap, he'll be no match for us!"

With the prepared plotting against the unprepared, there was no way anything could go wrong. Unless that kid was a Soul Emperor!

But then again, a Soul Emperor could rival a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. An eleven-year-old Soul Emperor? Even if he had cultivated since the womb, he could not have progressed that fast.

Dai Chong pondered for a moment, then nodded. "In that case, let's discuss how to arrange the trap..."

"Yo! Everyone, having a chat?"

Suddenly, a childish voice rang out without warning. It felt as though an icy chill swept over the backs of the seven men, making the hair all over their bodies stand on end. They whirled around and saw a young boy standing atop a massive tree, watching them with a mocking expression.

Being startled by a person could scare someone to death. Sixth Brother immediately broke out in cold sweat, and the others were no better off. With guilty consciences, being suddenly confronted by the very person involved nearly made their eyes roll back.

Only Dai Chong remained relatively calm. He forced out an awkward smile. "Ha, haha, so it's you, little brother. What a coincidence. Why did you come to the Star Dou Great Forest alone? It's so dangerous."

"Yeah, it is quite dangerous. If you're not careful, someone might ambush and kill you." Cheng Xiao spoke softly. "By the way, tell me about that trap you were just discussing."

"W-what trap? Little brother, you must have misheard," Dai Chong said, his voice trembling slightly.

But upon reconsideration, something was wrong. The person before them was only a child. There were seven Soul Ancestors on their side. Even without setting a trap, could they not take him down even if they had to pay the price of some injuries?

What exactly were they afraid of?

Once his thoughts cleared, Dai Chong calmed down again. His expression gradually turned vicious as he hid a hand behind his back and signaled the other six. They understood immediately and began shifting their positions expressionlessly, intending to form an encirclement and capture Cheng Xiao outright.

"Heh, perhaps!"

As if he had not noticed their movements, Cheng Xiao smiled and said, "I still haven't properly thanked you for earlier. Since we happened to meet again, I prepared a grand gift for you."

"A grand gift?" Dai Chong's expression stiffened. He could not make sense of it.

"That's right!" Cheng Xiao bared his teeth in a chilling grin. "A Life-and-Death Gift Pack! Whether you live or die depends entirely on your luck!"

ROAR!

Three terrifying Soul Beast roars suddenly burst into the sky, and the earth trembled. Three enormous beasts crashed through the trees and, provoked by several Shadow Soul Beasts, charged furiously into the area where the men stood!

The seven men's expressions changed drastically. They were five-thousand-year Soul Beasts!

"Enjoy yourselves, everyone! No need to thank me!"