27. Qingluan of Six Thousand Years, Unwilling

Shui Duanliu did not particularly want to be rammed, but since the Young Master had spoken, he naturally would not refuse.

However, Little Black was not very happy about ramming Shui Duanliu; even though the man was already standing there, it showed no intention of charging forward.

It was not smart, but it was not stupid enough to ram a Soul Saint. Of course, more importantly, Little Black did not detect any hateful aura on Shui Duanliu.

Seeing that Little Black would not use Earth Mountain Bash, Feng Baiyu did not force it. He looked at Shui Duanliu and said, "Steward Shui, get a dragon-type soul beast over five thousand years old another day. One with a trace of dragon bloodline will do; it doesn't need to be pure."

Shui Duanliu did not ask why and readily agreed. He did not care what Feng Baiyu intended to do; as long as he did not get hurt, anything was fine.

From that day on, Little Black's method for dealing with Wang Long became Earth Mountain Bash. Wang Long was quite disappointing, being sent flying by a direct hit every single time.

However, although Wang Long was injured two or three times a day, his cultivation speed truly increased.

That state of constantly walking the line between life and death quickly pushed his soul power to level twenty-three.

"A week faster than expected!" When Wang Long broke through, a look of joy appeared on his face.

With experienced elders at home to provide guidance, they could easily calculate the time it would take for Wang Long's soul power to level up. But after coming to Feng Baiyu's home, Wang Long clearly felt his cultivation speed improve.

Even if it was only reaching level twenty-three a week early, it was an unimaginably pleasant surprise for him.

"Little Black!" Wang Long knew Little Black had contributed to this, so he said excitedly, "Come and ram me..."

"Ah~"

Before Wang Long could finish his sentence, he was sent flying by an Earth Mountain Bash.

While he was still in mid-air, the support-type Soul Emperor cast a Healing Light to finish healing his wounds.

After Wang Long fell to the ground, he immediately sat up and entered a state of cultivation.

"Is this guy an idiot?"

Just then, Feng Qingluan's voice rang out from behind Feng Baiyu: "The descendants of Qianjun and Jiangmo? Why are they here?"

"Grandfather!" Hearing his grandfather's voice, Feng Baiyu's face lit up with surprise: "I haven't seen you for days; you've finally returned!"

"It wasn't for anything other than getting that phoenix for you, kid!" Feng Qingluan ruffled his grandson's hair, pointed to a cage not far away, and said with a smile: "A six-thousand-year-old phoenix, see what you think!"

Feng Baiyu turned his head to look, and inside was a sickly-looking avian soul beast.

A wind-attribute phoenix—a Qingluan!

His grandfather's martial soul was precisely a Qingluan, so Feng Baiyu was naturally very familiar with it.

However, the soul beast Qingluan that once stirred up the winds and clouds, capable of soaring to the nine heavens with a single flap of its wings, was now drooping listlessly.

"Coo~ Coo~"

The Qingluan looked at the humans before it and let out a weak cry. That dull sound held none of its former clarity.

After Feng Qingluan captured this Qingluan, he had injected it with special medicine to ensure it would not die, yet could not live for long. If not for those drugs sustaining it, the Qingluan likely would have ended its own life on the journey.

"I didn't expect Grandfather to actually get one!" Feng Baiyu looked at the Qingluan with joy and said, "This phoenix is perfect to be his second soul ring."

Although its age did not reach Feng Baiyu's absorption limit, he did not care about that.

Having one was enough!

A suitable soul beast was more important than a higher age.

A six-thousand-year second soul ring already surpassed the age of other soul masters' fourth soul rings. Furthermore, Feng Baiyu possessed the Phoenix God Trial, which would increase the soul ring's age upon completion.

Now everything was ready; the only thing missing was Feng Baiyu's soul power level!

Feng Baiyu's soul power was currently only at level nineteen, but according to his expectations, he would reach level twenty in ten days at most.

It could be said that this soul ring had truly arrived at the perfect time!

"Oh~ Oh~"

Just as Feng Baiyu was admiring the Qingluan, Little Black walked over.

It looked at the Qingluan in the cage, a trace of sorrow flashing in its eyes. Perhaps seeing one of its own kind treated this way made it feel unbearable.

"Oh~ Oh~" Little Black chirped at the Qingluan, though it did not know what to say.

At this chirp, the Qingluan opened its cloudy eyes and glanced at it.

!!!

When the Qingluan saw Little Black, it felt an indescribable, mysterious aura from the other creature.

That aura was not particularly powerful, yet it gave the bird an urge to draw near.

"Hmm?" Feng Baiyu saw the interaction between Little Black and the Qingluan and stepped forward to ask: "Little Black, can you understand what it means?"

"Oh~ Oh~" Little Black turned to look at Feng Baiyu and rubbed its wing against his calf.

"You want me not to hurt it?" Feng Baiyu understood Little Black's meaning, squatted down to pat its head, and said, "If I could, I wouldn't want to hurt it either. But you must understand, only by obtaining soul rings can we become strong."

Little Black could understand Feng Baiyu's words, and it understood the importance of becoming strong even better. But when it saw the Qingluan in such a miserable state inside the cage, that sense of pity welled up naturally.

Like mourns for like.

Feng Baiyu understood this in his heart, but it was no excuse for him to stop growing stronger.

"Little Black." Feng Baiyu rubbed Little Black's head and said, "My soul power is only level nineteen right now. Before I break through, you keep it company."

After speaking, Feng Baiyu made space for Little Black and Qingluan, then returned to the tree to cultivate.

Feng Qingluan leaped over to his grandson's side and asked, "What is it? Can't bear to do it?"

"A little," Feng Baiyu replied. "Little Black and I are one; its emotions can infect me."

"If it had been any other soul beast today, I wouldn't have felt this way." Feng Baiyu paused, then continued, "If it were a soul beast with dragon bloodline, Little Black would have already slammed into it with an Earth Mountain Bash."

"Heh," Feng Qingluan chuckled softly. "With the way you put it, I don't know whether to call you overly compassionate or heartless."

"Leaving it for now isn't being too cruel. Killing it another day isn't being too merciful." Feng Baiyu's expression remained indifferent as he said, "This is a stepping stone for my progress; how could I possibly let it go?"

At this point, Feng Baiyu suddenly added, "Grandfather, the order you sent out for people to search for a phoenix should be withdrawn. My second soul ring is already at the thousand-year level, so my third soul ring must be at least ten thousand years. I doubt those people are capable of capturing a phoenix of that caliber alive."

A phoenix was a soul beast capable of fighting above its rank—a five-thousand-year-old one could battle a thirty-thousand-year-old beast, and a newly matured ten-thousand-year-old phoenix could take down a fifty-thousand-year-old beast without issue.

To capture a bird of that level alive, one would need at least the strength of a Title Douluo!