The Whole Clan's Little Schemer, Seal Loosening

The reason Jin Feng dared to hunt and absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring for his second Soul Ring, one 8,500 years stronger than his first, was simple.

It was because, under the Defense Clan's full support and feeding,

the Golden Horned Behemoth Martial Soul, having devoured vast amounts of metal ore over the past year, had already fed back into his body and strengthened it to the level of a four-ring Soul Ancestor.

Furthermore, after breaking through the major threshold of level 20,

the Origin Blood of the Golden Horned Behemoth in his mind had separated off another portion and fused into his body, strengthening his physique and genetic level in every aspect.

Therefore,

his physical strength

had already reached the standard of a five-ring Soul King.

Although his overall combat power still fell somewhat short of a Soul King's, absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring would not be a problem.

As for the resentment left behind when a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast died, which would merge into the Soul Ring and assault a Soul Master's soul during absorption,

Jin Feng was not worried in the slightest.

That was because

the Origin Blood of the Golden Horned Behemoth guarded his mind. No matter what level of Soul Beast's resentment it was, it was nothing before the protective power of the Origin Blood.

So long as that resentment dared enter his mind, the Origin Blood of the Golden Horned Behemoth would show it what a crushing difference in dimensions truly meant.

Over this past year,

the Defense Clan's growth had also been astonishing.

First, Clan Head Niu Gao, who had been level 75, cultivated the Beast Scripture and not only evolved his Martial Soul into the Golden Horned Scaled Rhino, but also gained three levels under the 500% cultivation speed boost, reaching level 78 as a Soul Sage.

This progress

was practically a dream to Niu Gao, who had previously averaged only one Soul Power level per year.

The Defense Clan's elders had also all broken through to the seven-ring Soul Sage realm over the past year.

The Great Elder, who had originally been level 72, had likewise gained three levels during the year and was now level 75.

The Second Elder had long been stuck at the level 69 bottleneck. After his Martial Soul Evolution, he broke through naturally. After hunting a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and cultivating for a year, he was now a level 73 Soul Sage.

The Third Elder and Fourth Elder were much the same, currently at levels 72 and 71 respectively.

Beyond the clan's high-level combat power,

the Defense Clan's backbone forces had also exploded in growth over the past year.

Other than Niu Ben,

three more Soul Emperors and nine Soul Kings had emerged, while the number of Soul Ancestors had increased by more than twenty.

Although the Defense Clan's strength had grown at a terrifying rate, its members had not developed any arrogant, domineering, or bullying attitudes.

Instead,

they had become even more low-key than before.

Whether outside or at home, every clan member cultivated Beast God Concealment, the concealment technique Jin Feng had deduced.

To outsiders,

the Defense Clan appeared no different from before.

In reality, however, every clan member's Martial Soul had evolved and strengthened, and each of them concealed at least two levels of Soul Power from the public.

As for concealing their true Soul Power levels,

that had not been arranged by Clan Head Niu Gao, but had been done voluntarily by the Defense Clan members themselves.

It was because

they understood clearly.

Their clan possessed a terrifying cultivation technique blessed by a god. Once it was exposed, every force on the continent would inevitably target and besiege them...

The current Defense Clan did not yet possess the strength to protect itself, so for the safety of their clan and families, they had to remain discreet.

A strict rule had even begun circulating within the clan: if anyone accidentally exposed their evolved Martial Soul outside, they either had to kill the witness or perish together with the enemy. In short, the clan's secret absolutely could not be revealed.

Hiding their true Soul Power levels would allow them to catch opponents off guard at critical moments, play the weak to defeat the strong, and better silence anyone who needed killing.

After learning of this,

Niu Gao and the Defense Clan elders did not know whether to laugh or cry. Still, it did the clan no harm, so they simply allowed everyone to continue as they pleased.

When Jin Feng heard the news, he too was utterly surprised. His original purpose in deducing Beast God Concealment had only been to conceal the characteristics of the clan's Martial Soul Evolution.

He truly had not expected

his own clansmen to use it this way. The entire clan had turned into schemers, each one more underhanded than the last.

After Jin Feng broke through level 20,

Niu Gao, Niu Ben, and the four elders also learned that he intended to hunt a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for his second Soul Ring.

They did not stop him.

Only after explaining the dangers of absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, such as spiritual shock, did they ask whether he still insisted on doing so.

After receiving Jin Feng's assurance that there would be no danger,

none of them said anything further.

After some discussion,

they ultimately decided that for this hunt, the level 78 Soul Sage Clan Head Niu Gao would lead the group, accompanied by the level 73 Soul Sage Second Elder and the level 64 Soul Emperor Niu Ben.

The reason Niu Gao and the others agreed so readily was also simple: they believed Jin Feng would not joke with his own life.

Besides, countless miracles

had already happened to Jin Feng.

If he could achieve a thousand-year first ring, then a ten-thousand-year second ring was not impossible either.

Since they could no longer teach Jin Feng anything, they should not interfere with his growth. They only needed to trust him without condition.

Before setting out for the Star Dou Forest,

Gu Yuena, who had spent a year playing in the Defense Clan while automatically cultivating to level 19, suddenly said to Jin Feng, "Brother Feng, I feel like I'm about to break through level 20 in the next couple of days. Take me with you to the Star Dou Forest this time."

Hearing this,

Jin Feng looked at Gu Yuena before him. After more than a year, she had completely integrated into the Defense Clan, and her relationship with him had grown increasingly close.

He did not refuse and simply nodded in agreement.

For anyone else, it would have been impossible to bring along a little girl with only level 19 cultivation when heading into the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast region of the Star Dou Forest to hunt Soul Beasts.

But for Jin Feng,

having Gu Yuena with them would instead make their journey safer.

After all,

she was the Silver Dragon King, the ruler of all Soul Beasts.

The Star Dou Forest was her home.

Even setting aside the fact that the Black-Eyed Golden Dragon King, Di Tian, was secretly watching over her, Gu Yuena could not possibly encounter danger—let alone when that fact could not be set aside at all...

When Niu Gao, Niu Ben, the Second Elder, and the others saw that Gu Yuena did not wish to be apart from Jin Feng for even a day, teasing smiles appeared on all their faces.

When Gu Yuena had first arrived at the Defense Clan,

they had not thought much of it. After all, she was someone else's child and might leave one day.

But as time passed,

after more than a year of interaction, they had accepted Gu Yuena from the bottom of their hearts as a member of the Defense Clan and adored her greatly.

There was nothing they could do about that.

The Defense Clan already had far more men than women.

Among boys of Jin Feng's generation, more than eighty percent were male, and they caused trouble all day long.

Under such circumstances, a silver-haired, purple-eyed little girl who was pretty, obedient, adorable, and called them "Elder Grandpa" whenever she saw them suddenly appeared in the clan. Who would not smile at the sight of her?

By now,

Gu Yuena's importance within the Defense Clan could be considered second only to Jin Feng's.

The only thing the clan members worried about was that one day, her family might suddenly come and take Gu Yuena away.

This time,

although taking Gu Yuena into the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast region was somewhat dangerous, she was about to break through level 20 and needed to attach a Soul Ring as well.

And times had changed.

With Niu Gao and the others' current combat strength, protecting Gu Yuena in the outer reaches of the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast region would not be a problem at all.

Very soon,

the group of five arrived at the Star Dou Forest.

Not long after entering the forest, Jin Feng summoned his three-meter Golden Horned Behemoth Martial Soul with a thought. Pulling Gu Yuena along, he sat with her on the Golden Horned Behemoth's back and headed toward the Ten-Thousand-Year region.

At the same time,

as Gu Yuena stepped into the Star Dou Forest once more, a pair of dark golden dragon eyes slowly opened deep within the Land of Great Omen.

A surprised murmur suddenly rang out.

"Only a year has passed, and the second seal inside My Lord has already loosened?"