The Soul Hunting team did not dismiss Qi Dao's suggestion because of his age. Barely two hours later, they found traces of a large Ironclad Turtle on a rocky shore.
Several enormous boulders stood close together on the shore, leaving a fairly open space between them that looked like a crude nest.
A dark turtle over two meters long lay sprawled inside, looking lazy.
Its shell gleamed like metal. Its four legs looked thick and powerful, and a layer of scales seemed to cover its skin.
Qi Dao studied the Ironclad Turtle from a distance, delight showing on his face.
"A six-hundred-year-old Ironclad Turtle!"
"That's the one!"
"Good. We'll wound it badly first, then let A Dao finish it off!"
The Soul Hunting team wasted no time discussing their tactics.
A moment later.
The group slowly approached the Ironclad Turtle's nest. When they were just over ten meters away, Qi Mother stepped forward. "Same as always!"
With that, she released her Martial Soul.
A red gemstone appeared in her hand, hovering above her palm, while two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow, rose beneath her feet.
At the same time, a thin, middle-aged member of the team released his Martial Soul.
His Martial Soul was a bow.
Two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow, also rose beneath his feet.
His name was Chen Huan. His Martial Soul was a bow, and he was a Level Twenty-Six Soul Grandmaster.
After Qi Mother released her Martial Soul, her First and Second Soul Rings lit up together.
As she chanted, two beams of red light shot into Chen Huan's body, one after the other.
Qi Mother's First Soul Skill gave an ally a five-percent boost to Soul Power for one minute.
The boost was small and brief, but obtaining a percentage-based Soul Skill from a Ten-Year Soul Ring was already a stroke of extraordinary luck.
Her Second Soul Skill slightly increased an ally's strength.
Though it was not a percentage-based boost, the increase was still considerable for a Soul Master of the same level.
Once she had strengthened Chen Huan, he raised his bow and drew the string.
Strangely, an arrow condensed out of thin air the instant he pulled it back.
Then his Second Soul Ring lit up. The arrowhead grew sharper, and a spiral current of Soul Power gathered around it.
Qi Dao had heard Qi Father speak of Chen Huan's Second Soul Skill.
It was highly practical, increasing an arrow's penetrating power.
A single shot was enough to severely wound most Soul Beasts under five hundred years old in an instant.
Combined with Qi Mother's boost, it could kill a five-hundred-year-old Soul Beast in one strike.
Its only flaw was its enormous cost. Once Chen Huan used it, he could do little more than hang back for the rest of the fight.
That was why Chen Huan usually made the opening attack. After he badly wounded the target, he left the rest to the other members of the Soul Hunting team.
Bang!
The moment Chen Huan released the string, the arrow tore through the air like a streak of light. A sharp sonic boom rang out as it shot toward the Ironclad Turtle's thick neck.
The Ironclad Turtle reacted and immediately pulled its head into its shell.
But it failed to dodge the arrow completely, only keeping its soft, vulnerable neck out of the way.
The arrow still struck its head.
Pfft!
Sparks flew when the arrowhead hit its skull, but it ultimately drove more than four inches in. After lingering for a moment, it dissolved into motes of light.
Blood gushed from the wound in the turtle's head.
The Ironclad Turtle let out a strange roar, turned, and charged toward the Soul Hunting team.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Ironclad Turtle was huge and astonishingly heavy. The ground seemed to tremble slightly with every step.
"Ye Hui, hold that big fellow down. Zhang Long, Zhang Hu, block it from the front. Old Li, keep it distracted."
Zhang Long and Zhang Hu were the team's Defense Soul Masters. Their Martial Souls were shields.
Old Li was an Agility Attack Soul Master whose Martial Soul was a leopard.
After assigning their roles, Qi Father released his Martial Soul.
An iron sword appeared in his hand.
At the same time, three Soul Rings—white, yellow, and purple—rose beneath his feet.
Qi Mingyuan, a Level Thirty-Two Soul Elder!
The moment he released his Martial Soul, two beams of red light shot into his body.
Qi Mother had given him both her boosts.
Qi Father's eyes lit up, and he dashed forward.
At the same time, his First and Second Soul Rings lit up.
His First Soul Skill, Gale Step, slightly increased his speed for five minutes.
His Second Soul Skill, Sharp Sword, increased the sharpness of his Martial Soul.
Qi Father was already a Level Thirty-Two Soul Elder. With Qi Mother's boosts as well, he charged ahead of everyone else and faced the Ironclad Turtle.
Now his swordsmanship came into its own.
He used nimble footwork to evade the Ironclad Turtle's predictable attacks while aiming his sword at its soft spots.
Those amounted to its eyes, neck, limbs, and tail.
The Soul Hunting team worked in perfect coordination. In just one minute, they subdued the Ironclad Turtle and left it completely unable to resist.
Seeing this, Qi Father called out, "A Dao, your turn!"
Qi Dao nodded. He stepped up to the dying Ironclad Turtle, drew his sword without hesitation, and thrust it into the turtle's neck.
With a wet pfft, blood sprayed from its neck.
The Ironclad Turtle stopped struggling for good.
At the same time, a Yellow Soul Ring formed above its body.
Expectation flashed in Qi Dao's eyes as he looked at the Soul Ring.
He had chosen the Ironclad Turtle for his First Soul Ring because, after a Soul Master absorbed a Soul Ring, part of the Soul Beast's characteristics would appear in their Martial Soul.
For example, after Tang San absorbed the Datura Snake's Soul Ring in the original story, his Blue Silver Grass gained the snake's paralyzing venom. Later, when he absorbed a Man Faced Demon Spider, it gained that creature's venom as well.
Since mastering the visualization method, Qi Dao had cultivated much faster. Yet his Martial Soul still had a flaw.
Over the past few years, he had noticed that as his connection with the Peerless Sword deepened, roughly a tenth of the cracks along its blade had healed. But that was far too slow.
That was why he wanted to use a Soul Ring to speed up the Peerless Sword's recovery.
The Ironclad Turtle's greatest feature was undoubtedly its shell, as hard as Black Iron.
Though it was only a little over six hundred years old, even Qi Father, a Soul Elder, had struggled to break through its shell.
Qi Dao wanted to add that hardness to the Peerless Sword.
"A Dao, are you ready?" Qi Father asked gravely.
"Don't worry. I can do this!"
After reassuring him, Qi Dao sat down beside the turtle under Qi Father and Qi Mother's worried gazes and the watchful eyes of the Soul Hunting team. Calmly, he began absorbing the Soul Ring.
The scene fell silent.
Every member of the Soul Hunting team watched closely.
None of them knew whether Qi Dao would succeed!
Before you continue