Furnace Refines Great Pill (2)

"Kid Ye, this is already an area where 30,000-year soul beasts roam."

"..."

"Kid Ye, 50,000 years."

"..."

"Kid Ye, 70,000 years. Don't go any farther!"

"..."

As they followed Ye Qingcang straight toward the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, Yue Guan, Gui Mei, Shui Feng, Huo Lie, Feng Wuji, and the others had yet to recover from the sight of Ye Qingcang knocking out two Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts with two raised fists and finding suitable soul rings for two level-forty Quasi Soul Ancestors from Blue Tyrant Academy. Then they watched as Ye Qingcang led Blue Tyrant Academy's Soul Hunting Squad charging recklessly ahead. They only paused briefly in the 30,000-year soul beast zone before crossing through the 50,000-year and 70,000-year soul beast zones, continuing forward with unstoppable momentum.

If Ye Qingcang had not occasionally responded with a "Mm" to show he had heard him, Yue Guan would have thought the kid had stuffed donkey hair in his ears.

You were a Soul Ancestor, not a Soul Douluo. Wandering around the Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast Zone was already something they could tolerate, considering you were a genius. But roaming around the core region inhabited by soul beasts over 70,000 years old—were you trying to get yourself killed?

Still, looking at the group behind them, Yue Guan had to admit that they were very safe.

So what if this was the core region?

Three Titled Douluos, four Soul Douluos!

And over thirty Soul Saints!

If these people worked together sincerely, then even if they encountered the two 100,000 Year Soul Beasts in the core region, he was confident they could retreat unscathed!

"Are we still following him?" On the way to the core region behind Ye Qingcang, Yue Guan repeatedly used voice transmission to confirm with Gui Mei and Hu Liena. "Who knows what madness has gotten into this kid? I truly like his talent, but once we enter the core region, although I'm confident I can get away safely, I have to admit the risk is much greater. Na Na, what do you think?"

"Follow him." Hu Liena's Soul Power level was not high enough for her to transmit her voice a hundred meters like Yue Guan could, but she could still send her voice to Gui Mei, who was stationed in the middle of the formation, and have him relay it to Yue Guan:

"Chrysanthemum Grandpa, Blue Tyrant Academy is an academy personally praised by Teacher, and it is also the only academy with a good relationship with Spirit Hall. We are not the Clear Sky Sect. We cannot abandon Blue Tyrant Academy the way the Clear Sky Sect abandoned the Four Element Families. From the standpoint of serving the greater good, once people's hearts scatter, the team becomes impossible to lead. Therefore, even if there are risks, we cannot find an excuse to withdraw."

"From my personal standpoint, during this nearly twenty-day Soul Hunting Operation, Blue Tyrant Academy's students have repeatedly shocked us and broadened our horizons. As Blue Tyrant Academy's number one on the Heaven Ranking, Ye Qingcang once knocked out two Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts with two punches. His methods are extraordinary. Now, he and Violet still have not obtained their soul rings. I want to see with my own eyes just how strong he truly is."

"To put it another way, even those small fry are worth winning over. Isn't Ye Qingcang worth it?"

"If we want to win him over, can empty promises of benefits alone really make him agree?"

"If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!"

"I don't believe he would do something pointless!"

Since Spirit Hall's group was following, the teachers and students from Tianshui, Blazing Fire, and Shenfeng Academies found it difficult not to follow as well. Especially now that they were all in the core region, where any soul beast they passed was seventy or eighty thousand years old. Even if they wanted to turn back, they first had to consider whether their own teams could return safely.

A team made up of one Soul Douluo and several Soul Saints was still too weak.

In soul beast zones below 30,000 years, such a team could still be considered safe.

In the core region, that lineup was utterly vulnerable.

Thus, with Spirit Hall going all in, Tianshui, Blazing Fire, and Shenfeng Academies had no choice but to go all in as well. If the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. Even the three Titled Douluos were not afraid, so their own fears were merely needless worries.

It was amid this complicated unity that Ye Qingcang finally found the target of this journey.

"Thousand Jun Ant?" Yue Guan looked at Ye Qingcang, who had stopped walking, then at the purple Thousand Jun Ant atop the dirt slope, which was displaying extreme anger at having its territory invaded. His expression suddenly turned grave. "Thousand Jun Ants are social soul beasts. This one is estimated to be over 90,000 years old. Judging by its appearance, including the wings on its back, it has not yet reached 100,000 years. But it is male. That means there is at least one 100,000-year Thousand Jun Ant Queen nearby, as well as an unknown number of Thousand Jun Ant Kings, like the Thousand Jun Ant King before you... Kid Ye, if you truly need a 90,000-year soul ring, Old Ghost and I can lend you a hand. We can end this quickly. Otherwise, once that 100,000-year Ant Queen and the other Thousand Jun Ant Kings surround us, leaving won't be easy either!"

Shui Feng, Huo Lie, Feng Wuji, and the others also wore grave expressions.

Thousand Jun Ants were among the dominant types of soul beasts.

They possessed boundless strength and tough shells.

Their strength could even contend with that of a Titan Giant Ape of the same age. Even for a Titan Giant Ape, killing a Thousand Jun Ant of the same age was rather difficult.

Their defense was terrifyingly high.

Their weakness was their lack of long-range attacks.

Their speed was also the slowest among all dominant soul beasts.

Even though their charging speed was astonishing, it only relied on the reactive force generated by their immense strength to propel them forward in a straight line.

As long as one predicted their direction, they were not difficult to evade.

These were all records from the soul beast encyclopedia.

They were common knowledge in the Soul Master world.

Yue Guan was not lying.

The reason Yue Guan dared to say they could end this quickly was because he and Gui Mei possessed a special Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Two Extremes Stillness Domain. As long as they controlled its range, had Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, suppress it from afar, and let Ye Qingcang deliver the finishing blow, instantly killing this roughly 90,000-year Thousand Jun Ant King would not be a problem. The only requirement was that Ye Qingcang absorb the soul ring quickly.

But for Ye Qingcang...

"Thank you for your kind intentions." Ye Qingcang extended his hand toward the air before him. The instant his fingers touched the air, a crimson glow condensed into a bright red crystal card in front of his fingertips. "But there is no 100,000-year Thousand Jun Ant Queen here. There are only three 90,000-year Thousand Jun Ant Emperors. At present, they should be called Thousand Jun Ant Kings, because soul beasts that have not reached 100,000 years cannot be called Emperors... But they soon will be. This is my battle. Please do not interfere."

This familiar scene made Yue Guan and Gui Mei's pupils contract. Their hearts skipped half a beat, as though they had returned to the outside of that secret chamber, watching Bibidong kill Qian Xunji all those years ago, holding a pure black crystal card while laughing wildly and weeping bitterly.

Especially the red Vertical Sword Mark between Ye Qingcang's brows.

Before, it had not seemed unusual.

Now, it was filled with an iron-blooded, sacred aura.

The others did not know what the simultaneous appearance of this crystal card and the mark between his brows meant. But how could the two of them, who had survived under Bibidong and personally witnessed her ascend to the position of Pope and walk all the way to this day, fail to understand what these outward signs represented?

What had supported them in turning away from Qian Daoliu's faction and joining Bibidong's was not profit, but her special identity—an identity that had even forced Qian Daoliu to step back. It was the identity of a God Trial Taker, one that left them no choice but to swear loyalty to Bibidong, or else their souls would never be reborn!

Ye Qingcang was the God Trial Taker of another deity?

Ye Qingcang was the God Trial Taker of another deity!

Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, then, with perfect tacit understanding, looked at Hu Liena.

They had not thought much of it before.

But now, as expected of the Pope's disciple!

Her eye for talent was truly first-rate!

A casual draw...

Bang!

A UR card!

Add Violet, and that was another SSR!

Add the other students, and there was a whole pile of SRs!

Before meeting Ye Qingcang, they could try to win him over.

After meeting Ye Qingcang, they needed to work hard to win him over.

Now... they had to win him over!

The fight was finally about to begin.

(^o^)