Soul Spirit on the Verge of a Breakthrough

Blades of wind appeared around the mottled tiger's body, while its python-like tail spewed venom from its mouth. It charged toward them without slowing down.

"Careful! That venom is dangerous!"

Gu Yue hurriedly warned the teammates around her as she watched the purple venom.

"Don't worry, I'm here!"

With a flap of his wings, Luo Qing spread a radiance forward that neutralized the incoming venom and wind blades.

Then, he used the greatsword in his hand to forcibly block the mottled tiger's strike.

"Roar?"

The tiger clearly had not expected this little runt before it to block its attack with such a strange weapon.

Just as it was about to turn and switch moves, Tang Wulin's dragon claw came at it.

"Ha!"

The Golden Dragon Claw on Tang Wulin's hand was incomparably sharp. A single swipe injured the tiger's eye.

The tiger let out a miserable cry, but before it could pounce and bite again, a precisely aimed ice spike from Gu Yue pierced straight through its throat.

Xie Xie had not been idle either. He had long since moved behind the tiger and thrust with all his strength at the back of its neck.

Luo Qing delivered the final blow. His greatsword shot out swiftly and pierced the tiger's heart.

Only after the mottled tiger completely lost its life did everyone finally catch their breath.

Only this top-tier three-thousand-year soul beast from the beast tide had come their way. Most of the rest were still locked in a chaotic melee where they stood.

The group that had been thrown into the bushes earlier seemed to have long been swallowed by the beast horde, nowhere to be seen.

Gu Yue, with her extensive knowledge, identified the tiger.

"I saw it in a book—"

"This thing is called a Snake-Tailed Tiger, a typical soul beast with multiple attributes."

"Its tail is just like what we saw earlier. It looks like a living snake, but it's actually mimicry, used to lure creatures that feed on snakes."

"But there's actually a three-thousand-year one here?"

Gu Yue squatted down and poked the tiger's corpse, which had not yet gone cold.

"This three-thousand-year soul beast should provide quite a bit of soul power. But the remaining beast tide is still ongoing, so we can't let our guard down."

As soon as Luo Qing finished speaking, with the death of the three-thousand-year soul beast, the remaining soul beasts surged toward them.

It seemed that the dead soul beast could no longer maintain its intimidation over the beast tide that had already descended into madness. Tang Wulin had also withdrawn her Golden Dragon Claw, no longer releasing dragon might.

The beast horde seemed to desperately crave the mottled tiger's corpse on the ground, charging at them with reddened eyes.

"They're coming! Get ready, defend in formation!"

Luo Qing gave the order in advance and stood ready. The others wore different expressions, but all acted according to the plan.

The beast horde swarmed in, but they were quickly obstructed.

Gu Yue pressed both hands to the ground. The once-solid earth suddenly turned into a swamp, and the soft soil caused the soul beasts to sink directly into it. The more they struggled, the deeper they sank.

"Not bad! I didn't know you had this trick, Gu Yue!"

Luo Qing's praise made Gu Yue's face flush slightly. Though she was happy to be praised, she would never say it outright.

"Just standard work. Nothing worth mentioning."

Gu Yue did not continue, but the corners of her lips lifted slightly.

The swamp continued to spread. Xie Xie kept killing those soul beasts that tried to step on the heads of the unfortunate soul beasts already trapped in the mire to get across.

"One, two, three!"

The daggers in Xie Xie's hands were like twin scythes constantly reaping lives. Every thrust took the life of a soul beast.

Tang Wulin had not been idle either. Recently, she had tried a new method.

She wove the vines formed from her Blue Silver Grass into a long staff. Because her martial soul had evolved, the Blue Silver Grass, adjusted by the Breath of Nature, could grow to the hardness she needed.

Moreover, perhaps due to the influence of the Golden Dragon King bloodline, her vines were far tougher than ordinary Blue Silver Grass.

So Tang Wulin swung the long Blue Silver Grass staff in her hand, smashing the heads of the soul beasts trapped in the swamp.

This harvesting method was remarkably effective. Once the swamp had completely stopped spreading, most of the soul beasts with only their heads exposed had already lost their lives. The remaining few were finished off by the group.

All the beast hordes that had approached from the surrounding area had been wiped out, and there was no immediate danger for the moment.

"Rest for now and recover your strength—Wu Lin, call on the nearby plants to keep watch. If any soul beasts approach, warn us immediately."

Tang Wulin nodded. The effect of the Breath of Nature activated, and the trees and grass around them once again became their eyes and ears.

The others also sat cross-legged to meditate, calming the turbulence of their soul power and gradually recovering their stamina.

Their orderly strategy and brilliant coordination in battle were all clearly seen by the teachers outside.

At that moment, Mu Xi and the others, who had just come out, stared at the scene in shock.

"They were actually this strong?"

Mu Xi looked at the tiger's corpse on the ground in the screen with a complicated expression.

Even with the strength of a Soul Elder, she had no confidence in facing this three-thousand-year Snake-Tailed Tiger. Yet these nine-year-old two-ring Soul Masters had killed it so cleanly and decisively?

"Damn it! I can't possibly go unreasonably looking for higher-grade students. Wouldn't that be using power to bully others?"

"But I can't quite swallow this either. How am I supposed to win back some face?"

As Mu Xi pondered carefully, Wu Zhangkong looked at the group on the screen with some satisfaction.

Their orderly cooperation and synchronized movements proved that his frequent team coordination training had not been in vain.

Wu Zhangkong often chased them down with the strength of a four-ring or five-ring Soul Master, and through their constant fleeing, they had found a style of coordination that suited them.

It could be said that Wu Zhangkong deserved some credit for the tacit understanding Luo Qing and the others now shared.

There was a scene in a recent comic where they used a large vehicle to train physical strength and awareness... Should I give that a try?

Wu Zhangkong recalled a comic he had happened to read and decided to try it after they came out.

After a period of meditation, Luo Qing and the others had recovered considerably.

Feeling the fatigue leave their bodies and the soul beast energy they had absorbed, everyone wore delighted expressions.

Luo Qing could even vaguely sense that his soul ring approaching a thousand years had made new progress.

The blue-eyed spirit had somehow climbed onto Luo Qing's shoulder and was chirping excitedly, clearly sensing that its evolution was imminent as well.

"How is everyone doing?"

Luo Qing looked at the delighted expressions on their faces.

"We all feel much stronger. At the very least, our soul spirits have undergone a fundamental improvement."

Feeling the soul spirit on his body gradually growing stronger, Xie Xie's face split into a broad grin.

"Then do we continue deeper, or quit while we're ahead?"

Luo Qing looked at the group, who clearly had not had their fill, and the answer was obvious.

"Do you even need to ask? Of course we keep fighting!"

"Yeah, with Big Brother here, we're not afraid at all!"

"I think we can keep going according to common sense—"

The three gave their answers. Just as they were about to continue onward in another direction, an earth-shaking roar rang out.

Both Luo Qing and Gu Yue found the roar extremely familiar.

"That roar, could it be?"

"The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!"