Blazing Green Oriole!

Suotuo City lay on the border of the Balak Kingdom, bordering the Heaven Dou Empire to the north.

To the south was the Star Luo Empire, and to the east lay the Star Dou Great Forest.

Geographically speaking, it was well connected in every direction, making it a fairly decent location.

Ye Feng's destination was Heaven Dou City. He would pass through the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest along the way and pick up a Soul Ring while he was at it.

As for the Soul Ring's age...

Ye Feng estimated it would fall somewhere between nine hundred and one thousand years.

That was still a conservative estimate.

He was now Level 12, and with the tempering his body had received during his Martial Soul Evolution, he might be able to grit his teeth and push for a fifteen-hundred-year Soul Ring.

As for how he would kill Soul Beasts...

Ye Feng spread open his right palm, and a cluster of crimson-gold flames gathered in his hand.

The searing heat slightly distorted the air around the flames, producing a faint sizzling sound.

He was absolutely certain that his flames were Ultimate Fire.

Not only were they hot enough to melt metal, but they also possessed an extremely potent corrosive effect. Once they latched onto something, they clung like maggots to bone.

As long as a Soul Beast was touched by even a trace of it, whether it was a hundred-year or thousand-year Soul Beast, it would be doomed as long as Ye Feng's Soul Power had not run dry.

As for how to touch the Soul Beasts, that was simple.

Ye Feng took out a pebble and coated its surface with a layer of lard. Before the lard burned away, the flames would not scorch the inside.

Why not buy a more lethal weapon, like a bow and arrows?

Ye Feng's answer was that he had no money.

After buying the map, he could not even scrape together two Copper Soul Coins.

As for Snow Empress, she had no money either.

She had always been aloof by nature and indifferent toward all worldly matters.

Therefore, most of the wealth she had obtained in the Far North was in Ice Empress's possession.

Come to think of it, weren't Ice Empress and Snow Empress usually inseparable?

Snow Empress had suddenly left. Given Ice Empress's temperament, she might very well come looking for her.

If Ice Empress stayed too, wouldn't he have protectors on both sides!?

After two days of travel, Ye Feng finally arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.

As one of the borders between the two great empires and one of the three major Soul Beast habitats, the Star Dou Great Forest was almost as large as the Kingdom of Haagen-Dazs.

Even on its outskirts, the trees around him were still much thicker than those elsewhere.

Ye Feng's plan was to hunt a thousand-year fire-attribute Soul Beast.

As for the species, he was not picky.

Sizzle!

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The sound of burning mingled with the anguished roars of a wild beast.

Before long, a giant wolf blackened all over collapsed with a thud. A yellow Soul Ring slowly condensed above its corpse.

Ye Feng stepped forward and skillfully removed the valuable parts from the giant wolf's body before waving away the yellow Soul Ring.

"Damn it, even after lowering my standards, I still can't find a suitable Soul Beast."

In the four hours since entering the outer region, Ye Feng had already killed five or six hundred-year Soul Beasts.

He was not a bloodthirsty person. The Soul Beasts he killed were all the bloodthirsty and combative kind.

Along the way, he had even asked Snow Empress whether she minded him killing so many Soul Beasts when she herself was one.

But Snow Empress had only coldly replied, "I don't care."

Indeed, low-age Soul Beasts were no different from roadside ants in Snow Empress's eyes.

Moreover, Soul Beasts were not harmonious among themselves.

Just like wars between human nations, similar scenes played out among Soul Beasts as well.

And Soul Beasts had more species and more mixed populations, so internal battles occurred far more often than one might imagine.

After all, survival of the fittest was the law that best described Soul Beasts.

No wonder Snow Empress had no objections to Huo Yuhao killing Soul Beasts after becoming his soul in the original story.

At her core, Snow Empress only cared about her own kind and was indifferent to the lives and deaths of other clans.

"To the northeast, five kilometers away, there is a Blazing Green Oriole about a thousand years old."

Just as Ye Feng was pondering, Snow Empress's cool voice sounded by his ear.

"A Blazing Green Oriole?"

Ye Feng's eyes lit up. With the wind at his feet, he headed northeast without another word.

The Blazing Green Oriole was an exceptionally powerful existence among fire-attribute Soul Beasts.

It was fast, highly agile, and its flames possessed extreme heat.

Most importantly, the thing was valuable!

A single intact tail feather could sell for over a hundred Gold Soul Coins at an auction house, enough for him to buy Whale Rubber later on.

Five kilometers was not far, but traveling through a forest required constant vigilance against movement all around.

Fortunately, Snow Empress secretly guided him along the way. After avoiding several troublesome thousand-year Soul Beasts, Ye Feng soon approached his target.

The moment he pushed aside a patch of bushes, he saw a charred clearing ahead.

At the center of the clearing, a giant bird with a blue-green and crimson body and long tail feathers was pacing about leisurely.

It was the Blazing Green Oriole!

"Focus. You only get one chance."

Crouching behind the bushes, Ye Feng pulled out a pebble coated in lard from his chest. Crimson-gold flames quietly ignited in his palm.

The flames instantly enveloped the pebble without burning its interior.

Ye Feng held his breath and focused. With a flick of his wrist, the pebble streaked through the air as a crimson-gold line of fire, shooting directly above the Blazing Green Oriole.

Snow Empress, who had been watching in secret, narrowed her icy blue eyes.

She seemed unable to understand Ye Feng's actions.

Yet what happened next gave her a new impression of the boy.

The instant the pebble flew out, the Blazing Green Oriole immediately noticed the disturbance. With one flap of its wings, it shot into the air.

By sheer coincidence, it rose directly into the pebble's path.

The pebble struck the side of its neck with a soft thud, and crimson-gold flames instantly spread across it!

Kreee—!!

A piercing, miserable cry exploded through the forest.

Crimson-gold fire engulfed the Blazing Green Oriole's body as it frantically beat its wings. The scorching air currents flattened the surrounding bushes.

But the flames clung like maggots to bone, burning ever more fiercely.

In barely a dozen breaths, the oriole's movements slowed. With a boom, it crashed to the ground.

A deep purple Soul Ring slowly condensed.

"Whew, it really is a thousand-year Soul Beast. Its vitality is impressive."

Ye Feng emerged from the bushes and walked over to the Blazing Green Oriole's corpse.

Just as he was about to pluck its most valuable tail feathers, Snow Empress's cool voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"You had already predicted that it would fly upward?"

Ye Feng turned at her words and saw that Snow Empress had appeared three meters behind him at some point.

Her skirt fluttered slightly, and a trace of curiosity showed in her azure eyes.

"Heh heh, that's called anticipating your opponent."

Ye Feng grinned, revealing two canine teeth. "Avian Soul Beasts have senses far sharper than ordinary Soul Beasts. And my weapon is too crude, while my throwing technique isn't very good either. The chance of hitting it head-on was practically zero."

"So I simply gambled that it would dodge upward. Judging from the result, luck was still on my side."

Snow Empress fell silent for two seconds. Her lips seemed to curve slightly. "Cunning human."

Seeing that breathtaking smile, Ye Feng's hand froze as he plucked the tail feathers, and he stood there foolishly.

"Snow Empress, did you just secretly laugh? I think I saw the corner of your mouth move."

"..."

"You saw wrong."

With that, she dissolved into a sky full of snowflakes.

"Really? Did I actually see wrong?"

Ye Feng scratched his head. He stopped dwelling on it, swiftly finished collecting the spoils, then turned toward the purple Soul Ring, his heartbeat surging.

"Today, I become a true Soul Master!"

With that thought, Ye Feng no longer hesitated. He sat down cross-legged and raised his hand, channeling his Soul Power to draw it in.

The purple Soul Ring turned into a streak of light and entered between his brows.

In an instant, scorching energy flooded into every limb and bone like a tidal wave!