A Golden Drop!

The next morning, just before dawn.

Before Zhao Wuji got up to call Zhong Ren, Su Ge had already stopped cultivating, come downstairs, and started eating breakfast on his own.

When the others came down one after another, Ning Rongrong went over to him, looking at Su Ge with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"Su Ge, did you... break through again?"

Ning Rongrong was closest to Su Ge, and he had only broken through recently, so his Soul Power aura hadn't fully settled. She was able to sense it keenly.

Hearing Ning Rongrong's words, the others all looked over as well, their eyes filled with surprise.

If they remembered correctly, hadn't Su Ge only broken through to level forty-five two days ago?

"I had a bit of a realization. Just got lucky."

He didn't offer much of an explanation, nor was he obliged to. The others tacitly refrained from asking further.

Only Zhu Zhuqing looked at Su Ge, her resolve growing stronger.

Before she had truly experienced what it meant to grow stronger, the lessons she'd been taught since childhood hadn't been enough to make her decide to break free of those shackles.

But Su Ge's arrival and his improvement in strength had allowed her to see hope with her own eyes!

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu, seated on the other side, couldn't help grumbling to herself again. She had the feeling that Su Ge wanted to undergo Soul Beast Transformation even more than she did. She'd already stopped suppressing her Soul Power Level, yet she still couldn't catch up to him. He was practically inhuman!

Everyone had their own thoughts as they digested the news that Su Ge had grown stronger again.

They were all geniuses with Innate Soul Power of at least level seven, so how had a monster like him ended up among them?

"Ahem. Once you've finished eating, we should get moving. This time, our main goal is to hunt a suitable Thousand-Year Soul Beast for Oscar."

"But I won't step in until we encounter a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. You're a team, so remember to work together. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, but Zhao Wuji turned his gaze toward Su Ge, who hadn't said a word.

"I won't step in lightly either. Don't worry, Teacher Zhao."

He swallowed his last bite of bun, understood what Zhao Wuji meant when he felt his gaze, and waved a hand in reply.

"In that case, let's go!"

Hearing Su Ge agree, Zhao Wuji breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the point was to help the team learn to work together.

If Su Ge chose to step in, then even Soul Beasts below ten thousand years old wouldn't stand a chance against their team, even if Zhao Wuji himself did nothing!

After entering the Star Dou Great Forest, they followed the formation they'd agreed on beforehand and headed deeper in.

Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were relatively rare on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, so they needed to venture farther in to hunt for a third Soul Ring.

Su Ge continued leaping from branch to branch, at the front of the group and watching the surroundings.

The pressure he radiated faintly made the Soul Beasts around them steer clear, letting them travel without hindrance.

Though he deliberately kept his speed in check, he was still no slower than an ordinary Agility Attack Soul Master at the Soul Emperor rank!

And he made hardly any noise. For a moment, even Zhu Zhuqing couldn't tell whether Su Ge was a Power Attack or Agility Attack Soul Master.

After they'd advanced some distance, the group found a place to rest. Su Ge leaned against a treetop, estimating how much time had passed.

Suddenly, he sensed a faint disturbance, as if something were moving at high speed!

It's here!

He stood up and called down, "Get up! Something's coming."

Before Zhao Wuji could react, Su Ge shot off like an arrow loosed from its bow. A few falling leaves drifted in his wake, and he vanished from where he'd been.

By the time Zhao Wuji sensed the disturbance, Su Ge had already returned with news.

Standing on a treetop, he called down to the others, "A Thousand-Year Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is being pursued. It's about fifteen hundred years old, a good fit for Oscar."

Before the others had a chance to marvel at Su Ge's efficiency and knowledge of Soul Beasts, they heard a rustling sound. Even Support-system Soul Masters like Ning Rongrong and Oscar could tell that something was moving at high speed!

"Su Ge, don't let it get away!"

Feeling the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent hurtling toward them, Zhao Wuji called up to Su Ge in the treetops.

Su Ge glanced at Zhao Wuji. He'd said that someone else was pursuing the Soul Beast and that it was their target, yet Zhao Wuji still wanted to take the easy route?

But Su Ge didn't say anything. After all, it wasn't his problem.

Then he vanished in an instant. As the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent charged toward the group and prepared to break through in Ning Rongrong's direction—

Su Ge appeared right in front of Ning Rongrong the next moment. His Martial Soul possessed him in an instant, and he stood between her and the serpent.

He curled his five fingers into a claw and planted his hand against the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's head, clamping down on its jaws to stop it from attacking with its mouth. Then he tightened his grip and slammed its head hard into the ground!

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent had been moving at high speed, but now it crashed heavily onto the ground, headfirst. Its body followed the momentum, scraping along the earth as it slid.

"Taken care of. Still, I suggest we meet the people pursuing it and discuss who gets the Soul Beast."

Su Ge looked at the unconscious Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent on the ground and made the suggestion tactfully to Zhao Wuji.

After all, anyone capable of hunting a Thousand-Year Soul Beast—especially a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, which was incredibly fast—had to be at least an Agility Attack Soul Ancestor, or a Soul King above level fifty.

There was even a chance something valuable could drop. If they took the prey and couldn't come to an agreement afterward, things could get interesting.

"What's there to be afraid of? If we hadn't been here, would the people pursuing it really have caught up? Besides, if someone does come after us, I'll deal with them."

Zhao Wuji waved a hand dismissively. After all, experts above the Soul Saint rank were exceedingly rare on the mainland. It was just a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. He could take it if he wanted—who would dare complain?

"Xiao Ao, go ahead. Better not let things drag on."

As he spoke, he handed Oscar a dagger and told him to pierce the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's brain through its fleshy crest and claim its Soul Ring.

Since Zhao Wuji had already made up his mind, Su Ge stopped trying to dissuade him. He'd said what needed to be said.

He only wanted to see whether the Man Faced Demon Spider Dragon Duke was pursuing would produce an External Soul Bone. As for how things played out, it wouldn't affect his plans.

Thanks to Su Ge's intervention, they'd saved a lot of time. So even though Snake Granny heard their conversation up ahead, she still didn't have time to stop them. Oscar had already plunged the dagger in!

"How dare you!"

When the purple Soul Ring appeared, Snake Granny's voice rang out, edged with anger.

Su Ge knew then that they'd made an enemy of her.

Two figures emerged from the direction the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent had come from: two women, one old and one young. They were presumably Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang and her granddaughter, Meng Yiran.