Mud Swamp

After walking for about two hours, Jun Xuehan looked at the Mud Swamp ahead. The sludge in the swamp churned constantly, as though some soul beast were hidden within.

Standing not far from the swamp, Jun Xuehan watched the rolling mud. He vaguely spotted something resembling scales amid the churning sludge, but he had no idea what soul beast those scales belonged to.

After all, there was only so much he had learned so far, and he knew very few soul beasts.

Jun Xuehan released his Mental Power and scanned the surroundings. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he unleash his Second Martial Soul: the Silver Dragon King.

After the Silver Dragon King Martial Soul possessed him, a diamond-shaped Silver Dragon Scale that glimmered with a faint halo appeared on Jun Xuehan's forehead. Fine Silver Dragon Scales spread across both sides of his cheeks, elemental light flowed around his body, and a pair of dragon wings unfurled from his back.

With a gentle flap of his dragon wings, Jun Xuehan rose into the air and flew toward the other side of the swamp. But just as he reached the middle, dozens of black giant snakes, each seven or eight meters long, suddenly burst from the swamp and lunged at him with open jaws.

Looking at the black giant snakes rushing toward him, Jun Xuehan's left leg glowed cyan as a scorching sensation gradually spread through it. He swept his leg out, condensing Fire Rain from Soul Power and sending it crashing down upon the attacking snakes.

"Azure Jade Phoenix Left Leg Bone: Azure Jade Frenzy!"

The instant the giant snakes touched the Fire Rain, the black scales coated in mud shattered. Blood flowed out and splashed into the Mud Swamp.

Jun Xuehan merely glanced at the swamp before retracting his Martial Soul and continuing onward.

The black giant snakes were not very old, only around a hundred years or so. Soul beasts of that age posed no threat to Jun Xuehan at all; one Soul Bone Skill was more than enough.

Of course, that was only when no one was around. If someone were present, Jun Xuehan would rather spend more time than expose one of his trump cards.

After all, a trump card could only produce an unexpected effect when used at a critical moment.

As night fell, Jun Xuehan climbed a thick ancient tree and sat on one of its branches. He took out water and rations from his Soul Tool and began eating.

After traveling for an entire day, he had covered roughly half of Wasteland Mountain. Although he had encountered some soul beasts along the way, none were particularly old. The oldest had only been around three hundred years old.

At this rate, he felt that he could break the Golden Generation's record. Spirit Hall's Golden Generation had taken three days to pass the trial, while at his current pace, about two days would be enough.

However, Jun Xuehan had no intention of continuing onward. He simply sat on the branch, quietly gazing at the night sky as he ate the rations in his hand.

After traveling for a whole day, both his physical strength and Soul Power had been heavily depleted. Moreover, Wasteland Mountain was not suitable for traveling at night. First, visibility was far too low, severely obstructing his vision. Second, Wasteland Mountain contained not only animal soul beasts, but plant soul beasts as well. Compared to animal soul beasts, aggressive plants were the real trouble in Wasteland Mountain.

Not long ago, Jun Xuehan had encountered a Crimson Blood Thorns that was around three hundred years old. This type of soul beast possessed powerful attacks but weak defenses. However, it had one distinctive trait: its main body had to be attacked in order to kill it.

Plant soul beasts generally hid their main bodies very well. With Wasteland Mountain's poor visibility, encountering a plant soul beast was extremely troublesome.

Jun Xuehan had expended a considerable amount of both physical strength and Soul Power. Under the circumstances, finding a place to rest for the night and recover his strength and Soul Power was the right choice.

After finishing his rations, Jun Xuehan leaned against the trunk and closed his eyes to rest. Yet his mind remained intensely focused as he vigilantly guarded against the surroundings. At the slightest disturbance, he could react in an instant.

Perhaps it was luck, but Jun Xuehan spent a peaceful night in Wasteland Mountain.

As the morning sun rose and a ray of sunlight fell upon the earth, Jun Xuehan opened his eyes, leaped down from the ancient tree, and headed straight ahead.

Jun Xuehan was not especially fast, but he was certainly not slow either. This was the fastest pace he could maintain while ensuring that his physical strength and Soul Power remained well supplied.

Whenever he encountered attacking soul beasts along the way, Jun Xuehan used the Silver Dragon Spear's Devouring Ability to quickly recover himself and keep his condition near its peak.

After roughly seven hours, Jun Xuehan finally stopped, because there was no path ahead of him. Instead, there was a cliff several hundred meters high.

Standing beside the cliff, he could clearly see a valley below. A faint pink mist filled the valley, covering its entire expanse.

At the end of the valley stood another enormous iron gate. Before it, an elderly man dressed in an instructor's uniform lay on a Wicker Chair with his eyes closed.

"Have I already reached the end of Wasteland Mountain? It doesn't seem as difficult as I imagined." Jun Xuehan softly remarked as he looked down at the valley, then released his Martial Soul.

The Silver Dragon Spear appeared in his hand, while one yellow and one purple soul ring shone beneath his feet. Although there was no path ahead, there was no way Jun Xuehan would turn back, take a detour, and enter the valley from the proper route.

Not to mention anything else, just traveling back and forth would take several days. Adding the soul beasts he might encounter along the way would make it take even longer. It would be better to go down from here.

Though he could not fly while holding the Silver Dragon Spear, if necessary, he could switch Martial Souls midway and use the Silver Dragon King Martial Soul to fly down.

Jun Xuehan leaped directly off the cliff. As his body plummeted rapidly, he drove the tip of the Silver Dragon Spear into the cliffside to slow his descent.

The Silver Dragon Spear's sharp tip pierced the rock wall, carving a long gash into it as his body fell at high speed. Stone chips and fragments rained down continuously, while sparks flew from the spear tip as it scraped rapidly against the rock.

Hearing the commotion ahead, the old man seated by the iron gate opened his eyes and looked over. But his eyes soon widened uncontrollably.

"How did this kid come down from up there?"

"And you actually dared to jump! That's a drop of several hundred meters. If you fell all the way down, even if it didn't kill you, you'd be close to death." As he watched the situation on the rock wall ahead, the old man's eyebrows twitched wildly.

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