Accidentally Scaring Master

The setting sun was blood-red.

Earlier, due to the aftermath of the battle between two Millennium Soul Beasts, Master had been separated from Yang Ming and Tang San.

Roughly speaking, the three had formed a triangle. However, because Yang Ming and Tang San were both light enough to be easily knocked over, the hurricane had blown them quite far away, though they remained close to each other.

Master followed the direction in which Yang Ming and Tang San had been blown for some distance, then abruptly halted, his ears twitching slightly.

"Awoo—"

A miserable wolf howl had just risen, only to cut off abruptly as though someone had pierced its throat.

"This way!"

Master and Three Cannons hurried forward, silently praying:

You two mustn't let anything happen to you!

A thin mist curled through the forest, worsening visibility. Master could only make out a small figure, surrounded by several wolf-like shadows that continuously attacked it.

"Hold on!"

Master could not tell who the figure was, and anxiety surged within him as he quickened his pace.

Yet when he pushed through the dense trees, the sight before him left Master rooted to the spot.

Yang Ming carried the bloodied and mangled Tang San on his back. With his soul power exhausted, he could not summon the Mysterious Sword and instead took the spear from his back.

The spear danced like a white dragon in Yang Ming's hands. With every flash of blue electricity, a Netherwolf would let out a shrill scream and collapse nearby, a thumb-sized hole torn through its throat or abdomen as blood spilled across the ground.

By the time Master arrived, Yang Ming had planted his spear in the ground and leaned against it to rest, surrounded by wolf corpses that had already breathed their last.

The setting sun cast mottled crimson patches of light through the gaps in the branches and leaves, falling upon Yang Ming's bloodstained clothes and the wolf corpses strewn across the ground, covering everything in a faint bloody glow.

Yang Ming was clearly still young and short, yet at that moment, Master had the illusion that he was imposing and towering.

"What happened to Little San?"

Seeing Tang San covered in wounds and noticing the considerable toxins accumulated within his body, Master hurriedly took out emergency medicine and barely managed to stop Tang San's injuries from worsening.

A bitter smile appeared on Yang Ming's lips. To be honest, he had no idea who those two tattooed men who had suddenly appeared were.

Thus, as Yang Ming followed Master out of the Spirit Hunting Forest, he recounted what had happened along the way.

The Green Lotus Earth-Core Flame Yang Ming had used was far too domineering. Everything the two tattooed men carried had been burned to ash, leaving behind nothing that could identify them. Even with Master's vast knowledge, he could not deduce anything from such scant information.

Judging solely from the tattoos carved into their arms, there was no way to tell which faction the two men belonged to.

While they spoke, Yang Ming and the others finally left the Spirit Hunting Forest.

The last traces of evening light had still been visible earlier, but now the sky had already darkened. Smoke from cooking fires faintly rose from the market built around the forest's outskirts.

This was not Master's first visit to the Spirit Hunting Forest, and he was familiar with the market. He led them expertly to an inn with a distinctive sign hanging above its entrance: "The Lost Lamb."

"Yang Ming, let's rest here for the night. In a while, I'll find a Spirit Master who can heal and give Little San some preliminary treatment. Tomorrow, we'll head back so that Little San can receive better care."

Naturally, Yang Ming had no objection to Master's suggestion.

His soul power had long since run dry, and the exhaustion in both his mind and body had left him unbearably sleepy. Being able to rest was naturally a good thing.

Seeing that Yang Ming had no objections, Master rented two rooms, one large and one small. The larger was a double room for Master and Tang San, since he needed to care for Tang San properly, while the smaller was a single room for Yang Ming.

After settling everyone in, Master hurried out of the inn to find a healing-type Spirit Master. Such Spirit Masters were easy to find in the market, since many people who went to the Spirit Hunting Forest to hunt had a great need for them.

Yang Ming ordered himself a lavish meal—half a roasted lamb and a bowl of wild vegetable mushroom soup—then returned to his room to enjoy it.

It had to be said that the inn's chef was excellent. The roasted lamb was crisp on the outside and tender within, its skin an enticing golden brown. When Yang Ming cut into it, amber-like fat flowed down the blade and dripped onto the cool silver plate, releasing an irresistible aroma of oil.

With one bite, he crunched through the crisp skin. The lamb, dusted with chili powder and cumin, had not the slightest gamey taste. Its meat was tender and juicy, and after chewing for a moment, his mouth was filled with rich juices.

Eating too much lamb could become greasy, but a sip of wild vegetable mushroom soup at that moment washed away the lingering oiliness on his tongue with the fresh taste of nature.

It was delicious!

Yang Ming swept the food from the table like a whirlwind. Full and satisfied, drowsiness washed over him. After tidying up briefly, he plunged headfirst onto the soft bed.

Before long, snores filled the room.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, when the sky had just begun to pale, Yang Ming slowly opened his sleepy eyes.

"I really didn't expect to sleep for more than ten hours."

After stretching comfortably, Yang Ming went into the bathroom to wash up and changed into a fresh set of white clothes. Seeing that it was still early, he sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and sensed the changes in his body after obtaining a Soul Ring.

Generally speaking, when a Soul Scholar advanced to a Spirit Master and obtained their first Soul Ring, their body would be impacted by the ring's power. If the Soul Ring did not match the Martial Soul, it could produce adverse effects.

However, Yang Ming's situation was somewhat special. His Soul Ring was the product of fusing with Flame Demon King Ragnaros.

As Yang Ming's breathing gradually slowed and he began absorbing the soul power drifting through the world, soul power within a radius of ten li rushed into his body like birds returning to their nest, delighted and eager. His previously depleted soul power surged upward at a visible rate.

However, Yang Ming's expression darkened slightly when he discovered a problem.

That enormous amount of soul power would have long been enough for someone else to rise five or six levels at the Spirit Master stage, yet he had only risen by one level.

In other words, Yang Ming needed more soul power than others, making it harder for him to advance!

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Yang Ming was like a bottomless black hole, constantly devouring the soul power wandering around him.

"What is this..."

Master had worked through the entire night and had only just woken up when he keenly noticed the abnormal fluctuations of soul power in the air. A strange glint flashed through his eyes as he followed the disturbance to Yang Ming's room next door.

Yang Ming's room was not locked. Master opened the door and witnessed a scene that astonished him.

Strands of morning light slanted in through the window. Yang Ming sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut, while behind him, the faint figure of a colossal creature whose body was forged entirely from flames emerged.

Flame Demon King Ragnaros!

When Flame Demon King Ragnaros sensed Master's arrival, he slightly opened his eyes and glared at him. As though he had encountered something terrifying, Master staggered backward and retreated all the way out of the room.

Master touched his back and found it already drenched in cold sweat.

(An extra chapter for accumulating 2,000 book coins. Thanks again to Ye for the reward.)

(Thanks to Ban for the 300-book-coin reward, and thanks to Feng for the 100-book-coin reward.)

(I saw people in the comments wanting to join the group, so come join the old readers' group: 292,507,668. There are already over four hundred people, so there may be no spots left if you come too late.)