Nothing Felt Right

After doing all this, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion knew it had to leave immediately. Otherwise, its uncle might find this place.

When that happened, these people would likely suffer.

It dragged its exhausted body away, completely unlike the lively, hopping manner in which it had arrived. It looked half-dead.

However, Li Ming, who was absorbing the Soul Ring, knew nothing of what had just happened. The power of fate was hidden and invisible, and he was still immersed in his struggle against the Soul Ring.

His body needed to withstand the cleansing of the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring's immense Soul Power.

But this was not much of a problem for his powerful body.

The true battlefield was his mind. The lingering spiritual power of the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast clung to him endlessly like the undead.

The members of the Red Tiger Mercenary Group kept watch while nervously observing Li Ming.

Whether for the sake of their employer or the benefits they had received over the past few days, none of them wanted anything to happen to the boy.

As the captain, Zhu Qing wore a grave expression. Rather than watching their surroundings, he focused entirely on Li Ming.

He had not forgotten the rough man's suggestion that day. Protecting the mission target truly was their team's most important duty.

Therefore, if Li Ming faced a life-threatening danger, he would definitely intervene.

Still, the roars that occasionally sounded around them made them somewhat uneasy. They had no idea what kind of Soul Beast could produce such oppressive cries, and they could only hope it would not come their way.

More than ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. As Li Ming battled the lingering soul, his body suddenly shuddered for some unknown reason. Warm currents then spread through various parts of his body—his left leg, right foot, and even his head.

Along with that tremor, he felt his spiritual power erupt like a volcano, rapidly surging upward.

What was going on?

Li Ming did not understand, but this was undeniably a genuine transformation. His spiritual power continued to rise, as if he had broken through in the midst of battle.

The lingering soul that had been able to entangle him was directly suppressed by him. He pinned it down and gave it a brutal beating.

Yet his spiritual power continued to soar, leaving him utterly confused. Could something have gone wrong with his body?

But he was currently fusing with the Soul Ring. Even if this was a bad thing, he naturally had no time to pay attention to these abnormalities.

Now that his spiritual power was strong enough, he easily defeated the lingering soul belonging to the Ten-Thousand-Year Unicorn within the Soul Ring. At last, he could officially absorb the Soul Ring.

Another half hour passed in the blink of an eye.

The situation was now somewhat different. Every member of the Red Tiger Mercenary Group looked around with grave, serious expressions.

Roars could be heard from time to time nearby, coming from different Soul Beasts.

"Could there be another Beast Tide?"

The rough man's face turned green as he asked. For some reason, his legs felt a little weak.

"Shut your crow mouth!"

Seeing this, Guli snapped at him irritably.

Yet her expression was far from relaxed.

Clearly, she thought it was possible too. The Soul Beasts were acting strangely!

"What do we do? This is deep within Star Dou Forest. If a Beast Tide breaks out, can we really get out?

Should we wake him up?"

The rough man could not help suggesting.

Zhou Jing shot him a glance.

"Do you think that's possible? It looks like he's already on track with absorbing the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. If you wake him now, aren't you afraid he won't pay you?"

"All right, I was just saying."

The rough man said disappointedly. He had merely been trying to ease the tension and naturally knew that their employer could not be disturbed at a time like this.

"Wait a little longer. If a Beast Tide truly breaks out, we may have to wake him up.

Otherwise, we might really be unable to get out. If we cannot get out, how can he? At a time like this, our lives come first."

Zhu Qing spoke seriously instead.

Several more minutes passed. At this point, every second was torture.

Suddenly, a Soul Beast appeared before them.

They looked closely and saw that it was merely a Millennium Soul Beast.

None of them attacked, yet all of them stared intently at the Soul Beast, seemingly praying that it would leave quickly.

But as the Soul Beast approached them step by step, a ferocious expression appearing on its face, their hearts sank.

In the end, the Soul Beast still pounced at them.

Their expressions changed slightly, becoming extremely grim.

Guli casually killed the Soul Beast, disposing of it as if it were trash.

Their expressions did not improve. A Millennium Soul Beast had actually taken the initiative to attack a group of Spirit Saints and Spirit Emperors. It seemed a Beast Tide had truly begun.

Everyone looked toward Zhu Qing, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Wait!"

Zhu Qing gritted his teeth and forced out that word. With every passing minute, their situation would grow more dangerous. But they had accepted the mission and taken the money. This time, they might have to fight their way out!

"No need to wait."

At that moment, Li Ming's voice rang out.

The group turned around in delight and saw that Li Ming was already on his feet.

"Let's go. There's no time to lose."

Li Ming spoke quickly, unable to worry about anything else.

While absorbing the Soul Ring, he had felt the Satellite Spirit vibrating within his body. That vibration frequency represented the intensity of the warning.

After receiving the alert, he could only accelerate the absorption of the Soul Ring.

At last, he succeeded.

"This way."

Li Ming looked at the Satellite Map. It was already in complete chaos, but the Satellite AI had still marked out a route for him.

"This..."

Zhu Qing immediately hesitated.

But Li Ming had no time to waste words with them and began sprinting away.

The Red Tiger Mercenary Group could only follow after him.

As Li Ming ran, he monitored his body, his expression extremely strange.

Why did everything feel wrong after absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

There were many things that felt wrong.

First, his three Soul Bones seemed to have undergone some kind of mutation.

Why had they become crystal-clear, like jade, and why did they obviously seem much stronger?

Could absorbing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, breaking through from Great Spirit Master to Spirit Elder, and reaching level thirty-four Soul Power really cause such an evolution?

Moreover, he felt that his Martial Soul was somewhat different as well.

It did not look any different, but as its owner, he could clearly sense the change.

And somehow, he felt that his Martial Soul had gained a special power.

But he had no time to investigate these abnormalities for now.

He then sensed his third Soul Skill.

Scorching Beam!

This was the third Soul Skill he had obtained. It could store solar energy and release it as a Scorching Beam, or it could be unleashed directly using Soul Power.

Li Ming had not expected this Soul Skill to be so compatible with his Martial Soul. It was simply perfect.

Previously, he had only thought there was a high chance it would be suitable. This was truly a pleasant surprise.

He could hardly wait to try this Soul Skill, but the timing was inappropriate. He could only suppress the urge and continue running.

A Beast Tide could kill people. However, Li Ming actually had another contingency plan, a means of escape, though he would not use it unless absolutely necessary.

In the blink of an eye, they ran through Star Dou Great Forest for a full half hour, with roars rising and falling all around them.

Yet the expressions of the Red Tiger Mercenary Group were extremely strange, and Li Ming was no different.

They had run for a full half hour without encountering a single Soul Beast. This was a Beast Tide, after all. Just from the endless roars around them, they knew they were surrounded by Soul Beasts from Star Dou Great Forest.

But... not encountering a single Soul Beast the entire way was absurd.

Thus, they stared strangely at Li Ming, who was leading the way.

Little did they know that Li Ming was equally bewildered. He really could use the infrared vision constructed by the Satellite AI model to avoid Soul Beasts in advance.

But... he had not avoided any.

He had followed the route given by the Satellite AI the entire time, and the Satellite AI had never changed that route. Yet they simply had not encountered any Soul Beasts.

If he did not have the Satellite Map, he might truly have thought there were no Soul Beasts around them and that all those roars were fake.

But through the Satellite Map alone, he could discover one fact: they were inside the encirclement of this Beast Tide!