Thunderclap Mountain Range!

Heaven Dou City, a small courtyard south of the city.

Huang Yun stood in the courtyard, looking up at the gray-blue morning sky as his fingertips unconsciously rubbed a wisp of lightning.

Level fifty.

It had taken him three months to completely refine the medicinal power of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and steadily step into the threshold of Soul King.

For others, advancing from level forty-three to level fifty would take at least half a year even with the aid of an Immortal Herb. Yet he had done it in only three months. On one hand, it was thanks to his solid foundation and meridians far tougher than those of others at the same level. On the other, he had devoted all his focus to refining it, free of distractions.

But upon reaching level fifty, a new problem arose.

His fifth Spirit Ring.

He sat cross-legged on a stone bench in the courtyard, lightly tapping his fingers against his knee as he rapidly considered his next plan.

His first choice was Sunset Forest.

The opportunities he had planted at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well were there, along with the remaining Immortal Herbs he had yet to take.

If he gave himself a few more months and waited until his Indestructible Vajra Body became more stable, he could absolutely sneak in again while Dugu Bo was not paying attention and pack up everything, including the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid and Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma.

But not now.

He had just broken through to level fifty, and his body was still adapting to his new realm. Although his Soul Power circulated smoothly, it had yet to reach its peak. If he rashly went to Sunset Forest to hunt his fifth Spirit Ring and caused too much commotion, alerting Dugu Bo, the consequences would be unimaginable.

That Old Poison had lost the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He was surely on edge now, likely strengthening the defenses of his poisonous mist or even simply staying inside the herb garden without moving.

Charging in now would be no different from walking straight into a trap.

He did feel guilty. Very guilty.

After all, he had stolen the man's belongings. If he were truly caught, even if he managed to escape, his whereabouts and his trump cards would be completely exposed.

Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo, after all. If the man became determined to hunt him down, even if he could not kill Huang Yun, he would make the days ahead difficult at every turn.

"So, Sunset Forest is off limits for now."

Huang Yun muttered to himself, shifting his gaze from the sky above the courtyard toward another direction.

Northeast of Heaven Dou City.

There lay a vast primordial mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles, its terrain majestic and its forests dense, perpetually shrouded in thunderclouds.

That place was called the Thunderclap Mountain Range, one of the continent's primordial Soul Beast forests. It was far larger than Thunder Canyon in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Thunder Canyon was, in the end, merely a long and narrow rift valley. Its area was limited, and the lightning-attributed Soul Beasts living within it were relatively few in variety.

But the Thunderclap Mountain Range was different.

It held not only mountains, but also vast primordial forests, basins, waterfalls, and swamps. Its terrain was diverse, and its Soul Beast species were exceptionally abundant. Lightning-attributed Soul Beasts in particular could be found at every level from ten years to ten thousand years, making it a paradise for lightning-type Soul Masters.

More importantly, the Thunderclap Mountain Range bordered the territory of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was one of the Three Upper Sects, known as the number one Beast Martial Soul sect in the world. Every member of the clan was a lightning-type Soul Master.

Their sect was located on the outskirts of the Thunderclap Mountain Range, and high-level Soul Masters hunted Spirit Rings and trained disciples in the mountains year-round. Objectively, they served as gatekeepers, preventing too many people from venturing into the mountain range's core.

Because of that, the Soul Beast resources deep within the Thunderclap Mountain Range had been preserved remarkably well. The density of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts was even higher than in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Huang Yun had learned of this place from a travel journal.

He had stumbled across that book at a street stall in some town two years ago. Its author was a wandering Soul Master long since deceased, and the journal contained detailed records of Soul Beast distributions and geographical features throughout the continent.

The chapter on the Thunderclap Mountain Range was especially vivid. It said the lightning energy there was so dense that it could make an ordinary person's scalp go numb. With enough luck, one might even encounter an ancient variant such as a Thunder Drake deep in the mountains.

"Forget the Thunder Drake. Those things start at fifty thousand years. Provoking one now would be nothing but suicide."

"And fifty thousand years is a little too high. I might not be able to absorb it."

Huang Yun shook his head, tossing aside the unrealistic thought.

What he needed was a Soul Beast suitable for his fifth Spirit Ring.

It needed to be between twenty thousand and thirty thousand years old, lightning-attributed, preferably a flying type.

If he truly could not find a flying type, then an agile terrestrial lightning beast would be acceptable as well. But it had to excel in speed, or the boost to his speed after absorption would be greatly diminished.

He closed his eyes and pondered for a long time, running through every lightning-attributed Soul Beast that might exist in the Thunderclap Mountain Range.

Thunderstripe Leopard. Fast enough, but not a flying type; agile enough, yet lacking finesse.

Thunderwing Bat. A flying type, but too small. Its Spirit Ring energy would not be plentiful enough to support the strength of a fifth Spirit Ring.

Thundercloud Eagle was one of the best among flying types. It was fast and ferocious, and its age range was suitable. But these creatures usually lived in groups, appearing three to five at a time. One-on-one would be manageable, but facing several at once would be too troublesome.

After mulling it over for a long while, he finally set his sights on a relatively obscure Soul Beast.

The Thunder Shadow Eagle.

It was an exceedingly rare lightning-attributed flying Soul Beast that lived among the thundercloud layers deep within the Thunderclap Mountain Range. It rarely came into contact with the ground, spending its days soaring through high-altitude storm zones.

Its flight speed ranked among the top three of all lightning-attributed Soul Beasts. It was sleek and nimble, with a wingspan reaching ten zhang. Its feathers were black tinged with blue, with dense white arcs of electricity flowing along their edges.

The most remarkable thing about the Thunder Shadow Eagle was its explosive power.

Unlike the Thundercloud Lightning Falcon, which excelled at sustained high-speed flight, it was known for instantaneous bursts.

At the instant it sprinted at full power, its speed could soar to more than ten times its normal rate. Like true lightning splitting the sky, its trajectory was utterly impossible to capture with the naked eye.

That was precisely what Huang Yun needed most.

His combat style centered on explosive speed and surprise attacks. Raikiri, Teleportation, and Lightning—his three core skills—all depended on instantaneous bursts.

If his fifth Spirit Ring allowed him to absorb the Thunder Shadow Eagle's explosive attribute, his overall combat strength would undergo a qualitative transformation.

"Thunder Shadow Eagle. You're the one."

Huang Yun opened his eyes, his gaze turning resolute.

He rose and returned indoors to pack his gear. He placed the Dragon Whisker Needles, Gold Soul Coins, and several bottles of spare wound medicine into his storage ring, then checked his mask and clothes once more. After confirming that nothing was amiss, he pushed open the courtyard gate.

He did not use the city gate, choosing to fly at high altitude again.

Wings unfolded behind his back. Blue-white lightning flashed beneath the morning light, and his figure shot into the sky, speeding toward the northeast of Heaven Dou City.

The land below rapidly receded as towns, farmland, and rivers passed beneath his feet one after another.

After flying for roughly half an hour, rolling black mountain shadows began to emerge along the distant horizon. Thunderclouds faintly swirled above the ridges, and lightning occasionally struck down from the clouds, illuminating the dense primordial forest below.

The Thunderclap Mountain Range had arrived.

Huang Yun slowed and descended onto the summit of a towering ridge, overlooking the vast domain of thunder before him.

The air was filled with dense lightning elemental energy. With every breath, he could feel tiny currents jumping within his nostrils, while every hair on his skin stood on end.

Lightning continuously boomed within the distant thundercloud layer, and thunder rolled back and forth through the valleys, making even the rocks beneath his feet tremble faintly.

He took a deep breath, a smile curling across his lips.

This place was even more ideal than he had imagined.

He would definitely find the Thunder Shadow Eagle.