Battle Against the Nether Wolf

Three-thousand-year soul beasts were not rare. Compared to those ten-thousand-year soul beasts, there were still quite a few options.

Just half an hour later, Xiao Feiyu spotted a suitable soul beast.

"Xiao Yuan, can you handle a three-thousand-year Nether Wolf?"

Lu Shiyuan scratched his head. How was he supposed to know whether he could handle a three-thousand-year Nether Wolf?

He would only know after fighting it.

"Fei Yu, why don't we choose a plant-type soul beast?" From what Lu Shiyuan knew, plant-type soul beasts generally lacked strong offensive capabilities. If they could find a suitable one, wouldn't they complete the task with ease?

A faint smile played on Xiao Feiyu's lips as she simply looked at Lu Shiyuan without speaking.

Only when Lu Shiyuan was nearly unable to bear it did she say, "Fine. Then we'll start by trying a plant-type soul beast."

Before long, the three arrived at a lake, where a water lily lay quietly upon the water.

"There. A Meridian Lotus around three thousand five hundred years old. Want to give it a try?" Xiao Feiyu pointed at the water lily in the lake. As long as Lu Shiyuan said the word, she would drag the Meridian Lotus out of the water.

Lu Shiyuan nodded, and the next second, the Meridian Lotus was pulled to within a few meters of him.

Xiao Feiyu pulled Xiao Wu back several steps, leaving the space to him.

Lu Shiyuan did not stand on ceremony. Gripping his dagger, he stabbed at the Meridian Lotus.

He understood this kind of soul beast. To kill a Meridian Lotus, he needed to attack the rhizome beneath its leaves.

Plant-type soul beasts truly had little ability to resist. Faced with Lu Shiyuan's attack, it quickly withered away.

A purple Soul Ring floated quietly above the corpse. The surroundings were silent, and Lu Shiyuan could not help frowning.

Because the system had not reacted at all.

The first two tasks had given him a notification the instant they were completed. This clearly meant that his task had not been completed.

Xiao Feiyu walked over with a smile. "Do you see now? Since it requires you to defeat it, that means you have to go through a battle. Plant-type soul beasts have almost no combat ability. This wasn't defeating it—it was slaughtering it."

"Fei Yu, why do I feel like you understand my..." He did not say the word "system," but they both understood.

"Of course I understand better than you do. How long have you been in contact with it?"

Xiao Feiyu's words left Lu Shiyuan dumbfounded. Could Fei Yu have a system too?

Seeing Lu Shiyuan's stunned expression, Xiao Feiyu burst out laughing. "Alright, stop overthinking it. Once you grow stronger, you can learn whatever you want to know."

Lu Shiyuan could only nod. "Alright. Then let's go take a look at that Nether Wolf."

Nether Wolves were pack-dwelling soul beasts. The three-thousand-year Nether Wolf Xiao Feiyu had found was not the wolf king.

She merely revealed a trace of her aura, and every Nether Wolf was intimidated. With a little control, all the soul beasts other than the selected three-thousand-year Nether Wolf were terrified out of their wits and fled at breakneck speed.

Only the chosen Nether Wolf stared mournfully. They had promised to live and die together, so why had they run faster than anyone else?

A three-thousand-year soul beast already possessed a degree of intelligence. Knowing the Nether Wolf could understand her, Xiao Feiyu spoke directly. "Fight him. If you win, I'll let you leave."

Disbelief appeared in the Nether Wolf's eyes. Was there really such a good deal?

It could not defeat a Titled Douluo like her, but could it not defeat a level-twenty Soul Master like him?

Seeing the suspicion flash in the Nether Wolf's eyes, Xiao Feiyu continued, "I hope you use all your strength. As long as you win, I will keep my word."

After saying that, she withdrew her pressure. The Nether Wolf cautiously moved its body and discovered that Xiao Feiyu truly had not deceived it.

In an instant, the fear in its eyes was replaced by bloodthirsty savagery.

For the sake of its life, how could it possibly hold back?

Lu Shiyuan also focused completely. His Martial Soul was a God-Tier Martial Soul, and his physical strength had reached the level of a Soul Ancestor, but his level was still a serious weakness.

Level twenty meant that his total Soul Power was far inferior to that of a Soul Ancestor, and he was greatly outmatched in terms of skills as well. He could only cautiously seek out the slightest chance of victory.

Once he saw that the Nether Wolf was ready, he immediately used his first Soul Skill.

He no longer dared to try sneak attacks. Since the system said he had to defeat it, then he had to win fairly in a head-on battle.

The Meridian Lotus had already taught him that tricks and shortcuts would not work.

"Time Blade Pierce!" A pitch-black blade streaked toward the Nether Wolf at incredible speed, even faster than when he had sparred with Tang San.

But the Nether Wolf was not Tang San. Its level was higher, and as a soul beast that lived in the wild year-round, it possessed far more combat experience than Tang San.

Its figure flickered repeatedly, and moments later, it vanished from everyone's sight.

This was the Nether Wolf's racial gift: [Concealment].

Xiao Feiyu could sense the Nether Wolf's position through the suppression of her level, but Lu Shiyuan and Xiao Wu lacked that ability.

With its body gone from sight, Time Blade Pierce naturally missed.

Lu Shiyuan had no choice but to clear his mind and focus on sensing the changes in his surroundings.

Since he had no means of seeing through Concealment, he could only discover the enemy by observing the surrounding environment.

The area was terrifyingly quiet, yet Lu Shiyuan was unusually excited.

This was his first life-and-death battle against an opponent above his level. Dean Chen had not neglected to spar with him at the academy, but those had only been sparring matches.

Suddenly, the space to Lu Shiyuan's left warped slightly. He spun around sharply and came face-to-face with a pair of razor-sharp wolf claws.

[Shadow Assault Combo]!

A skill Nether Wolves were certain to learn after a thousand years, allowing them to slash five times in one second at extreme speed, every strike aimed straight at a vital point.

Lu Shiyuan did not panic. He immediately activated his domain, slowing the flow of time around him.

Although his level was still low and the domain's effect was limited, the slowed flow of time still allowed him to clearly see the Nether Wolf's attack trajectory.

He flipped the dagger in his hand, followed by five crisp metallic clashes.

Relying on his powerful physique, Lu Shiyuan forcibly used a single dagger to block the Nether Wolf's five lightning-fast attacks.

The Nether Wolf was stunned for a moment as well. It likely never imagined that a mere level-twenty Soul Master could block its fatal assault.

But Lu Shiyuan gave it no chance to remain stunned. Taking advantage of the Nether Wolf's distraction, he unleashed another Time Blade Pierce.

This time, he released it at point-blank range. Even with the strength of a Soul Ancestor, the Nether Wolf took the hit squarely on the forehead.

With one strike successful, Lu Shiyuan's movements became even faster.

His sharp dagger slashed across the Nether Wolf's left foreleg. Cold light flashed, and blood immediately sprayed out.

The Nether Wolf let out a shrill howl, its strength rising another notch.

An injured soul beast was the most terrifying kind of soul beast.