Huo Lei Battles the Ten-Thousand-Year Thunder Spider

"You little brat, not a bad idea. You're planning to save a move specifically to counter fire-attribute soul masters." Jin Shan saw straight through Huo Lei's secret.

"A teacher is a teacher indeed. You're wise, Teacher. I'm preparing this move so I can catch them off guard when the time comes."

Huo Lei gestured excitedly, his face full of anticipation.

"But putting that aside, you don't object? If I add Soul Rings to my second martial soul now, their absorption age won't be very high." Huo Lei looked at Jin Shan curiously.

Jin Shan looked utterly unconcerned and snorted. "You're craftier than a monkey. You must've thought this over countless times before making your decision. Why would I object? Adding one or two Soul Rings to your second martial soul won't have much impact. Besides, they'll be at least twenty thousand years old, right? Aren't there still seven or eight empty slots later on? Once your Soul Rings and Soul Bones pile up, you'll probably have so many soul skills you won't even remember them all. I'm not going to worry about that for you."

"With your way of thinking, your breadth of vision—you truly are worthy of being a Super Douluo. Your magnanimity really is beyond ordinary people." Huo Lei showered Jin Shan with praise.

Jin Shan chuckled. "Have you told your father about this? Aren't you going to ask for his opinion? Let's see how broad his vision is."

"I told him. Father agreed with my idea. His vision is quite broad too. Of course, compared to you, he's still lacking by just a tiny bit. Just this tiny bit." Huo Lei deliberately emphasized the point, holding up two fingers to indicate the distance.

Jin Shan nodded. "Your father is fairly sensible."

"Teacher, then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, I'll come get you for breakfast. This disciple will take his leave first—I still need to tell Lin Yin." Huo Lei stood from the sofa and left Jin Shan's room with a deferential nod.

Early the next morning, Huo Lei rose at dawn and prepared everything. After gathering Jin Shan and Lin Yin for breakfast, they set off for the Star Dou Great Forest.

Three days later, Huo Lei and his group of three arrived in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

As they walked through the jungle, Jin Shan glanced at Huo Lei beside him and asked, "You little brat, what kind of soul skill do you want?"

Without hesitation, Huo Lei replied, "A group-targeting soul skill."

"Good! Let's keep searching ahead." After agreeing, Jin Shan said nothing more.

After the three had traveled several hundred meters, rustling sounds came from the dense grass.

"My lord, Young Master Lei, there is a soul beast in the forest several dozen meters ahead." Lin Yin reported what he had sensed.

"Mm. It's a small spider, with ten thousand years of cultivation. Nothing to fear. Let's continue forward," Jin Shan said casually.

"Hiss—"

Suddenly, a spiderweb coursing with electric arcs descended from above, shrouding Huo Lei and the other two.

Jin Shan snorted coldly and waved his hand. A surge of golden Soul Power directly shattered the incoming web.

A spider appeared before the three of them. It was one and a half meters long, covered in crackling electric arcs, with hissing sounds coming from its mouth.

Huo Lei said excitedly, "It's a lightning-element soul beast."

"Don't get happy too soon. This Thunder Spider isn't suitable for you; its age is too low." Jin Shan's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the Flame that had just ignited in Huo Lei's heart.

"I know that. I'm happy because a lightning-element soul beast over ten thousand years old has finally appeared. That's a good sign. I believe one with twenty thousand years of cultivation will show up before long." Huo Lei explained his thoughts.

At that moment, the Thunder Spider spat out an electric arc that shot directly toward Huo Lei in the middle of the group.

"Damn! It's coming for me? Let's see how I deal with you. Teacher, Lin Yin, don't interfere." Huo Lei cursed and immediately activated his Flame martial soul. A purple Soul Ring emerged.

"Fourth Soul Skill, Lava Armor!"

The electric arc released by the Thunder Spider struck the Lava Armor formed from Huo Lei's Flame, instantly spreading across his entire body.

Huo Lei's body involuntarily twisted from the shock, and he let out cries that sounded as though he could not decide whether they were of pain or pleasure. "Oh! Oh!"

"Damn! This Ten-Thousand-Year Thunder Spider's attack power really isn't low! That shock hurt and numbed me all over."

Huo Lei exclaimed in amazement.

The Thunder Spider charged swiftly toward Huo Lei, but he neither dodged nor evaded, looking completely calm and composed. When the Thunder Spider was about seven meters away, a black Soul Ring appeared on his body.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Mental Control!"

Huo Lei's golden eyes instantly turned golden-red. Light flowed within them as he stared directly into the Thunder Spider's eyes. The eight long legs of the rapidly advancing Thunder Spider instantly stiffened, and it slid more than two additional meters from inertia.

Seeing that the Thunder Spider had fallen for it, Huo Lei did not dare delay. He immediately unleashed his third soul skill. A scorching pillar of magma erupted from the ground, blasting the Thunder Spider directly into the air.

"Done!" Huo Lei withdrew his martial soul, clapped his hands, and made a stylish turn. Then he said casually, "Lin Yin, go collect it."

The Thunder Spider fell from the air, its abdomen charred black and giving off a burnt smell. Just then, the Thunder Spider braced itself with its long legs and suddenly flipped over. Lin Yin, who had been approaching, reacted quickly. He immediately used Martial Soul Possession and unleashed his sixth soul skill, his long tail tightly binding the Thunder Spider. With his attack power somewhat lacking, he helplessly took out a sharp dagger and repeatedly stabbed at the Thunder Spider's eyes.

Jin Shan's lips curled upward as he laughed and scolded, "Hahaha! You little brat, you're really something! You sent Lin Yin to collect the soul beast before it was dead. Did you know the Thunder Spider was still alive?"

"Teacher, don't put it like that. This disciple wasn't entirely sure whether the Thunder Spider was dead either. As expected of a ten-thousand-year soul beast—this disciple used his third soul skill with the strength of a Soul King and still couldn't kill it. Do you think its shell was too hard, or was this disciple's attack too weak?"

Huo Lei looked a little embarrassed and laughed awkwardly before asking Jin Shan why the Thunder Spider had survived.

"You could have killed it. During that battle, your advantage was obvious. As for why you didn't kill it later and instead left it for Lin Yin, only you know that yourself. Under normal circumstances, a Ten-Thousand-Year Thunder Spider requires the strength of a Soul Emperor to subdue or kill. It's already quite impressive that you defeated it so easily, but you truly lack a powerful offensive ability. Once you add Soul Rings to your second martial soul, that weakness will naturally be remedied."

Jin Shan seemed to have seen through everything, yet he did not say it outright. He merely analyzed the circumstances of the Thunder Spider and Huo Lei.

"My lord, Young Master Lei, the Thunder Spider has been collected." Lin Yin hurried over to the two and reported.

"Ah, what a pity. This Thunder Spider's age is too low. If it had twenty thousand years of cultivation, I might have taken it as my Soul Ring." Huo Lei sighed.

"Teacher, let's rest here for a while! Instead of searching everywhere, we might as well wait for prey to come to us. With you here, if we encounter soul beasts that take the initiative to attack, we can just kill them."

As Huo Lei spoke, he plopped down onto a flat stone beneath him.

"Mm, that works." Jin Shan nodded.

Huo Lei took out a blanket from his Storage Ring and spread it on the ground. The three sat cross-legged upon it to rest.

Screech—!

Less than a quarter of an hour after Huo Lei and the others began resting, a sharp, resounding eagle cry rang out above their heads.

The three looked up, only to see a thick bolt of lightning striking down from the sky.

Jin Shan reacted swiftly, immediately circulating his Soul Power and raising a golden energy barrier that enveloped and protected all three of them.