The day Hu Liena hunted her Seventh Soul Ring, Bai Jin sat in a crooked tree from start to finish.
The sixty-thousand-year Demon Fox hid in the forest, splitting its illusions into seven. Even their scents were different. Xie Yue chased the wrong one and nearly had his neck bitten from behind by the real beast.
Yan stepped in front of him. Flames spread across the ground, burning only the grass and leaving the tree trunks untouched.
Each Fox Shadow left a different trace when it crossed the line of fire.
Hu Liena closed her eyes and narrowed her mental power to a fine thread, sweeping it through the forest in time with the vibrations of Xie Yue's Moon Blade.
The fight lasted nearly half an hour.
Only when Divine Slaughter's Domain pinned down the real Demon Fox did she open her eyes and lunge, ending the hunt with her own hands.
Bai Jin jumped down from the tree and caught the Short Blade she dropped as her strength gave out.
"Not bad. You get extra meat with dinner today."
Hu Liena leaned against a tree trunk, panting, and looked down at her mud-caked trouser legs.
"Were you really asleep just now?"
"Almost."
"Thank you for stopping at almost."
After absorbing her Seventh Soul Ring, her Soul Power settled at Level 72.
For the next four months, Spirit City did not slow down.
Sect reelections followed one after another. The Elephant Armor Sect won its seat on strength, while the Wind Sword Sect, the Fire Leopard Sect, and other sects completed their own contests. The lists delivered to Bibi Dong came with each sect's disciple count, headquarters, and available resources.
What they would do after joining mattered far more than who had shouted the loudest onstage.
Qian Renxue had to