Another Team

The four rested for the night, then set out again the next day, heading northeast.

That route also led back to Shrek Academy. Bei Bei was unfamiliar with it, but with a map, he would not get lost.

Standing at the edge of a cliff, Bei Bei surveyed the surroundings from above.

"We're close to the boundary between the outer and mixed zones. Everyone must be careful from here on."

According to the map, Furious Dragon Lizards were mostly found in this area.

They had encountered two not long ago, but neither was the right age for Lu Yi, so they had left them alone.

After wandering for several hours, they were preparing to find shelter and make camp as dusk approached when their target appeared.

A Furious Dragon Lizard measured four meters long at one hundred years old. It grew another meter with every additional century.

The Furious Dragon Lizard before them was nearly seven meters long.

"This Furious Dragon Lizard is almost four hundred years old!"

Lying behind a mound, Bei Bei quietly checked with Lu Yi. "Its age is just right! What do you think?"

Over the past two days, Bei Bei had noticed how little Lu Yi knew about cultivation and had explained a great deal to him.

He had covered such things as the maximum age of a Soul Ring one could absorb.

Bei Bei had spoken with particular pride about his ancestor Yu Xiaogang, his writings, and his achievements.

Over ten thousand years, later generations had disproved quite a bit of material in the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls. But it had never been completely overturned, thanks in part to Shrek Academy's long-standing efforts to uphold it. Much of what it laid out genuinely applied to most people.

For example, its Soul Ring absorption limits, calculated down to the exact year, led many talented people to choose the relatively safe range of three to four hundred years for their First Soul Ring.

Lu Yi did not overestimate his own body. He had realized his physique was not much stronger than Huo Yuhao's.

Yet Huo Yuhao had grown up short of food and clothing, with nowhere near Lu Yi's nutritional intake. From that, Lu Yi could see that Soul Power had a considerable effect on the body.

Nearly four hundred years was already quite high. Lu Yi had no objections.

"Let's go with this one! Sorry for the trouble, everyone!"

Bei Bei smiled and patted Lu Yi on the shoulder. "It's nothing!"

Time to strike!

Against a large Soul Beast, Tang Ya's opening restraint proved effective. She successfully restricted the Furious Dragon Lizard's movements, and Bei Bei seized the chance to attack it with all his strength.

"Roar—"

Its head badly injured, the Furious Dragon Lizard roared and activated its innate Soul Skill.

The Soul Power within it surged, and it instantly tore free of Tang Ya's vines.

But faced with Bei Bei and the three Soul Rings circling him, hesitation flashed through its savage eyes.

It caught a familiar scent from that purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, making it instinctively want to retreat.

Its bloodline held a faint trace of dragon, but it was only a Hundred-Year Soul Beast.

Faced with a three-ring Soul Elder, its instinct to survive won out.

Its huge jaws opened, and it shot a thick tongue coated in slick mucus toward Bei Bei.

If it landed, it would do little damage, but it would severely restrict his movements.

Even if the tide of battle could not be turned, that would buy it time to escape.

"Leviosa."

Lu Yi reacted in a flash, summoning his wand and softly uttering the syllables. Soul Power flowed smoothly to the wand's tip, becoming a spell that struck the enormous tongue.

Compared with two days earlier, he had made considerable progress in controlling his Soul Power expenditure, avoiding the predicament of draining it all in one move.

The next instant, it was as though an invisible hand had seized the tongue and hoisted it into the air.

Unable to pull its tongue back, the Furious Dragon Lizard thrashed violently.

Bei Bei did not waste that brief opening. He unleashed another Soul Skill, slamming his Thunder Dragon Claw into the lizard before following it with a rain of punches.

The lizard writhed in pain, but with its tongue pinned in midair, it could only take the beating.

Realizing it would be beaten to death if this continued, the lizard abandoned all caution and wrenched itself backward with all its might.

A tough tongue was not always an advantage. Before everyone's eyes, that enormous tongue tore free along with bloody tissue and fell to the ground, twisting and flipping like a loach.

At the same time, a notification that his spell had leveled up lit up before Lu Yi's eyes.

[Perfect timing and technique]

[Levitation Charm Lv. 3 (4/4) → Levitation Charm Lv. 4 (0/8)]

[Levitation Charm can be upgraded. +1 academic credit]

Having "freed" itself, the lizard fled in panic. Blood poured from its mouth, marking a clear trail across the ground.

Judging by how much blood it had lost, it was an arrow at the end of its flight. Death was inevitable.

Seeing this, Bei Bei stopped attacking and regarded Lu Yi as though he were a monster.

As a Battle Soul Master, he had always fought with fists against flesh. He had never seen anyone use a Soul Skill like that.

"Brother Lu, who taught you to fight that way?"

Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao were still watching the severed tongue writhe. They sucked in a sharp breath, their faces twisting with discomfort.

Noticing their astonished gazes, Lu Yi smiled and waved a hand, looking calm despite the turmoil in his heart.

This was the first time he had dealt a serious wound to a large Soul Beast. His spell leveling up also affirmed the skill he had just shown in battle.

"An old Soul Master in my village said you had to get a grip on an enemy's weak point. Though this was partly a coincidence!"

Bei Bei nodded slightly. He had heard Lu Yi speak of remarkable people in his village several times over the past few days. They must be extraordinary masters who kept themselves hidden. If he had the chance, he would certainly visit them himself.

But now was no time for idle talk. Their hunt was not yet over. It would only be finished once the lizard was dead and Lu Yi had absorbed its Soul Ring.

After it!

They regrouped and followed the blood trail.

After traveling more than ten li, they found that the bloodstains were no longer continuous, though they still appeared along the way.

"It's lost so much blood, yet it ran this far!"

Tang Ya frowned. "That lizard's vitality is too strong!"

And judging by the direction it had fled, they were getting closer and closer to the mixed zone. That was no good thing.

Fortunately, after another half li, a yellow Soul Ring marking a hundred-year beast came into view. The lizard was finally dead.

Bei Bei surveyed the surroundings first. Once he was sure there was no immediate threat, he exchanged a glance with Tang Ya, and the two nodded in unspoken agreement.

"Brother Lu, there's no time to lose. Wait any longer and this corpse will draw a lot of Soul Beasts. Absorb it quickly! We'll stand guard for you."

Seeing Bei Bei's urgency, Lu Yi said no more. He merely cupped his hands. "Sorry for the trouble, everyone."

Lu Yi sat cross-legged and circulated his Soul Power.

With a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, he drew the Soul Ring toward himself.

In an instant, immense energy surged into his meridians, filling his whole body with warmth.

At first, the energy seemed intent on breaking through an invisible bottleneck.

After a cracking sound, Lu Yi felt the shackles restraining him fall away. Then his strength returned.

Level 11, level 12, level 13...

As he reached level 15, energy from the Soul Ring began flowing through every part of his body. The intense swelling sensation gave him a sense of fullness he had not felt in a long time.

But that fullness soon became an aching pressure. Lu Yi knew the real breakthrough was only beginning...

Bei Bei watched Lu Yi absorb the ring. Seeing only sweat on his forehead, he relaxed.

Just then, Huo Yuhao spoke.

"There's movement due east!"

Bei Bei and Tang Ya fell silent at once and listened closely.

"What do we do? It sounds like it's coming straight for us!" Tang Ya realized the noise was getting closer. Barely daring to breathe, she asked Bei Bei in a whisper.

Bei Bei looked back at Lu Yi, worry on his face.

The absorption of a Soul Ring absolutely could not be interrupted. At best, the person absorbing it would suffer damage to their foundations; at worst, they would die.

Absorbing a First Soul Ring could take anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour, depending on the ring's age, the beast's species, and the absorber's physique.

He calculated quickly. Lu Yi had already been absorbing it for ten minutes, but even in the best case, he would need another five.

Judging by that noise, they might not have much time.

Lu Yi had saved him. If whatever was approaching proved hostile, Bei Bei could not abandon him. Yet interrupting the absorption would be dangerous for Lu Yi too.

Bei Bei shook his head, his gaze sharpening as he made his choice—to choose the lesser of two evils.

Damage to Lu Yi's foundations from an interrupted absorption was still better than losing his life!

At worst, the Tang Sect would owe him. They could look after him.

"Xiao Ya, if the Soul Beast coming our way is too much to handle, take those two and go."

"But you—"

"Don't worry. I'm fast!"

Bei Bei cut off Tang Ya with that reassurance, but his meaning was clear.

He would stay behind to hold it off!

Tang Ya wanted to object, but his resolute gaze told her his mind was made up. She could only agree.

Huo Yuhao sensed how serious things had become. He clenched his teeth as helplessness welled up inside him.

All he could do now was hope Lu Yi finished absorbing the ring soon.

The noise drew nearer and nearer, with no sign of veering away.

Bei Bei dug his fingers into the tree trunk and stared into the distance, his heart in his throat.

Just as he prepared to summon his Martial Soul and strike first, faint voices reached him.

Not a Soul Beast?

People! And quite a few of them, by the sound of it.

Another Soul Hunting team?

That news was neither good nor bad. Bei Bei still did not dare let down his guard.

The Soul Masters who came to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt were a mixed bag of fish and dragons. There was no telling whether these newcomers meant well.

Yet as the group drew closer, Bei Bei caught a name he knew all too well.

"Sister Lexuan, Xuan Zi isn't here, and it's getting late. Should we make camp here?"