The Beast Tide Erupted

Once this spell was cast, the other person's Spiritual Sea was completely sealed, reducing them utterly to a puppet.

Banner Bro explained that Occlumency rejected every form of soul probing and Spiritual Power probing. There was no way to undo it unless someone forced their way through with Soul Power mixed with Spiritual Power, but that would leave the person whose defenses were breached an idiot.

Banner Bro smiled down at Mud Old Ghost, who lay poisoned on the ground, and sighed. "This is my first living puppet."

"All right, time to go home, Banner Bro. Let's become one." Jiang Hao spread his arms.

Banner Bro strode over and gently embraced him. In the blink of an eye, Banner Bro vanished, and Jiang Hao's Soul Power climbed without pause—level 16, 17, 18, 19, 20—until it reached its peak.

At the instant Banner Bro entered Jiang Hao's Spiritual Sea, a wave of negative emotion spread from him.

"So this is what an Evil Soul Master feels like?" Jiang Hao gave it a casual squeeze, and the barely perceptible spiritual corruption vanished like smoke in his vast Spiritual Sea. "How weak. It can't even compare to a pet fish."

Once the Soul Power transfer was complete, Jiang Hao waved Banner Bro back out. The surrounding Soul Masters felt their Soul Power break through as well.

"In that case, everyone, let's go hunt Soul Beasts."

"Those of you who only recently awakened, stay close to us. Banner Bro will help you hunt when the time comes." As Jiang Hao spoke, batch after batch of Clones left the scene, and his Spiritual Sea was nearly emptied.

More than a dozen Soul Masters who had Soul Power but had yet to awaken their Martial Souls sat around him.

"Let's go, Banner Bro. Time to hunt Soul Beasts." As soon as Jiang Hao finished speaking, Banner Bro raised his Soul Banner, and an Undead phantom shot out. An owl soared into the sky, calling "hoo, hoo, hoo" again and again.

This time, they had all come to obtain their Second Soul Rings. With Soul Skills at their disposal, they could hunt Soul Beasts far more efficiently and move much faster than before.

By dusk, they had slaughtered Soul Beasts throughout the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Jiang Hao sat cross-legged on a nearby rock, watching a Clone absorb a Soul Ring. He was curious. "What kind of Soul Skill can a traffic light Martial Soul awaken?"

Before the Clone could finish absorbing it, however, a violent upheaval erupted deep in the forest.

Reports poured in from Clones nearby: their large-scale hunting of Hundred-Year Soul Beasts along the outskirts and the edge of the Mixed Zone had stirred the thousand-year and Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts into a frenzy. Now they were surging toward the forest's outskirts.

Jiang Hao gave his orders without hesitation. "Soul Masters far from me, run for the nearest edge of the forest. Once you're out, meet at the Thirty-Person Group's Stronghold. Anyone close to me, get over here, fast."

As he sent the message, Jiang Hao checked his Clones' positions. Nearly three hundred Soul Masters were within three kilometers of him. The other thousand-plus were farther away, spread across an area of at least ten kilometers. Crossing the forest laterally was too dangerous, so he could only have them withdraw first.

Just as he finished arranging his Clones, rustling came from among the trees. Something was weaving through the woods.

"Banner Bro, prepare to fight." Jiang Hao released his Martial Soul. A humanoid phantom slammed into his body, and an overwhelming presence radiated from him.

With a roar, a huge spotted cat sprang from the undergrowth, hurtling straight at Jiang Hao's face.

But Jiang Hao was faster. His Body Martial Soul enhanced every aspect of him, and his physique and reflexes now rivaled those of a three-ring Soul Elder with a higher Soul Power Level.

This Spotted Tiger, barely a thousand years old, was naturally no match for him.

Jiang Hao turned sideways and punched the tiger in the lower belly, then used the force to hurl it away.

By then, apes had appeared in the surrounding trees. Wind Roars sounded without end as they harried the group, sending wave after wave of wind at everyone below.

Two Clones with Stone Shield Martial Souls guarded Red Light Bro, who was absorbing a Soul Ring in the center of the group. If the process was interrupted, Jiang Hao lacked the strength to keep him safe.

"Banner Bro, deal with those baboons. Leave the tiger to me." Jiang Hao reached forward with both hands. The greatsword slid free of Angel's Blessing, and he caught it, held it across his chest, and charged the thousand-year Soul Beast.

Even with a low-level user, a level-six Soul Tool could deal considerable damage. Besides, Jiang Hao's Soul Power was practically inexhaustible. The External Heart Soul Bone throbbed in his chest, and his basic Soul Power output had just barely reached the minimum needed to activate it.

He absorbed Soul Power from his surroundings as fast as he spent it, so he was effectively using none at all.

Jiang Hao poured more Soul Power into the greatsword, increasing its weight and forcing the tiger's claw down. The Spotted Tiger arched its whole body, trying to use its weight to overpower Jiang Hao's sword arm. But the Soul Power-infused blade had grown so heavy that, for a moment, neither side could gain the upper hand.

Just then, mud churned across the ground. Half the Spotted Tiger's body sank into it, and it was sinking faster by the second.

Jiang Hao swung his sword, retreated several steps, and glanced back at Banner Bro.

Banner Bro held a faint red thread low in his left hand and steadied the Soul Banner with his right. His eyes glowed bloodred. Mud Old Ghost stood beside him, manipulated like a Marionette into releasing Soul Skills.

"He's still unconscious, so I had no choice but to take over by force. This burns through my Soul Power faster. The moment that kid finishes absorbing his Soul Ring, we leave." As Banner Bro spoke, he made Mud Old Ghost fling another Mud Explosive Bomb, striking a cluster of Wind Roar Monkeys hiding in the branches. The surrounding Clones released their Martial Souls and fought the Soul Beasts emerging from every direction.

More and more Soul Beasts poured out of the forest, and even Jiang Hao began to struggle. The Clones gathered around him, barely holding back the beast tide as countless Soul Beast corpses piled up nearby.

Banner Bro had stopped using Mud Old Ghost. Instead, he swung the Soul Banner with both hands, refining the surrounding Soul Beast corpses and extracting their Undead. "Hmph. If there were no price to pay for this, the Soul Beasts on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest would have been wiped out long ago. Lucky for you."

As he refined them by swallowing them whole like dates, the black aura around Banner Bro grew thicker.

The Undead he produced through this crude refining were weaker, but sheer numbers made up for it. He could also send them straight into the mass of Soul Beasts as soul bombs.

With a casual point of Banner Bro's finger, the Undead of a Spotted Cat plunged into the thickest press of Soul Beasts. It let out a feline cry, then shattered like a small grenade, blasting a swath of them off their feet.

The Clones over there came under much less pressure from the beast tide.

"Brother Main Body Old Rogue, I'm done absorbing it! Let's get out of here!" Red Light Bro called excitedly from behind.

Without hesitation, Jiang Hao swept a hand out and drew every Clone in the area into his Spiritual Sea.

He turned into a shadow and sped along the ground toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

At the Thirty-Person Group's Market, Owl Bro stood atop a tower with a Soul Tool Telescope in hand, surveying the surroundings. The entire market had fallen deathly quiet. Countless Soul Hunters had been forced to take shelter in this Small Town.

Hundreds of figures worked beside the wooden fences lining the streets, stacking stone, cement, and bricks into a low wall two meters high. It faced the Star Dou Great Forest.

Flame Bro and Hoe Bro's people had also moved to the forest-facing side, ready to fight at any moment. Xiaoxiao, who had been brought back after obtaining her Soul Ring, watched nervously. She glanced at the Soul Hunting teams already packing up to flee toward Shrek, then looked at a Clone beside her in confusion. "Why isn't the Thirty-Person Group withdrawing? All the other Soul Hunting teams have left."

Wild Boar Bro snorted. "It's not just the Thirty-Person Group here. There are merchants, and farmers who came here to trade and work the land.

"If we leave, this Small Town will be destroyed by the beast tide. The merchants will lose the wealth and property they depend on to make a living, and the farmers will lose the crops they worked all year to grow.

"The leader of the Thirty-Person Group built this Small Town. We won't let a single brick or tile be destroyed, let alone abandon the people behind us who support us.

"It's dangerous here. You should go too. We might not have time to protect you once the fighting starts.

"Our Soul Hunting mission is already complete."

Wild Boar Bro kept moving as he spoke, throwing on a suit of iron armor. With his fists clenched, he hurried toward the most dangerous area, where the Soul Beasts were pouring out in the greatest numbers, and prepared to hold the line.