Ye Han confirmed once more with the Fire Qilin.
Confirming that the Fire Qilin's perception was correct, he then turned around, his gaze falling upon Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan.
"Sister Lingling, Sister Yanyan." Ye Han's tone remained steady. "You two withdraw from this area with Teacher Qin first."
He paused slightly, continuing: "I sense a Soul Beast that suits me over there, so I need to make a trip."
As his voice fell, everyone present was startled.
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan exchanged glances, already understanding in their hearts.
Qin Ming, who was leading the team nearby, frowned instead, stepping forward: "Ye Han, what do you mean by that?"
"Let Lingling and Yanyan come with us first? Don't tell me you plan to hunt for a soul ring alone?"
Ye Han raised his eyes to look at Qin Ming, not answering directly: "Teacher Qin, the Soul Beast I'm dealing with is not easy to handle. If you all stay by my side, you won't be of help and will only distract me."
Ye Han's voice remained calm, yet these words caused Qin Ming's expression to shift slightly.
Not of help? And he would need to be distracted by looking after them?
He was a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, and the lead teacher for this soul-hunting operation.
Did this little fellow actually consider him a burden?
Before Qin Ming could speak again, Ye Han turned to look at Dugu Yan, instructing next: "Sister Yanyan, leave markers along the way.
If I successfully obtain my soul ring, it won't be long before I capture that Soul Beast and return to rendezvous with everyone."
This was a plan Ye Han had thought out early on.
The target Soul Beast for the fifth soul ring he needed had to be at least twenty-five thousand years old or more.
As long as it did not exceed thirty-five thousand years, with the physique that had been remade by the Qilin Blood, absorbing the soul ring would not pose a major problem.
The strength of a Soul Beast at this tier was far beyond what ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could compare to.
Let alone Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who were Four-Ring Soul Ancestors, even Qin Ming, a Soul Emperor, would find it difficult to provide assistance.
Right from the start, Ye Han had never counted on Qin Ming.
Just as Qin Ming himself had mentioned earlier, he had only just broken through to become a Soul Emperor not long ago, and in terms of true combat power, he could at most deal with Soul Beasts that had just stepped into the ten-thousand-year level.
Qin Ming's strength fell far short of Ye Han's at full power.
After that brief exchange of blows with Dugu Bo previously, Ye Han already had a clear estimate of his own and the Fire Qilin's combat strength.
Even against a Seven-Ring Soul Sage who could use their Martial Soul Avatar, the Fire Qilin at its peak state still belonged to the upper tier.
More importantly, relying on the fourth soul skill, Spatial Prison, as long as he and the Fire Qilin resolved to escape, even a powerhouse at the Soul Douluo level would find it extremely difficult to detain them.
Capable of long-term flight while also mastering spatial teleportation-type soul skills, their self-preservation ability was uniquely gifted.
This was also the reason Dugu Bo felt at ease letting Ye Han enter the Star Dou Great Forest alone.
In Dugu Bo's view, towering trees capable of withstanding fierce winds and torrential rains were never raised in greenhouses.
If a Soul Master wished to grow, they ultimately had to face danger alone and undergo tempering.
Moreover, even Dugu Bo did not know that Ye Han still harbored a true trump card that he had never revealed to anyone (not the Heavenly Flames).
This was his greatest reliance!
Although Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were somewhat surprised by Ye Han's decision, they did not raise any objections about going together.
Among everyone present, aside from Ye Han himself, they were the two who knew Ye Han's true strength best.
Dugu Yan nodded gently, her emerald-green eyes looking at Ye Han with a crisp and decisive tone: "Rest assured, Lingling and I will follow Teacher Qin.
Leave the matter of marking the trail to me. Process your business properly and return to rendezvous as soon as possible."
Ye Lingling also gently exhorted: "Be careful in everything."
Qin Ming looked at Ye Han, then glanced at Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling. The two of them did not seem very worried about Ye Han acting alone, causing the doubts in the depths of his heart to grow even heavier.
He opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed back his words of admonition, asking instead: "Ye Han, are you really going to hunt a Soul Beast by yourself? Your fourth soul ring..."
In his view, even if Ye Han possessed outstanding talent, facing a powerful Soul Beast alone-even if it was only at the four- or five-thousand-year level-the risk was still far too high.
Ye Han did not offer any further explanation, simply nodding toward Qin Ming: "Teacher Qin, sorry for the trouble of leading everyone to retreat toward the outer perimeter of the forest first, and find a safe location to rest temporarily. I will be back soon."
Having spoken, he hesitated no longer. With a single thought, crimson light burst forth, and the Fire Qilin had already crouched down beside his feet, followed by a low roar.
Ye Han leaped forward, landing steadily upon the Fire Qilin's broad spine.
"Let's go."
The Fire Qilin sprang up from the ground, powerful air currents whipping up dust all across the earth. With its four limbs exerting force, its massive body surged straight into the firmament.
The moment it ascended into the air, its second soul ring lit up, and the Qilin's Breath soul skill was instantly activated.
The enormous figure dragged a streak of crimson light through the sky, and under the blessing of Qilin's Breath, its speed grew faster and faster.
It galloped swiftly toward the direction of the Soul Beast it had sensed.
In merely a moment, before the rest had even reacted, that orange-red figure vanished into the canopy of the dense forest sea.
The group left behind took a long time to snap out of their shock.
Yu Feng rubbed his eyes, staring blankly in the direction where Ye Han had disappeared: "I... did I see wrong? Boss's martial soul... seems to have gotten bigger?"
Osler likewise wore a face of sheer disbelief: "It's not just that its outer form grew larger... Did you all see clearly what soul ring lit up on Boss just now?
How could there be four? And... there was actually a black soul ring among them?"
The Shi Mo brothers exchanged glances, their honest faces filled with bewilderment.
Yu Tianheng's body stiffened slightly, and he slowly turned his head to look at the calmly-expressed Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.
"Dugu Yan... When Ye Han came in this time, wasn't what he wanted to hunt for his fourth soul ring?"
His gaze locked tightly onto the two of them, his heart beating rapidly beyond his control as an unconvincing yet only logical conjecture floated to the surface of his mind.
Could it be... Ye Han's soul power had already crossed the level-forty bottleneck? Was he aiming for a fifth soul ring?
Dugu Yan gazed into Yu Tianheng's eyes, which were filled with shock, and softly sighed: "Ye Han's soul power broke through the level-fifty bottleneck several months ago. His target in coming to the Star Dou Great Forest this time is the fifth soul ring."
Though he had harbored a premonition in his heart, hearing Dugu Yan confirm it with her own ears still caused a buzzing sound in Yu Tianheng's head, as if he had been heavily struck by a massive hammer.
His feet stumbled half a step backward involuntarily.
A fifth soul ring... A twelve-year-old Soul King?
How could this be possible? It was simply impossible!
Qin Ming's pupils abruptly contracted, and he abruptly looked at Dugu Yan: "Yanyan, what did you say? Level fifty? A fifth soul ring?"
Yet upon second thought, it seemed only this explanation made sense right now.
All the doubts that had previously accumulated in his heart now found answers in an instant.
Take how Ye Han had easily suppressed those two thugs back then without even releasing his martial soul; it turned out his strength far exceeded theirs.
Qin Ming stared blankly in the direction Ye Han had departed, his usually composed eyes now holding nothing but bewilderment and disbelief.
Level fifty... A fifth soul ring...
A twelve-year-old Soul King?
These words swirled and collided repeatedly in his mind, failing to piece together a true picture no matter how he tried.
He even suspected that he had misheard, or that Dugu Yan was joking.
Yet Dugu Yan's expression was tranquil, her emerald-green eyes serene, as she merely stated a fact.
At this moment, the rest of the Imperial Fighting Team were all too stunned to speak.
Which one of them present wasn't a recognized genius? To possess this level of soul power cultivation at their age placed them among the very elite even across the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
Yet Ye Han... twelve years old, level fifty.
This number pressed down like a massive boulder, making it nearly difficult to breathe.
"Teacher Qin..." Yu Feng said in a hoarse voice. "What should we... do now?"
Qin Ming snapped back to his senses, forcefully shaking his head to drive away his chaotic thoughts.
"Let's leave here first." Qin Ming forced himself to steady his mind. "The current situation in the Star Dou Great Forest is unstable, and outsiders like us soul masters shouldn't linger."
He paused, continuing his instructions: "Everyone follow me closely. The rest maintain formation, and we'll go to the outer perimeter of the forest to find a safe location to wait for Ye Han."
Dugu Yan gave a slight nod.
She looked toward the direction Ye Han had left, a trace of worry flashing across the depths of her eyes before instantly concealing itself.
She believed in Ye Han.
On the other side, Ye Han was already riding the Fire Qilin, dashing swiftly toward the Soul Beast it had perceived.
Ye Han lay prone upon the Qilin's spine, the sound of the wind whistling unceasingly against his ears.
In the Fire Qilin's perception, the fire attribute of this Soul Beast was extremely pure, and it was precisely because of this that the Fire Qilin had been able to capture its aura.
Aside from the fire attribute, it also mastered formidable light attribute power.
It belonged to a dual-attribute Soul Beast with fire as its primary and light as its secondary attribute.
This type of composite-attribute Soul Beast was rare to begin with, and its abilities exceptionally matched the power the Fire Qilin currently possessed.
If it could obtain a fifth soul ring that simultaneously carried both fire and light attributes, it would undoubtedly be the best choice for the Fire Qilin at this stage.
Just as Ye Han pursued his own fifth soul ring, the Shrek group encountered a hardship they could scarcely bear.
On the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, a temporary camp had been set up.
The campfire flickered uncertainly, casting light upon several bloodless faces.
Zhao Wuji sat beside the fire, his expression frighteningly gloomy.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun leaned against the rock face wrapped in blankets; their old bandages had yet to be removed, and fresh injuries had now been added, making them look utterly disheveled.
Oscar squatted by the edge of the campfire, holding a restorative Big Sausage in his hand without managing to bring it to his mouth for a long time.
His gaze was scattered, his face still retaining a look of lingering fear.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing hugged their knees, sitting a short distance away from the campfire. Their school uniforms were stained with dirt, and their two delicate faces were as pale as paper.
Tang San leaned his back against a tree trunk with his head lowered, his hands clenched tightly into fists, his body trembling slightly.
It was not fear, but a towering fury, intertwined with a profound sense of powerlessness and despair.
Xiao Wu had been abducted.
Right before his eyes, she had been taken away by the Titan Giant Ape that had suddenly appeared.
They hadn't even been able to mount any semblance of organized resistance. The Titan Giant Ape merely swept a casual hand, and the stirred-up gale blew everyone scattering away completely.
Afterward, it grabbed Xiao Wu, made a few leaps, and vanished into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye.
Yet he, from beginning to end, could only watch helplessly from the side, powerless to obstruct her even in the slightest.
Tang San was completely unaware of the inside story.
Only a single thought occupied his mind: Xiao Wu had been taken by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Xiao Wu was merely a Soul Grandmaster; before a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she was as insignificant as an ant.
She would die!
This thought firmly occupied the depths of Tang San's mind, making it utterly impossible for him to calm down and think.
Before you continue