A chance encounter with Meng Yiran

To make their search for soul beasts more efficient.

Dai Chengqian and the other three split up to search in different directions.

Dai Chengqian went with Zhu Zhuqing, while Dugu Bo went with Dugu Yan.

Whichever pair encountered a suitable soul beast would send word to the other.

The towering trees of the Star Dou Great Forest blotted out the sky and sun. With Dai Chengqian leading and Zhu Zhuqing following, they began searching at a swift pace.

They had been searching for about twenty minutes.

When a spider suddenly leaped out of the bushes ahead and to their left.

Its abdomen bore markings resembling a human face. Raising its two sharp forelegs, it slashed at Dai Chengqian's neck.

The instant Dai Chengqian sensed something attacking him, he activated his Third Soul Skill.

The explosive speed of Thousand-Flash Thunder Shadow let him evade the spider's attack in an instant.

Instead of striking Dai Chengqian, the spider's two forelegs collided with each other, sending sparks flying.

Seeing its prey disappear, a trace of confusion appeared in the spider's eyes. Then it immediately switched targets and lunged at Zhu Zhuqing behind him.

"A thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider? Could this be Tang San's?"

Dai Chengqian recognized the spider.

Standing on its back, he raised his hand and unleashed two purple arcs of electricity at its eyes.

Pfft!

The Purple Heaven Divine Thunder's energy was ferociously explosive. The two bolts instantly pierced the Man Faced Demon Spider's eyes and surged into its body.

Bang!

A moment later, the overwhelming energy exploded inside it, leaving the Man Faced Demon Spider thoroughly dead.

Dai Chengqian looked back at Zhu Zhuqing and shook his head regretfully.

"What a pity. This soul beast is a Man Faced Demon Spider, and its attributes don't suit you. Otherwise, I would have left it for you to finish off."

Zhu Zhuqing took it in stride and smiled.

"It's all right. We can just find another one."

Dai Chengqian nodded and was about to move on.

Suddenly, a pretty young woman emerged from the woods ahead.

When she saw the dead Man Faced Demon Spider behind Dai Chengqian, her face instantly flushed with anger.

The newcomer was Meng Yiran.

Man Faced Demon Spiders were relatively rare soul beasts to begin with.

Seven days ago, Tang San had snatched one from her. Today, she had finally managed to find another, only to have it snatched away again!

"Damn you! Who told you to kill my demon spider?"

Without waiting for Dai Chengqian to explain, Meng Yiran looked up and attacked him.

"First soul skill, Snake Blade!"

Two snake blades shot toward Dai Chengqian, trailing an eerie blue glow.

Dai Chengqian did not dodge. With his White Tiger Protection Barrier activated, the two snake blades could not penetrate his defenses at all.

"Damn it!"

Seeing that her attack had failed, Meng Yiran swiftly closed in on Dai Chengqian and hurled her hidden weapons, the Soul-Breaking Knives.

Dai Chengqian remained where he stood, with no intention of moving.

Seeing him stand still, Meng Yiran snorted.

"At this range, my Soul-Breaking Knives are at least three times stronger. Let's see your defenses stop them!"

The moment she finished speaking, the Soul-Breaking Knives struck the White Tiger Protection Barrier, but still failed to breach it.

"How is that possible..."

Meng Yiran could not believe how effortlessly Dai Chengqian was handling her attacks.

Dai Chengqian had not retaliated because he had already recognized who she was.

A pretty young woman with a Serpent Cane martial soul who used hidden weapons.

She was almost certainly Meng Yiran, the granddaughter of the Dragon Duke and Dragon Lady.

Smiling at her frustrated expression, Dai Chengqian said:

"Don't be angry. This is a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding, my ass! You turtle shell, try taking this!"

As she spoke, a five-inch steel needle appeared in Meng Yiran's hand, thin at the tip and thick at the rear.

With a light flick of her hand, she sent the needle flying toward Dai Chengqian.

"Still attacking? Then I won't hold back."

Dai Chengqian unleashed a purple arc of electricity from one hand at the steel needle flying toward him.

With his other hand, he quietly wove a person-sized net of electricity and instantly cast it over Meng Yiran.

The purple net moved so fast that Meng Yiran had no chance to dodge before it wrapped around her completely.

She tried to break free with her soul power, but the arcs coursing over the net numbed her, leaving her unable to summon it at all.

"Damn you! Let me go!

My grandfather is nearby! You stole my soul beast!

And now you're hitting me! My grandfather won't spare you when he finds out!!!"

"All right, all right, stop making a racket. Who hit you?

Weren't you the one who attacked first? I was only defending myself."

Meng Yiran looked at Dai Chengqian.

He was toying with the Bone-Piercing Needle Tang San had given her.

She had never expected the hidden weapon technique she had just learned from Tang San to pose no threat to this man either.

Dai Chengqian placed the Bone-Piercing Needle in Meng Yiran's palm and said:

"A Bone-Piercing Needle, right? Here, take it back."

"You know the Bone-Piercing Needle?" Meng Yiran asked in surprise.

Dai Chengqian smiled.

"Isn't it just a hidden weapon? A minor trick, that's all. You'd be better off properly training your own soul skills."

Meng Yiran wanted to argue, but swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.

Her hidden weapons truly had been utterly useless against this man.

She wondered whether the outcome would be different if Tang San were here.

"How dare you! What are you doing to my granddaughter?"

At that moment, the Dragon Lady, who had been searching for her granddaughter, spotted Meng Yiran.

Seeing her granddaughter in danger, she raised her hand and sent two flying blades toward Dai Chengqian.

Just before the blades reached him, his body transformed into a streak of purple lightning, shooting a hundred meters backward.

The blades missed Dai Chengqian and buried themselves deep in the ground.

After dodging the Dragon Lady's strike, Dai Chengqian felt a lingering fear. Its power was nothing like Meng Yiran's attacks.

The gap in soul power between soul masters was not so easily overcome.

The Dragon Lady was a Soul Saint. Had he taken that strike head-on, he would probably have been badly injured.

The Dragon Lady came to Meng Yiran's side. Only after confirming that her granddaughter was fine, without even an injury, did she relax.

She turned to look at Dai Chengqian.

The moment she saw the black soul ring around him, her heart jolted.

His third soul ring is actually a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring! Who is this boy?

Meng Yiran also saw Dai Chengqian's black soul ring. Her beautiful eyes widened as she stared at it without blinking, utterly stunned.

"A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring! How is that possible..."

Just then, the Dragon Duke approached from a distance as well.

His pupils contracted slightly when he saw Dai Chengqian's black soul ring.

Seeing the Dragon Duke appear too, Dai Chengqian cupped his hands toward the two elders.

"Seniors, this is a misunderstanding.

I didn't do anything to your granddaughter. She kept attacking me, so I had no choice but to restrain her first."

With that, Dai Chengqian waved a hand, dispersing the purple net of electricity binding Meng Yiran.

Pointing at Dai Chengqian, Meng Yiran tearfully complained to the Dragon Duke.

"Grandfather, he killed my demon spider.

We searched for seven or eight days before finding another one, and now it's gone again.

Why am I so unlucky? First Tang San stole one from me, and now he's done it too."

The Dragon Duke glanced at the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse in the distance.

He more or less understood what had happened, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

They really had been unlucky this time, constantly having their soul beasts snatched away by others.

The Dragon Duke looked at Dai Chengqian and said:

"Man Faced Demon Spiders are extremely rare. We spent seven days searching for this one, and my granddaughter was already about to kill it.

Now you've killed it. What do you propose we do?"

Dai Chengqian said, "This demon spider ambushed us. I only fought back in self-defense.

It attacked me. Surely I wasn't supposed to stand there like a fool?"

"Even so, we're still the ones who lost out. We can't simply let the matter end here."

Dai Chengqian raised an eyebrow and said evenly:

"What do you want, then? Are you going to bully someone younger and attack me yourself?"

The Dragon Duke shook his head and pointed at Dai Chengqian's black soul ring.

"I want to know how you managed to absorb your Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring."