Fifty-Year Flame Bird

He arrived at the academy gates.

Aside from the two guards stationed at the entrance, Ji Yang did not immediately spot any members of the Soul Hunting Squad he was looking for.

But soon, he noticed several familiar figures beside a vendor's stall not far away.

They belonged to the Gale Squad, the third-ranked Soul Hunting team in Nuoding City.

"Looking for them, Brother Ji? They asked us to notify you, then went over there to wait!"

Just then, one of the guards spoke up to explain.

"All right, thanks for your help!"

Ji Yang nodded with a smile.

"Here's a little tea money for you. Sorry for the trouble of passing on the message."

He casually took out two Silver Soul Coins and handed them to the guard who had spoken, for the two of them to split.

Although they were merely two unremarkable commoner guards, he still made a point of maintaining friendly relations with them.

When the need arose, they could always be of some use.

Compared to that, this little expense was nothing.

"Thank you, Brother Ji!"

Both guards beamed and happily accepted the coins together.

Ji Yang walked over to the Gale Squad and greeted them.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries.

Luo Yuexuan, the Gale Squad's leader, was a rank-thirty-two Soul Elder whose martial soul was a Flame Sparrow. Without wasting words, he briskly picked up an iron cage sitting off to one side on the ground.

"Here's the soul beast you wanted, Brother Ji-a Flame Bird with roughly fifty years of cultivation!"

Luo Yuexuan spoke.

Flame Birds were relatively uncommon soul beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest.

It was said that Flame Birds possessed an extremely faint trace of Phoenix bloodline, and their flames were extraordinary as well, carrying some of the characteristics of Phoenix Fire.

However, Flame Birds themselves had a low ceiling for growth-an exceedingly low one, in fact.

Never mind becoming thousand-year soul beasts; even becoming hundred-year soul beasts was harder than hard.

As a result, hundred-year Flame Birds were exceptionally rare and valuable.

Although the Flame Bird before him only had around fifty years of cultivation, it was still relatively rare and far from cheap, costing at least eighty Gold Soul Coins.

Ji Yang had offered the Gale Squad one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins, a premium of fifty percent.

Of course, that also included the fee for hiring the Gale Squad.

Had the Flame Bird he wanted not been only a few decades old, the fee would have been even higher.

"Good, it's the soul beast I wanted, and its cultivation age is good too!"

After a quick inspection, Ji Yang nodded in satisfaction.

Then he casually took one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins from his ring-shaped Storage Soul Tool and handed them to Luo Yuexuan.

It was a keepsake left to him by his parents, both of whom had passed away.

Although the Storage Soul Tool did not have much space, it still held two cubic meters, which was quite decent.

"Here's your payment. You can count it, Brother Luo."

Ji Yang spoke.

"No need to count it. How could we not trust you, Brother Ji?"

Luo Yuexuan chuckled.

With that, he accepted one hundred of the Gold Soul Coins and pushed the remaining twenty back to Ji Yang.

"I'd like to use these twenty Gold Soul Coins to buy some medicine for stopping bleeding and treating injuries from you, Brother Ji."

Luo Yuexuan spoke.

"Of course, no problem!"

Ji Yang nodded with a smile.

This was also his biggest source of income.

He bought medicinal herbs that were effective at stopping bleeding and treating injuries, then used his martial soul, the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace, to refine them into Hemostatic Pills and Healing Pills. He sold them to medicine shops in Nuoding City or Soul Hunting Squads like Luo Yuexuan's.

Since his pills worked well and offered good value for money, they had even gained a following among some people.

Luo Yuexuan was clearly one of them.

However, Ji Yang strictly controlled the quantity of pills he sold, never selling too many lest he invite others' covetous attention.

Moreover, he only sold these two kinds of pills, never offering astonishingly effective "divine pills" such as Whale Rubber Pills, Soul Power Pills, or Soul Ring Pills.

Otherwise, who knew whether he could still remain safely at Nuoding Academy? He would either be seized and made a pill-refining slave or cut down with a single stroke.

"Here are ten Hemostatic Pills and ten Healing Pills."

Ji Yang took two bottles from his Storage Soul Tool, each containing ten pills of its respective kind.

Both cost the same: one Gold Soul Coin per pill.

Ordinary commoners could never afford them, nor would they be willing to spend that much.

But for Soul Hunting Squads with decent incomes, like Luo Yuexuan's, the cost was well within their means.

Not to mention, this was far cheaper than seeking out a healing-type Soul Master afterward to recover and treat their injuries.

Even hiring the cheapest healing Soul Master for a single treatment would cost at least several Gold Soul Coins.

One Gold Soul Coin was practically a steal!

"Thank you, Brother Ji!"

Luo Yuexuan put away the two bottles of pills with a delighted expression.

The squad members behind him were equally excited.

After all, these were a safeguard for their lives.

"Then we won't disturb you any longer, Brother Ji. If you need anything next time, you can come to us again. Even if you don't need us to hunt soul beasts, we can help gather medicinal herbs in particular places."

Luo Yuexuan spoke politely.

"No problem! If you come across any medicinal herbs, Brother Luo, you can bring them to me too. I'll buy them at market price or trade pills for them."

Ji Yang smiled.

Leaving Luo Yuexuan's Gale Squad aside, other Soul Hunting Squads had brought him some good medicinal herbs before, which he had refined into some decent pills.

So he was happy to see that happen.

"Will do!"

Luo Yuexuan readily agreed.

After saying goodbye to Ji Yang, he led his squad away.

Ji Yang carried the iron cage containing the Flame Bird back to his student dormitory.

Since it was mealtime, Nuoding Academy's teachers and students were all in the dining hall, so no one noticed him breaking the rules by bringing a soul beast into the academy.

As for the two guards, having accepted Ji Yang's "hush money," they naturally would not report him, provided he did not cause any trouble.

"Then get ready to become my soul ring!"

Ji Yang looked at the Flame Bird in the cage with anticipation written all over his face.

He could not have been more satisfied with this Flame Bird.

The reason was that it was not only a fire-type soul beast but also possessed a trace of Phoenix bloodline.

As such, the soul skill formed from this Flame Bird naturally could not be too poor.

Beyond that, if he later encountered stronger soul beasts that also possessed Phoenix bloodline, he could use Soul Ring Pills refined from those beasts, or Soul Blood Pills corresponding to their bloodlines, to elevate the Flame Bird's soul ring and bring about a qualitative transformation.

All these possibilities!

This Flame Bird was indeed a good choice for him as he was now.

With that thought, Ji Yang summoned his Bagua Alchemy Furnace Martial Soul, preparing to refine the Flame Bird.

But before he actually began, something occurred to him. He instinctively paused, and another idea arose in his mind.

What if I didn't use this Flame Bird to make a soul ring?