Life Source Deer

Relying on his powerful physique and strength, Li Ye pinned the Mandala Snake firmly to the tree. No matter how it struggled, it could not break free.

Slowly, the Mandala Snake stopped moving, and a yellow Soul Ring gradually emerged above its corpse.

Seeing this, Li Ye pulled his spear free and dragged the Mandala Snake's corpse over to Yu Xiaogang and Tang San.

"Ah, what a pity. This Mandala Snake was already close to four hundred years old. According to my original plan, it should have been the most suitable Soul Ring for Xiao San. It's just..." Yu Xiaogang glanced regretfully at the Mandala Snake on the ground.

Tang San, however, had no such thoughts. He was still immersed in the shock of watching Li Ye kill the Mandala Snake in an instant.

If I had faced this giant snake, I'm afraid... I never imagined Senior Brother was so strong. Is this how terrifying a genius Soul Master of this world can be? Tang San touched the Mandala Snake's hard scales, growing ever more astonished.

But according to Teacher and Senior Brother, my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul should be a support-oriented Control System martial soul. I probably won't have much chance of doing that. Still, if I could make those top-ranked hidden weapons in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, accomplishing something like this should be no trouble either. Tang San could not help looking forward to it.

As for Li Ye, when he saw that Yu Xiaogang wanted to lecture him again, he immediately took out the dagger Flender had given him and began skinning the Mandala Snake, pretending not to hear Yu Xiaogang.

Early the next morning, after eating snake-meat porridge, Li Ye, his teacher, and his junior brother resumed their search for a suitable Soul Beast for Tang San.

Yet several days passed without the three of them finding a single suitable Soul Beast, as though without that Mandala Snake, Tang San had no Soul Ring he could use.

Fortunately, Heaven did not fail those who persevered. Although they had not found a Soul Beast with powerful vitality and control effects, the three of them encountered a Life Source Deer with a sacred attribute.

"A Life Source Deer!" Yu Xiaogang gazed in delighted surprise at the brownish-green deer with white spots grazing a short distance away.

"Teacher, what kind of Soul Beast is a Life Source Deer?" Tang San asked curiously.

"A Life Source Deer is a Soul Beast with a sacred attribute and powerful life energy within its body. These Soul Beasts are extremely rare. You could say they're the Soul Rings every support-type Soul Master dreams of. I never imagined we'd encounter one here."

The delighted surprise lingered in Yu Xiaogang's eyes as he explained quietly, afraid of startling it.

"Teacher, then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry and catch it, let Xiao San absorb it, and head back to the academy," Li Ye said excitedly.

"It's not that simple. Life Source Deer are extremely cautious Soul Beasts, and they also possess an innate Soul Skill, Life Incarnation. They can create an incarnation to gather food and nutrients for cultivation, while their real bodies hide far away, waiting for the incarnation to return. Even if we kill its incarnation, we won't get anything. So we have to wait until this incarnation finishes eating and returns to its real body before we can seize the chance to kill it. Ah, but they spend over ten days feeding every time they come out. Who knows how much time this trip will take us?"

"What? It actually has an ability like that? That's just nasty." After hearing Yu Xiaogang's explanation, Li Ye was dumbfounded. He had never imagined that a deer barely over four hundred years old could possess such a heaven-defying ability.

"Teacher, should we wait, or look for another Soul Beast?" Although Tang San very much wanted this Soul Ring, the thought of waiting so long, along with Li Ye's eagerness to return, left him wanting it less.

"Xiao San, how could we do that? This is the most suitable Soul Ring for you right now. No matter how long we have to wait, we can't give up." Li Ye looked at Tang San with determination in his eyes.

He had already decided to have Tang San provide support for him. Now that they had finally encountered a suitable Soul Beast, how could he simply give up? Otherwise, if they encountered another Soul Beast like the Mandala Snake, wouldn't Tang San end up becoming a Control System Soul Master again?

"Senior Brother..." Tang San truly had not expected Li Ye to say this, and his face immediately filled with emotion.

"All right, relax, relax. Stop looking at me like that." With Tang San staring at him that way, Li Ye was almost starting to feel embarrassed.

But with the goddess of luck's blessing, the deer turned and bounded off into the distance after eating for only a little while.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately led Li Ye and Tang San in pursuit of the Life Source Deer.

For some unknown reason, the three encountered no danger whatsoever along the way, as though the deer had deliberately avoided it.

"Teacher, that should be the Life Source Deer's real body, right?"

Watching the deer merge its incarnation into its body, its entire form glowing a luminous green, Li Ye sought confirmation from Yu Xiaogang.

"Yes, it is. But although these Soul Beasts aren't strong fighters, they're extremely good at escaping. So Xiao Ye, you'll attack first. I'll take Sanpao and block its escape route. As for Xiao San, seize your chance and use this dagger to deliver the finishing blow." After arranging their lines of attack, Yu Xiaogang handed Tang San a dagger.

"Why go to all that trouble? Just watch me." With that, Li Ye immediately activated his Martial Soul, unleashed his first and second Soul Skills, and charged at the Life Source Deer nearby.

"Wind-Seeking, Cloud-Piercing!"

Perhaps it was innately sensitive to danger. Before Li Ye could launch his attack, the Life Source Deer immediately split off an incarnation to block him, while its real body turned and fled.

Only after his spear pierced through the incarnation did Li Ye realize that what he had blasted apart was actually an incarnation.

Moreover, the deer was fleeing straight toward Tang San.

Li Ye truly had not expected a Hundred-Year Soul Beast to be so clever that it even knew to break through in the weakest direction.

Looks like I'll have to be more cautious in the future. I can't underestimate an enemy like I did today.

Taking this lesson to heart, Li Ye immediately turned and charged toward Tang San.

Fortunately, Tang San had some ability. With his bare hands alone, he briefly obstructed the Life Source Deer, allowing Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao to successfully let out a resounding fart and stop it in its tracks.

Next, it was Li Ye's stage.

Spear intent surged, and a faint, desolate aura of death slowly emerged around Li Ye.

"Seven Desolate-Breaking Techniques, first form: Break!"

The Seven Desolate-Breaking Techniques had seven forms in total: Break, Pinnacle, Kill, Slaughter, Slay, Execute, and Sever.

With Li Ye's current strength and physique, he could only barely perform the first form, Break.

All the Soul Power in his body gathered at the spear's tip. The spear darted out like a venomous snake, breaking through the whole at a single point. It punched a huge, bloody hole straight through the Life Source Deer, which had just been fighting Luo Sanpao.

After taking Break of the Seven Desolate-Breaking Techniques, unleashed with Li Ye's full strength, the Life Source Deer immediately collapsed, unable to rise, and lay on the ground wailing incessantly.

Watching Li Ye approach, the Life Source Deer could only feel a Death Desolate Qi unlike anything it had ever experienced steadily devouring its soul. Terrified out of its wits, it looked toward Tang San with eyes full of pleading, hoping he would hurry and kill it rather than let its soul suffer any longer.