Today was already their last day in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Just as Tian Chen had expected, the three of them had scoured more than half the Soul Hunting Forest without encountering any students other than themselves.
That was hardly surprising, though. After all, not everyone possessed combat strength as formidable as Tian Chen's. For most Soul Masters with only one ring, dealing with a Soul Beast that had just passed the hundred-year mark was already a struggle.
Not to mention that many students in their class had yet to obtain even a Soul Ring.
Apart from their own group of three, probably only Xie Yue's trio had the ability to survive in the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Let's rest first and recover our Soul Power and stamina."
Tian Chen waved for the other two to stop and leaned against a thick tree trunk. He looked up at the sun hanging low in the western sky and sighed helplessly.
"If we still can't find Xie Yue and the others in another hour, let's just leave the Soul Hunting Forest."
Tian Chen hesitated briefly before quickly making his decision.
There was little point in dragging this out any longer. Besides, he could not rule out the possibility that Xie Yue's trio had been unlucky enough to encounter a powerful Soul Beast and been rescued by a teacher ahead of time.
But in that case, he could not guarantee with absolute certainty that they would take first place.
"Young Master Tian, I think they were probably eliminated ages ago. Their Soul Power might be high, but that doesn't necessarily mean the three of them could handle so many Hundred-Year Soul Beasts."
Hearing Li Kai's words, Zhang Ping nodded beside him.
Clearly, she did not think Xie Yue's trio could be stronger than them either. Of course, her confidence came from Tian Chen. With only her and Li Kai's strength, that Wind Baboon with two hundred years of cultivation would probably have eliminated them earlier.
"Then I'll get ready to leave now."
Tian Chen thought it over. Searching for another hour would not make much difference, and after seven days without bathing in the Soul Hunting Forest, he was genuinely finding it a little unbearable.
If Xie Yue's trio could still beat his record under these circumstances, he would have nothing to say.
Boom!
"Hm?"
Just as Tian Chen and the other two were preparing to pack up and leave the Soul Hunting Forest, a deafening boom suddenly came from nearby.
It was accompanied by an astonishing fluctuation of Soul Power.
"Young Master Tian?"
Li Kai and Zhang Ping both turned to Tian Chen. Over the past few days, they had unconsciously come to regard him as their leader, and his strength and background fully qualified him for the role.
Tian Chen narrowed his eyes toward the source of the disturbance and nodded.
"Let's go take a look first."
He did not mind wasting this little bit of time. If they could not handle it, they could simply make a run for it. Li Yuan was following them anyway, and perhaps Xie Yue and the others were behind the commotion.
As it happened, Xie Yue's trio really was behind the commotion. To be precise, they were making it together with a Soul Beast.
Earlier, Xie Yue's trio had also intended to leave the Soul Hunting Forest now, but his younger sister, Hu Liena, was determined to beat Tian Chen. She had therefore suggested venturing deeper into the forest to hunt a few more Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.
Xie Yue naturally knew what his sister was thinking, and he had plenty of confidence in their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
As for Yan, that went without saying. As Hu Liena's loyal simp, how could he possibly refuse her?
"Yan, hold it off for a moment and buy time for my brother and me to use our Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Try not to push yourself. If you can't hold out, let the teacher step in."
"Don't worry, Nana. I can hold out. I'll definitely help you beat Tian Chen this time."
One sentence was all it took to reveal a veteran simp.
Yan released his Martial Soul as he charged at the Soul Beast before him. Even when it battered him until he was coughing up mouthfuls of blood, he kept throwing himself back into the fray without fear of death.
Even the teacher from Spirit Hall Academy hiding nearby had nearly been unable to resist stepping in several times.
Yan really was in a miserable state.
Not only was he coughing up blood, but one of his arms had been brutally broken and hung limply at his side. Fortunately, his life was not in danger.
And the Soul Beast before him was no ordinary creature either.
It was a tiger-type Soul Beast over three meters long and more than a meter and a half tall at the shoulder.
Its entire body was covered in tawny fur, densely patterned with dark purple stripes that gave it a distinctly unusual appearance.
One of its eyes was ice blue, while the other was fiery red, making it look very eerie. Stranger still, it had a pair of wings on its back, also ice blue and fiery red respectively.
Having arrived nearby, Tian Chen recognized the Soul Beast at a glance.
It was an Ice and Fire Demon Tiger whose cultivation had just passed the hundred-year mark. Though not as powerful as a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, it was still on the same level as a Man Faced Demon Spider.
It excelled at both ranged and close-quarters attacks, commanded the powers of both ice and fire, and had wings on its back that allowed brief flight. Its combat strength was extremely formidable.
Most remarkably, it was said that if this kind of Soul Beast died in battle, it could produce two Soul Rings, one ice and one fire. It was truly peculiar.
Tian Chen found himself somewhat impressed by Yan. Being such a devoted simp that he did not even care about his own life was seriously badass.
Taking on a Hundred-Year Ice and Fire Demon Tiger head-on with the cultivation of a One-Ring Soul Master was simply courting death.
Couldn't you see that this Ice and Fire Demon Tiger was toying with you? Otherwise, it would have slapped you dead long ago.
This was a creature whose combat strength at the hundred-year level already rivaled a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It definitely qualified as a local tyrant in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Although Tian Chen was also somewhat puzzled about why such a powerful Soul Beast would appear in the Soul Hunting Forest, he did not particularly care.
He could simply find an opening to land the finishing blow when the time came.
Hanging around the edge to spectate, then kill-stealing-he could not have been more practiced at that.