Dead silence fell over the scene.
There was only the wind's mournful whistle through the treetops and the low chirping of unknown insects in the distance.
Wang Sheng and the others stared wide-eyed at the hundred-year Netherworld Wolf, its neck twisted and its breath gone, then at Ling Feng, who had put away his hammer and stood as calmly as if he had merely swatted a fly. Something seemed to clog their throats, leaving them unable to make a sound.
An instant kill!
A true instant kill!
There had been no dazzling flashes of Soul Skills, no violent clashes of Soul Power.
Only a single hammer strike-simple, brutal, and blindingly fast!
The Hundred-Year Soul Beast they thought would require a battle formation, perhaps even a price to defeat, had been as fragile as paper before Ling Feng.
The muscles in Teacher Mo Hen's face twitched slightly, and his Mountain Leopard Martial Soul slowly receded. He looked at Ling Feng with incredulous shock in his eyes.
As a Soul Elder, he could naturally have dealt with this Netherworld Wolf with ease.
But he could never have made it look as effortless as Ling Feng had...
That was a display of absolute mastery over strength, timing, and angle! Was this really something a Soul Master who had just obtained his First Soul Ring could accomplish? That strange black hammer, and that unheard-of yet utterly domineering hammer technique...
Tang San stood silently in place. At some point, he had put away the Bone-Piercing Nail between his fingers. He drew a deep breath of the cool forest air, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. The sheer physical strength and grasp of combat opportunities Ling Feng had just demonstrated put him under unprecedented pressure. With Mysterious Jade Hand and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he could have dodged that pounce, but to do what Ling Feng had with a single hammer strike... he knew he could not. This boy his age was even more unfathomable than he had imagined.
Xiao Wu blinked her large eyes, tugged Tang San's sleeve, and muttered, "Da Sanzi, he seems... just a little bit stronger than you said." Though simple-minded, she had an instinctive sense of strength.
Ling Feng paid no attention to everyone's shock. He walked over to the Netherworld Wolf's corpse, from which a bright Yellow Soul Ring was slowly emerging, giving off gentle, enticing fluctuations of energy.
If you're putting on a show, see it through.
Since he had ostensibly "killed" this Hundred-Year Soul Beast, "absorbing" its Soul Ring was the natural next step.
He sat cross-legged facing the Soul Ring and held both hands out, palms down, assuming the standard posture for guiding a Soul Ring's energy.
In reality, the five-hundred-year Mountain-Shaking Baboon Soul Ring that the system had directly granted him and perfectly integrated was floating quietly inside him. His abundant Soul Power surged, already at the peak of rank thirteen. This Netherworld Wolf Soul Ring, a little over a hundred years old, held no appeal for him whatsoever. He could even call it trash.
But to the others, this was the trophy he had just fought hard to obtain, a crucial step on his path as a Soul Master.
"He's going to absorb the Soul Ring!" Wang Sheng exclaimed quietly, envy in his voice.
Teacher Mo Hen immediately rallied and motioned for everyone to spread out and stand guard. "Watch your surroundings! A Soul Master must never be disturbed while absorbing a Soul Ring! Tang San, Xiao Wu, help keep watch too!"
"Mm." Tang San nodded, quietly activating Purple Demon Eye as he scanned the dense woods around them, alert for any danger that might appear. Xiao Wu also reined in her boisterousness, her ears twitching slightly as she listened for unusual sounds on the wind.
Ling Feng closed his eyes and focused, but his awareness sank into his body, guiding the already-present energy of his Earth-Shaking Blast Soul Skill to imitate the Soul Power fluctuations expected during Soul Ring absorption. At the same time, he deliberately released some Soul Power, forming a faint, somewhat unstable halo that looked like the surging Soul Power of someone absorbing a Soul Ring for the first time.
The process... was naturally simplified as far as it could possibly be.
There was not the slightest pain.
Not a trace of risk.
Only the smoothness of water flowing into a channel once it was ready.
Under the others' anxious gazes, the yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring drifted slowly toward Ling Feng. When it touched the halo of Soul Power he was releasing, it melted smoothly into it like ice and snow thawing.
Immediately afterward, a distinctly stronger fluctuation of Soul Power spread from Ling Feng!
"He did it!" Wang Sheng could not help cheering.
Teacher Mo Hen also breathed a sigh of relief, the surprise in his eyes deepening. "What a fast absorption! And such a noticeable increase in Soul Power... It seems this Netherworld Wolf's Soul Ring suits him very well." That was the only explanation he could give.
Tang San frowned slightly. He had endured considerable pain and risk while absorbing the Mandala Snake's Soul Ring. How could it have been this easy? Were Ling Feng's physique and mental power really that monstrous?
A moment later, Ling Feng opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them. He stood and stretched his limbs, his joints crackling softly, his presence a little more concentrated than before.
"How do you feel? What's your Soul Skill?" Teacher Mo Hen stepped forward and asked. This was his duty as the teacher leading the group.
With a thought from Ling Feng, the Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his hand once more. That deep yellow Soul Ring rose with it.
His gaze swept over a bluish-gray rock nearby, half as tall as a person.
"Let's give it a try."
As he spoke, he did not charge at the rock. Instead, he raised the Clear Sky Hammer overhead, Soul Power surging around him and pouring into the hammer!
The Yellow Soul Ring suddenly flared!
A heavy, oppressive presence spread outward from him! Dark light gathered around the hammerhead, as though it contained the power to collapse mountains and split stone!
"First Soul Skill! Earth-Shaking Blast!"
With that low shout, Ling Feng did not smash the hammer into the rock, but drove it fiercely into the ground before him!
Boom!!!
The instant the pitch-black hammerhead touched the ground, it seemed less like a hammer strike than a falling meteor!
A deep, thunderous explosion erupted!
The ground within several meters of the impact suddenly sank! A visible ring of earthen-yellow shock waves burst outward!
Crack! Crack!
The ground fractured inch by inch! Cracks spread like a spiderweb!
Powerful gusts swept in every direction, carrying dirt and shredded grass!
Wang Sheng and the others standing closer were pushed into stumbling retreats by the blast, their faces draining with horror!
Even Teacher Mo Hen instinctively released Soul Power to protect himself, his eyes full of shock. "This... this is an area-of-effect Soul Skill?! Such powerful tremors!"
When the dust cleared.
A shallow crater had appeared where Ling Feng's hammer had struck, and cracks covered the ground around it. In particular, although the bluish-gray rock he had chosen as an imaginary target had not been hit directly, fine cracks had appeared across its surface after the shock wave swept over it!
And this was only the result of Ling Feng restraining his strength rather than going all out!
Had he landed a full-force blow head-on, that rock would probably have turned to dust in an instant!
"An area-of-effect... power-attack Soul Skill..." Tang San murmured, his palms sweating slightly. A Soul Skill like this was terrifying in actual combat, especially in a group battle. It was nothing short of a nightmare! With the Soul Ring's enhancement, Ling Feng's strength had undergone a qualitative transformation!
Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue. "Wow, that was loud!"
Ling Feng put away the Clear Sky Hammer, his expression unchanged, as though he had merely done something casual. He was quite satisfied with Earth-Shaking Blast's power. The system's products truly were top quality.
Yet, before the echoes of that explosion had entirely faded-
"Roar!!!"
"Awooo-!"
Deep in the forest, several beast roars filled with brutality and warning abruptly rang out, some near and some far!
Clearly, that tremendous commotion had broken the forest's tranquility and disturbed certain powerful beings!
Almost at the same instant!
Ling Feng's passive skill, Beginner Danger Sense, suddenly rippled like the surface of water struck by a pebble!
There was more than one!
Several traces of intent filled with bloodlust, greed, and agitation vaguely locked onto their area from different directions!
Soul Beasts had been drawn over!
And seemingly more than one!
Teacher Mo Hen's expression changed drastically, and he shouted sternly, "This is bad! That was too loud-we've drawn in some big ones! Everyone, gather around me now! Prepare to retreat!"
The group instantly grew tense, and the students gathered in panic.
Yet Ling Feng's senses caught a hint of something unusual.
Amid those wild, murderous intentions belonging to Soul Beasts, there seemed... to be an extremely well-concealed trace of human intent, carrying cold calculation!
That intent was not directed at the entire group.
Instead... it had locked precisely onto him!
Like a venomous snake in the darkness finally baring its fangs!
Ling Feng glanced in a certain direction from the corner of his eye and sneered inwardly.
Sure enough...
Couldn't hold back after all?