"You... what kind of monster are you?!"
Xiao Li's hoarse question, filled with fear and disbelief, sounded like a ghost's muttering, particularly grating in the brief deathly silence on the hillside.
Yet his voice was soon drowned out by even more savage beast roars.
The Soul Beasts had only been briefly cowed by Ling Feng's earth-shattering hammer strike. Their bloodthirsty instincts soon regained the upper hand. The powerful scent of blood coming from Xiao Li, in particular, drove them into a frenzy!
"Roar!"
The Hundred-Year Netherworld Wolf closest to Xiao Li lunged first, its eyes blazing red as it sprang toward him, limp on the ground and utterly incapable of resistance!
"Not good!" Teacher Mo Hen's expression changed dramatically. Whatever Xiao Li's faults, he was still a teacher at Nuoding Academy. He could not simply watch Soul Beasts tear him apart! He moved to rescue him.
But a streak of black lightning was faster!
Ling Feng moved!
Not to save Xiao Li.
It was because Xiao Li happened to be lying right in the path of the Netherworld Wolf's charge toward the group's flank!
More importantly, the ring on Xiao Li's hand, seemingly made of fine material, had survived the earlier collision intact and was faintly emitting fluctuations of Soul Power.
How could he let a beast lay its paws on his spoils?
"Get lost!"
With a cold shout, Ling Feng moved later but arrived first, sweeping his Clear Sky Hammer out with a shrill whistle through the air!
He used no Soul Skill, only sheer strength and speed!
Thud!
With a dull impact, the airborne Netherworld Wolf flew backward faster than it had come, its head bursting like a rotten watermelon. It died on the spot!
One strike, one kill!
Clean and decisive!
Without even glancing at the wolf's corpse, Ling Feng bent down, reached out, and deftly slid the ring off Xiao Li's finger before tucking it into his clothes. His movements flowed like clouds and running water, without the slightest hesitation.
As for whether Xiao Li lived or died, he did not care. With injuries that severe, being in the Soul Hunting Forest was practically a death sentence even if no Soul Beast ate him.
"Ling Feng! You..." Teacher Mo Hen reached them and looked at the barely breathing Xiao Li, then at the expressionless Ling Feng. He opened his mouth, but in the end, all that came out was a sigh full of conflicting feelings. He examined Xiao Li's injuries and shook his head. His Soul Power was exhausted, his internal organs damaged, his Martial Soul shattered... there was no saving him. He could only drag Xiao Li to the relatively safe foot of the rock face. Whether he could pull through was now in heaven's hands.
After this turn of events, the remaining Teacher Liu and the students in his group looked at Ling Feng with reverence and fear. Any ulterior thoughts were thoroughly extinguished, and they obediently cooperated in the defense.
The terrifying fighting strength Ling Feng had displayed also greatly boosted his own side's morale.
"Tang San, you and Xiao Wu take the left flank! Wang Sheng, have the others harass them from a distance with rocks! Teacher Mo, we'll hold off the strongest ones head-on!" Ling Feng's voice was steady and forceful as he naturally took over part of the command.
Teacher Mo Hen had no mind to quibble over that now and nodded in agreement.
Battle erupted once more!
But this time, with Ling Feng's extraordinary fighting strength added to their ranks, the situation instantly reversed!
He stood planted like a boulder at the very front of the defensive line. Every swing of his Clear Sky Hammer left a Soul Beast with broken bones and torn sinews, either dead or injured! Almost no Hundred-Year Soul Beast could last a single exchange beneath his hammer!
Especially when his yellow Soul Ring lit up again and an Earth-Shaking Blast struck the ground, the terrifying shock wave sent three or four Soul Beasts attempting a mass charge tumbling in utter chaos. The beasts' offensive was completely halted!
Though bloodthirsty, the remaining Soul Beasts were not entirely without intelligence. Facing this hard bone they could not gnaw through, especially the boy with the black hammer in the center who exuded such a dangerous presence, they began to hesitate, growling as they slowly backed away.
Finally, amid an unwilling howl from the lead wolf beast, the surviving Soul Beasts retreated into the dense forest and disappeared.
All that remained on the hillside were Soul Beast corpses strewn across the ravaged ground and the still-shaken group.
The crisis was over, for now.
"Is... is it over?" Wang Sheng plopped onto the ground, panting heavily, lingering fear still on his face.
Most of the other students also collapsed, weak with the exhaustion of having survived a calamity.
Tang San put away his hidden weapons and walked over to Ling Feng. Looking at the Soul Beast corpses covering the ground, particularly the Netherworld Wolf whose head Ling Feng had smashed with one blow, he said with a complicated look, "Ling Feng, you..."
He wanted to ask something, but did not know where to begin. Ling Feng's strength had already gone beyond his understanding.
Xiao Wu ran over with admiration written all over her face. "Brother Ling Feng! You're amazing! Way better than Da Sanzi!" Her blunt words left Tang San looking helpless.
Ling Feng smiled without speaking. He walked over to the corpses of several more valuable Hundred-Year Soul Beasts and skillfully used the short knife he carried to harvest useful materials, such as wolf fangs and python sinews. All of these could be exchanged for Gold Soul Coins.
Teacher Mo Hen assigned Teacher Liu to keep watch and tend to the wounded, then walked over to Ling Feng himself, his expression solemn. "Ling Feng, we owe you a great deal today. But... the matter with Xiao Li may cause some trouble when we return to the academy."
Without raising his head, Ling Feng continued working. "He wanted to kill me. I fought back. That's only right and proper. As for trouble..."
He paused, his tone calm but carrying a trace of chill. "I'll face whatever comes."
Teacher Mo Hen watched his composed manner and sighed inwardly. This boy's temperament and strength were both outstanding; there was no limit to what he might achieve in the future. Xiao Li had truly sought his own death by provoking him. As for the academy... it seemed he would need to do some careful mediation.
After gathering the spoils, Ling Feng stood and turned his gaze deeper into the forest.
There, the trees were taller and denser, the light dim, and a primal, ancient presence hung in the air.
The system's prompt vaguely pointed in that direction.
A special check-in point...
Also, during the battle just now, he had vaguely sensed what seemed to be an extremely concealed yet extraordinarily powerful presence flashing past farther inside.
That presence carried a sense of age and majesty, far beyond anything a Hundred-Year Soul Beast could compare to.
A Thousand-Year Soul Beast?
Or... something else?
The chances of a Thousand-Year Soul Beast appearing on the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest were extremely low, but it was not impossible. Or perhaps the special check-in point itself came with something extraordinary?
"Teacher Mo," Ling Feng suddenly said, "rest here for now, treat the wounded, and wait for rescue. Or retreat carefully along the route we came by."
Teacher Mo Hen froze. "What about you?"
Ling Feng pointed deeper into the forest. "I still have something to do. I need to go farther in."
"What?!" Teacher Mo Hen's face drained of color. "You can't! It's too dangerous deeper inside! That commotion may already have alerted even stronger beings! Going alone is far too risky!"
Tang San frowned as well. "Ling Feng, they say Thousand-Year Soul Beasts might roam deeper inside. This isn't a joke."
Xiao Wu tugged at his sleeve too. "Brother Ling Feng, don't go. It feels like... there's something big in there!"
Ling Feng looked at them, his tone firm. "I have a reason I must go. Don't worry. I know my limits."
His gaze was deep, as though he could already see something in the depths of the forest.
That powerful presence...
And the check-in point marked by the system...
Opportunity and danger went hand in hand.
But this risk was worth taking.
He said no more. Nodding to everyone, he shot forward like a hunting leopard and vanished into the depths of the shadowy forest in a few bounds.
He left the group on the hillside exchanging bewildered looks.
Teacher Mo Hen stared in the direction he had disappeared, weighed down with worry.
Tang San remained silent, his hand quietly clenching. Once again, he felt the enormous gap between himself and Ling Feng-not merely in strength, but even more in that unwavering resolve and courage to press forward.
Xiao Wu pouted and whispered to Tang San, "Da Sanzi, we have to get stronger too!"
Deep in the dense forest, the light grew ever dimmer.
Ling Feng darted nimbly between the thick tree trunks, moving extremely fast yet without a sound.
The deeper he went, the stranger the surrounding vegetation became, and the Soul Power permeating the air seemed to grow denser as well.
And that powerful presence grew ever clearer.
As though a slumbering giant beast were waiting up ahead.
Ling Feng's heartbeat quickened involuntarily.
Not from fear.
From excitement.