"When you get to my age, you'll understand!!"
Mu Changqing clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the sky, his face weathered by life. How lonely it was to be invincible.
Ma Xiaotao: ...
Ma Xiaotao could not be bothered with him either. He was never serious. She gave Mu Changqing a light kick, then walked over to Yan Shaozhe.
Seeing how well they got along, Yan Shaozhe smiled secretly, as though plotting something.
With Yan Shaozhe, a Super Douluo, clearing the way, they slipped into the Mixed Zone without incident. No Soul Beast blind enough to stand in their way came running out.
"Another five hundred meters east, and we'll reach the Dark Moon Demon Wolves' habitat!!"
"These Soul Beasts live in packs. Their leader is a hundred-thousand-year Dark Moon Wolf Emperor. This time, we're hunting one of its guards!!"
"Elder Gong! I'll hold off the Dark Moon Wolf Emperor and the pack in a moment. Take the opportunity to hunt down that fifty-thousand-year Dark Moon Demon Wolf!"
"Just cripple it and let Lexuan land the finishing blow!!"
Yan Shaozhe gave instructions to everyone behind him as he continued forward, with the four following closely.
Before long, they reached a hillside. Below it lay a pack of wolves, which Mu Changqing and the others observed from the slope through soul-tool binoculars.
"Changqing, Xiaotao, you two stay up here. Don't go down!!"
"Mm-hmm!!"
Mu Changqing and Ma Xiaotao answered Elder Gong in unison. The two crouched beneath a large tree, watching through their binoculars.
Yan Shaozhe, Elder Gong, and Zhang Lexuan had already run down the hillside and charged toward the Dark Moon Demon Wolf pack.
Mu Changqing observed that these wolves had pitch-black fur all over, with particularly conspicuous moon-shaped markings on their heads.
Their pack's encirclement was neatly arranged. The outermost wolves were strong, sturdy Dark Moon Demon Wolves, the weakest of which had twenty thousand years of cultivation. In the middle were old, weak, sick, or crippled wolves, along with pups. On a large rock at the very center lay an enormous wolf-the Dark Moon Wolf Emperor.
The Wolf Emperor's ears pricked up. It raised its head high and stared warily at the woods nearby.
Its vigilance put the surrounding pack on alert as well. The Dark Moon Demon Wolves lying along the perimeter growled, baring their sharp fangs.
"Awooo-"
The Wolf Emperor howled into the depths of the woods, and the pack joined in with shrill cries, attempting to drive away the enemy within through their howls.
"Third Soul Skill, Heavenly Fire Phoenix Strike!!"
A blaze suddenly burst out of the pitch-black woods and swooped toward the Dark Moon Wolf Emperor, burning the surrounding trees to ash.
Yan Shaozhe summoned his Martial Soul. With his Soul Skill's enhancement, he transformed into a blazing Light Phoenix and attacked the Wolf Emperor.
The Dark Moon Wolf Emperor immediately unleashed its innate ability, Demonic Soul Possession, entering a berserk state. It raised its claws and sent several dark-moon-colored claw strikes at Yan Shaozhe, then leaped off the rock to evade his Soul Skill, but its tail was still struck by the light flames.
It let out a cry, and the wolf guards around it surrounded Yan Shaozhe. The weakest among them had forty thousand years of cultivation.
Yan Shaozhe wove through the pack like a roaming dragon, aiming to disrupt their rhythm. Just then, a demonic wolf's agonized cry rang out from the pack's perimeter.
Zhang Lexuan released her Martial Soul on the perimeter and attacked the Dark Moon Demon Wolves. The wolf guards inside immediately rushed out to reinforce them, including the fifty-thousand-year Dark Moon Demon Wolf.
Meanwhile, the Wolf Emperor and its remaining guards frantically attacked Yan Shaozhe as he flew overhead.
After striking, Zhang Lexuan fled into the woods, luring the wolf guards after her. They had only just rushed out to provide support when they saw Zhang Lexuan fleeing. It was enough to infuriate a wolf to death.
"Awooo-"
The Dark Moon Demon Wolves were furious. They picked up speed, and three wolves charged into the bushes.
The three wolves ran into the Star Dou Great Forest, looking around for Zhang Lexuan. Elder Gong was crouching in a tree.
"First Soul Skill, Blazing Lion Claw!!"
"Sixth Soul Skill, Flame Lion Clone!!"
Elder Gong roared and leaped down from the tree like a crow riding an airplane, the phantom of his Flame Lion King Martial Soul appearing behind him.
Elder Gong's right arm transformed into a flaming lion's claw. In midair, he split into three, and the three clones pinned the three Dark Moon Demon Wolves down beneath them.
Elder Gong's flaming lion's claw struck the fifty-thousand-year Dark Moon Demon Wolf, crippling it and leaving it in such agony that it wished it were dead.
As soon as Elder Gong's clones vanished, the other two demonic wolves fled. How could they spare a thought for this demonic wolf? Their own lives were in danger, so why worry about it?
The Dark Moon Demon Wolf lay dying on the ground, coughing up blood.
Upon receiving Elder Gong's voice transmission, Yan Shaozhe immediately fled. He left as swiftly as he had come. Seeing the enemy leave, the Wolf Emperor did not pursue him relentlessly; it still had to calm its pack.
Zhang Lexuan dealt the demonic wolf the final blow, killing it completely. A black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.
Zhang Lexuan immediately sat cross-legged and devoted herself fully to circulating her Soul Power, drawing the ten-thousand-year Soul Ring toward herself until it encircled her firmly.
Elder Gong released his Soul Power to steady Zhang Lexuan's mind while keeping watch for any Soul Beasts that might appear nearby.
Carrying Mu Changqing and Ma Xiaotao, Yan Shaozhe landed not far from Elder Gong.
"Changqing, you really are heavy!!"
Yan Shaozhe grumbled.
"I can't help it. I have to eat a lot after every training session!!"
Mu Changqing twisted his mouth speechlessly. His Martial Soul was, after all, the Golden Dragon, and he felt hungry every time he finished summoning it.
As everyone waited for Zhang Lexuan to absorb her Soul Ring, Mu Changqing crouched beside the Dark Moon Demon Wolf's corpse out of boredom.
This huge wolf's corpse would feed him for several days. Mu Changqing felt around the corpse to see whether it had dropped a Soul Bone.
"Oh! There's loot!"
As Mu Changqing felt around the Dark Moon Demon Wolf's thigh, his eyes lit up. A dark-black Soul Bone lay beneath it.
Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao immediately came over to look at the Soul Bone in Mu Changqing's hand. It was crystal clear and radiated waves of oppressive might.
"To think it's a fifty-thousand-year Dark Moon Demon Wolf left leg bone!"
Mu Changqing tossed the Soul Bone to Yan Shaozhe, who caught it with great care. Mu Changqing found the Soul Bone eerie.
Everyone waited quietly for Zhang Lexuan.
Four hours later, the Soul Power around Zhang Lexuan gradually receded. She had completely refined the black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring.
"Lexuan, what's your Soul Skill like!!"
Elder Gong asked from beside her.
"The Soul Skill the Dark Night Demonic Wolf gave me is called Lunar Eclipse Black Light!!"
"The moonlight inflicts piercing wounds on its targets. Anyone struck has all their body hair turn silver, and their vitality and Soul Power are devoured by the moonlight!! It deals true damage that ignores defense!"
Zhang Lexuan summoned her Martial Soul, and a silver moon appeared behind her. Under her Soul Skill, a large swath of trees toppled every which way, with some turning silver.
"Your Soul Skill deals quite a lot of area damage!"
"Keep this Soul Bone!!"
Yan Shaozhe commented on Zhang Lexuan's Soul Skill and handed her the Soul Bone.