Zhang Lexuan froze in surprise. She had not expected a Soul Bone to drop. She took the Dark Moon Demon Wolf Soul Bone from Yan Shaozhe and placed it in her storage Soul Tool.
With Zhang Lexuan's sixth Soul Ring acquired, they lingered no longer. The five headed toward the area where Wind Flame Falcons lived.
Unlike Dark Moon Demon Wolves, Wind Flame Falcons were not pack-dwelling Soul Beasts. Outside mating season, they spent most of their time alone.
They encountered many bizarre-looking Soul Beasts along the way. One blind-to-danger hundred-year Wind Baboon came out to cause trouble, but the rest of the journey was utterly boring.
"Look, that one's a Wind Flame Falcon! But its cultivation is only three thousand six hundred years!"
Yan Shaozhe raised his head and pointed toward a patch of bushes nearby, where a fiery-red bird was feeding on a corpse.
The bird stood over two meters tall, its red plumage setting off its nobility. Its wings could stretch five meters across. As it fed, it showed no vigilance toward its surroundings.
"Teacher, let's take this one. Finding a Soul Beast of the right age will take a lot more time!"
Ma Xiaotao had wandered around the Star Dou Great Forest for three days and was exhausted to death. She truly wanted to return to the academy now.
"All right! Since you've put it that way!"
With his hands clasped behind his back, Yan Shaozhe turned and nodded to Ma Xiaotao, who sat upright on the grass. Meanwhile, Zhang Lexuan and Elder Gong were idling nearby, bored, tapping at Mu Changqing's Golden Dragon claws.
"Changqing, if this arm of yours were pure gold, how many gold soul coins could it sell for?"
Elder Gong rubbed his hands together, looking every bit a money-grubber.
Mu Changqing: ...
Yan Shaozhe unleashed his soul skill. A ball of holy light fire flew from his palm, bursting with intense heat as it attacked the Wind Flame Falcon's feathers.
The Wind Flame Falcon reacted nimbly, beating its wings and twisting aside to dodge. It immediately let out a piercing screech, trying to frighten off its enemy.
In a flash, Yan Shaozhe flew above it. He clenched his right hand and threw a punch carrying the might of light fire.
The Wind Flame Falcon screamed and plummeted from the sky. The feathers on its back were scorched away, leaving a blackened hole.
"First soul skill, Phoenix Fireline!"
Ma Xiaotao possessed herself with her Evil Fire Phoenix and spat a straight line of flame from the air, striking the Wind Flame Falcon head-on in the head. It died completely, without a trace of life remaining.
A purple thousand-year Soul Ring floated up from its corpse, radiating waves of pressure.
Without further hesitation, Ma Xiaotao immediately sat cross-legged, circulated the Soul Power within her, and drew the purple thousand-year Soul Ring into her body.
Yan Shaozhe poured his own Soul Power into Ma Xiaotao's body, fearing that her evil fire would run out of control. Two months had already passed since its last outbreak.
Her next outbreak might be even fiercer. Yan Shaozhe sighed, not knowing when a soul master possessing Ultimate Ice would appear.
Whenever Ma Xiaotao's evil fire ran out of control, she had to rely on an inner court student whose Martial Soul was a Snow Maiden. Although that student's ice had not reached Ultimate Ice, it was enough to suppress Ma Xiaotao's current outbreaks.
"Dean Yan, stay here and watch over Ma Xiaotao. Zhang Lexuan and I will go get Changqing his second Soul Ring!"
"That will save time too!"
Elder Gong straightened up and rubbed the back of his head with one hand as he looked at Yan Shaozhe.
"All right. Stay safe, and call me if anything happens!"
Yan Shaozhe reminded them.
They were in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, where there were hardly any hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts. With Elder Gong, a Titled Douluo, accompanying them as well, Yan Shaozhe did not worry too much.
"Elder Gong, why do you like flying around with people held by their clothes, just like Elder Xuan?"
Mu Changqing, who had been meditating, was lifted into the air by a force. He grumbled at Elder Gong, and the two disappeared from Yan Shaozhe's sight.
Zhang Lexuan covered her mouth with one hand and laughed. She released her Soul Power and followed close behind, while Elder Gong gradually slowed down, seemingly waiting for her.
"Elder Gong, do you know where the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears are?"
With an innocent look in his eyes, Mu Changqing gazed at Elder Gong's wrinkled face.
"Of course I do! Last month, I came to the Star Dou Great Forest to catch Soul Beasts to fill the vacancies in the Beast Arena! On my way back, I happened to spot two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears!"
"Their cave should be nearby. The male's cultivation is nine thousand years, and the female's is around four thousand eight hundred!"
"If you want any Soul Beast in the future, you can come to me and we'll go together. My encyclopedic knowledge of Soul Beasts is extensive. You could say I know even more than Dean Yan!"
Elder Gong recounted his exploits with pride. There was nothing wrong with what he said; after all, he could be considered Shrek Academy's veterinarian.
Mu Changqing said nothing, listening to him boast.
"We're here!"
Elder Gong's large hand released Mu Changqing's clothes. Mu Changqing dropped from the sky and landed steadily.
Ten meters away from them stood a large cave, its top overgrown with weeds and its interior pitch-black.
"The smell of blood is so strong here!"
Zhang Lexuan pinched her nose, waving her fair right hand as she tried to drive away the smell.
A nauseating stench of blood drifted from the cave from time to time.
"Don't tell me we've come to that evil soul master's lair!"
Mu Changqing strode toward the cave.
"The Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears probably fought another Soul Beast and ended up injured!"
Elder Gong released his spiritual power and discovered clear signs of a battle nearby.
The three proceeded together, with Elder Gong in the lead, Mu Changqing in the middle, and Zhang Lexuan at the rear.
The farther they approached the depths of the cave, the stronger the stench of blood became. Just then, a roar came from within, trying to drive the intruders away.
The three pressed deeper despite the roar. Beyond a stone wall lay a broad clearing, where the temperature was very warm.
"These two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears are so badly hurt!"
Zhang Lexuan cried out in shock, covering her mouth as she looked at the scene before her.
Two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears lay beside the clearing. The larger one lay with all four paws in the air, a wound split across its belly, its intestines... all exposed.
The smaller Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear lay prone on a nest of grass. It looked at the humans who had suddenly intruded, panting and growling at them.
It guarded the grass nest fiercely, as though some treasure lay beneath it. Its body was also covered in wounds, and it was close to croaking too.
"To injure two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears like this and still escape, that Soul Beast is no ordinary creature!"
"It was probably a ten-thousand-year subdragon Soul Beast!"
Elder Gong crouched down and stroked the male Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear's golden fur with both hands. He pinched up a tuft and held it to his nose, then deduced information about that Soul Beast.
A bear's head appeared from the grass nest. It was a young Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear, poking out its fluffy head, its gaze blank.
The mother bear immediately pressed its head back into the grass nest.
The three immediately understood why the two Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears had been injured. A mother's love truly was great.
Elder Gong stepped forward carefully and crouched beside the grass nest, seemingly communicating something to the mother bear.
The mother bear nodded at times and shook her head at others.