The Crimson Flame Fox was still asleep. Su Mei'er stepped lightly, so lightly that not even the loose stones made a sound beneath her feet. The phantom fox tail unfurled behind her, crimson light flowing along its outline.
Five steps, four steps, three-
The Crimson Flame Fox's ears twitched. Its eyes opened, their amber pupils vertical, like two red-hot coals. It saw Su Mei'er-and the crimson phantom fox tail behind her.
The Crimson Flame Fox did not attack immediately. It stared at Su Mei'er's fox tail, that mass of crimson light reflected in its amber eyes. Fox Soul Beasts possessed an innate sense of one another.
But the standoff lasted only two breaths.
The Crimson Flame Fox flicked its tail, sweeping loose stones into the air. Its limbs lowered slightly, its body tensing.
Su Mei'er did not wait for it to strike. She flicked her right hand, and the Wind Lightning Chain shot from her palm, its blue-green and purple silhouette coiling toward the Crimson Flame Fox's left foreleg. The fox was faster than Su Mei'er had expected. It sprang sideways, and the Wind Lightning Chain skimmed its fur, catching only a wisp of hair at the tip of its tail.
The lightning attribute's paralyzing effect traveled through the hair, and the Crimson Flame Fox's tail twitched. It gave a low hiss, spun sharply, and swept its tail outward.
Su Mei'er turned sideways to evade it. Her phantom fox tail blazed with light as she pushed her perception to its limit. Every attack the Crimson Flame Fox made had an infinitesimal warning before it struck-the contraction of its shoulder blades, a shift in its center of gravity, the slight upward curl of its tail before it lashed out. Su Mei'er caught these signs, her body reacting before her mind.
The second tail whip missed. So did the third.
The Crimson Flame Fox opened its mouth, and a mass of dark red light surged deep in its throat. Fire breath.
Instead of retreating, Su Mei'er stepped forward. Her left hand flicked out at the same time, sending a second Wind Lightning Chain shooting from another angle. The Crimson Flame Fox unleashed its fire breath-but it had to turn its head to dodge the Wind Lightning Chain. Dark red flames swept past Su Mei'er's side, scorching the loose stones behind her black.
The Wind Lightning Chain failed to coil around the Crimson Flame Fox's neck, but Su Mei'er was waiting for the opening after its fire breath.
Now.
Su Mei'er snapped her right hand, sending the Wind Lightning Chain shooting out again. This time, the chain wrapped precisely around the Crimson Flame Fox's left hind leg. The lightning attribute's paralyzing effect activated. Its left leg spasmed, abruptly losing strength.
The Crimson Flame Fox lost its balance and toppled sideways onto the stony ground. It struggled to roll over, its tail thrashing wildly. A wind blade shot from its tail tip, grazing Su Mei'er's forearm and slicing through her uniform cuff. Su Mei'er did not dodge. She yanked her right hand back, tightening the Wind Lightning Chain, while her left palm struck the top of the Crimson Flame Fox's head. Soul Power poured from her palm.
The Crimson Flame Fox convulsed, gave a low whimper, then lay still.
A deep yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from the Crimson Flame Fox's body. Nine hundred years. Its yellow was as rich as fallen leaves in late autumn, with the faintest trace of purple showing along its edge.
Su Mei'er sat cross-legged, took out a porcelain bottle, poured out some Foundation-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Powder, and swallowed it. The instant the Soul Ring merged into her body, she jolted violently. The impact of the Crimson Flame Fox's lingering fire attribute Soul Power surged into her meridians like a torrent of scalding magma. Su Mei'er gritted her teeth, fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead. Her phantom fox tail trembled violently behind her, its crimson light flickering.
A short while later, Su Mei'er opened her eyes. Second Soul Ring: nine-hundred-year Crimson Flame Fox. Second Soul Skill: Wind Fire Bewildering Array. Using wind attribute Soul Power as its foundation and incorporating fire elements, it created a heat-wave-shrouded area at a designated location to trap enemies. Opponents who entered the area would suffer continuous scorching from the heat waves, while intertwining currents of wind and fire disrupted their sense of direction.
Su Mei'er stood. Her phantom fox tail slowly receded behind her, its edge now bearing an extremely faint layer of fiery red markings, exactly the same color as the tuft of fur at the Crimson Flame Fox's tail tip.
She turned and walked back to the group.
"A nine-hundred-year one. How does it feel?" Zhong Yue asked.
The corners of Su Mei'er's mouth curved slightly. "A little hotter than the lightning attribute one."
Zhong Yue grinned.
Feng Lingtian's gaze fell on Ji Ning. Of the three, two had finished. Only Ji Ning remained.
Ji Ning stood at the edge of the group, as quiet as ever. But his eyes kept scanning their surroundings. It was not nervousness, but habit.
"Ji Ning," Feng Lingtian said.
Ji Ning turned his head.
"Do you have a lead on your Soul Beast?"
Ji Ning fell silent for a breath. "Yes."
"Where?"
Ji Ning raised a hand and pointed deeper into the bamboo grove. "I saw it when we passed by earlier. A Wind Falcon, around eight hundred years old. It was perched at the top of a Wind-Pattern Bamboo, about thirty zhang above the ground."
Feng Lingtian looked in the direction Ji Ning indicated. Deep in the grove, one Wind-Pattern Bamboo stood a full stretch taller than the others, its tip almost touching the upper canopy. A dark blue-green outline was faintly visible at its very top.
"When did you see it?" Feng Lingtian asked.
"Before we crossed the stream," Ji Ning said.
Before they crossed the stream. That had been two incense sticks ago. Ji Ning had remembered it all this time without saying anything.
"Let's go."
The six of them passed through the grove toward the tallest Wind-Pattern Bamboo. When they reached the foot of the giant bamboo, Feng Lingtian looked up. Its tip was so high that it was almost out of sight. A dark blue-green falcon perched at the very top.
A Wind Falcon, a wind attribute avian Soul Beast. Its feathers were dark blue-green, with a row of pale blue-green wind markings along the edges of its wings. It was approximately eight hundred years old.
"How do we get up there?" Zhong Yue craned his head back.
"We don't need to," Ji Ning said.
Ji Ning walked a few steps forward and stood directly beneath the giant bamboo. He raised his head to look at the Wind Falcon at its tip. Then he lifted his right hand, and his Hummingbird Martial Soul condensed in his palm-a thumb-sized bird whose wings vibrated at an extremely high frequency, producing a faint hum.
Cradling the hummingbird, Ji Ning gently sent it upward.
The hummingbird beat its wings and took flight, spiraling up along the giant bamboo's stem. It did not fly quickly, winding upward in circle after circle. The Wind Falcon noticed the movement and glanced down, but paid it no mind.
The hummingbird reached the same height as the Wind Falcon and stopped.
Ji Ning's pupils contracted slightly. His first Soul Skill, Hummingbird: Pierce, activated. The hummingbird's speed exploded as it shifted from circling to a straight charge, shooting toward the Wind Falcon's face like an emerald arrow.
The Wind Falcon was startled. It spread its wings, intending to take flight and put some distance between them.
But the instant it spread its wings was exactly what Ji Ning had been waiting for.
The moment the Wind Falcon's wings fully extended, a featherless patch was exposed on the inside of its wing-the only part of its body not protected by wind attribute Soul Power.
The hummingbird struck. Not an impact, but a piercing thrust. Its beak was needle-thin and sharp, entering at the root of the Wind Falcon's wing and emerging from the other side. The Wind Falcon gave a shrill cry. Its left wing lost its strength, and it plummeted from the bamboo tip thirty zhang above the ground.
Ji Ning moved.
His figure vanished from where he stood, appearing midway up the giant bamboo in the next instant. He planted a foot against the stem and sprang upward. The falling Wind Falcon passed directly through the path of his leap.
Ji Ning pressed his hand against the Wind Falcon's back. Soul Power poured from his palm, and the falcon's body stiffened. Supporting the Wind Falcon, Ji Ning landed steadily on the ground.
A deep yellow Soul Ring rose from the Wind Falcon's body. Eight hundred years.
Ji Ning sat cross-legged, took out a porcelain bottle, poured out some Foundation-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Powder, and swallowed it. The process of the Soul Ring merging into his body was calmer than Feng Lingtian had expected. There was no pain on Ji Ning's face; his brow merely furrowed slightly.
A short while later, Ji Ning opened his eyes. Second Soul Ring: eight-hundred-year Wind Falcon. Second Soul Skill: Hummingbird: Hover. It allowed him to hover completely motionless at any point in the air without consuming Soul Power, waiting for an opportunity to act.
Ji Ning stood, pushed lightly off the ground, and leaped. He stopped in midair-not maintaining his height through speed, but remaining completely still. Like a nail driven into the air, he did not move at all.
A few breaths later, Ji Ning returned to the ground.
Zhong Yue patted Ji Ning's shoulder. "Thirty zhang up on that bamboo tip, and you brought it down just like that."
Ji Ning said quietly, "It had no feathers at the root of its wing."
Zhong Yue paused, then grinned.
Feng Lingtian stood to one side, watching it all. Zhong Yue, Su Mei'er, and Ji Ning had all obtained their second Soul Rings. Zhong Yue had a five-hundred-and-sixty-year Stone-Pattern Crab, Su Mei'er a nine-hundred-year Crimson Flame Fox, and Ji Ning an eight-hundred-year Wind Falcon. All three Soul Rings were over five hundred years old, with Su Mei'er's reaching nine hundred years.
Feng Lingtian turned, sweeping his gaze over everyone.
Shi Yan stood at the edge of the group, his arms hanging naturally at his sides. He had barely acted during the battles just now. Not because he did not want to, but because Feng Lingtian had told him to conserve his strength. Shi Yan's role was defense system, and his task was to protect the back line. Bai Yu stood beside him, a support system at level nineteen and a half. She had not used a Soul Skill throughout, but her wind chime had remained in her hand.
Feng Lingtian checked everyone's condition and committed it to memory.
Zhong Yue, defense system. The Wind Armor Black Tortoise had sufficient frontal defensive strength, and his spinning shield could attack and defend. The front defensive line could be left to him. Su Mei'er, control system. With the Wind Lightning Chain's binding and paralysis, combined with the Wind Fire Bewildering Array's trapping and scorching, she would control the team's tempo. Ji Ning, agility attack system. The hummingbird's speed and piercing power, along with his hovering ability, allowed him to remain on standby above the battlefield at any time. The assault and harassment role belonged to him alone.
Feng Lingtian said nothing on the spot. These assessments would have to wait until they returned and pooled their findings with his older brother's team before being settled together.
Feng Lingtian glanced at the sky. The sun had already sunk below the ridgeline, and the horizon burned dark red.
"Let's head back."
The six of them retraced their route. The setting sun cast six long shadows behind them. Zhong Yue's shadow was the broadest, Shi Yan's the thickest, and Ji Ning's the thinnest. Su Mei'er's and Bai Yu's shadows walked side by side.
Feng Lingtian walked at the front. He glanced back in the direction they had come from-his older brother's Soul Hunting should be nearly over too.
I wonder whether Lu Hanxiao got his Night Shadow Falcon, and whether Jiang Lin caught his Illusion Eyes Deer. What Soul Ring did Su Ran get? What Soul Beast did Ye Qingyu's zither music resonate with? Did Lu Qing and Cheng Luo take action? Did they protect those few at level twenty well?
Feng Lingtian withdrew his gaze and quickened his steps.
The six shadows stretched longer and longer in the sunset, finally overlapping until it was impossible to tell whose was whose.