Early the next morning, at the northern entrance to the Heavenly Wind Mountain Range.
Feng Qingxuan walked at the front in fitted combat clothes, a dark blue-green longsword strapped to his back. The brothers Feng Xiaotian and Feng Lingtian followed behind him, the rising sun stretching their shadows long.
They had been in the mountains for an hour. Fierce winds rushed toward them through the canyon, making their robes snap. Feng Lingtian could clearly feel his Soul Power being continually stimulated by the wind, and the Peregrine Falcon Martial Soul behind him faintly stirred with the urge to possess his body on its own. This was the natural advantage Wind Attribute Soul Masters enjoyed in a matching environment.
"The Soul Beasts in the Heavenly Wind Mountain Range follow a very regular distribution," Feng Qingxuan said as he walked, his voice remaining clear and steady in the wind. "The outskirts are mainly populated by Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, with the occasional Thousand-Year Soul Beast appearing. Once you venture a hundred li in, Thousand-Year Soul Beasts gradually become more numerous. Beyond that lies the territory of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Both your targets this time are in the outskirts, so we won't be going too deep."
Feng Qingxuan looked at Feng Lingtian, his tone gentle. "Lingtian, the target for your first Soul Ring is in the northern part of the Wind Attribute region. Wind-Chasing Falcons and Iron-Beaked Falcons are both active there, most of them between five and six hundred years old. The limit for a first Soul Ring is a little over four hundred years. With your physique and the Foundation-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Powder we've prepared, you can attempt six hundred years. But exactly how old a Soul Ring you obtain will still depend on the age of the Soul Beast we encounter."
Feng Lingtian nodded.
Feng Qingxuan then looked at Feng Xiaotian. "Xiaotian, we'll need to search the forest region for your third Soul Ring. With your physique, you should be able to handle any Soul Beast under two thousand years old. As for the age of the one you ultimately obtain, that will depend on your luck."
Feng Xiaotian listened attentively, nodding now and then.
The three continued deeper along the canyon. Fierce winds howled between the rock walls, producing shrill whistles. The route Feng Qingxuan chose always hugged the sheltered side of the rock face, avoiding the strongest wind pressure while using the terrain to conceal their presence.
After they had walked for a little under an hour, voices suddenly came from the woods ahead.
Feng Qingxuan raised a hand to signal a halt and tilted his head to listen. A trace of surprise appeared on his face. "Them?"
They passed through a patch of bushes, and three figures appeared in a clearing.
At their head stood a tall, imposing middle-aged man with red hair, a red beard, and a stern face, his fiery-red robe snapping in the wind. Behind Huo Xiao stood two children, a boy and a girl-the boy looked thirteen or fourteen, with a sturdy build and an honest face that also held a measure of sharpness; the girl was about Feng Lingtian's age, with particularly striking long, fiery-red hair, delicate features, and a slightly raised chin.
They were from Blazing Fire Academy.
"Old Huo?" Feng Qingxuan blurted out.
The red-haired middle-aged man turned around, froze for a moment, then burst into laughter and strode over. "Feng Qingxuan! What are you doing here, you old rascal?"
"Taking my two sons Soul Hunting." Feng Qingxuan went forward with a smile, and the two men clapped each other firmly on the shoulders, clearly sharing a deep friendship.
"What a coincidence. So am I." Huo Xiao, the dean of Blazing Fire Academy, patted the boy behind him. "Wushuang needs his third Soul Ring." He then pointed at the little red-haired girl. "This is my daughter, Huo Wu. She just reached rank ten, so we're here for her first Soul Ring."
Huo Xiao's gaze settled on Feng Xiaotian. He looked him up and down, then suddenly gave a soft sound of surprise. "This must be Xiaotian? Didn't your last letter say he'd already reached rank thirty? It's been over a month. Why is he still at rank thirty?"
Huo Xiao frowned, puzzlement in his voice. With the talent of innate full Soul Power, shouldn't he be making the most of this golden period for cultivation? Why was he still putting it off? Something really wasn't right.
Feng Qingxuan smiled without explaining.
Huo Xiao looked at Feng Xiaotian, then at Feng Lingtian standing beside him. His gaze swept back and forth between the brothers, and he suddenly seemed to understand something. He nodded slightly and asked no further questions, merely smiling as he patted Feng Qingxuan's shoulder.
Changing the subject, Huo Xiao looked at Feng Lingtian. "This is your younger boy? What Martial Soul did he awaken?"
"A Peregrine Falcon. Also innate full Soul Power." Feng Qingxuan's tone was calm, but the curve of his lips betrayed his pride.
Huo Xiao's eyes widened. "Innate full Soul Power again? What kind of luck did you stumble into, you old rascal!"
"Your son isn't bad either," Feng Qingxuan said with a smile. "Wushuang has reached rank thirty too, hasn't he?"
"He just broke through the day before yesterday." Huo Xiao stroked his son's head, a measure of pride in his voice. "Huo Wu had innate rank-nine Soul Power. Not quite as good as your two boys, but still very good."
Huo Wu pressed her lips together without speaking, but her gaze held a little more defiance as she looked at Feng Lingtian.
Huo Xiao and Feng Qingxuan went a short distance away to catch up. Before leaving, Feng Qingxuan reminded them, "We're still in the outskirts, where the Soul Beasts aren't very high-level. We're going over there to talk for a bit. Don't wander off." All four nodded to show they understood.
The four children remained where they were, the atmosphere turning somewhat delicate.
Huo Wushuang took the initiative to nod at Feng Xiaotian. "You're Feng Xiaotian from Divine Wind Junior Academy? I've heard of you. Rank thirty at twelve."
"I'm almost thirteen," Feng Xiaotian said.
"That still makes you younger than me." Huo Wushuang smiled. "I turned thirteen last month and only broke through to rank thirty the day before yesterday. Your talent really is impressive."
Huo Wushuang spoke frankly, without jealousy, only pure admiration. Feng Xiaotian had a good impression of him and smiled. "You're not bad yourself. What are you planning to hunt for your third Soul Ring?"
"My father picked out a Lava Earth Dragon for me, around fifteen hundred years old. What about you?"
"Nothing decided yet. We need to find a suitable Soul Beast for my little brother first, then head into the forest region to look for mine."
The two boys began chatting, hitting it off at once.
Feng Lingtian did not join in. He sat quietly on a rock, surveying their surroundings. The clearing lay at the boundary between the forest and the canyon, where the wind was much weaker than at the canyon entrance. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, scattering dappled light and shadow.
"Hey."
A clear, bright voice rang out.
Feng Lingtian turned his head. At some point, Huo Wu had walked up in front of him. Her red hair streamed in the wind, and her almond-shaped eyes stared straight at him.
"You have innate full Soul Power too?" Huo Wu looked him up and down.
"Mm," Feng Lingtian answered indifferently.
Her gaze immediately turned puzzled, and she rapidly pressed him with questions. "Then you should have reached rank ten ages ago, right? If you're already rank ten, why haven't you hunted your first Soul Ring? You've waited a whole month at rank ten. Aren't you afraid of holding up your cultivation?"
There was genuine confusion in her tone. As Huo Wu understood it, once you reached a bottleneck, you should immediately hunt a Soul Ring and break through. Every extra day of delay was a waste of time. She herself had taken a month to advance from rank nine to rank ten, and on the very day she reached rank ten, she had pestered her father to take her into the mountains. Yet this Feng Lingtian had actually waited an entire month after reaching rank ten.
Feng Lingtian glanced at her without explaining.
Seeing him remain silent, Huo Wu shifted her gaze to Feng Xiaotian standing nearby. Suddenly, as though she had figured something out, her eyes lit up.
"I get it." Huo Wu folded her arms across her chest, her tone carrying the smugness of someone who thought she had seen through everything. "My father just said your brother reached rank thirty over a month ago. He went over a month without getting a Soul Ring after reaching rank thirty, only coming now. He must have been holding back his rank to wait for you, right?"
Feng Xiaotian frowned and said coolly, "When I obtain my Soul Ring is my own business."
Huo Wu ignored him completely, not even sparing him a glance. Her gaze remained fixed on Feng Lingtian as the words poured out one after another. "You made your brother with innate full Soul Power hold back his rank and wait a month for you. I thought you must be so capable. But it turns out you don't even dare hunt your first Soul Ring?"
"Huo Wu." Hearing his sister go further and further overboard, Huo Wushuang frowned and spoke up to stop her. "They have their own plans. Don't talk nonsense."
Huo Wu turned to glare at her brother, then immediately fixed her gaze on Feng Lingtian again, her words coming one after another without giving anyone a chance to interrupt.
"What nonsense am I talking? Think about it, Brother. Most Soul Beasts in the outskirts of the Heavenly Wind Mountain Range are five or six hundred years old, but the limit for a first Soul Ring is only a little over four hundred years. Everyone knows that. I only dared come here to choose a Soul Ring after enduring Fire Essence Body Tempering. What about him?"
She pointed at Feng Lingtian, speaking rapidly in an outright interrogation. "Do you have a secret body-tempering technique? Have you endured the pain of your meridians tearing apart? You have nothing. If you can't absorb it, you can't absorb it. What good does waiting a month do? You don't have the ability, yet you insist on wasting time, and you even drag your brother into waiting with you-"
"Enough!"
Two voices rang out at once.
One belonged to Huo Wushuang, whose expression had darkened completely. The other belonged to Feng Xiaotian.
Feng Xiaotian stepped forward, shielding his little brother as he looked down at Huo Wu. He did not fly into a rage, but the icy pressure he exuded made her instinctively retreat half a step.
"You have your secret body-tempering technique." Feng Xiaotian's voice was neither loud nor hurried, yet every word hammered down like a nail. "My brother has his own preparations. If you know nothing, stop standing here telling him what to do."
Feng Xiaotian's icy tone left Huo Wu choking on her words, her cheeks flushing red. Her lips moved a few times as though she still wanted to say something, but when she met his utterly cold eyes, she forcibly swallowed the words at the tip of her tongue.
Huo Wushuang seized the chance to grab her arm.
Huo Wu's eyes suddenly reddened. Her brother actually refused to speak up for her and was even holding her back. She shot Feng Lingtian a fierce glare, then abruptly turned away, her long red hair swinging in an arc. Fuming, she walked over to a large tree and sat down with her back to everyone.
As Feng Lingtian looked at his brother's back shielding him, warmth welled up in his heart.
The Feng Xiaotian from the original story, who had tried every way to please Huo Wu and humbled himself into the dust, would not appear in this life. This clash had sent his brother's first impression of Huo Wu plunging to freezing point.
In the distance, Feng Qingxuan and Huo Xiao were still catching up, their laughter faintly audible.
Before long, the two returned. Huo Xiao clapped his hands. "All right, time to split up. Wushuang and Huo Wu will head to the Fire Attribute region in the south. Feng Qingxuan, take your two boys north. Once we've finished hunting Soul Rings, we'll meet at the camp at the foot of the mountains."
Feng Qingxuan nodded and was just about to speak when Huo Wu suddenly stood up from beneath the tree, walked to Huo Xiao, and tugged at his sleeve.
"Dad." Huo Wu's voice was quiet, but everyone present heard her clearly. "I want to go north with them and take a look."
Huo Xiao froze. "What would you go north for? Your Soul Beast is in the south."
"I've never seen how Wind Attribute Soul Beasts are hunted." As Huo Wu spoke, she looked straight at Feng Lingtian, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. "I want to broaden my horizons."
The meaning in her eyes could not have been clearer-Let's see just what qualifies you to hunt a Soul Ring in the Heavenly Wind Mountain Range.
Huo Xiao frowned, looking at his daughter, then at Feng Qingxuan. Finally, he shook his head helplessly. "Fine. Go north with your Uncle Feng, then. Don't cause him trouble. Wushuang and I-"
"I'm going too." Huo Wushuang sighed and walked over to his sister.
Huo Xiao glanced at his son, then at Huo Wu's expression, which made it clear she would not stop until she got her way. Finally, he waved a hand. "Fine, go, all of you. I'll return to camp and wait for word."
And so, what had originally been a party of Feng Qingxuan and his two sons became a group of five. Huo Xiao returned alone to the camp at the foot of the mountains, while Feng Qingxuan led the four children farther north.
Feng Lingtian's gaze briefly met Huo Wu's.
One was calm as still water; the other displayed every sharp edge.
A silent contest officially began at that moment.