The forest was much quieter than the canyon.
Tall, dense trees spread overlapping crowns across most of the sky, leaving only scattered patches of light to spill through the leaves. The air smelled of damp earth and rotting foliage.
Feng Xiaotian walked at the front, his pace unhurried but every step steady. Feng Qingxuan followed three paces behind him, one hand resting on his sword hilt. Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu walked in the middle, with Feng Lingtian bringing up the rear. The five walked for nearly an hour, the powerful fluctuations of Soul Power waxing and waning like the breathing of a giant beast.
"We're close," Feng Qingxuan said quietly.
Another incense stick's worth of time passed before the trees abruptly thinned, revealing an open woodland clearing. At its center stood an enormous bluish-gray rock, its surface covered in claw marks of varying depths.
Feng Xiaotian's pupils suddenly contracted.
An enormous wolf with bluish-gray fur lay atop the rock. Two wolf heads grew side by side, their four green, slit-pupiled eyes cold and sharp. The left head had its eyes closed, while the right was slightly raised, its ears turning as it listened to its surroundings. Almost twice the size of an ordinary wolf-type Soul Beast, it stood over a meter and a half at the shoulder. Faint blue-green patterns of Soul Power flowed across its fur, and every breath stirred tiny, visible whirlwinds.
It was a Gale Twin-Headed Wolf.
It was identical to his Martial Soul. Among the hundreds of students at Godwind Academy, he alone possessed this kind of twin-headed Martial Soul.
"Around twenty-five hundred years old." Feng Qingxuan kept his voice very low. "Xiaotian, are you confident?"
Feng Xiaotian stared at the enormous wolf, examining its build, fur, and Soul Power patterns in turn. Twenty-five hundred years-five hundred more than the two thousand he had expected. The limit for a third Soul Ring was seventeen hundred years. This was already nearly one and a half times that limit.
But when a Martial Soul and Soul Beast shared the same origin, the strain on the meridians during absorption was far less than with an ordinary Soul Beast, and the upper age limit was higher. Such opportunities could only be encountered, never sought.
"Yes." He took the Foundation-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Powder from inside his robes, tipped his head back, and swallowed it.
Huo Wushuang's gaze sharpened slightly.
Feng Xiaotian remained composed, looking ahead as he said, "Dad, only intervene if I can't hold on."
Feng Xiaotian did not turn around, but he knew his father had understood his resolve.
Feng Xiaotian released a faint breath of stale air, and his body instantly tensed. His Gale Twin-Headed Wolf Martial Soul possessed him in an instant! Two phantom wolf heads formed above his shoulders, bluish-gray Soul Power burning like flames. He lowered himself slightly, then drove both feet against the ground, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.
The right wolf head noticed immediately and let out a low growl. The left head's eyes snapped open. All four green eyes locked onto the attacker at once.
The giant wolf leaped off the rock, its four legs bending slightly as it landed, gathering strength. Rather than pouncing immediately, it slowly circled Feng Xiaotian, its two heads growling in turn as it assessed its opponent's strength.
Feng Xiaotian lowered his center of gravity and circled as well, keeping roughly ten meters between them.
Man and wolf faced off in the middle of the clearing.
Huo Wu instinctively held her breath. The oppressive presence of this Gale Twin-Headed Wolf was more than a notch above that of the Lava Earth Dragon to the south.
The giant wolf moved first.
Its hind legs drove hard against the ground, launching its massive body forward at a speed that belied its size. The right head snapped at Feng Xiaotian's throat while the left blocked his retreat from the side, their coordination seamless.
Feng Xiaotian did not retreat. He activated Gale Flash Step, two blue-green whirlwinds forming beneath his feet. Just as the wolf heads struck together, he vanished from his spot and appeared on the wolf's left. His first Soul Ring lit up, and a blue-green wind blade slashed toward the left head's neck.
The giant wolf reacted extremely quickly. Its left head jerked aside, and the wind blade skimmed past its ear, shearing off a tuft of fur. At the same time, its right head twisted around and spat a wind bullet from its open jaws. Feng Xiaotian dodged sideways. The wind bullet brushed past his shoulder and blasted a bowl-sized hole in the tree trunk behind him.
He carried his momentum forward. His second Soul Ring lit up, and he swung his hands in succession, sending five wind blades shooting out in a fan.
The giant wolf chose to take them head-on. All five wind blades struck, leaving five bloody gashes across its hide. The wounds were shallow, but enough to enrage it. Both heads roared at once, and its speed suddenly surged. It became a bluish-gray afterimage, charging before Feng Xiaotian in an instant and sweeping its right claw across.
Bang!
Feng Xiaotian blocked with both arms, but the blow sent him flying, his back slamming into a tree trunk. Before he could catch his breath, the giant wolf lunged at him again, both heads snapping from either side and cutting off every avenue of escape.
He forcibly activated Gale Flash Step, slipping through the gap. But the right head reacted even faster, turning as he passed. Its fangs raked his left forearm, leaving a bloody groove deep enough to expose bone. Blood sprayed.
"Brother!" Feng Lingtian's voice came from behind.
"I'm fine." Feng Xiaotian did not turn around, his voice still steady.
The giant wolf lunged again. This time, he did not dodge. Taking a deep breath, he planted both feet firmly on the ground. The phantom wolf heads above his shoulders suddenly grew solid and moved together with his body-he met the attack head-on while the two phantoms flanked it from either side.
One man, two shadows, attacking along three fronts.
The giant wolf's two heads snapped left and right, but the phantoms kept them firmly occupied. Feng Xiaotian's real body slipped in at an uncanny angle, his right fist wrapped in all his Soul Power as he hammered it into the left head's lower jaw.
A dull impact rang out. The left head gave a pained whine, bloody froth spilling from its mouth. The two heads shared their pain, and the right head's movements also slowed by half a beat.
Feng Xiaotian seized that opening.
He activated Wind's Successive Arrows again, all seven wind blades aimed at the left head's neck-seven successive cuts at the same spot. The first blade sliced through fur and skin, the third cut into muscle, the fifth reached bone, and the seventh cut through.
The left head let out a shrill, agonized howl. Blood spurted from its neck, and the green light in its eyes rapidly dimmed. The giant wolf lost its balance and staggered backward, its remaining right head lunging wildly. But without its partner, its attacks became limited and predictable.
Feng Xiaotian dodged sideways, circled around its flank, and drove a fist into its temple.
The giant wolf swayed, then crashed to the ground.
A ring of rich purple slowly rose from its corpse.
Feng Xiaotian's chest heaved. The wound on his left arm was still bleeding, and his robes had been torn in more than a dozen places. He sat cross-legged and was about to reach out to touch the Soul Ring-
"Brother, wait."
Feng Lingtian hurried forward, took a porcelain bottle from inside his robes, poured out one pellet of Foundation-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Powder, and held it out to his brother.
"Take another." Feng Lingtian's voice was quiet but firm. "You just fought for so long, and you're injured. Your breathing still hasn't settled. Take another to stabilize yourself. You'll have a better chance of absorbing it."
Feng Xiaotian glanced at his younger brother. The six-year-old standing before him had no hesitation in his eyes, only a seriousness that would brook no refusal.
Without another word, he accepted the medicine, tipped his head back, and swallowed it.
Feng Lingtian stepped back a few paces, watching his brother close his eyes again and reach out to touch that rich purple Soul Ring.
The purple ring of light became a torrent that surged into his body. Soul Power several times more powerful than the Wind-Winged Python's exploded through his meridians. His face instantly turned pale, his clenched teeth chattered, and veins bulged across his forehead.
The medicinal power of the Foundation-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Powder firmly protected the inner walls of his meridians. Despite the battering Soul Power, they never ruptured.
Six hours later.
Feng Xiaotian's brow suddenly relaxed, and the fluctuations of Soul Power around him slowly subsided. A purple Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, its light rich and pure, a stark contrast to the faint purple tint within the deep yellow of his second Soul Ring.
His third Soul Ring, twenty-five hundred years old, had been successfully absorbed.
He opened his eyes and exhaled a stale, blood-tinged breath. The Soul Ring beyond his limit had brought tremendous returns. The Soul Power he had accumulated while suppressing his level merged with this new strength, pushing him straight to level thirty-two. The phantom wolf heads above his shoulders had grown more solid, and their connection to his body had become closer.
Information about his third Soul Skill surfaced in his mind-Wolf Shadow Clone. The twin-headed wolf phantom could condense into a physical clone and fight alongside his real body.
Feng Qingxuan walked over and pulled his son to his feet. He said nothing, merely giving his wrist a firm squeeze.
Feng Lingtian stood a short distance away, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Let's go. Back to camp." Feng Qingxuan clapped his hands.
The five retraced their steps. In the darkness, the light of the Soul Guidance Lamp swayed among the shadows of the trees.
At the camp at the foot of the mountain, Huo Xiao sat beside the bonfire.
Seeing the five return, he stood, his gaze falling first on the wound on Feng Xiaotian's left arm.
"Did you succeed?"
Feng Xiaotian nodded.
Huo Wushuang walked over to his father and bent down to whisper a few words. Huo Xiao's smile paused. He looked at Feng Xiaotian, then at Feng Lingtian, his gaze taking on an added significance.
"Qingxuan, these two boys of yours... they've got something."
Feng Qingxuan smiled.
Huo Xiao crouched until his eyes were level with Feng Lingtian's. What Huo Wushuang had just told him had shaken him-that medicinal powder had been refined by this child himself. Although he had not seen it with his own eyes, the brand-new purple Soul Ring beneath Feng Xiaotian's feet was the best proof. He had brought his children into the mountains to hunt Soul Rings this time. Bringing along such medicine would undoubtedly provide an extra measure of assurance.
"Little fellow, could you give me two pellets of that Foundation-Fortifying and Essence-Nurturing Powder? I'll trade something for them. I won't take them for nothing."
Feng Lingtian's gaze was calm. "I don't want anything."
"Then what do you want?"
"A promise." Feng Lingtian's voice was quiet, but everyone heard him clearly. "If Godwind Academy faces a powerful enemy, Blazing Fire Academy will come to its aid."
Silence fell around the bonfire for a moment.
Huo Xiao stared at him for several seconds, his surprise gradually giving way to serious scrutiny. A six-year-old child was negotiating terms with the dean of another academy on the very day he had hunted his first Soul Ring, neither servile nor arrogant.
"Agreed." Huo Xiao held out his palm. "Two pellets of medicine, one promise. I, Huo Xiao, keep my word."
Feng Lingtian counted out the last two pellets of medicine from the porcelain bottle and placed them in his palm.
Huo Xiao carefully put them away, patted Feng Lingtian's shoulder, and glanced back at his daughter. Huo Wu was staring at Feng Lingtian, her gaze complicated.
The bonfire burned all night.
Early the next morning, the two groups parted at the foot of the mountain. Huo Xiao led his children south toward the fire-attribute region, while Feng Qingxuan led his two sons north, back to Godwind Academy.
Only steady footsteps echoed along the mountain path.
Just then, in the deepest reaches of the Heavenly Wind Mountain Range, that silver-gray bird of prey spread its wings and took flight once more. It circled above the mountains, its golden eyes piercing the clouds and locking onto the two groups receding into the distance at the mountain's foot.
A moment later, it changed course and flew toward the southeast of the Heaven Dou Empire.
That was the direction of Spirit City.