Sky Dragon Horse

Although it was not his first time in the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Yu could not help but marvel at its vastness. The dense primeval forest stretched as far as the eye could see, branches extending from tree to tree intertwined with one another, green mist lingered in the air, and everything seemed so full of life.

Xiao Yu's group had traveled deeper into the forest for nearly an hour. At the very front of the group, Yi Hui released the aura of his Phoenix Martial Soul. The bloodline suppression of a top-tier beast martial soul frightened off all the weaker soul beasts, serving as an excellent filter.

"Something's happening!"

Suddenly, Yi Hui let out a low cry and stopped moving forward. Xiao Yu and Zilong instantly became alert, their eyes widening as they turned toward the same direction. Urgent, heavy footsteps came from there, accompanied from time to time by the crack of branches being smashed apart.

"Everyone, approach carefully!"

Xiao Yu spoke in a low voice. Understanding his meaning, the others cautiously moved to surround the source of the sound.

Before long, a completely snow-white steed entered their sight. The horse looked extremely peculiar. Its body resembled that of a horse, but its head was shaped like a dragon's. White dragon scales extended from its forehead down the back of its neck and across its entire spine. A pair of snow-white wings grew from either side, while a diamond-shaped pale-golden gem on its forehead shone with unusual brilliance.

The entire horse was over four meters long and roughly two and a half meters tall. From afar, it appeared exceptionally tall and imposing.

"This is a Sky Dragon Horse!"

Xiao Yu recognized the soul beast at a glance. Back when he studied at the Soul Master Academy, his theoretical knowledge had been among the best. Only Ye Lingling, that top student, could compete with him. He knew all about the appearances, attributes, and cultivation-year assessments of every kind of soul beast.

"Our luck is really good. Even in the Star Dou Great Forest, Sky Dragon Horses are extremely rare."

Xiao Yu chuckled. "Xie Wu, you've hit the jackpot. This soul beast not only possesses the traits of horse-type soul beasts, but also carries the bloodline of the Light Sacred Dragon. Its cultivation is around thirteen hundred to fifteen hundred years, making it perfect for your third soul ring!"

Xie Wu also showed an excited expression and shouted, "Brothers, my third soul ring is counting on you!"

"Don't worry!"

Zilong answered with a smile, while Yi Hui and Eden silently nodded as well.

"Zilong, you go first. Although the Sky Dragon Horse possesses sacred dragon bloodline, it is ultimately too thin to compare with your Azure Dragon Martial Soul!"

At that moment, Xiao Yu acted as a team core should, directing them from the center. "Miyi Mei, activate both your First Spirit Skill and Second Spirit Skill. Yi Hui, keep an eye on it. If it tries to run, use your flames to cut off its escape route. Xie Wu, be ready to finish it at any time."

Miyi Mei was the first to summon his martial soul. Two yellow soul rings rose beneath his feet, and a D-shaped harp appeared in his hands.

"First Spirit Skill, Great Sound is Silence!"

"Second Spirit Skill, Illusory Sound!"

Miyi Mei's First Spirit Skill was a pure support skill capable of increasing a soul master's attack power by ten percent. His Second Spirit Skill was a mental attack. Aside from its mental-impact effect, it also had a certain chance of throwing an opponent into a confused and sluggish state, suppressing ten percent of their Soul Power.

"First Spirit Skill, Azure Dragon Wrathful Claw!"

With the support of Miyi Mei's string music, Zilong also used his First Spirit Skill. His arm became covered in fine, exquisite azure-black diamond-shaped dragon scales, and eight-inch dragon claws as sharp as blades burst forth. His entire arm instantly expanded several times in size. The claws contained an immensely powerful explosive effect and penetrating force, greatly increasing his strength and making their destructive power terrifying.

Dragon might spread outward, and the Sky Dragon Horse instantly felt suppression from the depths of its bloodline. Its body trembled slightly. At that very moment, Miyi Mei's Second Spirit Skill arrived as well. Already suppressed, the Sky Dragon Horse immediately fell into confusion, spinning in place and neighing.

Zilong seized the opportunity to strike, charging forward at full speed. Enhanced by Miyi Mei's spirit skill, he threw his right fist forward.

The force of that punch was easily over a thousand jin. The wind from the blow alone shook the surrounding trees until they rustled violently, let alone the Sky Dragon Horse that took the attack head-on.

The Sky Dragon Horse let out a miserable cry as it was sent flying backward. Sharp dragon claws left three horrifying wounds across its pure-white body, so deep that their bottoms could not be seen. Blood gushed out, dyeing its snowy feathers crimson.

"Xie Wu, give it the final blow!"

Xie Wu, who had long been poised to strike, immediately used his Second Spirit Skill, Meteor Flying Kick. Possessed by his unicorn martial soul, he leaped high into the air and came flying down with a kick, striking the Sky Dragon Horse squarely on the forehead.

After the repeated heavy blows, the Sky Dragon Horse crashed to the ground. Its limbs twitched faintly for a moment before it stopped moving altogether. A purple-blue soul ring slowly rose from its corpse.

Xie Wu did not hesitate for long. He sat cross-legged nearby and, guided by his Soul Power, began absorbing the soul ring. The others also consciously gathered around him to stand guard.

This soul ring posed no difficulty for Xie Wu in terms of exceeding his limit, so he absorbed it with great ease. In less than half an hour, he had already completed the absorption.

With a low shout, three soul rings—yellow, yellow, and purple, the optimal combination—floated behind him, marking his status as a Soul Elder.

"I'm level 32!"

Xie Wu opened his eyes and spoke excitedly.

"You had already reached a bottleneck back in Gengxin City. Apart from the increase granted by the soul ring, those two levels of Soul Power should also come from the accumulation of your continued cultivation during this time."

Xiao Yu said calmly, "After a soul master reaches a bottleneck, even if they do not obtain a soul ring, their Soul Power will continue to accumulate. Once they obtain a soul ring, it will reveal itself."

"Isn't that the theory of Yu Xiaogang, the man who calls himself Master?"

Eden frowned slightly. Among the group, aside from Xiao Yu, he was the only one who occasionally went to borrow books.

Xiao Yu nodded. "Although the Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls he published are riddled with flaws, this point is correct. There's also his Martial Soul Heterologous Fusion. If any of you come across his books in the future, just pay attention to those two parts. Everything else is either nonsense or problematic, so don't let him lead you astray."

Eden nodded in agreement. "Exactly. His theoretical system is full of nonsense. Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to martial soul quality, and martial soul quality can increase the amplification of a Martial Soul Avatar. Any soul master with a little combat knowledge could understand that, so how did it become his theory?

As for his soul-ring absorption limits, he completely ignores the differences between soul masters and generalizes from limited cases. If auxiliary-system soul masters tried to absorb soul rings according to the cultivation limits he proposed, I'd wager that nine out of ten would explode and die.

Still, those numbers do not look like something he made up out of thin air. He probably took the highest values from a large amount of data. But where would a level 29 Soul Grandmaster get so much data to summarize?"

Isn't it because he has someone to live off of?

Xiao Yu grumbled inwardly, but he was not one to spread gossip. Besides, they were in the Star Dou Great Forest, not a place to waste time chatting about idle rumors.

Achoo—

At Notting Academy, Yu Xiaogang wiped his nose and muttered to himself, "The weather hasn't been cold lately. Not only Xiao San—why have I started sneezing too?"