While Yu Longyue and Tang San were talking, Huo Yuhao did not stop moving.
His gaze remained calm and focused. The Soul Tool knife in his hand flashed coldly in the sunlight as he stepped lightly and silently toward the Soul Beast Tang San had just defeated.
Huo Yuhao acted swiftly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation, driving his knife precisely into the Soul Beast's head.
The Soul Beast's vitality rapidly ebbed away under the blow, and Huo Yuhao immediately began absorbing the Spiritual Energy it released.
"Wait, you..."
Yu Longyue had only just released Tang San's wrist when Tang San saw all the Spiritual Energy that belonged to him gather around Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao looked at Tang San with an innocent expression.
"Sorry, it was struggling on the brink of death and wanted to strike back before it died. I just happened to be beside it, and when it jerked its head, it accidentally ran into my knife."
Tang San: "..."
He looked at Huo Yuhao, a trace of helplessness flashing through his eyes.
It was common for Soul Beasts to strike back before dying, but one deliberately ramming its head into a Soul Master's weapon was quite rare.
It was hard to imagine that Huo Yuhao hadn't done it on purpose.
But Tang San remained fairly rational. "Your luck really is something."
In the end, he merely shook his head and said nothing more.
Under the circumstances, there was no point pursuing the matter. Besides, with Yu Longyue standing right there, he couldn't very well start arguing with Huo Haodong in front of him.
Yu Longyue chuckled, seemingly unsurprised by Huo Yuhao's actions, and sent him a mental message. "You're pretty practiced at pulling off that kind of 'accident.'"
Huo Yuhao shrugged, putting on an innocent look in front of Tang San.
"Pure coincidence. A coincidence."
Huo Yuhao's innocent expression and shrug made Yu Longyue's smile even more pronounced.
Although Tang San was somewhat displeased, he understood that arguing would get them nowhere under the circumstances.
He turned his gaze away from Huo Yuhao and looked once more into the depths of the forest.
"All right, let's keep moving." Tang San's voice was calm, his attention already turned to what lay ahead. "There are plenty more opportunities in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform. We can't waste too much time here."
Yu Longyue and Huo Yuhao exchanged a glance, both tacitly choosing not to make trouble.
He still dared to order them around?
Was he so used to being a God King that he couldn't adjust to his current status right away?
"How should we deal with him?"
Huo Yuhao asked in the mental world.
"That bastard can forget about absorbing even a scrap of Spiritual Energy." Yu Longyue sneered. Rather than continuing ahead, he moved behind Tang San.
"Brother Tang, I'll bring up the rear in case a Soul Beast ambushes us."
Tang San thought it over and decided it made sense, so he took the lead.
As the three ventured deeper, the forest grew darker and more mysterious. They stepped lightly over the thick fallen leaves, trying not to make a sound.
Sunlight filtered through gaps in the treetops, falling on them in dappled patches and providing faint guidance.
Just then, a cold wind suddenly swept past. At the rear, Yu Longyue's gaze sharpened abruptly. Before long, a deep roar came from nearby, and a Soul Beast with blue and red wings slowly emerged from the shadows of the forest.
Its eyes flickered with an intertwined light of ice and fire. It was an Ice Fire Demon Tiger, an exceptionally rare and powerful Soul Beast.
The Ice Fire Demon Tiger was enormous, its sleek muscles brimming with power. It spread its wings, one an icy blue wing of ice, the other a fiery red wing of flame, displaying its distinctive dual ice and fire attributes.
"That's an Ice Fire Demon Tiger, with about four thousand years of cultivation. Besides that, there's another Soul Beast behind us that's over eight thousand years old," Yu Longyue warned in a low voice. Then he called to Tang San, "Brother Tang, can you handle this Ice Fire Demon Tiger for a while?"
Tang San hesitated for a moment before hearing Yu Longyue's next words.
"The class monitor will go with you."
"All right, I'll leave our backs to you." Tang San nodded, then charged toward the Ice Fire Demon Tiger alongside Huo Yuhao.
Tang San's Eight Spider Lances had fully extended, each tip flashing coldly. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was also released at that moment, coiling around him. His first Soul Skill, Blue Silver Entanglement, rapidly wound toward the Ice Fire Demon Tiger's body like a spirit snake, trying to restrict its movements.
The Ice Fire Demon Tiger roared impatiently and beat its wings fiercely, unleashing a powerful storm of ice and fire to blow Tang San and Huo Yuhao away. Both were prepared: Tang San's Blue Silver Grass wrapped tightly around the surrounding trees, while Huo Yuhao had already hidden behind him, leaving Tang San to handle the front.
Tang San couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.
This guy showed such strength during the class selection trials, yet now he's hiding behind me?
At that thought, Tang San couldn't help recalling the moment Tang Wulin had ambushed him with a forging hammer. Seeing that it was his own son, his heart had softened.
If Wulin hadn't been there, the class monitor position would definitely have been mine.
Tang San collected himself and repeatedly used Hidden Weapon techniques against the Ice Fire Demon Tiger in conjunction with his Blue Silver Grass Soul Skill.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao silently cast both Mass Weakening and Spiritual Confusion on the Ice Fire Demon Tiger.
That terrifying Spiritual Power of the Spirit Domain realm instantly sent the Ice Fire Demon Tiger staggering from side to side, utterly unable to focus on the fight. As a result, Tang San's Hidden Weapons struck it all over its body.
Tang San still thought his Hidden Weapons were tremendously powerful. Hoping to absorb the Soul Beast's Spiritual Energy, he charged straight at it.
"One final blow and I'll kill it. Then my ten-year mushroom Soul Spirit can ascend."
As Tang San prepared to deliver the final blow, a dark shadow from afar suddenly enveloped his entire figure, making him look up.
A heavily armored rhinoceros Soul Beast had been hurled into the air, and it was about to land right in front of Tang San.
Tang San stopped short. The rhinoceros Soul Beast slammed heavily into the ground with a dull boom.
The rhinoceros Soul Beast's body twitched a few times before going still, then turned into a large amount of Spiritual Energy that drifted into the distance.
Tang San's gaze swiftly followed the drifting Spiritual Energy. Yu Longyue was slowly emerging from behind a tree, lightning still flashing around his dragon hands.
"Oh, you just finished yours off too? Nice teamwork."
Tang San's gaze hardened, and he whipped around to look at the dying Ice Fire Demon Tiger.
Its body suddenly shuddered, and the light rapidly faded from its eyes. After a bout of convulsions, it finally stopped moving and likewise turned into an immense amount of Spiritual Energy that drifted toward Huo Yuhao.
"You..."
Tang San watched Huo Yuhao immediately sit cross-legged and meditate to absorb the Spiritual Energy. He was about to continue when Yu Longyue spoke.
"Brother Tang, don't be hasty. Class Monitor Huo is probably about done. The next one will be yours."
"But I was the one attacking the Ice Fire Demon Tiger just now. He barely did anything. No matter how you look at it, I should be the one absorbing this Spiritual Energy." Tang San frowned, looking at Huo Yuhao with great displeasure.
In fact, Huo Yuhao had forcibly suppressed the Ice Fire Demon Tiger with his Spiritual Power, especially with that invisible, intangible Spirit Shock. Just because Yu Longyue could withstand it didn't mean the Ice Fire Demon Tiger could.
"All right, all right, don't be angry. While I was dealing with that Soul Beast behind us, I found a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Let's go kill it together, and you can absorb all its Spiritual Energy."
"Really?" Tang San's eyes lit up. A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast meant he could absorb a thousand years' worth of Spirit. Even with three Soul Rings sharing it, that would be more than enough.
Huo Yuhao finished absorbing the Spiritual Energy and stood up, saying cheerfully, "Yes. Sorry, Brother Tang. We'll go kill it together right now, and you can absorb it."
"Thank you, brothers. I'm deeply grateful." Tang San bowed to thank them, and the three ran toward the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Sure enough, they found a vicious wolf that was a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. The moment they met it, Huo Yuhao used his third and fourth Soul Skills at once, forcibly weakening the wolf's combat power with debuffs such as mental weakening and confusion.
Immediately afterward, Yu Longyue unleashed a fierce roar with his fourth Soul Skill, True Dragon Roar. The dragon's cry and draconic might, mixed with lightning, ravaged the entire area in the blink of an eye.
He followed up with his second Soul Skill, Thunderous Might, electrocuting the wolf until it lost all ability to fight.
Tang San's mouth twitched at the sight.
They had dealt with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in five seconds.
Good thing I'm friends with him.
"Brother Tang, please." Yu Longyue smiled broadly and extended a hand, inviting Tang San forward.
"Thank you both for your help. I, Tang San, will never forget your kindness."
Tang San cupped his hands and bowed to them again. Behind him, his Eight Spider Lances had fully extended, each tip flashing coldly.
He was just about to pierce the wolf's head with the Eight Spider Lances when Yu Longyue called out from behind him, sounding somewhat panicked.
"Brother Tang, watch out!"
Before Tang San could react, immensely powerful lightning instantly filled the area around him, and his entire field of vision was flooded with dazzling deep-blue light.
A moment later, he felt a painful tearing sensation all over his body. The pain made his vision go black, and his consciousness vanished completely as his entire figure left the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Behind the spot where Tang San had vanished, Yu Longyue's gaze was indifferent. His right dragon claw crackled, and his first Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw, which had just lit up, faded.
A single Thunder Dragon Claw had torn Tang San to pieces, leaving not even a scrap behind.