Mutated Soul Beast, the Four Join Forces for Real for the First Time
After the blood samples went missing, the academy made no public announcement.
The teacher in charge of the infirmary said only that the samples might have been lost during transfer.
Li Man did not believe it.
But she did not investigate immediately.
The person who had stolen Zhou Qian's blood was still hiding in the academy.
Now that even the bandits' samples had been taken, it showed that the person had been keeping an eye on clues related to the Return to One Society.
"Let's make a note of this for now."
Dong Jian said.
"We'll investigate when we're strong enough to catch the culprit."
Li Man nodded.
She no longer dug deeper the moment she found a clue, as she had before.
It wasn't that she had given up on the truth.
She understood that, when her strength was insufficient, digging too deeply would only give the enemy an opening to exploit.
A month later.
The academy arranged for outstanding lower-year students to complete a wilderness survival course outside the city.
Dong Jian, Li Man, Tang San, and Xiao Wu were all on the list.
On the way back, an overturned wagon suddenly appeared on the road ahead of the group.
The driver lay on the ground.
Three enormous claw marks scored his chest.
"He's still breathing."
Xiao Wu was the first to rush over.
Li Man raised a hand to stop her.
"Check the surroundings first."
Green Jade Bamboo touched the ground.
The vibrations in the woods were extremely chaotic.
It was as though something enormous was moving back and forth nearby.
Yu Xiaogang saw the claw marks on the wagon.
"It wasn't an ordinary wolf-type Soul Beast."
"The claw marks are different sizes."
"It's as though the physical traits of three Soul Beasts have been mixed together."
A low growl came from the woods.
Trees toppled one after another.
A giant dog nearly two meters tall slowly emerged.
Wolf scales covered the left side of its body.
Bear-like bone armor grew over its right shoulder.
Yet its tail resembled a long, slender venomous snake.
The parts of its body joined together extremely awkwardly.
Black veins throbbed beneath its skin.
"A Fusion Soul Beast."
Li Man recognized it immediately.
It was extremely similar to the chaotic Soul Power in Zhou Qian's blood.
Yu Xiaogang's expression grew grave.
"Its age can't be judged normally."
"It has the power of at least three Soul Beasts fused within it."
The teacher in charge of the course released his Martial Soul.
"All students, get back."
The giant dog suddenly roared.
Its snake tail whipped out, spraying black venom.
To protect the driver, the teacher moved to the side to block it.
The giant dog seized the opportunity to charge at the students.
"Scatter!"
Tang San was the first to act, unleashing Blue Silver Entanglement.
Blue Silver Grass wrapped around the giant dog's front legs.
The vines had barely tightened when the bear-like bone armor released a powerful force.
The strands of Blue Silver Grass snapped one after another.
"Its strength exceeds that of an ordinary six-hundred-year Soul Beast!"
Tang San quickly assessed it.
Xiao Wu leaped up from the side.
Waist Bow caught the snake tail.
She did not try to throw the entire giant dog.
Instead, she used the strength of her waist and abdomen to change the direction of the tail's attack.
The black venom landed in an empty patch of ground.
Signs of corrosion immediately appeared on the ground.
Li Man's First Soul Ring lit up.
"Green Bamboo Binding Formation!"
Four bamboo silhouettes rose.
Bamboo vines reached for its remaining three legs.
"Don't bind it completely."
Dong Jian said.
"Just restrict where it can step."
Li Man immediately changed how she controlled the vines.
The bamboo vines did not contend head-on with the giant dog's strength.
Instead, they suddenly moved every time it put a foot down.
The giant dog's speed was repeatedly hampered.
Dong Jian activated Bear Astral Energy Body Protection.
He stepped forward to block its path.
A wolf claw came down.
Bang!
The black-and-white astral Qi shook violently.
The ground beneath Dong Jian's feet cracked.
The force of that blow far exceeded the Earth Savage Bear's.
Bear Astral Energy Body Protection could not absorb it completely.
A sharp pain immediately shot through his shoulder.
"Its strength follows no pattern!"
Kung Fu Deconstruction struggled to analyze it.
The wolf claw, bear bone, and snake tail each drew their strength from a different system.
The Soul Power inside its body was also clashing.
The giant dog attacked again.
Dong Jian used Circular Force Redirection.
His palm had barely touched the wolf claw when bear-like strength suddenly erupted from the shoulder.
He was sent flying by the direct blow.
Li Man controlled a bamboo vine to catch him around the waist.
Its recoil lessened the impact.
Dong Jian did not hit the tree trunk.
"It can't control its own strength either."
Li Man said.
"Every time it switches attributes, its body pauses."
Tang San noticed it too.
"After its snake tail attacks, its right front leg briefly loses strength."
"Next time, let's attack its right side together."
The giant dog's snake tail whipped out again.
Xiao Wu went to meet it.
She clamped her legs around the tail.
She activated Waist Bow.
Venom sprayed into the air.
Sure enough, its right front leg faltered.
Blue Silver Grass immediately shot up from the ground.
It bound the joint.
Two of Li Man's bamboo vines tightened at the same time.
It wasn't a contest of strength.
They were locking it in place during that instant of imbalance.
Dong Jian stepped onto a curved bamboo silhouette.
Green Bamboo Borrowing Momentum!
His body was propelled to the giant dog's right side.
The impact accumulated by Bear Astral Energy Body Protection concentrated in his shoulder.
Mountain-Leaning Collision!
Bang!
Cracks appeared in the bone armor on its right side.
The giant dog let out a wretched howl.
The three kinds of Soul Power inside it erupted into turmoil at once.
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed dramatically.
"Get back!"
"It's going to self-destruct!"
The black veins rapidly swelled.
The giant dog's body looked as though it were being forced open from within.
The teacher in charge of the course was closest to the driver.
He could not protect everyone at once.
Dong Jian did not retreat.
He activated Bear Astral Energy Body Protection at full power.
He stood at the very front.
"We can't take it head-on!"
Li Man quickly controlled the four bamboo silhouettes, bending them inward.
The bamboo vines crossed.
They formed a semicircular barrier.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass grew along the bamboo silhouettes.
It reinforced the gaps.
Xiao Wu scooped up the injured driver and quickly retreated behind the barrier.
This was the first time the four had truly joined forces, without argument or reservation.
Boom!
The Mutated Soul Beast exploded completely.
Bone fragments, venom, and chaotic Soul Power blasted outward together.
The first layer of Blue Silver Grass shattered instantly.
The second layer of bamboo vines shook violently.
Two bamboo silhouettes snapped.
Blood trickled from the corner of Li Man's mouth.
Dong Jian stood at the very front.
Bear Astral Energy Body Protection continuously absorbed the impact.
The astral Qi quickly reached its limit.
The black-and-white light began to fracture.
"Just a little more!"
He directed all the accumulated impact into the ground.
His legs grew heavier.
The soil beneath his feet continued to sink.
The last bone fragment pierced the astral Qi.
It sliced open Dong Jian's arm.
At last, the impact ended.
The dust and smoke cleared.
All four were still standing.
The injured coachman had suffered no further harm, either.
Blood streamed down both of Dong Jian's arms.
Only one bamboo silhouette remained of Li Man's Green Bamboo Binding Formation.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had all snapped.
Xiao Wu's clothes were covered in dirt.
Yet not one of them had fallen.
The teacher in charge of the lesson hurried forward to check their injuries.
"Well done."
"But the next time you encounter a self-destruction, your first choice must be to retreat."
"When there's no one you have to protect, you mustn't block it with your body."
Dong Jian nodded.
He did not assume that every choice he had made was correct just because he had succeeded.
If the four of them hadn't worked together,
their defense would surely have failed.
Li Man walked over to the Mutated Soul Beast's corpse.
After the explosion, only a small amount of charred tissue remained.
A black metal plaque was lodged among it.
It bore the design of a long, narrow eye.
The Return to One Society.
She did not keep it for herself.
Instead, she handed it to the teacher.
"This may be connected to illegal Soul Beast experiments."
The teacher's expression grew grave.
"The academy will hand it over to the Spirit Hall."
Yu Xiaogang looked at the metal plaque but did not launch into another lengthy investigation.
"The Return to One Society is already capable of creating Mutated Soul Beasts with power approaching that of a six-hundred-year-old Soul Beast."
"You aren't qualified to seek them out yet."
Dong Jian said:
"So we get stronger first."
Tang San glanced at him.
This time, he didn't argue.
After the battle ended,
a subtle change came over the relationship between the four of them.
They would still compete.
They would still debate theories and fighting styles.
But when faced with real danger, they could now entrust their backs to one another.
As they rested that night,
Dong Jian's Soul Power broke through to level twelve.
The limit of what his Bear Astral Energy Body Protection could withstand had risen noticeably.
Li Man had also reached the peak of level eleven.
Her Green Bamboo Binding Formation had reformed after shattering, and its bamboo silhouettes had grown tougher.
Xiao Wu sat by the campfire.
"Once you reach level twelve, Li Man,"
"let's fight again."
Li Man looked at her.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Tang San, meanwhile, said to Dong Jian:
"Next time, we'll spar one-on-one."
"No help from teammates."
Dong Jian nodded.
"We'll wait until the annual assessment."
A new rivalry was set.
And this time,
Dong Jian would have to find a way to break Blue Silver Entanglement.
Li Man, too, would show everyone-
even without teaming up with Dong Jian, she was just as qualified to contend for the title of strongest in their year.