Soul Land 2: The Unrivaled Tang Sect

Wang Dong was already extremely handsome. He set off the Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings, and even the cold and arrogant Mu Xue was dazed momentarily, while Wei Na’s charming eyes sparkled.

Soul Masters’ martial souls had many different kinds of attributes, but those that could be described as “beautiful” were few and far between, especially so for beast souls. Wang Dong’s Radiant Butterfly Goddess had a seamless combination of blue and gold, and how could its grandeur and elegance not be riveting? Mo Feiyun and company didn’t even recognize his martial soul.

The Scarletfire Monkey’s assault wasn’t about to stop because of Wang Dong’s dazzling charm, and a second fireball followed closely behind the first one. The Scarletfire Monkey king also seemed to realize that Mo Feiyun wasn’t an easy opponent, and it quickly disappeared into the forest. Fireballs of all sizes were fired continuously in between the Scarletfire Monkeys’ shifting shadows.

Mo Feiyun and his company’s overall strength was immediately unleashed. Nobody panicked, and everybody released their martial souls to defend themselves.

Four of them attracted more of Huo Yuhao’s attention. The agility-type Soul King, Bei Tang, had a bamboo pole for his martial soul. The bamboo pole was thirty feet long, and its entire body was shiny purple. Its length was mutable, and it waltzed through the air, whipping at fireball after fireball. These fireballs detonated when they were struck, or they were sent flying away in another direction.

Then there was Chou Xiangdong, who was anchoring the formation in the center at the back. His martial soul was unique as well – it was a pillar that was thick like a water bucket, and was about twelve feet long. The pillar had a smooth surface, emanated pale golden hues, and had a strong metallic quality. He didn’t seem to do anything much, but the pillar would always appear where it was needed, and the fireballs cracking against it couldn’t knock it down at all.

What fascinated Huo Yuhao the most was Mu Xue. Even though her cultivation couldn’t compare to the Soul Kings, Soul Emperors and the Soul Sages around her, Huo Yuhao felt extremely close and intimate with her martial soul. Even her soul skills were incredibly powerful.

Mu Xue’s flowing black hair turned white as she released her martial soul, and the chilly sensation in her eyes multiplied. She raised her arms into the air, and her two yellow and one purple soul ring rose into the sky. Innumerable snowflakes were hurled out as her first soul ring sparkled, and they permeated the sky, causing the temperature to plummet.

Yes, her martial soul was Snow. The fireballs that flew through her flurry of snowflakes were weakened by varying degrees, and the dense cold air dispelled the scorching heat that the Scarletfire Monkeys brought about. What was more amazing was that these snowflakes seemed to have eyes as they drifted towards the Scarletfire Monkeys within the forest. Any Scarletfire Monkey that the snowflakes touched became conspicuously slower.

Mu Xue’s martial soul wasn’t just Snow – it was snow with elements of control. Even though she had only released her first soul skill, she managed to considerably reduce the pressure on everyone.

Mo Feiyun wasn’t hasty about attacking the Scarletfire Monkeys surging in between the trees. He stood guard in front of everyone while he monitored his comrades’ battle situations. Soul beasts’ instincts were sharp, so the number of Scarletfire Monkeys in front of everyone was the fewest because of Mo Feiyun’s position. This meant that Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao felt the least pressure, and only Wang Dong had to slash away a fireball using his Guillotine Wings – both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao hadn’t even revealed their martial souls yet. Wang Dong’s yellow and two purple soul rings surprised Mo Feiyun. His second soul ring was a thousand year soul ring; this wasn’t something that even elite academies could have easily nurtured.

They passively defended themselves against the Scarletfire Monkeys’ onslaught, and everyone figured out this pack’s overall strength. Mo Feiyun’s cloudy mist constantly transformed in the sky, and the Scarletfire Monkeys directly facing everyone couldn’t break through at all. Instead, they were repeatedly attacked by the air missiles that the cloudy mist constantly formed, and it didn’t take long for over a dozen Scarletfire Monkeys to die at Mo Feiyun’s hands.

Huo Yuhao looked on indifferently. With his understanding of high-level soul masters, he could immediately tell that this Soul Sage hadn’t given his all, and he had his own reservations.

Wei Na appeared extremely idle beside Mu Xue. She didn’t release her martial soul, and she was just watching the glittering pair of wings behind Wang Dong.

A piercing howl rang out at this moment, and a fiery-red silhouette suddenly pounced from the flank. At the same time, a large blanket of fireballs was launched from all directions and suppressed everyone.

The Scarletfire Monkey king hidden in the forest couldn’t hold back any longer, and a series of three fireballs over a meter in diameter bombarded an agility-type Soul King on the flank and continuously pushed him back – a crack finally appeared in the formation. The Scarletfire Monkey was unbelievably fast, and it darted past that Soul King as it extended its sharp claws and lunged straight for Wei Na.

Mo Feiyun reacted the moment this Scarletfire Monkey made its move. He raised his right hand, and a cloud sphere transformed into a fist before it banged against the Scarletfire Monkey king.

A golden-red shadow sprung forward right at this moment and crashed against the cloud sphere. The cloudy mist crumbled and dissipated, and the golden-red shadow arrived before Mo Feiyun.

He was taken by surprise, and even a powerful Soul Sage such as Mo Feiyun was momentarily bewildered. He never expected that there was such a mighty presence hidden amongst this pack of Scarletfire Monkeys. The white clouds around his body dimmed and transformed into a shield before him.

“Boom–” The clouds dissolved once more, and Mo Feiyun was immediately thrown into the sky.

The Scarletfire Monkey king’s sharp claws appeared before Wei Na at the same time.

Everything happened too quickly. Nobody expected that there was such a formidable being within the pack, and neither did they anticipate that this monkey would employ such insidious battle tactics. That powerful Scarletfire Monkey had escaped even Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection.

Mu Xue was the closest to Wei Na. However, Mu Xue was on the other side, and she only had three soul rings. She was no match for the five thousand year Scarletfire Monkey king, especially so when everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The other Soul Kings and Soul Emperors had too much faith in Mo Feiyun’s abilities, and they were too late with their reinforcements. Wei Na was about to be struck, and she didn’t seem like she had any intention of defending herself.

A dull golden radiance suddenly sparkled before Wei Na, and a giant cauldron that was over a meter wide appeared between her and the Scarletfire Monkey king. The enormous cauldron expanded in an instant, and the dense golden radiance erupted against the Scarletfire Monkey king’s body while it pushed Wei Na away at the same time.

One couldn’t underestimate such a simple hindrance. A single second of resistance was enough to change the entire situation in life and death circumstances.

The Scarletfire Monkey king’s stinging claws scratched against the Threelives Soulcruch Cauldron, and the shrill sounds of clanging metal could be heard. However, the monkey couldn’t do anything to it. The monkey’s offensive abilities couldn’t compare to the cauldron formed by the soul ring taken from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.

Mu Xue seemed a lot more composed than Wei Na. She dragged Wei Na away from the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron as her third soul ring immediately lit up, and a white circle of light appeared beneath the Scarletfire Monkey king’s feet. Snow danced through the air with the monkey’s body at the center of everything, and eventually congregated into a tornado that was over three meters tall. The Scarletfire Monkey was temporarily trapped within the waltzing snowflakes.

What a formidable control-type soul skill! Huo Yuhao was mildly astonished. He could feel with his Spiritual Detection that Mu Xue’s soul skill had been cast instantly. If her target on solid ground, it would have no chance of evading it. This kind of ability was known as Forced Control amongst control-type soul skills, and taking it head-on was the only way of dealing with it.

Flames erupted from the Scarletfire Monkey’s body. Its cultivation was far higher than Mu Xue’s, and her Snowdragon Tornado couldn’t hold it for too long. However, these few moments were enough to determine the Scarletfire Monkey king’s fate.

The agility-type Soul King that was previously pushed away bounced back in an instant. A pair of small blades slashed and dashed as his fifth soul ring sparkled, and dozens of bloody wounds immediately appeared on the Scarletfire Monkey king’s body.

A purple shadow surged into the sky nearby, and the purple bamboo pole appeared like a drawn bow before it cracked down, leaving afterimages in its wake.

“Crunch–” The Scarletfire Monkey king collapsed onto the ground, and everyone could hear the sounds of ligaments tearing and bones breaking.

The purple shadow withdrew and returned to Bei Tang. The purple bamboo pole was almost sixty feet long previously, and two the Soul Kings worked together with the help of Mu Xue’s forced control to finally eliminate this Scarletfire Monkey king.

Mo Feiyun and company were infuriated at this point. They continuously unleashed their various formidable soul skills, and the Scarletfire Monkeys were no longer leisurely surging through the trees – many Scarletfire Monkeys were killed in an instant.

Huo Yuhao’s attention shifted to the other side once the Scarletfire Monkey king was killed. The entity that tied down Mo Feiyun was also a Scarletfire Monkey – no, it should be called a Blazefire Monkey.

Its golden fur felt like it was burning with flames even if it didn’t unleash any soul power. It was only about three feet tall, but its aura was far superior to the other Scarletfire Monkeys.

Scarletfire Monkeys had a chance to shed their fur and be reborn after they reached ten thousand years of cultivation, and their fur would become golden-red – they were known as Blazefire Monkeys. That implied that this Blazefire Monkey that was holding Mo Feiyun back was the Scarletfire Monkey’s true leader. This was also the reason why they didn’t retreat before such a formidable human presence. It was a pity that soul beasts were soul beasts after all, and even if they could employ certain battle strategies, they could never compare to human intelligence. There was one price for underestimating one’s enemies – death!

This Blazefire Monkey was getting worried as it watched its kinsmen being slain all over the place, but its commitment to vengeance and settling its debts meant that there was no way it was going to withdraw. Mo Feiyun also appeared infuriated by the disaster that had almost occurred, and he immediately unleashed his true power.

The clouds changed from white to yellow, before they were tainted purple. Mo Feiyun launched a myriad of attacks, and every strike was ten times stronger than the previous one.

Even though the ten thousand year Blazefire Monkey was incredibly strong, Mo Fieyun suppressed it until it didn’t have a chance at all. The purple clouds swiftly expanded and arrested the ten thousand year Blazefire Monkey within.

Huo Yuhao didn’t extend his Spiritual Detection into the purple cloud mist. He had a subconscious feeling that the purple cloud mist would affect his own spiritual power. Even though it probably wouldn’t have any toxic backlash, he didn’t want to reveal his own abilities.

The purple cloud mist suddenly became black. However, Huo Yuhao and his friends could acutely feel an immense pressure that resembled dark clouds looming over an entire city that could whittle it into dust. An agonizing cry could be heard from within the dark mass of clouds, and a golden-red flame flickered once before it was completely extinguished.

The clouds dissipated, and Mo Feiyun walked out with a gloomy look on his face. He was holding the Blazefire Monkey’s corpse in his right hand. The Blazefire Monkey was soft like a ragdoll, as if its skeleton had been completely crushed into pieces.

Mo Feiyun arrived before Wei Na in a flash. Wei Na’s face was pale from the trauma and he said, “Your… Wei Na, are you okay?”

Wei Na patted herself on her supple chest. Her breathing was a little faster than normal and she replied, “I’m fine. Fortunately, the giant cauldron took a hit for me.”

Mo Feiyun turned towards Huo Yuhao and the others. His gaze landed upon Xiao Xiao, and he said sincerely, “Thank you for your timely aid, Xiao Xiao. If not, Wei Na would have been wounded by the Scarletfire Monkey even if she wasn’t kidnapped. That was my fault - I was too careless. I didn’t think this pack of Scarletfire Monkeys could have been so scheming and dangerous.”

Xiao Xiao giggled and said, “We’re all in the same boat. You don’t have to be so polite, Uncle Mo.”

Wei Na’s emotions calmed down a little, and she hurried before Xiao Xiao and grasped her hands. “Thank you, Xiao Xiao. Thank you for helping me just now.”

Everybody quickly circled around. They looked at Huo Yuhao and his friends with warmer expressions than before, and even Mu Xue’s eyes didn’t appear so ice-cold.

Wang Dong’s withdrew his Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings, but he turned towards the Blazefire Monkey’s body. Its golden-red fur glimmered with pale hues, and appeared unnaturally brilliant.

“Can you sell this Blazefire Monkey to me, Uncle Mo? The Blazefire Monkey’s hide and fur are extremely rare and valuable. After it reaches over ten thousand years of cultivation, the relationship between fire and light will be much clearer. My element is light, and it will be extremely beneficial for me if I can use its hide as a fur coat. Do name a price.”

Mo Feiyun smiled and replied, “What price? Didn’t Xiao Xiao just mention that we are in this together? You guys saved Wei Na, so this Blazefire Monkey should be yours. I hope we can have even better chemistry in the future. Here, it’s yours.” He tossed the Blazefire Monkey’s corpse before Wang Dong as he spoke.

“Thank you, Uncle Mo.” Wang Dong grabbed the Blazefire Monkey without excessive formalities and put it away inside his storage-type soul tool.

The Blazefire Monkey wasn’t that big, so it wasn’t enough to forge a fur coat or any kind of clothing. However, the Blazefire Monkey’s element was extremely similar to his Golden Light Left Arm Bone, and was complementary in its effects. It could be forged into an armguard.

They returned to the trail, while Huo Yuhao and his friends changed positions. Their initial doubts and suspicions were a lot lower after Xiao Xiao’s timely reinforcement. Furthermore, both Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong had displayed extraordinary abilities as Soul Elders, so Mo Feiyun ended up arranging for them to travel with Wei Na and Mu Xue. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood in front, while the three girls walked behind them.

“What is your martial soul called, Xiao Xiao? It looks like an enormous cauldron, and it looks incredibly tough. The Scarletfire Monkey couldn’t shake the cauldron one bit when it struck it, “Wei Na asked inquisitively. She felt intimate with the person that had saved her life.

Xiao Xiao answered, “My martial soul is called the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. It’s mainly defensive, so it’s natural for it to be tough.”

“What about them?” Wei Na lowered her voice and pointed at Wang Dong in front.

Xiao Xiao said, “His martial soul… I think you should just ask him yourself.”

Wei Na pouted and said, “I don’t want to do that. He’s still young, but he looks like he doesn’t like talking to strangers – what a waste of good looks.”

Xiao Xiao giggled and said, “Are you interested in him, Wei Na?”

Wei Na’s pretty face flushed red, and she glared at Xiao Xiao. “Nonsense.”

The company entered the Great Star Dou Forest’s Hybrid Region, and everyone’s speed was obviously slower than before. Mo Feiyun was a mighty Soul Sage, but even he had to be extra careful. Ten thousand year soul beasts could have vastly different standards – he could handle a Blazefire Monkey below thirty thousand years, but he would find it challenging to deal with anything stronger than that. If they were faced with a top-tier soul beast like the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, it would be calamitous for the entire company even if it only had ten thousand years of cultivation.

They also fought battles much more frequently. Fortunately, most of their encounters were with thousand year soul beasts, as they were barely over the Hybrid Region’s borders. The relatively more intelligent soul beasts could feel the danger brought by this company of humans, and they wouldn’t come near for no reason. Even so, the entire company took more than an hour to travel ten kilometers while maintaining their heightened vigilance. The day gradually proceeded into midday.

Mo Feiyun found a vantage point with a relatively wide field of view, and ordered the company to take a break.

Everybody carried their own snacks and ate their respective shares while they rested. Nobody dared to light a fire inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and everyone started to meditate to restore their energy after eating.

Mo Feiyun gathered everyone around after a little more than thirty minutes and said, “There will be occasional ten thousand year soul beasts appearing around this location. We cannot venture any deeper, so we will proceed laterally to find suitable soul beasts. We will retreat from the Hybrid Region before evening, rest in its outer zones and continue our search tomorrow.”

Huo Yuhao and his friends realized that Mo Feiyun and those with him had faith in their abilities and were about to spend the night inside the forest. This would undoubtedly increase their chances of finding appropriate soul beasts, but it would also raise the danger level exponentially.

Mo Feiyun changed their direction after everybody was done resting. They didn’t venture forward any longer, and started moving laterally as he had just said. They traveled a lot slower than before, and he released his Cloud martial soul from time to time to search for suitable soul beasts.

Huo Yuhao naturally wasn’t idle either. Mo Feiyun was scouting for everyone, so there wasn’t much pressure on him. He decided to concentrate his Spiritual Detection towards a single direction so that he could detect things at a much greater distance. He swept from left to right, and attempted to find a soul beast suitable for himself while avoiding Mo Feiyun’s clouds as much as possible.

Huo Yuhao discovered after repeated observation that Mo Feiyun’s martial soul was vastly different from normal soul masters’ martial souls. His soul rings amplified the clouds’ strength, from white to yellow, then to purple, and finally to black. Every amplification was different, and the clouds’ ferocity was also different after materializing – it was almost an exponential increase in power. The Cloud could be said to be all-in-one: crowd control, detection, and assault. No wonder his comrades had so much faith in him. Huo Yuhao was positive that Mo Feiyun had eliminated more than seventy percent of potential threats and dangers.

“Roar–!” A fearsome roar that resembled a tidal wave boomed in the distance. Mo Feiyun immediately stopped in his tracks and his expression changed drastically, before he turned around and placed his index finger to his lips.

A shrill and piercing cry was heard after the ear-splitting roar. It wasn’t as intimidating as the roar, but it was as piercing as it was, and wasn’t masked by the fearsome roar at all.

Mo Feiyun retreated before his comrades carefully and whispered, “There appear to be two soul beasts locked in battle. Judging from the sounds, both entities are at least ten thousand years old, and could be even more than thirty thousand years old. We will go around – hurry.” He turned around as he spoke and shifted towards the outer zone. He moved much more carefully than before, and the clouds he spread around him were reduced to a radius of about fifty meters.

Huo Yuhao’s perception was incredibly sharp. Even though his hearing wasn’t as good as his vision, he could faintly tell that the roar came from at least three kilometers away from where they were.

“Yuhao, get over there. A soul beast suitable for you has appeared.” Suddenly, the hibernating Skydream Iceworm spoke in Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea.

Huo Yuhao felt a wave of excitement and said with look of surprise, “That’s a ten thousand year soul beast, brother Skydream. Do you actually think I can assimilate a ten thousand year soul ring?”

The Skydream Iceworm grunted coldly and replied, “Of course you can’t. But, miracles can happen sometimes with me around. Do you really think sleeping is all I know how to do after fusing with you?”

Huo Yuhao actually wanted to ask, “Is that not true?”

The Skydream Iceworm continued proudly, “I have been investigating the different functionalities of spiritual power even in my sleep, and I think I have gained some knowledge recently. You can’t assimilate a ten thousand year soul ring. In fact, you’re quite far off from being able to do so. However, your body has become extremely tough and resilient after being remade by Electrolux’s Life Gold. Even ten thousand year soul rings can’t immediately damage your body when you first attempt to absorb them. I can use spiritual power to lock part of the ten thousand year soul ring’s power so that it will be suppressed into a thousand year soul ring for you to absorb its power. When you are powerful enough, you can gradually assimilate the rest of its power. With your current cultivation speed, the refining from several soul bones, and in addition to the Life Gold’s amplification, you will definitely be able to absorb ten thousand year soul rings when you have four. Of course – the seal has its limits, so I can only help you seal a soul ring with roughly ten thousand years of soul power. Your own limits of absorption should be limited to around five to six thousand years, so that means your target of choice will be appropriate as long as it doesn’t have over fifteen thousand years of cultivation. One of the two soul beasts locked in battle is suitable for you. You have to hurry up, this opportunity won’t appear again.”

Huo Yuhao forced out a laugh and said, “Brother Skydream, do you really think I can defeat a ten thousand year soul beast? Let alone two of them? Even if Elder Xuan is here, don’t you think it’s a bit suspicious? Also wouldn’t the fact that I can absorb a ten thousand year soul ring completely unscathed raise suspicion?”

“Uh… that does sound like a problem.” The Skydream Iceworm was becoming a little skeptical.

“What are you doing, Yuhao? Hurry up, let’s go.” Mo Feiyun suddenly realized that Huo Yuhao had stopped walking, so he quickly roused him. His voice far more solemn than usual—this was the Great Star Dou Forest’s Hybrid Region, a single moment of absent-mindedness could prove fatal.

Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and said, “You guys go ahead, Uncle Mo. I just felt a soul beast that’s suitable for me nearby, I’ll go take a look. Xiao Dong, Xiao Xiao, you two should stick with Uncle Mo—I’ll be right back.” Before anyone had a chance to speak, he darted out with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and disappeared.

Mo Feiyun was momentarily stunned. What just happened? Huo Yuhao’s explosive speeds also took him by surprise, as only Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had fought in previous battles, he had no idea of Huo Yuhao’s capabilities. Nobody even knew what Huo Yuhao’s martial soul was. Huo Yuhao’s body seemed to vanish into thin air the moment he moved.

Both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were taken aback. Huo Yuhao had actually abandoned them—this was something they had never expected to happen.

Huo Yuhao did disappear, and his vanishing act was accomplished with Imitation. He imitated a large tree the moment he jumped forward, and how could anyone see him within all that dense vegetation?

“Yuhao!” Wang Dong exclaimed desperately, but Huo Yuhao was nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, he had no means to track him down, even if he wanted to. Huo Yuhao had never behaved so irrationally before, so what was happening? Why did detach himself from the group, just like that?

The moment he vanished into the jungle, Huo Yuhao raced forward. Channeling his Imitation as best he could, appearing only as a faint contorted blur, constantly transforming with the surroundings.

“Has Elder Xuan discovered I’ve left the team yet?” Huo Yuhao asked the Skydream Iceworm while bolting forward.

The Skydream Iceworm answered, “I think he knows, he’s also chasing you right now. Stop running—it’s pointless even if you do. So you might as well be straightforward with Elder Xuan. Besides, you can’t handle a ten thousand year soul beasts anyways.”

Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, “Then how should I explain things to Elder Xuan?”

Skydream said matter-of-factly, “Just bullshit him. Isn’t that what you’re good at?”

Huo Yuhao was exasperated. “How am I supposed to do that?! Elder Xuan isn’t easily deceived! He’s studied martial souls his entire life.” Huo Yuhao stopped in place anyways and dispelled his Imitation.

Elder Xuan’s voice could be heard in the next moment. “What are you trying to do, you little bastard? You don’t feel good if you don’t scare me a little, eh?”

Elder Xuan appeared beside him in a flash.

Huo Yuhao said, “Did you hear those two howls? I have a hunch that one of them would make me a suitable soul ring—a rare spirit-type soul beast.”

Elder Xuan replied with annoyance, “Nonsense. Those two are ten thousand year spirit beasts, I can tell by their auras. But you’re just a Soul Elder, not a Soul King—can you even assimilate a ten thousand year soul ring?”

Thoughts spun at lightning speed inside Huo Yuhao’s head as he replied, “You know that I’m a Tang Sect disciple, Elder Xuan. My path is that of the Tang Sect. Which has a secret technique that can suppress a soul ring’s power. Have you heard of it?”

All he could do was fabricate a story. What else could he do? He wanted to properly obtain this golden opportunity, after searching for a suitable soul ring for many days he had finally come across a match. Huo Yuhao had no doubts in the Skydream Iceworm’s keen perception.

Elder Xuan was slightly taken aback, and said, “The Tang Sect has such a secret technique? I’ve never actually heard of such a thing.”

Huo Yuhao continued, “The Tang Sect’s secret technique is only suitable for soul masters with sufficient spiritual power, but can only be used for the fifth and lower soul rings. At present, I am the only one in the Tang Sect capable of using the ring-sealing secret technique. It can temporarily seal a soul ring’s power, so I can absorb a portion of it now, and the rest as I grow stronger. Furthermore, I have three soul bones now, and my body is extremely resilient—plus the ring-sealing technique. I am confident in my odds as long as the soul beast has a cultivation lower than twenty thousand years. A soul master’s willpower is most imperative when it comes to assimilating a soul ring, and in this, I am most confident. Elder Xuan, I have finally discovered a suitable soul beast, I want to give it a shot!”

Elder Xuan deliberated for a while and said, “The Tang Sect’s forefather, Tang San, had soul rings that were almost breaking every natural limit all those years ago. Did he use the ring-sealing technique? It’s the first I’ve ever heard of this. It’s a shame the Tang Sect no longer passes on these kind of esoteric techniques.”

Huo Yuhao was overcome with exhilaration when he heard Elder Xuan’s words. He never expected that his ‘fabricated story’ had precedence, so he nodded his head continuously..

Elder Xuan frowned and said, “But why did you choose to leave Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao behind? I can’t be in two places at the same time, so how am I supposed to protect them?”

“Uh…” Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, “I didn’t think into it that much. I felt the spiritual fluctuations and Uncle Mo was impatient, so I bolted out as fast as I could. I didn’t think that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were in much danger within that group. Why don’t you go fetch them, while I wait here?”

There were some obvious flaws in Huo Yuhao’s explanation. But Elder Xuan was generous to overlook them on account of Huo Yuhao’s age. It was only natural that a not-even-thirteen-years-old child would be a bit impulsive.

Elder Xuan said, “I guess that’s the only way. I won’t let anything slip. I’ll go fetch those two fellas, you can wait here. Use your Imitation to hide yourself—even I was almost fooled just now. Luckily, you can’t hide your spiritual fluctuations with Imitation yet.”

With that, Elder Xuan disappeared into the sky with a flash.

Huo Yuhao could feel cold sweat breaking out on his back. Concocting stories really wasn’t something he should be doing! Even though his lies were completely harmless, he still found the task more difficult than an epic battle.

A ear-splitting roar suddenly pierced the silence. There was a terrifying and unstoppable shockwave that followed this fearsome roar.

Huo Yuhao witnessed as large patches of trees collapsed in its wake, much like a wheat harvest. At the same time, an extremely imposing and majestic figure leapt forward. The ground trembled and shook when it landed, and Huo Yuhao even felt a large amount of dizziness—falling to the ground after losing his balance.

The gigantic figure was coming toward him. Huo Yuhao could finally make out its appearance—it was a giant, black and white fur growing from its body. There were two heads on its shoulders, each with only one eye, and its colossal figure was more than ten meters tall. Its eyes glowing with an intimidating luster.

Black and white lights were being continuously released, causing the many shockwaves. The purpose of the shockwaves was to clear a path ahead for it, so it could run unobstructed. But even with its imposing mannerisms, it seemed to be running from something… Could this be the exceedingly rare Cyclops variant, the Twin Cyclops?

Huo Yuhao knew something about this Twin Cyclops from Elder Xuan, but he had yet to learn of it in his outer courtyard studies.

Cyclops were a very special species of soul beast. Their physical appearance was no different than normal humans, excluding its one eye. They even used tree branches and vines to craft clothing and cover their lower bodies. The only catch was that Cyclops were far larger than humans.

They were born two meters tall, and they would grow to about five meters when they reached a hundred years of cultivation. Which was when they are considered a grown Cyclops, and from there its growth would slow down. They would grow to about eight meters at one thousand years, and about fifteen meters upon ten thousand.But they were far too conspicuous due to their massive size, and would make easy prey for powerful soul beasts. Hence why ten thousand year Cyclops were almost non-existent. Their brains were nutritious to some soul beasts with top-tier bloodlines.

This Cyclops before him was only about ten meters tall, but Huo Yuhao was absolutely sure it had more than ten thousand years of cultivation.

The ten thousand year point marked an enormous milestone for soul beasts’ cultivations. Their power would rise exponentially upon crossing the threshold and occasionally soul beasts would even evolve after breaking through ten thousand years. This was evident in Scarletfire Monkeys, which evolve into Blazefire Monkeys. However, this was assured for their species.

The Cyclopes’ evolution wasn’t assured, only a possibility. Moreover, there were different types of mutations, with the most powerful—the Twin Cyclops—right before Huo Yuhao’s eyes.

A Cyclops’ original element was chaos—an uncommon type, which could fundamentally change at any time. Upon becoming a Twin Cyclops it would change, while sometimes its body size would also decrease as it birthed another head. This Twin Cyclops had both light and darkness elements—making it an incredibly rare existence. It was so powerful it could be ranked among top-tier soul beasts.

But what was this mighty Twin Cyclops running from?