Chapter Twenty-Six: The Celestial Dragon Horse

Although it was not his first time in the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Yu still could not help but marvel at the vastness of this primeval expanse. The dense forest stretched boundlessly, branches from tree to tree intertwining, a green mist swirling about, everything brimming with vibrant life.

Xiao Yu and his companions had been making their way deeper into the forest for nearly an hour. At the head of the group, Yihui released the aura of his Phoenix Spirit, the bloodline suppression from his top-tier beast spirit scaring off the lesser soul beasts along the way, serving as an effective filter.

"Something's up!"

Yihui suddenly called out in a low voice, halting his steps. Xiao Yu and Zilong instantly became alert, eyes wide, both focusing intently in the same direction. From there came a rapid, heavy stomping sound, accompanied by the occasional snap of breaking branches.

"Everyone, approach carefully!" Xiao Yu whispered. The group understood at once and began to cautiously circle toward the source of the noise.

Before long, a majestic, pure-white steed came into view. It was an extraordinary sight: its body resembled a horse, but its head was that of a dragon, white dragon scales stretching from its brow down the back of its neck and along the spine. On either side, it bore a pair of snowy wings, and on its forehead, a diamond-shaped pale gold gem gleamed dazzlingly.

The creature measured over four meters in length and stood about two and a half meters tall, exuding an imposing and powerful presence from afar.

"That's a Celestial Dragon Horse!"

Xiao Yu recognized the soul beast at a glance. During his studies at the Soul Master Academy, his theoretical knowledge had been second to none—only Ye Lingling could rival him. He was intimately familiar with the appearances, attributes, and age estimations of various soul beasts.

"We're in luck. Even here in the Star Dou Great Forest, the Celestial Dragon Horse is extremely rare," Xiao Yu said with a grin. "Xie Wu, this is your chance. Not only does this soul beast have the traits of horse-type beasts, but it also carries the bloodline of the Radiant Holy Dragon. Its age is between thirteen hundred and fifteen hundred years—perfect for your third soul ring!"

Xie Wu's face lit up with excitement. "Brothers, I'm counting on you for my third soul ring!"

"Don't worry!" Zilong replied with a smile, and both Yihui and Eden nodded in silent agreement.

"Zilong, you go first. Although the Celestial Dragon Horse possesses a holy dragon bloodline, it's thin and can't possibly compare to your Azure Dragon Spirit!" At this moment, Xiao Yu took on the role of team core, calmly directing, "Mi Yimei, activate both your first and second soul skills. Yihui, keep an eye on it. If it tries to run, cut off its escape with your flames. Xie Wu, be ready to finish it at any moment."

Mi Yimei was the first to summon his spirit. Two yellow soul rings rose from beneath him as a D-shaped lyre appeared in his hands.

"First soul skill—The Great Sound Hides Itself!"

"Second soul skill—Illusionary Melody!"

Mi Yimei's first soul skill was pure support, boosting his allies' attack power by ten percent. The second was a mental assault, not only delivering a psychic impact but also with a chance to throw the opponent into confusion and sluggishness, suppressing its soul power by ten percent.

"First soul skill—Azure Dragon's Rending Claw!"

With Mi Yimei's melodic support, Zilong unleashed his own first soul skill. His arm was sheathed in a meticulous layer of dark blue, diamond-shaped dragon scales, and a razor-sharp, eight-inch dragon claw erupted forth. His entire arm swelled to several times its normal size, the claw brimming with explosive force and penetrating power, his strength soaring, the destructive potential immense.

Dragon might radiated outward. The Celestial Dragon Horse instantly sensed the suppression welling up from the depths of its bloodline, its body trembling slightly. At that moment, Mi Yimei's second soul skill struck, and the already-suppressed beast fell into confusion, spinning in place and shrieking.

Zilong seized the opportunity, charging at full speed. Enhanced by Mi Yimei's skill, he punched forward with his right fist.

The force behind this punch was immense—so strong that the wind from his fist alone made the surrounding trees shudder, let alone the direct impact upon the Celestial Dragon Horse.

The beast screamed as it was sent flying, the sharp dragon claw tearing three ghastly wounds deep into its snowy hide. Blood gushed forth, dyeing its white feathers crimson.

"Xie Wu, finish it!"

Already poised to strike, Xie Wu unleashed his second soul skill—Meteor Kick, with the power of the Unicorn Spirit upon him. He leapt high, then kicked down from midair, landing squarely on the Celestial Dragon Horse's forehead.

After a series of heavy blows, the Celestial Dragon Horse crashed to the ground. Its limbs twitched briefly before falling still. A purple-blue soul ring slowly rose from its corpse.

Xie Wu did not hesitate. Sitting cross-legged, he began to absorb the soul ring, guided by his soul power, while the others formed a protective circle around him.

This soul ring posed no age-related challenge for Xie Wu, so the absorption went smoothly. In less than half an hour, he was done.

With a low shout, the optimal trio of yellow, yellow, and purple soul rings hovered behind him, marking his new status as a Soul Revered.

"I'm at level thirty-two!"

Xie Wu exclaimed excitedly as he opened his eyes.

"You'd already hit a bottleneck back in Gengxin City," Xiao Yu said coolly. "These two levels come not only from the soul ring's boost, but also from the accumulation of soul power you've been training nonstop these days. When a soul master reaches a bottleneck, even without a soul ring, their power continues to build. Once they obtain a ring, the increase manifests at once."

"Isn't that the theory proposed by that so-called master, Yu Xiaogang?" Eden frowned slightly; among the group, only he, besides Xiao Yu, would occasionally visit the library.

Xiao Yu nodded. "His ten core spirit theories are riddled with flaws, but he got this part right. Also, his theory on spirit variant fusion. Next time any of you come across his books, focus only on these two aspects. The rest is either nonsense or problematic—don't let him mislead you."

Eden agreed, "Exactly. His system is full of empty talk. Innate soul power corresponds to spirit quality, and spirit quality boosts the amplification of the true spirit body—these are things any soul master with combat experience can figure out on their own. How did they become his so-called theories? As for the soul ring age limits, he never considers the differences between soul masters and generalizes too much. If an auxiliary-type soul master tried to absorb soul rings at the ages he suggests, I'd bet nine out of ten would die from soul overload. Still, those age numbers don't seem made up—he must have taken the maximum from a lot of data. But where would a level twenty-nine grand soul master get so much data to summarize?"

"Probably because he has someone to lean on," Xiao Yu thought to himself, though he wasn't one to gossip, especially not here in the Star Dou Great Forest, where time should not be wasted on idle chatter.

Achoo—

At Notting Academy, Yu Xiaogang rubbed his nose and muttered, "The weather hasn't even turned chilly lately. It's not just San who's sneezing—why am I sneezing too?"