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It was quite a coincidence. Among soul beasts, snake-type soul beasts were relatively abundant, yet Meng Shu's group had failed to find one suitable for Meng Yiran throughout their journey. On the other hand, Ye Wen's group had encountered several.
Thus, the next day, despite wanting to chat a bit longer, Meng Shu ultimately prioritized his granddaughter's soul hunting and parted ways with Ye Wen and the others.
However, before leaving, Meng Shu extended an invitation to Ye Wen and Huo Yu'er.
He invited them to attend the Beast Spirit Advanced Academy after graduating from their elementary school.
Huo Yu'er didn't care much, saying she would leave everything up to Ye Wen—a perfect portrayal of her love-struck personality.
As for Ye Wen, the rational one, though he inwardly wanted to decline, he politely expressed that he would consider it carefully once he returned home.
Meng Shu seemed to sense Ye Wen's refusal but didn't take it to heart. After all, he knew his academy well. Despite its prestigious title as an advanced academy, its performance in recent high-level soul master tournaments had been abysmal, even worse than Blue Tyrant Academy. It was no wonder this little genius wasn't interested.
Nevertheless, Meng Shu established a strategic partnership with Huo Rui. This alliance provided Ye Wen with another powerful supporter, ensuring he wouldn't have to tiptoe around in Douluo Continent.
Though Meng Shu had provided coordinates for the Parasitic Fungus Demon, soul beasts weren't stationary creatures—except for plant-type ones, most wandered freely.
Still, having a general location was better than nothing. Aside from the top-tier soul beasts that roamed unpredictably, most had fixed activity zones. Entering unfamiliar territory recklessly was akin to placing oneself in danger, and even the dumbest soul beasts wouldn't do such a thing.
After two more days of searching, Huo Rui's family finally found the target Parasitic Fungus Demon just as the sun was setting on the second day.
The parasitized soul beast was a hundred-year Thousand-Pound Ant, a common soul beast known for its immense strength. After being parasitized by the Parasitic Fungus Demon, it had completely shed its physical limitations. During their earlier skirmish, Huo Rui noted that this seemingly hundred-year-old Thousand-Pound Ant now possessed strength comparable to a thousand-year-old one.
However, this formidable soul beast was now pinned firmly to the ground by a spear, awaiting Ye Wen's hunt.
None of this mattered, though. The most important task for Ye Wen now was to determine the age of the Parasitic Fungus Demon-infected Thousand-Pound Ant.
After all, absorbing the wrong soul ring could be fatal.
Ye Wen pulled out a book and carefully compared the colors of the mycelium. Seeing that it closely matched the color of a nearly 400-year-old Parasitic Fungus Demon, Ye Wen let out a sigh of relief.
"All this effort over the past ten-plus days hasn't been wasted."
"Grandma Huo, I've confirmed it. This soul beast is the Parasitic Fungus Demon I need, and its age is within the range I can absorb—just under 400 years."
Huo Rui nodded in satisfaction and handed Ye Wen a bottle of lamp oil and a flint.
Among soul beasts, there were two types that were particularly difficult to kill. One was plant-type soul beasts, which could regrow unless all their roots were severed and the stump burned.
The other type included soul beasts like the Parasitic Fungus Demon—lacking a core but possessing strong regenerative abilities. However, both could be eradicated with fire.
Huo Rui urged him, "Since you've confirmed it, hurry up and kill it to absorb the soul ring. It's just a hundred-year soul ring; there's no need to overthink it. If you act quickly, we can still make it back to the soul beast town and sleep comfortably tonight."
Ye Wen accepted the items with gratitude and promptly doused the Parasitic Fungus Demon in lamp oil.
Perhaps sensing its impending doom, the mycelium of the Parasitic Fungus Demon began writhing wildly, attempting to detach itself from the Thousand-Pound Ant to escape.
But after spending over ten days searching for this soul beast, Ye Wen certainly wasn't going to develop any misplaced mercy. He struck the flint, and a weak spark landed on the Thousand-Pound Ant.
In the next moment, fierce flames erupted.
Unfortunately, neither the Thousand-Pound Ant nor the Parasitic Fungus Demon had vocal organs, so they could only writhe painfully in the flames before gradually weakening and dying.
During this time, Ye Wen subtly glanced at Xiao Wu.
Whether their relationship hadn't reached the point of being lovers, or she simply didn't care about the fate of this insect-type soul beast, Xiao Wu didn't interfere, unlike her original self who might have asked if the soul beast could be spared.
But what did that matter to Ye Wen?
As the bright soul ring emerged, the Parasitic Fungus Demon's death was officially confirmed.
Seeing this, Ye Wen silently exhaled in relief. His heart swelled with gratitude toward Huo Yu'er's family. Without their help, he wouldn't know what kind of mismatched soul ring he might have ended up with.
Though the first few soul rings didn't play a significant role in the future, Ye Wen's talent was undeniable. He didn't want to repeat Yu Xiaogang's mistakes, making one misstep after another and remaining forever stuck at Level 29 as a theoretical master.
Ye Wen summoned his martial soul. Under the influence of his will and the rules of heaven and earth, the hundred-year soul ring, symbolizing the Parasitic Fungus Demon's nearly four centuries of cultivation, enveloped Nana's martial soul.
At first, Ye Wen didn't feel the sensation of absorbing the soul ring, but then he remembered that his summoning-type martial soul required no effort on his part—he could simply reap the benefits.
However, like Yu Xiaogang's summoning-type martial soul, Ye Wen's also had its flaws. For instance, if the martial soul was poisoned, it would dissipate and return to his body, poisoning him as well.
As Nana's martial soul writhed slightly, the glow of the soul ring dimmed until it vanished into thin air. At the same time, Nana's martial soul dissipated and returned to Ye Wen's body.
A surge of information flashed through Ye Wen's mind, causing his lips to curl into an involuntary smile. However, his eyes soon flickered with a hint of surprise.
But Huo Yu'er and the others didn't press him for details about his soul skill. They simply waited eagerly, watching this new member of their future family.
Only when Ye Wen opened his eyes did Huo Yu'er ask, "Ah Wen, how is it? Is the soul skill to your liking?"
By now, after absorbing the soul ring, Ye Wen had grown taller, no longer resembling an ordinary six- or seven-year-old child. He now appeared to be around the same age as Meng Yiran.
More importantly, he was finally taller than Huo Yu'er, which made him quite pleased.
Such strange competitiveness.
Ye Wen nodded in satisfaction and said, "Yes, it's the soul skill I wanted. However, due to the unique nature of my martial soul, it underwent some mutations.
It's a bit hard to explain. You'd better see it for yourself."
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