In a dense forest several miles away, several dark figures blended seamlessly into the shadows, carefully advancing along the damp ground.
As they approached their destination, the leading Soul Sage from the Zhu Family raised his hand as a signal. Seven Soul Emperors, cloaked in dark-patterned capes, immediately crouched low.
Their Star Luo Imperial tokens were concealed by bushes, but the faintly glowing golden insignia of the Hunter's Guild on their collars subtly revealed their true identity—a disguise prepared specifically to avoid drawing attention.
To seize the opportunities brought by the mega evolution wave, the Star Luo Empire had mobilized its full resources. Noble families led by the Dai Family had dispatched numerous soul masters, including military-affiliated ones, disguised as hunter teams to hunt spirit beasts and surpass the Spirit Hall in overall strength.
As for the severe consequences of slaughtering spirit beasts indiscriminately, the nobles couldn't care less. Regardless of the situation, they would never lack options. Besides, once they unified the continent, the benefits far outweighed the value of soul rings to them.
This Star Luo squad consisted entirely of agility-type attackers, moving silently through the forest. Apart from Gu La, who sensed their intense life force like blazing torches, no one else detected their presence.
"Principal, it's time to retreat."
Gu La gave a subtle reminder, making a gesture for the Shui Family group to notice. As confusion spread among them—
Flender snapped out of his daze, his pupils contracting sharply. His left hand discreetly pressed against Mega Evolution device at his waist, while his right hand casually adjusted his glasses:
"Madam Shui, I'm merely here with my students for soul hunting. We stumbled upon you by chance. Allow me to take my leave."
With that, he shielded everyone and began retreating: "Let's go."
The six of them slowly backed away. The Shui Family members looked to their leader, a graceful woman, who didn't intervene.
Just as the woman was about to speak, an ear-piercing flapping sound echoed from the sky.
Over a hundred shadow crows broke through the clouds, diving down. The lead crow, with a wingspan exceeding five meters, had tail feathers encased in frosty blue ice.
As it passed over the heads of the Mo Family Soul Emperors, the flock released countless crow feathers. The leader's feathers transformed into a hailstorm of icy spears, gravely wounding one member each from the Mo Family and the Fire Leopard Clan.
The giant crow's eyes glowed crimson, its black feathers shimmering with iridescent colors under the sunlight as it locked its gaze onto the Mo Family and Fire Leopard members.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes flickered. His hoarse voice rang out clearly in the jungle: "The Shadow Frost Crow—a variant of the Shadow Crow. It has mutated to gain an ice attribute on top of its darkness attribute, making it one of the top-tier avian spirit beasts."
"Moreover, because its appearance hasn't changed much, the Shadow Frost Crow remains a social creature, staying within its flock."
Yu Xiaogang's gaze toward the Mo Family carried a trace of pity: "Crow-type spirit beasts are known for their intelligence and vengeful nature. Alongside elephants and foxes, they're considered the three most vindictive types of spirit beasts. Even decades later, when soul masters grow old, these creatures will still recognize them and seek revenge."
"The spirit beasts killed by the Mo Family might have been this Shadow Frost Crow's mate or offspring."
"Caw! Caw!"
The Shadow Frost Crow let out an unpleasant screech, followed by the rest of the flock. The unsettling cries disrupted everyone's focus, significantly weakening their control over soul power. Inadvertently, the hidden Star Luo squad leaked a trace of soul energy.
"Who's hiding there?"
Shui Qianqiu's eyebrows shot up coldly as he manipulated an ice spear and hurled it toward the distant bushes, forcing the Star Luo team out of hiding.
"More trouble? And who are you people?"
Mo Wushuang, while pulling out healing medicine for his injured clansmen, questioned them to buy time.
He was beyond anger. Finding a soul bone should have been good luck, but encountering four groups of people along the way made him question whether his fortune was truly good or bad.
"Perhaps you should be more concerned about what's above."
The Zhu Family Soul Sage sneered, naturally not foolish enough to reveal his identity.
With that, he led his team to retreat slowly.
Mo Wushuang glanced upward. The flock of birds blotted out the sky, and he felt himself being locked onto. Frustrated and enraged, he muttered: "Just some mere spirit beasts…"
Suddenly, he unleashed his soul skill. His fifth soul ring lit up, and dark wings unfurled, enveloping a vast area in darkness, as if absorbing all attacks.
The Shadow Frost Crow's assault was momentarily blocked.
Meanwhile, his Soul Emperor clansmen retreated behind him, carrying their injured companions. Just as others expected him to counterattack, the dark wings abruptly contracted, transforming into shadows and disappearing into the forest.
Dai Mubai muttered in disbelief: "Damn! All that bravado… and he ran away!"
Without a target, the Shadow Frost Crow grew furious. Its eyes glowed red, and the hundreds of shadow crows behind it dispersed, beginning indiscriminate attacks.
Clearly, this grieving spirit beast cared nothing for whether the humans were allies—it only wanted to kill them to avenge its mate.
"Retreat."
Flender waved his hand, swiftly killing three thousand-year-old shadow crows that charged forward. He grabbed Tang San by the shoulder and whispered: "Tie everyone together."
Tang San understood. He released thick Blue Silver Grass, binding everyone's waists tightly. Flender didn't waste time in engaging the flock of shadow crows.
Grabbing Tang San, he activated all his acceleration soul skills and flew toward the territory of the Ground Demon Bear.
The leader of the Shadow Frost Crows was a forty-five-thousand-year-old spirit beast. With its dual attributes working in tandem, it could rival an ordinary Soul Douluo.
Among the three members of the Fire Leopard Clan, two Soul Emperors quickly succumbed to the swarm of crows' attacks, screaming as they were engulfed by the black flock and perished completely.
"Damn beasts! Die!"
Gao Baicai gritted his teeth, activating his true martial soul form. He transformed into a three-meter-tall giant flame leopard, resisting the cold with searing flames and rapidly killing thousand-year-old dark crows, temporarily holding them off.
"Caw!"
A deep, raspy cry echoed from the sky. The flock of Shadow Frost Crows retreated, dispersing to track the Mo Family members.
The Shadow Frost Crow flapped its wings, sending countless black ice spears slicing through the air, exploding around Gao Baicai. The flames flickered, threatening to extinguish.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, the Shui Family group retreated under Shui Qianqiu's protection.
On the other side, as Gu La's group advanced, the Mo Family had detoured to this area. They originally intended to confuse their pursuers but accidentally wandered into the territory of another ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast, no less formidable than the Shadow Frost Crow.
The injured Soul Emperor's fluctuating soul energy woke the slumbering overlord.
With a violent tremor, two Ground Demon Bears covered in crystalline rock erupted from the ground.
They appeared to have been mating and were suddenly disturbed. The larger ten-thousand-year-old bear roared toward the sky, and the shockwave of soil sent two Soul Emperors flying.
Mo Wushuang's pupils contracted sharply. He hastily retreated, unleashing his full potential, but even then, he could only reduce the impact. A surge of blood rushed to his throat, and he spat out a mouthful.
"Ground Demon Bear… How could our luck be so bad?"
With no time to think further, he activated his true martial soul form to stabilize his injuries, transforming into a massive dark crow and taking flight.
However, the other Ground Demon Bear swung its sharp claws, cutting off his escape route.
"Caw! Caw!"
At this critical moment, the flock of dark crows found Mo Wushuang's scent and pursued him.
Enraged, the Ground Demon Bear swatted Mo Wushuang away. Seeing the mass of black crows, it acted without hesitation—its movements faster than thought. Countless rocks floated into the air and crashed down upon the flock of dark crows.
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