He had just completed the deployment, and the group was hurriedly retreating.
Suddenly, a deafening dragon roar exploded in their ears.
A wave of mud splashed into the sky like a raging tide as a gigantic worm, resembling a primeval beast, burst from the depths of the earth.
Its enormous size was staggering.
A Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Dragon King.
Its body was covered in hard rock armor, smooth earth-yellow dragon scales, and exuded an overwhelming dragon might.
The sound of its roar was like thunder from ancient times, deep and resonant.
It indeed carried the noble and pure bloodline of dragons.
"But this is only the outer region of the Star Dou Forest. How could there be a Ten-Thousand-Year dragon-type soul beast here?"
There was no time to think further.
The headmaster sensed danger and quickly rushed back from the front of the group, propelled by a violent windstorm.
His Wind Blade, shrouded in a deep cyan blade aura, struck fiercely against the thick rock armor of the soul beast.
He was the backbone of the team. Defeating a Ten-Thousand-Year soul beast was within his power, even one with dragon blood.
He only hoped that no other soul beasts would join the fight.
The Earth Dragon King let out another roar of pain.
Its tail swept sideways like a massive whip, targeting the entire group.
The overwhelming force made everyone's expressions change drastically.
If that strike landed, the whole group would be wiped out.
At the critical moment, the headmaster activated his sixth soul ring.
With his power greatly enhanced, he managed to deflect the massive tail to the side.
A deafening crash followed, flattening a swath of towering trees.
"Quick, retreat straight out of the forest!"
"Tianyang, clear the way. I'll cover the rear. Everyone else, head to Soul Hunt Town and wait there!"
After giving the order, he said no more and began a fierce battle against the imposing Earth Dragon King.
The area they were in was called the outer perimeter, but it was still quite far from the forest's edge.
They had initially spent two days entering the forest, then advanced sideways, searching in the territory of hundred-year soul beasts.
There was no returning the same way, that path was too far.
Lin Tianyang had to carve a new route.
The beast tide was approaching, and Fang Ling, now one of the strongest among the student team, was retreating while helping the teachers hold the rear.
The tide consisted mainly of hundred-year soul beasts, and they were fleeing rather than attacking, so the Soul Sect teachers could still hold the line.
Fang Ling's scythe had grown longer, making him less agile than before.
The added weight needed time to adapt to, but it had significantly increased his attack range.
With the scythe's reach and his level 3 scythe technique, he was quickly adapting to this new combat style.
Fang Ling had already taken down two hundred-year soul beasts that attacked them directly.
The four points he had just gained, plus the two earned from the blood-spike dragonfly, were all invested into his Martial Soul.
Only 22 more points were needed for it to evolve to level 4.
His polearm war scythe Martial Soul looked dazzling, its silver-white surface glowing like moonlight, the blade as smooth as a mirror.
But internally, it felt weak and fragile.
Others couldn't tell, but he could sense a profound frailty within it.
It didn't affect combat but felt awkward, as if it might snap at any moment.
Time was short and the situation urgent.
Wolves, tigers, eagles, hawks, monkeys, all kinds of beasts were rushing toward the outer region.
No one spoke; everyone quickened their pace.
Fang Ling leapt between the narrow paths they had barely cleared.
Just then, a wave of soul power shot toward him from the distance.
He tried to catch up with the group, but stepped on a root that looked healthy on the outside but was rotten inside. Losing his footing, he fell.
Startled, his reflexes saved him once again.
Using his scythe to hook a nearby tree, he leapt to another direction.
Whatever came next, the priority was to dodge this ranged attack, at least from a thousand-year soul beast.
He dodged one blast, but another followed.
Sensing his limp, some aggressive soul beasts began targeting him.
The unending barrage of attacks forced Fang Ling to flee in a different direction.
He gradually got separated from the academy's soul hunting team.
"Fang Ling!"
Lin Tianyang paused, calling out anxiously as he fended off a hundred-year soul beast to protect the others.
"Teacher, you go first!"
Fang Ling stopped him from attempting a rescue.
With only five Soul Sect teachers guarding twelve people, even one less could spell disaster.
"Meet you at Soul Hunt Town later. I'm strong, I'll be fine!"
Evading several soul beast attacks, Fang Ling gave up trying to rejoin the team.
It was only a minor beast tide triggered by the Titan Giant Ape's roar. It wouldn't last long.
He needed to level up his Martial Soul, and this moment was vague but important.
The sense of weakness wasn't imaginary, returning now would be troublesome.
What if it left a permanent flaw?
Normally, he would never stay alone in the Star Dou Forest.
Without healing support, even the most experienced warrior would eventually fall to the endless soul beasts and surprise attacks.
Though he had abundant energy and improved self-healing, he couldn't just survive on willpower.
But the second soul ring had given him hope.
With the help of his specialties, he could fight even when surrounded.
Cursed Blade and Weak Point Detection gave him the means to break through tank-type soul beasts.
As for those with poor defense, no problem.
With Mole Form and Reflex, his reactions were top-notch. His Frost Ring soul tool stored ample food and water, and his Digestion specialty meant he could even survive on bark if needed.
His massive war scythe gave him more combat options.
He only had to be extra cautious around poisonous soul beasts.
All of this gave him confidence.
Cautious by nature, Fang Ling hoped to ascend to godhood with the system's help safely.
His goal was a safer upgrade path, but he wasn't lacking in courage when facing danger.
He dodged another attack with agility.
Running through the gaps between the soul beasts, he darted in a new direction.
It was chaos.
Even with his sharp reflexes, all he could do was run.
He'd have to wait for things to settle down before gaining more points.
Stepping on soul beast backs, tree roots, and branches, he leapt through the forest.
His large scythe easily hooked tree trunks, helping him adjust his posture.
Like a jungle Tarzan, he began sprinting swiftly through the trees.
Two days later.
A human and a beast flashed rapidly through the forest.
"Damn goat!"
Fang Ling cursed his luck, not daring to stop as he fled.
Behind him, a one-eyed giant-horned antelope was in hot pursuit.
It wasn't as agile as Fang Ling in turns, but each leap covered over ten meters.
Even when shaken off, it could track him with its nose.
Fang Ling was thoroughly miserable.
This all started a day ago.
After being separated from the soul hunting team due to the beast tide, he didn't dare go deeper. Instead, he ran horizontally through areas populated by ten- and hundred-year soul beasts.
He wasn't bad with directions.
The further out, the younger the trees, easily distinguishable.
Hunting soul beasts was also easier.
He didn't need to go looking, they came to him.
As long as he stayed safe, he would run from anything too troublesome.
In one day, he killed four ten-year soul beasts and four hundred-year ones.
He earned 12 points.
He used all of them on his Martial Soul, only 10 more to evolve.
Fang Ling was thrilled at this explosive point gain.
At night, he didn't dare slack off, sprinkling anti-snake and insect powder before resting on a thick tree branch.
Nothing happened during his rest.
He was once a beggar and slept lightly. Even while alert, he could rest well in trees.
At dawn, while searching for his next target, he turned and locked eyes with a pair of blood-red pupils.
A towering single horn signaled danger.
Moments later, the one-eyed giant-horned antelope snorted heavily and charged straight at him.
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