Through the eyes of his soul spirit, Nan Fusheng gazed out upon an endless sea of green—an unbroken expanse of rolling forest that stretched beyond sight.
The sky was clear, the clouds sparse, and the vibrant green canopy below radiated an indescribable sense of vitality. The massive treetops pulsed with life, as if this world itself was overflowing with boundless energy.
"This is too realistic…"
Nan Fusheng couldn't help but marvel again.
Just then, he spotted a large blue-green bird soaring through the sky. With a single thought, he activated:
Parasite.
The bird's body paused mid-flight for a second before spreading its wings and taking off again.
Now linked to its senses, Nan Fusheng—via his Timeworm—could see the entire landscape from a bird's eye view. Soaring high above the jungle, he couldn't resist the urge to internally quote:
"To fly... is to taste the purest form of freedom!"
Although in the real world, all that came from his mouth was a sharp screech.
Suddenly, the same kind of screech echoed in the distance.
A distress signal!
That was Nan Fusheng's immediate interpretation.
Looks like I can vaguely understand their calls after parasitizing them,
He noted mentally.
He directed the bird toward the source of the cry.
As it arrived, Nan Fusheng saw Zhang Yangzi frantically pressing his emergency exit button. In an instant, Zhang Yangzi's body dissolved into a stream of glowing data and vanished from sight.
Surrounding the area were hundreds of the same green birds, flying in all directions, clearly agitated and searching for something.
Let's get out of here...
Nan Fusheng didn't linger. While his main body had already been warned through spiritual detection, it was best for his parasitic clone not to stray too far.
Still, what kind of luck does that guy have to provoke so many soul beasts so soon after entering? That's a straight-up game over...
Next step: time to regroup with the others.
Leaning against the tree, Nan Fusheng opened his real eyes.
I'm a survivalist mage—no way I'm diving headfirst into combat. I'll let my trustworthy teammates take the front lines first.
He began moving toward the direction indicated earlier by his bird's viewpoint. From what he saw, Xie Xie seemed to have stirred up quite a bit of chaos.
Meanwhile, Xie Xie was feeling very conflicted.
Shortly after entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, he managed to take down a century-old Long-Tailed Rat, slightly improving his soul spirit.
But then... he ran into a century-old Bipedal Unihorned Dragon.
Upon seeing the two-legged, horned dragon-like beast, Xie Xie's throat went dry.
He had read about this type of beast before—in books, archives, and soul beast catalogs. His memory was sharp, and he remembered clearly:
The Bipedal Unihorned Dragon had dragon lineage, a subspecies of Earth Dragon. Known for their exceptional physical strength, they were among the top-tier in brute power among earth-based soul beasts.
They excelled in navigating complex terrain, with exceptional speed, agility, and powerful charging attacks. Though they lacked ranged abilities, they possessed an unyielding, relentless temperament—once they locked onto a target, they wouldn't stop until it was eliminated.
Why me?!
A soul beast feared by agility-type battle soul masters since ancient times. Fast, tough, powerful, and with absurd stamina.
And now one was charging directly toward him.
I'm only at two soul rings... I couldn't take this thing even at my best, let alone now!
BOOM!
Xie Xie's thoughts were interrupted by the beast crashing into the tree he was hiding behind, without a hint of hesitation.
The massive tree, thick enough to require two people to wrap around, shattered under the impact. Xie Xie pushed off a branch just in time, vaulting onto a nearby tree.
It only has two massive hind legs and weak-looking front limbs. It shouldn't be able to climb trees... right?
Wishful thinking. Reality, however, was cruel.
After smashing the tree, the Unihorned Dragon turned and charged at the new tree Xie Xie landed on—this time, it leapt.
The leap brought it to eye level with him. Its massive jaws snapped forward.
Xie Xie countered with a golden energy blade, which left a shallow cut—barely a centimeter deep—on its armored head. It didn't stop the beast.
He jumped again, retreating to another tree, but the Unihorned Dragon followed, shockingly agile despite its massive size. Its speed matched his own.
This thing's the nemesis of my class type...
Xie Xie didn't dare engage head-on. He knew that even his Light Dragon Storm attack would be useless. The beast's defense was far too high—comparable to an Armored Dragon—and yet much more nimble.
He kept fleeing, but his soul power and stamina were depleting quickly.
Am I going to have to press the emergency button?
Reluctance filled his heart. This was his first time inside the Spirit Ascension Platform—would it end this way?
ROAR!
The Unihorned Dragon let out a deafening roar, the soundwave jolting Xie Xie and costing him a precious second.
A terrifying burst of wind surged behind him—it was about to catch up.
He shut his eyes and moved to hit the signal button.
I'd rather not experience my bones shattering...
But suddenly, his waist tightened, and he was pulled sideways.
With a crash, the Unihorned Dragon slammed into yet another tree, but not into Xie Xie.
This feeling... so familiar!
Realization hit him—he had been dragged away!
His hand froze mid-air, hovering over the emergency button. He didn't press it.
The dragon turned again, still persistent, and resumed its charge.
Suddenly, its body froze, its steps faltered, and it toppled forward, slamming into the ground in a cloud of dust.
At that moment, a silver flash shot past Xie Xie, followed by a commanding shout:
"Get lost!"
The flash slammed into the beast's skull.
BOOM!
The monstrous, three-meter-long beast—renowned for its strength—was blown away and collapsed, unmoving.
From behind the silver light, Tang Wulin emerged, recalling his Blue Silver Grass.
"You okay?" he asked calmly.
Tang Wulin had been nearby and was awakened by the dragon's heavy footsteps. Climbing a tree, he spotted Xie Xie's predicament and stepped in.
"I'm fine," Xie Xie gasped. His back was drenched in sweat.
"Be careful. These dragons are extremely persistent—once they mark a target, they won't stop chasing."
Tang Wulin chuckled:
"You forget, I'm least afraid of dragon-type soul beasts. Let's see how it handles my strength."
As he spoke, his right arm shimmered with golden scales, and a Dragon Might radiated from his body.
But the dragon remained collapsed.
One second... two... five…
Still unmoving.
"Don't tell me you knocked it out with one hit?" Xie Xie blurted out.
"I doubt it. That strike should've only flung it back—it shouldn't have broken through its defense," Tang Wulin replied, puzzled.
He had felt the impact, but didn't think it had landed fatally. Yet, here it was—not getting up.
"If you two don't finish that thing off soon, we're going to have a real fight on our hands."
A voice came from nearby.
Nan Fusheng emerged from the bushes, walking calmly toward them.
"Fusheng!" the two cried in surprise.
Nan Fusheng didn't waste words. He simply pointed at the dragon.
Tang Wulin immediately understood. He stepped up and drove his Golden Dragon Claw into its skull.
Squelch!
The claw pierced through the beast's thick scales and skull like paper.
A soft yellow glow emerged from the corpse, and a tiny golden snake slithered out from Tang Wulin's body, opening its mouth to absorb the light.
As the glow was consumed, the snake shimmered with layers of golden ripples—mesmerizing.