Among all fire-attribute soul beasts, the Skyfire Fox was one of the hardest to deal with.
Not only was it as cunning as any fox, but it also possessed the flight ability common to avian soul beasts — its speed was unmatched.
For spirit masters without the power of flight, chasing one down was practically impossible.
To Yan, however, the sight before him — a wounded Skyfire Fox locked in fierce combat — felt almost like a gift from the heavens.
If he played his cards right, he might just be able to take it down.
Hidden in the shadows, Yan quietly observed the battle, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The fight between the two soul beasts was growing increasingly fierce.
The Skyfire Fox was swift and elusive, its movements unpredictable, its attacks sharp and fiery.
The Two-Headed Demon Serpent, on the other hand, relied on its massive body and lethal venom to counterattack.
But as the battle dragged on, the serpent began to falter. Its huge frame had become a burden, slowing it down, while its venom was being burned away by the fox's blazing flames.
With a sudden burst of speed, the Skyfire Fox raked its claws across the serpent's body, tearing open its scales, and then engulfed it in a torrent of fire — burning it to death.
The victory came at a cost.
The fox had taken several heavy blows — one of its wings had been struck by the serpent's tail, seemingly fractured, and its breathing was ragged, its energy visibly depleted.
Now was Yan's chance.
Without hesitation, his figure shot forward.
Just as the Skyfire Fox bent down to feast upon the serpent's corpse, it suddenly sensed Yan's presence.
Feeling threatened, it let out an enraged cry and launched itself at him.
Yan was ready. In an instant, he released his Flame Lord martial soul — fiery light burst from his body as his hands ignited in searing red flames.
A surge of fire shot from his palm, colliding head-on with the charging Skyfire Fox.
As a fire-attribute beast, the fox was, of course, unafraid of flame.
Seeing that its opponent was alone — and clearly also a fire-type spirit master — its eyes flashed with cunning and greed.
To a fire-attribute soul beast like this one, devouring Yan wouldn't just replenish the energy it had lost fighting the serpent — it would also strengthen its own fire power.
Exactly as Yan had planned.
He had deliberately exposed his fire aura as bait, fully aware that such a crafty creature would never resist the temptation to devour a spirit master of the same element.
As expected, the Skyfire Fox lunged toward him even more aggressively, convinced he was an easy meal.
With a sharp cry, its flame-red body blurred into motion, streaking toward him like lightning, trying to overwhelm him through speed and brute force.
But Yan had anticipated everything.
He dodged with practiced agility, letting the beast's attacks pass dangerously close while silently counting down in his mind.
Then, the moment the fox dove in again for a close-range strike, Yan made his move.
"Second Spirit Skill — Granite Crush!"
The technique had two forms — one for offense, one for defense.
It could either form protective stone barriers around Yan or summon massive rocks as projectiles to crush his enemies.
This time, he chose the latter.
In an instant, countless chunks of solid granite materialized around him and shot forward like cannonballs from every direction, bombarding the Skyfire Fox.
The heavy stones slammed into its body with thunderous force, catching it completely off guard.
It never expected this fiery opponent to wield such a formidable earth-based attack.
Under the relentless barrage, the Skyfire Fox was battered, its body bloodied, and finally pinned beneath a mound of rocks — unable to move.
Yan didn't waste a single heartbeat.
He leapt forward, his blade gleaming with cold light, and drove it straight into the fox's throat.
The beast's struggles ceased instantly. Its life force drained away in silence.
Moments later, a faint purple mist rose from its corpse, swirling and condensing in the air before solidifying into a brilliant purple spirit ring.
Yan gazed at the shining ring, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
This was the first spirit ring he had acquired through his own effort since being reborn into this world.
It wasn't a ten-thousand-year spirit ring like that damn Shrek brat's fourth ring, but Yan was already more than content.
After all, hunting and defeating a fast, fire-type soul beast like the Skyfire Fox was no simple task.
He had been lucky this time — nothing more, nothing less.
Yan knew full well that, with his current body and spirit power, he still wasn't ready to absorb a ten-thousand-year ring.
Still, a six-thousand-year Skyfire Fox was already an excellent prize.
Absorbing its ring wouldn't just enhance his fire attribute — it would also grant him increased speed.
Yan sat cross-legged beneath the hovering purple ring, centering his mind and steadying his breathing.
The two violent battles that had just taken place had already scared off every nearby soul beast.
And with the heat radiating from his body, ordinary creatures wouldn't dare to come near anyway.
So even alone, he wasn't particularly worried about being ambushed.
The only real risk was that this spirit ring's age — six thousand years — slightly exceeded the typical safe limit for a fourth ring, which was around five thousand.
But Yan's physical constitution was extraordinarily strong, his body tempered by an innate fire affinity.
He believed he could handle it.
Once ready, he began the process of absorption.
As the spirit ring merged into him, a torrential wave of energy surged through his body — violent and overwhelming, as though it might tear him apart from within.
That wild power rampaged through his meridians like a raging flood, each pulse bringing waves of searing, tearing pain.
"Just a thousand years over… and yet it's this fierce!"
Yan clenched his teeth and fought to suppress the violent energy, forcing it to submit through sheer willpower.
Minute by minute, he endured.
Finally, through his relentless focus and unyielding determination, the energy began to stabilize — flowing smoothly within his body.
He was just moments away from complete success when suddenly, a strange sensation erupted from his back.
Something was pushing outward beneath his skin, swelling rapidly until it tore straight through his clothes.
A sharp, burning pain followed — as though something within him was trying to break free.
"What… what's happening!?"
Gritting his teeth, Yan twisted his head around — and his eyes widened in shock.
Two flaming wings had burst from his back.
At first, they appeared soft and fragile, but they grew rapidly, expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within moments, the wings were fully extended — each stretching nearly three meters wide, glowing with intense crimson light, as though formed entirely of living fire.
A realization struck him.
"An external spirit bone...!?"
He could hardly believe it.
Reborn into this world, his very first spirit ring hunt had not only rewarded him with a rare flying-type fire beast — it had also granted him an External Spirit Bone: the Flame Wings.
A faint, excited grin spread across his face.
"It seems this reincarnated life of mine isn't without its blessings after all."