In the Soul Hunting Forest outside Notting City, Su Cheng did not join any hunting team. Instead, he rushed alone at high speed toward a certain direction.
Just half a day earlier, he had successfully completed the transaction with Saul.
Although Notting City was merely a border town, anyone capable of becoming one of the heads of the black market here could not possibly rely solely on the strength of a Great Soul Master.
An eye for judging people, skill in handling affairs, and the ability to manage subordinates were all indispensable qualities.
Moreover, this deal was clearly one in which he would not lose out.
Su Cheng's asking price was by no means high—fifty Gold Soul Coins plus a Soul Hunting Token. Within one or two years, it would be more than enough for him to recover his capital with interest.
In fact, the market for low-tier medicinal potions was the largest.
Low-level soul masters were the most numerous, and they frequently had to undertake dangerous missions. Something that might save their lives at a critical moment could easily be sold for twenty to thirty Silver Soul Coins per bottle.
Su Cheng moved swiftly through the forest.
Even in the complex terrain of the Soul Hunting Forest, he appeared completely at ease.
After all, he had already scouted the area long ago.
He knew of a soul beast's location and was fairly certain that it was still there.
Two hours later, Su Cheng stopped in a mountain hollow.
The scenery here was quite peculiar.
Tall earthen mounds surrounded the area, while the sunken central region had no soul beasts inhabiting it—not animal-type soul beasts, nor even plant-type ones.
Instead, large amounts of shrubbery grew densely there, creating a damp, humid atmosphere.
This was clearly not a place that people would often visit.
With just one glance, Su Cheng understood.
The Longevity Sword martial soul appeared in his hand.
He raised the sword and began storing power.
Threads of sword intent were carefully guided by him, slowly coiling around the sword's edge.
As the sword light flashed—
"Chi—"
The sword qi pierced deeply into the ground, to an unknown depth.
"Roar—"
Moments later, a dull roar echoed up from underground.
Immediately afterward, a massive soul beast burst violently out of the earth. A fresh sword wound several feet deep was clearly visible on its body—obviously the result of Su Cheng's previous strike.
What appeared was precisely Su Cheng's target soul beast—a nine-hundred-year-old Gen Mountain Earth-Sealing Dragon!
Though called a dragon, it was in fact nothing more than a bizarre-looking giant earthworm.
However, it was obviously nothing like an ordinary earthworm in terms of weakness or harmlessness. Even ignoring its massive size, the hard scales covering its body clearly demonstrated its formidable defensive power.
Its long, thick body was deep brown in color, as though it could merge with the earth at any moment. Its sharp head bore no superfluous organs, instead being covered by a thick keratinous layer, exuding immense intimidation.
At the segments of its body grew fine yet tough dark-brown bristles, which, together with the barbs on its abdomen, granted it extremely high mobility both above ground and underground.
Having been forcibly awakened from deep beneath the earth and inexplicably slashed once, the soul beast was extremely furious.
The instant it saw Su Cheng, it launched an attack.
In truth, this type of soul beast was not naturally aggressive. It usually slept deep underground and could even remain motionless in hibernation for decades, but it absolutely loathed being disturbed.
Back in the simulator, Su Cheng had relied on his exceptional perception to search for a long time before discovering it.
The ground trembled violently as the thick body of the Gen Mountain Earth-Sealing Dragon twisted into an arc, then shot toward Su Cheng like a projectile. The sharp horn atop its head gleamed with cold light, coated in a layer of earthy yellow radiance.
In terms of raw strength alone, Su Cheng and this gifted earth-element soul beast were actually evenly matched.
But this kind of head-on, brute-force attack was precisely what he feared the least.
He raised his sword and met the creature head-on, the blade colliding solidly with the sharp horn.
"Clang—"
The sound of metal striking a sharp point echoed throughout the mountain hollow.
Su Cheng's body sank as he unloaded the force through his legs. The hard ground beneath his feet instantly caved in by more than a foot, cracks spreading rapidly in all directions.
Seeing that the first strike failed to achieve results, the massive soul beast grew even more violent and once again attacked him in the same manner.
Faced with this, Su Cheng instead calmed down and began to seize the opportunity to build momentum.
A war of attrition was not realistic.
This type of soul beast had astonishing endurance and was not easy to kill. Once it calmed down, it might simply flee and find another place to sleep.
Therefore, finding a chance to inflict a fatal wound during this time was the key.
That opportunity soon appeared.
After failing to break through for a long time, the earthworm-like soul beast suddenly reared back, lifting its head high. Deep yellow light began to gather at its head, and the entire ground trembled in response.
One look was enough to tell that its next attack would be earth-shattering.
But Su Cheng would not give it the time.
With sword qi swirling around him, the Longevity Sword in his hand emitted a faint cyan glow, guiding sword intent to reinforce it.
A lightning-fast thrust shot out, instantly piercing into the segment just below its head.
Then he slashed with all his strength.
The massive soul beast was instantly decapitated, and the yellow light atop its head dissipated at once.
Even so, it did not die immediately. Most of its body writhed frantically, trying to escape from the area.
Su Cheng shook his head, stepped forward, and casually delivered a few more strikes, completely killing it.
Moments later, a deep yellow soul ring slowly rose into the air.
Before coming here, Su Cheng had already scouted the surroundings and confirmed that no one else was nearby. Coupled with how remote and unvisited this place was, he did not delay and prepared to begin absorbing the soul ring.
As usual, he removed his upper garments and applied the medicinal liquid he had prepared in advance, then inserted silver needles into several acupoints on his body.
The familiar sensation of bodily expansion followed.
However, compared to the simulator, his current physical body felt almost no burden at all—his physical aptitude was far superior to before.
In truth, this Gen Mountain Earth-Sealing Dragon was not his only option. Su Cheng also knew the locations of two other soul beasts that possessed extreme earth attributes.
But without question, if it could be absorbed, this one was the best choice.
Having the highest age was one factor, and the soul skill it granted would most likely be a state-enhancement type—his favorite kind.
After completing this soul ring absorption, Su Cheng did not plan to register at the Spirit Hall for the time being.
The speed of his soul power increase was hard to explain.
It would be better to wait a few years. At that time, entering a high-level soul master academy under the identity of a genius would likely prevent too many people from digging into his past.
Moreover, he could withstand investigation.
No soul bones, no immortal herbs consumed, and no devouring of others' soul power.
At most, there had simply been an error during the awakening ceremony—Master Su Yuntao had mistaken a genius with innate full soul power for someone else. That was hardly a big deal.
As for now, where he stayed made little difference to him. Notting City was a good foothold, after all—it had a low-risk and extremely familiar Soul Hunting Forest as its backyard.
As for academy choices, Su Cheng leaned toward Tiandou Royal Academy.
After all, whether it was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect or the Tiandou Imperial City, he was quite familiar with both.
And he could also conveniently take a look at what state Qian Renxue was currently in—perhaps even give her some guidance and find a way to keep her from wasting her talent.
What Su Cheng did not know was that at this very moment, Qian Renxue was flying into a furious rage in her study because of him.
I took a careful look—Tang San's characterization in Chapter 49 did have some deviations, so I made slight revisions. Also, today's second update might be a bit later.
......................
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(End of Chapter)