The Outskirts of the Star Dou Forest
Three soul beasts, shrouded in dense black mist like they were armored, kept moving. Wherever they passed, thousand-year soul beasts were ruthlessly slaughtered. Cheng Xiao sat atop the back of a Nether Tiger, watching as the Man-faced Demon Spider and the Fanged Beast hunted down the thousand-year soul beasts. His calm, emotionless eyes betrayed no feelings.
Cheng Xiao's current soul power was only at level 32, and after this Nether Tiger, which had nearly 9,000 years of cultivation, became a Shadow Soldier, its strength had been reduced to about 4,000 years, almost half of its original power.
Cheng Xiao couldn't help but feel helpless about this. The level of Shadow Soldiers could not surpass that of their master. No matter how strong they had been in life, after becoming Shadow Soldiers, their strength would increase only as their master's level increased.
In other words, Cheng Xiao was currently too weak, so his Shadow Soldiers were also weak. However, as Cheng Xiao's level increased, the strength of his Shadow Soldiers would also rise.
At this stage, the Nether Tiger was the strongest among his Shadow Soldiers, while Fangs had strength around the thousand-year mark, as it had only been alive for about 900 years before. The Man-faced Demon Spider was also at around 4,000 years, given that it had 5,000 years of cultivation in life.
...
Several hours later, the number of thousand-year soul beasts lying at Cheng Xiao's feet had reached fifteen, thanks to the rapid expansion of his Shadow Soldiers. Originally, Cheng Xiao had planned to hunt twenty, but after a moment's thought, he decided to leave five slots open, just in case he encountered suitable soul beasts he could recruit immediately.
"This trip to the Star Dou Forest wasn't a waste; the harvest has been pretty good." Cheng Xiao looked at the Shadow Soldiers surrounding him and couldn't help but show a faint smile. Then, with a wave of his hand, all the Shadow Soldiers turned into black mist and merged into his shadow.
He looked down at his shadow; with the addition of more than a dozen Shadow Soldiers, it seemed to have grown larger.
Shaking his head, Cheng Xiao was about to leave when he felt something unusual rapidly approaching him.
"This aura... at least a ten-thousand-year soul beast." Cheng Xiao's expression changed slightly. Immediately, the shadow power within him spread outward. If he could turn a ten-thousand-year soul beast into a Shadow Soldier, his soldiers' strength would improve dramatically! "The question is whether the remaining shadow power in my body is enough to turn it into a Shadow Soldier," Cheng Xiao murmured, sensing the remaining shadow energy inside him.
As he spoke, a black ape over two meters tall slowly appeared within the range of Cheng Xiao's shadow power. Its opponents seemed to be two top-tier experts, and besides those two, there was a handsome young man sitting on a stone, apparently with no intention of intervening.
"This soul beast... seems to be a Three-eyed Demon Ape." From the feedback from his shadow power, Cheng Xiao recognized the powerful soul beast.
The Three-eyed Demon Ape was different from ordinary ape-type soul beasts. It specialized in both dark and mental attributes, with its mental attribute being its most powerful aspect. The mental attribute not only allowed it to attack but also granted it intelligence surpassing that of soul beasts of the same level. The Three-eyed Demon Ape's mental capabilities were formidable.
Though strong, the Three-eyed Demon Ape was struggling against the two top-tier experts, relying on its mental strength to avoid being immediately killed.
"Let's take a look. If I have the chance, turning the Three-eyed Demon Ape into a Shadow Soldier wouldn't be a bad choice." A purple light flashed in Cheng Xiao's eyes as he summoned the Nether Tiger and headed toward another part of the forest.
...
The Outskirts of the Star Dou Forest
A man dressed in golden armor, standing on a massive Chrysanthemum, with heavy makeup on his face, was scanning the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.
This was Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, sent by Spirit Hall from Spirit City on the Pope's orders to recruit two prodigies with innate full soul power to join Spirit Hall. "Where on earth have those kids gone? Could two soul elders at level 30 really have ventured into the inner area of the Star Dou Forest?" Yue Guan wondered.
Just then, Yue Guan felt a strange fluctuation in soul power, likely caused by Cheng Xiao's use of shadow power. After hesitating for a moment, Yue Guan decisively flew in that direction.
Although he hadn't found the two children yet, perhaps this would give him a lead?
...
At the same time, in a dense part of the forest's mixed area
A blond man stood before the dying Three-eyed Demon Ape. His golden eyes, devoid of emotion, gleamed as he held out his hand. A golden sword formed from soul power appeared in his grasp.
"Young master, are you sure you want to absorb this soul beast with dark attributes?" asked a thin, elderly man accompanying him.
"It's fine," the blond man replied without even glancing at the old man. "I only need its mental attribute. The dark attribute won't affect me."
Upon hearing this, the thin old man remained silent, gripping his golden spear as he and another ugly-looking old man vigilantly watched the surroundings to ensure no one disturbed the blond man during the soul ring absorption process.
Slash!
The blond man swiftly killed the Three-eyed Demon Ape and sat cross-legged, beginning to absorb its soul ring. Five brilliant soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—appeared around him. He was a Soul King! The soul ring of the Three-eyed Demon Ape would become his sixth ring.
Not long after the blond man began absorbing the soul ring, a pair of deep, dark eyes emerged from the dense forest, staring at the Three-eyed Demon Ape. The gaze shifted to the two elders guarding the blond man before slowly withdrawing.
In the forest, Cheng Xiao sighed. From the information relayed by the Nether Tiger, those two elders were Titled Douluo, and the blond man absorbing the soul ring was a high-level soul master. After absorbing the ring, he would reach the Soul Emperor level. Such strength could only belong to Spirit Hall.
"Damn it. I was hoping to get a ten-thousand-year soul beast as a Shadow Soldier. Now I'll just have to wait until they finish absorbing the soul ring and leave before I can summon a Shadow Soldier," Cheng Xiao muttered bitterly, leaning back against a tree.
He had already begun to guess the identities of the group: two Titled Douluo, one thin and one stout, and the blond soul master. This must be Qian Renxue, undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire.
As time passed, Cheng Xiao couldn't resist peeking again. Surely, by now, the soul ring absorption should be complete? Peering through the trees, his gaze fell on the blond man. The sixth black soul ring was beginning to form, indicating the process was nearly over.
Just then, a sharp gaze suddenly locked onto Cheng Xiao's position. His body froze, followed by the sound of something slicing through the air. A golden light shot towards him.
"Who's there!"