Chapter 65: Picking Up The Pieces (Part 2)

After dealing with all the hundred-year Wind Baboons, Xia Yi and Wujin continued their journey toward the depths of the Star Dou Forest. Along the way, they encountered several other hundred-year soul beasts, all of which were swiftly taken care of by Xia Yi and Wujin.

The Star Dou Forest of ten thousand years ago was vast, far larger than its present size—by at least a hundredfold. Despite walking for nearly half an hour, Xia Yi and Wujin were still in the outer regions of the forest.

"If the Star Dou Forest today were still as expansive as it was ten thousand years ago, no matter how wealthy and resourceful the Spirit Pagoda might be, it would have been impossible for them to encase the forest with metal barriers," Xia Yi mused as he marveled at the grandness of the forest in its prime.

The decline of the Star Dou Forest, in fact, began ten thousand years ago.

With the rise of soul tools among humans, the Star Dou Forest, unfamiliar with these weapons, found itself at a disadvantage. Following the incident with the Emperor Auspicious Beast, a devastating war erupted between the Star Dou Forest and Shrek Academy.

That battle exacted a heavy toll on the forest. Tens of thousands of soul beasts were killed or injured, yet no meaningful victory was achieved.

Several factors compounded the forest's decline:

The rapid development of human soul tools.The Emperor Auspicious Beast sacrificing the soul beasts' fortune to humanity, causing the latter's fortune to surge while the soul beasts' plummeted.The war with Shrek Academy, which resulted in mass casualties among soul beasts.The founding and subsequent corruption of the Spirit Pagoda.

Given these factors, the forest's downfall seemed almost inevitable.

Suddenly, a loud rumble interrupted Xia Yi and Wujin's reflections as they moved closer to the forest's core. The sound of combat echoed from ahead.

The two carefully approached the source, hiding within the bushes to observe. What they saw was a group of over a hundred green wolves besieging five young men and women.

The wolf pack's cultivation levels weren't particularly high, with no thousand-year-level soul beasts among them. The alpha wolf had only eight or nine hundred years of cultivation, and many wolves were even below the hundred-year mark.

The besieged group consisted of three men and two women. Among them, two men and one woman had three soul rings, marking them as Soul Elders, while the remaining one man and one woman were two-ring Soul Grandmasters. They appeared to be between fifteen and twenty years old.

Although their strength far exceeded that of Xia Yi and Wujin, they were struggling under the relentless assault of the wolves. While they managed to kill some, each of them bore significant injuries.

"You guys just keep fighting." Xia Yi chuckled softly as he climbed onto a towering ancient tree. Using the leaves as cover, he observed the battle below from a high vantage point.

Xia Yi noticed that while the alpha wolf had not yet reached the intelligence of the mutated thousand-year Baboons, its command abilities far surpassed those of the previous beasts they encountered.

With its low growls, the wolf pack coordinated their attacks and defenses in an orderly manner, resembling a disciplined army. This impeccable teamwork made life miserable for the five young people they surrounded.

In just a short time, one of the two-ring Soul Grandmasters was bitten to death by the wolves. The other managed to activate a distress signal at the last moment before being killed, causing them to exit the Ascension Platform.

The loss of the two Soul Grandmasters left the three Soul Elders in an even more precarious situation.

"Damn it, such bad luck—dropping right in the middle of a wolf pack as soon as we entered the Ascension Platform." The leading male Soul Elder wielded a large blade, its blade burning with dragon-shaped flames.

This was his martial soul, the Red Dragon Blade. In a one-on-one fight, he could defeat even the alpha wolf. However, the wolves' coordinated attacks left him unable to focus on a single target without interference from others.

"Hang in there! We've almost reached the one-hour mark. Once we do, we'll have a chance!" the remaining female shouted. She held a black bell in her hand, which she shook to make the wolves' cold, emotionless eyes turn dazed and unfocused.

This woman was none other than Lina—or rather, Nana Li—one of the Four Kings of the Holy Spirit Church.

Every participant within the Ascension Platform was monitored by staff from the Spirit Pagoda, so Lina dared not reveal too much of her true power. She disguised herself as a three-ring Soul Elder with yellow, yellow, and purple rings.

"If not for Sister Lina's mental control disrupting the wolves' perfect coordination, we probably wouldn't have lasted this long," said the remaining male Soul Elder. His gaze lingered on Lina's flawless figure and stunning face, making him gulp involuntarily.

The two male Soul Elders surrounded Lina, protecting her as she controlled the wolf pack from the center of their formation. Lina alternated between her three soul rings, continuously shaking the bell to disrupt the wolves' coordination and create openings.

However, maintaining mental control over such a large number of wolves taxed Lina heavily. Before long, her bell's rhythm grew uneven.

"Awooo…"

The alpha wolf seized the pause in the bell's sound, letting out a long howl. Instantly, over a dozen hundred-year green wolves leapt at the male Soul Elder wielding the Red Dragon Blade.

The young man's third soul ring lit up as he swung his blade, unleashing a fiery dragon that tore three wolves apart.

As he prepared a second attack, he suddenly noticed a five-hundred-year green wolf darting toward him along the ground. Before he could strike, the wolf's sharp claws plunged into his abdomen.

Gritting his teeth, the young man used the last of his strength to activate his distress signal before collapsing.

"Die!" The other male Soul Elder wasn't as lucky. A wolf sank its teeth into his neck while others clamped down on his limbs, rendering him unable to press his distress signal. He was torn apart moments later, his body dissolving into light and vanishing from the scene.

Despite his fate, he managed to kill two wolves in his final moments.

The deaths of the two Soul Elders happened in the blink of an eye.

"Impressive mental control," even Wujin couldn't help but nod in approval. Lina's momentary lapse in focus had led directly to the two Soul Elders' deaths, underscoring her significant impact on the battle.

With renewed determination, Lina activated all three of her soul rings simultaneously. Though the effect only lasted a moment, nearly twenty wolves nearby bled from their orifices and dropped dead.

An overwhelming surge of spiritual energy filled the air, adding to the energy already present from the fallen wolves and the earlier departed soul masters. The accumulation was staggering.

Xia Yi swallowed nervously. If he could absorb all this energy, his soul rings might just reach the thousand-year mark.

"Awooo…" The alpha wolf howled again, sending another wave of wolves toward Lina.

Without hesitation, Lina activated her distress signal, vanishing in a flash of light from the Ascension Platform.

At the exact moment of her departure, Xia Yi and Wujin leapt from the treetops toward the alpha wolf, taking advantage of the wolves' brief relaxation.

So much spiritual energy was at stake—how could Xia Yi and Wujin let this opportunity slip away?

To claim the energy, they first had to defeat the wolf pack. And to defeat the wolf pack, the alpha wolf had to die.

Without its leader, the wolves would be no more threatening than the Wind Mandrills.

Xia Yi wielded his Thousand-Forged Azure Bronze Hammer as the dark phoenix tattoo on his right arm shimmered, ready to unleash its power. He aimed to strike with all his might, leaving no chance for the alpha wolf to retaliate.

With a thunderous crash, Xia Yi smashed the alpha wolf's head into the ground. A green glow shielded its vital points, preventing instant death.

In the next instant, a massive lion claw slashed at the wolf's neck, piercing through from behind and ending its life. The alpha wolf dissolved into spiritual energy.

"Awooo…" Furious howls erupted as the remaining wolves realized their leader's demise.

Without the alpha wolf's command, the pack fell into disarray, becoming easy targets for Xia Yi and Wujin. Over the next fifteen minutes, the duo methodically eliminated over a dozen more wolves.

The surviving wolves began retreating one by one.

The five-hundred-year wolf that had killed the young man with the Red Dragon Blade led the first group, disappearing into the forest with its followers. Other higher-level wolves followed suit, each taking a portion of the pack with them.

"They were hiding all along and only acted after we were dead to steal the alpha wolf from under our noses!" Inside the Spirit Pagoda's monitoring room for Ascension Platform Chamber 21, the Red Dragon Blade wielder, Long Yan, had just revived. He could only watch as Xia Yi and Wujin absorbed the spiritual energy left by the fallen wolves.

Looking at the spiritual energy enveloping Xia Yi and Wujin, Long Yan was livid. If they had intervened earlier and killed the alpha wolf, the pack's disarray would have allowed his group to break free.

Now, all their hard-earned spiritual energy had been effortlessly claimed by these opportunists.

(End of Chapter)