Just as Xiao Lin and the others left their original position and moved several kilometers without incident, the members of the Soul Hunting Squad began to relax.
Suddenly, a black flash appeared in an instant, shooting directly toward Xu Yi—who was in his Lazy Pig Martial Soul state—at a speed too fast for anyone to react.
"Watch out!"
Tang San and Su Yuntao immediately sensed something was wrong, and shouted a warning almost the instant that black flash appeared.
However, the warning came too late. Xu Yi, with his Lazy Pig Martial Soul, didn't even try to dodge. Instead, his soul ring lit up beneath his feet.
In the dark Soul Hunting Forest, a yellow soul ring flashed.
A hint of excitement appeared on Xu Yi's face. Instantly, thick chunks of earth appeared all over his body.
"Got you now! Second Soul Skill: Earth Armor!"
At that moment, the others saw Xu Yi demonstrate his exceptional physical resilience as a Grand Soul Master.
Uneven chunks of soil clung to his body. With a grin under his pig-like nose, he looked strangely out of place.
Under everyone's gaze, Xu Yi used the thick soil on his belly to block the Bullet Bee's attack.
"Xu Yi is our team's top defender. He can even withstand attacks from a Soul Elder several times over! Plus, he's the best at scent tracking in our squad!"
Wang Neng shouted excitedly, then quickly directed everyone to go on the offensive.
"Battle Tiger, charge! Third Soul Skill: Tiger's Roar in the Forest!"
"Second Soul Skill: Howl!"
"ROAR!!"
In an instant, a deafening roar exploded like the roar of a giant tractor revving up right beside them, shaking their blood and qi.
Immediately afterward, a wolf's howl followed closely behind.
"Awooo!"
In Xiao Lin's eyes, the Bullet Bee, stunned by Wang Neng's roar, now had a coating of blue soul power on it. Its terrifying large stingers looked slightly less menacing now, almost soft.
And after Su Yuntao's wolf howl, Xiao Lin felt his own attack power rise by another 10%.
With a prior 400% boost, this additional 10% meant a total increase of 40%.
Terrifying.
Xiao Lin's eyes lit up. Taking advantage of the Bullet Bee being hindered by Xu Yi's defense, he dashed forward with his staff.
"Jie jie jie... Too naïve!"
"Bullet Bee, go wild!"
Suddenly, a hoarse voice rang out.
Everyone was startled—there was another enemy!
At that moment, to everyone's shock, Xu Yi, whom Captain Wang Neng trusted so much, suddenly blacked out. A tiny wound had unknowingly appeared on his body.
The toxin quickly entered his bloodstream, and within moments, he started gasping for air. He lost his Martial Soul transformation and collapsed heavily to the ground.
"What?!"
"Xu Yi!"
Wang Neng's face was filled with disbelief. Just then, Shi Dan, who had been scouting ahead, returned and also saw this unbelievable scene.
The two of them shouted simultaneously and launched attacks at the Bullet Bee.
"Second Soul Skill: Tiger Pounce!"
"First Soul Skill: Feather Blade!"
They were furious, bombarding the Bullet Bee with attacks.
However, the Bullet Bee was even faster than them. With just a flutter of its wings, it transformed into a black flash and darted backward.
At that moment, Su Yuntao and Tang San both charged toward the source of the voice, but the Bullet Bee instantly flitted in front of them.
Its blood-red eyes glared at them emotionlessly, several giant stingers pointed straight at the two of them.
"Jie jie jie... Someone managed to locate me? I even masked all sound."
Behind the Bullet Bee, a black-robed old man appeared. In his hand was a blood-red agate stone that flickered with an unsettling glow.
"A spiritual-type soul master? Are you controlling the Bullet Bee?"
Tang San, who had heard many stories from Xiao Lin, was fairly knowledgeable about Martial Souls.
Xiao Lin had once told him about a type of soul master who specialized in illusions and control—spiritual-type soul masters.
Typically, only Soul Douluo-level soul masters start to develop spiritual resistance. If one is controlled by a spiritual-type master, the best way to resist is to create a painful wound on oneself.
Tang San hadn't taken that too seriously, thinking that his Purple Demon Eye could see through any illusion.
The moment he saw the black-robed old man, Tang San activated his Purple Demon Eye. His sleeve dart was also ready to strike.
"Correct guess—but no reward."
The old man grinned sinisterly, then revealed two yellow and one purple soul rings.
A moment later, a stream of purple light flew from one of the soul rings into the blood agate, which instantly emitted a strange red glow.
The red light enveloped Tang San and Su Yuntao before they could dodge.
In the next moment, Tang San felt a strange voice in his mind trying to lull him into a relaxed, suggestible state.
"You think you can hypnotize me? You're not nearly qualified."
A dark glow flickered in Tang San's eyes. He already had a plan.
Following the soul skill's effects, Tang San pretended to be hypnotized, mimicking Su Yuntao's blank expression.
If they could just kill the old man, the situation would be resolved... right?
No. A thousand-year Bullet Bee was beyond his current power. Better wait for Brother Lin to get closer.
One hundred meters away, Xiao Lin looked at the fallen Xu Yi and, without hesitation, removed his Blue Silver Regeneration Bracelet and slid it onto Xu Yi's thick fingers.
"If it's a suffocating poison, it likely disrupts the respiratory system or prevents oxygen absorption—cutting off the brain's oxygen supply. With this bracelet, his brain won't die from lack of nutrients."
As Xiao Lin explained, Wang Neng's eyes lit up. He immediately spat out a wet osmanthus flower from his mouth and tried to feed it to Xu Yi.
The flower was soggy and disgusting—just looking at it made Xiao Lin want to gag.
Ignoring Wang Neng and Shi Dan's nauseating efforts, Xiao Lin turned his attention to Tang San's side.
In the darkness, he saw the eerie red light from the agate and the faint red glow enveloping two motionless figures.
"A spiritual-type Martial Soul?"
Xiao Lin's mind raced. In a flash, he smiled, having figured out Tang San's strategy.
To think Tang San would really be mind-controlled? Impossible.
Then, Xiao Lin turned to Xiao Wu and Sister Gui, seeing Xiao Wu loyally guarding Sister Gui. While he silently praised the effort, he didn't entirely agree.
So support-type soul masters just stand there?
"Xiao Wu, you and Sister Gui take care of Brother Xu Yi."
As Xiao Lin spoke, he pushed off the ground and dashed toward the red-glowing soul master.
With the strength from his Little Horn of the Giant Strength Bull Demon, his speed rivaled that of an agility-type Grand Soul Master. In a few powerful strides, he closed the distance rapidly.
His Qiulong Staff was held low at his waist—once he got close enough, he would strike with lightning speed.
Behind him, seeing that Xu Yi still had faint breathing, Wang Neng and Shi Dan exchanged glances.
The next second, they combined their strengths.
Shi Dan's legs turned into chicken claws and gripped Wang Neng's shoulders. Under the enhancement of his second soul ring, his wings carried Wang Neng in a low-altitude flight.
In a flash, they moved like a tiger with wings, bearing striking resemblance to a tiger-type soul beast.
(End of Chapter)