Chapter 9: Real Illusion

The Soul Hunting Forest was much quieter at night than during the day, but that did not mean it was safe. On the contrary, moving around casually could lead to more danger.

So Zhou Tian and his group chose a spot and stopped, starting a campfire.

Zhou Tian sat by the fire, glancing at the three teachers who were responsible for assigning night watch duties and procedures.

He also glanced at the three young noblemen who sat there, not used to the wilderness.

Closing his eyes slowly, he looked at the two glowing orbs of soul energy and silently recited, "Solidify!"

A peculiar change immediately occurred, and the two orbs emitted a faint glow. They no longer felt like crystal balls but had expanded to one-third of their size, establishing a connection with Zhou Tian.

Zhou Tian was filled with surprise. The information that appeared in his mind was unexpected.

"Solidify into a real illusion. Death only causes a certain amount of mental damage, which can be recovered with some time." A smile appeared on Zhou Tian's lips.

"Now I can accumulate combat experience in life-and-death battles, catching up with or even surpassing those geniuses in combat experience at the fastest pace," he thought of Tang San, recalling the intense confrontation a year ago.

It was a different feeling than the usual conflicts; it was an exceptionally fierce momentum that couldn't be obtained through casual brawls.

With a thought, Zhou Tian's vision brightened, and he appeared in a familiar place.

"This is the place where I hunted the Shadow Wind Wolves during the day. Such a realistic feeling!" While Zhou Tian was still marveling, his scalp tingled, and he instinctively took two steps back after a critical hit.

A dark green figure emerged from the front. Zhou Tian's keen eyes clearly saw the soul beast that was almost identical to the one during the day.

With a slight movement of his right leg, the final phantom tore through the air.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound echoed in the silent jungle as the soul beast was kicked directly, flying towards the front.

The Shadow Wind Wolf crashed to the ground, rolled twice, and quickly stood up. However, a black shadow immediately closed in.

It wanted to escape, but the broken rib from the previous kick made its body shudder.

"Crack!" "Bang!"

Clear sounds mixed with loud noises, and Zhou Tian's kick flattened 2/3 of the Shadow Wind Wolf's neck, slamming it into the ground.

Blood spilled around.

"My jumping ability and explosive power have improved a lot. Is this the effect of elastic muscles?" Zhou Tian exclaimed.

The tips of his toes lightly bounced on the ground, reaching a height of over one meter in an instant.

Elastic muscles, obtained from another snake-shaped soul beast, significantly enhanced his abilities.

He could clearly feel the change—muscles that were originally hard and robust, with a hint of stiffness, had completely softened.

Full of flexibility, bringing powerful explosive force.

With just his soul power and body, Zhou Tian was able to easily defeat a hundred-year soul beast with two moves.

A faint glow emanated from the Shadow Wind Wolf's body, even the splattered blood turning into dots of light.

Slowly merging into Zhou Tian.

A comfortable feeling enveloped him, as if soaking in hot springs, soothing his body and mind.

He also faintly felt that his soul and spirit had been strengthened.

Only 1/3 of the light merged into Zhou Tian, the rest turned to the illusion.

But because of this 1/3, Zhou Tian gained some understanding of this illusion.

"A range of 142 meters, exactly equal to the age of this soul beast. If it were a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the diameter would be a hundred thousand meters!"

Zhou Tian was somewhat surprised; the range of this illusion was not small.

Suddenly, a mist appeared in Zhou Tian's mind.

The second round begins!

As the power subsided, Zhou Tian widened his eyes.

His current strength and cultivation were unexpectedly equal to that of the soul beast.

"The second round is actually an equal battle!" Zhou Tian frowned.

Suddenly, a tingling sensation in his scalp arrived.

Quickly crouching down, Zhou Tian felt a sharp light sweep over his scalp.

Rolling on the ground, he remained vigilant, observing the surroundings.

"So fast! Much faster than before; I almost didn't react in time."

Zhou Tian, with an unpleasant expression, observed the surroundings but found nothing.

This soul beast, skilled in ambush, was indeed good at hiding.

"At this rate, I'll definitely die here!" Zhou Tian frowned. Suddenly, his eyes brightened.

"Oh right, Breath of the Wind!"

...

Zhou Tian suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils contracted. He looked at the campfire in front of him, his classmates and teachers around, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn! Crafty bastard!" He cursed silently.

Indeed, a soul beast surviving by ambush, once strength and cultivation were equal, proved to be quite troublesome.

Zhou Tian's Breath of the Wind was not yet proficient; he could barely notice anomalies when the soul beast was close.

But by then, it was already too late.

"But this is good; only this way can I train my combat experience and instincts. If I could kill it in two moves, it won't solve my current shortcomings." Zhou Tian smiled as he thought.

Rubbing his slightly sore temples, he felt like he had just pulled an all-nighter.

Resting, he needed to hunt soul beasts again tomorrow!

The next day!

"Bang!"

Teacher Chu radiated light, with white, yellow, yellow, and purple four soul rings swirling around him.

He tightly gripped a snake head thicker than his arm, one foot stepping on the robust snake body.

A gentle breeze swept over the snake's body; it had a single eye.

"Today's luck is quite good. This 300-year-old, almost 400-year-old one-eyed snake, in its confusion, ended up in my hands."

Teacher Chu turned around with a smile, looking at Zhou Tian and another senior student.

"Xiao Gao's talent is good. The second soul ring can be considered five or six hundred years old. Besides, this soul beast isn't suitable for him."

After these thoughts flashed in his mind, Teacher Chu turned his gaze to Zhou Tian.

"Zhou Tian, I know your body is very strong. You should be able to withstand this 300-year soul beast. Although it lacks attack power and only enhances speed, it has wind attribute abilities, which is still very good for a first soul ring." Teacher Chu smiled.

"What do you think? You absorb this soul beast!"

"Alright!" Zhou Tian thought for a moment and nodded.

The wind attribute happened to be compatible with him, especially after acquiring the Breath of the Wind.

"The rest of you, stay on guard. Zhou Tian, it's up to you to kill it!" Teacher Chu said, drawing a dagger from his waist with his other hand.

Zhou Tian took the dagger and thrust it into the one-eyed snake's eye.

"Hiss!"

A painful hiss echoed; the snake's body convulsed madly, but it couldn't produce any waves in Teacher Chu's hands.

As the one-eyed snake became still, its yellow soul ring slowly floated up.

Teacher Chu threw the snake to the ground. Zhou Tian sat beside it, following the instructed method to guide the soul ring.

Force surged into his head, filling his body as he absorbed the soul power.

Zhou Tian was very strong, experiencing no pain at all, completing the entire absorption effortlessly.

(End of this chapter)

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