Chapter 22: Suspicions Arise

Dai Chong suddenly rushed out, leading the six others towards the direction where Cheng Xiao was. They cut through numerous bushes along the way.

When the seven of them arrived at Cheng Xiao's location, their faces turned serious as they looked at the slender figure. They all stopped in their tracks.

"You've arrived? I'm done here. Let's go," Cheng Xiao calmly turned around, showing no signs of surprise. The corpse of the Tiger Demon Cat lay beside him, and the shadow of the cat had already vanished.

"Huh? Where's the soul beast?" Old Six was puzzled; they clearly heard the roar of a soul beast coming from this direction.

"What soul beast?" Cheng Xiao showed a look of confusion, and there was no trace of a flaw on his face.

"We just heard a Tiger Demon Cat's roar. We thought you were in danger, so we rushed over. Didn't you hear?" Dai Chong squinted at Cheng Xiao, observing him for a while. For some reason, he felt that Cheng Xiao had changed in some way.

It was hard to pinpoint, but he felt that the once thin figure seemed deeper, giving him a sense of pressure—subtle yet persistent, like an eerie atmosphere lingering around, haunting but elusive.

However, upon second thought, it seemed unlikely. This kid was only eleven years old; how could he, a Soul Ancestor, feel this way about a Soul Master?

"I heard it, seemed to come from over there." Cheng Xiao pointed in the exact opposite direction from where Dai Chong came.

Dai Chong looked up, following Cheng Xiao's direction, and glanced past Cheng Xiao into the distance.

"Let's go, maybe it's the mate of this Tiger Demon Cat. We should leave quickly." Unable to figure out the changes in Cheng Xiao, Dai Chong shook his head and suggested they leave.

"Yeah, let's go." Cheng Xiao nodded and walked into the midst of the seven.

Under their escort, Cheng Xiao left the area, leaving behind the corpse of the Tiger Demon Cat, its soul ring above it dimming and pulsating faintly.

No one noticed that the shadow beneath Cheng Xiao's feet had become denser.

Suddenly, a pair of fierce cat pupils slowly opened within Cheng Xiao's shadow.

"Behave, little one..."

Sensing the change in the shadow beneath his feet, Cheng Xiao revealed a faint smile, soothing it in his heart. The cat pupils closed slowly, and the shadow returned to calm.

"Damn it! ****..."

Watching the three-eyed giant ape in front of him, Cheng Xiao couldn't help but curse silently.

This was the fifth soul beast they hunted, and the first four had successfully been summoned as shadows, becoming members of the Shadow Legion under his command.

However, this fifth one resisted Cheng Xiao's summons three times, ultimately leading to failure.

"It seems that my current strength is still too weak to summon more powerful shadows." Cheng Xiao sighed with regret.

The three-eyed giant ape in front of him had already reached three thousand two hundred years, particularly outstanding in the spiritual aspect. If it could become one of his shadow soldiers, it would undoubtedly compensate for the lack of control in his legion.

"Ah, if only I had limited it to below three thousand years." Cheng Xiao lamented, "Greed can lead to one's downfall..."

Cheng Xiao, due to his greed, continually increased the stakes after obtaining his first soul beast shadow. The second was two thousand seven hundred years, the third two thousand nine hundred years, and the fourth even reached three thousand years!

Although there were some setbacks in the process, all three summoned soul beast shadows responded to his commands miraculously.

Therefore, this time, he once again set his sights on the three thousand two hundred-year-old three-eyed giant ape.

However, this time, he suffered a complete defeat.

Perhaps it was because the three-eyed giant ape's age was too high, or maybe the three-eyed giant ape was a spiritual-type soul beast, and its spiritual power was naturally stronger, leading to higher resistance. Or it could be both.

In any case, Cheng Xiao couldn't summon its shadow.

For a moment, Cheng Xiao's mood was quite bad, wishing he could dismember the three-eyed giant ape.

After sighing, Cheng Xiao turned and left, heading towards the direction where the Soul Master team was.

"Big brother, do you really think this kid is collecting data on soul beasts? I feel like something's not right," Old Six leaned in beside Dai Chong, whispering.

Dai Chong glanced at Old Six, withdrew his gaze, and calmly surveyed the surroundings. "Why do you say that?"

"Every time he finishes, I find that there are no extra injuries on the soul beast's body. It doesn't seem right. And also..."

Old Six paused for a moment, a hint of doubt appearing on his stiff face. "I feel like that kid... sigh... I don't know how to describe it. It's like... he's getting stronger. The first time I looked him in the eye after the last session, I almost took two steps back out of fear."

Dai Chong's expression twitched. He also had that feeling, but it came inexplicably, making him unable to figure it out, thinking it was just his imagination.

However, now, Old Six's words made him focus, realizing he wasn't the only one who noticed the issue. If others saw it too, it couldn't be an illusion. Something unknown must have happened to that kid.

"Do things honestly; the profit from this job is not small." After pondering for a while, Dai Chong looked at the other five and shook his head. "Don't think too much about the employer; don't mess up the job."

Dai Chong didn't want any trouble. The reward for this job was generous, the most generous among all the commissions they had received.

However, Old Six didn't want to let it go so easily. Instead, he lowered his voice and said to Dai Chong, "Big brother, do you think this kid might have mastered some secret method to quickly increase his strength?"

Dai Chong suddenly turned his head, and his gaze collided with Old Six's eyes. In Old Six's eyes, a glint of greed and excitement flickered, causing Dai Chong's heart to beat uncontrollably for a moment.

Dai Chong cleared his dry throat and looked away. "It's unlikely... That kind of secret method is not something an ordinary merchant family could possess."

On this continent, anything labeled as a 'secret method' was incredibly valuable, and any major sect would treat it as a treasure, seldom sharing it. Examples included the Blast Ring of the Haotian Sect and the Mind Control of the Seven Treasure Glass Sect.

These secret methods, if revealed, would be enough to drive common soul masters crazy.

No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like something an ordinary merchant family could have.

"Big brother, don't you think... just collecting soul beast specimens, is there anything worth hiding? He won't let us see; it's clear that he has a secret!" Old Six became more and more excited as he spoke. "I'm a hundred percent sure this kid must have something good in his hands. Even if it doesn't increase soul power, it can scare me away, it must be extraordinary!"

Dai Chong's breathing became a bit stagnant, and his gaze began to flicker, showing signs of excitement.

"Big brother, why don't we..."

Old Six drew his thumb across his throat, and a fierce light flashed on his scar-covered, ferocious face.