“This…” Tie Li looked at the scene before him, momentarily at a loss.
The once lush forest was now reduced to charred branches, the ground still radiating intense heat, and the air, besides the smell of burning, carried an unusual scent of cooked meat.
Tie Li observed the ground and saw several shattered corpses; not a single one was intact.
“Thud.” A massive body tried to struggle to its feet, its aura weakening, most of its scales gone, and the exposed flesh charred from the fire’s erosion.
It wasn’t dead, it really wasn’t dead, it was just barely clinging to life.
To determine a Thunder Serpent’s cultivation, one primarily looked at the single horn on its head; for every hundred years of cultivation, the horn would grow an additional inch and gain a white stripe.
This Thunder Serpent’s horn had four white stripes!
If he could kill it and absorb its spirit ring, his first spirit ring would be a nearly limit-level four-hundred-year spirit ring.
As a Spirit Master from a common background, this was a rare opportunity; many commoner Spirit Masters’ second spirit rings might not even be four-hundred-year ones.
Now was the best time to kill it; the recent massive explosion would deter surrounding Spirit Beasts from acting rashly.
A top-grade spirit ring, a temporarily safe environment—what was he waiting for?
His Forging Hammer Spirit appeared in his hand, and Tie Li, breathing heavily, approached the Thunder Serpent’s head.
The Thunder Serpent’s eyes were fixed on Tie Li; it hadn’t completely died yet, and its fatal injuries left it only able to watch the scene unfold before it.
“Bang!” A powerful hammer blow landed, but the Thunder Serpent did not die.
“Bang, bang, bang!” Two hammers, three hammers, four hammers… until a yellow spirit ring emerged from the Thunder Serpent’s corpse.
There was no time to delay, so Tie Li immediately sat down and began to absorb this hundred-year spirit ring.
The spirit ring, drawn by an unseen force, moved closer to Tie Li.
Burning! Piercing pain! A fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his Forging Hammer Spirit materialized before him.
As the spirit ring was absorbed, his Spirit slowly began to change.
The smooth, bright hammer body gained a layer of scale-like ripples, and a sharp, single horn, seven parts similar to the Thunder Serpent’s horn, grew from the handle.
Occasionally, an electric arc would flash across the hammer body, giving it a sense of profound weight.
When the yellow spirit ring appeared beneath Tie Li, it signified that he had successfully absorbed the spirit ring and become a Spirit Master.
Opening his eyes, Tie Li immediately summoned his Spirit; besides the change in form, its size had increased by a circle, and its weight had doubled.
He swung the Forging Hammer again, heavily smashing it onto the Thunder Serpent’s skull.
“Crack!” Hearing the sound of the skull breaking, Tie Li retracted his Spirit, used a dagger to cut away the flesh around the horn, took the horn, and then quickly left the area.
As a One-Ring Spirit Master, his senses became more acute to the surrounding auras, and Tie Li could feel several gazes fixated on the Thunder Serpent’s body.
A four-hundred-year-cultivation Thunder Serpent, coupled with its high-grade Bloodline, was a rare opportunity for lower-tier Spirit Beasts.
Running wildly eastward again, Tie Li wondered if he would encounter his teacher.
Although the few corpses he had seen earlier were charred and unrecognizable in appearance and form, Tie Li was certain that Bai Qing was not among them.
With his spirit power having broken through to the eleventh level and having absorbed a hundred-year spirit ring, Tie Li’s physical strength at this moment far surpassed his own when he first entered the Hunting Soul Forest.
He ran for dozens of miles without his face turning red or his heart pounding.
Perhaps his luck from absorbing the spirit ring had run out, as at some point, he found himself surrounded by a pack of wolves.
There were seventeen ten-year Nether Wolves.
“Fortunately, they’re only ten-year cultivation Spirit Beasts,” Tie Li breathed a sigh of relief.
“Howl!” The Alpha Wolf let out a roar, and the wolf pack began to tighten its encirclement.
Before they could form a pincer attack, Tie Li bent his knees slightly, gathered strength, and burst forward.
He launched an attack directly towards the Alpha Wolf.
The Forging Hammer silently appeared in his right hand.
The hundred-year spirit ring coiling around the Forging Hammer lit up.
First Spirit Ability, Thunder Hammer!
Blue-white lightning surged forth, forming an outer armor on the hammer body; each attack would carry high lightning damage and had a certain chance to paralyze the opponent.
“Sizzle, sizzle!” Two Nether Wolves changed direction, choosing to protect the Alpha Wolf, and met the Thunder Hammer.
Tie Li’s swing, combined with the lightning damage, under the double damage amplification, sent the two Nether Wolves flying dozens of meters away, their bones fractured, and the lightning severing their life force.
Two white spirit rings emerged from their corpses.
The Alpha Wolf seized the opening in Tie Li’s attack, leaped up, and aimed its sharp wolf claws at Tie Li’s neck, attempting to end the human’s life.
Tie Li tried his best to shift his body, and the wolf claws landed on his chest, at which point the Alpha Wolf’s ferocious pupils suddenly constricted.
Its wolf claws could not penetrate the inner armor, and Tie Li would not let go of such a good counterattack opportunity.
The Thunder Hammer smashed down hard on its head.
Its skull was the hardest part of its body, but Tie Li intended to smash through it; the high lightning damage carried by the Thunder Hammer could also penetrate the skull’s defense and destroy its brain.
“Bang!” It was slammed hard onto the ground, and red and white matter splattered from beneath the hammer.
Seeing their Alpha Wolf brutally killed, the pack of Nether Wolves immediately fell into disarray, fleeing in all directions.
Tie Li crouched down, taking out his dagger and rummaging through the three wolf corpses.
Wolf pelts and wolf teeth could both be sold for money, especially the Alpha Wolf’s pelt; he would ask for two more silver coins for it then.
Fortunately, he had prepared early, taking out a large piece of cloth from his satchel, placing the wolf pelts and wolf teeth on it, and folding it into a bundle.
He ran until dawn, but Tie Li still didn't see any trace of Bai Qing or the other two students, and his heart couldn't help but sink.
He took out a piece of dry food from his satchel and began to gnaw on it; after running all night, his stomach had long been hungry.
“Dali?” Hearing a familiar voice, Tie Li immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lu Baichuan hiding in a tree.
After confirming the other party’s identity, Lu Baichuan climbed down from the tree.
He really hadn't expected him to have this tree-climbing skill.
“Teacher told me to stay here; he went to look for you and to help He Dadan obtain a spirit ring,” Lu Baichuan said.
He and He Dadan hadn't gotten lost; they had kept running eastward until they were exhausted and collapsed on the ground.
Bai Qing found them not long after, but he had sustained serious injuries.
Therefore, he told Lu Baichuan to climb up a tree and hide, scattering special medicinal powder around to prevent Spirit Beasts from entering the area; he would first take He Dadan to search for Tie Li’s tracks, and if they encountered a suitable Spirit Beast, it could become He Dadan’s spirit ring.
“You’re still here; if Teacher can’t find me for a while, he should come back to settle you two first, so I just need to wait here.”
Similar to what Tie Li had said, after failing to find Tie Li’s tracks, Bai Qing had first brought He Dadan back.
He Dadan was already a Spirit Master by this time; with Bai Qing’s help, he had hunted a suitable Spirit Beast and successfully absorbed its spirit ring.
