It was convenient to have someone clearing the way. Xiao Tianyang and Teacher Miao had been advancing for nearly half an hour without encountering a single obstacle—a rarity in the dangerous hunting soul forest.

  One could even call it a miracle! Of course, given the terrifying aura radiating from Teacher Miao, such a phenomenon was more of an inevitability.

  "Teacher Miao, may I ask you a question?" Xiao Tianyang ventured cautiously.

  Without hesitation, Teacher Miao cut him off decisively. "No."

  Not one to give up so easily, Xiao Tianyang persisted. "Then can you at least tell me your real name?"

  "Why do you want to know that?" Teacher Miao paused for a moment before replying, "Miao Zhenshan."

  "Doesn't ring a bell..." Xiao Tianyang muttered under his breath.

  "What did you say?"

  "Uh, nothing," Xiao Tianyang quickly replied.

  "We have arrived."

  Hearing this, Xiao Tianyang instinctively looked up. From somewhere ahead came a deep roar that sent his blood surging and left him feeling inexplicably exhirated.

  "Something's wrong," Miao Zhenshan said, narrowing his eyes. Releasing his spiritual power, he scanned the surroundings and then opened his eyes again. "Turns out, it's two soul beasts fighting over territory."

  Turning to Xiao Tianyang, he added, "Since you want to hunt the soul beast yourself, I'll leave you to it."

  "But I was only pnning to hunt one soul beast!" Xiao Tianyang protested. Then, as if a light bulb went off in his head, his eyes brightened. "Wait, do you mean you want me to attack them once they've both worn each other out?"

  "Obviously. With your frail little body, do you think you can take on a soul beast that's over two thousand years old?" Miao Zhenshan sneered. "Pay attention: one of them is a Vine-Armored Dragon Turtle, and the other is a Fme Nightmare."

  "Got it." Xiao Tianyang nodded and carefully approached the source of the noise, the sounds of the csh growing louder with each step.

  Suddenly, he paused and turned back. "By the way, what if they—"

  "Wait, where is he?" Xiao Tianyang's question trailed off as he realized Miao Zhenshan had vanished. He sighed in frustration.

  Keeping his body low, Xiao Tianyang crept closer to the battlefield, hiding himself as best he could in the tall grass. When he finally caught sight of the two soul beasts, his heart skipped a beat.

  Even without formal training in identifying soul beasts, Xiao Tianyang could easily distinguish the two based on their descriptions.

  On the left was a towering creature about five meters tall, resembling a snapping turtle. Its back seemed to carry a miniature mountain, and its body was covered in lush emerald vines that radiated vitality. This was the Vine-Armored Dragon Turtle.

  The other beast, standing roughly two meters tall, resembled a horse with a mane of flickering bck fmes. Its eyes were pitch-bck, and every step it took left scorched hoofprints on the ground. This was the Fme Nightmare.

  At that moment, the Fme Nightmare reared up and unleashed a storm of bck fmes from its hooves, raining fire down like a torrential downpour. The Vine-Armored Dragon Turtle let out a roar and immediately withdrew into its shell, bracing against the onsught.

  As the fire raged on, the green vines covering the turtle's body began to grow wildly, spreading like a massive net and entangling the Fme Nightmare. Though the vines were incinerated to ash in mere moments, they regenerated endlessly, swarming the Nightmare like a living tide.

  In no time, the Fme Nightmare was wrapped up like a giant cocoon of vines.

  Boom!

  With a fiery explosion, the cocoon burst apart, and the Fme Nightmare emerged, visibly fatigued. Its single bck horn gleamed ominously as it pawed at the ground and charged straight at the Vine-Armored Dragon Turtle.

  Yet the turtle showed no fear, meeting the charge head-on. But just as the two were about to collide, the Fme Nightmare veered sharply to the side. With its superior speed, it managed to fnk the turtle, driving its horn into the side of the turtle's shell and flooding it with searing bck fmes.

  A pained shriek escaped from the Vine-Armored Dragon Turtle, but the soul beast's feral instincts refused to let it succumb so easily...

  The next moment, the Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise, ignoring its excruciating pain, suddenly flipped over and pinned the Fme Nightmare beneath it. With sheer brute force, it began rolling its massive body over its opponent, nearly crushing the Fme Nightmare entirely!

  Fortunately for the Fme Nightmare, it managed to unleash a desperate attack at the very st moment. A burst of explosive energy sent the Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise hurtling into the air, giving the Nightmare a narrow chance to escape. But as it rolled to safety, it colpsed, battered, and on the verge of death.

  The Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise fared no better. When it crashed back to the ground, its shell was cracked in multiple pces, and blood poured from its torn abdomen. Most of its lifeblood had evaporated from the earlier fmes, leaving it clinging to life by the thinnest thread.

  Both beasts stared at each other with a primal intensity—each wanting to finish the other, yet utterly drained and powerless to move.

  At that very moment, Xiao Tianyang leaped out of the grass, shouting,

  "Demacia!"

  The two soul beasts froze in pce, utterly bewildered by the sudden appearance of this seemingly weak human. Meanwhile, from a distance, Miao Zhenshan—observing the scene from atop a tree—spped his forehead in disbelief. "What on earth is this kid doing?!"

  The Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise mustered its remaining strength, attempting to resist. After all, the human before it appeared insignificant. But before it could act, it saw Xiao Tianyang's palm descending like a thunderbolt from above!

  "The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Second Form— The Dragon Soars in the Sky!"

  Already on the brink of death, the Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise had no chance of withstanding the full force of Xiao Tianyang's soul power, which he had concentrated entirely into this strike.

  With a resounding crack, the blow struck true.

  Ding!

  Congratutions to the host for killing the thousand-year soul beast

  Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise. Lottery points earned: x260!

  From the lifeless body of the Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise, a dazzling purple soul ring slowly rose, its glow radiating a mesmerizing brilliance. Yet Xiao Tianyang didn't dare rex. Instead, he swiftly turned his attention to the Fme Nightmare, still watching him warily.

  Taking a deep breath, Xiao Tianyang exhaled sharply, pushing his palms forward. A surge of energy erupted from him as he executed another technique.

  "The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Eighth Form—Tremors that Shook the Land!"

  This was the strongest palm strike Xiao Tianyang could currently perform.

  The Fme Nightmare instinctively tried to struggle, but it was in no condition to fight back. Its four hooves had been crippled by the Vine-Armored Dragon Tortoise during their battle, rendering it immobile.

  Otherwise, with its natural speed advantage, it might have been a much more formidable opponent.

  With no way to flee or counterattack, the Nightmare could only watch as Xiao Tianyang's strike descended upon it.

  The palm strike connected directly with its spine, accompanied by a sickening crack. The Fme Nightmare let out a sorrowful cry before colpsing to the ground. Its fiery eyes dimmed, and its breathing grew

  faint until it finally stopped altogether.

  Ding!

  Congratutions to the host for killing the thousand-year soul beast

  Fme Nightmare. LP earned: x320!

  Exhausted, Xiao Tianyang colpsed onto the ground, gasping for air. "I gave it everything I had to take down these two thousand-year soul beasts. At least the rewards were worth it—this trip was worthwhile."

  Though Xiao Tianyang told himself this, he couldn't suppress the surge of joy welling up inside him. Earning over 500 lottery points meant five chances at the lottery—a significant reward even compared to the missions he had completed before!

  His thoughts wandered briefly to his st few lottery draws. Though his luck hadn't been great—getting some oddly humorous rewards—there had been a few hidden treasures among them. Items like the Zhangtian Bottle and the Storage ring had proven invaluable.

  Now, with five consecutive draws ahead of him, Xiao Tianyang clenched his fists with determination. This time would be different. He believed his luck was about to change!

  ...

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