Chapter 33: Suspicion
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News of the anomaly deep within the Iron Heart Mountains quickly reached the City Lord's Mansion.
A middle-aged man with brown curly hair, a high nose, small eyes, and a somewhat portly figure frowned as he listened to the butler's report.
Mers, a Soul Emperor, was the City Lord of Iron Heart City and also Bi Da'er's father.
"You said Bi Da'er happened to go to the Iron Heart Mountains to hunt for soul rings?"
"Yes, young master left not long ago. Judging by the time, he should have just caught up with this volcanic eruption," the butler said, lowering his head and not daring to look at Mers' expression.
"He shouldn't have any problems. Hunting a soul beast that's over a thousand years old doesn't require going deep into the mountains." Mers didn't pay too much attention to Bi Da'er's safety and instead asked:
"Someone saw a large red snake swimming out of the volcano? And could see it from over ten kilometers away?
"Impossible, that's absolutely impossible… If that's the case, how big would that snake have to be?"
The butler whispered, "Although it's hard to believe, more than one mercenary said so. They were also far apart from each other, so it's unlikely to be a collective hallucination."
"I understand, you may leave."
After the butler left, Mers trembled slightly as he took out a travelogue left by his family's ancestors from the bookshelf, flipping to the page about the red snake. It was originally his favorite miscellaneous book as a child, but at this moment, it made him feel a faint sense of fear.
He sat in the chair, rubbed his brow, and muttered to himself, "Next to Iron Heart City, there's such a terrifying thing existing… The legend that has been circulating for thousands of years is actually true."
After a moment, Mers got up, put the book back on the bookshelf, and then wrote a memorial to report the existence of the snake to Emperor Xue Ye.
Powerful soul beasts are also a precious resource, provided you can hunt them, otherwise they are just a threat.
Mers knew that it was not something he could deal with, so he had no desire for it at all.
If the royal family sent someone to take care of it, then he could eliminate a major threat and gain credit for reporting it.
...
In the Iron Heart City Spirit Hall, a group of soul masters gathered to discuss the red snake.
"That's definitely a hundred-thousand-year soul beast!" someone said excitedly.
"Her Holiness the Pope needs it, reporting it will definitely be a great achievement."
"Lord Walter, what do you think?" The Spirit Hall's master respectfully asked the old man sitting in the first seat.
Walter had white hair and a face marked with the vicissitudes of time, but he didn't have the feeling of an old man in his twilight years. He looked like a handsome old man full of energy.
"This is your business. You are the person in charge of the Iron Heart City Spirit Hall. I have no interest in that kind of monster." Walter waved his hand, seemingly not very interested in it. "Have you done what I asked you to do?"
"I have already sent someone to Frost Leaf City."
"Mm." Walter nodded with satisfaction, a strange smile appearing on his face.
...
The carriage clattered along the cobblestone road.
Yan Jin lay on the ceiling of the carriage, while Lei Yin sat next to the coachman, looking at the scenery on the side.
Several days had passed since the red snake incident, and people in Iron Heart City were still talking about it everywhere.
This had nothing to do with Amon. After obtaining his third soul ring, he was preparing to leave for North City, but he was delayed for a while because Bi Da'er planned to travel with them.
"You're finally done packing, Goldie." Yan Jin glanced at the luxurious carriage following behind and said casually.
Bi Da'er frowned. "Can you not call me that? It sounds like a dog…"
"Okay, Goldie."
Bi Da'er: "…"
Okay, he couldn't beat him, so he endured it.
"What was the final result?" he asked.
"What else could it be? So far, Amon hasn't failed in anything he's wanted to do." Yan Jin looked as if it was a matter of course.
Although he had guessed as much, Bi Da'er was still shocked to receive such a definite answer. "You two worked together to kill that damned thing? Does that mean Amon… is already a Soul Ancestor? No, a Soul King?"
The limit of the fourth soul ring is about five thousand years, and that Eyeless Snake was extremely close to being a ten-thousand-year soul beast, so Bi Da'er speculated that Amon was not the level 40 Soul Ancestor he had initially guessed, but a level 50 Soul King, entering the Soul King realm through this absorption of the soul ring.
A Soul King at seventeen or eighteen years old!
I'm afraid that even the most talented geniuses who have risen to fame in the Spirit Hall are no more than this!
Amon shrugged. "No, I'm just a Soul Elder now."
"Ah? A Soul Elder?" Bi Da'er was a little surprised. "You're joking… How could a third soul ring absorb more than nine thousand years?"
"I can… My spirit is a bit special. It can split, thereby transferring unnecessary and excess energy, preventing myself from being torn apart by the immense energy." Amon replied with a light smile.
It was foreseeable that he would be spending a lot of time with Bi Da'er in the future, so he selectively revealed some secrets that were difficult to hide.
Yan Jin curled her lips, knowing that Amon was lying again. Although what he said was all true, others would only understand it in another way.
"Are you really just a Soul Elder?" Bi Da'er asked with some suspicion.
"Genuine…"
This seemed even more amazing than him being a Soul King… Who could absorb a soul ring close to ten thousand years old when advancing to become a Soul Elder?
"Of course, because a lot of energy is wasted by splitting, the quality of my soul ring will decrease. In reality, it's not as terrifying as it sounds, it's just a little higher than the limit for ordinary people," Amon explained.
The third soul ring that Amon currently possessed was actually about six thousand years old. Although it couldn't compare to nine thousand years, it was already terrifying enough compared to the limit of one thousand seven hundred years for ordinary people.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Bi Da'er became more confident about passing the selection competition and representing North Academy in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament.
He asked another question, "How old are you now?"
"Probably a little over seventeen, almost eighteen," Amon recalled, saying somewhat uncertainly.
"What a pity, this is also the last competition you can participate in. You'll be over the age limit next time. Otherwise, our academy would really have a chance to win the championship." Bi Da'er said with some regret.
North Academy was his alma mater, and he would be honored if they could win this honor.
"There's no need to wait until next time, we can do it this time…" Yan Jin sat up, saying with a look of certainty.
Although she didn't know how strong the opponents would be, they definitely wouldn't be too outrageous, otherwise it wouldn't be a competition for young people, but should be renamed the Strongest Tournament…
There were still three years until the Soul Master Competition, and she estimated that both she and Amon would be able to level up by ten levels without any problems.
At that time, the normal state of the two's spirit fusion would have the strength of a Soul King, plus Amon's abnormally large total soul power, summoning the "Lava Giant Soldier", on the small arena, even a Soul Sage could be defeated!
Bi Da'er looked at Yan Jin's fearless appearance, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
He didn't know the power that Amon and Yan Jin could exert when they joined forces, and only regarded it as a kind of drive, a courage to not be afraid of difficulties and dare to fight.
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