Chapter 2 Sudden Change.
"Roar~!!"
Before long, with the combined efforts of the three, the Crimson Flame Tiger let out a mournful howl and collapsed to the ground, near death from blood loss.
The three breathed a sigh of relief.
"Clap clap clap! Truly spectacular! No wonder you're one of the top soul-hunting teams in Green Pine Town!" A man in his late thirties clapped his hands and stepped forward to congratulate them.
"You're too kind, employer. This Crimson Flame Tiger is already dying; you'd better hurry up and finish it off!" Wang Zhen urged, calming his rising blood.
The man nodded and said, "Alright, you protect me. After I absorb the soul ring, I'll give your team the final payment when we return to town."
"Good! Please go ahead!" Wang Zhen said calmly, sheathing his giant axe.
Under the watchful eyes of the three, the employer stepped forward and ended the Crimson Flame Tiger's life. A pale purple soul ring slowly condensed from the tiger's corpse.
The man took a large gulp from a wine jug inside a low-grade bracelet-style storage soul tool, then sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Crimson Flame Tiger's soul ring.
"Pah! A third ring after a thousand years? Why didn't I have this opportunity back then?" Wang Zhen spat and muttered under his breath.
With their employer absorbing the soul ring, the three members of the Soul Hunting Team naturally relaxed considerably.
"Xiao Ming! Since you joined our Soul Hunting Team, every soul hunt has been several times easier! Haha!" Qin Lan patted Wu Xuan's shoulder and laughed.
"Brother Qin, you flatter me. You and Brother Wang are the absolute main force of the Soul Hunting Team. My role can't compare to yours," Wu Xuan smiled.
"I like hearing that. You old rascal, you know how to talk, haha! I'm going to deal with the corpse, don't come any closer!" Wang Zhen, wielding a giant axe, laughed and cursed, then got up and walked towards the Crimson Flame Tiger's corpse.
Wu Xuan and the other nodded, not paying any attention.
The rules of the Soul Hunting Team have always been this: the employer only has the right to absorb the soul ring; the soul beast's corpse and other spoils naturally belong to the Soul Hunting Team.
The pelt of the Thousand-Year Crimson Flame Tiger is naturally the most valuable part of the entire corpse. Although it's damaged in many places, its selling price is far greater than the rest of the corpse. Wang Zhen's initiative in dissecting the corpse clearly shows he's after the pelt.
Wu Xuan doesn't care at all, and Qin Lan, though somewhat dissatisfied, doesn't dare to object.
But just as Wang Zhen began to dissect the Crimson Flame Tiger's corpse, a sudden change occurred. From beneath the peeled pelt, a crimson bone shimmering with a magnificent light came into view.
"This...this is a soul bone!!" Wang Zhen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Hearing this, Wu Xuan and Qin Lan, who were chatting idly, both turned their gazes to Wang Zhen.
Qin Lan rushed over, her eyes wide and unblinking as she watched Wang Zhen's actions.
As a piece of bone radiating a crimson glow was slowly extracted, Qin Lan exclaimed with ecstasy, "It's a soul bone! We're rich! We're rich!"
Seeing this, Wu Xuan calmly took a sip of water from his waist pouch, showing no intention of approaching.
Ignoring the ecstatic Qin Lan, Wang Zhen, holding the soul bone in his hand, felt a surge of greed and began to analyze the pros and cons.
Qin Lan was the control-type Soul Master in the team, his martial soul being the Earth Rat, and his soul power was a mere level thirty-two. His strength was basically at the bottom among Soul Masters, making him relatively easy to deal with.
That effeminate man was even more useless; all he did was dodge and sneak attacks, completely negligible.
Thinking this, Wang Zhen's eyes hardened, and he made his final decision.
Holding a giant axe in one hand and the soul bone in the other, Wang Zhen looked at the excited Qin Lan and said calmly, "Old Qin! How do you think we should divide this soul bone?"
Qin Lan didn't detect the coldness in Wang Zhen's tone; his expression remained excited. "It's simple. Sell it for gold soul coins. We'll split it: Old Wang, you get 50%, I get 40% plus the whole soul beast corpse, and Xiao Ming, you get 10% of the soul bone sales."
"Xiao Ming! Do you agree with this plan? Don't be greedy! With your strength, 10% is already more than enough for us." Qin Lan looked at him with an expression of smug satisfaction.
"Tch!" Wu Xuan sneered, looking at him with a sigh. Giving him 10%? Did he think he was a beggar? Besides, judging from Wang Zhen's demeanor, he wasn't someone who could be given a share, and he was oblivious to it.
"What! You think it's too little! If you think it's too little, then don't take the 10%." Seeing Wu Xuan's attitude, Qin Lan's face darkened.
Seeing the unsuspecting Qin Lan, Wang Zhen behind her hardened his expression, no longer waiting, and the first and second soul rings of his giant axe lit up in succession.
First Soul Skill: Steel Blade!
Second Soul Skill: Giant Blade Slash!
Wang Zhen instantly sprang into action, and the unsuspecting Qin Lan was decapitated in a single axe strike. She didn't even have time to scream. Looking at his employer absorbing the soul ring beside him, he cleaved down with another axe, and the unaware employer also died on the spot!
"Tsk tsk! Old Qin, Old Qin! You've lived this long and still haven't figured things out? Self-interest drives people crazy, how can you be so heartless?" Wu Xuan sighed, but showed no fear or panic.
Hearing Wu Xuan's lament, Wang Zhen couldn't help but think more highly of him, but unfortunately, he was destined to die.
"Why are you even silencing me?" Wu Xuan slowly stood up, putting away his water pouch.
Wang Zhen grinned maliciously, pointing at Qin Lan and the dead employer, and demanded, "Yang Ming, you traitorous dog! How dare you break the rules! To seize the soul bone, you dare to kill your employer and companion!"
"This employer is a disciple of the Iron Blood Sect. If you are investigated, what will your punishment be!"
Wu Xuan's face suddenly darkened, and he said coldly, "Old dog Wang! I didn't expect you to be so hypocritical and disgusting. Qin Lan may have been greedy, but she doesn't deserve to die. Is our nearly one-year friendship really worth less than a mere thousand-year soul bone?"
Wang Zhen spat and cursed, "Friendship? What friendship! I couldn't even sell you two for ten thousand gold soul coins, and you still have the nerve to plead with me? Sissy, surrender and I'll give you a quick death."
Wu Xuan's face also darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Old dog Wang! There are two things I hate most in my life: one is being called a sissy, and the other is being unjustly accused. You're very good; you've got both of those things I hate most."
"Have you thought about how you're going to die?"
"Die your mother? How dare you be so arrogant in front of me! I'll chop you in half with this axe!" Wang Zhen roared and charged at Wu Xuan.
"You arrogant old dog!" Wu Xuan shouted, and a gust of wind instantly arose around him, making it almost impossible for Wang Zhen to open his eyes as he charged forward.
"Second Soul Skill, Light Wind!"
Wu Xuan spun around, his arms enveloped in the gale, and charged straight at the burly man.
Light Wind was Wu Xuan's second Soul Skill, which could increase the speed of up to three people by fifty percent, while also increasing his own hurricane power by fifty percent.
In layman's terms, hurricane power is to increase the penetrating power of wind elements, which is also a basic ability of the Shadow Wind Leopard, a second-level Soul Beast.
Soon, his fists collided with the giant axe, and Wu Xuan's punch, carrying the gale, directly blasted the giant axe away.
"Bang bang bang!" The muffled sounds of each punch hitting flesh forced Wang Zhen to retreat.
"What?!" Wang Zhen stumbled backward, panting heavily. Dark red fist marks covered his arms and body, glistening with blood droplets, making him look utterly wretched.
Each punch Wu Xuan landed on his muscular body felt like a tearing wound from a soul beast.
Wang Zhen's eyes were filled with shock and rage as he stared at Wu Xuan. What a cunning, hiding-hidden bastard!
Seeing Wu Xuan charging again, Wang Zhen gritted his teeth and got to his feet. He thought that if he could withstand a few rounds of Wu Xuan's attacks, he could use his level 36 Soul Master power to steadily wear him down.
After several rounds, Wang Zhen, bruised and bloodied, finally found an opening.
Taking advantage of the opening, Wu Xuan unleashed a powerful punch, the fierce gale shattering Wang Zhen's entire left arm.
Blood gushed out, and Wang Zhen, his face contorted in pain, roared, "You sissy, die!"
First Soul Skill, Steel Blade!
Third Soul Skill, Earth-Splitting Axe!
Wang Zhen slammed his axe into the ground, the terrifying shockwave sending Wu Xuan, who couldn't dodge in time, flying.
"Haha! Second Soul Skill, Giant Blade Slash!" Wang Zhen leaped forward, slashing his axe at Wu Xuan in mid-air.
He'd been careless! Wu Xuan was horrified, a sense of defeat welling up inside him. He hadn't expected his opponent to use his arm as bait, just to buy him a chance to fight back.
He was still too young, his experience too limited. Compared to mercenaries who had truly fought life-or-death battles their entire lives, he ultimately lacked that ruthless, unwavering determination.
(End of Chapter)