The three Tiger Brothers had also waited outside the Death Canyon for a long time. Afterward, they began taking shifts on guard, afraid they might miss the chance to meet Jiang Xiaofeng.
Following Jiang Xiaofeng, they had earned more gold soul coins than most people see in a lifetime. What they felt was more than gratitude—it was utter loyalty. After all, Jiang Xiaofeng had never really treated them like subordinates.
Days passed—half a year, a year, two years.
"Martial Soul Fusion Technique: Evil Blade Lord!"
A massive Flame Lord appeared, but its appearance had changed significantly. Its arms and back were now covered in terrifying blades.
The previously arrogant ten-thousand-year soul beast before them was instantly beaten into submission, unable to fight back.
Jiang Xiaofeng landed nearby, quietly observing.
He had spent a total of three years in Death Canyon. Jiang Xiaofeng was now 14 years old. The eldest, Xie Yue, was already 16. Without exception, all of them had broken through to the Soul Ancestor rank.
Evil Blade Lord was the Martial Soul Fusion Technique of Xie Yue and Yan. After more than two years of cooperation, it had grown tremendously powerful. Even though they were only at the Soul Ancestor level, once they used the fusion skill, they could solo a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
What was even more terrifying was the Martial Soul Fusion Technique between Xie Yue and Hu Liena—not only did it feature Hu Liena's control abilities, but also Xie Yue's fierce attacks. The combination was downright terrifying.
As for Jiang Xiaofeng, he still couldn't perform a Martial Soul Fusion Technique with any of the three. Mo Bot had racked his brain for years but still couldn't understand why.
Clearly, they had great coordination, and clearly, their martial souls weren't repelling each other—but the result was still failure.
Yet Jiang Xiaofeng had become even scarier. At 14 years old, his soul power had already reached level 44, two to three levels ahead of the others.
Even more monstrous, Jiang Xiaofeng's fourth soul ring had directly become a ten-thousand-year soul ring—from a ten-thousand-year-old Ghost Shadow Monkey soul beast.
And Jiang Xiaofeng hadn't wasted these three years. Besides perfecting the first major stage of the Undying Body, he had also brought One Step to the Horizon to perfection.
The third move of the Tianhai Art, Turning Rivers and Seas, had become highly refined. The fourth move, Sword Sweeps the Four Directions, was already beginning to take shape.
The third fist technique, Heaven-Shattering, and the fourth, Thunderclap, could now be used freely at will.
The fourth soul skill of the Zhu Xian Sword, Shadow Blade, was beyond terrifying. When using it, the sword would vanish. If used in tandem with the second soul skill, the results could be unexpectedly devastating!
Because once the Zhu Xian Sword disappeared, it became nearly undetectable—and the second soul skill was an area-of-effect attack. Enemies had almost no way to dodge when the sword reappeared.
Now, even when facing the Evil Blade Lord formed by Xie Yue and Yan, Jiang Xiaofeng wouldn't fall behind—and had even defeated them multiple times.
"Roar!!!"
The Evil Blade Lord let out a furious roar, and the ten-thousand-year soul beast under its feet died instantly!
Mo Bot nodded and said, "Three years of special training have been quite fruitful. It's time to leave Death Canyon!"
Hearing that, Hu Liena was ecstatic.
In these three years, as a Demonic Fox, Hu Liena had fully developed. Her curvy figure and the twin peaks on her chest bounced as she jumped.
"Yay! This is great! We're finally leaving this cursed place!"
Yan's eyes nearly popped out, but Xie Yue reached out and covered his face with one hand.
"Quit staring. That's not yours!"
Yan said sheepishly, "I was just looking, don't be so stingy!"
Xie Yue glared at him, "Scram!"
Now, Jiang Xiaofeng was no longer the skinny little shorty from when he was 8. Today, he was dashing, charming, and already over 175 cm tall.
Of course, he was still a bit shorter than Xie Yue and Yan, especially Yan, whose martial soul caused him to be taller than average.
Hu Liena was around 170 cm, and when she stood next to Jiang Xiaofeng, they looked like a perfect match.
A dashing young man and a curvaceous girl-next-door—a couple made in heaven.
What's more, Hu Liena only had eyes for Jiang Xiaofeng. Every day, if she didn't see him the moment she opened her eyes, she'd ask, "Where's Brother Feng?" She was closer to him than her own brother, Xie Yue.
Jiang Xiaofeng smiled as he looked at Hu Liena. The older she got, the more alluring she became. An average person really wouldn't be able to resist her charm.
"Don't get too excited yet—we still have one more year of training!"
Hu Liena immediately deflated like a balloon.
"Ugh, I thought we were going back to Spirit Hall… I miss my teacher!"
Jiang Xiaofeng said, "You think I don't want to go back? But our mission is to help Spirit Hall win the next Advanced Soul Master Tournament. You know the last championship was stolen by the Star Luo Empire—and they even took one of Spirit Hall's soul bones. Our current level isn't enough!"
Hu Liena pouted, "Still not enough? Weren't they also Soul Ancestor level? How are we not strong enough?"
Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head and said, "To be confident, we must break through to the Soul King level! So even though our next phase of training won't be in Death Canyon, we still have to continue. Right, Instructor Mo Bot?"
Mo Bot nodded and said, "That's right. Our next training ground will be the Battle Arena!"
Xie Yue said, "The Battle Arena? That's actually a pretty good place for training. I've heard that many sects and academy disciples go there to improve their real combat skills. I support this plan!"
Yan looked excited and said, "No problem. We've been shut in training for so long—I'm looking forward to fighting other soul masters!"
Hu Liena looked disappointed, but she still nodded, albeit reluctantly.
Mo Bot said, "The Battle Arena is mainly for sparring—no killing allowed—but injuries are inevitable. Also, our team is currently three members short. Otherwise, we can't participate in team battles!"
"Three people?" This was the first time Jiang Xiaofeng realized team fights had member limits.
Mo Bot said, "That's right. Team battles are generally either 7 or 10 members. Seven is the minimum. Looks like we'll need to find three more soul masters from the Spirit Academy."
"Wait, Instructor, are there any requirements for these three?"
Mo Bot replied, "We need one support-type soul master, and two offensive-type soul masters. The offensive ones just need adequate soul power to qualify. But for the support role, we'll have to think carefully."
Jiang Xiaofeng said, "For offense, I've got two friends who might be able to fill in. As for the support-type, how about we recruit someone from the Blackhorn City Battle Arena? I remember you said the support-type soul masters at Spirit Academy weren't that great."
Mo Bot nodded and said, "The truly powerful support-type soul masters are usually part of major clans or sects. Very few are unaffiliated. Even Spirit Hall has trouble finding them. That's because support-types are the easiest to overlook. Without a team, most of them have no choice but to live as ordinary people—they lack combat abilities on their own."
That's also why support-type soul masters are so rare!
(End of Chapter)