In the quiet forest, Cheng Ying held a pair of black and white pistols, nervously aiming around like a classic horror movie character doomed to die within the first three minutes.
"How did things spiral into this mess?!" Cheng Ying wailed.
"Madam Teacher just cares about you! With your high cultivation, but zero combat technique, how are you supposed to protect yourself? Don't worry, even if a soul beast shows up, Senior Brother and I will handle it," Tang Chen said reassuringly, looking at his jumpy teacher.
"Nonsense! I'm not scared! I'm just... excited. Once a soul beast appears, I'll show you just how powerful these ebony and ivory hand cannons are!" Cheng Ying puffed proudly, blowing on the nearly two-centimeter-wide barrels that resembled hand cannons more than pistols.
"Could you say that while not hugging me? It would make your words slightly more convincing," Dugu Bo deadpanned with dead fish eyes.
"Wow! Even you're roasting me now, Bo? Does my dignity as a teacher mean nothing to you?!"
"Didn't your teacherly dignity vanish with your first scream the moment we had that one-on-one sparring match?" Tang Chen's jab was like a dagger straight into Cheng Ying's heart, leaving him pale and speechless.
"Honestly, Teacher, you don't need to be so down about it. Even if you're cowardly and weak, we still respect you for your wisdom," Tang Chen offered comfort, realizing his earlier words may have gone too far.
"Why do I feel worse after hearing that?!" Cheng Ying said with a sigh. He couldn't remember ever teaching these two how to roast people.
Just then, the bushes to Cheng Ying's left rustled. A giant rat poked its head out, and Cheng Ying reflexively opened fire. The ebony and ivory pistols were massive 18mm calibers, each capable of holding only three rounds. In his panic, Cheng Ying emptied both guns—six rounds total.
Looking down, the large-caliber bullets had blown a crater into the earth. The unfortunate rat didn't even leave a corpse just a faint, pale soul ring hovering in place.
"Whew! That scared me to death!" Cheng Ying said, reloading with practiced hands.
Even Dugu Bo couldn't help but twitch a little at this. Honestly, their teacher's combat instincts were deeply concerning. The moment an enemy appeared, his rationality would vanish, transforming him from a reliable mentor into an overreactive maniac.
"Teacher, maybe think of this as a kind of research expedition—like studying the behavior of soul beasts. That way, you might stay calmer," Dugu Bo suggested.
"Oh right! With Bingbing here, there's no danger at all! Besides, all the top soul beasts in the core of Star Dou Forest are in hibernation now. Bingbing could sweep through the whole forest alone if she wanted! Wait... why are they hibernating again? Something about absorbing a giant bug's power…?"
Cheng Ying glanced at himself and, a moment later—
"Bingbing! Save me! Di Tian and the others are still awake! How could you bring me to Star Dou Forest like a lamb to the slaughter?!"
Carrying their panicked teacher, Tang Chen and Dugu Bo had long given up trying to reason with him. Expecting Cheng Ying to fight soul beasts head-on? Better forget it. They could only assume this was some twisted way of increasing the difficulty of their training.
Three days later…
"Xiao Chen, four o'clock! A Mandrake Snake, five hundred years old. Go capture it!"
"Bo! Leave those two raccoons alone in front of you! I need to document their mating ritual. You don't even need their soul rings, so don't disturb them!"
In three days, Cheng Ying had somewhat adapted to the forest. Though soul beasts still startled him, he'd quickly learned how to use his spiritual energy to accurately perceive his surroundings.
With that, he no longer spiraled into panic whenever a soul beast suddenly appeared. Once he mastered this technique, Cheng Ying basically became a walking radar—nothing within several kilometers could escape his detection.
While assisting the two with their soul beast hunting, Cheng Ying became fascinated with observing soul beast behavior. Thankfully, his half-decent sketching skills came in handy, allowing him to perch in trees and draw the creatures he observed.
Over those three days, Cheng Ying had sketched more than thirty types of soul beasts and documented their basic behaviors. He had no idea that these very drawings would eventually become part of the continent's most authoritative soul beast encyclopedia.
It's not that no one had ever tried before, but let's be honest—ancient artists weren't exactly known for their realism. Most illustrations were so vague you couldn't recognize the beasts at all. Over time, the illustrations were abandoned, replaced by textual descriptions of distinguishing features.
Just as Cheng Ying was absorbed in his observations, the two raccoons finished their wrestling and were about to mate—when a soul-power-enflamed staff interrupted the moment.
Startled, the raccoons scattered before the staff's owner even got close.
"Damn! They ran again!" The young man who landed retrieved his three soul rings, the dragon scales on his staff fading as he cursed under his breath.
"You've got to be kidding me! I was halfway through drawing them and you ruined it!" Cheng Ying's eyes widened. He jumped from the tree, his pistols firing in rhythm. Using the recoil to propel himself, he stylishly landed in front of the youth and roared:
"You're trying to add your fourth soul ring. What'd you disturb those century-old raccoons for?! I'd been watching them for nearly half an hour—you scared them off!"
The young man was briefly stunned by Cheng Ying's flashy entrance, but when he realized Cheng Ying had been targeting two low-tier soul beasts, he relaxed. Anyone still chasing century-old beasts had to be a rookie with just two rings. Even if this guy was older, he wasn't a threat.
"You don't get it. Live century-old soul beasts go for high prices! If you couldn't even catch them, don't blame me! Prove they were your targets if you're so upset!"
Cheng Ying hadn't planned on arguing—just wanted to lecture the kid about sustainability and not harassing beasts you didn't need. But being looked down on like that? Unacceptable.
"Tch." He unstrapped the drawing board from his back and revealed a highly realistic sketch of the two raccoons mid-act.
For people used to seeing only stylized diagrams, Cheng Ying's semi-realistic pencil work was almost lifelike. The two raccoons were entwined in a very... suggestive pose, perfectly mirroring what had just happened.
The boy stared at it, stunned. He'd only asked Cheng Ying to prove it as a bluff who would've thought this lunatic actually drew it? And not just that it was too accurate. There was no way he could deny it now.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/XenTronix