Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Fight! We have no choice but to fight!

From Wen Yu’s perspective, as risky as the battle might be, the potential benefits of this fight far exceeded expectations. If the entire plan unfolded as the Almighty Demon Vine predicted, the subsequent gains and benefits would be simply indescribable. In fact, Wen Yu’s hesitation after the Almighty Demon Vine stated the conditions to complete the Spirit Rhythm Immortal Pill was simply to see if there were any other solutions—the Spirit Rhythm Immortal Pill had to be completed. As it turned out, he couldn’t trick anything more out of the Almighty Demon Vine.

From the apocalypse to the present, Wen Yu, who had once carved a bloody path with fervent boldness, had now grown into a cunning fox, his mind filled with thoughts akin to ’there are always villains scheming against me’.

He simply tidied up the remaining elixir pills on the ground—there were plenty left, each serving oddly distinct functions, but most had no immediate impact on combat prowess.

Wen Yu assessed his overall strength. In a combat state, his physical attributes were roughly around 16,000 points—miscellaneous improvements like bone strengthening and perception enhancement were substantial, yet couldn’t be precisely quantified. The biggest gains belonged to his three soul pets: Cyclops, Star, and Victor—all had reached over 13,000 points.

The medicinal herbs garden on the Fourth Floor of the Heavenly Palace alone had brought tremendous benefits to Wen Yu. On one hand, Wen Yu’s strength, capabilities, and luck had enabled him to monopolize the medicinal herbs garden’s harvest, with the Almighty Demon Vine playing the most significant role! However, on the other hand, strengthening his soul pets had, in a way, diluted this harvest—if he encountered opponents far stronger than himself, his means and methods of dealing with formidable enemies wouldn’t be much improved compared to before. In other words, if Wen Yu’s various combat capabilities were likened to a barrel, this harvest had all been used to shore up the barrel’s short planks rather than continuously raising its highest point—Wen Yu himself.

Whether this approach is good or bad, only time will tell...

No! There was no need to wait for the future! In fact, the test of his combat strength arrived far sooner than Wen Yu had imagined.

「Fourth Level of Heavenly Palace.」

About 1,000 kilometers from the medicinal herbs garden, Wen Yu stood quietly, scrutinizing a statue-like figure at the limit of his vision. The figure was nearly two meters tall, draped in a tattered blue monk’s robe, more than half of which had rotted away. Unlike the other dead souls from the Universe of Immortals and Heroes Wen Yu had previously encountered, which were merely dilapidated or complete Skeletons, this distant figure’s skin and flesh were entirely intact. However, it looked as though it had been starved for countless ages, its flesh deeply emaciated and sunken.

Further behind the figure, a collapsed temple was faintly visible. The seven large characters for ”Leiguang Temple’s Tiangong branch” inscribed on it were particularly conspicuous. The ground around the figure and the temple looked as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb; even the bones that should have littered the area were nowhere to be found. Even after countless eons, traces of the battle still remained—a testament to the astonishing conflict that must have occurred when this place was breached.

”The Laughing Monk, I suppose he was the abbot of Leiguang Temple’s Tiangong branch,” the Almighty Demon Vine said. ”He was considered an outstanding figure among the last batch of the new generation. Not only was his Skill System excellent, but his Buddhist techniques and lightning magic were also incredibly formidable.”

”What are his skills?”

Already in a combat stance, Wen Yu stared intently in the Laughing Monk’s direction, his voice flat as he asked.

”I don’t know. I wouldn’t have paid attention to a Level 4 whelp,” the Almighty Demon Vine’s reply was very decisive.

Wen Yu, on the verge of battle, was in no mood to complain further and simply asked, ”Then what other information can you provide about this great monk?”

”Nothing more. But be careful yourself. The Cultivation System of the Universe of Immortals and Heroes, combined with the professionist system, isn’t as simple as one plus one equals two.”

”Understood.”

Just how ’not simple’ it is, I’ll only know after we fight!

The distant figure seemed oblivious to Wen Yu’s nearby presence, standing rooted to the spot, completely motionless. This undoubtedly provided Wen Yu with a great advantage—he could observe the creature’s features and potential weaknesses to his heart’s content.

”There’s a large hole in its chest, near the heart—a fatal wound. The outer defense capabilities there might have failed. That’s a potential weakness I’ve observed. What about you, Victor?” Wen Yu was, of course, asking Victor, who possessed the S-Class Passive ability Night Eyes, not Cyclops or Star, who stood beside him in their miniature forms, looking like two simpletons, one constantly sniffing and the other with its Ears perked.

”MROW. Two Esoteric Level skills, two SS-Class skills, physical attributes at 14,533 points. A Level 4 entity this strong? If you ask me, let’s not even bother with the Sixth Level; we can just mess around on the Fifth.”

If one of the most powerful experts on the Fourth Level already possesses such strength, then the power of those on even higher levels... one could get a glimpse and infer a thing or two. And that’s before even considering its original cultivation system... TSK, TSK. It’s truly hard to imagine that even a world this formidable could be beaten into such a state by the Demon Tribe. The more he knew, the closer he got to the truth, the more terrified Wen Yu became. The things hidden beyond the apocalypse, the true strength of the Demon Tribe lurking behind the Demon Realm’s Gate, the motives of the Dominator hidden in some unknown corner—all of it made Wen Yu feel profoundly powerless.

Slowly shaking his head, Wen Yu cleared the chaotic thoughts from his mind. He took a deep look at the Laughing Monk ahead and slowly sent out a Spiritual Fluctuation. ”You three, go test this fellow’s mettle!”

After feeding so many resources to his three soul pets, if his three Primary Battle Soul Pets couldn’t deliver a satisfactory performance, then Wen Yu would really have to reconsider the future distribution of spoils!

Upon hearing Wen Yu’s command, Victor’s figure slowly blurred and, in an instant, vanished from sight. Through the connection between soul pet and Soul Master, Wen Yu vaguely sensed that Victor had transformed into a 15-meter-tall felid-type mutant ferocious beast. It arched its body as if about to pounce, silently stalking towards the Laughing Monk.

Star and Cyclops, still in their miniature forms, didn’t immediately grow larger. Instead, coordinating with Victor’s opening move, they crept low to the ground, slowly advancing towards the Laughing Monk.

It had been a long time since Wen Yu had allowed his three soul pets to fight independently. This battle might not only be a test of their combat strength for Wen Yu but also a chance for them to prove their own power.