C15 Advancement!

Soul beasts emerged from every direction, yet Thunder Wolf and his companions were unafraid.

Having become Lu Yi's retainer, Thunder Wolf had awakened his courage trait. Bolstered by the retainer skill, the Thunder Wolf Mercenary Group transformed into ferocious warriors, howling for battle.

Beside them stood Taotie, a king among soul beasts, rendering the others no threat to their lives. Instead, these soul beasts became unwitting benefactors, their soul crystals fetching a handsome price.

Lu Yi had been anticipating Thunder Wolf's arrival, knowing that the retainer skill's enhancement would significantly boost the lethality of his Kiss of Death.

It would take only two sword strikes for Lu Yi to dispatch the Red Skylark.

But the Red Skylark's senses were razor-sharp; even cloaked in invisibility, it could easily detect Lu Yi's presence.

Lu Yi inhaled deeply, realizing his best chance lay in the Red Skylark's arrogance as a yellow level soul beast, underestimating them and thus providing an opening.

As he monitored his slowly replenishing Holy Spirit Power, Lu Yi kept a watchful eye on Gu Yan, the yellow level Beastmaster.

Despite his rank, Gu Yan lacked the overwhelming aura of the Red Skylark, appearing no different than an ordinary warrior.

Just one skill could defeat him.

The performance of Thunder Wolf and the others might have caught Gu Yan off guard. As soul beasts continued to fall, his complexion turned a sickly pale.

"Red Red, it's your turn. Let them witness your prowess," Gu Yan sneered, disgusted that such lowly creatures dared to upstage him.

The Red Skylark chuckled, "Merely ants. Shall we play with them a bit?"

The Red Skylark was in the mood to torment Lu Yi and his group.

Unbeknownst to him, Lu Yi had pinpointed the Red Skylark's vulnerability and was poised to strike.

The Red Skylark summoned the surrounding soul beasts, causing Taotie to grimace.

It recognized many of the soul beasts as its own subordinates, but under the Red Skylark's call, they became frenzied, failing to recognize Taotie and attacking it relentlessly.

The Taotie, enraged and provoked, gaped its maw wide and devoured the surrounding soul beasts in one fell swoop.

Catching sight of this, a flicker of astonishment crossed the Red Skylark's eyes, and it murmured, "To think that I'd encounter a soul beast on the cusp of ascending to the yellow level in a place like this. Gu Yan, it looks like you'll be able to complete your mission after all."

The Red Skylark remained unfazed by the unfolding scene. For it, the trip to Kensingtara Hill was nothing more than a leisurely outing with Gu Yan.

Gu Yan's eyes sparkled at the sight of the Taotie. A soul beast nearing the yellow level was an unexpected find in such a locale. In certain circles, a beast of that caliber could fetch an astronomical sum. Even someone of Gu Yan's abilities would find it challenging to acquire one. The Red Skylark itself had only consented to be his companion due to its familial ties.

With its gaze locked on the Taotie, the Red Skylark inadvertently overlooked Lu Yi. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yi's Green Lotus Sword Song struck the Red Skylark's head, shrouding it in a mist of celestial energy.

The Red Skylark was momentarily taken aback as Lu Yi landed gracefully atop its head. Despite being a formidable yellow level soul beast, the Red Skylark felt overpowered by the mystical sword light, as if an unseen force was constricting its throat. Never before had it experienced such an acute sense of life-and-death peril. Could such a technique truly exist in this world?

Panic flickered in the Red Skylark's eyes as Gu Yan witnessed the descent of the potent sword light, scattering feathers and drawing blood that spattered onto his own head. Gu Yan was bewildered, his previous beliefs upended by Lu Yi's dramatic arrival. How could such a desolate place, lacking in resources, give rise to such a formidable being?

"Red Skylark, ignite your essence!" Gu Yan commanded, snapping out of his astonishment. With the Red Skylark reeling from the impact of the skill, resorting to the desperate and devastating act of burning its very essence seemed the only way out.

"It's too late for survival tactics now!" Lu Yi scoffed, as his Kiss of Death lunged for the Red Skylark's critical points.

The Red Skylark had no opportunity to ignite its essence. Struck by the Kiss of Death, its life was snuffed out in an instant.

The Red Skylark was incredulous; after all, it was a yellow-level soul beast. Had it not been for Gu Yan's command, it could have easily consumed all the soul beasts on Kensingtara Hill. Yet, to its astonishment, it suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of someone not even at the yellow level, and now it lay dying.

With a skyward cry, the Red Skylark plummeted to the earth, wings beating futilely.

Lu Yi, observing his Holy Spirit Power drained, remained expressionless, his attention shifting to Gu Yan.

Gu Yan felt a chill under Lu Yi's gaze, which was like staring at a corpse. He hadn't anticipated Lu Yi to be so spent.

He retrieved a treasured artifact entrusted to him by his family, meant for dire emergencies. Gu Yan had planned to save it for the academy's grand tournament, never imagining he'd need it in such a predicament.

With a thunderous blast, the artifact in Gu Yan's grip erupted. A towering beam of light shrouded him, reminiscent of the teleportation skill from Honor of Kings, whisking Gu Yan away from the scene.

With the Red Skylark's demise and Gu Yan's escape, the other soul beasts scattered, steering clear of the battlefield.

The Thunder Wolf Mercenaries lay scattered, gasping for air. Their Holy Spirit Power depleted, they had relied on brute strength to battle the soul beasts.

Miraculously, aside from a handful of wounded, none had perished in the fray. For the Thunder Wolf, this outcome was beyond belief.

Even elite mercenary groups struggled to penetrate the heart of Kensingtara Hill, yet here they were, with a victory that would resonate far and wide should word get out.

Lu Yi closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of respite.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, for completing the mission. You have been promoted to Yellow Level."

As the system's announcement echoed, a thunderous revelation burst forth in Lu Yi's mind, unveiling a whole new realm of possibilities.

Upon opening his eyes, his gaze was electrifying, piercing through the once blurry minutiae with newfound clarity.

Moreover, with his ascension to Yellow Level, all four of his skills had simultaneously leveled up to ten, their potency quadrupled at the very least.

And his Holy Spirit Power had skyrocketed to an impressive five hundred.

This signified that Lu Yi could unleash the Green Lotus Sword Song without any reservations.

A full ten times!