"Old woman, did you just feel that?"
Meng Shu looked toward a certain direction in the Great Star Dou Forest with a serious expression.
Strangely, his dragon-headed staff was trembling continuously.
At the same time, Chao Tianxiang's snake staff was also vibrating. Both were connected to their martial spirits, and both sensed fear from their spirits.
Chao Tianxiang gently stroked her snake staff with affection and said in amazement:
"Old man, there truly was a powerful aura that just passed by, but we both have weapon spirits. How can weapon spirits feel fear?"
"Grandpa, Grandma, what are you talking about?"
Meng Yiran, who felt nothing at all, looked confused.
Meng Shu didn't answer. He looked in the direction the aura had come from and said seriously:
"Don't go that way. I suspect a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast might be fighting over there."
"Our martial spirits have gained sentience, and we may have been frightened by its aura."
"A hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast!!!"
Meng Yiran exclaimed, covering her mouth.
Seeing that Meng Shu wasn't joking, she quickly grabbed the snake woman's arm, and the three of them hurriedly retreated from the direction of the aura.
---
Deep within the Great Star Dou Forest, by a large lake.
A massive black-furred orangutan was pacing restlessly around the lake.
"Second brother, stop walking in circles. You're making me dizzy."
A giant bull-headed python beside the black gorilla spoke impatiently.
Hearing this, the black-haired gorilla stopped, looked out in a certain direction beyond the forest, and said anxiously:
"Boss, did you feel that aura earlier?"
"Yes, I did."
"It was terrifying. I actually felt the urge to kneel before it."
"Same here."
"Then why are you so calm? No, I have to go check it out."
"Fine, go ahead."
The bull-headed python was a creature of few words. After a brief exchange, it shrank back into the lake.
The black-haired gorilla leapt up and dashed wildly toward the source of the aura.
---
At the edge of a clear river.
Yu Xiaowei scooped up a handful of water and splashed it onto his face. The cold river water cleared the anger clouding his mind.
After wiping the water from his face, he began cleaning the blood from his body.
The blood of the Fantasy-Colored Lizard was highly corrosive. When Yu Xiaowei had butchered it, some shallow wounds had also been etched into his skin.
The river water stung as it touched his wounds, sending waves of pain through him, but that pain couldn't wash away the coldness in his heart.
He clearly knew the scene he just saw wasn't real—it was merely the innate illusion ability of the Dream Lizard.
If it had been any other illusion, he might not have reacted so harshly.
But what he saw was the destruction of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family.
This was Yu Xiaowei's greatest weakness.
It was also his greatest fear.
The entire clan—over 1,800 people—massacred.
Those without spirit bones were left intact, but those with spirit bones were hacked into pieces.
The Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex clan was a land of corpses and wails.
Every time he recalled that horrible scene, he felt an overwhelming urge to kill.
Huh—
After cleaning the blood off, he exhaled deeply, calmed himself, and prepared to resume hunting.
But the moment he stood up and got ready to move, he sensed that he was being watched.
A soul beast? Or a soul master?
Yu Xiaowei immediately halted, alert, trying to locate the source of the sensation.
But as soon as he stopped, the feeling vanished without a trace.
When he moved again, the sense of being watched returned. The direction was unclear, making it impossible to track.
Whatever it was, it was drawing closer.
Yu Xiaowei tensed his muscles, ready to strike at any time.
There was no doubt it was a soul beast—one skilled in stealth, and likely with deadly offensive capabilities.
Man and beast began a strange pursuit through the forest. Yu Xiaowei had been running in circles for nearly two hours, and the extremely patient soul beast still refused to show itself.
He couldn't help but curse in his heart: "What a cunning soul beast."
This was definitely a hunting method typical of feline-type soul beasts, though he wasn't sure which species.
Most feline soul beasts hunted by intimidating their prey with aura, forcing them to run until exhausted, then pouncing to kill.
And since he hadn't shown any signs of exhaustion yet, the beast wasn't revealing itself and continued to toy with him.
After roughly deducing the creature's habits, Yu Xiaowei feigned exhaustion—rubbing his waist and pinching his legs—then staggered toward the river.
There were fewer trees there, increasing the chances of exposing the beast.
Sure enough, as he approached the river, the aura behind him hesitated, but seeing Yu Xiaowei appear exhausted, it continued to follow.
Along the way, Yu Xiaowei exaggerated his movements, limping or massaging his legs, deliberately showing weakness.
The moment he knelt by the river to drink, a strong gust rushed at him from behind.
"Here it comes."
Yu Xiaowei was elated. As expected, in a predator's mind, drinking water is the prey's most vulnerable moment.
He let his Godzilla martial spirit possess him and swung his tail ferociously behind him.
Clang—
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
The tail whip, usually indestructible, had actually been blocked by this soul beast.
Feeling a burning pain in his tail, Yu Xiaowei turned around quickly in shock.
When he got a clear look at the tiger-like soul beast, his mind buzzed.
It was a golden-red tiger, an extremely offensive soul beast. All its attributes were focused on power and speed. It was incredibly fast but had average defense, with a particularly fragile skull. Thus, it preferred to wear down prey before striking.
The Yu clan's soul beast atlas noted key characteristics:
1. Indestructible: It could break through any defense, even a Xuanwu turtle's shell, with a single swipe.
2. Slow healing: Wounds it inflicted healed very slowly. Even with Godzilla's powerful regeneration, the three bloody slashes on Yu Xiaowei's tail would take half a day to recover.
3. Elemental immunity: Though its physical defense was average, its fur was immune to elemental damage—fire, wind, water, or lightning—so close combat was the only option.
In rankings of best soul beasts for power-type soul masters, it ranked fifth, and the top four were all divine-blooded creatures like the Titan Giant Ape.
In terms of difficulty, it ranked among the top three.
Worst of all, unlike other tiger-type soul beasts that grew with age, the golden-red tiger remained the same size once matured.
The one before him was only about three meters long—normal for a thousand-year-old soul beast.
But judging by its tail length, it was likely nearly 15,000 years old.
Facing such a terrifying foe, Yu Xiaowei didn't dare be careless. He infused his entire body with demonic god power.
The golden-red tiger walked in circles around him with powerful strides, looking for an opening.
Yu Xiaowei didn't dare attack first. His tail strike earlier had been blocked, revealing the tiger's terrifying reflexes.
If he acted rashly, he'd expose a weakness.
Eventually, the golden-red tiger launched the first attack, vanishing into a blur.
So fast!
Yu Xiaowei couldn't follow its movement at all.
Calmly, he stomped hard, activating his nuclear radiation field.
He hadn't used it earlier—he'd been waiting for this.
The tiger's fur could resist elements, but not the control effects of radiation.
The tiger reappeared in front of him. Yu Xiaowei punched its head hard, but the tiger slashed back, carving three long gashes into his chest.
Tick-tock, tick-tock—
Blood from Yu Xiaowei's chest dyed the ground red.
The tiger's claws had torn Godzilla's scales wide open. If not for the delay caused by radiation, he'd be shredded.
The golden-red tiger wasn't doing well either.
It staggered to its feet, shaking its head—Yu Xiaowei's punch had dazed it.
Its tiger eyes looked confused, as if wondering why it was suddenly dizzy.
With both sides wounded, Yu Xiaowei pondered how to turn the tide.
Damn it, the clan records were wrong.
This thing's head was tough. Even with all his buffs, he couldn't crush its skull.
The nuclear radiation field stayed active. Chi Jinhu (the tiger) noticed the plants around Yu Xiaowei withering rapidly.
Just as it prepared to leap out of the circle, a beam of white-blue flame burst from Yu Xiaowei's mouth, straight toward the tiger's face.
The tiger sneered, laying flat to absorb it with its flame-resistant fur.
But this was no ordinary fire. After consuming Ice and Fire Grass, Yu Xiaowei's flame had gained a new trait—explosion.
Boom!
The tiger was blasted backward, blood staining its red fur.
It was enraged.
Though not seriously injured, it felt humiliated.
It, the ruler of the forest, had been wounded again and again by a mere human.
As it got up to attack again, a blue beam of light lit up the area.
A small mushroom cloud rose in the forest.
A powerful shockwave blasted through, trees rustling, leaves flying, and stones jumping.
Yu Xiaowei, drained of spirit power, clutched his bloody chest and willed himself to stay conscious.
Under the cloud, the golden-red tiger lay shattered.
Just as he lifted his foot to end it—
The tiger's eyes snapped open. It stabbed Yu Xiaowei's abdomen with its only functioning claw.
"Ah—!"
The pain drove Yu Xiaowei mad. He grabbed its claw and bit into its neck.
Warm tiger blood filled his mouth—and to his shock, his wounds began to heal rapidly.
This wasn't in the clan's records.
Golden-red tiger blood heals the wounds it inflicts.
The brutal battle ended when the tiger drew its last breath, and a black soul ring rose from its corpse.
Bloodied, Yu Xiaowei collapsed and smiled bitterly like a true victor.
This had been the hardest fight of his life.
That tiger, on par with a high-level soul king, had brought him to the brink of death.
But in the end—he still won.