Battle of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts

"So powerful..."

Hu Liena's mouth hung wide open.

Her face was full of disbelief.

The Blazing Flame Sect was renowned throughout the northwest.

Its sect master and two deputy sect masters in particular were all Soul Douluo.

They were said to be half a step away from the threshold of Titled Douluo.

The three could also use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and their coordination was no worse than the Golden Iron Triangle's.

The three had once joined forces to kill a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, making their names in a single battle.

That was why everyone in the northwest called them the Three Blazing Flame Saints.

That was also why they had dared to be the first to jump out and test the waters.

And the result?

The three had joined forces, brought their entire sect, and activated the sect's grand formation.

Yet against that Soul Beast, they hadn't lasted a single exchange.

No wonder people from all over the continent were crowding here.

This was definitely the strongest Soul Beast she had ever seen in her life.

Without exception.

"Little brother, why aren't you surprised at all?"

Hu Liena turned to look at Qian Lingye beside her.

They sat close together, arms touching and legs pressed against each other.

Hu Liena was nineteen, just at the age when her figure had filled out, with curves in all the right places.

Nearly half of Qian Lingye's body was leaning against her, and as he breathed in her faint fragrance, he narrowed his eyes in comfort, almost falling asleep.

But his spirit remained connected to Golza.

Using Golza's senses, he was gradually pinpointing the lava crystal core's location.

Hearing Hu Liena's question, he said casually, "What's so surprising? Golza's strength exceeds the two-hundred-thousand-year level. Isn't it normal for a few Soul Douluo to lose?"

"Huh? Golza? You even know that Soul Beast's name?"

"Of course. It was written in a book. You don't read much, so it's normal that you don't know."

Hu Liena snorted. "Showing off now, are you? I don't believe it. Tell me, which book? I've read just about every ancient text on the continent. How could I not know?"

Qian Lingye spread his hands. "Ultraman Tiga. Have you read it?"

Hu Liena looked bewildered. "No..."

Qian Lingye shrugged. His smug expression made her teeth itch with anger.

Bibi Dong paid their bickering no mind, taking it as Qian Lingye boasting like a child.

But one thing Qian Lingye had said struck a chord with her.

The Soul Beast before them might really be over two hundred thousand years old.

And it lived in lava, which could supply it with a constant stream of power.

If a fight really broke out, there would be no way to attack it while it was in the lava.

In theory, it was invincible in the lava.

Quite a few others present had also realized this.

So after the Blazing Flame Sect fell, no one else dared rush in recklessly.

"Your Holiness," one of the twelve protectors said, coming before Bibi Dong and cupping his hands. "The Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have sent people to ask whether Your Holiness would join forces with them."

Bibi Dong answered decisively, "Tell them to go back."

The protector said, "Yes!"

He then withdrew.

Bibi Dong snorted inwardly.

Join forces?

How would the benefits be divided?

On the ground, Tang San watched the people of the Blazing Flame Sect turn straight to ash and drew a sharp breath.

"The Three Blazing Flame Saints actually... Teacher, what on earth is this Soul Beast? Why have I never heard of it?"

Yu Xiaogang frowned and pondered for a long while before clearing his throat. "Ahem... Obviously, this is a fire-attribute Soul Beast with extremely high cultivation, at least above the Soul Douluo level. It's also unafraid of lava."

Tang San nodded thoughtfully.

Beside him, Dai Mubai rolled his eyes.

Wasn't that stating the obvious?

Who the fuck was blind enough not to see that?

"Rumble-rumble!!"

Just then, the ground began to shake violently.

A great fissure split open in the lava volcano, and thick smoke billowed out, blotting out the sky and sun.

Immediately afterward, a wolf's howl that shook the soul rang out in every direction and soared into the clouds.

The sound waves blasted the clouds apart, and everyone hurried to cover their ears.

Soul Masters with weaker cultivation collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth, their eyes rolling back.

Flender exclaimed, "What was that sound?"

Ning Fengzhi's expression darkened. "That sound... that presence. Could it be... the Fire Emperor!?"

The moment he finished speaking.

A giant wolf wreathed in flames slowly emerged from the smoke and dust.

It was absurdly enormous, over fifty meters long and thirty meters tall at the shoulder.

Its body was slender, and the flames around it drifted like auspicious clouds and ribbons.

A pair of wings grew from its back, and a crown of fire hovered above its head.

Its expression was languid, its wolf eyes filled with an indifference that looked down on all living things.

It looked both beastly and human, and even carried a trace of divinity.

Every Soul Beast near the volcano stopped what it was doing at the sight of the wolf and prostrated itself in worship.

Countless beastly roars rose and fell, like ministers attending an emperor.

Chrysanthemum Douluo narrowed his eyes and licked his lips. "The Fire Emperor."

Hu Liena asked curiously, "Uncle Chrysanthemum, what is the Fire Emperor?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo wore a rare look of seriousness. "It's an old legend that's been passed down in the Star Dou Great Forest for over ten thousand years. In ancient times, the rulers of the Star Dou Forest were the Nether Wolf Clan. They were extremely powerful, and countless formidable Soul Beasts came from their ranks. But there was a prince in the clan who was born exceptionally weak and had the fire attribute. The Nether Wolf Clan all cultivated dark energy, so a fire-attribute wolf was a great anomaly. Only later did they discover that this wolf's mother had given birth to it with a Fire Phoenix from the Divine Realm."

"So its entire clan treated it as an outcast, and its mother was killed by the other wolves. It escaped under its mother's protection as she fought to the death, and hid in the lava volcano in the Star Dou Great Forest. No one knows what happened in between. All they know is that, in just a few decades, it fought its way back to the clan and slaughtered every Nether Wolf. From then on, Nether Wolves vanished."

"It also became a legend of the Star Dou Forest. Passing travelers all called it the Fire Emperor, and some even built temples specifically to worship it."

Hu Liena and the others were dumbfounded.

So the fire wolf before them was the Fire Emperor.

No wonder its presence was so powerful.

It had wiped out the entire Nether Wolf Clan single-handedly.

Even in ancient times, its cultivation had been no weaker than a Titled Douluo's.

So many years had passed since then, and it had also received offerings of incense.

Its strength was probably terrifying beyond measure.

What was more, if the legend was true, it also carried the bloodline of a Fire Phoenix from the Divine Realm.

It was far stronger than an ordinary Soul Beast!

Qian Lingye frowned.

He sensed an extremely powerful presence from the wolf.

It was not even weaker than Golza's.

And the Fire Emperor was clearly the guardian beast of the lava volcano.

To obtain the lava crystal core, he would first have to get past the Fire Emperor.

"Awooo-!"

The Fire Emperor let out a wolf's howl.

Its narrow eyes locked onto Golza.

Thud, thud!

Golza stepped out of the lava and onto the ground.

With every step, the earth trembled.

Wolf and beast faced each other across the distance.

Their invisible presences split the battlefield in two.

Even the clouds overhead parted down the middle.

Every flying boat retreated desperately, backing away as far as possible.

They were terrified of being caught up in it.

Both of them were above the hundred-thousand-year level. Once they fought, the shockwaves alone could easily flatten a city.

"Boom!"

The volcano suddenly erupted again.

It was like the report of a starting pistol.

Wolf and beast charged at each other at the same time.

The flames on the Fire Emperor's body suddenly surged high.

With a beat of its wings, it reached full speed, trailing a long tail of fire as it transformed into a streak of light.

The flame patterns on Golza's neck glowed with searing heat.

The pointed horn on his head lit up with a hum, and a laser blasted straight at the Fire Emperor.

Neither side held back.

Their first battle was the decisive battle; a single clash would determine life and death.

It was evening, and the sky had already begun to darken.

The instant the two forces collided, the sky lit up again.

Rumble!

An indescribable crash exploded in the sky.

A ring of fire swept outward in every direction.

Trees for dozens of miles around were instantly reduced to char.

Dozens of flying boats exploded into fragments.

The larger ships also rocked violently, and the legs of the tens of thousands aboard them gave way in unison, sending them to their knees and sprawling across the decks.

The scene was like the end of the world.

Only the Spirit Hall's flying boat had a purple energy barrier around it.

When the impact struck, it was completely neutralized.

That was Bibi Dong's doing.

It was also the only ship present that remained unaffected.

The light slowly faded.

Qian Lingye and the others opened their eyes, let out breaths of relief, and hurried to the side of the ship to look down.

At the sight, everyone drew a sharp breath.

It was all gone.

Everything in sight—the trees, the river, the village, the mountains.

All of it was gone.

Only a blackened expanse of scorched earth remained...