The Tradition of the Chinese Rural Dog

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Chen Zhang had been holding the rear, watching the whole situation closely, his face so grim it looked ready to drip water.

Beside him, a middle-aged man in a uniquely styled fitted combat outfit, with savage black golden sheep embroidered on the lapels and cuffs, and a deep, steady aura—Zuo Jinhua—took one firm step forward.

He was a member of the Fierce Ghost Golden Sheep Zuo Clan, possessed a dark, Metal Attribute Fifth Grade High-Tier Martial Soul, was the Soul Sage filling in for Jian Hesong, and had also come from Chen Xun's guard unit.

"Fifth Master," Zuo Jinhua said, a trace of eager fighting intent in his voice. "The situation around Young Master is getting dangerous. That leopard and that bat are both tough ones. Let me go?"

His heavy soul power stirred faintly, and behind him, the fierce phantom of a golden sheep seemed to flash and vanish.

Chen Zhang ground his teeth and swept his gaze over the entire bloody battlefield. As far as he could see, the Underground Alliance had already committed nearly twenty Soul Sages.

The Bone Excavation Group alone had twelve or thirteen, plus those two Soul Douluos. In terms of pure soul master numbers and top-tier combat power, this Bone Excavation Group was enough to rival the combined total of two of Chang'an City's Ten Great Clans.

Chen Zhang's teeth clenched with a creak, the veins on his forehead twitching slightly, but in the end he still shook his head with difficulty. "Wait a little longer, Jinhua! Hold position first! Xiaojun... soon!"

It was not that he was indecisive; he was making an extremely difficult calculation.

Just as he had observed, these soul masters from the Underground World, especially the Soul Sages of the Bone Excavation Group, mostly shared one fatal flaw—their levels were inflated, their foundations generally hollow.

Relying on the Underground World's vast resources and black-market channels, perhaps by consuming large amounts of forbidden drugs, they had taken shortcuts and forcibly raised their Soul Power Level.

Their style was fierce enough, reckless and unafraid of death. However, when it came to the true core factors of life-and-death combat—tempered and refined pure soul power, cultivation methods and secret techniques that honed the body, and systematic combat literacy... all of these were obviously greatly compromised.

They were rushed products, severely lacking the "quality" and "skill" that high-level soul masters should have. In a way, they were the twisted offspring that the continent's "Soul Power Level above all" mentality had bred in the Underground World.

It was precisely based on his judgment of this "inflated" combat strength, as well as Chen Xiaojun's rapidly converging state that seemed about to touch some critical point, that Chen Zhang suppressed Zuo Jinhua.

He was gambling—gambling that these exceptionally talented young people on his side, with their solid foundations, could endure under the pressure of Soul Sages for a little while longer!

Chen Mu was pinned down hard by the Shadow Ghost Bat Soul Sage and could no longer move through the whole field like the wind to patch any gaps. A huge opening instantly appeared in their mobile defense.

"Qingquan! Take the front! Cover Fifth Young Master's position!" Zhu Wuneng's voice rang out from within the phantom of True Lord Tian Peng, carrying an ethereal authority.

"Understood!" Qiu Qingquan's figure instantly shot out from a patch of shadow, replacing Chen Mu and beginning to flicker rapidly along the edge of the core area.

His Cold Nethermouse Martial Soul gave him an advantage in speed and concealment, but what was needed now was a direct interception and a head-on clash.

His opponents were no longer ordinary gang members, but elites of the Bone Excavation Group and even Soul Kings constantly charging at the core.

His metal finger guards drew streaks of blood, Dark Corrosion Claw corroded body after body, and Rock Needle Rain kept firing, but in the end, his speed and strength could not keep up.

After blocking the successive attacks of several Soul Kings, Qiu Qingquan's figure looked somewhat battered. A wind blade slashed across his shoulder, spraying blood.

He could not help shouting, "Mingyuan! I can't hold! Too much pressure! Call the dogs!"

On the other side, Yuan Run, who was maintaining the huge mire and stone walls, was also panting like an ox, sweat pouring down like rain.

His mire was being bombarded by all kinds of soul skills—Earth Attribute soul masters were hardening and filling it in, fire-type soul masters were desperately scorching it to make it evaporate, and there were even ice-type soul masters trying to freeze it. The stone walls were being struck again and again, cracks spreading across them.

If not for his Fourth Soul Skill, "Immovable Mountain," which made his feet seem rooted in the earth, allowing him to continuously draw power from the ground to restore his soul power and strengthen his defense and impact resistance—at the cost of being almost unable to move—he would have collapsed long ago.

Hearing Qiu Qingquan's cry at this moment, he also bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Yeah, Mingyuan! I'm damn exhausted! Hurry!"

An Mingyuan, wearing somewhat shattered Rock Dog Armor, with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, narrowed his eyes and knew he could not keep hiding it. "Fine! Brothers, hold on. Watch this!"

He suddenly took a deep breath, and the phantom of a skull radiating faint yellow starlight flashed across his forehead.

"Skull Soul Skill—Star Extreme!"

The instant it activated, his eyes abruptly shone with clear yellow light, and his Mental Power, perception, and control over Star Attribute soul power all surged.

Immediately afterward, An Mingyuan formed hand seals rapidly with both hands and muttered under his breath. His tone was ancient and distant, as if calling to a sleeping will. "A call from afar, the homeland needs everyone's protection... Secret Art Earth Guardian Dog Command!"

The Star Watcher's Sensing Chapter mental cultivation method he practiced circulated wildly, and his Earth Attribute and Star Attribute soul power resonated at a high level!

Boom!

With him at the center, the earth and shattered stones on the ground madly gathered and took shape. In the blink of an eye, they condensed into seven lifelike dog-shaped stone embryos.

At the same time, above the battlefield, countless faint rays of starlight pierced through the obstruction, crossed space, and projected precisely onto these stone embryos.

Starlight poured in, and the stone embryos bloomed with radiance, as if infused with life and spirit!

Awooo! Woof, woof, woof!

Amid a chorus of barking filled with wildness and the will to protect, after the starlight flashed, seven enormous dogs of different forms, vivid and lifelike, exuding powerful soul power fluctuations, appeared impressively before An Mingyuan!

Yellow-headed White-faced Dog: majestic and imposing, like the leader of the pack, its gaze sharp.

Four-eyed Dog: two star-like spots on its forehead like an extra pair of eyes, warily scanning the shadows.

Five Black Dogs: pitch-black from head to toe, suppressing evil and driving out wickedness, moving like shadows.

Five Red Dogs: its fur crimson like fire, carrying a scorching aura.

Tiger Brindle Dog: powerfully built, its fur patterned like a tiger's, its presence fierce.

Chow Chow Dog: the fur around its head and neck fluffy like a lion's mane, medium-sized, and extremely aggressive.

White Earth Pine: snow-white and fluffy from head to tail, with gentle eyes, radiating a reassuring healing glow that fused stars and earth elements.

The fine tradition of the Chinese Rural Dog was organized gang fights.

"I'm counting on you! Go!" An Mingyuan pressed one hand to his chest, forcing down the weakness from having a massive amount of Soul Power drained away, and pointed at the surging tide of enemies.

Woof, woof, woof!

Aside from the White Earth Pine Dog, the other six giant dogs let out earth-shaking roars and lunged out with trained ferocity.

The Yellow-headed White-faced Dog took the lead, with the Tiger Brindle Dog, Five Red Dogs, and Chow Chow Dog following close behind, meeting the charging Bone Excavation Group head-on. They bit, pounced, and slaughtered, their claws striking like blades. Their teamwork was seamless, their advances and retreats measured, and in an instant they tore open a bloody path.

The Four-eyed Dog and the Five Black Dogs specialized in pouncing on those members of the Bone Excavation Group who launched sneak attacks from shadowed blind spots or gaps in the ruins, precise and deadly.

The White Earth Pine stayed quietly beside An Mingyuan, its gentle star and earth-element Soul Power spreading out like luminous mist.

Whenever a wound appeared on one of the combat dogs, it would let out a low hum, and a soft beam of light or a condensed earthy-yellow mote would fall onto the injury. The wound would then begin healing and scabbing over at a visible speed.

It silently fulfilled its duties of support and healing.