Welcome to the Real Beast Arena

The instant they stepped into the forest.

It was as if they had crossed into another world.

The light suddenly dimmed.

The temperature dropped by several degrees as well.

Towering ancient trees intertwined their branches and leaves like a massive green net, completely blanketing the sky.

Beneath their feet lay a thick layer of fallen leaves.

They made no sound when stepped on, soft and yielding beneath their feet.

Yet they gave off a heavy stench of decay.

"Stay close to me."

Lin Xi's voice was very low.

In this deathly silent forest, it sounded especially clear.

She walked at the very front of the group.

Her steps were as light as a cat's.

She did not stir even the faintest whisper of wind.

Tang San followed close behind.

His Purple Demon Eye had long been pushed to its limit.

Everything around him became slow and clear in his eyes.

He could see tiny specks of dust floating in the air.

He could see a chameleon camouflaging itself on a distant tree trunk.

And he could sense the ill-intentioned gazes lurking in the darkness.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing walked on either side of the group.

One on the left and one on the right, they covered each other.

Their martial souls were already attached to their bodies, ready to unleash a fatal strike at any moment.

Xiao Wu guarded Ning Rongrong and Oscar at the rear of the group.

She skipped along, looking quite relaxed.

But her slightly raised long ears revealed just how alert she was.

"Grrumble..."

Oscar's stomach growled at the worst possible moment.

He hurriedly covered his mouth, terror appearing on his face.

"Shh!"

Lin Xi, walking ahead, did not even turn her head.

She merely raised a finger to her lips.

A simple gesture.

Yet it made Oscar clamp his mouth shut at once.

He did not even dare breathe loudly.

They cautiously continued forward for about the time it took an incense stick to burn.

The silence around them was terrifying.

Aside from their own heartbeats and breathing.

There was not another sound to be heard.

This absolute silence.

Was more unsettling than any terrifying beast roar.

"Wait."

Lin Xi suddenly stopped.

She raised a hand, signaling everyone to halt.

"What is it?"

Dai Mubai asked in a low voice.

His hand was already resting on the trigger for his soul skill.

Lin Xi did not answer.

She merely crouched down and pinched up a bit of black soil from the ground.

She brought it to her nose and gave it a light sniff.

"There's a smell of blood."

She spoke calmly.

"It's very fresh."

The smell of blood?

Everyone's hearts tightened.

They had not smelled anything at all.

Tang San also crouched down, copying her.

He carefully examined the ground.

Soon, on the leaf of a huge fern.

He found a drop of dark red liquid.

It had not fully congealed yet.

"A hunt just took place here."

Tang San said in a deep voice.

"Judging by the traces, it should have been a large feline soul beast."

His words made Oscar and Ning Rongrong turn even paler.

"Then... should we take a detour?"

Oscar asked shakily.

"A detour?"

Lin Xi stood and glanced at him.

Her look was like she was looking at an idiot.

"We came here to find them."

"Why would we take a detour?"

She pointed in the direction where the bloodstains led.

"Follow me."

"The prey is ahead."

With that, she started walking again.

This time, her pace was noticeably faster.

The others could only follow with gritted teeth.

After advancing another hundred meters or so.

They pushed aside a dense patch of shrubs.

The sight before them made everyone's pupils contract sharply.

A soul beast resembling a wild boar.

Lay in a pool of blood.

Its throat had been bitten clean through.

Its abdomen had also been ripped open.

Its organs spilled all over the ground.

The scene was bloody and brutal.

"It's a three-hundred-year Ironhide Porcupine."

Dai Mubai recognized the soul beast.

"Its defense is extremely strong."

"An ordinary hundred-year soul beast couldn't possibly break through its defenses."

"To kill it with one bite to the throat."

He looked at the porcupine's fatal wound.

"It had to be at least an eight-hundred-year Nether Wolf or Ghost Tiger."

"Ghost Tiger?"

At the name, Oscar's legs went weak.

"Th-That's one of the top predators in the Star Dou Great Forest!"

"It moves as fast as a ghost."

"Its claws are incomparably sharp."

"And it loves launching sneak attacks from behind its prey."

"It's the nightmare of all low-level Soul Masters!"

"Shh."

Tang San suddenly gestured for silence.

He pointed at a massive ancient tree not far ahead.

"It's there."

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

On a thick branch of that ancient tree, which would take three or four people to encircle.

Lay a gigantic tiger, black as ink from head to toe, without a single strand of stray fur.

Its body was elegant and agile.

Its muscles flowed in smooth lines, brimming with explosive power.

Its eyes were an eerie dark green.

At that moment, it stared unblinkingly at the corpse on the ground.

As though savoring its trophy.

It was a Ghost Tiger!

A Ghost Tiger nearing a thousand years in age!

"We've been spotted."

Lin Xi said calmly.

Almost the instant her words fell.

The Ghost Tiger in the tree suddenly raised its head.

Those dark green eyes precisely locked onto where they were hiding.

"Roar!"

A low growl rumbled from its throat.

It was filled with warning and menace.

It was saying.

This is my territory.

My prey.

Get lost!

"What do we do?"

Oscar was nearly in tears.

"It seems really angry."

"Prepare for battle."

Lin Xi gave the order.

"Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, restrain it head-on."

"Tang San, control it."

"Xiao Wu, support from the flank."

"Oscar, Ning Rongrong, provide support from the rear."

She swiftly laid out the tactics.

"Remember, this is your first lesson."

"I won't be stepping in."

"Whether you live or die is up to fate."

After saying that, she took several steps back.

She folded her arms across her chest.

Looking as though she were preparing to watch a good show.

"I..."

Oscar still wanted to say something.

But it was already too late.

The Ghost Tiger had lost its patience.

Its hind legs kicked off fiercely.

Its massive body shot forward like a black cannonball.

He leaped down from the tree.

He landed soundlessly on the ground.

Then he transformed into a black blur.

And pounced straight at Dai Mubai at the front of the group!

Too fast!

That speed had practically surpassed the limits of vision!

"First Soul Skill, White Tiger Body Protection Barrier!"

"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Blazing Light Wave!"

Dai Mubai reacted swiftly.

The instant the Ghost Tiger moved,

he activated his defensive soul skill.

At the same time, a milky-white beam shot from his mouth.

However.

The Ghost Tiger's body merely twisted strangely in midair.

It easily dodged the White Tiger Blazing Light Wave.

Its sharp claws slammed fiercely into the White Tiger Body Protection Barrier.

Crack!

A crisp shattering sound rang out.

The protective barrier, which could withstand the full-force strike of a Soul Elder at the same level,

actually shattered like glass!

Dai Mubai's pupils contracted sharply.

He tried to retreat.

But it was already too late.

The Ghost Tiger's other claw, carrying a vicious gale that tore through the air,

swung toward his chest.

At that critical moment.

"Entanglement!"

Several thick Blue Silver Grass vines burst wildly from the ground beneath Dai Mubai's feet.

Like venomous snakes, they wrapped around the Ghost Tiger's limbs.

The Ghost Tiger's forward momentum suddenly stalled.

It lowered its head and glanced at its feet.

A trace of disdain appeared in its eyes.

It suddenly exerted force.

Those resilient Blue Silver Grass vines were forcibly torn apart!

But that brief pause

gave Dai Mubai a chance to catch his breath.

He rolled away in a disheveled scramble.

Dodging the fatal blow.

Boom!

The Ghost Tiger's claw struck empty air.

It left five deep claw marks in the hard ground.

"Zhu Zhuqing!"

Dai Mubai let out a furious roar.

A black figure had already silently circled behind the Ghost Tiger.

"First Soul Skill, Hell Stab!"

Zhu Zhuqing's hands transformed into two sharp blades.

They stabbed viciously toward the Ghost Tiger's heart from behind!

Clang!

A crisp metallic ring echoed out.

Zhu Zhuqing felt as though her claws had struck an iron plate.

They could not advance even an inch!

The Ghost Tiger did not even turn its head.

Its tail, like a steel whip, simply lashed out.

Smack!

A dull impact rang out.

Zhu Zhuqing flew away like a kite with its string cut.

She slammed heavily into a large tree.

Then slid to the ground.

Pfft!

She spat out a mouthful of blood.

Her face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Zhu Zhuqing!"

Dai Mubai's eyes nearly split with rage.

"Third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"

Roaring, he unleashed his strongest enhancement soul skill.

His body swelled again.

His muscles bulged high.

His Soul Power instantly rose to its peak.

"Seven Treasures Manifest!"

"First: Strength!"

"Second: Speed!"

Ning Rongrong reacted as well.

Two dazzling rays of light flew from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand.

They landed precisely on Dai Mubai.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

Dai Mubai roared and charged forward again.

His claws carried unmatched force as they raked toward the Ghost Tiger.

However.

The Ghost Tiger merely gave him a contemptuous glance.

Then its body vanished again.

The next second.

It appeared before Ning Rongrong and Oscar.

Its target had never been Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

It was these two Support Soul Masters standing at the back, utterly incapable of fighting!

It actually possessed such high intelligence!

"Ah!"

Ning Rongrong screamed in terror, her face drained of color.

Oscar's eyes rolled back.

He fainted on the spot.

It was over.

That was the only thought in everyone's minds.

Their formation had been completely shattered.

The talent and soul skills they had taken such pride in

seemed so laughable and fragile

before this cunning and cruel Thousand-Year Spirit Beast.

This was actual combat.

This was life and death.