The Might of Jiulong

The Wood Wolf was tightly bound by the enormous Wood Dragon and lifted into the air. Cold sweat poured down Tang Chenfeng's face, because the spike that could have taken his life was only about ten centimeters from his chest. The one who had stopped it was...

"Chenfeng, are you alright? Get up, we need to retreat." A man who looked only in his twenties stood between the two of them and the Wood Wolf, gripping the spike that had been aimed at Tang Chenfeng.

"You know my brother?" Ye Hongling found it strange. She had never seen this person before, yet he knew Tang Chenfeng's name.

Tang Chenfeng's eyes lit up. "Village Chief, that's great! You're alright!"

"Huh?" Ye Hongling cried out in surprise.

The man, however, remained calm. "Oh? I didn't expect you to recognize me after I changed so much."

Only Ye Hongling was still confused among the three. "Wait, wait. I can't make sense of this. Can someone explain?"

Crack—crack! As the three spoke, a massive fissure suddenly split open in the ground beside the Wood Wolf. A black shadow shot out from within, shattering the Wood Dragon and rescuing the Wood Wolf.

"Hmph, you caught up?" Once the black shadow stopped, the two beside him took a look and cried out, "No way, there are actually two Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts!" Indeed, two Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts were pursuing them in the middle region of this forest, where even Thousand Year Soul Beasts were rare.

The other Soul Beast was also wolf-shaped, but it was covered in a layer of stone armor resembling plate armor, like a moving stone statue. Looking closely, however, one could see that its stone plates were already covered in cracks, and some were even incomplete. It must have been the one that had ambushed Village Chief Ye earlier.

"This is a Rock Wolf. It looks like it has ten thousand years of cultivation. It excels at controlling the earth element, possesses extremely strong defenses, and can even move quickly through rock to ambush its prey. It was the one that ambushed me just now. And since these are both wolf-type Soul Beasts, one male and one female, they should be mates." Hearing his manner of explanation, the two completely confirmed that he truly was Village Chief Ye.

Awoo! Facing Ye Jiulong as he was now, the two giant wolves glanced at each other before howling. As their cries rang out, their bodies seemed to break free from some seal and began to grow. In the end, both wolves became roughly twice their original size, looking utterly terrifying.

"I truly didn't expect this. The two of them had actually sealed part of their strength to disguise themselves. It seems this one really is a genuine Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast," Ye Jiulong said in surprise.

"Grandpa, what do we do? They're attacking!" As Ye Hongling cried out, the two giant wolves opposite them launched their attacks. Energy beneath the Wood Wolf's armor began gathering toward its head, forming a green energy orb in its mouth. The Rock Wolf leaped high into the air before crashing down hard, sending a wall of stone blades toward them. These were two high-level skills: the former was the Giant Roar Bomb, while the latter was the Stone Spirit Spike Array. Both were exceptionally powerful skills.

"If ordinary Soul Masters encountered those two attacks, it would probably mean certain death." Ye Jiulong finally seemed to become somewhat serious. Then, nine enormous Wood Dragons emerged around the three of them. One Soul Ring after another appeared around his body, along with a heavy suit of armor gleaming with metallic green light. Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling's mouths fell open when they saw his Soul Rings, because there were nine of them: four purple, four black, and one red.

Soul Masters could be divided into many ranks according to their strength. Before breaking through to God-tier, one could possess at most nine Soul Rings. Even so, nine rings were a goal many Soul Masters could never reach in their lives. Nine-ringed Soul Masters were also known as Titled Douluo. Ye Hongling's grandfather, Ye Jiulong, was actually a Titled Douluo, and he even possessed a red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings were also known as symbols that only true powerhouses could possess.

Seeing this, the two Soul Beasts immediately unleashed the skills they had been building up. The massive Roar Bomb and the terrifying Spike Array surged toward the three of them.

"Hmph." Ye Jiulong snorted and pressed his hands together. "Slow Domain, Shockwave Domain, activate!" Ye Jiulong actually possessed two Domain Skills. One was the Slow Domain, a spiritual Domain Skill, while the other was the Battle Armor Domain, Shockwave Domain, which only a Three-Word Battle Armor could possess.

Battle Armor was armor specially tailored for Soul Masters, usually crafted either by the Soul Masters themselves or by professionals. Every person's Battle Armor generally had a highly personalized design, so no two sets were alike. Their effects also differed according to the materials, craftsmanship, and individual needs. Battle Armor was divided into ranks, from the most basic One-Word Battle Armor to the Six-word Battle Armor that only existed in theory. Each additional word brought a world of difference in effect. To use a Battle Armor Domain like Ye Jiulong, one needed at least a Three-Word Battle Armor.

Once the two Soul Beasts' skills entered the Domain, the Giant Roar Bomb gradually dissipated into the air within the Slow Domain, while the Stone Spirit Spike Array was shattered by the Shockwave Domain. The three of them remained completely unharmed. While the two nearby were still in shock, a Wood Dragon lifted them up with its head.

Ye Jiulong said, "These nine Wood Dragons can all be considered my avatars. Let it take you out of the danger zone first."

"What about you, Grandpa?" Ye Hongling asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. I might not necessarily be able to defeat them, but if I want to leave, they definitely can't stop me. Your safety is more important." As soon as he finished speaking, the Wood Dragon carried the two away toward a safer place in the distance.

Ye Jiulong watched the two gradually move farther away, then looked back at the two giant wolves before him. "Alright, it's time to wrap this up. It's been a long time since I last fought." A faint smile rested on Ye Jiulong's face, the confidence unique to a true powerhouse.

The battle was about to erupt. The two wolves roared first, then split up. The Rock Wolf charged toward Ye Jiulong, while the Wood Wolf appeared to be trying to bypass him and pursue the other two.

"If you want to chase them, you'll have to get past me first."

Ye Jiulong stepped back and raised both hands. The eight Wood Dragons on the field danced through the air with his movements. Three Wood Dragons blocked the Rock Wolf's attack, while two more shot straight toward the Wood Wolf. The two Wood Dragons flew low through the air, opening their jaws to bite at the Wood Wolf. The Wood Wolf had no choice but to turn back and fight, unable to pursue the other two. Taking the opportunity, the Rock Wolf leaped over the Wood Dragons blocking it and attacked Ye Jiulong. Boom! Yet another Wood Dragon burst out of the ground. With a sweep of its body, its tail lashed out like a whip and sent the Rock Wolf flying.

Just as the man and the two wolves were locked in a stalemate, several blue-gold leaves suddenly drifted down from the sky. As though they had targets, they flew toward the two giant wolves. The instant the wolves touched the leaves, they visibly froze, then actually revealed disappointed expressions like humans and stopped attacking. Even Ye Jiulong found it strange.

Something unexpected happened. The two giant wolves suddenly sprang into action. At that moment, they seemed to have given up on pursuing the other two and instead turned their full strength against Ye Jiulong together.

Strange. Why did their behavior change so quickly? Is someone commanding them? But why? What exactly is the purpose?

Beneath the enormous Blue-Gold Tree in the forest's core region, a Silver Giant Eagle stood before the blue-gold humanoid from earlier.

"Sigh... Earth Spirit and Wood Spirit seem to have messed things up. Silver Feather, you're still the reliable one. Go, bring the inheritor back."

Caw! As though responding to that person's voice, the giant eagle let out a long cry, spread its wings, and flew toward Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling.