Strange Spirit Beast

Madara was only a few steps away from the cloaked figure, yet the figure was still lying there foolishly.

Madara crouched slightly, then used the spring of the branch to launch himself forward, flashing behind her.

Only then did the figure seem to hear the movement behind her and slowly turn around to look back.

Naturally, Madara would not give her a chance to resist. One hand pinned her back to the ground, while the other held a blood-red kunai in reverse grip against her throat.

"Madara!" The figure cried out in surprise after being caught by Madara, as though she could not believe it.

"Speak. Who are you?" A fierce glint flashed through Madara's eyes as he lowered his voice beside her ear.

"Me! We ran into each other yesterday!" The figure quickly calmed down and hurriedly explained, "I'm Meng Yiran!"

Madara tore off her hood, revealing the delicate face of the proud young girl from yesterday.

Madara immediately withdrew his kunai and darted aside, because he felt a sharp gaze cutting across his body.

Madara knew it was likely Meng Yiran's grandparents, the Peerless Dragon Snake. Naturally, the elderly couple would not feel at ease leaving their precious granddaughter alone.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?" Meng Yiran glared at Madara with her watery eyes, saying indignantly, "Believe it or not, I'll beat you up?"

What Madara did not notice was that the tips of Meng Yiran's ears had turned slightly red.

"You're too weak. You want to beat me up?" Madara merely gave her a cold glance and said flatly, "Relying on your grandparents?"

"My grandparents are still far away from me!" Meng Yiran was clearly unconvinced. Gritting her teeth, she said, "We're both level twenty, so why are you calling me weak?"

"Your grandfather, the Dragon Duke, is behind a tree three hundred zhang to the northwest." Madara stared intently at the dust rising in the distance as he answered casually.

"How do you know?" Meng Yiran turned to look in that direction, asking doubtfully.

The Dragon Duke was hiding behind a distant tree. When he saw his granddaughter looking toward where he was concealed, he hastily pulled his head back and pressed himself against the trunk.

He was rather puzzled. How had he been discovered? That should not have been possible!

Could the disguise of a Soul Douluo really be seen through by a little girl who had yet to obtain her second spirit ring and some snot-nosed brat? What the Dragon Duke did not know was that Madara had fought countless battles in his previous life and narrowly escaped death time and again. He had long since developed a strong person's instincts.

"You can't even do something this simple, and you still claim you're not weak?" Madara scoffed disdainfully.

"You!" Meng Yiran was left speechless by Madara's merciless mockery.

Madara paid Meng Yiran no attention and simply asked, "Tell me what happened here."

Putting on the airs of a young lady, Meng Yiran giggled. "Little brother, why should I tell you?"

Madara twisted her arm with one hand and slowly increased the pressure as he said, "My patience is limited."

"It hurts! I'll talk, I'll talk!" Tears glimmered in Meng Yiran's eyes as she cried out in pain.

No matter how hard Meng Yiran struggled, Madara's hand remained clamped around her arm like an unbreakable iron band.

Meng Yiran could not understand it. They were clearly both level twenty, so why was he so strong?

Meng Yiran might one day grow into a strong person unafraid of wind and rain, but she was now merely a young girl with little experience of the world.

If anyone else had been present, they would surely have cursed Madara for being ruthless toward a beauty. But in Madara's eyes, there was no distinction between beautiful women and anyone else. He only distinguished between the living and the dead.

Madara had carried out countless missions in the Shinobi World. He had killed more beautiful women than he could remember; one more Meng Yiran made no difference.

Madara released Meng Yiran's slender arm. By then, a red handprint had already been squeezed into it.

Meng Yiran hurriedly pulled her arm back and rubbed it as she said, "A person like you will sooner or later..."

Before Meng Yiran could finish, Madara made as if to reach for her again, frightening her into obediently shutting her mouth.

"Speak."

Meng Yiran had clearly been frightened by Madara's ruthless methods. She told him everything she knew in detail. "A black crack opened in the sky just now, and a Spirit Beast fell out of it!"

Meng Yiran secretly watched Madara's expression. Seeing no change on his face, she continued, "Everyone thought it was valuable and tried to seize it, but no one could defeat it!"

"This Spirit Beast is very powerful?"

"It's not powerful. It's just strange!" Meng Yiran shook her head, struggling to find the right words. "It looked like a giant eyeball, but anyone who attacked it would become dizzy for no reason!"

Madara's heart stirred. He had a feeling that he had found what he was looking for.

There was no basis for it. It was merely his sixth sense.

"Then it started fighting the Crimson Serpent here, didn't it?" Madara asked bluntly.

"That's right! How did you know?"

Madara knew because he had come to inspect the Spirit Beast here before, but it was clearly unsuitable for him.

This Crimson Serpent was nearly eight hundred years old. Even Madara would have to spend some effort to take it down.

Spirit Beasts all had a sense of territory. It must have sensed a powerful Spirit Beast approaching and come out to defend its territory.

Madara did not answer Meng Yiran's question. Instead, he slowly rose to his feet, preparing to move closer and get a clear look.

"What are you going to do?" Meng Yiran was startled by Madara's recklessness. She grabbed the corner of his clothes, only to be dragged stumbling forward.

How was he so strong? They were clearly both level 20!

Madara merely lowered his head and glanced at her before ordering, "Stay here."

Then, without looking back, he carefully continued toward the battle.

Meng Yiran no longer knew what to say. For the first time in her life, she realized that there was actually someone in the world this audacious.

Meng Yiran remembered that her grandmother had told her yesterday to spend more time interacting with young men like Madara.

Meng Yiran had not understood and asked her grandmother why. Her grandmother had refused to explain, merely looking at her with an inexplicable smile.

This guy was annoying, but she still had to listen to her grandmother!

Meng Yiran resolutely followed after him. After all, her grandfather, the Dragon Duke, was secretly protecting her, so there was nothing to fear.

In truth, Meng Yiran was still somewhat unwilling to admit defeat. Madara had beaten her so thoroughly that she could not fight back, yet now he dared to charge in alone.

She at least had her grandfather watching over her. Was she really going to stay here and cower like a turtle?

The more Meng Yiran thought about it, the firmer her resolve became. How could she lose to a brat even younger than herself?

Though this brat did seem rather vicious!

Madara quickly reached a spot where he could clearly see the battle and hid in place.

Meng Yiran followed him over as well, though she looked far more bedraggled than Madara. A ninja's route might be relatively safe, but it truly was not a path ordinary people could take.

Madara merely gave Meng Yiran a cold glance and did not pay her any more attention, instead carefully observing the two battling Spirit Beasts.

Meng Yiran was furious. "I came to help you out of kindness!"

Madara calmly uttered two words. "Dead weight."

"You!"

Madara treated Meng Yiran's words as though they were carried away by the wind, completely ignoring her.

At least in Madara's eyes, Meng Yiran was simply far too weak!

It was like a Ninja School exam. Some ordinary ninjas could score one hundred points because that was the best they could achieve. Some genius ninjas, like Kakashi, scored one hundred because one hundred was the highest possible score.

Although Madara and Meng Yiran were both level 20, if they fought to the death, he could take on ten of her without a problem.

Just imagine it: how could a pampered young lady who had never lifted a finger compare to the Ninja World's Asura, who had dominated the Shinobi World for decades?