Golden Dragon Roar

"Stop."

Xie Yue, who had been walking at the front, suddenly halted and raised a hand in a gesture for silence. His body tensed instantly, and his nostrils flared slightly.

"The smell of blood is strong..." Xie Yue lowered his voice, his brow tightly furrowed. "And the aura is chaotic. A brutal fight just took place up ahead."

"A fight?" Xuan Hao's eyes lit up. "Let's take a look. Maybe we can pick up the leftovers."

The four of them concealed their auras and silently crept forward under the cover of the bushes.

After passing through a dense stretch of forest, their view suddenly opened up, followed by a nauseating stench.

This was a battlefield in ruins.

The towering trees around them had either snapped or fallen, while the ground was littered with deep craters and scorch marks, as though dozens of wild bulls had plowed through it.

At the edge of the battlefield lay a massive corpse: a Ghost Face Demonic Spider nearly four meters long. Six of its eight long legs had been severed, and the ferocious human face on its abdomen had been completely crushed, spilling dark green poisonous blood across the ground.

At the center of the battlefield—

A golden male lion more than four meters long was struggling to breathe.

Its fur, which looked as though it had been cast from gold, was now caked with dirt and black poisonous blood. The flesh on its left hind leg had been torn open, its blood had already changed color, and a bone-deep wound on its abdomen was still gushing blood.

It lay there, every breath accompanied by painful convulsions. It was clearly at the end of its strength.

"Golden Lion King?!"

Hu Liena covered her mouth and gasped softly, "How did a top-tier beast king end up like this?"

"It probably fought that Ghost Face Demonic Spider to the death," Xie Yue analyzed. "Ghost Face Demonic Spiders are exceptionally skilled at ambushes, and they carry potent poison. Even a top-tier Soul Beast like a Golden Lion King could easily fall victim if it let its guard down."

"Though from the looks of it, the Golden Lion King wasn't the only one that got careless."

"How old is this Golden Lion King?" Xuan Hao asked.

Hu Liena observed the Golden Lion King's size. "Around four thousand years, probably. Golden Lion Kings are top-tier Soul Beasts and extremely rare. They're also pack-dwelling Soul Beasts. Under normal circumstances, there would be another three to five lionesses around it, making them very difficult to hunt. Even Spirit Hall's records can only estimate their general age."

"No, this Golden Lion King has old injuries." Xie Yue stared closely at the Golden Lion King's jaw. Beneath its thick mane was a deep wound.

"It must have fought other male lions not long ago and gotten injured, only to be targeted by that Ghost Face Demonic Spider afterward."

"Although it defeated the Ghost Face Demonic Spider, it was poisoned. Combined with its severe injuries and blood loss, it probably won't live much longer."

"Won't live much longer?" Xuan Hao's eyes brightened.

"Wait, you aren't eyeing it, are you?" Hu Liena's eye twitched.

"A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. This thing is still a top-tier Soul Beast. Don't be fooled just because it's heavily injured right now—if it counterattacks before dying, even most Soul Beasts over eight thousand years old would have to trade their lives for its!"

A heavily injured Soul Beast was terrifying when it fought for its life!

A top-tier Soul Beast like this might even suddenly self-destruct while fighting desperately!

Forcing a one-for-one trade!

"What are you afraid of? It can't even stand steady now," Xuan Hao said.

"We've been searching for so long, and you still have the leisure to worry about that? I can't keep wandering around."

As Xuan Hao appeared, the Golden Lion King, which had nearly fallen unconscious, abruptly opened its eyes.

Though severely injured, the dignity of a king could not be trampled upon. Seeing a weak human actually swaggering toward it, it let out a low roar and struggled to rise.

"Roar..."

However, the poison and blood loss had weakened its limbs. It had only pushed itself halfway up before crashing heavily back down.

"Stop struggling, big kitty."

Xuan Hao stopped less than five meters from the lion king. Golden light surged around his body as Golden Dragon Body activated instantly, releasing an utterly pure, higher Dragon Clan pressure without reservation.

"Roar—"

Sensing that terrifying Dragon Might, a flash of astonishment and instinctive fear passed through the Golden Lion King's originally ferocious eyes.

It was absolute suppression from its bloodline, instantly causing its already weak aura to plummet to rock bottom.

"Yan, give it two fireballs. Warm it up a little—don't let it play dead," Xuan Hao ordered without looking back.

"Got it!"

Yan did not hesitate. With a raised hand, he unleashed Hell Lava Rush, striking the ground beside the Golden Lion King with precision.

"Boom! Boom!"

Flames exploded, forcing the Golden Lion King to shift its body. Its wounds were pulled open, and pain made its entire body convulse.

"Xie Yue, block its escape route."

Xie Yue turned into an afterimage. His Moon Blades flashed through the air, directly severing several large trees near the lion king that it might have used for support.

"Senior Martial Sister, control it. Give it a quick death!"

"First Soul Skill, Charm!"

Pink light flowed through Hu Liena's eyes as Spirit Shock pierced straight into the lion king's already clouded mind.

The Golden Lion King's body stiffened, and its eyes went completely unfocused.

At that instant, Xuan Hao moved.

He did not use any fancy techniques. With Golden Dragon Body activated, he condensed Soul Power into his right fist. Like a Golden Meteor, he leaped high into the air and smashed down viciously at the Golden Lion King's enormous head!

"Be more careful in your next life. Don't fight Poison Spiders!"

"Bang—!!"

A dull thud rang out.

Already on the brink of death from its injuries, the Golden Lion King had no ability to resist. Its skull instantly shattered beneath the terrifying power of the Golden Dragon.

It did not even have time to let out one final cry. Its massive body twitched once before completely collapsing onto the ground, silent and lifeless.

A deep purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse.

"Done."

Xuan Hao dusted off his hands and looked at the Soul Ring, nodding in satisfaction. "Pretty lucky."

Two hours later.

As Xuan Hao slowly opened his eyes, a deep and majestic roar echoed within his body.

He stood up, and his bones crackled explosively. His already formidable aura had become even more unfathomable.

"Level twenty-two."

Xuan Hao sensed the fluctuations of Soul Power within his body. "Not bad."

"What about the Soul Skill?" Yan eagerly leaned closer. "A Soul Skill from such an exceptional lion king has to be powerful, right?"

"Powerful?"

Xuan Hao smiled mysteriously and looked at the three gathered around him. "Then stand firm. Don't piss yourselves from fear."

After saying that, he took a deep breath. His second Soul Ring suddenly lit up, its purple radiance dazzling.

"Second Soul Skill—"

Xuan Hao abruptly opened his mouth toward the three of them. A terrifying roar, combining the majesty of a Giant Dragon with the dominance of a Mad Lion, erupted from deep within his throat!

"Golden Dragon Roar!!"

"Roooar—Roar!!!"

In an instant, a tangible golden Sound Wave swept outward from Xuan Hao in a fan-shaped wave!

It was not merely sound. It also carried a terrifying Spirit Shock and Physical Shock, even warping the surrounding air beneath the roar.

"Fuck—"

Yan, who was closest, felt his head buzz as if someone had smashed his Skull Top with a massive hammer. He instantly lost his balance and flew backward four or five meters, landing hard on his Buttocks. Stars filled his vision, and his mind went blank for a moment.

Although Xie Yue and Hu Liena reacted quickly, covering their ears and mobilizing Soul Power to defend themselves immediately, they were still struck by intense dizziness. Their Soul Power stalled for an instant. Hu Liena in particular, as a Beast Spirit Soul Master, froze uncontrollably in place, unable to move.

"Rustle—"

The leaves on every tree within ten meters shattered instantly, turning into powder that drifted down.

Several seconds later, the dizziness slowly faded.

Yan shook his head and climbed up from the ground. "What kind of damn roar was that? I felt like my Soul Power scattered! My brain turned into mush!"

"What damn roar? That was Golden Dragon Roar," Xuan Hao said speechlessly.

"It's a wide-range crowd-control Soul Skill. The effect is simple: it delivers both sound-based and mental attacks to enemies within range. If their Spiritual Power is far below mine, there's an eighty percent chance they'll pass out on the spot."

"And the roar carries Dragon Might suppression. It works especially well against Beast Spirit Soul Masters."

As he spoke, all three of them subconsciously looked toward Hu Liena.

Xie Yue was a Tool Soul Master. Although Yan was a Beast Spirit Soul Master, his Martial Soul, the Flame Lord, was an ancient aberrant Martial Soul that leaned somewhat toward an Elemental Creature. Though Xuan Hao's Dragon Might affected him as well, the effect was limited.

But Hu Liena...