It stood there at Situ Xuan's feet, its tiny body seeming to become an insurmountable mountain, trying to stand alongside its master and face the powerful enemies filling the sky.
That stance seemed to declare—this mountain forest had a place for it too!
Anyone who dared offend its master would have to step over its body first!
This sudden scene caused the tense atmosphere in the area to freeze strangely for a moment.
Several Shadow Leopards paused slightly as they crouched low. A trace of humanlike confusion flashed through their dark green pupils, as though they could not understand why something so tiny that they could swallow it in one bite dared make such an "arrogant" sound.
The Earth-Shaking Giant Ape's chest-beating slowed by half a beat. Its murky eyes glanced at Little Black Tiger with the anger of a giant being provoked by an ant.
The Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python's flickering tongue paused slightly, its cold vertical pupils locking onto that tiny black figure.
The Iron-Winged Goshawks in the sky also let out several sharp, questioning cries. Their circling altitude seemed to lower somewhat, as though they were confirming whether this suddenly appearing little creature posed any threat.
Even the Bloodthirsty Demon Rat swarm stirring within the thorn bushes fell eerily silent for a moment, their teeth-grinding gnawing sounds vanishing.
All the Soul Beasts seemed to have been stunned by Little Black Tiger's ill-timed entrance, one brimming with "courage."
Perhaps they could understand a prey's fear and the pressure of the strong, but they found it difficult to understand this almost absurd pride and will to protect that still erupted despite such an absolute disparity in strength.
Situ Xuan himself had his battle intent, which had accumulated to its peak, slightly interrupted by this unexpected sight.
He lowered his head and looked at the little fellow by his feet, trying to "back him up" with its tiny body. The ghostly fire burning in his eyes flickered slightly, and an almost imperceptible ripple passed through them.
It was not gratitude. It was more like... the complicated feeling of being protected by his own pet, a mixture of absurdity and a strange warmth.
The wild smile at the corner of his lips did not diminish. Instead, it took on an indescribable meaning.
"Heh..."
A soft snort escaped his throat. It was impossible to tell whether he was laughing at Little Black Tiger's overestimation of itself or mocking the Soul Beasts that had been intimidated by it.
Little Black Tiger seemed to sense its master's gaze, as well as the attention of those enormous creatures around it. Not only did it not retreat, it straightened its tiny spine even further. A low, warning "woof woof" rumbled from its throat, and its front paws restlessly scraped at the ground, exposing tender claws that had not yet fully sharpened as it tried to strike an attacking pose.
Its appearance of "looking down upon the forest" formed an incredibly contradictory scene amid this hellish battlefield—absurd, yet carrying a hint of tragic grandeur and hot-blooded spirit.
It seemed to be saying: With me here, don't even think of hurting my master!
This tiny variation did not change the nature of the desperate situation, yet it was like a stone cast into a violent lake, stirring brief, strange ripples. The prelude to slaughter gained an unpredictable shade because of Little Black Tiger's "roar."
Situ Xuan slowly drew a breath, then shifted his gaze from Little Black Tiger back to the powerful enemies surrounding him. The Malevolent Qi around him boiled once more, even more violently than before.
"Enough, little fellow. Step aside and watch."
His voice was low, yet carried unquestionable force. "Watch your master tear these... pieces of trash apart, one by one!"
Inside Monitoring Room Five of the Spirit Pagoda's Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.
The air seemed frozen. Only the low hum of the machinery and the distorted sounds of Soul Beasts roaring and attacking from the screens remained.
Under the staff's adjustments, six enormous monitoring screens captured the brutal scene unfolding in that forest clearing from different angles, displaying the battlefield's hellish state before the spectators without reservation.
Wu Zhangkong still stood as straight as a pine, his hands clasped behind his back before the screens. Yet his eyes, usually as cold as ten-thousand-year ice, were now as sharp as drawn swords, tightly fixed on the figure at the center of the screen as he darted and shifted amid the Soul Beasts' siege, unleashing one shocking attack after another.
His fingertips curled slightly within the sleeve where no one could see, revealing a trace of tension that was difficult to detect.
Long Hengxu, standing beside him, was far less composed.
His forehead was already covered in fine cold sweat. His hands were clenched tightly together, his knuckles turning white from the force.
When he saw three Iron-Winged Goshawks diving down, the Earth-Shaking Giant Ape pounding the ground to unleash shockwaves, the Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python spewing poisonous mist, and the Bloodthirsty Demon Rats surging forward like a black tide, he nearly suffocated.
"No! This can't go on!"
Long Hengxu abruptly turned toward the staff member wearing a Spirit Pagoda uniform. His voice was hoarse with urgency. "Force him out! Force him out right now! He'll definitely die!"
The staff member was a composed middle-aged man. He stared intently at the screen, his brows tightly furrowed, but his tone remained professionally calm and unquestionable. "Director Long, I understand how you feel. But you should know the Spirit Ascension Platform's rules. While a Soul Master's consciousness is fully immersed and they are under intense energy impact and in battle, forcibly cutting the connection and extracting their consciousness will inflict irreversible, severe damage upon their spiritual sea! In some ways, that damage is even more lethal than the mental shock caused by 'dying' once inside the Spirit Ascension Platform!"
"All we can do now is trust him and pray that he creates a miracle—find an opportunity to break out of the encirclement where the energy fluctuations are intense before he exhausts his strength, then press the distress signal device."
"A miracle? Look at this situation!"
Long Hengxu pointed at the screen, his voice trembling. "Three five-hundred-year Shadow Leopards are circling him, a thousand-year Earth-Shaking Giant Ape is attacking head-on, a thousand-year venomous python is waiting to ambush him, and there are Iron-Winged Goshawks in the sky! This is already a dead end! Not to mention those hundreds of Bloodthirsty Demon Rats! This isn't the kind of siege that should appear in a Primary Spirit Ascension Platform! This child's attacks... are too fierce, too merciless. With this kind of expenditure, how long can his Soul Power last?"
His worries were not without reason.
Situ Xuan's performance was undoubtedly astounding. His fierce and ruthless fists and kicks, his ghostlike movement technique, and his frighteningly precise strikes all showed that he possessed terrifying combat ability far beyond others his age, even surpassing ordinary Soul Elders.
But the total amount of Soul Power was a hard limitation. Under such an intense siege, every dodge and every burst of power consumed enormous amounts of Soul Power. Once his Soul Power was exhausted, what awaited him was being torn apart in an instant.
Wu Zhangkong also frowned deeply at this moment and said in a low voice, "Now... all we can do is watch him."
One minute earlier.
Just as the echo of Situ Xuan's words, "tear apart," had yet to fully dissipate through the clearing, and his battle intent and Malevolent Qi climbed to their peak—
Little Black Tiger, standing proudly by his feet and attempting to intimidate the beasts, seemed to sense its master's resolute and fearless will as well.
It no longer insisted on declaring its existence with immature roars. Instead, it suddenly transformed into a deep black gleam. Like a weary bird returning to its nest, or a black gale, it instantly sank into Situ Xuan's chest.
Before you continue