"Ah, I hope Teacher can calm down and get through this difficult time!"
Looking at Yu Xiaogang, who had fainted again, Tang San didn't know what else he could do.
All he could do was think about how to comfort his teacher when he woke up.
Meanwhile,
in the Star Dou Great Forest.
In the blink of an eye, seven whole days had passed since Yao Xuan entered the Star Dou Great Forest.
After a week of hunting, the number of thousand-year Soul Beasts that had died at Yao Xuan's hands had already exceeded fifty.
Each Soul Beast had given Yao Xuan anywhere from a year to more than ten years of cultivation.
However, Yao Xuan hadn't been lucky enough to replicate what happened when he killed the Crystal Bear. He hadn't obtained another Thousand-Year Soul Bone.
Still, thanks to those small gains adding up, Yao Xuan's cultivation had finally reached 997 years.
He was just one final step away from breaking through to become a thousand-year Soul Beast!
"Good. You'll do!"
After searching for a while and ruling out Soul Beasts that weren't worth hunting, Yao Xuan had finally found a suitable target!
In the distance, a golden-maned lion strutted about arrogantly, acting like it owned the place. No Soul Beast dared to approach it anywhere nearby.
With a thought, Yao Xuan immediately activated his system ability, [Eye of Detection]!
[Target: Golden Lion Mastiff]
[Cultivation: 4,500 years]
[Description: A rare and powerful Soul Beast. It can easily hunt enemies with twice its own cultivation. A trace of an ancient Ferocious Beast's bloodline lies dormant within it, making it extremely valuable to devour!]
[Tip: This Soul Beast is powerful. Proceed with caution and don't underestimate it!]
[Devour Reward: 25 years of cultivation]
As Yao Xuan thought, a transparent Attribute Box appeared before his eyes.
"A Soul Beast with a trace of an ancient Ferocious Beast's bloodline? A Devour Reward of a full 25 years of cultivation? I'm in!"
Looking at the information in the Attribute Box, excitement flickered in Yao Xuan's eyes.
Although the Golden Lion Mastiff had less cultivation than the several seven-thousand-year Soul Beasts he'd hunted earlier,
devouring it would give him far more cultivation than those Soul Beasts had.
After all,
just as Eye of Detection had shown, its body held a precious ancient Ferocious Beast bloodline!
Though the amount was tiny, it was still extremely valuable!
Of course, with that ancient Ferocious Beast bloodline, the Golden Lion Mastiff was also stronger than its cultivation level suggested.
But before Yao Xuan, who had an utterly overpowered cheat, the Golden Lion Mastiff's cultivation was still nowhere near enough to pose a threat!
With a thought, Yao Xuan activated the power of the Golden Dragon King Bloodline!
"Golden Dragon Claw!"
Glittering golden patterns flashed across Yao Xuan's right claw.
His right claw expanded once more, becoming an immensely sharp Golden Dragon Claw capable of shattering anything!
Then Yao Xuan pushed off hard with both legs. His body shot toward the Golden Lion Mastiff like a dazzling rainbow!
Sensing the enemy's presence, a dangerous crimson light flashed in the Golden Lion Mastiff's eyes.
Another Soul Beast had actually dared to enter its territory and provoke it!
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Today, it would fight to the death!
Throwing back its head, the Golden Lion Mastiff let out an angry roar. Its Bloodline Power surged, golden light blazed across its body, and it charged at Yao Xuan like a small sun.
"Just what I wanted!"
As the Golden Lion Mastiff pounced toward him, battle intent blazed in Yao Xuan's eyes. His bloodline surged, and his razor-sharp right claw struck at the Golden Lion Mastiff with overwhelming force!
Boom!
The next moment, a pair of lion claws and a pair of dragon claws met in midair. They collided with a resonant clang!
"As expected of a creature with an ancient Ferocious Beast's bloodline—you're far stronger than those useless weaklings! Too bad you ran into me!"
Yao Xuan stepped back half a pace. Seeing the Golden Lion Mastiff thrown back several meters by the impact, carving a long furrow in the ground, he immediately pressed his advantage and attacked again!
Feeling Yao Xuan's terrifying speed, the Golden Lion Mastiff had no chance to escape. It could only swing its right claw and fight back in haste!
"Shatter!"
The power of the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, nearly half of Yao Xuan's total, surged and burned within him. Without hesitation, he activated the [Shatter] trait attached to the Golden Dragon Claw!
The next moment, brilliant golden rays flashed across Yao Xuan's right claw, radiating endless, mysterious power!
Then—
The two claws collided violently in midair once more, making a dull thud!
This time, however, the outcome was completely different!
Crack!
Crack!
With a series of sharp snaps, the Golden Lion Mastiff's claws broke and shattered like brittle potato chips!
It wasn't just the claws. Even the bones in its paw and digits were completely pulverized by the terrifying power of [Shatter]!
Its entire paw hung limply.
"Again!"
Without conserving his bloodline power, Yao Xuan did the same thing again. He infused his Golden Dragon Claw with the power of [Shatter] and brought his right claw down in a savage attack on the Golden Lion Mastiff!
This time, the Golden Lion Mastiff could only endure the pain and try to put up a last stand with its one remaining lion paw!
But even at full strength, it hadn't been a match for Yao Xuan. Now that it was badly injured, it could use at most half of its full strength.
Crack!
A sharp snap rang out as Yao Xuan's claw smashed the Golden Lion Mastiff's left paw, then landed on its head!
Thud!
With a muffled impact, the Golden Lion Mastiff's head burst like a smashed watermelon, spraying red and white everywhere!
"It's over! Now let me devour you!"
Looking at the Golden Lion Mastiff's corpse, lying motionless before him, Yao Xuan immediately activated his [Devour Evolution] ability!
A dark-red glow swept over the body on the ground. At the same time, an extremely pure Bloodline Power flowed into Yao Xuan's body.
As he frantically devoured the Bloodline Power and converted it, Yao Xuan's cultivation surged at a visible rate!
998 years, 999 years, 1,000 years!
The instant his bloodline cultivation reached a thousand years, Yao Xuan felt his whole body relax completely, as if he had returned to the womb. Waves of mysterious evolutionary power welled up from deep within him once more.
At that moment, Yao Xuan's body swelled and grew again. In less than ten minutes, he grew from two meters long to three!
As his body grew, Yao Xuan's strength surged once more. The scales covering his body grew larger and thicker, and every one of his attributes nearly doubled!
Of course, just like his previous two breakthroughs in rank, this breakthrough to a thousand-year Soul Beast also further unlocked the combat techniques hidden in Yao Xuan's bloodline!
So even though he had only just broken through, Yao Xuan perfectly adapted to his new body, and his strength soared!
[Ding! Congratulations on successfully breaking through to become a thousand-year Soul Beast! As a reward for your hard work in evolving, the system has prepared a reward for you. Would you like to claim it?]
Just then, the system notification sounded in Yao Xuan's ears again.
Thanks to reader [Reader162068724028445912] for the 30,000 reading-point tip! Many thanks for your support!
(The End of This Chapter)
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