Iron-Bristled Savage Bull

For a transmigrator, Gu Yue could be considered the greatest "opportunity" of the early Douluo III era. Yet Yun Chen's words had struck right at her heart.

"I didn't mean it that way. I was merely stating a fact to Xiao Yan," Yun Chen said.

"Yeah, Gu Yue, why are you so worked up?" Xu Xiaoyan asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Gu Yue shook her head, forcing her heated mind to calm down slightly.

"I just think Spirit Beasts are pitiful now. They were all lives born on this planet, so why had they fallen to such a state?"

Xu Xiaoyan fell silent at Gu Yue's sigh. She had never considered such a profound question. Yun Chen, however, pursed his lips as he looked at Gu Yue. "Spirit Beasts ended up this way not only because they stood opposed to humans, but also because of the judgments and choices they made at certain times."

Those words immediately captured all of Gu Yue's attention. She wanted to hear what ideas this human, who seemed so opinionated, could offer.

"Leaving aside everything else, when the Spirit Pagoda was first established, the Spirit Beast race, led by the Beast God Di Tian, did everything it could to promote the Soul Spirit system. Back then, humans and Spirit Beasts truly had what could be called a honeymoon period. That period made everyone believe that the Spirit Pagoda founded by the Ice God Douluo Huo Yuhao was a great achievement."

At this point, Yun Chen paused. His gaze swept over the surrounding forest, and only after a soft sigh did he continue. "But it was precisely because of the Spirit Pagoda that the Spirit Beast race was pushed into its current desperate situation. If someone could ask the Beast God Di Tian now, do you think he would regret his decision back then?"

Gu Yue fell silent. Just as Yun Chen had said, relations between Spirit Beasts and humans had indeed eased considerably when the Spirit Pagoda was first established. Yet as the Spirit Pagoda developed, the status of Spirit Beasts only worsened.

"In my view..." Before Gu Yue could think further, Yun Chen continued, "Spirit Beasts weren't wrong to help promote the construction of the Spirit Pagoda. Although the Soul Spirit system had certain flaws, its existence did ease relations between humans and Spirit Beasts. But that came at the cost of sacrifices from Spirit Beasts. After all, once a Spirit Beast contracted to become a Soul Spirit, it was like being enslaved. It could only follow its contractor and lost its freedom."

"But eased relations also gave Spirit Beasts room to develop. It was just that the Spirit Beasts of that time failed to see this clearly. As the years passed, they seemed to forget the conflict between their races and became immersed in this peaceful coexistence."

"Moreover, Spirit Beasts never clearly recognized that human greed was uncontrollable. Nor did they realize that humanity's technological development would completely alter the fate of both races. That was why the Spirit Beasts holding most of the seats in the Spirit Pagoda were completely kicked out of the decision-making circle. It was also why human greed ultimately devoured the living space of Spirit Beasts."

"If the Spirit Beasts who held decision-making power in the Spirit Pagoda back then had seen all this clearly, and had not indulged in peaceful relations while dreaming carefree dreams, they could have fought for more rights for Spirit Beasts..."

"Awooo!"

"Roar!"

Before Yun Chen could finish, two beastly roars sounded one after another from the distance!

Yun Chen immediately stopped speaking. He shielded Xu Xiaoyan behind him and cautiously looked toward the source of the sounds.

After the roars faded, the ground began to tremble faintly.

The vibrations grew increasingly intense, as though some enormous creature was charging toward them.

"Careful. Let's move out of its path first." Yun Chen grabbed Xu Xiaoyan and tried to avoid the Spirit Beast's route.

But the creature seemed to have already locked onto them and continued moving toward their new position.

"We can't escape. Prepare to fight!" Yun Chen said.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded nervously, both hands tightly gripping the shaft of her Star Wheel Ice Staff. Her little face had turned somewhat pale. Gu Yue, on the other hand, did not seem overly nervous. Instead, she was somewhat displeased that their previous conversation had been abruptly interrupted.

A moment later, an enormous creature charged into the trio's field of vision.

"Those huge horns—it's an Iron-Bristled Savage Bull! Careful!" Of the three, Gu Yue undoubtedly knew the most about Spirit Beasts. With a single glance, she recognized the creature's true identity.

The Iron-Bristled Savage Bull was a massive Spirit Beast with tremendous destructive power. Its primary means of attack was charging with the pair of massive horns on its head. Its defense was also among the best of all bovine Spirit Beasts. Its bristly hide could even inflict a certain amount of physical backlash damage on attackers!

Watching the savage bull charge toward them, Yun Chen scooped Xu Xiaoyan into his arms and leaped aside, while Gu Yue had already used the space element to Teleportation to the other side.

The savage bull was charging too fiercely and could not stop itself in time.

After dodging the savage bull's charge, Yun Chen set Xu Xiaoyan down and rushed straight toward the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull. Its bristles were indeed highly defensive, but that did not mean there was no other way to deal with it.

"Xiao Yan, restrain it when it stops!" Yun Chen shouted as he charged forward.

The instant the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull stopped, the Star Wheel Ice Staff in Xu Xiaoyan's hand flashed. An Ice Wheel formed around the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull, trapping it inside.

At that very moment, Yun Chen leaped into the air and landed steadily on the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull's back. But intense shaking came in the next instant, nearly throwing him off.

Without Star Power empowering her, Xu Xiaoyan's first soul skill could still restrain an enemy, but against a century-old Iron-Bristled Savage Bull, a Spirit Beast renowned for its strength, that small amount of control was truly a drop in the bucket. After breaking free, the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull sensed someone on its back. It shook its body, trying to throw Yun Chen off.

But by then, Yun Chen had already reacted and firmly grabbed the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull's hard bristles. No matter how it struggled, it could not throw him off. Yet in the next instant, Gu Yue's urgent shout reached Yun Chen's ears. "Move, now!"

The moment her words fell, the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull's enormous body toppled to one side. Realizing it could not shake off the human on its back, it intended to roll on the ground and crush Yun Chen to death.

But warned by Gu Yue, Yun Chen had already leaped into the air. The Iron-Bristled Savage Bull's scheme failed once again.

Just as the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull rolled over and tried to rise, an Ice Wheel condensed around it once more. At the same time, streaks of ice formed across the ground, freezing the Iron-Bristled Savage Bull in place!