The Arrogant Young Hero Meets an Unprincipled Old Master

When comparing the strength of Soul Beasts and Soul Masters, many factors had to be considered.

Soul Power Level, Soul Bone configuration, the use of Soul Tools, Soul Beast bloodlines... and so on.

Even the era itself had to be taken into account.

For example, ten thousand years ago, during the era of Douluo Dalu 1.

When Soul Masters did not rely on external items, including Soul Bones, Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beasts corresponded to ordinary Titled Douluo below Rank 95. Yet in terms of actual combat strength, Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beasts were often stronger than ordinary Titled Douluo, sometimes even overwhelmingly so.

Only Rank 95 Super Douluo had absolute confidence in facing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast alone.

And that did not include Soul Beasts with top-tier bloodlines. Freaks like Darkgold Terrorclaw Bears and Dark Demon Evil God Tigers could fight other Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts alone even when they were only a thousand years old.

But during the era of Douluo Dalu 2—this era—the situation was different.

During the Soul Master Competition, Wang Yan had once explained it in detail to Huo Yuhao and the other team members.

—If a newly advanced Rank 90 Titled Douluo encountered a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast, then turning around and running was their only option. Unless their martial soul and soul rings were powerful enough, they simply had no ability to contend with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast. However, once one's cultivation reached around Rank 92 or 93, one would have the strength to fight a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast, provided it was not at the Beast King level. And upon reaching the cultivation of a Rank 95 Super Douluo, it would be the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast's turn to turn around and run. Even a Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast that had broken through its limits might not dare to fight a Rank 95 Titled Douluo.

That was without even considering Soul Masters using Soul Tools or Soul Bones, discussing only their own combat power.

Why was there such a gap?

Because the era had changed, and so had the cultivation methods of Soul Masters.

The emergence of Soul Cores had made it easier for Soul Masters to break through to Titled Douluo, while also enhancing their combat strength.

Soul Beasts, on the other hand, had not changed much over the past ten thousand years.

Was it because Soul Beasts could not condense Soul Cores?

Not at all!

Soul Beasts could also condense Soul Cores. In fact, their history of doing so predated Soul Masters by far. However, because Soul Beasts operated independently of one another, the concept and method of condensing Soul Cores could only circulate within limited circles.

Many Soul Beasts that had cultivated for a hundred thousand years did not even know what a Soul Core was, much less how to condense one.

And they still claimed there was some damn Soul Beast Lord? What exactly was this Soul Beast Lord leading?

So, not only did humans on Douluo Continent have problems with their brains, Soul Beasts did too.

Using the standards of Soul Masters from Douluo Dalu 1 to judge the combat strength of Soul Masters from Douluo Dalu 2 was just cheating.

So the question was, who was stronger: Xuan Zi or the Titan Snow Demon King?

Though Xuan Zi was an old bastard who specialized in screwing over his own people and was a little mentally unstable, his strength truly placed him among the small number of powerhouses at the peak of Douluo Continent.

Without considering Soul Tools, as long as the three Limit Douluo did not appear, Xuan Zi was the number one figure in the Soul Master world in the current era!

Only Du Busi in the next era could suppress him.

Even if a Ninth Level Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire came fully equipped with a complete set of Rank 9 Soul Tools, Xuan Zi, heading out with no equipment at all, could still... escape safely.

Xuan Zi's Rank 98 cultivation, his Godly Taotie Bull martial soul with the Taotie Bloodline, and the six Soul Bones covering his body were the foundation of his confidence.

In the original work, even Scarlet King, who had broken through three hundred thousand years and ranked eighth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, was no match for him. After Xuan Zi slapped him twice, Scarlet King did not even dare fight desperately and could only call for backup.

The Titan Snow Demon King had only barely broken through two hundred thousand years, so its age was already inferior to Scarlet King's.

In terms of strength, the Titan Bloodline and Ice God Bloodline possessed by the Titan Snow Demon King could indeed assist it and allow it to fight above its level, but only to a limited extent.

Because the original work stated that the Titan Snow Demon King and Xiao Bai, the Ice Bear King, were formidable rivals of roughly equal strength. Xiao Bai's bloodline could at most be considered top-tier, and his cultivation was only a little over two hundred thousand years, not yet three hundred thousand.

In other words, that was the Titan Snow Demon King's level of strength.

The only thing the Titan Snow Demon King could truly rely on now was probably its home-field advantage in the Far North Land.

However, even with that advantage, allowing the Titan Snow Demon King to rise by an entire major rank in battle, it would only be equivalent to a three-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast before Xuan Zi.

All things considered, the current Titan Snow Demon King could barely be counted as having Scarlet King's level of combat strength.

It all came down to whether Xuan Zi would slap it or not.

So Huo Yuhao felt that the Titan Snow Demon King stopping Xuan Zi now was probably just asking for a thrill.

The Titan Snow Demon King, with its powerful bloodlines and just two hundred thousand years of cultivation, could be considered a rising star among Soul Beasts, with the potential to challenge the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts in the future. Unfortunately, it had encountered Xuan Zi, that Rank 98 old bastard and one of the Soul Master world's foremost powerhouses.

This time, it was an arrogant young hero meeting an unprincipled old master—things were looking grim!

And why would Xuan Zi need to risk his life against the Titan Snow Demon King?

Xuan Zi only needed to temporarily repel the Titan Snow Demon King before easily escaping with Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei.

Then Xuan Zi charged straight at the Titan Snow Demon King with Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei.

Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded.

"Huh? What is going on? Why did Xuan Zi charge in? Shouldn't we be running now?"

When Huo Yuhao looked at Xuan Zi, he saw that Xuan Zi's eyes had turned red.

"You beast, you dare appear before me and spout such arrogant nonsense? You truly do not know how the word 'death' is written!" Xuan Zi roared furiously.

That damned beast actually dared covet that crystal treasure that could potentially allow Bei Bei to attain an ultimate attribute. Did it really think Xuan Zi had a good temper?

Only Shrek robbed others. When had anyone ever robbed Shrek?

Not to mention it was a soul beast!

Xuan Zi, already in a foul mood lately, was instantly enraged.

Seeing that a mere human actually dared to attack it first, the Titan Snow Demon King roared and reached out with its massive hand to grab Xuan Zi.

"Die, insect!"

Watching the giant hand descend, Bei Bei's heart tightened as a sense of danger surged through him. He hurriedly shouted, "Elder Xuan!" hoping to snap Xuan Zi out of it and stop him from taking them to their deaths.

Unfortunately, Xuan Zi paid no heed to Bei Bei's concerns.

"Martial Soul Avatar!"

With an angry roar, Xuan Zi directly activated his Martial Soul Avatar.

Xuan Zi's figure vanished, replaced by a monster with the body of a goat, eyes beneath its armpits, tiger fangs, humanlike claws, and a pair of enormous bull horns. It stood over thirty meters tall.

Intense yellow light burst forth as Xuan Zi's nine soul rings transformed into halos, circling up and down between those enormous horns, each more than five meters long.

Yellow Soul Power formed a protective barrier around Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei, who were held in the palm of one of the Godly Taotie Bull's claws.

Although, compared to the Titan Snow Demon King's colossal one-hundred-and-twenty-meter body, the Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul Avatar looked like a dwarf, the Godly Taotie Bull still took the initiative to attack without the slightest fear.

It swung a claw, colliding with the Titan Snow Demon King's palm.

A thunderous boom rang out!

It was actually the Titan Snow Demon King's massive body that was sent staggering backward.

Shock appeared in the Titan Snow Demon King's eyes. "How can this human be so strong?"

Then Xuan Zi flew into the air, his voice icy.

"A soul beast that can speak is a Ferocious Beast. Then you must be the Titan Snow Demon King, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North Land, right? Titan Snow Demon King, come and try me if you dare. Even if I have to hold two juniors with one hand, I, Xuan Zi, can still slaughter you!"

Why did that sound a little familiar?

Bei Bei, however, was filled with excitement. His earlier panic had vanished, leaving only boundless admiration for Xuan Zi. "Elder Xuan of Shrek Academy is truly too powerful!"

Xuan Zi, suspended in midair, let out another furious shout.

"Meteor Shower!"

The yellow light behind the Godly Taotie Bull instantly formed countless enormous yellow spheres of light, which turned into falling meteors. Like true heavenly might, they covered the sky and stretched beyond sight, as though the heavens themselves had been torn apart.

Those yellow meteors rained down upon the Titan Snow Demon King's massive body, engulfing it completely. Only the Titan Snow Demon King's agonized roars could be heard.

This attack might not have broken through its defenses, but judging by the Titan Snow Demon King's screams, the pain was definitely real.

Then, Huo Yuhao heard Xuan Zi's voice. "Little Huo, if we kill the Titan Snow Demon King and use the materials from its body, can we help you completely awaken your martial soul?"

"Huh?" Huo Yuhao looked blankly toward the Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul Avatar, yet he saw intense greed in the eyes of its Martial Soul Avatar.

Clearly, Xuan Zi had a bold idea.

If he could obtain a Ferocious Beast Soul Bone and help Huo Yuhao awaken his Ultimate Ice martial soul, then when he returned to Shrek Academy, Mu En would surely praise him for finally growing up.

The Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest were not easy to touch because Di Tian was there, and the Star Dou Great Forest was too close to Shrek Academy. But why couldn't he try his hand at the Ferocious Beasts of the Far North Land?

Even if it triggered a Beast Tide in the Far North Land, it would not affect Shrek Academy, so he could act without restraint.

Before Huo Yuhao could answer Xuan Zi, he suddenly noticed that the World Auspicious Cloud above his Fortune had moved.

World: Everyone, stand back. I'm about to start operating!