"I can't believe there's an unaccompanied Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast in the outer region!"
A trace of greed swiftly crept across Lang Taihui's face.
Although he hadn't yet reached the level where he needed a Soul Ring, the complete corpse of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast was still worth a fortune.
He immediately changed direction, leapt up the tallest ancient tree, and clung to its gnarled branches to peer toward the source of the tiger's roar.
But the moment he saw the figure darting through the forest, the blood in his veins turned to ice.
A bone-chilling evil intent wormed through his pores and into his marrow. The Soul Power in his body seemed to flow backward, and his meridians throbbed with pain as if being sliced by knives.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed across the pitch-black bark.
His fleeting greed vanished, leaving behind only a fear that reached to his very bones.
"Damn it! It's... it's one of those things!"
That was no ordinary Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast.
It was the most forbidden legend of the Star Dou Great Forest.
An evil creature whose territory even Titled Douluo dared not enter lightly, and where countless Soul Master predecessors had met their deaths.
Even countless Soul Beasts feared it, and hated it even more than the Man Faced Demon Spider.
A giant tiger, pure black from head to tail, without a single strand of another color. Its blood-red, vertical pupils burned with eerie ghostly flames.
It was over eight meters long, its muscles knotted like forged steel, and it weighed at least three thousand pounds.
The character for "king" on its forehead was black as well, but unlike its fur, it looked like a mass of congealed dark mist, radiating an indescribable gloom.
Most terrifying of all was its tail.
Three times longer than an ordinary tiger's, it was strung together from countless sharp bone segments. At its tip was a huge, backward-facing hook that glinted with a cold, ghostly blue light. A casual sweep could cut through a tree as thick as a man's embrace.
Lang Taihui's teeth chattered uncontrollably.
This was the despair that rose from the depths of one's soul when faced with overwhelming power.
Forget hunting it; he didn't even have the courage to look at it again. It was as if staying there for one more second would let that evil intent devour his soul.
"There's nothing I can do! She's beyond saving!"
He scrambled down from the tree, not even bothering to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and sprinted toward Li Moyue and Lei Xiang without looking back.
Zhu Zhuqing was already beyond help.
That evil creature was charging this way, straight toward her.
If he went over now, he'd only get himself killed too.
Better to bring word of the Soul Beast back to Spirit Hall. Perhaps then he could make amends and escape punishment for dereliction of duty.
A moment later, he appeared in front of the two of them.
When Li Moyue saw him, she first breathed a sigh of relief, then instinctively looked toward the direction Zhu Zhuqing had fled and asked in a small voice,
"Teacher, Zhuqing, she..."
Before she could finish, Lang Taihui silenced her with a look as cold as ice.
He grabbed Li Moyue around the waist, his voice urgent and harsh.
"Forget her! If you don't want to die, come with me!"
Lei Xiang had been sprawled on the ground. When he saw Lang Taihui, he looked as if he'd seen his savior and scrambled after him.
But when he heard the words "Forget her," he suddenly stopped.
Zhu Zhuqing had just saved his life.
He looked back into the depths of the forest. All he could see were swaying tree shadows and the ground trembling more and more violently.
His lips turned white from biting down on them, and his fingernails dug deep into his palms.
But the next instant, a tiger's roar shook leaves from the trees.
Fear instantly drowned out that insignificant trace of guilt.
He shook his head hard, turned around, and ran after Lang Taihui.
The three figures soon disappeared into the dense forest.
The ground shook more and more violently.
Each tremor was like a heavy hammer striking Zhu Zhuqing's chest, making her already ragged breathing even more labored.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and a nauseating evil intent.
The surrounding flowers and grass withered and blackened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Even the sunlight seemed blocked by that aura, leaving only a gloomy grayness between heaven and earth.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned against a thick ancient tree, gasping for breath.
Her lungs hurt as if they'd been rubbed with sandpaper, and branches and gravel had scraped wounds all over her body.
Sweat mixed with blood soaked her clothes, clinging to her skin, cold and heavy.
She tried to stand, but her legs were as weak as cotton. The moment she put weight on them, she staggered and nearly fell.
No. She couldn't collapse here!
She gritted her teeth and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Through her blurred vision, she seemed to see again the sinister youth with dark golden eyes.
"My life isn't mine alone. It belongs to my teacher, too."
"I have to survive."
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath and used the tree trunk to slowly straighten up.
She staggered forward a few steps, leaving a bloody footprint on the ground with each one.
Just like those days at Spirit Hall, when she ran with weights on her back until she collapsed, then gritted her teeth and got back up to keep going again and again.
But just then, a huge black shadow appeared at the edge of her vision.
It was a giant tiger she had never seen before.
Pure black fur, blood-red eyes, and that terrifying tail tipped with a hook.
It was astonishingly fast. A few leaps carried it hundreds of meters, snapping giant trees in its path and leaving deep claw marks in the ground.
Zhu Zhuqing's heart stopped.
Its appearance inexplicably reminded her of the "Hell White Tiger" mentioned in her family.
The unique Martial Soul Fusion Skill of the Dai Family and Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire.
But this tiger-shaped Soul Beast before her shared only a little of its name with the Hell White Tiger. Its appearance and aura were worlds apart from the real thing, and its evil presence made her scalp crawl.
Whatever the case, it was a Soul Beast over ten thousand years old.
She couldn't run anymore.
She really couldn't.
Her legs could no longer support her weight. Her knees buckled, and she crashed heavily to the ground.
Gravel cut into her knees, and blood welled up, but she couldn't feel any pain at all.
Despair, like icy seawater, slowly swallowed her.
Something slid from the corner of her eye, warm against her skin.
She raised a hand and wiped it away, leaving a faint wet streak on the back of her hand.
She stared blankly at the streak, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
"Teacher... I'm sorry. I still couldn't do it..."
But just then, a scorching surge of indignation welled up from her chest.
She was so unwilling to accept this.
She didn't want to die here.
She didn't want to die before breaking free from the shackles of fate.
She didn't want her life to end so abruptly.
The words Gu Chensha had taught her in the dormitory those days suddenly rang clear in her mind.
"The power of the Primordial Demon Spider Emperor has always been inside you."
"If you use it carelessly at Spirit Hall, you'll be discovered. But when you're truly cornered, don't be afraid. Release it."
"It's your weapon, and it's part of you."
That's right. I still have a trump card!
Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes and sank her awareness into the deepest part of her body, reaching for the power she had carefully sealed away.
Back in the dormitory, she had only tested it a few times under Gu Chensha's guidance.
But this time, she was going to stake everything on it.
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly opened her eyes.
A dark golden gleam blazed in her pupils like a raging fire.
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