Outside, in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Qin Yun opened his eyes. His aura was calm and restrained, giving no hint that he was already a Level 17 Soul Grandmaster, much less that he possessed a Million-Year Soul Ring.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Wang Sheng all stared at him with curiosity.
They had witnessed everything: the sudden, icy pressure that had descended moments ago, the brilliant, extraordinary Soul Ring, and the earth-shaking changes in Qin Yun's aura. Their hearts were already churning like storm-tossed seas.
But they all chose to stay silent.
Qin Yun didn't want to say more, so they didn't ask.
After all, who didn't have a few secrets these days?
Out of trust and respect, Qin Yun hadn't asked them about theirs. By the same token, they wouldn't pry into his.
As long as they knew they wouldn't hurt one another, that was enough.
At that very moment, the atmosphere between heaven and earth changed abruptly!
A terrifying beastly pressure, violent and grief-stricken, surged with murderous intent and crashed down like Mount Tai!
The distant forest exploded as a tiger three times larger than the previous beast came charging toward them. Its entire body was scarlet, its fur stained with blood, and its eyes blood-red.
The fur at the tip of its tail was purple, and it was a full five meters long!
Thanks to Qin Yun's training, Tang San and the others recognized it at a glance: this was a Flame-Patterned Mountain-Splitting Tiger with roughly five thousand years of cultivation!
Worse still, judging by its appearance and current state, it was almost certainly the mother of the Soul Beast they'd killed earlier!
It had returned from patrolling its territory to find its offspring dead before its eyes, its bloodline cut off forever. In an instant, boundless fury swept away its reason.
At that moment, Qin Yun could understand whatever it wanted to do!
After all, speaking honestly, if he were in its position, he probably wouldn't be able to stay calm either.
Unfortunately, this extraordinary system of cultivation had doomed humans and Soul Beasts to their fates from the very beginning!
"It's just the law of the jungle. Today, it's unlucky. Who knows? Next time, it might be us."
Following the lingering traces of their scent, the Flame-Patterned Mountain-Splitting Tiger locked onto Qin Yun and the others. It roared and snarled, wishing it could tear them apart and devour them to avenge its child.
A Soul Beast with five thousand years of cultivation was already comparable in strength to a Soul Elder around Level 35.
Under the pressure of its superior level, the Soul Power it released made the surrounding trees shudder and rustle.
Wang Sheng's face turned deathly pale. Tang San and Xiao Wu also tensed up, their Soul Power surging as they immediately prepared for battle.
In the sea of consciousness, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's fur stood on end.
It had finally found a hope. It couldn't let a mere five-thousand-year Soul Beast destroy him.
So Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had been lying low in the mental space and pretending to be dead, now volunteered to fight.
"Big brother, you're still no match for it. Relax your mind and let me borrow your body.
"It's only a five-thousand-year-old bug. It's nothing in front of me!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wasn't bragging. In Di Tian's eyes, it might have been a complete waste, a disgrace to its million years of cultivation.
But no matter what, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was still the only Million-Year Soul Beast in the world. Even if it wasn't good at fighting, it was still at least as strong as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—in other words, an ordinary Titled Douluo.
In Douluo II, even after Di Tian and the others had drained it for years, it could still Ice Seal Ma Xiaotao with a single finger after possessing Huo Yuhao!
And Ma Xiaotao had already reached Soul Emperor cultivation at the time.
If Sky Dream Ice Silkworm could fight like that ten thousand years later, how much more powerful would it be now?
Yet Qin Yun simply shook his head at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eager offer to fight.
It was only a five-thousand-year Soul Beast, not a fifty-thousand-year one!
He had successfully fused his First Soul Ring, awakened his third Martial Soul, and increased his Soul Power by seven levels in one go.
With cultivation like this, Qin Yun wanted to use the chance to test his true strength for himself.
And if things went badly, he still had the shotgun, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, and Bodhisattva's Tear as backup!
"No need. A chance to hone myself like this is rare. Tian Meng, just watch my back. I'll handle this myself!"
As he spoke, dazzling golden light suddenly shot from between Qin Yun's brows.
The brilliant golden radiance pierced the clouds. A long spear engraved with ancient dragon patterns and radiating the supreme might of the Dragon God appeared out of thin air, settling firmly into his palm. It was the Golden Dragon Spear!
Its tip gleamed with a razor-sharp edge, seeming to tear through the air around it.
An overwhelming, domineering dragon's might poured out in every direction, instantly suppressing the tiger's vicious aura.
The Flame-Patterned Mountain-Splitting Tiger let out a roar that shook the forest. Murderous intent surged in its scarlet eyes as flames engulfed its body. Its powerful limbs drove it forward, and it lunged with enough force to shatter mountains and split stone, fangs and claws aimed straight at Qin Yun's vital points.
Qin Yun's expression was cold as he activated the Soul Skill bestowed by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
Soul Shock!
An invisible, formless blade of spirit power shot through the air, striking directly at the Flame-Patterned Mountain-Splitting Tiger's spiritual core.
Hit by the sudden mental attack, the once-frenzied tiger went rigid. Its leap came to an abrupt halt.
The ferocity in its eyes quickly faded. Its head fell into a brief, dazed stupor, leaving it wide open.
Qin Yun seized the fleeting opportunity, driving off the ground and shooting forward.
He swung the Golden Dragon Spear, perfectly incorporating the layered power-generating principles of Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer into his spear technique.
The first thrust carried a heavy force;
The second blow landed, its power building;
The third thrust crashed down, the dragon's might shaking the earth!
A dense web of golden spear images engulfed the entire area. With every slash, thrust, and sweep, the force doubled from the previous strike.
He cast aside all fancy moves and crushed his opponent with sheer, overwhelming strength.
The fierce, domineering spearhead struck the tiger again and again, tearing through its thick fur and crushing its sturdy bones. The Dragon God's Power within the spear continuously ate away at its powerful body.
The Flame-Patterned Mountain-Splitting Tiger had only just come to from its daze, yet it was already trapped beneath a storm of spear images, with no way to dodge or fight back. All it could do was let out one agonized howl after another.
At last...
With a deafening crash, the tiger's massive body slammed into the ground. Blood poured from its wounds, and its life faded away completely.
The fierce beastly pressure slowly receded. The forest fell quiet again, with only the wreckage left by the battle scattered across the ground.
Qin Yun flicked his wrist, shaking every drop of blood from the spear. A flash of golden light later, the Golden Dragon Spear turned back into a streak of light and sank into the space between his brows.
But before the three could even react to Qin Yun's strength, their gazes fell on the tiger's corpse. When they saw an object inside it that seemed to glimmer like a gemstone, Tang San and the others couldn't help but widen their eyes.
Wang Sheng: "What's that? A tiger bone?"
"What kind of bone looks like that? Maybe the beast swallowed a gemstone by chance!"
Tang San, who had never received systematic theoretical instruction, couldn't help guessing.
But after studying the gemlike object shaped like an arm, Xiao Wu, who was feeling a little down, corrected him.
"That's not a gemstone. It's a Soul Bone. Judging by its shape, it's a Right Arm Soul Bone!"
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