The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor

When Qiangu Zhangting charged into the Testing Chamber with a squad of guards, his murderous intent heavy in the air, the atmosphere seemed to freeze instantly.

Leng Yaozhu furrowed her brows slightly, a flicker of impatience crossing her crimson eyes.

Blood Eight narrowed her beautiful eyes.

Meanwhile, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff spirit on Luo Yang's shoulder let out a low, hostile growl at the intruders.

That sound instantly drew Qiangu Zhangting's attention.

His gaze locked onto the golden phantom on Luo Yang's shoulder, his expression turning dark and gloomy.

"That is my spirit!" Qiangu Zhangting spat, each word squeezed through his teeth. "What kind of thing are you to dare snatch what I have set my sights on?"

Luo Yang could not even be bothered to look up at him.

"Qiangu Zhangting," Leng Yaozhu said coldly. "This Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff is public property of the Spirit Pagoda, not a private collection for the Qiangu Family. Furthermore, today's spirit beast riot was caused by you in the first place. What right do you have to be shouting here?"

"Then why is he allowed to have it?!" Qiangu Zhangting pointed sharply at Luo Yang, his eyes brimming with jealousy and hatred. "Has the Spirit Pagoda changed its surname to Leng without me knowing?!"

"Because in your hands, it would be wasted." Leng Yaozhu's reply was simple and cruel. "A spirit beast like the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff requires a master who can match its ferocity. And you are unworthy."

The air went abruptly silent.

Qiangu Zhangting's face shifted from red to white, then to a sickly shade of green.

That word, "unworthy," struck like a blade, piercing the most vulnerable part of him: his talent.

He was, in truth, not a top-tier genius.

Despite the resources piled upon him by his family, his achievement of being a four-ring soul master at fourteen seemed decent, but it paled in comparison to true prodigies.

However, his pride would not allow him to admit it.

"Enough talk!" Qiangu Zhangting took a deep breath, his killing intent nearly solidifying as he glared at Luo Yang. "You little bastard, hand over the spirit now, then kneel and kowtow to apologize. Perhaps... I might leave your corpse intact."

The temperature inside the Testing Chamber seemed to drop by several degrees.

Sparks began to dance within Leng Yaozhu's narrowed crimson eyes.

Blood Eight radiated a dangerous aura.

The small lion mastiff on Luo Yang's shoulder bared its fangs, a low, threatening growl rolling in its throat.

Then, Luo Yang laughed.

It was a very soft laugh.

Yet, in this tense moment, it was exceptionally clear.

"Your property?" Luo Yang sounded as if he had heard a hilarious joke. "As of now, it is mine."

He found it truly difficult to understand where Qiangu Zhangting found the confidence to issue death threats when Leng Yaozhu was so clearly backing him.

This was not just failing to show him respect; it was trampling on the dignity of Leng Yaozhu, the Vice Pagoda Master.

But upon a second thought, it made sense.

In the original story, Qiangu Zhangting was all ambition and no talent, arrogant to a fault, useless at everything but causing trouble—a classic template for a spoiled, good-for-nothing brat.

Some people were born living in their own world, convinced the universe should revolve around them.

Qiangu Zhangting's pupils suddenly contracted.

He had lived this long, and never had anyone dared to speak to him in such a tone, one even tinged with a hint of pitying mockery.

Not to mention, the other party had snatched the spirit he was determined to possess!

"Good... very good!" Qiangu Zhangting laughed in his rage, his soul power fluctuating violently. "Since you are so eager to die—"

He waved his hand abruptly.

"Take him!"

However, not a single one of the guards behind him moved.

To reach a position in the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, who among them wasn't shrewd?

The situation before them was crystal clear.

Leng Yaozhu was obviously on the side of that youth, and the conflict between the Leng Family and the Qiangu Family had long since gone public.

In a clash between these heavyweights, what else would it be but suicide for minor characters on a meager monthly salary to get involved?

Consequently, the scene became incredibly awkward.

Qiangu Zhangting remained filled with murderous intent, while the guards stared at their own noses, as motionless as clay statues.

Luo Yang's expression grew even stranger.

Blood Eight let out a sneer without any attempt at concealment, her gaze full of disdain.

At that moment, Qiangu Zhangting felt like a complete and utter clown.

"Do you truly believe," Leng Yaozhu's voice grew colder, "that by relying on being the grandson of Qiangu Dongfeng, you can do whatever you please in the Spirit Pagoda?"

"If you have something to say, go tell my grandfather!" Qiangu Zhangting dropped all pretenses, grinning hideously. "But today, this little bastard and that damn beast must die! I said so!"

The Leng Family and the Qiangu Family had long been at daggers drawn; what did it matter if they tore off the mask of civility today? He refused to believe that his grandfather would not stand on his side!

"You wanted this soul beast, didn't you?" Luo Yang suddenly spoke.

His voice was calm, yet it left Qiangu Zhangting momentarily stunned.

Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone present.

Luo Yang raised his right hand and tapped lightly toward the corpse of the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in the corner of the room.

"I'll return it to you."

"Hum—"

Gray-white ripples undulated outward.

The giant beast's corpse, which had already lost all traces of life, suddenly...

Moved.

First, its claws twitched slightly, then its chest began to heave, and finally, those tightly shut golden eyes snapped open!

"ROAR—!!!"

A deafening roar resounded through the Testing Chamber!

The small Lion Mastiff soul spirit on Luo Yang's shoulder also widened its eyes, staring in disbelief at its own "resurrected" corpse.

Wait, I'm right here?!

Then who is that resurrected thing?!

This was precisely the ability of Luo Yang's martial soul: resurrecting the dead.

And that was not all.

Luo Yang shifted his intent slightly.

The small Lion Mastiff soul spirit on his shoulder transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting into the resurrected body.

The next second, a blinding radiance erupted from within the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff!

Its size expanded in the light, and its golden fur became even more dazzling and eye-catching, as if molten gold were flowing across it.

Most astonishing of all was the center of its forehead, where a tuft of crimson fur had sprouted, shaped like a burning crown of flames.

Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor!

A terrifying aura, several times stronger than before and mixed with nobility and defiance, swept out like a storm!

"What... what kind of ability is this?!"

Leng Yaozhu's pupils constricted.

Blood Eight also held her breath.

Qiangu Zhangting's face turned livid, but it was immediately replaced by an even deeper rage: "Playing god! It's nothing but a beast."

He raised his hand abruptly, and a long staff, dark gold throughout and carved with dragon patterns, appeared in his palm.

The inherited martial soul of the Qiangu Family—Coiling Dragon Staff!

The moment the staff appeared, a low dragon's groan echoed in the room, carrying a natural sense of oppression.

"In the end, it's just a beast!"

Qiangu Zhangting shouted sharply as three soul rings rose from beneath his feet—two yellow, one purple—and he smashed the staff down toward the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor!

But he had underestimated two things.

First, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff was renowned for "ignoring dragon might," and the dragon's groan of the Coiling Dragon Staff had no effect on it whatsoever.

Second, the strength of the current Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor had undergone a qualitative leap.

Under the 300% all-attribute boost from Luo Yang's Calamity Domain, combined with the fusion of the soul spirit and the undead body, this Lion Mastiff's combat power had soared to a terrifying level.

"Bang!"

The moment the lion's claw collided with the Coiling Dragon Staff, Qiangu Zhangting's expression changed.

Such heavy force!

Without giving him time to react, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor's second claw whistled through the air!

This time, the wind from the claw tore through the air, leaving behind three dark golden afterimages.

Qiangu Zhangting hurriedly held his staff horizontally to block.

"BOOM—!!!"

In an instant, he was forced back three steps, the web of his hand split open, and blood trickled down the length of the staff.

"How is this possible..." Terror flashed through Qiangu Zhangting's eyes.

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor did not care what he was thinking. Fighting with growing fervor, the golden light around its body grew increasingly intense, with every claw strike carrying the power to shatter mountains and split rocks.

For it, the battle was no longer a burden but an indulgence; this sensation of power filling its entire body, as if it could tear through anything, was something it had never experienced in its life!

Combat is exhilarating!!

If there had been a shred of humiliation in its heart at being forced to become a spirit before, now, only one thought remained.

Submitting to this human was simply the wisest choice of its entire life, bar none!

The Lion Mastiff roared in its heart, its attacks becoming increasingly ferocious.

Meanwhile, Qiangu Zhangting was becoming ever more disheveled.

His Coiling Dragon Staff technique was supposed to be a top-tier assault-style combat method, but under the suppression of absolute strength and speed, he couldn't unleash it at all.

What was even more terrifying was that his opponent seemed to be constantly adapting and growing stronger mid-battle!

Damn it... how could this beast's strength have increased so much?!

Qiangu Zhangting was both shocked and furious.

In the split second he was distracted.

"ROAR--!!!"

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor opened its maw and let out a roar mixed with a mental shock! The sound waves spread out like solid matter.

Qiangu Zhangting felt his brain go blank, his movements slowing by half a beat.

And in that very instant.

Three dark-gold claw shadows tore through the air, whistling toward his face!

Qiangu Zhangting's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, and he raised his Coiling Dragon Staff with all his might.

"BANG--!!!"

A more violent boom erupted.

This time, he was sent flying like a broken sack, slamming hard into the wall of the Testing Chamber. He spat out a mouthful of blood, the Coiling Dragon Staff flew from his hands, and it landed on the ground with a "clatter."

Defeated.

Utterly and completely defeated.

Leng Yaozhu stared deeply at the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor standing proudly, her shock beyond words.

This strength... it had definitely reached the Soul Saint level!

No, perhaps even higher!

And all of this stemmed from that six-year-old child.

Her gaze turned toward Luo Yang, who was watching the Lion Mastiff with a thoughtful expression, seemingly surprised by this "unexpected windfall" as well.

It was indeed unexpected.

Resurrecting and controlling the undead was a talent of his martial soul; he was clear on that.

But the fusion and subsequent evolution of the spirit with its "former self" was truly an unexpected windfall. This was by no means a simple 1+1=2, but rather a geometric increase in strength!

Usually, a soul master's spirit, especially a non-bound spirit, was mostly just "decoration" with limited combat assistance.

But the current Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor had already exceeded the category of an ordinary spirit; it was more like a brand-new existence, caught between a spirit and a soul beast, possessing the advantages of both.

And his own situation was likely a unique, one-of-a-kind case.

Because he could resurrect the undead shell, and the spirit could perfectly merge with and dominate this resurrected and reinforced "old body"...

Interesting... truly an unexpected windfall.

Luo Yang's lips curled slightly, quite satisfied with this discovery.