Yuanen Yehui

If an ordinary soul master were here, even a Soul Grand Master or a Soul Elder, they would likely have to brace themselves or even consider a tactical retreat when facing a thousand-year Iron-Armed Ape in a "berserk" state.

However, Luo Yang merely raised an eyebrow.

"Perfect, I'll use you to test my strength."

With a slight shift of his intent.

"Hum--!"

The space beside him rippled slightly, and golden light bloomed!

The miniature Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff soul spirit let out a low growl, transforming into a streak of golden light that shot out and instantly fused with the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor shell summoned by Luo Yang at the same time!

"ROAR--!!!"

A roar, more majestic and tyrannical than that of the Iron-Armed Ape and filled with the aura of a glorious king, shook the forest!

Over five meters long, with golden light flowing across its entire body and a Crimson Flame King Mark on its forehead, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor appeared before the Iron-Armed Ape like a divine beast descended to earth!

The terrifying aura it exuded caused the chirping of insects and birds within dozens of meters to fall instantly silent!

There was no nonsense or probing whatsoever.

"BOOM!"

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor kicked off the ground with its hind legs, leaving a shallow crater, and transformed into a golden afterimage impossible to track with the naked eye, pouncing straight at the Iron-Armed Ape!

The speed was so fast it triggered a piercing sonic boom!

A fierce light flashed in the Iron-Armed Ape's scarlet eyes as it swung its long arms, bringing them down with a whistling gale!

Do you think you're strong just because you look more imposing than me? Let me show you, little kitty, what a true King of the Jungle is!

The Iron-Armed Ape had absolute confidence in its own strength!

"CLANG--!!!"

It was as if two giant hammers had collided!

A thunderous sound like metal striking metal exploded, and a shockwave spread in a ring, whipping up the fallen leaves covering the ground!

However, the result was one-sided!

"CRACK!"

A clear sound of bone fracturing rang out.

"AWOOO--!" The Iron-Armed Ape let out a miserable howl of pain; its iron arm, capable of splitting boulders, bent unnaturally under the pounce of the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor!

Yet the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor merely shook its head; there wasn't even a white mark on its golden fur!

Pure, crushing power!

Immediately following, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor opened its massive maw, and a terrifying sonic wave mixed with mental impact erupted at close range!

Before the Iron-Armed Ape could even unleash its "Intimidating Roar," it was stunned by this higher-order lion's roar, its movements locking up as a brief moment of dullness appeared in its scarlet eyes.

It was this very instant!

"SHING--!"

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor raised its giant claws, and three dark golden claw beams, condensed to the point of being tangible, flashed by!

The Iron-Armed Ape's massive body froze in place, and a huge, jagged wound from its left shoulder to its right abdomen slowly appeared, deep enough to reveal bone.

The next moment, its body turned into countless scattering points of light, rapidly dissipating into the air, leaving behind only a pure, fist-sized pale golden energy orb floating in place.

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor walked forward and easily absorbed the energy orb.

Luo Yang could clearly feel a subtle sense of improvement in both the age of his soul ring and the strength of his soul spirit.

"Not bad, very efficient."

Luo Yang nodded with satisfaction.

With the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor as a "bulldozer," it seemed he could walk sideways through this first level of the Spirit Ascension Platform.

"Continue, push deeper."

Outside, Leng Yaozhu had been observing Luo Yang the entire time, a satisfied curve tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Not bad."

Leng Yaozhu watched Luo Yang on the screen, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly: "But I am even more curious, what is the effect of your first soul skill!"

In another area of the Spirit Ascension Platform, deep within the primeval forest.

A nimble black figure was rapidly weaving through the trees.

It was a black-haired girl who looked to be about ten years old; her face was exquisite, yet she possessed a suppressed sense of ferocity.

Most striking were the pair of pitch-black energy wings unfurled behind her back—they were not physical, yet they were truly there, with dark purple evil light flowing along their edges, emitting a fallen, icy aura.

Yuanen Yehui.

At this moment, a curve tugged at the corner of her lips.

Only within the Spirit Ascension Platform, a space isolated from the outside world, did she dare to unleash her second martial soul so recklessly.

In the real world, once this martial soul was exposed, she would almost certainly be branded an "Evil Soul Master," inviting endless pursuit and ostracization.

Only here could she briefly return to being a "complete" version of herself, feeling the thrill of power surging without restraint.

"Roar--!"

A low, deep, and oppressive roar interrupted her thoughts. The dense forest ahead burst open to the sides as a behemoth strode forward with earth-shaking steps, blocking her path.

It was a bear-type soul beast, but its size far exceeded that of an ordinary bear. Standing four or five meters tall, its entire body was covered in thick, dark-gold fur, as if it were wearing a suit of metallic armor.

Most terrifying were its front paws; the claws protruding from its fingertips were not the usual curved hooks, but dark-gold blades about a foot long. They gleamed with a chilling light, as if they could easily slice through the hardest alloy.

Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!

A true king of slaughter among soul beasts!

An existence invincible in close combat at the same level! Judging by its aura, its cultivation had reached at least three thousand years!

How could she have encountered such a soul beast!

Yuanen Yehui's pupils constricted.

There was no unnecessary standoff.

"Fallen Angel Wings, Darkness Impact!" Yuanen Yehui shouted sharply. Her pitch-black wings snapped open behind her, and countless purple-black energy arrows poured toward the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear like a torrential rain!

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear did not dodge or evade; it simply raised its terrifying Dark Gold Terrorclaws and swiped them in a cross before its chest!

"Chi chi chi--!"

The purple-black arrows collided with the Dark Gold Terrorclaws. Most were swatted away instantly, and the few that struck its body left only faint scorch marks on its dark-gold fur, failing to cause any substantial damage.

The strength of its defense was evident!

"Bang!"

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's massive body erupted with a speed inconsistent with its size, closing the distance in an instant and swiping with a claw!

The wind from the claw was shrill, and wherever it passed, trees as thick as a person could embrace were sliced through as easily as tofu!

A terrifying whistle of air rushed toward her.

Yuanen Yehui's expression changed abruptly. She immediately relied on the agility granted by her Fallen Angel Wings to narrowly dodge to the side.

But the claw wind still tore through her sleeve, leaving a bloody gash.

No!

Both the attack power and defensive capabilities of this soul beast were far above her own.

She had to escape!

Her gaze hardened; she knew she could not fight it head-on.

"Fallen Domain, Slow!"

A ring of dark purple light expanded from her as the center, enveloping the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

In an instant, gravity seemed to intensify within the area covered by the dark purple domain, and the air became viscous.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's movements were indeed visibly slowed by a fraction.

At this moment, Yuanen Yehui's wings were fully spread, and all her soul power surged into them. Her eyes turned completely pitch-black, and a dark energy filled with destructive intent rapidly condensed and compressed between her hands.

It finally transformed into a purple-black ray, only as thick as an arm but condensed to the extreme, shooting toward the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's head!

Wrath of the Fallen Angel!

This was the strongest strike she could currently unleash, draining most of her soul power and mental energy!

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear seemed to sense the threat as well. It let out a roar, crossing its Dark Gold Terrorclaws to protect its head while the dark-gold light on its body flared brilliantly!

"Boom--!!!"

The purple-black ray collided fiercely with the Dark Gold Terrorclaws!

Blinding energy erupted, illuminating the surrounding dozens of meters in a mix of purple and gold!

The light faded.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was still standing, but two deep, charred marks had appeared on the claws protecting its head, and one of the claw blades even showed fine cracks.

Then, its massive body swayed slightly; it had clearly suffered a significant shock.

As for Yuanen Yehui, her face was as pale as paper, and the Fallen Angel Wings behind her had become illusory and unstable, swaying precariously.

But those pitch-black eyes remained fixed on the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, praying in her heart that this strike would be enough to severely injure or even defeat it.

After a few seconds of suffocating silence.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear slowly lowered its claws, its eyes, filled with violence, still locked tightly onto Yuanen Yehui.

It hadn't fallen!

Yuanen Yehui's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

She no longer had the soul power to launch another decent attack.

"ROAR--!!!"

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear seemed thoroughly enraged, letting out a deafening roar toward the sky. Its injured claw did nothing to dampen its ferocity; instead, it only made the beast more violent!

Then, it lunged fiercely toward the nearly exhausted Yuanen Yehui!

In an instant, that pair of Dark Gold Terrorclaw flashing with cold light, carrying a deathly aura capable of tearing through everything, rapidly magnified in her pupils!

She couldn't dodge it... was she going to die?

Yuanen Yehui watched the shadow of the death-dealing claws drawing ever closer. Surprisingly, she felt no great fear in her heart, but rather an indescribable sense of relief.

Perhaps... ending it like this wouldn't be so bad.

No longer having to bear the burden of this martial soul deemed evil, no longer having to carefully hide herself, no longer having to face those gazes filled with fear or disgust...

She slowly closed her eyes.

However--

The expected, excruciating pain did not arrive.

What rang in her ears was a completely different, beastly howl filled with agony and shock!

Immediately following that was the thunderous crash of a heavy object hitting the ground, And... a certain warm and powerful aura quietly permeated the air.

Yuanen Yehui's long eyelashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing to enter her vision was the corpse of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, lying a few meters in front of her and slowly dissolving into specks of light.

Then, her gaze moved past the dissipating light and landed not far away.

A boy who looked a few years younger than her was standing there quietly.

He wore simple light-colored casual clothes, with black hair and black eyes, his appearance strikingly handsome.

Beside him stood a golden giant beast, even larger than the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, with a Crimson Flame King Mark on its forehead and radiating a terrifying, tyrannical aura.

The giant beast was slowly retracting the massive claw it had just struck with, its golden beast-eyes glancing indifferently at the vanishing Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, as if it had merely swatted a bothersome insect to death.

Yuanen Yehui was slightly stunned, forgetting how to speak, forgetting where she was, and forgetting the despair of her near-death experience.

Only her heart, within her chest, uncontrollably gave a heavy thud.