Magma Demon Lion

Waking up the next day, Ye Guchen had expected Dai Mubai to bring in teachers from Shrek Academy to settle the score, but the night passed without a sound, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he did not fear the teachers of Shrek Academy, even if he couldn't defeat them, the worst-case scenario was simply dying and starting over.

Even though he didn't know why they hadn't come for revenge, Ye Guchen didn't want to wait for them to show up at his door, so once Zhu Zhuqing woke up, he took her and headed toward Heaven Dou City.

After all, dying once consumed one level of soul power, so it was better to save it whenever possible.

Back at Shrek Academy, Flender and the other teachers were rushing about in a flurry.

There was no other reason; Dai Mubai had collapsed from excessive blood loss just as he reached the gates of Shrek Academy, and he had yet to wake up.

"Who did this!"

Flender looked at the bloodless face on the bed. This was one of his proudest students at Shrek, yet now his eyes were tightly shut, and his skin was pale from the massive loss of blood.

No one answered.

The night was deep, and no one knew who the culprit was.

The only person who knew the truth was still unconscious.

This stifling frustration welled up in Flender's chest, causing his fingers to dig into the back of the chair until the hardwood cracked with several deep fissures.

It was fortunate that Dai Mubai had a strong life force; he had been discovered by Ma Hongjun, who was sneaking out to find women, which was the only reason he had been saved.

Just as Ye Guchen was holding Zhu Zhuqing and rushing toward Heaven Dou City in the Dou I timeline, the group in the Dou II timeline had also arrived at the destination of their operation after two or three days of travel—the Magma Mountain Range!

Within this Magma Mountain Range lived a group of Magma Demon Lion, fire-attribute social soul beasts, with the population ranging from hundred-year to ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

The goal of their trip was a fifty-thousand-year Magma Demon Lion within the pride!

A wave of heat washed over them.

"We're here." Dai Yueheng raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. "The territory of the Magma Demon Lion. The leader is a seventy-thousand-year Lava Lion King. Keep your wits about you."

The group lay behind the scorched rocks, peeking forward.

"I suggest we find a way to scatter the pride; otherwise, the eight of us are far from being a match for a pride that possesses over a dozen ten-thousand-year soul beasts."

Dai Yueheng was the first to put forward his view, and everyone nodded in unison.

"Lure the pride away? Easier said than done."

Ling Luochen crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze sweeping across the churning magma rivers in the distance.

"These beasts aren't stupid. A seventy-thousand-year Lava Lion King likely has higher intelligence than the average person. Look at that patch of scorched rock—"

Following her gaze, in the middle section of the Magma Mountain Range, more than a dozen fire-red lions of varying sizes were lazily lying on the black volcanic rock, their manes like burning flames.

Among them, an exceptionally large male lion lay at the highest point, its entire body flowing with gold-red patterns. Even from several miles away, the scorching pressure made the air slightly distort.

"Lava Lion King." Dai Yueheng whispered, his brows locked in a frown.

Gongyang Mo leaned toward Ye Guchen and whispered:

"Little Guchen, can you use your spiritual detection to see the specific distribution?"

Ye Guchen nodded, a flash of gold in his eyes, and invisible spiritual fluctuations spread out like ripples in water.

A few seconds later, he shared the image he saw with everyone:

"There are fifty-seven lions in total. Thirty-eight are hundred-year soul beasts, twelve are thousand-year, and seven are ten-thousand-year or above. Their distribution looks random, but it is actually extremely systematic. Around the hundred and thousand-year lions, there is always a ten-thousand-year Magma Demon Lion guarding them, and the seven-thousand-year Lava Lion King with the highest age is lying at the highest point, its gaze radiating over the entire pride."

"A seventy-thousand-year Magma Demon Lion has combat power comparable to a Soul Douluo! This is quite tricky!" Gongyang Mo smoothed his hair. "Among us, Sister Xiaotao has the highest cultivation at only level sixty. We can't fight this battle!"

Everyone fell silent.

"I think we can do this: have my pet beast, the Fire Luan Bird, lure the Lion King away, and then Ling Luochen and I will lure that fifty-thousand-year Magma Demon Lion out of the pride."

"While you all lie in ambush beforehand, we eight will attack together before the pride and the Lion King can provide support, taking it down in one fell swoop. But don't kill it; take it far away from here before absorbing the soul ring."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in unison. At the moment, this was indeed the best plan.

With Yan Shaozhe guarding in the shadows, their safety was guaranteed.

"Since there are no objections, let's split up! Use my spiritual network to maintain contact throughout the process!"

"Understood!"

Immediately, a primitive Contract Grimoire appeared in Ye Guchen's hand.

The Fire Luan Bird let out a clear cry, its wings spreading over a zhang wide. Its solid crimson feathers pulsed like flames, appearing exceptionally dazzling under the dark red sky.

"No need to fight it, just lure it far away, the further the better!"

"Xiao Hong, go."

Ye Guchen patted the neck of the Fire Luan Bird, and a joyful response came through their spiritual imprint.

The Fire Luan Bird soared into the air, transforming into a streak of red-gold light as it dove straight toward the core area of the pride.

Its flight path deliberately dragged a long tail of light, the scorching heat waves tearing a distorted trail through the air, while at the same time, countless rains of fire fell toward the Lion King.

This was the most arrogant provocation!

The Lava Lion King at the highest point suddenly raised its head, its golden-red beastly pupils locking onto the Fire Luan Bird in the sky that did not know the meaning of death.

Deep within those pupils, there was no irrational rage, but rather a flicker of icy indifference.

It was a unique, contemptuous killing intent, the kind felt when a throne is provoked by mere ants.

It slowly stood up, its mane exploding outward like a burning solar disc. A low, rumbling roar rolled from its throat, shattering the scorched rock beneath its feet into dust.

The roar was not loud, yet it carried a pressure that struck directly at the soul. The Magma Demon Lion pack within a radius of several miles simultaneously lowered their front bodies, emitting uneasy whimpers.

The Fire Luan Bird's form faltered for a split second, and in that moment of hesitation, the Lava Lion King moved.

Its four hooves crushed the rock beneath it, and its massive body transformed into a golden-red afterimage, erupting into the sky.

It was not flying, but rather relying on the terrifying physique forged by seventy thousand years of cultivation to complete a leap from a standstill to piercing the sky in a single instant!

Its flared mane dragged behind it like a scorching arc of light at high speed. With its lion maw wide open, a condensed golden-red breath erupted, grazing the tip of the Fire Luan Bird's right wing.

"Hiss—"

Several crimson feathers instantly turned charred, curling and shattering.

Ye Guchen felt a sharp prick in his brain; the pain and panic transmitted by the Fire Luan Bird pierced his spiritual imprint like a red-hot needle.

Although their senses were not shared, Ye Guchen, as the master of the Fire Luan Bird, clearly sensed that the strike had grazed the wingtip of Xiao Hong.

The veins on his forehead throbbed and his lips pressed into a thin line, but he calmly issued the command:

"Xiao Hong, southwest direction, full speed!"

The Fire Luan Bird stabilized its form, proudly letting out an even clearer cry before turning and streaking wildly toward the southwestern horizon.

The Lava Lion King did not pause upon landing and leaped again to pursue. Two ten-thousand-year Magma Demon Lions attempted to follow, but were halted by a roar from the Lion King.

The proud king intended to tear that arrogant fire bird into pieces with its own claws.

The bird and the lion quickly receded into the distance, leaving only two shrinking specks of light on the horizon.

The scorched marks of that breath lingered in the air, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

"Now!"

Golden light surged in Ye Guchen's eyes as his spiritual detection opened fully, sharing the current movements of the lion pack with everyone without reservation.

"The Lion King is far away, but the vigilance of the other ten-thousand-year Magma Demon Lions has increased significantly."

"Sister Luochen, follow me!"

Ling Luochen nodded silently, her ice-blue hair fluttering in the hot wind as she and Ye Guchen darted out from their hiding spot in the rock crevice, one to the left and one to the right.

Their target was a fifty-thousand-year Magma Demon Lion on the western edge of the pack.

This lion was a size larger than the average ten-thousand-year Magma Demon Lion, with a row of dark golden spikes growing along its spine.

As the second strongest of the pack, it was still lazily basking in the sun.

As their toes lightly tapped the rocks, a touch of frost quietly condensed, only to be instantly steamed into fine water mist by the heat waves.

In the air where cold and heat met, a sharp hiss sounded, like an ancient confrontation declaring war in the silence.

Ye Guchen's spiritual power locked onto the lion with precision.

"Sister Luochen, lure it to the east later. Once it enters the valley, you take Xiao Bing and cut off its retreat."

"Understood!"

As the words fell, Ye Guchen summoned the ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion from his Contract Grimoire, which shrank to the size of a palm the moment it appeared.

Ye Guchen handed it to Ling Luochen.

"Sister Luochen, take Xiao Bing; it will be of help to you!"

Ling Luochen reached out to take the Ice Jade Scorpion, and a surge of pure ice-attribute soul power flowed into her body.

That power seeped into her meridians through the slightly open pores of her palms, as clear and cold as the first drop of meltwater from the deepest part of a glacier.

The attribute of Ultimate Ice once again attached itself to the ice-attribute soul power within her.

"Crack."

Like ice that had been frozen for years, a subtle, imperceptible crack was suddenly struck by a bolt of spring thunder.

Her body trembled violently, and her fingers nearly failed to hold the palm-sized scorpion.

This tremor was not from pain, but from the return of that addictive sensation.

She opened her eyes and looked at Ye Guchen.

In that gaze, besides the intense heat, there was a softness that was unfamiliar even to herself.

"Ultimate Ice... with this power, just watch me."

Ye Guchen nodded. Of course, giving the Ice Jade Scorpion to Ling Luochen wasn't just to let her use Ultimate Ice; one had to know that the combat power of a twenty-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion was far greater than that of Ling Luochen, who was not yet a Soul King.

The reason he gave it to her was simply as a safety insurance.

At this moment, in the spiritual network, everyone was in position.

Dai Yueheng's breathing slowed, and Gongyang Mo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The halo of auxiliary soul power around him spread out like ripples, oscillating in circles.

Yao Haoxuan clenched his fists, his knuckles popping with a dull, crisp sound.

Ling Luochen's eyelashes fluttered, a crystal of ice forming at her fingertip, only to be swept away by the hot wind and vanish into a wisp of white steam above the scorched rock.

Within Ye Guchen's shared mental link, everyone could hear each other's heartbeats.

Steady, rapid, like war drums beating one after another in the darkness.

He closed his eyes, silently counting the rhythm of those heartbeats, and then, at the eighth, heaviest strike—

He snapped his eyes open.

"Three!"

The Ice Jade Scorpion stretched its body in Ling Luochen's palm, a pale blue halo silently lighting up its frame.

"Two!"

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused entirely on this ten-thousand-year Molten Demon Lion and the two of them; the breathing of the lion pride in the distance seemed to have collectively vanished.

"One!"

"Move!"