Yu Yuanzhen's Death

Over in the Star Dou Forest.

Yu Yuanzhen had left Yu Luomian behind to oversee the clan. He had personally brought every elder in the clan at Soul Saint level or above to the location marked on the map.

There were eighteen of them: five Soul Douluo and thirteen Soul Saints. They made up ninety percent of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's high-level fighting force.

They had made thorough preparations to hunt a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast. Yu Yuanzhen had even brought a priceless treasure capable of temporarily boosting his strength.

Yu Yuanzhen was brimming with confidence. A seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast was powerful, but with so many of them, plus the treasure and his level-ninety-five strength, they could surely take it down.

The group stopped near the cave. Yu Yuanzhen gestured for everyone to conceal their auras and approach quietly. That was the only way to maximize the effectiveness of their ambush.

The cave was deep and vast, its interior pitch-black and impossible to make out. But they could sense a powerful aura within.

Yu Yuanzhen's heart leapt with joy. It seemed the map was accurate.

He gave a hand signal, and the others spread out to surround the cave. Then he went forward himself, ready to lure the Soul Beast out.

Just then, a snore like rolling thunder rumbled from inside the cave. Yu Yuanzhen froze.

"The Soul Beast's asleep? Heaven's on our side!"

He crept closer and peered into the cave. Then he saw the target of their expedition.

It was Xiong Jun, in his shrunken form.

The bear looked to be only around thirty thousand years old. Though its body was huge, it was nowhere near the size of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Yu Yuanzhen recognized the colossal creature before him: a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, and only around thirty thousand years old!

It wasn't the bear-type Soul Beast that was seventy thousand years old, but the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was the pinnacle of bear-type Soul Beasts. Its bloodline was of the highest quality. If it dropped a Soul Bone, it would definitely be even better than one from a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast!

He could already picture himself absorbing the Soul Bone, watching his strength surge, then capturing Xuan Qing and Dugu Yan and making Demon Dragon Douluo his mount.

Just thinking about it thrilled him.

"Attack!"

Yu Yuanzhen barked the order. His Soul Rings lit up one after another. He wanted to end the fight quickly, leaving the Soul Beast no chance to react.

The other elders also activated their Martial Soul Avatars. All kinds of Soul Skills crashed into the cave. Light blazed, explosions rang out without pause, and half the cave collapsed.

But what they saw left them dumbfounded: their attacks had no effect on the target at all. They hadn't even scratched its hide. It was like they were tickling it.

Only then did Xiong Jun slowly sit up and stretch. He looked toward the people outside, then grinned widely.

"Done attacking? Then it's time for this old bear to stretch his legs."

It could talk?!

Yu Yuanzhen's face changed dramatically. A Soul Beast that could speak had to be at least a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

They'd been tricked! This wasn't a thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast, or even a seventy-thousand-year one! It was at least a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

As they stared in stunned disbelief, Xiong Jun's body began to swell. In an instant, he had grown to more than forty meters tall. His terrifying aura swept across the area, making everyone's legs go weak.

"A... a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"

One of the Soul Douluo shrieked, his voice trembling.

Even Yu Yuanzhen, foolish as he was, understood now. They'd been played.

"Run!"

Yu Yuanzhen let out a hoarse roar and turned to flee. If they didn't run now, they'd die!

But Xiong Jun wasn't about to let them get away so easily.

"If you can escape, then I might as well have wasted these four hundred and sixty thousand years of cultivation!"

Four hundred and sixty thousand years!

The number nearly made Yu Yuanzhen pass out. At that level, only a Peerless Douluo could probably fight him!

What could their group possibly do? They were just walking into a slaughter.

No!

They weren't even worth calling a meal. They were nothing but bite-sized appetizers.

Yu Yuanzhen tossed his dignity aside and hurriedly begged for mercy.

"P-please spare us, senior! We were tricked into coming here! We didn't know this was your territory. We'll leave right now, right now!"

Xiong Jun scratched his head.

"No!"

"Now that you've come, don't even think about leaving. And you disturbed my sleep, so you'll have to pay for it."

He casually reached out a claw and snatched up one of the Soul Douluo. The man struggled desperately, unleashing every Soul Skill he had.

But it was useless. Xiong Jun's claw was like an iron vise. The man couldn't break free.

"Crunch..."

Xiong Jun tossed the Soul Douluo into his mouth, chewed him a couple of times, smacked his lips, and swallowed.

"Not bad, but he doesn't have much Soul Power. Barely enough to get stuck between my teeth."

The others were terrified out of their minds. A Soul Douluo had just been eaten like that, without even a chance to fight back?

"Run!"

Someone shouted. They scattered in every direction, but Xiong Jun calmly swung his paw.

"Boom!"

The ground caved in, crushing three Soul Saints into a bloody pulp. Then he grabbed another Soul Douluo and stuffed him into his mouth.

Yu Yuanzhen had completely broken down!

"D-don't kill me! I'm the clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! I can give you money, treasures, anything you want!"

Xiong Jun glanced at him.

"What would this old bear want money for? You can't eat it, and I can't use the things humans make."

"But you're the strongest, so you should taste the best. I'll save you for last."

As he spoke, he slapped two more Soul Saints to death, grabbed another, and stuffed him into his mouth, commenting as he ate.

"This one's a bit old. This one's too skinny. That one looked tastier."

In just a few minutes, nearly everyone who had come was dead.

Yu Yuanzhen and the few survivors huddled together, trembling. They wanted to run, but their legs had gone as limp as overcooked noodles.

They regretted coming.

They regretted being greedy.

But it was too late. Xiong Jun wasn't going to let them go.

One of the Soul Douluo shouted hoarsely, trying to pin the blame on Xuan Qing.

"Senior, Xuan Qing sent us here! He said there was a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast here. We were tricked! If you want revenge, go after him!"

Xiong Jun paused and looked at him.

"You said Xuan Qing? That kid sent you here?"

"That's right, that's him! He tricked us, saying there was a seventy-thousand-year Soul Beast here. We didn't know this was your territory. If we'd known, we wouldn't have dared come even if you beat us to death!"

Xiong Jun thought it over and nodded.

"Oh, that kid is pretty wicked. But..."

He changed tack and grinned.

"But he told me to wait here, said someone would come and deliver a meal. I waited three days before you showed up. You're a bit late, but the food's not bad."

"So I ought to thank him. As for you... consider yourselves my thank-you gift."

Yu Yuanzhen's eyes widened. He rasped out,

"You know each other? You're in league with him?"

Xiong Jun honestly nodded.

"Sure. We're not especially close, but if a meal walks right up to me, why wouldn't I eat it?"

"If that kid hadn't sent word, do you think I'd be waiting here for a bunch of weaklings like you?"

"Those little snake and monkey over there are much tastier than you. Why would I wait for you?"

Yu Yuanzhen was utterly despairing.

He understood now. It had all been a trap from the start.

Xuan Qing had conspired with Xiong Jun, waiting for them to take the bait.

And he, like a fool, had brought the whole clan's elite here and jumped straight into it.

Now it was over. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was finished.

Xiong Jun stopped wasting words and began cleaning up.

One paw strike apiece killed the remaining four Soul Douluo, and he stuffed them into his mouth.

At last, it was Yu Yuanzhen's turn.

Yu Yuanzhen tried to fight back, but it was completely useless.

Xiong Jun couldn't be bothered to waste words. He tossed Yu Yuanzhen straight into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed before smacking his lips.

"That's all? They barely filled a gap between my teeth. Next time, bring a few more Titled Douluo. Now those would have some flavor!"

"Ptooey!"

He spat two Soul Bones from his mouth: one right leg bone and one left arm bone, both Yu Yuanzhen's.

Xiong Jun picked up the Soul Bones with a look of disgust and used them to pick his teeth.

"What junk. It'd be embarrassing to use these as toothpicks."

He put away the Soul Bones and ambled off, heading back to Life Lake. Meanwhile, the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest were already in an uproar.

The aura Xiong Jun had just released was far too terrifying.

Half the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Forest were trembling in fear.

The Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape were even more terrified.

Though they were known as the Emperor of the Forest and the King of the Forest, before Xiong Jun, they were little more than juniors.

No, not even juniors. They were grandsons.

The Titan Giant Ape's voice trembled as he lay on the ground, not daring to move.

"Big brother, what was that aura just now?"

The Sky Azure Bull Python was frightened too, but he had a guess.

"Maybe... it came from the real Life Lake. There's an even more terrifying presence there."

"We used to think we ruled the forest, but we'd been looking at the sky from the bottom of a well. Now we see what a joke we were."

The Titan Giant Ape fell silent.

That was true. Before absolute strength, they were nothing.

If that aura had wanted to kill them, it could have done so as easily as turning over a hand.

The two beasts looked at each other, seeing fear in one another's eyes.