The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor's World-Shaking Declaration

Tang San said nothing, striking out with a strand of Blue Silver Grass.

The vine surged forth like a serpent emerging from its den, whistling through the air as it swept toward the small deer.

It appeared—the classic Bind!

Facing the incoming vines, the deer slowly raised its head, a hint of human-like disdain flickering in its amber eyes.

Without a single wasted movement, it tapped its hooves lightly against the ground.

Its entire body transformed into a streak of cyan light, instantly darting into the sky.

The Blue Silver Grass missed its mark, passing by the deer's side as it was easily evaded.

"The ability to mimic other soul beasts—that is indeed the specialty of the Mirror Shadow Beast. Let's pursue!"

Seeing this, Tang Wu made a decisive choice to give chase.

Dugu Bo didn't waste words either; he grabbed Tang Wu and Tang San, one in each hand. With a surge of soul power, he took to the air, speeding after that streak of cyan light.

The wind whistled in their ears.

The frigid currents of the Far North Snow Forest whipped their robes, yet the Mirror Shadow Beast ahead maintained a constant, tantalizing distance.

Tang Wu stared at the cyan light, his alarm growing with every passing moment.

He recognized the bird the Mirror Shadow Beast had transformed into—it was one of the fastest raptors on the Douluo Continent: the Wind Shadow Falcon.

With its wings fully spread, its top speed could reach two hundred and seventy meters per second.

What kind of concept was that?

Even a high-speed maglev train only reached a maximum speed of two hundred and thirty meters per second.

At such speeds, the world ahead compressed into blurred lines, and time seemed to slow to a quarter of its normal pace.

No matter how Dugu Bo pushed his soul power, the three of them could never catch up to the Wind Shadow Falcon.

But strangely enough...

The Wind Shadow Falcon maintained a perfectly steady pace, neither accelerating to shake them off nor slowing down to be caught.

When Tang Wu and the others slowed, it slowed; when they sped up, it sped up.

Neither too far nor too near, neither hurried nor sluggish.

It was as if... it were deliberately leading them on, guiding them toward a specific location.

About half an incense stick later, the Wind Shadow Falcon suddenly dove, landing in a clearing.

Deep in the heart of the Far North Snow Forest, this area lacked dense trees, consisting instead of an open expanse covered in snow, where the silence was unnervingly profound.

Though it felt strange, Tang Wu and the others had no choice but to descend.

"It finally stopped. I thought this thing would run forever."

Dugu Bo spoke with a slight wheeze, his pride clearly stung.

He was already a step slower than his target, and having to carry two Spirit Grandmasters made catching up even more impossible.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Dugu Bo didn't hesitate for a second and struck immediately.

To avoid repeating the mistake he made with the Northern Plains Snow Pig, he unleashed his Avatar of the Martial Soul right from the start.

Green light soared into the sky.

A Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor, dozens of meters tall, manifested in the center of the clearing. Its snake eyes were icy, its fangs menacing, and its body was wreathed in suffocating toxic mist.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

However, just a second before Dugu Bo could strike.

The snow exploded, and figure after figure burst from beneath the drifts, instantly surrounding the three of them completely.

They formed a tight encirclement, trapping Tang Wu, Tang San, and Dugu Bo firmly in the center.

One, two, three... there were over a dozen Mirror Shadow Beasts.

They took on various forms: some were giant dragons with wings spread, others were crouching tigers, and some were eagles with heads held high.

They stood in a pincer formation, their eyes flashing with wary, cold light, clearly viewing Tang Wu and the others as their prey.

"Damn it, this is actually a Mirror Shadow Beast pack!"

Tang San gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

Because information on Mirror Shadow Beasts was so scarce, he had never considered that they might live in packs.

The small blue hammer in Tang Wu's left hand flickered in and out of existence, his soul power coiled and ready.

He scanned the surrounding Mirror Shadow Beasts, his voice dropping to a low murmur:

"It seems the time has come when we have no choice but to fight for our lives..."

The soul power fluctuations radiating from these Mirror Shadow Beasts were at least at the ten-thousand-year level, while the strongest among them had clearly reached a cultivation of fifty or sixty thousand years.

If Dugu Bo could not control the situation immediately, then given the strength of Tang Wu and Tang San—both merely Spirit Grandmasters—facing a siege from over a dozen ten-thousand-year spirit beasts would be a near-certain death sentence.

However...

These Mirror Shadow Beasts surrounded them without attacking, as if waiting for something to descend.

"Wait, don't make a move yet..."

But just as Tang Wu and the others prepared to fight for their lives, a voice suddenly rang out:

"We have no intention of harming your lives; we only lured you here because we wish to propose a trade."

As the voice fell, the Mirror Shadow Beasts forming the circle stepped aside, automatically clearing a path.

Tang Wu and the others looked down the path, their pupils constricting in unison.

It was a Mirror Shadow Beast of immense size, fully three or four times larger than its surrounding kin.

Its limbs were thick as pillars, its body covered in flawless, snow-white fur, and three long, thick tails flicked idly behind it, each swing rippling with faint spirit power.

But most striking of all was its head.

Unlike the two eyes of an ordinary Mirror Shadow Beast, this giant beast had four additional eyes branching out beneath its primary pair.

Three tails and six eyes—this was the true form of the Mirror Shadow Beast, the most powerful state of their kind.

Watching the wary Tang Wu, Tang San, and Dugu Bo, who was ready to strike at any moment, the Mirror Shadow Beast that was clearly the leader smiled slightly:

"No need to be nervous..."

"Allow me to introduce myself. As you can see, I am the leader of this tribe, and as for my cultivation... it is 100,000 years."

"You may call me—the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor."

"What—?!"

At these words, all three of them were stunned.

Upon hearing the creature declare its identity, Dugu Bo decisively deactivated his Avatar of the Martial Soul and returned to human form.

Are you kidding me?

If the opponent were 70,000, 80,000, or even 90,000 years old, he might still be able to put up a struggle.

But if it were 100,000 years, it was an existence on an entirely different level.

Not to mention that the creature had an entire tribe backing it up; there was no point in fighting, he might as well surrender.

When the gap in strength reached this point, what difference did it make whether one resisted or not?

Tang Wu took a deep breath, suppressed the panic in his heart, and summoned the courage to look at the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor opposite him:

"May I ask, elder, what is it that you need from us?"

This time, he lowered his posture significantly.

Even the restless temperament he hadn't restrained when facing Dugu Bo was now tucked away into the deepest corners of his heart.

After all, before figuring out the true intentions of a 100,000-year spirit beast, acting as carefree as before wasn't being lively—it was being stupid.

The Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor narrowed its six eyes slightly, casting an approving glance at Tang Wu.

To be able to suppress fear and respond calmly when faced with such overwhelming strength.

As expected, he was truly the one he had chosen.

Following that, the Mirror Shadow Beast Emperor dropped a bombshell:

"It's nothing major, really. It's just that I wish to offer myself as a sacrifice to you..."

"What? A sacrifice!!!" ×3