Six Years Pass, a Major Event for the Breaking Clan!

There was nothing. Nothing anywhere.

Other than the human skeletons that had been dead for some time, there were no other living creatures in the entire valley.

Its wife and its newborn child had both vanished without a trace.

The golden behemoth finally stopped in the center of the valley, standing motionless like a statue cast from gold.

A gust of wind swept through, carrying several fallen leaves past the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's feet.

"Boom!!!"

In an instant, a terrifying aura erupted from its body!

Golden light surged from its body, enveloping the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff completely.

The radiance grew increasingly blinding, as though a dazzling sun had appeared out of nowhere within the valley.

Beneath the golden glow, its elephant-sized body began to swell rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it had expanded severalfold, looking from afar like a brilliant mountain of gold!

"Roar!!!"

It threw back its head and howled, its earth-shaking roar exploding from its maw!

Like thunder crashing overhead, the roar condensed into tangible sound waves that spread wildly in every direction from its body!

Wherever the sound waves passed, even the air twisted!

The ground shook, and the valley trembled!

Loose stones tumbled down the cliffs, smashing into the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

The already unstable rock walls cracked beneath the terrifying impact of the sound waves. The fissures spread at lightning speed, reaching from the foot of the mountain to its peak in less than a breath!

After holding out for less than half a second, another thunderous rumble echoed out as half the mountain collapsed!

The rising dust shot into the sky, blotting out the sun.

Yet the golden behemoth remained standing amid the ruins, howling at the heavens.

With the valley no longer blocking it, its roar spread like a virus, enveloping an area spanning a thousand li.

Countless Soul Beasts abandoned their nests and fled madly in every direction, including no shortage of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

Even natural enemies who would normally fight to the death on sight no longer cared to battle, fleeing for their lives as though death would engulf them if they slowed by even a step.

The earth-shaking roar continued for several whole minutes. During those minutes, not a single living thing remained within a thousand li. Only the devastated ground and densely scattered Soul Rings silently testified to what had happened.

At last, the roar gradually faded.

Having vented its fury, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff reined in its aura. Its massive body slowly shrank back to its normal size.

Yet its eyes remained blood-red.

It raised its head and swept its gaze across the entire valley.

An invisible spiritual force spread from between its brows, covering the entire valley.

It began searching inch by inch, determined to turn the valley upside down.

After a long while, it withdrew its spiritual force, and the red in its eyes faded somewhat.

Its wife's aura was completely gone. It knew very well what that meant, but the good news was that its child's aura remained.

Though that aura was faint, as if it could disperse at any moment, it could tell that it was not weak. The child had even been active here three days ago and had been in excellent condition.

However, it caught another aura mingled with its child's—that of a human Soul Master.

A trace of delight flashed through the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's eyes. The moment its hind legs pushed off, its massive body shot forward, following the scent.

Its Beast King-level aura blazed openly, clearing its path without hindrance. Near dusk, it arrived at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Its child's aura and that human Soul Master's aura ended here. They had not faded away; rather, the scents here were too mixed for it to detect its child's scent any longer. Still, it was absolutely certain that the human Soul Master had taken its child out of the Star Dou Great Forest and into human society.

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff stood there blankly for half an hour. After deeply engraving the cub's aura and the human Soul Master's aura into its mind, it turned and left.

With the first light of dawn beneath its feet, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff returned to the valley once more. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's corpse still lay there on the ground, completely intact.

It looked at the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's corpse.

This had been the gift it had prepared for its newborn child, but now it intended to use it itself, because it needed strength.

Walking up to the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's corpse, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff opened its bloodied maw and bit down on the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's left leg.

The bear hide, said to possess skin of bronze and bones of iron and to withstand Soul Master soul skills without the slightest injury, was as fragile as kraft paper beneath the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's sharp teeth. With a ripping sound, it was torn open.

Amid the dripping blood, a dark golden leg bone appeared before the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff.

Without the slightest hesitation, it opened its jaws and swallowed the Soul Bone.

"Crack! Crack!"

Crisp cracking sounds rang out.

That Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, enough to drive countless Soul Masters mad, was now chewed to powder by it. Like eating biscuits, it swallowed the pieces in just a few bites.

Warm power spread from its abdomen, flowing endlessly into the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's limbs.

"Roar!"

The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff howled at the sky and turned its gaze toward the forest beyond the valley.

It was time to hunt.

Spring passed and autumn came. In the blink of an eye, six years had gone by.

Too many things had happened during those six years.

The place that had changed the most was the Breaking Clan's territory.

Six years ago, this place had still been filled with low, plain houses. Though the bluestone pavement was not riddled with potholes, it was covered in cracks.

Now, spacious courtyards stood in neat rows as far as the eye could see. Blue bricks, dark tiles, upturned eaves, and carved beams—all of it exuded prosperity.

Even the territory itself had expanded to more than twice its former size.

Naturally, none of these changes could have happened without Yang Jian.

Using his advantage of foresight, Yang Jian brought Whale Rubber, which would not become popular until ten thousand years later, into the sight of Soul Masters ahead of time.

Packaged by the Breaking Clan, a family of medicine refiners, and bolstered by Yang Jian himself as living proof with Soul Rings all absorbed beyond their limits, Whale Rubber became a product that ignited the continent the moment it appeared. It was even speculated up to astronomical prices for a time.

The profits were like picking up money, making the major powers green with envy. In the end, even the lofty Spirit Hall could not resist joining in.

However, due to the information gap, by the time they began interfering in the Whale Rubber market, eighty percent of the Whale Rubber on the market had already been bought up by the Breaking Clan.

Left with no choice, they could only turn their sights toward the deep sea.

As the slaughter intensified, the hands of the continent's powers stretched farther and farther until they ultimately clashed with Sea God Island.

In that battle, the continental powers led by Spirit Hall suffered devastating casualties. At the same time, the entire continent witnessed the strength of Sea Soul Masters. From then on, no one dared openly reach into the ocean again.

Meanwhile, thanks to the Whale Rubber it had stockpiled in advance, the Breaking Clan had made a fortune over the past six years.

Today, the Breaking Clan was especially lively. Not only were lanterns and decorations hung everywhere, but red carpets had been laid along the streets, as though something important was about to happen.