Dragon King Annihilation

"Uncle Ding, we haven't even reached the mixed zone. How did we run into a ten-thousand-year Crimson Flame Lion pack?"

The girl protected in the center asked fearfully.

"There's something wrong with the Star Dou Forest today. We encountered ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts in the outer region earlier. Let's find a way to leave the Star Dou Forest first. We can obtain the Soul Ring another day."

"Elder Ding, I'm afraid we won't get away so easily. The lion pack's king still hasn't shown itself," a Soul Saint said gravely.

That was right—the lion king had yet to appear. There were more than twenty Crimson Flame Lions surrounding them, five of which were ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts, while the rest were all at the thousand-year level.

They could have easily dealt with these twenty-odd Crimson Flame Lions by joining forces, but the lion king remained hidden in the shadows. They could not focus fully on fighting the pack and had to stay constantly wary of the lion king's sneak attacks.

"Force our way out!"

Elder Ding shouted. They could not wait any longer. If they delayed any further, they would only attract even more powerful Soul Beasts.

"Protect the young lady."

After giving that instruction, Elder Ding's Soul Power surged as he activated his seventh soul skill—Martial Soul Avatar.

His martial soul was the Azure Blue Eagle. Direct attacks were not his specialty, but dealing with a bunch of pups that had only just reached ten thousand years was still manageable.

The four Soul Saints had long since activated their Martial Soul Avatars, guarding the girl in the center as they withdrew toward the edge of the Star Dou Forest.

The girl also summoned her martial soul. It was a magnificent gemstone, which placed a layer of shield over the four Soul Saints around her.

Lin Tian watched the battle from nearby, as well as... a majestic Golden Lion King positioned along their route of retreat!

The Golden Lion King had not hidden in the shadows. Instead, it was waiting on the only path they could take to escape.

"This Golden Lion King seems to possess considerable intelligence."

Lin Tian pondered aloud.

Elder Ding in the sky also spotted the Golden Lion King and immediately ordered the retreating group to stop.

"The lion pack's king isn't the Red Flame Lion King!" he shouted at the group below.

Looking at the golden lion, whose entire body seemed cast from gold, and the pair of golden eyes in its pupils, he instantly recalled the Soul Beast's description. "It's the Golden Lion King!"

The Golden Lion King was a Soul Beast with both light and spiritual attributes. They did not have lion packs of their own, instead wandering among different packs, killing the king of each pack and becoming its new ruler!

Elder Ding inwardly cried out in alarm. A sixty-thousand-year Golden Lion King had appeared in the outer region of the Star Dou Forest. What on earth had happened inside the forest?

He had merely accompanied the young lady to obtain her fourth Soul Ring, yet they had encountered a lion pack led by a sixty-thousand-year Golden Lion King.

"Roar—!"

The lion king's roar echoed through the forest. Having received its command, the lion pack no longer merely surrounded them without attacking. One thousand-year Crimson Flame Lion after another pounced at the four Soul Saints.

"What a beautiful gemstone."

Lin Tian was quite interested in the girl's martial soul and decided to capture her and take her back for study.

As a dragon, it was perfectly reasonable for him to snatch a princess, right?

Although she wasn't a princess, she was probably a noble. Besides, they were bullying Soul Beasts. As a noble existence among Soul Beasts, I should naturally protect the weak.

"Mm, that's right. They bullied Soul Beasts, so giving them a little lesson was perfectly justified."

Lin Tian closed his vertical pupils, stopped looking at the lion pack besieging the humans below, and nodded his dragon head heavily, successfully convincing himself.

"As a dragon destined to become the king of Soul Beasts, my entrance must be overflowing with swagger."

He circulated the ultimate darkness within his body. In an instant, the surrounding sky turned pitch-black, just as it had when he descended into this world.

The darkness spread forward, reaching the sky above the lion pack and the human Soul Masters in an instant.

"This is bad! We've attracted an even stronger Soul Beast!"

Elder Ding felt as though he could already see the Grim Reaper beckoning to him. He did not even have the strength to resist.

Because, within the darkness, he vaguely saw... a dragon!

"Humans, you ventured deep into the Star Dou Forest and slaughtered my people at will. You deserve death!"

A deafening shout came from the dark heavens.

As the voice rang out, the lion pack also ceased its attacks. Sensing the faintly emanating dragon might, they all prostrated themselves upon the ground.

Elder Ding landed on the ground and stood before his young lady. His face was ashen, yet he still said respectfully:

"Honorable Dragon King, we did not slaughter Soul Beasts at will. We merely wished to hunt a fourth Soul Ring in the outer region, but we were surrounded by a Crimson Flame Lion pack led by the Golden Lion King. We had no choice but to fight back."

Lin Tian ignored this Soul Douluo's explanation outright. His ferocious dragon head emerged from the darkness, crimson vertical pupils looking down emotionlessly upon everyone below without a word of nonsense.

Chains suddenly emerged from the void, instantly locking the four Soul Saints down so tightly that they had no power to resist.

As for Elder Ding, Lin Tian gave him special treatment and used a control-type innate soul skill—Dark Demon Cage.

A cage radiating dense dark energy rose from beneath his feet, with an exquisite demonic dragon carved upon its surface.

The instant the cage formed, it isolated Elder Ding from the outside world, cutting off all his senses of what was happening beyond it. Thinking of the young lady still outside, his fighting spirit reignited, and he tried to break free from the cage.

But in the next moment, he realized just how naïve he had been. Within this cage, he could not even use a single soul skill.

The cage was extremely fragile before it fully formed, but once formed, unless Lin Tian permitted it, whoever was trapped inside would never see daylight again.

In an instant, everyone had been controlled, leaving only the girl who had been so well protected. She had collapsed unconscious on the ground, apparently frightened into fainting by Lin Tian.

Lin Tian ignored her and instead looked toward the Golden Lion King behind them. It too was prostrated on the ground, its gaze toward Lin Tian carrying a trace of respect.

As a sixty-thousand-year Soul Beast with a spiritual attribute, its intelligence was already quite remarkable. The reason it had appeared in the outer region was because, when Lin Tian descended, it had sensed danger within the dense source of darkness.

Now that the owner of that aura stood before it, it showed exceptional respect.

"You're not bad. Follow me back to the Core Area."

Lin Tian's words gave the Golden Lion King no room to refuse. Nor was it qualified to refuse. If it did, Lin Tian would let it experience his strongest innate soul skill.

"Roar—!"

The Golden Lion King raised its head high and roared at Lin Tian.

Lin Tian's vertical pupils narrowed. He had not expected this Golden Lion King to have some backbone. Without the slightest hesitation, the surrounding dark attribute energy gathered before him, slowly condensing into a magic orb that carried the power to annihilate everything.

This was Lin Tian's strongest innate soul skill, which he called—Dragon King Annihilation.

"Mas... master."

The Golden Lion King transmitted those two words with great difficulty through spiritual power.

Lin Tian froze upon hearing that. Could that lion roar have meant surrender? It hadn't been challenging him?

But now that I've condensed it, it would be a waste not to use it. He looked toward the sky and suddenly had an idea.

"Why not set it off like fireworks? Consider it a celebration for subduing my first subordinate."

The magic orb shot rapidly into the sky. As it rose, it continuously expanded until it finally became an inky-black storm.

Lin Tian called it: [Storm of Final Annihilation].

Within the storm was not only ultimate darkness and ultimate annihilation, but also the six elements granted by the Silver Dragon.

The eight elements collided and merged endlessly, ultimately forming an ultimate explosion that annihilated all things!