Star Dou Great Forest, a stretch of land near the edge of the mixed zone.
Di Tian led the way, with Gu Yuena and Huo Yuhao walking side by side. Behind them followed a group of Ferocious Beasts, each with a different expression.
Xiong Jun hung his head low. The savagery in his golden eyes was gone, replaced by deep wariness.
He was confident he could crush that human with ease, but the suppression of bloodline kept Xiong Jun from summoning the will to resist.
For Soul Beasts, bloodline and strength were both paramount.
"Your Majesty, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's territory lies just ahead."
Di Tian stopped and pointed forward.
Compared to the area where they stood, the land ahead seemed shrouded in night, and the air all around was steeped in darkness.
The air around the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's territory was utterly clean. Every Soul Beast that had once lived there had been devoured by the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and turned into power for its cultivation.
"ROAR!!"
A tremendous tiger's roar came from the area ahead. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had evidently sensed Huo Yuhao and the others approaching.
Deep in the forest, a massive tiger with pitch-black fur was frantically ramming into a transparent barrier.
Before the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had noticed them, Gu Yuena had already set up this barrier to keep it from escaping once it discovered them.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's spatial attribute was utterly useless before Gu Yuena.
No matter how it tried to wield the power of space, it could not escape the barrier.
In its fury and desperation, it let out a tiger's roar, wild and unrestrained.
It knew all too well what would happen if it were discovered.
Even if it had to die, it would make sure the Soul Beasts that came to hunt it suffered heavy losses!
Since it couldn't escape, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger stopped struggling. Instead, it concealed itself, hoping to use the advantage of its domain to ambush and kill as many of them as it could.
Why were they all humans?
No, these were Soul Beasts!
The intense threat it sensed from Xiong Jun, Di Tian, and the others made the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's fur stand on end.
Damn it, weren't the only ones in Star Dou Great Forest who could threaten it that Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape?
Where had all these Soul Beasts come from?!
As soon as Huo Yuhao entered the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's territory, he used Spirit Detection and Spirit Sharing.
Every Soul Beast, including Gu Yuena, saw everything Huo Yuhao's spiritual power "saw."
That included the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which thought it had hidden itself well, when in fact they could see it perfectly clearly.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was over eight meters long, its fur pitch-black from head to toe, without a single speck of another color.
Its muscles bulged all over, brimming with explosive power.
Its tail was the strangest part: made up of countless segments of bone, it ended in a massive hook like a scorpion's stinger.
This Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had only cultivated for sixty thousand years, yet it was a little stronger than an ordinary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. Now it lay quietly in wait, its blood-red, bloodthirsty eyes fixed on the intruders, ready to strike a fatal blow at any moment.
"Damn it!"
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger clenched its teeth and cursed. It couldn't take down a single one of these Soul Beasts.
The only reason they hadn't easily killed it yet was that it had eaten well and grown strong over the past few years.
"Hm?"
Just as the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger thought it was about to die for nothing, it spotted Huo Yuhao, seemingly protected by the Soul Beasts surrounding him.
They seemed to think a great deal of him!
As the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger pondered how it should attack Huo Yuhao, Xiong Jun stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, one of my kin died at this evil tiger's hands. Since the lord only needs its Soul Ring, let me handle subduing it."
Xiong Jun already harbored murderous intent toward the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger because of his kin's death.
And after being thwarted by Huo Yuhao earlier, he needed a fight to vent the negative emotions festering inside him.
Besides, to obtain the Soul Ring, the Spirit Master only needed to land the final blow.
As for what happened before that final blow, it would be just the thing to let him enjoy himself!
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's expression changed in an instant, terror filling its red eyes.
The only Soul Beast it had recently devoured whose protective clan might come after it was a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
That clan was only a little less outrageous than the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger itself.
And now a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, clearly far more powerful than it, wanted to have a close encounter with it. There was no way it could resist!
Huo Yuhao glanced at Xiong Jun, then at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which was clearly preparing to fight to the death. He smiled at Xiong Jun. "Then I'll leave it to you."
With a savage, ferocious grin, Xiong Jun strode toward the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's hiding place.
As he took his first step, the burly man, originally over two meters tall, vanished. In his place stood a colossal bear, fifteen meters tall.
Xiong Jun swung his right arm. His claw, over three meters long, hissed through the air as it slammed down toward the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's hiding place.
The strike came fast and fierce. Though the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger reacted swiftly, Xiong Jun's claws still raked across its body.
A huge gash split its pitch-black fur. Bright-red blood welled out and dripped to the ground.
Struck by the blow, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger knew it was utterly powerless against this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, whose cultivation was at least four hundred thousand years.
But it wasn't willing to sit there and wait to die!
A straight beam of black light skimmed along the ground toward Xiong Jun. The instant it fired the beam, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger gathered layers of gray light around itself into a sphere and shot that toward Xiong Jun as well.
Its huge body, which looked small beside Xiong Jun, erupted with evil power, making its charge even faster as it rushed straight at him.
As it charged, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's long tail shot high into the air, its sharp Evil God Hook aimed at Xiong Jun. It seemed ready to seize any chance to pierce a vital spot and take him down with it.
The black blades of light and Dark Demon Evil Thunder unleashed by the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger corroded and withered every plant in their path.
An ordinary Spirit Master struck by even one of them would be done for.
Xiong Jun didn't dodge the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's attacks. He met them with his right claw, and the claw force that tore through space shredded both attacks to pieces in an instant.
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw kept going. With one slap, it sent the charging Dark Demon Evil God Tiger flying.
At that moment, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's eyes even seemed to clear.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger crashed to the ground with a thunderous bang, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
"You dared to eat my kin? Today, you'll pay with your life!"
Xiong Jun's claws kept coming down on the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. He used no skills, relying only on the strength of his body, yet the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger couldn't withstand more than a few punches before it was left on its last legs.
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