As Qin Chuan's indifferent voice rang out, an intangible yet terrifying force of repulsion erupted from his body!
Before that power, the air compressed into a transparent barrier visible to the naked eye.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger charged toward him with ferocious momentum. When its massive body was still three meters away from Qin Chuan, it seemed to slam into an invisible divine wall.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
The amusement and cruelty in the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's golden eyes froze instantly, replaced by instinctive, utter bewilderment and terror.
It didn't understand. It couldn't understand what had happened.
Why could this tiny human before it unleash such an utterly unreasonable power without using a Soul Skill, or even lighting up a Soul Ring?
This force of repulsion simply did not belong to this world!
It was like a law from a higher dimension, descending with brute force and utter disregard for reason.
"Bang!"
A muffled boom erupted through the forest a second later.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger weighed several tons, but before the absolute repulsion of Shinra Tensei, it was like a ball.
The faster it had charged, the harder it was flung away.
Its enormous golden form traced an arc through the air. Along the way, towering ancient trees that would have taken several people to encircle proved as brittle as rotten wood before it.
"Crack! Crack! Rumble!"
A series of deafening cracks as trees snapped rang through the forest, accompanied by clouds of dust billowing into the air.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger smashed through more than a dozen trees before crashing heavily to the ground a hundred meters away. It gouged out a massive crater over five meters wide, sending dirt and shattered stone flying in every direction.
Qin Chuan slowly lowered his left hand. He remained where he was, without even a flutter of his clothes.
The ground before him was spotless, save for his own footprints, as though that world-shattering strike had been a trivial matter.
[In theory, I can send Soul Beasts with less than thirty thousand years of cultivation flying.] Qin Chuan silently assessed the effect of his last attack.
The power of the Six Paths Reincarnation Eye was even more domineering than he had imagined.
The force of Shinra Tensei's repulsion was proportional to the amount of Heavenly Dao Power he infused into it.
With his current Soul Power at level 50, sending this mutated Soul Beast with twenty-five thousand years of cultivation flying was no problem.
[But if I run into one with over thirty thousand years of cultivation, or a powerhouse focused on strength like the Titan Giant Ape, then if I use this move again, I might be the one who gets sent flying.]
Qin Chuan knew very well that every power had its limits.
"Roar!"
A roar filled with pain and boundless fury rang out from the dust-shrouded crater.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger staggered to its feet.
It was covered in dirt and broken branches, looking utterly disheveled, but beneath its golden fur, its muscles still bulged with explosive power.
That strike had only left it with superficial injuries; its vitals remained unharmed.
But the pain in its body was nothing compared to the shock and humiliation it felt within.
At last, it understood why a human at the Soul King level had dared to enter its territory alone.
There was something strange about this human!
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger fixed its golden eyes on Qin Chuan. The amusement in its gaze had vanished, replaced by unprecedented wariness and savagery.
It no longer charged blindly. Instead, it lowered its body, bending its limbs slightly like a drawn bow, and began pacing slowly around Qin Chuan.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger was watching, testing him.
The battle intelligence of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had been fully roused.
Qin Chuan gripped the Zhu Xian Sword, his expression still indifferent.
He knew that although Shinra Tensei was powerful, he couldn't wear this Soul Beast down with that move alone.
The real battle had only just begun.
"Whoosh!" The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger moved.
This time, it didn't charge straight at him. Its body suddenly feinted to the left, its huge frame leaving a golden Z-shaped afterimage across the ground. It was even faster than before, and its movements were far more erratic!
It was trying to throw off Qin Chuan's judgment with rapid changes of direction and find a blind spot in that invisible "divine wall."
[Playing with speed in front of the Six Paths Reincarnation Eye?]
In Qin Chuan's field of vision, every movement of the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger, every contraction of its muscles, every shift of its Soul Power, was clear as day.
Its movements held no secrets from Qin Chuan.
The instant the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger pounced at him from the side, Qin Chuan turned slightly. The Zhu Xian Sword in his hand swept upward in a tricky arc, aiming precisely for the tiger's soft underbelly.
The strike carried no Soul Skill. It relied solely on the Zhu Xian Sword's peerless sharpness.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's instincts saved it.
Just as the blade was about to reach it, it twisted its waist with all its might. Its massive body somehow managed a full roll in midair, narrowly evading the deadly strike.
But the sword qi still left a half-meter-long gash across its belly.
Golden fur curled back, and blood instantly stained the fur beneath its stomach.
"Roar!" The agony drove the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger completely mad.
As soon as it landed, it didn't pause for a moment. Its long, spiny tongue lashed out like a crimson whip, spraying foul saliva as it struck toward Qin Chuan's face.
At the same time, its tail, hard as an iron whip, rose high and slammed down from the opposite direction with a whistle that tore through the air!
Attacking from above and below!
Qin Chuan remained unruffled. He lightly tapped the ground with his toe, and his body rose straight up more than ten meters, as weightless as a feather, effortlessly evading both attacks.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's attacks missed. Its tongue and massive tail slammed into the ground.
"Boom!"
The ground exploded, sending clods of earth and grass flying and leaving two trenches half a meter deep.
Qin Chuan hovered in midair, looking down at the enraged beast below.
What he had to do now was act like an experienced bullfighter.
Keep provoking it, keep wearing it down. Pay the smallest price for the greatest reward.
Wear away the forest king's patience, bit by bit. Wear down its strength until it revealed its most fatal flaw.
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger looked up at Qin Chuan hovering in the air, and for the first time, a trace of helplessness appeared in its golden eyes.
He could fly! This human could actually fly!
How was it supposed to fight him?
It had the power to destroy heaven and earth, yet it couldn't even touch the man's clothes.
The frustration nearly drove it mad.
"Roar!"
The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger refused to believe it. It suddenly opened its cavernous jaws, and a dazzling golden orb rapidly gathered deep in its throat.
That was its innate Soul Skill, Geng Metal Death Ray!
A force capable of piercing mountains gathered in its mouth!
The blinding golden light illuminated the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's gaping jaws. The air around it began to warp and tremble under the violent energy.
Geng Metal energy was unstoppable.
This was its most powerful ranged attack, powerful enough to blast that annoying fly in the sky into pieces!