The Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, a 450,000-Year-Old Ferocious Beast: Xiong Jun!

The word "food" was like a bolt of black lightning, splitting apart the chaos.

Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life.

For an instant, Di Tian's imposing golden dragon eyes lost focus.

The shackles on the memories personally sealed away by his lord had actually cracked because of those two words on the screen.

Images from twenty thousand years ago flashed through his mind like shards of a broken mirror.

The greedy chewing of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, the towering waves of blood raised by the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, the human bones piled like mountains in the nest of the Faced Demon Spider Empress...

In that era, wicked ferocious beasts had been far more rampant than they were now.

He was not wholly ignorant of it.

But so what?

Soul beasts eating humans was only natural.

That was, until the human powerhouse who wielded ultimate fire, at the cost of burning half the Star Dou Great Forest to ashes, roared words he had never forgotten—"Vermin should be prepared to be eradicated!"

So... that had been the true reason for the great fire?

Di Tian's aura suddenly became incomparably grave.

On the screen, within the valley.

Tang Potian felt as though an invisible hand had clenched around his heart, making even breathing difficult.

Food.

Such a simple word, yet one that sent chills down his spine.

"Your expression tells me that you understand." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice remained calm, but it carried the coldness of someone revealing a cruel truth.

"The rise of humanity is inevitable. I cannot stop it, nor can the Beast God. All I can do is find a way for the soul beast race to survive amidst this great tide."

It raised its head, its golden vertical pupils staring directly at Tang Potian. Its gaze seemed capable of piercing through the river of history.

"Therefore, I need your wisdom. In exchange, I will give you intelligence enough to overturn everything you know."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not beat around the bush. It needed to earn this human's trust as quickly as possible.

"The so-called powerhouses among you humans are merely weaklings who have just begun cultivating in the eyes of truly powerful ferocious beasts. On this continent, those who truly stand at the peak are the 'ferocious beasts.'"

"There are six great ferocious beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. Four more are hidden in other regions of the continent. These are the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, and every one of them possesses power far beyond that of an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast."

"As for the 'wicked ferocious beasts,' their numbers are even more of a mystery. But as far as I know, there are at least ten active in the open. Every one of them is stranger and more difficult to deal with than ferocious beasts of the same level."

"I do not know about the world beneath the sea. But the terrifying existences there are certainly no fewer than those on land."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion paused, then dropped its final bombshell.

"I can tell you with certainty that even that green-robed Imperial Preceptor who once helped your Heaven Dou Empire expand its territory would have no chance of victory against any one of the ferocious beasts."

Boom!

It was as if a nuclear bomb had been dropped upon the entire continent!

In the chat group, the IDs of every Titled Douluo seemed frozen. Not a sound was made.

Ten Great Ferocious Beasts!

More than ten wicked ferocious beasts!

Even that legendary founding Imperial Preceptor could not rival them?!

[Qian Daoliu: ...Impossible! A Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo is already the pinnacle of humanity!]

[Tang Xiao: There has never been such a record in the texts of my Clear Sky Sect... This world is actually so terrifying?]

Star Dou Great Forest.

"Traitor!!"

Di Tian's roar became a tangible soundwave, sending hundred-meter waves surging across the Lake of Life.

This Three-Eyed Golden Lion actually dared to reveal the soul beast race's highest secret to a human so easily!

It deserved to die!

Beneath the screen, within the valley.

Tang Potian fell silent.

He was not frightened. He was rapidly processing this massive amount of information.

He finally understood why humanity, despite possessing the immense power of soul masters, could only huddle within a few great cities and regard the vast wilderness with awe.

So many world-destroying existences were hidden in the depths of those seemingly tranquil forests and oceans.

The vigilance in his heart had not fully faded, but the wall of ice-like hostility had quietly melted at one corner.

He began telling the Three-Eyed Golden Lion about the human world.

He spoke of the empire's power structure, the extravagant lives of nobles, and the everyday struggles of common folk.

He told it about the neighbors at the blacksmith shop arguing until their faces turned red over half a copper soul coin. He also told it about brothers-in-arms on the battlefield using their own bodies to shield one another from gunfire.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion listened quietly.

Its power of destiny had allowed it to see humanity's future strength.

But it had never imagined that the path to such strength was made up of so many complicated, contradictory, and even... interesting emotions and stories.

So the human world was not solely about cultivation and slaughter.

Well, this is a disaster. That auspicious beast has the exact same look in its eyes as Wang Qiu'er did when she first met Huo Yuhao. Another one who's going to get talked into limping by humans. Are soul beasts really all this bizarrely simple-minded?

Lin Xuan silently grumbled to himself.

Fortunately, this Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not seem to intend to take human form. It bore part of the Star Dou Great Forest's fortune. Once it transformed, its power of destiny would inevitably fall into disorder. For it, the loss would outweigh the gain.

The exchange in the valley continued in a strange balance.

Tang Potian still did not trust soul beasts, but there was nothing he could do about it. Meanwhile, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion worked hard to improve its relationship with Tang Potian, hoping that the two of them could become friends.

Until that day.

Without any warning.

A savage, violent, terrifying aura capable of crushing mountains descended from the heavens!

The entire Sunset Forest instantly fell silent.

Birds fell from the sky, beasts collapsed to the ground, and the souls of countless living creatures trembled beneath that pressure.

Tang Potian, who had been forging, froze in place. He felt as though an invisible mountain had been pressed onto his back. His bones groaned under the unbearable strain, and even his breathing stopped.

He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the mouth of the valley.

At some point, a towering figure had appeared there.

It was a giant bear.

A terrifying giant bear covered in dark golden fur, with blood-red eyes and claws that looked as though they had been forged from black-gold divine iron!

Simply standing there, it seemed to be the center of heaven and earth—the embodiment of strength itself!

"Three-Eyed Golden Lion, Di Tian has ordered me to take you back."

The giant bear spoke in human language. Its voice was as deep as thunder, and every word carried unquestionable dominance.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, which had been lying atop a blue stone, slowly rose. There was not a trace of fear in its golden vertical pupils, only cold resolve.

"Xiong Jun, go back and tell Di Tian. I will not keep company with a pack of butchers who delight in devouring humans."

After a long stretch of deathly silence, the chat group was finally ignited by a trembling message.

[Yu Xiaogang: D-Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear! Xiong Jun?! According to fragments of ancient records, it is the ferocious beast with the strongest offensive power in the Star Dou Great Forest! Rumor has it... it has lived for 450,000 years!!]

450,000 years!!!