Instant Kill!

Long Xiaoyao stopped in his tracks as the voice reached him.

The voice was somewhat hoarse and carried a hint of pleading. Most importantly, he had heard the words "Heavenly Soul." The Heavenly Soul Empire was his homeland, and he still held some affection for it. Only later, because of Ye Xishui, had he settled in the Sun Moon Empire.

He had even represented the Heavenly Soul Empire's royal Diao Academy and fought his way into the semifinals back then. If his teammates had not been inferior to Mu En's, it was hard to say who would have won that match!

Seeing Long Xiaoyao stop, Xu Tianchen stopped as well and turned toward the source of the voice behind them.

A figure staggered out of the forest behind the master and disciple, carrying an unconscious little girl with a pale face on his back. His clothes were tattered, and he was covered in grime. Clearly, he had suffered tremendously within the Star Dou Forest.

For some reason, Xu Tianchen felt an inexplicable pull toward the little girl when he saw her. Yet it was not particularly strong, and it even seemed to carry a faint sense of dislike.

When Zhang Yue Bai saw Long Xiaoyao stop, he was instantly overjoyed. He pushed off the ground and rushed before Long Xiaoyao within a few breaths. Ignoring the somewhat chaotic soul power within him, he dropped to his knees with a thud, sending dust swirling around him.

"Senior, I am Zhang Yue Bai, head of the Zhang Family in the Heavenly Soul Empire. We were attacked by a ten-thousand-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger earlier, leaving both my father and me seriously injured. My father is currently being held back by a forty-thousand-year Wind Tiger. I fear he has fallen into a desperate situation and is in grave danger! I beg Senior to lend a hand. I am willing to give everything I have in repayment!"

His voice was filled with extreme anxiety and the panting of his desperate run, yet every word carried a son's plea to save his father.

Long Xiaoyao looked at Zhang Yue Bai. Instantly, Zhang Yue Bai felt an indescribably terrifying pressure bearing down on him. It was not the kind of assault that came like a raging storm, but something as profound as an abyss, as silent as eternal darkness.

With only that one glance, he felt as though those unfathomable black eyes had looked straight through his flesh and into his heart. Even the depths of his soul began to tremble uncontrollably.

Th-this senior... just how powerful was he?

Simply standing there, he seemed to have merged with the surrounding forest. No, it felt as though he stood above the forest itself!

Zhang Yue Bai was utterly shocked. Even the level-94 royal consecrated he had met before could not give him such overwhelming pressure. Could this senior have already reached the level of a Super Douluo?!

"A forty-thousand-year Wind Tiger? I do not know what realm your father is in, but judging by your cultivation, you have already reached the Soul Sage realm. Even if he is injured, he should not have been driven into a desperate situation."

Long Xiaoyao's tone was utterly calm, without the slightest ripple.

Hearing this, Zhang Yue Bai's heart tightened. Afraid that Long Xiaoyao had misunderstood, he hurriedly explained,

"Senior, you do not know this, but for some reason, although that Wind Tiger only has forty thousand years of cultivation, its intelligence is extraordinarily high. Moreover, my father was seriously injured by a ten-thousand-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger earlier, and his vitality has greatly declined. He is absolutely no match for that Wind Tiger. I beg Senior to lend—!"

"Enough. Since you truly are in danger, and since we are both from the Heavenly Soul Empire, I will help you. Lead the way."

Long Xiaoyao directly cut Zhang Yue Bai off, but to Zhang Yue Bai, those words were no different from heavenly music.

He abruptly raised his head, his eyes filled with joy at the prospect of saving his father. His eyes reddened at once, and he nodded forcefully as he said in a choked voice,

"Thank you for your great kindness, Senior. This junior is endlessly grateful! Please follow me!"

With that, he turned and led Long Xiaoyao back in the direction from which he had come. This time, however, his steps were far steadier than before. Though he was still anxious, he now carried the confidence of having someone to rely on.

Long Xiaoyao followed behind him with Xu Tianchen. He appeared to be strolling leisurely, like a little old man taking his grandson for a walk after dinner, yet with every step he took, his figure appeared several yards away.

Before long, they passed through a dense stretch of forest and heard Zhang Yue Bai shout from ahead, his voice filled with urgency to save his father.

"Senior, it's right ahead."

In the clearing created by the fierce battle ahead, a scene that made Zhang Yue Bai's heart pound was unfolding.

A Wind Tiger over seven meters long floated above the ground. Its entire body was pale cyan, and cyan wind blades swirled around it. Its eyes gleamed with cunning and cruelty as it constantly searched for an opportunity to deal its prey a fatal blow.

On the ground below and in front of it, an old man covered in blood and filth knelt on one knee, his left arm nothing but an empty stump. He was Zhang Yue Bai's father—Zhang Huan. Yet his eyes remained fixed firmly upon the cunning Wind Tiger, giving it no chance to launch a sneak attack.

"Father!"

Seeing his old father covered in wounds, Zhang Yue Bai's eyes immediately turned red. He let out a heart-rending cry and tried to rush down while carrying Zhang Le Xuan on his back.

"Don't move. Wait."

A hand somehow came to rest lightly on his shoulder. Long Xiaoyao was already standing beside him, his tone as calm as if he were speaking of some trivial matter.

Xu Tianchen stood not far away as well. At this distance, once the Heavenly Saint Spirit Light Shield's defense activated, he could immediately take out his "big killer" and blow the enemy to death; or use the Sun God Needle to blast the enemy apart. At worst, he could hold out until Long Xiaoyao returned to support him.

At that moment, both the Wind Tiger and Zhang Huan, locked in their standoff, seemed to hear the disturbance. Just as Zhang Huan looked toward Zhang Yue Bai, the cunning Wind Tiger roared and pounced at the opening Zhang Huan had exposed.

Just as it was about to bite Zhang Huan, a dragon claw covered in black dragon scales lightly slapped its massive tiger head. There was no earth-shaking boom, nor any ripples of surging soul power—only a dull sound that made one's teeth ache.

The forty-thousand-year Wind Tiger did not even have time to let out a scream before its body, which had been lunging at Zhang Huan, was slammed into the ground. The hard earth instantly cracked, and dust flew everywhere.

"Hmph."

With Long Xiaoyao's cold snort, the dragon claw pressed against the tiger's head continued downward. Accompanied by a crisp crack, the sound of shattering bone rang particularly clearly through the silent forest.

The Wind Tiger's hard skull was directly crushed. The light in its eyes rapidly faded, and its huge body twitched violently a few times before going completely limp on the ground, devoid of any life.

An instant kill!

A true instant kill!

Zhang Yue Bai stood rooted to the spot, his mouth slightly open and his face filled with shock. Though he had guessed that this senior was unfathomably powerful, witnessing him kill a forty-thousand-year Wind Tiger as easily as swatting a fly delivered such a powerful visual impact that his mind went blank.

Xu Tianchen, standing to the side, showed no shock at all. If Long Xiaoyao, with the strength of an Ultimate Douluo, could not kill this Wind Tiger, that would have been the real surprise.

"What are you standing around for? Go check on your father already!"