Pursuit

Three days later.

Beneath the East Sea Spirit Pagoda, inside a circular metal hall.

Ziyang and Na'er lay down inside metal pods, with only a faint point of light visible before them.

The next moment, darkness descended.

When they opened their eyes again, a lush forest lay before them.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the canopy, scattering fragmented patches of light across the ground.

Ziyang glanced around and got his bearings. Na'er stood beside him, looking around as she softly asked, "Why did humans create this world to commemorate the Great Star Dou Forest of the past?"

"Perhaps that's just what humans do." Ziyang smiled, palm facing upward. A purple-black shadow rose from beside his feet, its scales gleaming darkly beneath the virtual sunlight—Austin Griffin. Both heads lifted at once, staring around with impatient expressions.

Another figure appeared as well: the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Its massive body loomed over them, its Evil God Hook swaying lightly.

"I'll go look for them first. Gu Yue and the others should have entered the Ascension Platform already." Ziyang turned to Na'er. "But which way should we go?"

"That way. Trust me." After sensing for a moment, Na'er quickly found Gu Yue's aura.

"How do you know it's that way?" Ziyang knowingly asked.

"A woman's intuition." Na'er blinked confidently.

Ziyang lowered his head and said, "Then we'll listen to you. Let's go that way."

The two of them and one beast headed deeper into the forest.

Austin Griffin's two heads were held arrogantly high, while the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Evil God Hook flickered in and out of sight within the shadows.

Then they stopped.

The bushes ahead suddenly shook violently, as though some enormous beast were forcing its way through. The ground began to tremble, and fallen leaves shattered beneath heavy footsteps, releasing dull groans.

A massive figure emerged from behind the canopy—

It was a Twin Cyclops.

Black and white fur covered its entire body. Two heads grew from its shoulders, each possessing only a single eye, both of which turned at the same time and locked onto the four intruders below.

It stood over eight meters tall. The pressure of its thousand-year cultivation was like an invisible wall, squeezing the air thin.

A crude garment woven from branches and vines was wrapped around its waist, covering its lower body. That almost human detail made it seem even more eerie.

Like some enlarged, twisted human.

Austin Griffin's two heads turned toward the colossal creature at once, a trace of interest flashing through their vertical pupils.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger let out a low growl from deep in its throat. Its wings spread slightly, like a flower of death about to bloom.

Na'er clenched her fingers in the air, and the Silver Dragon Spear condensed in her palm, its tip aimed at the giant's single eye.

"Two-Headed Cyclops." Na'er looked at the giant and naturally recognized it as a mutated soul beast.

It was an exceptionally rare variant among Cyclopes. Its innate attribute was the rare Chaos attribute, an undefined power that could change at any moment.

After mutating into a Two-Headed Cyclops, however, its attribute underwent a fundamental transformation, becoming a union of light and darkness. Its body would shrink, and it would grow a second head.

It had now entered the ranks of top-tier soul beasts.

Ziyang pulled his hat brim lower and said, "What a bother. Let's end this quickly."

The Twin Cyclops sensed their hostility and attacked first.

But Na'er leaped directly into the air. Her figure looked tiny beneath the giant's shadow, like a speck of dust crashing toward a cliff.

Yet the spear in her hand spun, creating rings of silver-white radiance as it shot straight for the left head's single eye.

The spear tip pierced in. The giant let out a pained roar as its black head jerked back, murky fluid flowing from its eye.

But the white head on the right lowered, fury blazing within its single eye. Its right hand came smashing down like a collapsing wall, and the wind pressure sent Na'er's silver hair flying back.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger pounced as well. Its Evil God Hook sliced a shrill arc through the air and plunged directly into the giant's wrist, black blood spraying out.

The giant howled in pain. Its palm veered off course and smashed into the ground, leaving behind a huge crater.

The instant Na'er landed, she leaped again.

Austin Griffin's two heads lifted simultaneously. The head of Destruction opened its mouth, unleashing a surging purple-black beam of light.

The head of Darkness growled at the same time, and darkness surged in from every direction, blocking the giant's vision.

The giant struggled, both heads roaring at once, but the attack had already arrived. Its other head let out an even more miserable wail.

Ziyang remained where he was, quietly watching, though his gaze swept toward other areas. Even if he was slacking off, he still had to guard against anything else.

Na'er landed lightly, her spear slanted toward the ground. Her breathing was steady, as though she had not expended anything at all.

The Twin Cyclops collapsed to the ground, its body beginning to fade. Golden spirit power poured from its body, splitting into two streams that flowed into Ziyang and Na'er.

"As expected, I'm invincible now." Na'er looked utterly confident.

Ziyang felt the reward pool stacking. Since she had not immediately been humbled after saying that, it was definitely building up the reward pool.

Waiting to settle it all at once at some crucial moment.

Just then, a streak of fire shot out from the woods.

Fast—extremely fast. Like a falling meteor with a scorching tail flame, it brushed past Ziyang's face.

Ziyang did not move. He merely tilted his head slightly and looked toward where the fire had come from. He suspected Gu Yue, but after thinking about it, Gu Yue probably would not stoop that low.

Footsteps sounded from the forest—heavy, light, then heavy again. Three figures emerged from the shadows.

Two boys stood to the left and right. The one on the left was lean, while the one on the right was slightly sturdier. Both wore Eastsea Academy uniforms.

A girl stood between them.

Her golden ponytail swayed gently behind her head.

Her brows and eyes carried a hint of inborn pride, and her lips were pressed together as though suppressing some dissatisfaction. Above her head floated a sun-like fireball, slowly rotating and warping the surrounding air with heat.

That red light from earlier had clearly been fired by her.

"Hand over your spirit power." The golden-haired girl spoke first.

Ziyang looked at her and recognized who she was: Mu Xi.

She might not have been particularly strong herself, but her father was an Eight-Star Saint Craftsman, and her nominal elder uncle was a Divine Craftsman.

"A Three-Ring Soul Elder?" Ziyang sneered.

"What? Scared?" Mu Xi half-threatened. "If you are, hand over your spirit power."

"Little Evil! Let the three of them see what you can do. Don't scare them too badly." Ziyang ordered the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger behind him.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger stepped out from behind Ziyang, its enormous, powerful body fully revealed among the trees.

A pair of wings spread wide.

The next moment, a tiger's roar echoed through the forest.

The trees trembled, fallen leaves shattered beneath the shockwave, and the sun fireball above Mu Xi's head shook violently. Its light flickered uncertainly like a lamp about to go out.

The two boys took a step back at the same time, their faces turning pale.

"If you want me to hand over my spirit power, beat my Soul Spirit first!"