The Great Demon King, Bai Xiao

Over the course of two months, Bai Xiao planted patch after patch of grassland along the outskirts of Sunset Forest, subduing one Soul Beast underling after another.

Speaking of Soul Beast underlings, Bai Xiao found it quite baffling. When he had told Hou that he wanted to recruit Soul Beast underlings, Hou had eagerly helped him take down a Hundred-Year lion Soul Beast, then enthusiastically dragged the unconscious lion Soul Beast onto Bai Xiao's operating table—his experimental table.

While performing the operation, Bai Xiao noticed Hou watching him operate on the lion Soul Beast with a beaming smile.

When the lion Soul Beast woke up and discovered that it had been modified, it thrashed about in terror and agitation. Bai Xiao did not even need to release his Martial Soul and secrete neurotoxin to paralyze it. Hou simply slapped the lion unconscious, then urged Bai Xiao to continue the modification.

After the modification was complete, the lion's intelligence greatly increased. After tremblingly expressing its submission to Bai Xiao, it turned around and picked a fight with Hou.

Relying on its modified body, the lion fought Hou to a standstill. However, Hou was still a little stronger. After all, Hou had been modified for some time and had already adapted to its body. Hou pinned the lion to the ground and gave it a beating.

After being beaten, the lion remained sullen. Yet Bai Xiao had no idea what Hou whispered beside it. When Bai Xiao looked over again, those two fellows were actually huddled in a corner, lively discussing something. A sentence instantly surfaced in Bai Xiao's mind: These two old schemers.

With Hou and the lion's help, Bai Xiao went on to subdue one Soul Beast underling after another.

When these Soul Beasts first discovered they had been modified, they too were deeply unhappy. After Hou and the others beat them into submission, Hou would say something to them, and by the next day they would be eagerly urging Bai Xiao to recruit more Soul Beast underlings.

Bai Xiao could not help sighing. "Honestly, every one of you is more enthusiastic than the last!"

This was probably what they meant by, 'It is better to share joy with others than enjoy it alone.' For the sake of letting more Soul Beasts be modified by me, become stronger, and gain intelligence, you truly have admirable ideological awareness! Bai Xiao thought.

Thus, a message began circulating among the Soul Beasts of Sunset Forest: "Did you know? There's been a gang of hooligans in the forest lately. They specialize in capturing Soul Beasts and giving them makeovers. Yesterday they took away an Ironwall Bear. When it came back the day after tomorrow, even its mother wouldn't recognize it!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Enormous commotion rang through the forest. Exotic beasts stood arranged in neat ranks. From the outside, there were Soul Beasts with cultivation of over six thousand years among them, as well as ones only a few hundred years old. There were more than a hundred in total.

Fangs and claws—some of these Soul Beasts looked utterly terrifying, practically like machines born for war.

At the very front stood a Soul Beast with only a little over a thousand years of cultivation. Its forelegs bore distinct muscle lines, like a tightly drawn bow. Three horns grew from its head, one large and two small, with the smaller horns on either side of the larger one. The bloodstains on them declared that they were no mere decoration. Its nearly perfectly curved waist stood in sharp contrast to its powerful limbs, creating an oddly beautiful illusion.

Most eye-catching of all was the person seated on its back. A hood made of unknown material concealed his face. Even though his face could not be seen, those bright blue eyes remained visible.

That was right. This was Bai Xiao and his underlings, and the one he rode was Hou. Hou had already become a Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

When Hou became a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Bai Xiao demanded to modify it.

Upon hearing the news, the other Soul Beast underlings hurried over, and nearly all of them came.

Whether they were Hundred-Year or Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, each beast lent a claw and helped knock Hou unconscious. The sight was truly spectacular. Even Bai Xiao sighed, "Hou has such great relationships with the other beasts!"

Over two months, Bai Xiao had subdued so many Soul Beast underlings that he could not help marveling at their ideological awareness. Back when he had only subdued a dozen or so Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, he had never expected those fellows to voluntarily knock out Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and drag them onto his operating table.

Bai Xiao was overwhelmed with emotion on the spot!

After gaining his first Thousand-Year Soul Beast underling, Bai Xiao gained a third, then a fourth... Now, the Soul Beast underling with the highest cultivation under his command had surpassed six thousand years.

While recruiting underlings, Bai Xiao also developed a method to assist Soul Beasts in cultivation.

Bai Xiao fused genes extracted from certain plant Soul Beasts with the genes of the parasitic Soul Beast that had provided his first Soul Skill, then integrated them into Blue Silver Grass. He scattered this Blue Silver Grass throughout the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

He then implanted receiving tissue into the Soul Beasts' bodies, allowing them to absorb the Soul Power produced by the Blue Silver Grass and speed up their cultivation. Hou had broken through to the Thousand-Year level in this manner.

Bai Xiao assigned territories to his underlings for cultivation. He now ruled a quarter of the outskirts of Sunset Forest. Bai Xiao's Soul Beast underlings gave him an affectionate name: "Soul Beast Doctor"—the Great Demon King.

While recruiting underlings, Bai Xiao once subdued a Thousand-Year wolf-type Soul Beast. It presented him with a Soul Bone that had fallen out while it was hunting prey.

Bai Xiao immediately wondered whether he might be the protagonist, and whether he had a Title Douluo father. Then Bai Xiao thought it over carefully. A Soul Master only needed to kill nine Soul Beasts to cultivate to the rank of Title Douluo, while a carnivorous Soul Beast would kill an unknown number of other Soul Beasts over its lifetime.

Therefore, obtaining this Soul Bone now was not particularly surprising. Looking at the Soul Bone, Bai Xiao began forming a new plan.