Imperial Auspicious Beast, Three-Eyed Golden Lion

The blazing sun cast its brilliance upon the world, washing the branches and leaves of Star Dou Great Forest in a lush, dripping green. Watery light and shadows flowed across the ground, while the energy of heaven and earth rose so densely it was almost visible to the naked eye.

The plants of Douluo Continent had always shared an indescribable connection with the energy of heaven and earth. Many factions liked to establish their sects amid forests and mountain ranges partly because of this.

The outskirts of Star Dou Great Forest had always been exceptionally quiet. The last time there had been any unrest was when Di Tian launched a beast tide.

In the forest, noise was hardly a good thing. It meant exposure and death, whether for Soul Beasts or humans.

The roars of Soul Beasts could draw human hunters and their natural predators, while human activity could invite retaliation from Soul Beasts and ambushes from ill-intentioned humans.

Dying in Star Dou Great Forest meant having nowhere to seek justice. No one would risk coming here to collect a corpse and write an autopsy report for someone else.

This place was also notorious for murder and arson. Encountering humans was far more dangerous than encountering Soul Beasts.

Yet at this moment, in one corner of the forest, the branches and leaves of countless trees rustled and shook. The dense, tangled canopy cast shifting shadows beneath some unknown current of air.

A two-headed Soul Beast charged madly through the outer zone, smashing apart every tree and boulder in its path.

"Roar!!"

Its agonized howl carried an obvious note of pleading, but the silent predator behind it clearly had no intention of giving up such perfect prey.

As the Twin Cyclops ran into an open clearing with an unobstructed view, its pursuer finally revealed its true form.

It was a monster covered in blue-gray scales, with savage enormous wings spread behind its back. The wings were black and possessed the texture of inorganic matter. Its golden claws easily tore through the air, as though they could shatter even light itself.

"Still running?"

"Those little legs can really pedal. Keep pedaling. Pedal your way out of the forest."

This monster was none other than Lin En, who had been stocking up like mad in Star Dou Great Forest.

The Soul Beast he was hunting was called a Twin Cyclops, an especially rare mutated Soul Beast.

The ordinary species was known as the Cyclops, a type of Soul Beast very similar to humans. They had even developed independent societies and knew how to make tools. Strictly speaking, though, they were closer relatives of Titan Giant Apes and Titan Snow Demon Apes.

These Soul Beasts were not particularly strong. Their bodies grew with their cultivation, and a Ten-Thousand-Year Cyclops could reach fifteen meters in height. That made their race especially easy prey for high-level Soul Beasts.

At first, Lin En had not intended to kill these giants. Their bloodline was not impressive, only slightly stronger than that of Soft Bone Rabbits and Mandala Snakes.

But after an accident in which he killed a blind Cyclops and roasted its brains, Lin En discovered a whole new world!

He admitted he had spoken too loudly before. Cyclops were amazing! Soft Bone Rabbits and Mandala Snakes were not even worthy of carrying their shoes!

The brains of these Soul Beasts were incredible nourishment! They comprehensively enhanced both the body and spiritual power. They were practically the heavenly treasure Lin En needed most right now.

Thus, over the next three months, Lin En began hunting this type of Soul Beast frantically. He specifically studied their habits and had Little Sage calculate where they were most likely to appear.

In three months, Lin En killed more than twenty Cyclops. Their brains helped restore the balance between his spiritual power and the will of the Dragon Clan.

Vinster King's nagging rap finally vanished. Even his sleep became much more peaceful than before.

And the Twin Cyclops before him was a special variety Lin En had tracked for a long time.

Cyclops had a chance of mutating into Twin Cyclops. Unlike ordinary Cyclops, Twin Cyclops were much stronger.

This mutated Soul Beast possessed the chaos attribute. Its attributes were completely uncertain, only becoming fixed once it grew a second head.

The Twin Cyclops Lin En was hunting possessed both fire and wind attributes. Half its fur was red, and the other half was cyan.

Fire and wind were an exceptionally fine combination. This Twin Cyclops only had three thousand years of cultivation, yet its skillful coordination of those attributes made even Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts detour around it.

But unfortunately, Lin En was immune to fire.

How could a noble Next-Generation Species descended from the proud Bronze and Fire King be harmed by fire elements? It was like using high-voltage electricity on an electric-powered boy. It did nothing except charge Lin En up.

As for the wind attribute, high-pressure wind blades were indeed highly destructive. But Lin En feared nothing less than pure numerical power. The Vector Manipulation Domain was no decoration.

How much hardship had he endured to obtain this domain back then? It had all been effort and sweat!

The suddenly open terrain filled the Twin Cyclops with despair. An exposed plain was synonymous with death.

"Roar!!"

It roared, and the single eyes on its two heads revealed a humanlike savagery!

It intended to fight to the death. Even if it died, it would tear off a chunk of its enemy's flesh and avenge its extinct tribe!

Its race had once lived at the edge of the Mixed Zone. There were not many predators there, and its tribe ruled a small region. Their lives had been fairly peaceful.

Until this monster appeared—a twisted creature neither human nor beast!

The instant they saw him, it was like a human encountering a counterfeit human. The uncanny valley effect hit them full force. Their entire tribe was hunted madly by this monster, their numbers plummeting from twenty.

Even after relocating several times, it had been useless. Their enemy could always pinpoint their new home with perfect accuracy.

Now it was the only one left in the entire tribe. It definitely could not escape, so it could only make one final desperate stand!

"Oh? You're pretty fired up. More fired up than Boruto."

"Be good. Open up on your own and let Uncle Lin En see whether you developed properly."

Lin En watched as the Twin Cyclops charged with blood-red eyes. Gales and blazing fire formed an ultra-high-temperature fire tornado before it.

The scorching fire elements caused the energy within Lin En to surge. His crimson-gold Golden Eyes carried violent dragon might.

With a light sweep of his dragon claw, all the flames drifted to one side like countless flowing red butterflies.

The blue-gray figure vanished in an instant. The Word Spirit, Moment, accelerated him to the limit. If agility-attack Soul Masters saw this, they would probably want to change classes on the spot.

That figure crashed into the Twin Cyclops with terrifying kinetic energy. All of it entered the flesh, blasting a massive bloody hole through its back. This was the cavity effect created by compressed kinetic energy.

The Twin Cyclops's body went limp, its eyes filled with unwillingness as a purple Soul Ring gathered above its corpse.

Lin En looked at those eyes, tears of grief flowing from the corner of his mouth.

His dragon claw slashed down forcefully, cutting off both heads. He carved off part of the remaining flesh and stored it in the Inspector's Ring.

Master Lin had caught prey again today. Fresh ingredients had to be carefully processed to preserve their delicious flavor.

An hour after Lin En left, this clearing welcomed another uninvited guest.

It was a golden young lion three meters long and eight feet tall at the shoulder. Its four paws resembled dragon claws, and its golden fur had the translucent texture of crystal. Besides a pair of golden eyes, it also had a crimson vertical eye on its forehead.

"Damn it! Who did this?!"

"Wuu~"

"My Twin Cyclops!! I spent so long looking for it!"