Lin En: "Boss, We Seem to Be Dogs."

"Boss, aren't we being a little too Western like this?"

"Can we really get something to eat this way?"

In a thicket in the middle of the Star Dou Great Forest's Mixed Zone, one golden and one black figure lay prone on the ground, their eyes fixed on the Soul Beast ahead as it carefully savored the plump Blue Silver Grass.

A plain stretched out directly before them. There were few trees here, and sunlight fell straight across the grassland. Grasses and sedges such as Blue Silver Grass grew exceptionally lush.

The human stomach had difficulty digesting the cellulose in Blue Silver Grass. Eating it once or twice was not a problem, but too much would lead to malnutrition and diarrhea. In severe cases, it could damage the stomach and intestines.

In years of disaster, many poor people had died from eating Blue Silver Grass. A single bout of diarrhea could completely snuff out the flame of life.

Under normal circumstances, Blue Silver Grass could be specially stir-fried into tea leaves, known as the poor man's happy water. The brewed tea was sweet and cool. Add some ice and sugar, and it tasted somewhat like iced black tea, except for the color.

Herbivorous Soul Beasts did not need to worry about such things. The Soul Beast in the distance was a colorful deer. According to the Soul Beast guidebook given to him by that old man in white, its full name was the Wind-chasing Rainbow Deer, an exceptionally rare Soul Beast!

The last recorded sighting of this Soul Beast had been fifty years ago at an auction in Mingdu, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire. A hundred-year-old one had been bid up to five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

This Soul Beast possessed the wind and life attributes. It was incredibly fast, comparable to the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, while its life attribute gave it endurance far beyond the latter. It often came and went without a trace.

The pool of Soul Skills its Soul Ring could produce was also excellent, combining speed boosts with attribute enhancements. There had basically never been anything like Ice Empress's Soul Skill assassin situation.

When he had read the books before, Lin En had strongly suspected that Ice Empress had falsified her Soul Ring age. He recommended thoroughly investigating her. A Soul Beast guilty of academic misconduct should be kicked straight off the Ferocious Beast Ranking.

Ice Empress's Scorpion Claw and Ice Emperor's Possession were simply too ridiculous. They felt inferior even to several of the White Tiger Wuhun's enhancement Soul Skills.

In short, thanks to its outstanding bloodline and Soul Skill pool, the Wind-chasing Rainbow Deer was one of the Soul Beasts most coveted by wind-attribute agility attack Soul Masters.

Ever since Lin En had started hanging around Three-Eyed Golden Lion, Miss Golden British Shorthair had always wanted to show off in front of her little brother and prove that she could lead him through the Star Dou Great Forest and let him eat well.

So today, in order to treat Lin En to a good meal, Miss Golden British Shorthair had specifically decided to show off her skills, bringing him to the middle of the Mixed Zone to ambush a seven-thousand-year Wind-chasing Rainbow Deer.

"Shh, don't talk!"

"The Power of Fate divined it for me. We're going to be fierce today!"

Miss Golden British Shorthair nudged Lin En with her fluffy head. That cat-like nuzzling made him feel utterly blissful.

But Lin En still could not suppress the urge to complain. "But right now, we look like a pair of dogs."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion avoided the subject. She tapped the human beside her on the head with a paw and whispered,

"This isn't an ordinary Rainbow Deer. Did you see the colors on its body?

"It's about to become nine-colored. It's a Rainbow Deer King, far stronger than an ordinary Rainbow Deer in every respect."

"You've struck it rich following this young lady today. Rainbow Deer King meat is exquisite, and the life force in its body is roughly equivalent to that of a thousand-year Emerald Swan.

"Didn't you say you wanted to eat the meat of a life-attribute Soul Beast? There's nothing better than this."

"So stay quiet now! Quiet, understand?"

Miss Golden British Shorthair nimbly raised a forepaw before her mouth, signaling for him to keep his voice down. She had learned that gesture from Lin En.

Lin En understood immediately. He ran a finger across his lips as though pulling up a zipper, indicating that he would not make another sound.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded in satisfaction. Her three eyes focused intently on the Rainbow Deer King ahead as her spiritual power quietly extended, preparing to lock onto the prey's aura.

Once locked on by spiritual power, no matter where it ran, it could not escape the Imperial Auspicious Beast's hunt. This was the Star Dou Great Forest's cruelest Death Proclamation. No being dared shelter it.

The Rainbow Deer King suddenly raised its head. Its body reacted before its mind did. It launched itself away with zero windup, terror written across its face as it raced toward the dense forest behind it.

It was incredibly fast, like a violent gust sweeping past. The Blue Silver Grass across the entire plain was forcibly bent low by the pressure of the high-speed wind.

There was not even the slightest vibration on the ground, as though the Rainbow Deer King were running atop space itself.

"Damn it! It got away!"

"Wait here, I'm going after it!"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion puffed out her cheeks. She had just wanted to show off in front of her little brother, only to make a complete mess of it. She could not tolerate that. No prey she had set her sights on had ever successfully escaped!

Such were the rules of the Star Dou Great Forest. Any Soul Beast targeted by the Imperial Auspicious Beast, regardless of its strength, could never fight back. It could only run.

If it dared fight back, then regardless of whether the Auspicious Beast was injured, some big-shot Ferocious Beast would come knocking the next day to deliver some warmth and let it experience a nine-generations elimination game.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion immediately transformed into a small golden sun. Ultimate Light and Ultimate Fire formed clouds of flame beneath her paws to carry her aloft, while surging spiritual power swept across the forest, catching the Rainbow Deer King's escape trail.

The Soul Beasts in the surrounding Mixed Zone sensed that spiritual power and were frightened half to death. They wished they could burrow straight into the ground, terrified that young lady might set her sights on them.

Lin En watched the small sun vanish into the distance, helplessness appearing on his face. Three-Eyed Golden Lion was not a race that excelled at speed, while Rainbow Deer belonged to the second tier of land-speed species.

Catching a Rainbow Deer running at full speed would probably be difficult.

"I can't just eat and drink for free."

"Word Spirit: Moment!"

Ancient and solemn words pried at the laws of the world. Lin En activated the eighth tier of Moment. Blue dragon scales spread across his body, and he became a blue streak of light.

When ordinary hybrids activated Moment, their brains could not keep up with their body's speed. They had to plan their subsequent actions in advance. This meant that despite being an extremely powerful Word Spirit, few people could unleash its full strength.

Lin En did not need to consider so much. In that dungeon, he had already completed the modification of his brain. His thoughts had no delay, allowing him to perfectly adapt to Moment's extreme speed.

From Lin En's perspective, the entire world became a rapidly flashing series of panels. Ordinary eyes could not effectively analyze the information in such images at all.

Lin En did not need to look. Little Sage would naturally perform the most precise analysis.

Dense trees flashed past his sides. As he passed a cave, Little Sage issued a warning:

"Master, faint Soul Power fluctuations exist inside the cave. Would you like to stop and investigate?"

Lin En raised an eyebrow. The crocodile uncle's gifted leather shoes showed their power, allowing him to brake perfectly at such extreme speed and plow a long furrow into the ground.

Lin En curiously glanced into the cave and saw a group of Soul Beasts of different species hiding in the pitch-black shadows, mainly bears and snakes.

This was the territory of a Ten-Thousand-Year Terrorclaw Bear and a Ten-Thousand-Year Green Shadow Snake.

The two races that had once been utterly incompatible had now put aside their differences and hidden here together.

When they saw Lin En, they hurriedly waved their paws or tails, pleading with their eyes and signaling for him not to call out.

If he attracted that young lady here, their lives would be impossible to predict!

The fellows had worked so hard to cultivate for ten thousand years. They did not want to become the Auspicious Beast's food just like that.

Although the Auspicious Beast rarely ate bears or snakes, what if she decided to change her tastes today?

Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts had already developed a degree of intelligence. Though they could not speak, communication was not a problem.

Lin En asked, "Did you see which way the Rainbow Deer went? Or did you sense it?"

After thinking for a moment, the Ten-Thousand-Year Terrorclaw Bear pointed east with claws longer than an arm.

The Green Shadow Snake gestured with its tail, conveying the same meaning: east.

Under normal circumstances, neither of them would be polite to humans. The Beast God Di Tian had once given an order: kill any human on sight in the Mixed Zone! Show no mercy.

But this human carried the aura of the Imperial Auspicious Beast. No matter what his relationship with her was, not moving was the best response.

If they misjudged the situation and offended the Imperial Auspicious Beast, they might as well boil themselves. That way, perhaps they would not implicate their clansmen.

After understanding, Lin En stepped forward in his crocodile leather shoes, activated his extreme speed once more, and felt the gale rushing toward him like steel needles.