Doggy! Big Luck Is Coming Your Way!

Zhao Lie nodded slightly. "Tracks don't lie! Look at these handcart ruts. Their width and depth are uniform, and there are no breaks in them. That means the handcart was moving fast and barely stopped."

He crouched and touched the dirt, frowning. "And the ruts... they really do lead straight toward the core of the Star Dou Great Forest."

"The core?!" The team members drew sharp breaths.

"There are Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts in there! That kid only has his first Spirit Ring. Isn't he going there to die?"

"That's why we're following him." Zhao Lie stood, his expression grave. "If he survives in the core, we'll have to reassess his value."

The team members exchanged looks of disbelief.

Zhao Lie offered no further explanation. He waved them onward and led the way.

About half an hour later, the dense forest ahead began to thin.

Zhao Lie raised a hand to halt the team. Then he crept up onto a large tree branch and peered ahead.

What he saw stopped him cold.

At the mouth of a canyon sat a hulking black steel beast. Its engine rumbled, and black smoke billowed from its exhaust pipe.

A boy lounged in the handcart's driver's seat, chewing a piece of dried meat as he surveyed the canyon ahead.

A moment later, the boy drove the handcart into the canyon and disappeared.

"He... he really went in!" Zhao Lie muttered, stunned.

Even Zhao Lie, a level-sixty-two Soul Emperor, would not dare enter the core of the Star Dou Great Forest lightly.

Yet that boy, who looked only seven or eight, had driven right in without a care?

Zhao Lie gritted his teeth, jumped down from the branch, and signaled his team to follow.

They advanced along the edge of the canyon, step by cautious step, alert for danger.

The farther they went, the hotter the air grew.

The surrounding vegetation gradually changed from green to charred black. Rocks that had melted in the heat and cooled again lay everywhere.

Something's wrong... Zhao Lie's pupils contracted as unease surged through him. It's too hot here for an ordinary Spirit Beast to have caused this.

Just then, a deafening roar erupted from ahead!

It sounded like thunder crashing down from the heavens, shaking the entire canyon!

Pain stabbed through Zhao Lie's eardrums, and the force nearly scattered the Soul Power within him!

The team members behind him turned deathly pale. Some clapped their hands over their ears and crouched in pain.

"It's... it's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast!" Zhao Lie cried, his face changing as the realization struck.

Fear and panic rang unmistakably in his voice.

In more than forty years of life, the strongest Spirit Beast he had ever seen was only thirty thousand years old.

Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts belonged to legend.

Such a terrifying beast could rival a Titled Douluo!

They had no hope of fighting it.

Hearing Zhao Lie's cry, the team members were gripped by terror. They bitterly regretted entering the core of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Worse, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast was less than a thousand meters ahead of them!

Zhao Lie wanted to order a retreat, but his legs shook so badly he could not take a step.

The four team members behind him were trembling too, their legs just as weak.

One even fell to the ground and nearly wet himself. A little escaped.

Zhao Lie and his four team members watched helplessly as a colossal creature emerged ahead and slowly drew closer.

Even from a thousand meters away, they could feel its terrifying pressure.

The beast was thirty meters long and nine meters tall at the shoulder, its body covered in dark red scales. Three savage heads rose high above it, and six blood-red eyes glowed like burning fireballs.

Each breath sent out a wave of scorching flame that heated nearby rocks red and reduced trees to ash in an instant.

A Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound!

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast—the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound!

Zhao Lie's mind went blank.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined seeing a Spirit Beast this terrifying with his own eyes.

Worse, the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound seemed to have fixed its gaze on their position already.

"It's over... We're done for!" Zhao Lie's broad-bladed saber Martial Soul fell from his hand with a clang. He stared ahead, dazed.

His four team members collapsed to the ground. The one who had fallen earlier closed his eyes and waited for death.

But the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound did not attack as they had expected.

It merely swept them with a cold glance before turning toward a hulking black steel beast.

The steel beast was slowly driving straight at it.

Lu Yuan sat in the cab with both hands on the steering wheel, his foot on the accelerator and half a piece of dried pork dangling from his mouth.

He narrowed his eyes at the colossal creature ahead. "Whoa, you're one big dog! Three heads, too! Not bad!"

The Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound had clearly noticed the approaching intruder—and Lu Yuan at the wheel.

A savage light flickered in its six blood-red eyes.

Suddenly, its middle head opened its enormous jaws and let out a roar that shook the heavens.

A blast of scorching demonic flame poured from its mouth, instantly melting the rocks ahead into magma!

It was a show of force.

And a warning.

Any normal Soul Master would have turned and fled without hesitation.

No human could withstand the fury of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast.

But Lu Yuan was no normal Soul Master.

He nodded and licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Big Luck, let's get to work."

"Doggy! Big Luck is coming your way!"

His eyes turned cold, and he slammed his foot down on the accelerator!

Big Luck's engine gave a sky-splitting roar.

The next instant, the hulking black steel beast hurtled toward the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound!

Its ten tires tore at the ground, leaving six deep tracks behind!

"Full-Load Rampage! Activate!"

[Overload Mechanism activated! Load forcibly raised to ten times the current limit. Current actual load: 1,000 tons!]

Lu Yuan's current strength was comparable to that of a level-ninety-four fighter.

A powerful surge pinned him against his seat as the scenery around him streaked backward.

He could feel Big Luck roaring, radiating terrifying pressure and fearless resolve.