At the bottom of the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest.
A cold, haughty figure clad in black sat cross-legged in a spring vent. Encircling the spring around him was gold of life, a metal brimming with rich life force.
Unfortunately, this green-gold ring of life was incomplete. A fifth of it was missing, with bite marks on both broken ends, clearly left by some soul beast. There was another small gap on the opposite side, but its two clean, sharp edges showed that it had been cut with a blade.
Despite the missing pieces, the gold of life's effects remained undiminished. The sovereign of all soul beasts, Beast God Di Tian, used its vast life force to cultivate at every moment. Ever since that million-year tonic had inexplicably escaped last time, he had returned to this once-familiar method of cultivation.
Suddenly, the Black Dragon King Di Tian seemed to sense something. His eyes snapped open, but he soon regained his calm.
"Zi JI and the Scarlet King are fighting Shrek Academy's Xuan Zi? Both sides will probably suffer. How dull."
Though he did not know what had happened, he was certain that even together, the Scarlet King and Zi JI could not defeat Xuan Zi, the level 98 Godly Taotie Bull. But Xuan Zi could do nothing to those two subordinates of his either. The fight would merely end with all three severely injured.
Indeed, just as Di Tian had predicted, Xuan Zi, the Scarlet King, and Zi JI fought for three full days and nights, plowing through that stretch of forest three times over. Surging energy and scorching flames filled the air, and all the soil on the ground had been reduced to sand and gravel.
After all three suffered grievously on that brutal battlefield, the Scarlet King and Zi JI fled together. Xuan Zi had exhausted his soul power too, yet he still insisted on carrying Zhang Lexuan, the others, and the Dragon-Horned Crystal Python thousands of miles away. Only after reaching the Outer Area of the Star Dou Great Forest closest to Shrek Academy did he hand the hundred-thousand-year soul beast over to Zhang Lexuan, who was consumed by grief and anger.
Xuan Zi assumed Zhang Lexuan was grieving over her comrades' deaths, and his guilt deepened. If he had not drunk a little wine, how could he have lost control in his drunkenness, even disregarding their agreement to sneak into the Core Area and hunt a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?
By going there, he had not only disregarded the agreement, but also his students' safety. He was not a qualified team leader. Once they returned, he would resign to take responsibility.
As he spoke, Xuan Zi poured another mouthful of wine down his throat.
"Lexuan, don't grieve too much. This was all my fault. Absorb this soul ring first. We'll discuss everything else once we get back."
"Xuan Zi, am I really that useless? I couldn't even protect their remains." Seeing Xuan Zi, who was like family to her, Zhang Lexuan felt all the grievances she had suffered at Huo Yuhao's hands over the past few days turn into tears, pouring out before him.
Seeing Zhang Lexuan sob so bitterly only made Xuan Zi feel guiltier. "Sigh, it's all my fault. All my fault!"
After crying for a while, Zhang Lexuan seemed to have shed every last tear. Resolve filled her eyes as she walked straight toward the unconscious Dragon-Horned Crystal Python. A tranquil silver moon hung behind her, gleaming brilliantly with the aid of the moonlight.
"Xuan Zi, I'll avenge them. I'll use this soul ring right here."
Xuan Zi nodded in satisfaction at her words. He was relieved that Zhang Lexuan could pull herself out of her grief and self-reproach.
Unfortunately, the revenge Xuan Zi imagined and the revenge Zhang Lexuan meant were two entirely different things.
Over those three days, Zhang Lexuan's strength had already returned to its peak. With the moonlight now at its brightest, her strength could rise a little further.
Of course, what truly stoked her fierce desire to absorb this soul ring was that wickedly alluring, hateful figure in her mind.
Though that devil had saved her, he had taken the bodies of her dead teammates. She would wrest them back from his hands, no matter what. To grow stronger, stronger still-that had become her only conviction.
The Silver Moon became a sharp Moon Blade and spun, piercing the Dragon-Horned Crystal Python's skull with ease. After the python died, a blood-red soul ring condensed above its corpse and slipped directly over the Silver Moon still embedded in it.
Zhang Lexuan immediately sat cross-legged, centering herself and focusing her mind. Her powerful martial soul withstood most of the initial impact for her, but ultimately, she was not a soul master who cultivated her body. Even with her body strengthened by rare treasures, absorbing this soul ring with her mere level 80 cultivation was still a little beyond her.
Once she endured the initial impact, the rest became much easier. Even so, her meridians swelled until they nearly burst, and her aura grew wild and chaotic. Beside her, Xuan Zi looked worried as well. His confidence that Zhang Lexuan could absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring came from her moon martial soul's natural ability to suppress souls. Thus, resisting the hundred-thousand-year soul beast's soul attack-the stage everyone considered the most difficult-became an advantage for Zhang Lexuan instead. But Xuan Zi had never expected Lexuan's body to fail her.
Though she could barely absorb it, she would certainly suffer a severe loss of vitality. Without half a year of recuperation, she would hardly recover.
Alas, such were timing and fate.
In the central region of the Star Dou Great Forest, two figures with feeble auras flew deeper into the Core Area at an ordinary pace. Yet however weak their auras were, every soul beast they encountered along the way fled in piss-soaked terror upon sensing them.
They were none other than the Scarlet King and Zi JI, who had fought Xuan Zi for three days and nights.
"Zi JI, you have to explain this properly to Di Tian. I've never suffered such humiliation in all my life."
The Scarlet King looked rather ridiculous now. His three dog heads, each several meters across, had swollen to at least twice their usual size and were masses of mangled flesh. Nearly a third of the crimson fur on his body had fallen out, and his hellfire's aura had become extremely faint.
"Wasn't it all because of you?"
Zi JI snorted coldly. She looked little better. Many of her ink-black scales had fallen off, and the rest had lost their former luster.
After becoming a Titled Douluo, each level was a world apart, and that was even truer for Super Douluos. They had both expected Xuan Zi to be strong, but only by fighting him did they learn just how strong.
"Because of me? Zi JI, you really have no conscience. I came to help you today!" The Scarlet King looked aggrieved. He had been minding the little one perfectly well. Who had he offended?
"In any case, we'll just have to swallow this loss. Tell Di Tian? With such a huge commotion, he must have sensed it long ago. The two of us couldn't beat Xuan Zi alone-that's already utterly disgraceful. Di Tian won't launch another beast tide over a mere hundred-thousand-year soul beast, either. Let's pretend this never happened."
Zi JI's face was filled with fury. Having lost a hundred-thousand-year member of her own kind for nothing, she naturally could not suppress her anger. Yet there was nothing she could do.
After all, humans entering the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt hundred-thousand-year soul beasts was unavoidable. The Body Sect's earlier expedition, which had hunted several hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in succession, had actually been nothing more than the fuse. Di Tian's purpose in launching the beast tide had merely been to intimidate the Soul Master World and make its powerhouses exercise some restraint.
In a situation like the one just now, even if their opponent was Xuan Zi, two of the Star Dou Great Forest's great ferocious beasts had come out together and still failed to save that hundred-thousand-year soul beast. If they asked Di Tian to uphold justice, would that not announce to the outside world that the Star Dou Great Forest had no one capable? That its ferocious beasts were all useless?
"What rotten luck!"
But just as the two great ferocious beasts lowered their heads to talk, a black figure appeared before them without either noticing when.
"You two beast kings look utterly exhausted. Why not come to my place for a cup of tea?"
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There have been quite a few tips lately, and Tutu feels deeply honored, so I've added another item to my thanks.
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(End of chapter)
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