Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf

The Star Dou Great Forest.

Wang Qiu'er brought Lin Changgeng down at the forest's edge.

Towering trees blotted out the sky and sun, leaving sunlight to scatter a few patches of light through gaps in the leaves. The scent of earth and vegetation filled the air, punctuated by the occasional roar of a soul beast.

"Come on, let's head in." With both hands behind her head, Wang Qiu'er swaggered deeper into the forest, showing none of the caution one ought to have when entering a soul beast forest.

As a level-ninety-seven Super Douluo, strolling through the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest was no different from wandering through her own back garden.

Lin Changgeng followed behind, equally relaxed.

With Wang Qiu'er there, the soul beasts in the outskirts posed no threat to him. Even a ten-thousand-year soul beast could be slapped to death with a single blow from her.

The two swaggered farther in just like that. Along the way, they encountered several hundred-year soul beasts, but the moment the creatures sensed Wang Qiu'er's aura, they fled with their tails between their legs, not daring to come anywhere near her.

"Rein in your aura a little," Lin Changgeng said. "You're scaring all the soul beasts away. How are we supposed to find one?"

"Oh, right." Wang Qiu'er considered this, then reined in her oppressive aura. "Will this do?"

"Yeah."

After another half hour or so, Lin Changgeng suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

"What is it?" Wang Qiu'er looked back.

"There's a metallic aura." Lin Changgeng frowned and cocked his head to listen. "It's strong, and it's moving."

His gengjin origin spirit had an innate ability to sense metal, and this aura was powerful.

Wang Qiu'er sensed it too, her golden eyes narrowing slightly.

"Come on, let's take a look." Wang Qiu'er grabbed Lin Changgeng and, in a flash, sped toward the source of the aura.

A few breaths later, they came to a stop on the branch of a large tree and looked down from above.

Below them lay a small clearing. At its center, a wolf-shaped soul beast was gnawing on a wild rabbit.

The soul beast was considerably larger than an ordinary wolf, standing nearly a meter and a half at the shoulder. Its fur was gray-black, but thick golden patterns ran along its back from its neck all the way to its tail, gleaming with a dazzling metallic luster in the sunlight.

Its back rose in a pronounced hump, covered by a thick carapace that looked cast from refined iron and reflected a cold gleam. The golden patterns on the carapace seemed alive, with faint streams of light flowing through them.

Its limbs were thick as pillars, its claws dark gold. Every step left deep claw marks in the ground.

"A Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf," Wang Qiu'er said quietly. "A metal-attribute soul beast, eight hundred years old. The carapace on its back is as hard as thousand-year refined iron, and its claws possess metallic sharpness. It's extremely aggressive."

"Eight hundred years..." Lin Changgeng stared at the wolf, a flicker of excitement crossing his gilt-gold eyes. "I should be able to absorb it, right?"

Eight hundred years was far beyond the usual limit for a first soul ring. But he possessed the Behemoth's heaven-devouring aptitude, and his physical strength far surpassed others at his level. He could easily withstand an eight-hundred-year soul ring.

"Of course." Wang Qiu'er waved a hand carelessly. "The Behemoth's heaven-devouring aptitude lets you exceed the optimal age limit, but eight hundred years is your limit right now."

She paused and rolled her wrist. "Wait here. Big sis will knock it down for you."

Before she had finished speaking, she had already leaped from the branch.

Sensing the movement, the Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf abruptly raised its head. Its eyes locked onto Wang Qiu'er as she descended from above, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.

It instinctively sensed danger.

This woman was powerful.

But the ferocity of an eight-hundred-year soul beast kept it from backing down. Instead, it crouched on all fours, let out a roar, and lunged at Wang Qiu'er.

"Awooo!"

A gray-black afterimage swept forward with a bloody gust, its dark-gold claws tracing cold streaks through the air.

Wang Qiu'er did not even release her martial soul.

She simply stood where she was, waiting until the Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf lunged right before her. Only then did she slowly raise a hand and lightly strike out with her palm.

The seemingly weightless palm strike carried terrifying power.

Bam!

A dull impact rang out.

As though struck by a mountain, the Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf flew backward and crashed into a large tree. The trunk snapped clean through, and the wolf spat blood before falling to the ground, struggling.

One palm strike.

Just one palm strike.

The eight-hundred-year Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf had been beaten half to death.

This was the strength of a level-ninety-seven Super Douluo.

The Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf lay on the ground, its limbs twitching. It tried to stand, but could not get up no matter how hard it struggled. Countless ribs had been broken, its internal organs had suffered devastating injuries, and only a single thread of life remained.

"All done." Wang Qiu'er clapped her hands, then turned and beckoned to Lin Changgeng in the tree. "Come down. It's on its last breath. You land the final blow."

Lin Changgeng jumped down from the tree and walked up to the Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf.

The dying wolf looked at him, its eyes filled with fear and unwillingness.

It could sense an aura from the child before it that filled it with instinctive dread.

Ultimate metal.

To metal-type soul beasts, it was a born sovereign.

Lin Changgeng raised his right hand. Dark-gold light flowed across his palm as gengjin elements condensed into a short metal blade a little over a foot long.

He walked straight up to the Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf, raised his hand, and brought the blade down.

The Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf's body twitched a few times, then went completely still.

A deep-yellow soul ring rose from the wolf's corpse, rotating slowly in midair.

"Not bad. Nice and decisive." Wang Qiu'er walked over and patted Lin Changgeng on the shoulder. "That's how you hunt soul beasts. Don't go preaching benevolence and morality to them."

"Weren't you a soul beast yourself?" Lin Changgeng rolled his eyes at her.

"That's different. I carry the fortune of the soul beasts. I'm on a completely different level from this lowly creature."

The hierarchy among soul beasts was clearly defined. In terms of rank, few on this continent could compare to her.

"Stop standing there." Wang Qiu'er gave him a shove. "Hurry up and absorb the soul ring before it dissipates. An eight-hundred-year soul ring packs quite a bit of energy. Just focus on absorbing it. With big sis here, nothing will go wrong."

Lin Changgeng nodded, sat cross-legged, and pressed his hand against the soul ring.

Guided by his soul power, the soul ring slowly settled around him.

The next instant, a violent force surged into his body.

The energy of the eight-hundred-year Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf's soul ring was incredibly domineering. Carrying the sharpness of metal and the wolf's ferocity, it rampaged through his meridians.

"Urgh!"

Lin Changgeng grunted. Veins bulged on his forehead, and every muscle in his body tensed.

The energy of an eight-hundred-year soul ring was more than twice as intense as that of a typical first soul ring.

The violent metallic soul power sliced recklessly through his meridians like countless tiny blades.

But the Behemoth's heaven-devouring aptitude was working at full force. His physical strength far surpassed others at his level, and his broad, resilient meridians stubbornly withstood the violent assault.

His gengjin origin spirit was actively assimilating it as well. The power of ultimate metal slowly permeated the energy, and the metal attribute within the Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf's soul ring gradually quieted as though it had encountered its sovereign, allowing Lin Changgeng to absorb and integrate it little by little.