Fierce Battle, Terrifying Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast

Zhang Lexuan obviously would not abandon everyone.

"Prepare for battle."

She spoke in a low voice.

"Yes!"

Seeing their senior disciple sister's icy expression, the Shrek Inner Courtyard elites finally realized that they were about to face a battle of life and death.

Without any academy instructors present, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would be more than capable of slaughtering them. Even several Soul Sage upperclassmen could not possibly hold it off.

One Soul King in particular immediately turned pale.

He muttered, "I don't want to die. I just obtained my fifth Soul Ring. My future is still..."

"Shut up!"

Zhang Lexuan snapped.

She swept her gaze over everyone and spoke word by word.

"No one will die! Elder Xuan will arrive as quickly as possible. He will not abandon us. This is only a trial, an Assessment aimed at Inner Courtyard Disciples! Ruo Ling, Zhang Yi, I'll report this to the academy and count this exam as your graduation assessment. As for the rest of you... it can count toward one of your future assessments."

"The only condition for passing the assessment is..."

Zhang Lexuan gritted her teeth. "Survive!"

Everyone stopped where they were.

They gave up their last few minutes of escape time. Rather than continue wasting their strength until that creature caught up and killed them, they might as well conserve their energy and fight to the death.

"Ruo Lin, Li Nian, Zhang Chuyan—the three of you are Agile Attack System Soul Masters. Ruo Lin, lead the team and take control of the air. Provide vision and harass it with aerial attacks. Watch your own safety."

"Zhang Yi, you're a Control System Soul Master. Use your Ghost Vine to bind it and keep it occupied. If it attacks the others, remember to provide support in time. Ling Yuan, Bai Nian... protect Zhang Yi. Nothing can happen to him!"

"Xiaotao and Su Wen, stay with Zhang Yi. Generally, Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts won't attack the weaker ones first, so you'll be relatively safe."

"Everyone else, attack with me!"

Zhang Lexuan said solemnly, "Remember, this is a battle of attrition. Our only goal is to stall for time. Every extra minute counts. Don't risk your lives!"

"Yes!"

Everyone answered in unison.

Ruo Ling spread open her palm, and a small emerald bird flew out. After Ruo Ling gave it a few instructions, it flew into the distance.

It was clearly a scout.

Soul Tools could only detect enemies and roughly determine their direction and speed, but this little bird was one of Ruo Ling's soul skills and could assess the enemy's situation with greater precision.

"Pfft..."

Yet only a few dozen seconds passed.

Ruo Ling spat out a mouthful of blood.

"It's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger. It's too fast. The spirit bird I released didn't even last a second before it was swatted to death! If it hadn't paused for a moment when the bird dissipated, I wouldn't have been able to see its true appearance at all!" Ruo Ling said with terror on her face.

"The Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger may have tiger in its name, but its build is more like that of a leopard. It's known for its speed, so no wonder it's this fast. A Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger at the Hundred-Thousand-Year level—there probably isn't a second one in the entire Star Dou Great Forest. What fucking luck, running into it," Zhang Yi said through gritted teeth.

"Take your pills. Get yourselves into peak condition!"

Zhang Lexuan said calmly.

"We can only fight to the death."

"Roar~"

A deep tiger's roar resounded through the forest.

The roar seemed to awaken the originally silent night. Countless birds and beasts fled madly into the distance. Moments later, Su Wen felt the area around them become inexplicably empty. Seeing countless birds, snakes, beasts, and insects suddenly pour out from the dense branches and leaves of the ancient woods that had once been tranquil, even he was startled.

It was as if the entire surrounding area had been vacuumed empty.

Yet the suffocating sensation that followed made every hair on his body stand on end.

The Shrek elites around him did not dare breathe loudly. Their eyes were fixed on the direction of the tiger's roar, and the silence was almost eerie.

"Roar~"

Another tiger's roar rang out.

A huge crimson figure slowly emerged, its steps crunching over the withered yellow leaves on the ground.

Su Wen could see those blood-red pupils, brimming with a hunter's leisure and cruelty. Clearly, it had already set its sights on the Shrek group.

This was his first time seeing a genuine Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

He had never experienced such an utterly terrifying pressure before. If Su Wen had truly been a six-year-old child, he would probably have wet himself long ago...

Everyone in the entire team had gone pale.

Zhang Lexuan did not strike first.

After all, their priority was to stall.

The Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger seemed to sense that something was wrong as well. These humans were stalling for time. A sense of danger rose within it. With a low growl, it transformed into a streak of blood-red shadow and charged forward.

"Attack!"

Zhang Lexuan waved her hand.

The entire team sprang into action in an instant.

Countless thick vines shot up from the ground, winding toward the Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger.

"Swish, swish—"

Yet the Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger merely swept its claws lightly, and those seemingly thick, resilient vines were instantly severed into several pieces, scattering across the ground.

After dodging Zhang Yi's attack, it headed straight for Zhang Lexuan.

In its eyes, once it dealt with the strongest of these humans, the rest would crumble without a fight.

"Silver Moon Avatar!"

Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes remained calm as she gave a soft shout.

Seven Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—lit up beneath her feet.

Her graceful figure seemed to transform into a silver moon in the sky, silver-white radiance spilling over the earth. Against a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, holding back in any way was the stupidest thing one could do. Thus, she immediately unleashed her Martial Soul Avatar.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Moon Eclipse!"

Her sixth Soul Ring rose at once. The black Soul Ring merged into the silver moon, as though staining the entire bright moon into a black moon. In the instant the Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger froze in surprise, the "black moon" transformed into a beam that shone upon its body.

The Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger's entire body stiffened, followed by a terrifying explosion that echoed through the forest.

"Zhang Yi!" After unleashing her Soul Skill, Zhang Lexuan's face had turned noticeably pale. Yet she could not spare a thought for the depletion and hurriedly called to the side.

"Yes!"

Zhang Yi's expression was grave.

His feet sank into the soil, rooting themselves underground.

"Demon Vine Avatar!"

Drawing nourishment from the earth, he instantly transformed into a "treant."

"Sixth Soul Skill: Spirit Bind!"

"Fifth Soul Skill: Tree Sea!"

Countless demon vines burst from the ground. Even the dormant ancient wood around them began to move, dense roots and branches intertwining to tightly imprison the site of the explosion. From above, it looked like a spiderweb, sealed tight without a single gap.

"Can it trap it?" Ruo Ling asked weakly.

"..."

Zhang Yi's mouth twitched as his eyes remained fixed on the trapped "cocoon."

The air seemed to solidify.

Everyone's hearts rose to their throats.

Even trapping it for one or two minutes would be pretty good...

Xuan Zi was already on his way.

But before two seconds had passed...

"Boom!"

The sturdy wooden cocoon exploded apart.

Wood splinters flew everywhere as a blood-red figure pounced toward them!

"Damn it! It didn't even hold for one fucking second!" Zhang Yi's expression changed drastically. His hands formed seals at high speed, and countless vines along the way tried to interfere, but they only slowed that blood-red shadow slightly.

"Ruo Ling!"

Zhang Yi shouted.

A jade-green arc shot toward the Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger.

"Pfft..."

But in the next instant—

It was sent flying by a single slap.

Blood sprayed wildly from her mouth into the air. Her body flew like a torn sack, smashing through several ancient trees before hanging limply.

"Ruo Ling!"

Everyone's pupils shrank sharply.

Was this the true strength of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!