Lie Yan Mad Lion

"Let's hide first and watch how things unfold."

Tang Xuan and the others leaped onto a nearby tree and concealed themselves against its trunk, suppressing their auras. They quietly watched the area around the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's corpse for any developments.

"Roar!" A savage roar rang out, followed by a series of heavy, thudding footsteps drawing closer. Trees toppled one after another nearby, but they had not fallen naturally-they had been snapped by sheer force. An enormous lion wreathed in surging flames emerged from the forest. She halted her heavy steps and swept her gaze around. Seeing nothing unusual, she headed straight for the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's corpse, unaware of Tang Xuan and the others.

She strolled leisurely toward the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's corpse. What no one knew was that this newly arrived soul beast had clashed with the Great Strength Vajra Monkey not long ago. Although her cultivation far exceeded his, she had gained no advantage in their fight. She had originally come today to challenge him again, only to discover that he was already dead. She began devouring his body.

Watching the lion feed on the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's corpse, Tang Xuan whispered to Lin Ao and the other two, "This soul beast is called the Lie Yan Mad Lion. She's a sovereign among lion-type soul beasts, with extraordinarily powerful offense and defense. Even among soul beasts of the same cultivation, she's one of the best. From the look of her, her cultivation is around eighty thousand years."

"Great! Then she'll be my soul ring," Lin Ao said happily.

He could tell that this soul beast was an excellent match for him. The thought of her eighty-thousand-year cultivation filled Lin Ao with delight. Suddenly, the Lie Yan Mad Lion feeding on the Great Strength Vajra Monkey glanced their way. Tang Xuan and the others concealed their auras once more. Finding nothing unusual, she lowered her head and continued eating.

"When you attack later, don't rush to kill her. Suppress her with everything you have and stir up her resentment. Give her a good, thorough beating."

"Why? Didn't you say this soul beast was eighty thousand years old? Wouldn't it be better to finish her off quickly, before anything unexpected happens?" Song Ming asked in confusion. Lin Ao and Su Qing also looked at Tang Xuan doubtfully.

"Because of the soul bone," Tang Xuan said calmly.

"A soul bone!" Lin Ao and the others exclaimed at his words.

"But soul bones don't appear that easily!" Su Qing said coolly.

"Other than hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, which are guaranteed to drop a soul bone, the chances of any other soul beast producing one are extremely low. Even out of a hundred soul beasts, you might not find a single one that drops a soul bone. There are two viable ways to make a soul beast produce one."

"One is to have the soul beast willingly sacrifice its soul ring to you. The other is for the soul beast to harbor immense resentment before it dies. Both methods can allow a soul beast under a hundred thousand years old to produce a soul bone."

"So you want us to stir up the Lie Yan Mad Lion's resentment and use the second method to make her produce a soul bone."

"Exactly," Tang Xuan confirmed.

"This soul beast's attributes are a perfect match for Old Lin, and her eighty-thousand-year cultivation is extremely powerful too. If we can obtain a soul bone from the same soul beast we hunt for his soul ring, Old Lin will surely make further breakthroughs in succession after absorbing a soul ring and soul bone with matching attributes." This was the shortcut Tang Xuan had planned to help Lin Ao rapidly improve his strength.

Lin Ao patted Tang Xuan's shoulder and said, "Kid Tang, I wasn't wrong to call you my brother. Thanks!" In truth, he was deeply moved by how much thought Tang Xuan had put into helping him.

"All right, save your thanks until we're done. Go ahead and attack!" Tang Xuan saw that the Lie Yan Mad Lion had nearly finished eating the Great Strength Vajra Monkey's corpse.

"Sixth soul skill: Hundred-Step Flying Sword!" Su Qing was the first to strike, opening with his sixth soul skill. His martial soul, the Heavenly Wind Sword, shot toward the Lie Yan Mad Lion like lightning. She had only just sensed it when the slash drove her back several meters, leaving a deep wound on her left shoulder. In terms of offensive power, Su Qing was the strongest of the three. A sword martial soul's offensive power was inherently greater than that of other tool martial souls, and his Heavenly Wind Sword was of particularly high quality, only slightly inferior to the Seven Kill Sword.

After Su Qing attacked, Song Ming and Lin Ao immediately followed. "Sixth soul skill: Explosive Combo!" Having suffered Su Qing's strike, the Lie Yan Mad Lion was already on guard. Song Ming's attack did not injure her, but his sixth soul skill was no simple matter. It bore some resemblance to the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, each staff strike stronger than the last, forcing her back several meters. The Lie Yan Mad Lion eyed Su Qing and Song Ming warily.

Taking advantage of the Lie Yan Mad Lion's attention being fixed on Su Qing and Song Ming, Lin Ao swiftly launched his attack.

"Sixth soul skill-Sweep Through a Thousand Armies!"

The eighty-thousand-year Lie Yan Mad Lion was indeed powerful. Against the combined attacks of one Quasi-Titled Douluo and two peak Soul Douluos, she was outmatched, yet her imposing might remained undiminished and her fighting strength formidable. She took the initiative to attack the three, swinging her sharp claws at them.

"Seventh soul skill-Martial Soul Avatar!" Song Ming met the Lie Yan Mad Lion's attack head-on, while she pressed down on him with both claws together. When the two collided, Song Ming was forced back several steps.

"Fifth soul skill: Origin Sword Slash!" Su Qing slashed at the Lie Yan Mad Lion's abdomen, opening a huge wound that streamed blood. Severely injured, she had her attack pushed back by Song Ming. The three repeatedly targeted the wounds on her body, piling injury upon injury.

The battle had lasted an hour and entered a brief stalemate. The Lie Yan Mad Lion looked down at the humans attacking her, her imposing aura already flagging. She had tried to flee, but each attempt had left her with considerable injuries. She stared at Lin Ao and the other two with hatred. At first, the three had rushed her together and fought her head-on. Now, however, they neither let her escape nor fought her to the finish, endlessly dragging things out.

The three took turns fighting her, one after another, each inflicting considerable injuries and leaving her covered in wounds. To her, they were toying with her. As an eighty-thousand-year soul beast, she was a sovereign of her territory, and she saw this as an insult to her royal dignity. She roared furiously, and the flames enveloping her body turned blood-red. She was burning her own life force for a desperate final struggle. She charged at Lin Ao and the other two.

Su Qing met her head-on and activated his Martial Soul Avatar. "Seventh soul skill-Martial Soul Avatar!" An enormous martial soul took shape in his hands, and he slashed it toward the Lie Yan Mad Lion.

This time, Tang Xuan could no longer stand idle at the side. "Third soul skill-Sword Domain!" Under his third soul skill, the blood-red flames on the Lie Yan Mad Lion's body immediately grew paler, allowing Su Qing to withstand her attack. Tang Xuan leaped up and landed on her head, thrusting his sword into one of her eyes and blinding it. The Lie Yan Mad Lion grew even more frenzied, losing all reason.

"Seventh soul skill: Martial Soul Avatar!" Seeing this, Lin Ao activated his Martial Soul Avatar as well. A long spear pierced straight through the Lie Yan Mad Lion's chest.

"Whew! It's finally over. Old Lin, don't you forget how we helped you today!"

"When Su Qing and I make our breakthroughs, you'd better lend a hand too," Song Ming said from the side.

"Does that even need saying? Of course I will. Just you wait. When you and Su Qing make your breakthroughs, I'll definitely find you two soul beasts older than the Lie Yan Mad Lion," Lin Ao said.

"Oh, stop boasting, old man. Don't tell me your future title will be the Boasting Douluo?"

"Hahahaha!" At those words, Song Ming burst out laughing. Even the usually silent Su Qing laughed.

Song Ming said, "Hey, you know, the title Little Xuan picked for you really fits, doesn't it, Old Lin? Why not settle on that one? Hahahaha!"

Lin Ao's face darkened at his words.

"Shoo, shoo! You two, get out of here. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't stoop to your level." With that, Lin Ao turned toward the black soul ring rising from the Lie Yan Mad Lion's corpse nearby. He rubbed his hands and stepped forward, his eyes burning with fervor.

The ninth soul ring! Titled Douluo! This was the realm everyone spent their entire lives pursuing!