Jin Jiuxiao and Bi Ji had just reached the entrance when they saw Xiong Jun already lashing out with a claw.
"What the fuck are you yelling for? Get down here!"
That ordinary swipe from Xiong Jun made Dugu Bo's expression change drastically.
"Jade Phosphorous Serpent Avatar-manifest!" Dugu Bo instantly unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar.
The next moment, several Soul Rings circling him lit up in succession.
He hurled out Soul Skills in a frenzy, as though they cost nothing.
But they were completely useless.
Xiong Jun ignored every one of those Soul Skills, driving his claw straight toward the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's head.
Xiong Jun tore the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Avatar apart with a single swipe, and a Dark Gold Claw Glint slashed across Dugu Bo's chest.
"Aaaargh!!!" Dugu Bo cried out in pain as he fell from midair to the ground.
Five claw marks appeared across his chest, deep enough to expose bone.
"Here... how could there be... such a terrifying dark gold terrorclaw bear...?"
Dugu Bo recognized those unmistakable claws.
A dark gold terrorclaw bear-and a pureblood over a hundred thousand years old at that!
This shouldn't be possible!
He had never heard of a dark gold terrorclaw bear older than a hundred thousand years existing in any Soul Beast forest.
Wasn't this a bona fide king among Soul Beasts?
How could it appear in a little place like the Sunset Forest?
Even if one did appear, shouldn't it be in the Star Dou Great Forest?!
Xiong Jun withdrew his Dark Gold Dreadclaw and walked, step by step, toward Dugu Bo lying on the ground. "Human, you certainly talk big."
"Uncle Xiong." Jin Jiuxiao and Bi Ji also came to Xiong Jun's side.
Together, they looked down at the grievously wounded Dugu Bo.
Jin Jiuxiao had witnessed everything that had just happened.
So Dugu Bo really couldn't take even one swipe from Xiong Jun.
Dugu Bo would have to fight a bitter, drawn-out battle even against a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
And as we knew, a ten-thousand-year pureblood dark gold terrorclaw bear already possessed strength comparable to an ordinary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
Xiong Jun's cultivation currently stood at four hundred and twenty thousand years, and as the king of the dark gold terrorclaw bears, his bloodline was even purer.
With Uncle Xiong's plain, unadorned stats, one auto attack meant an instant kill!
In this Douluo I era, even counting humans and Soul Beasts together, only a handful could beat Xiong Jun.
If Jin Jiuxiao really encountered those three who could beat Xiong Jun, he could call Di Tian over too.
Before leaving, he had specifically told Di Tian not to enter secluded cultivation for the next hundred years.
In other words, he only had to activate the reverse scale Di Tian had given him, and Di Tian could descend directly from the Lake of Life to his side the very next second.
Now that was a reassuring sense of security.
"Little Jiuxiao, what are you planning to do with this human Titled Douluo?"
"Kill him?"
Xiong Jun felt that this human Titled Douluo was far too weak.
It really made no difference whether they kept him around.
"..." Dugu Bo could only feel that his luck had gone catastrophically bad.
Was this a fucking hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast who had taken human form and brought the elders of his Soul Beast family along to gain experience?
Just listen to what this kid called him-"Uncle Xiong." Wasn't he addressing that dark gold terrorclaw bear who was who knew how many tens of thousands of years old?
And that unfamiliar swan Soul Beast behind him...
He could not fathom her cultivation at all.
Come on, man! If you wanted to gain experience after taking human form, shouldn't you go to the Human World?
Why come to a backwater like the Sunset Forest, which didn't even have a single hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast?!
A trace of bitterness welled up in Dugu Bo's heart. Yanyan, your grandpa... it looks like I'll be dying here today...
The only person he could not stop worrying about was his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan had yet to grow up. What would she do if he was gone...?
"Dugu Bo, do you want to live?"
Hearing Jin Jiuxiao's voice, Dugu Bo was rather dazed.
He knows me?
I still have a chance to survive?
"You recognize me?" Dugu Bo asked instinctively, then caught himself. "If living is an option, who would want to die?"
Whatever conditions these Soul Beasts demanded, as long as he could survive, he would agree for now and deal with the rest later.
Dugu Yan could not lose her grandfather.
"If you want to live, it's simple."
"Swear on your Martial Soul that you'll serve me loyally from now on. My name is Jin Jiuxiao." Jin Jiuxiao stated his condition bluntly.
"What?!" Dugu Bo had just tried to force himself to his feet when a glare from Xiong Jun stopped him cold.
Forget it... no getting up. Better keep lying here.
If this dark gold terrorclaw bear swiped at him again, he really would die.
But he still could not accept it.
Even if this kid named Jin Jiuxiao was a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast who had taken human form, he could not accept it.
"Why should I pledge my loyalty to you? The one who defeated me was this mighty dark gold terrorclaw bear."
Even if he agreed, he ought to pledge his loyalty to someone strong, shouldn't he?
How could he possibly serve a Soul Ancestor whose Soul Power was only rank forty-six?
All three understood exactly what he meant.
Xiong Jun understood as well. This Titled Douluo could swear on his Martial Soul to stay alive, but he could not accept pledging loyalty to a rank forty-six Soul Ancestor.
He could actually understand how Dugu Bo felt at that moment.
Because Xiong Jun had the same temperament.
To earn Xiong Jun's submission, one had to either defeat him or win his recognition.
If someone suddenly approached him, had other powerful figures beat him half to death, then demanded that he serve someone weaker than himself to survive...
He would refuse too.
He, Xiong Jun, would rather die fighting than pledge loyalty to someone weaker than himself.
Whatever else Dugu Bo might be, he was a human Titled Douluo. Such a reaction was only natural.
Precisely because Xiong Jun understood what Dugu Bo was thinking, he did not strike again.
He intended to see how Jin Jiuxiao would handle Dugu Bo.
Bi Ji shared Xiong Jun's thoughts.
She remained silent, likewise waiting to see how Jin Jiuxiao would deal with Dugu Bo.
"Big Sister Bi Ji, heal him." Jin Jiuxiao stared at Dugu Bo. "Benefits, prospects, strength."
Bi Ji raised her hand and spread a healing halo. A little over ten seconds later, Dugu Bo's injuries had healed completely.
Only then did Dugu Bo rise from the ground. "What a powerful healing ability."
This swan Soul Beast was actually a support type?
Setting that aside for now, Dugu Bo had also figured out what these Soul Beasts wanted.
If they wanted to win him over, they would have to show they had enough to offer.
He made no rash moves, merely staring at Jin Jiuxiao. "Jin Jiuxiao, what do you mean by benefits and prospects?"
"You've been poisoned. We can cure you."
"Most members of the Dugu Family die in the prime of their lives because of the backlash from Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison."
"And in your case, it became even worse after your Martial Soul evolved into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor. If the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well weren't suppressing the toxins in your body, you would have died long ago."
A flicker of shock passed through Dugu Bo's eyes. "How can I believe you?"
"Even with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's help, you can hold on for ten years at most."
At that crucial moment, Bi Ji lent her support. "Without the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, your own poison will rebound on you and kill you in three years at the earliest, five at the latest."
"And this lady is...?" Dugu Bo had not expected this woman to describe his condition with such precision.
He could actually sense it himself. Even with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well supporting him, if the toxins continued to accumulate, he could hold on for only another ten years or so.
Before you continue