"Bang-"
A tiger claw wreathed in black Qi snapped the spear, and its other claw came crashing toward Long Qianming's chest.
Less than ten centimeters separated man and beast.
"Boom-"
With a deafening crash, the tremendous force of the tiger's claw sent Long Qianming flying into a massive tree over thirty meters away. The clothes across his chest were torn open, revealing the soft armor underneath.
"Aah-"
A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Long Qianming's mouth. The blow had broken two ribs in his chest. Had he not been wearing a layer of soft armor that absorbed most of the claw's damage, that strike would have killed him.
Seeing Long Tianming injured, Xiao Tian immediately charged at the tiger Soul Beast. Using its small size to its advantage, it constantly harassed the beast, buying its master more time to kill it.
With his spear broken and no way to fight the enemy at close quarters, Long Qianming immediately drew the Dragon Whisker Needles at his waist.
"Xiao Tian-"
At his thunderous shout, Xiao Tian, who had fought alongside Long Tianming for five years, immediately understood his meaning and swiftly moved away from the tiger Soul Beast.
"Whoosh-"
Eight Dragon Whisker Needles shot toward the tiger Soul Beast. Yet it reacted with extraordinary speed, sweeping its iron-hard claws forward and knocking six needles away, then lashing its tail.
"Bang-"
The last two Dragon Whisker Needles ricocheted off its black tail, punching holes straight through two massive trees near Long Qianming.
The power of that tail sweep was no less than the first Soul Skill of a Power Attack System Soul Master.
The tiger shook its body, sending Xiao Tian flying as it tried to charge in. Its scarlet eyes locked firmly onto Long Qianming. Shrouded in the pitch-black night and the black mist around its body, its red eyes gleamed, and its presence surged once more.
"Roar-"
With a bestial roar, the tiger Soul Beast vanished again, concealing itself in the night.
"Xiao Tian, stop it."
Relying on his enhanced perception, Long Qianming keenly caught the tiger Soul Beast's general line of attack, then leaped onto the tree trunk.
"Boom-"
An impact rang out, and the entire massive tree shook violently. Three claw marks appeared on the trunk below him, and the tiger Soul Beast's figure came into view again.
It looked up at Long Qianming as he climbed toward the treetop and let out a furious roar. Its sharp claws dug straight into the trunk, and its whole body rose vertically, racing up the trunk as though it were walking on level ground.
"A Soul Beast climbing a tree? You're courting death."
Long Qianming was not surprised that the tiger Soul Beast could climb trees. After reaching the treetop, he swiftly drew eight Dragon Whisker Needles and fired them at it.
Unexpectedly, the tiger Martial Soul's body had extremely strong defenses, like iron armor. The Dragon Whisker Needles bounced away the instant they touched its body.
"What kind of Soul Beast is this? Not only are its speed and attacks terrifyingly high, even its defenses are frighteningly strong."
He cried out in astonishment. Seeing that the tiger Soul Beast had already climbed to the treetop, Long Qianming ran forward along the branches. Using the deft application of force he had practiced through years of Soul Hunting experience, he swung himself into a leap and landed on another massive tree.
"Xiao Tian, go."
Long Qianming released his Soul Power once more. Xiao Tian suddenly leaped out of midair beside the tiger Soul Beast, its plump pig trotters gripping the tiger's back tightly as its two sharp canine teeth repeatedly bit at its back.
But how could a mere pig bite through a beast's body that was like copper skin and iron bones? The tiger suddenly leaped, and Xiao Tian was flung from its back as it lost its weight.
Yet in the very next second, Xiao Tian appeared beside the tiger Soul Beast again.
The man and two beasts continued racing through the treetops like this, but just as the tiger Soul Beast leaped toward the next tree-
"A perfect opening-"
Long Qianming decisively turned around, pushed off with his rear foot, and swept toward the tiger Soul Beast. As it descended, he held the broken spear in one hand and four Dragon Whisker Needles in the other, firing the needles toward its belly.
The Dragon Whisker Needles pierced its body precisely. As it let out a pained roar, the broken spear plunged deep into its abdomen, and tiger blood flowed along the broken shaft.
"Roar-"
The tiger Soul Beast let out a cry of seemingly despairing pain. It lashed its tail at Long Qianming. At that moment, less than ten centimeters separated man and beast, and the tail struck from his side.
Long Qianming braced his right hand against a branch and used a deft application of force to evade the tail sweep. Unexpectedly-
"Crack-"
The branch snapped under the tiger's tail. The tiger Soul Beast and Long Qianming fell one after the other. From a height of thirty meters, there was almost nothing solid nearby to grab.
"Xiao Tian-"
Just before he hit the ground, Long Qianming summoned Xiao Tian. Its plump, springy belly caught him very steadily.
As for the tiger Soul Beast, the broken spear embedded in its abdomen pierced its heart the moment it struck the ground, killing it completely.
Enduring his internal injuries, Long Qianming slowly walked up to the dead tiger Soul Beast.
The black mist lingering over the tiger Soul Beast's body dispersed as its life faded away. A Yellow Soul Ring slowly emerged, and only then was its full appearance revealed before Long Qianming.
Its fur was black all over, with a few golden flame markings. Black crystalline scales covered its legs and head, while its tiger head leaned more toward a dragon's shape, with two fleshy whiskers extending outward.
"This... this is a Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger! Its age is over 650 years!!"
Looking at the dead Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger, Long Qianming was overjoyed.
"No, to be precise, this Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger is no longer a tiger. It already has a trace of dragon bloodline within its body. It belongs to the subdragon Soul Beasts."
Although Long Qianming had never seen this kind of Soul Beast in the Soul Beast Compendium, he had learned some characteristics of similar subdragons and a few dragon Soul Beasts. The most prominent was their Dragon Transformation state.
For Soul Beasts like the Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger in particular, their primary attribute was darkness, and their secondary attribute was earth. With the support of a dragon bloodline, both attributes would be further strengthened, increasing not only their attack power but also their speed and defenses.
And the Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger before him should have been just such a case!
Amid his delight, Long Qianming glanced over at Xiao Tian, who was frantically lapping up the tiger's blood, and said with gratification,
"That's right. This Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger's blood contains extremely concentrated darkness attributes and dragon essence. It's perfectly normal for you to do this."
Long Qianming saw nothing wrong with Xiao Tian's actions. He merely felt it was a bit of a pity that some tiger blood had seeped into the soil.
If he could obtain that tiger blood, perhaps he could temper his body with it, allowing his body to absorb some of the dragon bloodline essence it contained.
Soon, Long Qianming gathered the Dragon Whisker Needles scattered nearby, immediately hoisted the Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger onto his shoulder, and hurried toward the forest's outskirts.
Half an hour later, with Xiao Tian leading the way, they safely reached a cave they had scouted out beforehand in the Ten-Year Soul Beast region.
Long Qianming set down the entire Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger. The Yellow Soul Ring surrounding it had already grown insubstantial. If it remained unabsorbed for another half hour, this subdragon Hundred-Year Soul Ring would disappear completely.
"A 650-year Soul Ring!"
At first, Long Qianming was still somewhat hesitant. But after looking at Xiao Tian, who was tearing at the Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger's flesh and hide, the fear in his heart abruptly dissolved.
"My External Martial Soul can share some of the energy that escapes when I can't absorb the Soul Ring's energy."