"Boom--"
A dark shadow fell from the sky like a meteorite, and the entire forest trembled the moment it landed heavily on the back of the Silver Moon Wolf King. The wolf king let out a shrill howl, and its spine shattered completely with a crisp cracking sound. Its massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Everyone stared in stunned silence at the sudden turn of events. As the dust settled, a young man draped in a black robe was revealed.
He stood with one foot on the wolf king's corpse, his black hair fluttering without wind as his Soul Power surged, and his dazzling Golden Pupils shone like two cold moons in the shadows, radiating a chilling pressure.
Hu Liena looked up at her savior who had fallen from the sky, her red lips slightly parted. The young man's handsome profile was sharply defined in the sunlight, and his brows revealed a composure and ruthlessness beyond his years.
When he turned to look at her, the light in his Golden Pupils made her heart skip a beat.
"What... what a handsome young man..." This thought uncontrollably surfaced in her mind, and Hu Liena felt her cheeks burning. As the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, she had seen countless talented young men, but none had ever given her such a strong impact.
"Are you alright?" The boy's cool voice pulled her back to reality.
"N-nothing!" Hu Liena hurriedly replied, her voice unconsciously rising an octave. She immediately realized her lapse in composure, and a blush instantly spread across her fair cheeks, even the tips of her ears turning bright red.
"Young friend, thank you for your help." The Soul Saint elder leading the group was the first to recover, clasping his hands in thanks. He warily sized up the mysterious youth before him, his heart filled with shock—to be able to kill a ten-thousand-year-old wolf king in one blow, this strength was at least at the Soul Douluo level! But judging from his appearance, the other party was clearly not even twenty years old!
Huo Yuhao gently shook his head. "Don't rush to thank me." He glanced around, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. "The battle has only just begun."
As if to confirm his words, the remaining wolves howled in unison. The two Silver Moon Wolf King bared their gleaming white fangs, their eerie green eyes flashing with hatred. They slowly moved their massive bodies, forming a pincer movement to surround the group.
"Roar--!"
Suddenly, one of the wolf kings attacked, its sharp claws aimed straight for Huo Yuhao's throat. At the same time, another wolf king pounced on Hu Liena, who seemed to be the weakest.
"Watch out!" Xie Yue finally broke free from the black panther's grasp, wielding his Moon Blade and flashing to shield his sister.
Huo Yuhao didn't even lift his eyelids. He raised his right hand slightly, and a scarlet killing intent suddenly condensed into a materialized long whip, drawing a beautiful arc in the air.
"Smack!"
After a crisp crack of the whip, the wolf king that pounced was cut in half at the waist in mid-air, its blood splattering like rain. The wolf that attacked Hu Liena was pierced by a bone spike that suddenly rose from the ground, hanging in mid-air and letting out a mournful howl.
"This..." Xie Yue's eyes widened, and he almost dropped the Moon Blade in his hand. He had never seen such a clean and efficient killing method before. What was even more terrifying was that the opponent hadn't even released his Soul Ring!
Just then, a hissing sound came from the treetops. Two Mandala Snake had somehow circled behind the group, and the one with ten thousand years of cultivation suddenly opened its blood-red maw and spewed out a cloud of pink mist.
"Cover your mouth and nose!" Huo Yuhao shouted sharply, and with a wave of his right hand, an ice-blue barrier instantly formed, blocking the poisonous mist. "It's the deadly venom of the Ten-Thousand-Year -Mandala Snake!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, and they all took out antidote pills from their Soul Tool and swallowed them. As geniuses that the Spirit Hall was focusing on cultivating, they always carried the best-grade pills with them. While taking the medicine, Hu Liena glanced at Huo Yuhao and found that he was completely unaffected by the poisonous fog, and his body was shrouded in a faint golden light.
"Who exactly is this guy?" Yan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself. He was always arrogant, but now he had to admit that the strength of this mysterious young man was far beyond his imagination.
Huo Yuhao's Golden Pupils suddenly blazed with dazzling light, as if two suns were rising in his eyes. In an instant, a burst of scorching Samadhi True Fire erupted from his body, and the golden flames swept out like an angry dragon, instantly engulfing the Silver Moon Wolf King that was pouncing on him.
"Awooo--!" The wolf king let out a heart-wrenching howl. Its once glossy silver fur quickly carbonized and fell off under the scorching heat of the fire, revealing charred flesh. The air was immediately filled with the pungent smell of burning fur.
This once-powerful, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast now fled in panic, its scorched tail between its legs, like a stray dog.
Upon seeing this, the wolf pack immediately stirred. In the wolf pack's strict hierarchical system, the wolf king's retreat was the signal for a full retreat. In the blink of an eye, dozens of gray wolves retreated like a tide, leaving behind only a mess.
"Trying to run?" Huo Yuhao snorted coldly, about to give chase, when suddenly his ears twitched. He sensed two dangerous auras rapidly approaching.
"Watch out! The poisonous fog hasn't dissipated yet!" he warned sharply. A dark shadow darted through the pinkish fog at astonishing speed—it was the millennia-old Swift Shadow Black Panther. It cunningly used the fog as cover, its sharp claws aimed straight for Hu Liena's back!
Hu Liena was still reeling from Huo Yuhao's incredible prowess, completely unaware of the deadly danger approaching. She stared blankly at Huo Yuhao's profile, oblivious to the cold glint in the poisonous fog.
" Spirit Eyes, open!"
Golden light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes as he instantly locked onto the black panther's trajectory. He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and a pure white Demon-Slaying Sword appeared out of thin air, its blade Entanglement in a chilling killing intent.
"Careful!"
In a flash, Huo Yuhao stepped in front of Hu Liena. The Demon-Slaying Sword drew a perfect arc, precisely piercing the throat of the lunging black panther. The sharp tip of the sword emerged from the back of the panther's neck, spraying a mouthful of hot blood.
"Pfft!"
The black panther's corpse crashed heavily to the ground, its cruel, smiling eyes quickly dimming. Only then did Hu Liena belatedly cry out in alarm, instinctively grabbing Huo Yuhao's sleeve.
"It's alright now," Huo Yuhao said without turning his head, his gaze fixed on the last remaining ten-thousand-year-old Mandala Snake.
Within the poisonous fog, the giant serpent flickered its tongue, its vertical pupils gleaming with a chilling light. Seemingly sensing impending doom, it suddenly opened its blood-red maw, spewing forth an even denser cloud of poisonous mist.
"A mere trick." Huo Yuhao made a hand seal with his left hand and softly shouted, "Wind, come!"
In an instant, a violent hurricane suddenly erupted from him. The howling wind, like an invisible giant hand, instantly tore apart and dispersed the poisonous fog. Trees within a hundred meters were blown about, and fallen leaves flew like rain.
When the wind died down and the fog cleared, Xie Yue and the others finally saw the scene clearly— Huo Yuhao stood with his sword in hand, the black panther's corpse lying at his feet, and behind him, Hu Liena was completely unharmed.
"This..." Yan's mouth dropped open, and the flame in his hand went out involuntarily. As the proudest member of the Golden Generation, he felt powerless at this moment—the strength displayed by this mysterious young man had completely exceeded his comprehension.
Xie Yue was the first to recover. He quickly walked to his sister's side and warily sized up Huo Yuhao: "Thank you for saving me. May I ask..."
Before they could finish speaking, a painful Mandala Snake suddenly came from afar. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the giant snake had been impaled on a tree trunk by dozens of ice spikes, and its emerald green blood was slowly flowing down the ice spikes.
Huo Yuhao sheathed his Demon-Slaying Sword and turned to look at the Golden Generation. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on his handsome face. When his gaze swept over Hu Liena, the girl blushed unconsciously.
"It's... it's over?" Hu Liena looked around in disbelief. The perilous situation just moments ago had been easily resolved by this mysterious young man.
Huo Yuhao flicked non-existent blood off his hands and turned to the Spirit Hall members. "Now, we can have a proper talk." His gaze lingered on Hu Liena for a moment, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips. "For example... why did you all appear deep within the Star Dou Great Forest at this time?"
The leading elder, Soul Saint, stepped forward and solemnly performed a Soul Master's salute. His aged face still bore the relief of surviving a calamity, and the wrinkles on his forehead were studded with undried cold sweat.
"We are truly grateful for your timely rescue, young friend." The old man's voice trembled slightly. "I am an elder of the Spirit Hall. If it weren't for your prompt assistance, our entire team would likely have been wiped out in this Star Dou Great Forest."
He gestured to the Golden Generation behind him and continued, "These are the cream of the crop among the younger generation of our Spirit Hall. They have come here to help the Holy Maiden obtain her Fifth Soul Ring."
Upon hearing this, Hu Liena lowered her head shyly. Her slender fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, but she couldn't help glancing at Huo Yuhao out of the corner of her eye.
The old Soul Saint sighed, pointing to the corpses of two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast not far away. "We originally had our sights set on that Swift Shadow Black Panther, but we unexpectedly encountered the Silver Moon Wolf pack along the way. To make matters worse, those two beasts were actually fighting over territory..."
The old man spoke, a look of lingering fear on his face. His calloused hands trembled slightly, clearly not yet fully recovered from the near-death experience.
"May I ask what brings you here, young friend?" The old man suddenly changed the subject, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy old eyes.
Huo Yuhao had anticipated this question. He smiled shyly, scratching the back of his head. "To be honest, I'm ashamed to say that I just broke through to level forty. I came here to hunt for my fourth Soul Ring." He pointed to a Thousand-Year Soul Beast lying dead in the distance. "Luckily, I've already succeeded."
"Level 40?!" Hu Liena exclaimed in surprise, her pink lips slightly parted. She quickly stepped forward, her pale purple eyes filled with disbelief. "The strength you just displayed, how could it only be..."
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized her lapse in composure and quickly covered her mouth. But her expressive eyes remained fixed on Huo Yuhao, filled with curiosity and admiration.
"Just lucky." Huo Yuhao waved his hand modestly. "Some special techniques taught by my master, nothing to mention."
P. S.: Please feel free to offer any feedback, otherwise, if I make a mistake, it could be seriously out of character (OOC). To be honest, it might deviate a little from the expected scope.
Actually, I was going to write about Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King this time, but I still didn't understand the map layout and the classification of various powerful figures, so I didn't finish it. I'll probably try to write about it after defeating Tang Hao.
I really hope everyone can provide more materials! I've never watched Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King before!!!