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Zhang Lexuan clearly had no intention of abandoning the others.
"Prepare for battle," she said in a low voice.
"Yes!"
Seeing the cold expression on their Eldest Senior Sister's face, the elite students of Shrek's Inner Court finally realized they were about to face a fight for their lives.
Without an academy mentor present, a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was more than capable of slaughtering them all. Even with several Soul Saint-level seniors, they would likely be unable to resist.
One Soul King, in particular, turned pale at the thought.
"I don't want to die," he murmured. "I just obtained my fifth soul ring… I have such a bright future ahead of me…"
"Shut up!" Zhang Lexuan snapped.
She swept her gaze across the group and said firmly, enunciating each word.
"No one is going to die! Elder Xuan will get here as fast as he can. He won't abandon us. This is just a trial—a test for the inner court disciples! Ruoling, Zhang Yi, I will report this to the academy and request that this battle be counted as your graduation trial. As for the others… this will count toward a future assessment for you."
"There is only one condition for passing this test—"
Zhang Lexuan gritted her teeth. "Survive!"
Everyone stopped in place.
They gave up on the last few minutes of escape. Rather than exhausting themselves only to be hunted down and killed, it was better to conserve their strength for a desperate, decisive battle.
"Ruoling, you, Linian, and Zhang Chuyan are agility-attack type soul masters. Your team will handle aerial control—provide vision and aerial harassment, but prioritize your own safety."
"Zhang Yi, you're a control-type soul master. Use your Ghost Vines to restrain it and pin it down. If it targets anyone else, provide support immediately. Lingyuan, Bai Nian—you two protect Zhang Yi. He cannot be harmed!"
"Xiao Tao and Su Wen, stay with Zhang Yi. Most hundred-thousand-year soul beasts don't target the weakest members first, so you'll be relatively safe."
"Everyone else, you're with me on the main assault!"
Zhang Lexuan's voice rang with authority. "Remember, this is a battle of attrition. Our only goal is to stall for time. Every minute we buy counts. Do not fight recklessly!"
"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.
Ruoling spread her palm. A small emerald bird flew out and, after receiving a few whispered instructions, soared into the distance. It was clearly a scout. The soul tool could only detect an enemy's rough position and speed, but this bird, a product of Ruoling's soul skill, could provide much more accurate information.
But after only a few dozen seconds—
"Pfft!"
Ruoling coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"It's a hundred-thousand-year Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger! Its speed is terrifying. My spirit bird didn't even last a second—it was swatted dead instantly! If the tiger hadn't paused for a moment when the bird vanished, I wouldn't have even seen its true form!" Ruoling's face was filled with terror.
"The Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger... Despite the name, its body is more like a leopard's. It's known for its speed, so no wonder it's so fast. A hundred-thousand-year-old one… you probably couldn't find a second one in the entire Star Dou Forest. Just our damn luck to run into it," Zhang Yi said through gritted teeth.
"Everyone, take your recovery pills—get yourselves to peak condition!" Zhang Lexuan commanded calmly.
"There's no choice but to fight to the death."
—
"Roar~"
A deep, thunderous tiger's roar echoed through the forest.
The once-quiet night was shaken awake as countless birds and beasts scattered in a frenzy. Moments later, Su Wen felt the surroundings grow strangely empty. Looking at the dense leaves of the ancient trees, he was startled to see an exodus of birds, snakes, and insects. It was as if the entire area had been vacuumed of life.
What followed was a crushing sense of suffocation that made the hair on his neck stand up.
The elite Shrek students around him held their breath, their eyes locked on the direction of the roar. The silence was eerie.
"Roar~!"
Another roar shook the forest.
A massive crimson figure stepped out, its paws crunching on the dried leaves as it slowly revealed itself.
Su Wen saw a pair of blood-red pupils—filled with the playful cruelty of a predator. Clearly, it had been stalking them for a while. This was his first time seeing a real hundred-thousand-year soul beast. The sheer, terrifying pressure it radiated was unlike anything he had ever felt. If he were truly a six-year-old child, he might have wet his pants on the spot…
Everyone's faces turned pale.
Zhang Lexuan didn't strike first. After all, their goal was to stall.
The Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger seemed to sense that something was off, that these humans were stalling for time. A sense of urgency surged within it. With a low growl, it lunged forward, becoming a bloody blur.
"Attack!" Zhang Lexuan gave the order.
The entire team sprang into action.
Thick vines burst from the ground, lashing toward the Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger in an attempt to entangle it.
Swish, swish—
But the beast casually swiped its claws, and the seemingly tough vines were instantly slashed into pieces, their fragments littering the forest floor.
Dodging Zhang Yi's control skill, it charged straight for Zhang Lexuan. In its eyes, taking out the strongest human first would cause the rest to crumble.
"Silver Moon True Form!" Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes remained calm as she called out.
Seven soul rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—lit up beneath her feet. Her elegant figure seemed to transform into a silver moon hanging in the sky, casting a silver glow over the land. Against a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, holding back would be foolish, so she immediately activated her Martial Soul True Form.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Eclipse!"
Her sixth ring flared, a black soul ring that merged with the silver moon, tainting its light and transforming it into a black moon. Just as the Blood-Eroding Demon Tiger froze in surprise, the "black moon" shot a beam of dark energy that struck its body.
The beast's form stiffened—and then a thunderous explosion shook the forest.
"Zhang Yi!" Zhang Lexuan called out, her face pale from the massive energy expenditure. But she didn't have time to recover and immediately shouted for support.
"On it!" Zhang Yi's expression was grim.
He planted his feet into the soil, taking root.
"Demonic Vine True Form!"
Drawing nutrients from the earth, he instantly transformed into a towering tree-like figure.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Spirit Bind!"
"Fifth Soul Skill: Sea of Trees!"
Countless demonic vines erupted from the ground. Even the surrounding ancient trees came to life, their branches weaving into a dense, writhing net that wrapped tightly around the explosion's epicenter. From above, it looked like a massive cocoon, sealed from every angle.
"Can it hold?" Ruoling asked quietly.
"…"
Zhang Yi's mouth twitched as he stared intently at the imprisoned "cocoon."
The air felt frozen. Everyone's hearts were in their throats.
Even holding it for one or two minutes would be an incredible feat… Elder Xuan was on his way.
But not even two seconds passed before—
BOOM!
The vine cocoon exploded!
Shards of wood flew through the air as a crimson blur burst forth!
"Damn it! It didn't even hold for one second!" Zhang Yi's expression twisted in horror. He quickly formed hand seals as more vines tried to hinder the beast, but they only barely slowed it down.
"Ruoling!" Zhang Yi shouted.
A green arc of light flew toward the tiger.
Pfft—
But in the next instant, she was swatted out of the air with a single paw.
Ruoling coughed up blood as she was flung through the air like a rag doll, crashing through several trees before collapsing limply to the ground.
"Ruoling!"
Everyone's pupils contracted in shock.
So this was the true power of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?!
(End of Chapter)