"Roar—"
A furious roar erupted from the soul beast's mouth, followed by a blood-red light. Just as this light was about to burst forth, a beam of light shot from the distance, striking the soul beast's cheek, causing its entire head to tilt to one side.
"Boom—"
The entire ground trembled violently. The fallen leaves that had accumulated for who knows how long were swept away, leaving only a pit several meters deep in their place.
Lin Xiao's figure dashed out from the bushes. As he looked at the person before him, it was exactly as he had expected.
There weren't many soul masters with the Moon Martial Soul, and the one he was familiar with was just one person.
On the other side, Zhang Lexuan glanced at the marks left by the soul beast on the ground, then at Lin Xiao, slightly stunned.
The last time, under the attack of the Gold-Devouring Beast, Lin Xiao had appeared suddenly like this…
In the blink of an eye, Lin Xiao had rushed to her side, seemingly holding something in his hand, though she couldn't quite make it out.
"Snap out of it."
Lin Xiao spoke, and Zhang Lexuan instantly reacted. She glanced back at the other Shrek Academy members, noticing that their gazes were all drawn to Lin Xiao.
Those six pitch-black soul rings were striking enough to astonish anyone, no matter where they appeared.
But Lin Xiao paid no attention to the others' gazes. Instead, he looked at Zhang Lexuan. "What about the method you used last time to stop that hundred-thousand-year soul beast?"
In truth, when Lin Xiao sensed the presence of the hundred-thousand-year soul beast and Zhang Lexuan, he had already pieced together what was happening here. He had initially planned to just take a quick look from afar, but he hadn't expected to witness Zhang Lexuan preparing to use her body to block the hundred-thousand-year soul beast's attack.
"That method can only be used once," Zhang Lexuan shook her head and said softly.
"Then you—"
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, but the words that followed got stuck, unsure of how to continue.
How could he ask? Ask why Zhang Lexuan didn't dodge? But deep down, he already knew the answer.
Perhaps because he had lived too long among the Holy Spirit Cult, he had grown accustomed to scenes where everyone only looked out for themselves in the face of danger. That's why he instinctively spoke up. But after speaking, he realized what kind of person the woman before him was.
She was different from the people Lin Xiao often dealt with.
With a soft sigh, Lin Xiao understood. Originally, Zhang Lexuan and her group had encountered this hundred-thousand-year soul beast just like now, and Zhang Lexuan had relied on the protective measure left to her by Elder Mu to counter-kill the beast, obtaining its soul ring and soul bone.
But the last time they met in the Star Dou Forest, because of that hundred-thousand-year Ghost-Faced Owl, Zhang Lexuan had already used up Elder Mu's protective measure early, leaving her with no choice but to shield the other students with her body.
Turning his head to the side, he saw the hundred-thousand-year soul beast glaring at him.
It was a soul beast of modest size, its body only about three meters long, which was considered petite for a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Its head resembled that of a canine, with a long snout protruding forward, but it lacked distinct ears, only having slight protrusions on the sides of its head. Its lips parted, revealing sharp fangs clearly visible.
Its abdomen was covered in black fur, while its back was much lighter in color. Two blood-red stripes extended from its head, running across its entire body to the tip of its tail. When its soul power surged, those blood-red markings seemed to faintly glow.
Its eyes were not large, but when those blood-red eyes locked onto Lin Xiao, they still brought a wave of oppression.
A badger beast?
Lin Xiao's heart jolted.
Badger beasts were not commonly seen because they seemed to lack the emotion of fear, yet were extremely vengeful. No matter what kind of soul beast they faced or how strong their opponent was, they would always engage in a fight. Even if they were outmatched, they would follow their target from a distance.
Thus, in a place like the Star Dou Forest, where soul beasts gathered in large numbers, badger beasts would encounter far stronger opponents. With their temperament, it was hard for them to survive.
A badger beast that had cultivated to a hundred thousand years and undergone a mutation was even rarer.
But Lin Xiao had no time to think further. In a place where even a rabbit could become a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the appearance of a badger beast wasn't strange. Right now, he was more concerned about his own safety.
Before Lin Xiao could recall more about badger beasts, the one before him, with two blood-red stripes of fur, had already turned its body, its gaze fixed intently on him, slowly lowering its stance.
"Get out of here," Zhang Lexuan suddenly pushed Lin Xiao, and as she spoke, another silver-white light, sharp as a blade, descended. "This soul beast is extremely vengeful. I don't know what provoked it, but we were just passing by, and it chased us all the way here. Several of our classmates have already…"
Zhang Lexuan paused, "I can't drag you into this. I'll distract it, you get out of here."
But Lin Xiao shook his head as he looked at the badger beast. "It's too late. This soul beast has a hundred-thousand-year cultivation, which means it has intelligence close to a human's. It's already capable of suppressing its vengeful instincts."
"Then it…" Zhang Lexuan looked at Lin Xiao, puzzled.
Lin Xiao didn't speak, but he had already guessed part of the truth. The badger beast had shifted its target to him not because of vengeance, but because it sensed a threat from him.
Glancing at Zhang Lexuan again, Lin Xiao let out a sigh.
Back then, Zhang Lexuan had used her protective measure early to block a hundred-thousand-year soul beast for him. Now, it was he who had stepped in to block a strike from a hundred-thousand-year soul beast for her. What a twist of fate…
Lin Xiao didn't dwell on it further. His gaze sharpened, the light of his soul tool thruster flared behind him, and his figure darted to the side. The badger beast's body instantly sprang from the ground, lunging toward Lin Xiao's back.
All these changes happened in the span of a few words. The other Shrek students only saw a stranger with soul rings beyond their comprehension appear, then draw the hundred-thousand-year soul beast that had chased them all this way away.
"Senior Sister…"
Someone spoke softly, their voice still trembling.
"You all hurry and find Elder Xuan."
"Senior Sister, what about you?"
Zhang Lexuan glanced in the direction Lin Xiao had gone. "I'm going to help him hold off that hundred-thousand-year soul beast."
With that, she said no more, her figure shifting as she chased after him.
"Senior Sister—" The calls of the other students echoed behind her, but Zhang Lexuan's figure had already vanished into the forest.
On the other side, Lin Xiao's figure weaved through the trees. He suddenly raised his hand and threw something. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a turret, firing two beams of light, one after the other, at the badger beast.
"Roar—"
Lin Xiao glanced back, his eyes narrowing slightly. Using a fifth-level soul tool cannon to hold off a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was still somewhat inadequate. If he wanted to escape, he would have to rely on the power of his martial soul.
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