Douluo Continent — Star Dou Great Forest
One of the three most famous spirit beast habitats in the Douluo Continent, its size is nearly equal to the entire Barak Kingdom and stretches across the borders of both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Two-fifths of it lies within the Heaven Dou Empire, while the remaining three-fifths belong to the Star Luo Empire.
It is an ancient, sprawling forest with complex terrain, full of marshes and wetlands. The spirit beasts here are extremely fierce, and the deeper you go, the stronger they become. Even 100,000-year spirit beasts can be found inside. Any Spirit Master—if powerful and lucky enough—can find the most suitable spirit ring for themselves here.
At this moment, a group of Spirit Masters wearing the official robes of the Spirit Hall stepped into Star Dou Great Forest. Leading them was an elderly man, a Spirit Hall elder—a Rank 91 Title Douluo whose martial spirit was the Serpent Spear.
Behind him stood a handsome young man in his early twenties: Qian Xunji, son of the current Angel Douluo, Qian Daoliu. His expression was grim. They had been searching for five days, yet still hadn't found a spirit beast that matched Qian Xunji's appearance-based requirements. Either the age wasn't right, or the species didn't match.
Beside him stood Bloodthorn Douluo, another Title Douluo. A team of Spirit Hall Spirit Masters followed behind them.
Qian Xunji asked impatiently, "Still nothing?"
Bloodthorn Douluo replied, "Your Highness, I'm afraid we'll need to go deeper before we can find it. The Supreme Pontiff ordered us to search carefully and locate the spirit ring that suits you best."
As the strongest second-generation heir of the Douluo Continent, and the father of the peerless Rank 99 Qian Daoliu, he had been raised as a successor since childhood. With top-tier resources supporting him, he reached the Spirit Saint realm at the age of twenty-six. This trip was meant to help him find his seventh spirit ring.
Suddenly, as they walked through the thick forest, everyone's hearts tightened. A terrifying aura swept over them. Even Qian Xunji's face changed, and his hands trembled slightly.
A low, thunderous roar echoed out. Not far away, a massive creature rose from where it had been crouching and glared at them with burning fury.
It was a giant black tiger, pitch-black from head to toe, its eyes glowing with demonic crimson light.
Someone swallowed hard, the sharp sound shattering the silence. Though the Spirit Masters were terrified, none dared show fear. In Star Dou Great Forest, no one could survive alone—teamwork was the only way to live.
This tiger was none other than a Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. To advance its cultivation, it needed to devour living beings—whether spirit beasts or humans made no difference. It had already predicted that devouring the people before it would help it break through. Its eyes shone with hunger as it stared at Qian Xunji and the others, making no effort to hide its desire.
"Attack first!"
With a shared glance, Qian Xunji and the two Title Douluos unleashed their strongest spirit abilities at the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. Meanwhile, the Spirit Hall Spirit Masters formed a large formation around the beast, temporarily restraining it.
Spirit abilities erupted, filling the forest with blasts of power. But after a long battle, the Spirit Hall forces were clearly being overwhelmed. The spirit beast's strength shocked everyone—not only was it incredibly fast, but its attacks were brutally powerful. Its multi-element nature made its strength sky-high. Qian Xunji and the others struggled just to defend themselves, and any lapse in attention resulted in injuries.
The tiger looked increasingly impatient. Suddenly, it shifted its gaze to Qian Xunji, who was being protected by the two Title Douluos. Qian Xunji released his Angel martial spirit, resisting the tiger's innate darkness. But as a mere Spirit Saint, he was no match. He stayed behind the Title Douluos, who absorbed most of the force and kept him from appearing completely disheveled.
The tiger's eyes narrowed, as if deep in thought, before it suddenly lunged at the two Title Douluos with a thunderous roar. They froze for a split second—and that was enough. The tiger bolted past them straight toward Qian Xunji, raising its massive black claws for a killing strike.
Qian Xunji stared at the claws coming down at him, feeling death closing in. His eyes widened, his heart filling with unwilling fury. He hadn't reached his peak yet—he refused to die now.
As if responding to his rage, a golden light flashed from his chest. An incredibly powerful burst of spirit energy exploded outward, instantly shattering the tiger's claws and blasting through its body. The Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger let out a wail and was sent flying nearly five hundred meters.
Qian Xunji remembered then—Qian Daoliu had once told him he had left a life-saving trump card inside him, though Xunji had never known what it was.
Bloodthorn Douluo and Serpent Spear Douluo rushed over.
"What was that just now?"
Qian Xunji answered with a cold face, "My father's life-saving trump card." Thinking about nearly being killed filled him with anger.
In the distance, the tiger writhed in pain. An attack imbued with the power of a Rank 99 peerless Douluo was terrifying—especially since it had taken the hit head-on, destroying its claw completely.
Fear flickered in the tiger's eyes. The power of a Rank 99 Douluo was monstrous. No—it couldn't die here. It had only one choice left.
Qian Xunji watched the tiger curl up silently, and his eyes darkened. At the same time, greed flashed within them. A spirit beast like this had to become his spirit ring.
He charged forward to finish it off. Just then, mockery flashed across the tiger's eyes as it activated its final spirit skill.
"Welcome to the Domain of Life and Death. This battle ends only when one side dies. Countdown: five… four… three… two… one. Begin."
Qian Xunji's eyes widened as he felt his spirit power draining and his body shrinking. Shock filled his face.
The tiger was shrinking too; it no longer had its towering form. It thought: That attack earlier wasn't something the boy himself could unleash. Someone stronger must be protecting him. I have to kill him before that person arrives.
Just as the tiger prepared to strike—
A force far stronger than before crashed in.
"Spirit beast! How dare you!"
There was only one person it could be—Qian Daoliu.
Knowing it couldn't escape, the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger opened its mouth and spat out a black bead containing nearly ninety percent of its essence. A thin thread of black silk wrapped around it, tore open space itself, and vanished without a trace.