"But, Dean, soul beasts often launch beast tides and invade our homes!"
One student frowned and blurted out instinctively.
Hearing this, Xiao Wu was momentarily stunned and fell silent for a moment before saying, "Ever since the God King of Thunder ascended and revised the rules..."
"Do soul beasts still attack human territories?"
Xiao Wu shook her head. Human territory? In the past, the entire Douluo Continent belonged to soul beasts!
Though her voice wasn't loud, it made the young man and the other students fall silent.
Indeed, ever since the rules were changed, humans had largely stopped venturing into the Great Star Dou Forest.
The small-scale beast tides that used to occur from time to time, and the large-scale ones that happened every so often, all seemed to have vanished.
Now, only one or two lone soul beasts would occasionally wander out of the forest.
"I've said before, soul beasts have siblings and family too."
"When humans kill soul beasts, powerful ones retaliate with beast tides to avenge their kin. This cycle repeats over and over..."
"Just like ten or twenty years ago, when several hundred-thousand-year Beast Kings in the Star Dou Forest joined forces to launch a beast tide, devastating human lands..."
"Do you know why?"
That beast tide had caused heavy casualties on both sides!
Why did Xiao Wu remember it so clearly?
Because she was one of the culprits who started it!
"Dean, why was that?"
The only girl in the group asked.
Her surname was Jiang, and like Xiao Wu, her spirit was the Soft Bone Rabbit. However, she wasn't an assault-type spirit master, but an agility-type.
"Because the family of one of the Beast Kings was ambushed by humans!"
"Dean, how do you know about this?"
Everyone looked puzzled. This was such a secret matter, and she would've been quite young back then—how could she know?
"I was one of the victims of that beast tide!"
After saying this, Xiao Wu walked on toward the Sunset Forest without another word, leaving the group staring at one another.
"So the Dean, she..."
"Ai, don't speak out of turn next time. Just listen and learn properly!"
"Got it..."
Everyone quickly followed Xiao Wu into the Sunset Forest.
Along the way, they listened as Xiao Wu told them various strange tales about soul beasts. They didn't know whether she was making them up or not.
"Don't be fooled by how huge and fierce the Titan Giant Ape looks—actually, the Titan Giant Ape is vegetarian..."
"Dean, you really are knowledgeable and talented! I didn't expect someone so young to be such a master of soul beast research!"
At those words, Xiao Wu's eye twitched. Who the hell wants to be a master!?
Besides, she was just telling the truth. If there were any soul beasts she knew best, aside from the Soft Bone Rabbit, it would be the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape.
After all, they had grown up together. With so many years together, it would be hard not to know them well.
With her understanding of soul beasts, Xiao Wu had earned the admiration of a group of boys—and one girl.
Although this knowledge isn't very useful anymore—since soul beasts no longer need to be hunted—it's still good to understand more. At least it gives you something to talk about over meals and tea.
Once the group entered the Sunset Forest, their conversations quieted, and they became more vigilant, scanning their surroundings.
After a while, Xiao Wu frowned. Something was wrong—very wrong.
Although the Sunset Forest wasn't as vast as the Star Dou Forest, it still held a significant number of soul beasts.
Yet along the way, the number of soul beasts they had encountered could be counted on two hands.
And they were all extremely weak.
This situation made Xiao Wu feel an intense sense of unease.
"Be careful. There's been a change in the Sunset Forest. The number of soul beasts has plummeted. That definitely means there's a deadly threat here!"
Xiao Wu's face turned grim. A thought crossed her mind—there was a type of soul beast that grew by devouring other soul beasts, though its own cultivation progressed very slowly.
Whenever this kind of soul beast appeared, it spelled disaster for the other soul beast species.
It was the enemy of all soul beasts.
"Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger!"
As the possibility of a Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger crossed her mind, Xiao Wu instinctively took two steps back before continuing, "Retreat!"
Everyone looked at one another but didn't question her order. It was the first time they'd seen Xiao Wu show such a serious and even fearful expression.
The group immediately turned back the way they came. They didn't encounter any danger on the way out. Once they exited the Sunset Forest, Xiao Wu instructed the students to return to the academy first. She herself re-entered the forest alone.
If it really was a Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger, the Sunset Forest was in danger.
Now without the burdensome group, Xiao Wu moved much faster. She darted through the forest while carefully observing her surroundings.
In the outer zones, where ten- and hundred-year soul beasts resided, things still seemed normal. But once she entered the thousand-year soul beast territory, Xiao Wu's expression changed drastically.
She came across the corpses of several thousand-year soul beasts. Their bodies had no remaining blood essence and looked like mummified remains.
"It really is the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger!"
Xiao Wu's eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly in shock.
After a while, she ran toward the ten-thousand-year soul beast territory. Upon reaching it, her expression darkened even further.
Many ten-thousand-year soul beasts had suffered the same fate. It seemed this Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger had very likely already broken through to the ten-thousand-year level in a short period of time.
What puzzled Xiao Wu was that, based on the traces left behind, some of the soul beasts had injuries caused by blunt force. Yet their deaths looked exactly like the work of the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger—devoured and refined.
This contradiction left her utterly confused.
She resolved to find the real culprit. If she could win in a fight, she would. If not, she'd retreat.
Helping the Sunset Forest was fate. Not helping it was her prerogative.
Whether by destiny or because a bond already existed between them—
On the other side, Tang San had just finished killing a soul beast over twenty thousand years old. He was now sitting cross-legged, beginning to refine its bloodline and essence.
At that moment, Xiao Wu happened to arrive.
"That... is Tang San?"
Seeing the belt around Tang San's waist, Xiao Wu felt uncertain—but she recognized him.
Then she glanced at the corpse of the soul beast in front of Tang San, and her expression changed dramatically.
The soul beasts in the Sunset Forest hadn't been attacked by the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. The real culprit... was Tang San!
Seeing his current state, Xiao Wu paused for a moment, then the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
She quietly approached Tang San. Every step was silent, barely making a sound.
Besides, Tang San was circulating a demonic technique at the moment—he wouldn't notice her immediately!
"Tang San, oh Tang San... I didn't expect you to be the first person I'd get a shot at!"
Xiao Wu gave him a deep look, then instantly entered Spirit Possession mode. She gathered nearly half of her strength into her leg and launched a powerful kick straight at the back of Tang San's head—
All of this happened in a flash... (End of chapter)
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