A thunderous roar echoed across the sky, sending chills down anyone's spine, its intimidating force enough to make the bravest quake.
Were any ordinary person here, they'd likely be trembling in terror, knees weak and unable to stand.
"Tiger's roar in the forest?" Lu Yunzhou murmured to himself as his boundless mental energy surged, probing the direction of the sound.
As he investigated further, he gasped in surprise.
"A Dark Demonic God Tiger! There's only one in the entire Star Dou Forest, and it seems I've stumbled upon it! Well, well… you really walked right into hell's gate!"
After verifying what he sensed, Lu Yunzhou summoned his Martial Spirit—or rather, his life-bound artifact, the Rusted Sword. Without hesitation, he leaped from the enormous "Wind-Thunder Vessel".
In a flash, he moved with lightning speed toward where his spiritual sense had detected the powerful aura.
Qian Renxue observed him and, though uncertain of the cause, made a quick decision.
"Demon Bear Elder and Ghost Leopard Elder, please accompany Mr. Lu and investigate. Snake Spear Elder and Spine Porcupine Elder, stay here to maintain security."
The two elders exchanged a look, then responded in unison, "Understood, Young Master."
With that, both leaped from the "Wind-Thunder Vessel" to follow Lu Yunzhou.
The Dark Demonic God Tiger, a supreme soul beast embodying six attributes—darkness, evil, space, time, lightning, and wind—is nearly extinct across Douluo Continent. Encountering such a creature in one's lifetime would be an incredible stroke of luck.
And Lu Yunzhou, on his first visit to the Star Dou Forest, had encountered none other than the very beast Tang San encountered in the original story—a sixty-thousand-year-old Dark Demonic God Tiger!
Without hesitation, Lu Yunzhou decided to capture it, aiming to claim this powerful beast as his mount.
One of Lu Yunzhou's objectives in visiting Star Dou Forest was to find a suitable mount. His other three goals were to strengthen his body, refine his sword, and obtain a spirit ring.
The physical training would build up his body's power. Despite being an Artifact Refinement Master, Alchemist, Formation Master, and Talisman Maker, as well as a practitioner of *Sword Cultivation* and *Lightning Cultivation*, Lu Yunzhou now intended to explore the path of *Body Cultivation*.
Refining the sword meant enhancing the quality and grade of his life-bound artifact, or Martial Spirit—the Rusted Sword—aiming to make it a demi-god or even a god-level weapon in Douluo Continent.
And obtaining a ring? Simply put, he aimed to help Dugu Yan acquire her fourth spirit ring.
Now that he had the opportunity to accomplish his first goal, Lu Yunzhou was determined not to miss it.
Moreover, this sixty-thousand-year-old Dark Demonic God Tiger possessed strength, appearance, talent, and bloodline traits that fit all his standards for a mount. Lu Yunzhou was determined to claim it.
Feeling the presence of a human's spirit sense probing it, the Dark Demonic God Tiger's eyes narrowed, and an intense sense of danger washed over it.
Realizing the imminent threat, the Dark Demonic God Tiger quickly swallowed its prey and bolted.
Once a soul beast reaches ten thousand years, it gains intelligence nearly on par with humans. The Dark Demonic God Tiger, with its superior intellect, sensed it was being targeted and made a strategic retreat—heading straight toward the territory of the Three Titan Ant Emperors!
Indeed, the Dark Demonic God Tiger planned to let Lu Yunzhou and the Three Titan Ant Emperor brothers clash, hoping to escape while the two sides were occupied.
Yet this cunning plan was bound to crumble before overwhelming power.
"Vile beast! Run again, and I'll show no mercy!"
Lu Yunzhou's voice resounded like thunder in spring rain, shaking all who heard it. He summoned a lightning spell with ease.
In an instant, a massive bolt of lightning, thick as an ancient tree, flashed from the blue sky, striking just in front of the Dark Demonic God Tiger.
The sudden burst of lightning caught the tiger off guard, leaving it visibly stunned once it recovered.
"Roar!"
Turning around, the Dark Demonic God Tiger let out an enraged roar and retaliated. Two thick bolts of lightning shot from its eyes toward Lu Yunzhou.
But Lu Yunzhou brushed it off. With a mere swipe of his hand, he dissipated the lightning effortlessly.
"Three-Element Rakshasa Array!"
Seeing the tiger momentarily still, Lu Yunzhou immediately cast a formation, intending to prevent the beast from fleeing further and wasting his time.
As he spoke, a triangular glow of purple and black light encircled the Dark Demonic God Tiger, forming the "Three-Element Rakshasa Array" around it.
Being a skilled Formation Master, Lu Yunzhou formed the array swiftly. Before the tiger could react, the formation was already complete.
Within each corner of the triangular formation, clouds of black mist appeared, eventually materializing into "Rakshasa" forms.
The three Rakshasas—two men and a woman—stood ominously. The male Rakshasas had black bodies, crimson hair, and green eyes, while the female Rakshasa was a strikingly beautiful, graceful figure.
Of the three, the two male Rakshasas were at the peak of Qi Refinement, roughly equivalent to level 89 Soul Douluo, while the female Rakshasa was in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, on par with an ordinary Titled Douluo.
*[Standard Titled Douluo: Levels 91-94 (Foundation Establishment - Early); Peak Titled Douluo: Levels 95-97 (Foundation Establishment - Middle); Super Douluo: Level 98 (Foundation Establishment - Late); Ultimate Douluo: Level 99 (Foundation Establishment - Peak). Note: Cultivation levels don't necessarily reflect true combat strength, so the protagonist, despite being in the early Foundation Establishment stage, may have combat prowess akin to the middle or late stage.]*
The sudden appearance of the three Rakshasas left the Dark Demonic God Tiger dazed, realizing that these three figures were far from ordinary.
In that moment, the Dark Demonic God Tiger understood that if these three beings attacked, it might not survive this day.
The sheer threat froze the Dark Demonic God Tiger in place, unsure of its next move.
~~~~~~~~~
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