Chapter 96: Survive with the Last Hope!

A massive black Soul Ring began to shine, and in the next second, a giant full moon appeared in front of Zhang Lexuan.

【Seventh Soul Skill, Yinyue True Body!】

As a brilliant silver light shone, Zhang Lexuan slowly merged with that giant full moon.

Roar, roar, roar!!!!

Sizzle~

Following a series of ear-piercing shrieks, Xiong Er, standing to the side, instantly had his fur stand on end.

Amidst these shrieks, Xiong Er's memory returned to that rainy night, after he and his two younger siblings were born.

An enemy had come outside the tree hole; it was pitch black, with green eyes and powerful Spirit Power, and seeing that Xiong Ma was weak from just giving birth, it wanted to increase its Spirit Power by killing and devouring her to seek a breakthrough.

Unfortunately, a Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear is a Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear; its powerful bloodline strength meant that even when extremely weak, even just after giving birth, it was not something any stray cat or leopard could bully.

It gave the opponent a slap right then and there, and the sharp claws formed by that slap left permanent damage on the Black-Striped Leopard's face.

The screams from that night were almost identical to the ones just now, and fear engulfed Xiong Er.

He looked at Zhang Lexuan, thinking she could easily drive away the Black-Striped Leopard just like his mother.

Unfortunately, not everyone possesses the strength of a Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear, let alone Zhang Lexuan, who had only recently recovered from severe injuries.

Even in her prime, Zhang Lexuan was merely an eightieth-level seven-ring Quasi-Soul Douluo; facing a Black-Striped Leopard with a full ninety thousand years of Spirit Power, she would have to fall in regret!

Bang! Splat!

The Black-Striped Leopard's sharp claws instantly swiped at the moon transformed by Zhang Lexuan; in the next second, the moon exploded, and Zhang Lexuan violently spat out a mouthful of blood toward Xiong Er's direction.

Her snow-white back was instantly covered by three claw marks.

"Roar!"

With a furious roar, the Black-Striped Leopard stared fixedly at Zhang Lexuan—or, to be precise, at Xiong Er in Zhang Lexuan's arms.

Above the Waterfall

The Auspicious Beast saw this scene and was slightly moved.

"This human is actually willing to gamble her own life to save a Soul Beast cub?"

The Auspicious Beast was moved; the Soul Beasts in the vicinity these past few days had actually been attracted by it.

It was merely to see if Xu Nian'an and Zhang Lexuan would abandon Xiong Er under the encirclement of so many Soul Beasts.

If they abandoned him, it would mean they were coveting the bloodline power of the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear... and it would then step in to finish them off.

But now, the scene of Xiong Er and them getting along harmoniously made it hesitate.

"Roar!"

With a furious roar, golden light shone.

The Soul Beasts in the surrounding forest instantly fled; the Black-Striped Leopard's footsteps paused, feeling a slight inner fear, but upon seeing Xiong Er in Zhang Lexuan's arms, the Black-Striped Leopard's pupils were suddenly replaced by madness.

"Roar!"

Its body was like the wind; following a surge of gale, the Black-Striped Leopard appeared in front of Zhang Lexuan in the next second, its right front claw raised high.

"Am... am I going to die!"

Above the Waterfall, a fierce glint flashed in the Auspicious Beast's eyes, and it shifted its feet, intending to step in and stop it.

It only wanted to test them to see if they were the kind of people it thought; if they were, kill them, and if not... it would just let them go for taking care of the cub.

As the Auspicious Beast, the emperor among Soul Beasts, it couldn't possibly lack even this much magnanimity.

But just as it was about to act, in the next second, a white figure slowly appeared in front of Zhang Lexuan.

"Second Soul Skill, Mysterious Ice Shield!"

As a purple light flashed, a giant ice mirror appeared in front of Xu Nian'an.

Bang, crash~

In the next second, Xu Nian'an's expression changed; the Black-Striped Leopard's powerful gripping force instantly shattered the ice crystal, and three claw marks deep enough to see bone appeared on Xu Nian'an's chest.

A massive force was instantly generated out of thin air, and Xu Nian'an instantly knocked Zhang Lexuan and Xiong Er behind him away.

Bang! ~

The moment his body stopped spinning, Xu Nian'an didn't care about the burning pain coming from his chest and quickly crawled up.

He first looked back at Zhang Lexuan and the others.

"Senior Sister, are... are you all okay?"

The intense pain made Xu Nian'an pant while speaking, and... and his legs felt a bit weak.

The moment he saw the Black-Striped Leopard, the Soul Beast encyclopedia data in his mind activated, and Xu Nian'an instantly knew the opponent's age.

This was a Soul Beast with an age reaching ninety thousand years, on the verge of breaking through to one hundred thousand years; to be honest, Xu Nian'an did not have full confidence in defeating it.

Even... even the ability to repel it was lacking.

After hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Zhang Lexuan lifted her legs twice before slowly standing up.

"Fire the Shrek Distress Signal Flare; this is likely our last chance."

"After you fire the Shrek Distress Signal Flare, hurry back into the Cave."

After hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Zhang Lexuan came before Xiong Er.

"No, Junior Brother, you..."

Xu Nian'an did not even turn his head.

"Hurry!"

Bang, boom!

As these words fell, in the next second, a red beam of light shot straight into the sky, and with an explosive sound, the Shrek emblem clearly appeared in the next second.

Mixed Zone.

The moment this signal flare sounded, dozens of rays of light shot straight into the sky.

"This time, we must find them!"

····

Xu Nian'an's Storage Ring flashed, a long sword appeared, and Xu Nian'an gripped the cyan sword hilt, frantically pouring soul power into it.

"Clear Wind Slash!"

As a cyan sword aura slashed out rapidly, Xu Nian'an rushed toward the Black-Striped Leopard; he had to stop the Black-Striped Leopard to give Zhang Lexuan some time to retreat.

Facing Xu Nian'an's attack, the Black-Striped Leopard remained unmoved; the next second, a black shield condensed from black soul power in front of it instantly absorbed Xu Nian'an's attack.

When Xu Nian'an arrived in front of it, its right front claw was instantly raised high.

Bang! Clang!

The claw and the long sword collided, and the next second, Xu Nian'an's eyes widened instantly.

He saw the blade of the offensive Level 2 Soul Guidance Device that he had painstakingly selected, forged, smelted, and shaped shatter into three pieces!

"Junior Brother Nian'an!"

Waterfall entrance.

Holding Xiong Er, Zhang Lexuan turned her head in worry, and the next second her pupils shrank violently, and she couldn't help but cry out in a delicate voice!

Xu Nian'an turned his head back.

"Get inside quickly!"

After giving this final warning, the Second Soul Ring on Xu Nian'an's body lit up again, but this time, what appeared in front of him was not an Ice Shield.

Instead, it was a giant turtle with ice crystals on its back.

Moo!

Following a roar, the ice crystals on its back grew frantically.

Snap!

The next second, the ice crystals shattered, the turtle's back caved in, and Xu Nian'an's first Soul Spirit, the Ice Crystal Turtle, instantly shattered, turning into specks of blue light that merged back into Xu Nian'an's Second Soul Ring.

Sensing something was wrong, Xu Nian'an channeled his soul power, preparing to escape quickly.

The next second, the Black-Striped Leopard landed a heavy blow on Xu Nian'an's hind leg, and Xu Nian'an's right leg instantly twisted and caved in a gruesome way.

His expression turned incomparably ferocious in an instant; Xu Nian'an was sent flying by a massive force, slamming heavily into the mountain wall.

Bang~ Crack~

His left hand was twisted strangely, and the numbness coming from his left shoulder and right leg reminded Xu Nian'an every moment that he was crippled.

Xu Nian'an's face turned pale; was this a Soul Beast approaching one hundred thousand years?

Completely... completely without any power to parry...

The Black-Striped Leopard was very fast; three seconds after Xu Nian'an landed, it arrived in front of him, its arm raised high, and it looked like he was about to meet his end.

A huge black Soul Ring slowly lit up on Xu Nian'an's body, and the moment his right arm was raised, a golden light shone.

"Third soul skill, Xuanwu Divine Power, Heaven-Splitting Claw!"

The moment he unleashed his strongest attack, Xu Nian'an fell into despair, because in his eyes, the Black-Striped Leopard leaped easily and dodged his attack directly.

Seeing it appear by his side again, about to crush him like an ant, Xu Nian'an was furious.

"You... you cannot kill me, and even more... you cannot crush me like you would an ant!!!"

Hum hum hum~

The black Soul Ring shone again, and the sound of metal clashing slowly came from the air; a huge yellow figure appeared, and the Black-Striped Leopard was startled...

The next instant, a huge palm instantly sent the Black-Striped Leopard flying.

"Aoooooo!!!!"

Seeing this familiar figure, the Black-Striped Leopard roared and shrieked; after landing on the ground, it stopped shrieking instantly, because the sharp pain it expected did not come.

Xiong Ma looked at Xu Nian'an, then looked at her own hands; clearly, she was not very accustomed to this body, and she clenched her fists, hum~

The next second, a pair of golden bear claws popped out.

"Bang bang bang!!! Roar!!!!"

Xiong Ma beat her chest with both fists and roared, showing that her majesty could not be violated.

But the Black-Striped Leopard no longer had the panic it usually felt when seeing Xiong Ma, because it could no longer feel any threat from Xiong Ma.

However, seeing Xiong Ma's fierce appearance, the Black-Striped Leopard retreated, a cold sneer curling at the corner of its mouth.

About to break through one hundred thousand years, it already possessed considerable intelligence; knowing that there seemed to be danger here, it did not hesitate at all, turned its head, and sprinted toward the waterfall.

It had just noticed Zhang Lexuan taking Xiong Er inside there.

Black-Striped Leopard: The humiliation on Leopard Uncle's face must be washed away with blood; I can't beat you, but can't I beat your son!

"No!"

Seeing the Black-Striped Leopard about to break into the Cave behind the waterfall, Xu Nian'an became anxious instantly.

Propping up his broken body, he began to slowly move his feet.

The moment Xu Nian'an entered the Cave, the Black-Striped Leopard had already been waiting for a long time; it had condensed a powerful black light in its mouth.

The moment Xu Nian'an and Xiong Ma came in, it instantly pierced through Xiong Ma; behind her, Xu Nian'an widened his eyes, looking at the black hole appearing in his own chest.

Thump!

Xu Nian'an's knees went soft, and he looked up in shock at the Black-Striped Leopard and Xiong Ma; Xiong Ma was furious, knowing that the Black-Striped Leopard wanted to leave her without offspring, so even if her Soul Spirit were to shatter, she would take the Black-Striped Leopard with her.

Hum~ Bang!

As the three huge golden claws descended, the Black-Striped Leopard took the hit squarely; instantly, its bones shattered, and a black tail was sliced into three sections.

In exchange, Xiong Ma slowly turned into pure Soul power, merging into Xu Nian's Third Soul Ring.

"In the end... in the end, did I not hold on?"

Xu Nian'an could no longer feel his lower body, his eyes dazed.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Begonia True Body!"

"Eighth Soul Skill, Life Blessing!"

As one black and one green Soul Ring rose, Xu Nian'an only felt a warmth in his heart, and the injuries inside his body were rapidly repaired.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Huangjin True Body!"

Ye Yi Han and Han Ruoruo had both woken up at this moment!

Xu Nian'an looked toward the back of the Cave... but, but why did it have to be at this moment!

Having just awakened, Han Ruoruo was extremely weak; the Huangjin Rope was teetering, and the Black-Striped Leopard could break free at any time.

"Junior Brother Nian'an, go!"

"Junior Brother, run quickly!"

Hearing the voices, Xu Nian'an instantly looked up, his body frozen in place.

Ye Yi Han and Han Ruoruo smiled at him, but... but the next second, the Black-Striped Leopard broke free from its restraints, Han Ruoruo's martial soul shattered once again, and she violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ye Yi Han stood at the very front, becoming the first target of the Black-Striped Leopard's attack, and was pierced through the stomach by a heavy blow!

"Junior Brother, please carry our final hope and live on!"

Zhang Lexuan gave Xu Nian'an a bitter smile.

"No!!!!"

(End of this chapter)