The Shadow Centipede tunneled underground, darting in the direction behind Hu Liena. It knew this was its best—and perhaps only—chance to escape. That terrifying tiger hadn't even made its move yet.
Even though it couldn't clearly sense the tiger's true strength, its instincts screamed that once that beast went all out, death would be inevitable.
The moment It burst through the encirclement, the centipede let out a deep sigh of relief.
If not for the White Tiger's lack of agility and its own tunneling skills, it would've been dead already. Still, that escape had drained nearly all its stamina.
The others were alarmed.
"Not good! That's where Shi Hao is!"
Hu Liena's face changed drastically, and she rushed ahead without hesitation.
The Shadow Centipede was far too elusive, difficult to track, and even they had a hard time dealing with it—let alone a child.
That's right. They instinctively assumed Shi Hao wasn't all that strong. The reason he could freely roam through the Star Dou Great Forest was clearly because of that White Tiger.
And he was so young… The centipede was nimble enough that it could probably swallow the boy in a single gulp. The thought made Hu Liena move even faster, leaving the others behind.
The White Tiger, however, didn't look worried at all. In fact, it lazily followed behind them.
It wasn't the least bit concerned about its little ancestor getting hurt. If anything, it was worried that centipede might not survive the encounter. Hopefully the little master wouldn't go too far—otherwise, Hu Liena's soul ring might be ruined.
Elsewhere—
The Shadow Centipede emerged into a clearing and cautiously looked around. After confirming it was safe, it finally let its guard down to rest.
It had full confidence In its tunneling ability—nothing on the surface could stop it. No way those humans would catch up that quickly.
But just then, a small, dazed-looking child wandered out, fiddling with something in his hand. The centipede couldn't tell what it was.
The beast's twisted mind began to gloat.
Hah, after being chased around like a dog, now fate sends me a helpless human brat. What perfect timing. I'll vent all my frustrations on him.
But then, a string of childish remarks interrupted its sinister fantasy.
"What are you? Why do you look so ugly?"
"Did you get lost or something?"
"Oh, are you trying to take this egg from me?"
The centipede's long, segmented body slithered forward, making that familiar sss-sss-sss sound as its sharp limbs scraped the dirt. Its tail arched upward, preparing to strike like a whip.
Shi Hao didn't move.
The Shadow Centipede sneered inwardly.
This brat doesn't even know he's about to die. What a fool.
"Ugly bug, eat my punch!"
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Shi Hao's small but terrifying fist collided with the centipede's lashing tail. The impact was deafening.
CRACK! SNAP!
A section of the centipede's tail snapped off completely.
That moment stunned the creature—it hadn't even begun to comprehend how this child possessed such monstrous strength. Not only had its flexibility taken a hit, its defense plummeted as well. It stumbled and nearly lost its balance.
Just as it thought it had stabilized, something tugged at its rear.
Glancing back, it saw the boy gripping one of its legs tightly—and then, with shocking strength, swinging it overhead like a sack of potatoes.
SMASH!
Another thunderous punch slammed down. Then another. And another.
Shi Hao spun the centipede through the air like a toy, pounding it repeatedly into the ground.
"Hehe… That's what you get for trying to steal my stuff."
The centipede had no idea that behind the cheerful child, something terrifying was happening. Shi Hao's back bones began to glow faintly, his body growing in size. Strange rune patterns shimmered over his spine, radiating an aura that sent chills down any soul beast's spine.
"Ugh… That's all? Boring."
Shi Hao let out a disappointed sigh. This centipede was far too fragile. Just a few hits and it was already about to break apart.
By the time Hu Liena arrived, she was greeted by a gruesome sight—the mighty Shadow Centipede was twitching weakly on the ground, barely alive.
And beside it stood Shi Hao, pouting. He pointed accusingly at the centipede and said, "Big sis, this ugly bug tried to steal my egg! I found it under a tree!"
Hu Liena rushed to his side, pulling the boy gently into her arms. She stroked his hair and soothed him softly.
"It's okay, Shi Hao. This ugly bug is already half-dead. I'll help you take revenge."
Shi Hao had already withdrawn his soul power, and Hu Liena didn't feel any lingering fluctuations from his body.
But as she looked at the broken centipede on the ground… and the completely unharmed, energetic Shi Hao… a dangerous thought crossed her mind.
Did… did Shi Hao defeat this centipede?
That idea only lasted a second before she chuckled and shook her head.
"Come on, Hu Liena… What are you even thinking? That's a fifteen-thousand-year soul beast! Even an ordinary Soul King couldn't handle it alone. It takes all three of us working together to bring one down."
Maybe it ran into another powerful beast while escaping, she thought. That's the only explanation for its current condition.
At that moment, Yan and Xie Yue finally arrived.
Seeing the downed centipede, they immediately assumed Hu Liena had taken it out by herself and began congratulating her.
Hu Liena gave an awkward smile and didn't correct them.
"Nana, that thing's on its last breath. Hurry up and kill it—we'll protect you while you absorb the ring," Yan said seriously.
"Got it!"
Hu Liena drew her blade and plunged it into the centipede's brain. With a final twitch, it died on the spot.
She then began the process of absorbing its soul ring.
Strangely enough, the absorption went far more smoothly than she'd expected.
This was a fifteen-thousand-year-old soul beast. Even for her, absorbing such a powerful ring should've been difficult. Yet, it felt as if the centipede was eager to die—as if it wanted to escape its pain and gladly offered itself up.
Hu Liena recalled its mangled body and grim expression.
Maybe it was traumatized by whatever beat it down so viciously. I don't even want to imagine what kind of beast could hit that hard…
An hour later, Hu Liena finally opened her eyes. She'd successfully absorbed the soul ring.
Yan and Xie Yue exchanged amazed glances and praised her impressive speed.
_
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