Tang Wulin had never expected that Gu Yue would be so dependent on him at this point. When he tried to get her off of him, she stubbornly refused. In the end, he went from holding her in his arms to carrying her on his back. Riding astride him, Gu Yue giggled as he walked farther into the depths of the forest.

"I'm so thankful!" Tang Wulin looked at the arms hanging before his chest and could not help feeling quite amused.

Gu Yue stuck her head forward and kissed him on his cheek. "Father, I love you."

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment. He was about to speak when his instincts kicked in and he leaped into the air.

A dark brown shadow flashed underneath his feet before immediately vanishing. If he had remained at his earlier position, he would certainly have been hit.

"Who's there?!" Tang Wulin shouted aloud, but he did not see anything in the direction the attack came from.

Tang Wulin scowled as an icy cold aura burst out from his body. Bluesilver Emperor vines surged out from underneath his feet like a swarm of bees and spread out in all directions. He was in a forest, so this place was, to put it simply, the battlefield made for him.

What happened next even left Tang Wulin astonished. When his Bluesilver Emperor martial soul bored into the ground, his perception immediately radiated outward.

He had already achieved Spirit Abyss spiritual power and his ability was strong enough that he could cover an area exceeding three hundred meters. However, it was normally just a rough map in his consciousness, whereas this time, when his Bluesilver Emperor fused with the forest, it was as though he could see through God's Eye. His spiritual power could sense an even larger area and everything he perceived was projected into his mind in crystal-clear, three-dimensional forms.

There was a massive, bulky creature with brown-red fur covering its entire body in the area to Tang Wulin's front left. The figure was leaping about at high speed while Tang Wulin and Gu Yue's position seemed to be the center of its trajectory.

Curious, Gu Yue stuck her head out from behind Tang Wulin's shoulder to look at her surroundings.

It should be much easier to deal with the incoming person if only he could see them.

To Tang Wulin's surprise, it was a Scarlet Fire Monkey, but it was completely different from what he would have expected of one.

As far as Tang Wulin knew, the Scarlet Fire Monkey was considered a low-ranked soul beast. Most of them had cultivation bases of ten to one hundred years. It was considered rare to see a hundred-year Scarlet Fire Monkey, and it was a solitary hunter. There was nothing impressive about it other than its speed and agility in the forest.

Yet this Scarlet Fire Monkey was unique. Its body size was more than ten times larger than an ordinary Scarlet Fire Monkey. Its length exceeded seven meters while its brown-red fur was exuding a faint golden shimmer as it moved. What was even more astounding was the third eye on its forehead. The eye had a golden iris and a slit pupil glowing with an otherworldly light as it gazed in Tang Wulin's direction. The radiance emitted from the monkey's third eye was so brilliant that Tang Wulin could still sense it despite being separated by numerous plants. It was as if that vertical slit pupil was staring straight at him.

Was it a variant? There was no doubt that it was a variant soul beast. On the other hand, Tang Wulin had an idea as to his current location upon seeing the monkey.

Soul beasts were already an endangered species on the Douluo Continent! Before this, there was only one place that he had come into contact with a large number of soul beasts. It was the spirit ascension platform which imitated the Great Star Dou Forest controlled by the Spirit Pagoda. Could it be that Gu Yue had brought him into the spirit ascension platform? This was entirely possible for it was not difficult for Gu Yue to bring him into this place given her position at the Spirit Pagoda.

Was this the spirit ascension platform?

The Scarlet Fire Monkey King was already charging in their direction at full speed while Tang Wulin was still stunned. It seemed like the monkey sensed Tang Wulin's observation. In a flash, it scurried onto a huge tree and catapulted itself off of it like a fiery red arrow.

Tang Wulin squinted his eyes as a stinging cold glow shimmered in his eyes. He was desolated by the calamity that befell on Shrek Academy. The emotions suppressed in his heart exploded like a bomb when confronted by an assailant.

"Gu Yue, hold on tight," Tang Wulin commanded softly.

Gu Yue hastily placed her arms around his neck tightly as her pair of long legs tightly wrapped around his waist. Tang Wulin's blood essence fluctuation expanded suddenly as he spread out his arms from his sides and his pair of Golden Dragon Claws were unleashed.

After he had completed two circulation vortexes in his body,

Tang Wulin discovered that his martial soul and bloodline power could already exist simultaneously without the need to switch between them. He could finally fight with both his martial soul and bloodline power at the same time.

Countless vines of Bluesilver Emperor surged out from the ground and formed a wall like a blue-silver forest to block the Scarlet Fire Monkey's path.

The Scarlet Fire Monkey King was extremely fierce. It spread out its arms and bumped against the Bluesilver Emperor vines with scorching hot golden-scarlet flames bursting from its entire body.

The Bluesilver Emperor was still a plant-type martial soul after all. The collision knocked the vines one after another and before long, it had already arrived before Tang Wulin with unstoppable momentum.

It did not pounce onto Tang Wulin immediately because there was an additional pair of feathered wings under the Scarlet Fire Monkey King's armpits such that hindered its acceleration as it dashed forth.

Was it using battle tactics? Could a soul beast be that intelligent?

The momentary pause was not to be belittled because it was enough to make the opponent completely mistaken its attack trajectory while at the same time its third eye glowed. A powerful spiritual wave immediately surged over him like a rising tide. It was not a direct collision but more of a pressure that pushed down from all directions with Tang Wulin's body as its target.

"Roar!" Tang Wulin raised his head and roared in rage. An enormous golden dragon's head covered his entire body as he unleashed the Golden Dragon Roars.

The Scarlet Fire Monkey King's body stiffened in the air for a moment while its powerful spiritual assault retracted after being shocked by the Golden Dragon Roars' spiritual power.

However, it was also at this moment when golden lightning burst out from its golden pupil and past the surrounding warped air before it arrived in front of Tang Wulin instantly with scorching heat.

Meanwhile, the creature dove down from the sky with its pair of sharp claws extended as it slashed at Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin stretched out his right Golden Dragon Claw to shield himself and blocked the lightning raining down on him. Scorching heat radiated from the bolt instantly as the powerful energy assault swayed even Tang Wulin's incredible physique.

The Scarlet Fire Monkey King seized the opportunity to drop down from the sky as it brandished its pair of sharp claws at Tang Wulin.

"Leave!" Tang Wulin shouted in rage as he unleashed the Golden Dragon Soars to the Heavens! Gigantic golden dragons arose from underneath his feet and crashed into the Scarlet Fire Monkey King.

The explosions screeched as the surrounding forest began to topple away. The Scarlet Fire Monkey King was blasted into the air from the collision but Tang Wulin also staggered for two steps before he managed to stabilize himself.

The Scarlet Fire Monkey King dropped onto a huge tree branch in the distance. There was a mixture of surprise and bewilderment in its eyes. It was apparent that it was startled by Tang Wulin's powerful attack.

Tang Wulin was slightly less agitated as well. The Scarlet Fire Monkey King was unexpectedly difficult to deal with not only because its attack was ruthlessly brutal, but it was also equipped with spiritual power. At the same time, its defense was great enough that Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Soars to the Heavens did not manage to harm it in a frontal collision. Remarkably, the attack only compelled it to retreat.

It was a ten-thousand-year soul beast! Not only was it doubtlessly so but also it was not an ordinary one. It was indeed a variant ten-thousand-year soul beast.

Tang Wulin inhaled a deep breath as he got his emotions under control for a moment. He knew that he could not allow his feelings to affect him when dealing with such an enemy in battle.

Tang Wulin squinted his eyes as he stared at the Scarlet Fire Monkey King. His aura began to strengthen. He had not used his battle armor because he was saving it for later. It was his last resort, so he would not unleash it recklessly.

If this place was the spirit ascension platform, then it was at least the intermediate if not the legendary platform. Otherwise, he would not be confronting such a powerful soul beast. He would need to recover his power as much as possible in order to face whatever unexpected threats that could appear at any time in the future.

The Scarlet Fire Monkey King's eyes rolled about when it was suddenly gone in a blur. Surprisingly, it was no longer pouncing toward Tang Wulin but fleeing into the distance.

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment. For sure, the Scarlet Fire Monkey King was exceedingly intelligent. It discovered that Tang Wulin was not an easy target, so it chose to escape immediately.

Tang Wulin heaved a sigh of relief as well. He was aware that he would need to devote all his effort in order to defeat the Scarlet Fire Monkey King. A ten-thousand-year variant soul beast was not easy to deal with unaided.

"Father." The voice calling out to Tang Wulin dampened his raging will to fight. The corner of his mouth twitched before he patted Gu Yue's thigh. "It's fine now. Come down."

"Alright." Gu Yue reluctantly got down from Tang Wulin's body with a look of lingering fear on her face. "Father, what was that?! It was so terrifying."