After Arou swore an oath on her own Spirit, Yu Yuanzhen and the others finally began to trust her.
Although Arou's true form was that of a Soul Beast, she had already transformed into a human. Like any human Soul Master, she possessed a Spirit.
Under such circumstances, swearing upon her Spirit carried the same weight as a human making the same vow.
Yu Yuanzhen looked at her seriously.
"We're willing to believe you."
"But before we agree to cooperate, you must explain everything in detail."
"Your strength."
"Your enemies."
"Who is on your side."
"And who is on theirs."
"We need to know exactly what we're facing before making a decision."
Although Yu Yuanzhen was already leaning heavily toward cooperation, he still needed the basic information.
Otherwise, they might agree first...
Only to discover later that the enemy was far beyond anything they could handle.
Arou smiled.
"Of course."
She could already hear the willingness to cooperate in Yu Yuanzhen's tone.
That was excellent news.
---
"Those enemies..."
"Their leader is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—a Moon Devouring Azure Wolf."
She looked at everyone.
"I'm sure you've heard of that species."
Yu Yuanzhen nodded in realization.
"So that's why you want to eliminate it."
The Moon Devouring Azure Wolf was famous even among humans.
If all wolf-type Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent were ranked...
It would undoubtedly be among the top three.
The reason was simple.
It possessed an incredibly terrifying innate ability.
Devour.
The name sounded ordinary.
Yet...
The simpler an ability sounded, the more frightening it often was.
Whenever the Moon Devouring Azure Wolf devoured another Soul Beast, there was a chance it could permanently absorb one of that creature's abilities.
Simple abilities such as a spider's web-spinning or a venomous snake's poison...
Powerful abilities such as a phoenix's rebirth through flames...
A Charming Fox's illusion techniques...
Or even a dragon's mist-breathing ability...
All of them could potentially become the Moon Devouring Azure Wolf's own powers.
Because of this...
Every Moon Devouring Azure Wolf spent its life hunting and devouring powerful Soul Beasts to strengthen itself.
Its reputation within the Soul Beast world was similar to that of the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger, another terrifying predator that grew stronger through devouring.
The moment either species appeared...
Other Soul Beasts would often unite to eliminate them.
Of course...
Compared to the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger, the Moon Devouring Azure Wolf was still somewhat less dangerous.
The Evil God Tiger gained cultivation every time it devoured something.
The Moon Devouring Azure Wolf merely had a chance of obtaining new abilities.
In other words...
The Evil God Tiger always became stronger.
The Moon Devouring Azure Wolf depended partly on luck.
Even so...
It remained an extremely dangerous enemy.
---
Everything suddenly made sense.
Yu Yuanzhen and the others finally understood Arou's situation.
No wonder she wanted to drive the wolf away.
And no wonder...
After meeting them...
She had changed her mind and wanted to eliminate it completely.
The spatial movement ability Arou had displayed earlier had clearly attracted the Moon Devouring Azure Wolf's attention.
Even if she managed to drive it away today...
As long as the wolf failed to acquire another spatial ability elsewhere...
It would eventually return to hunt her again.
The only permanent solution...
Was to kill it.
Arou sighed helplessly.
"That's right."
"That fellow covets my abilities."
"He also wants the abilities possessed by the Soul Beasts around me."
"On top of that..."
"He has already accumulated numerous abilities."
"His combat strength is terrifying."
"We simply couldn't defeat him."
"So all we could do until now..."
"Was force him to retreat."
Although admitting her weakness hurt her pride...
She had no choice.
Facts were facts.
---
Yu Yuanzhen continued questioning her.
"What about the rest of its forces?"
Arou nodded.
"Besides the Moon Devouring Azure Wolf itself..."
"There are its offspring."
"And the wolf pack it has gathered."
"The nearly eighty-thousand-year Red-Toothed Thunder Wolf I mentioned earlier is one of its subordinates."
"Originally, it ruled its own territory within the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Beneath it are a nearly sixty-thousand-year Blazing Fire Wolf..."
"A fifty-thousand-year Gale Wolf..."
"And countless ordinary wolves below thirty thousand years."
"In addition..."
"The Moon Devouring Azure Wolf has two offspring."
"A fifty-thousand-year Moon Shadow Wolf..."
"And a thirty-thousand-year Blood Devouring Wolf."
"Those are their primary fighting forces."
Yu Yuanzhen slowly nodded.
"So..."
"A wolf pack."
That wasn't surprising.
Even an extraordinary species like the Moon Devouring Azure Wolf retained a wolf's natural instinct to gather followers.
Interestingly...
Once another wolf joined its pack...
The Moon Devouring Azure Wolf no longer devoured it.
Most likely...
It had already obtained whatever useful abilities those wolves possessed.
There was no longer any reason to consume them.
---
"I understand your enemies now."
Yu Yuanzhen looked directly at Arou.
"But what about your own side?"
"That's what will determine whether we truly cooperate."
Arou smiled.
"As for us..."
"My name is Arou."
"I am also a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
"Although I've transformed into a human..."
"I've already reached full maturity."
"My strength is no weaker than that of a human Title Douluo."
She gently brushed aside her long hair.
The next moment...
A beautiful snow-white rabbit with ruby-red eyes appeared behind her.
At the same time...
Nine Soul Rings rose beneath her feet.
Yellow.
Yellow.
Purple.
Purple.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Red.
The perfect Soul Ring configuration.
And...
The final crimson ring.
A genuine Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Everyone present froze.
The Grand Elder's eyes widened in disbelief.
Even Yu Yuanzhen, who had seen countless powerful Soul Masters during his lifetime...
Found it difficult to remain calm.
After all...
Even he didn't possess a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Suddenly...
Something clicked.
"Wait..."
"So your true form is actually a Spirit Void Rabbit?"
"No wonder you possess spatial abilities."
Yu Yuanzhen finally understood.
The Spirit Void Rabbit was famous for its teleportation abilities.
Although its direct combat power wasn't especially impressive compared to many other Soul Beasts...
Its ability to survive and escape was among the very best.
It wasn't surprising that such a creature had successfully cultivated for one hundred thousand years.
---
Arou continued speaking.
"Besides me..."
"The Titan Giant Ape..."
"And the Sky Azure Bull Python..."
"They're also on my side."
"They're my juniors."
"As long as I ask for their help..."
"They won't refuse."
The room fell silent.
The Grand Elder inhaled sharply.
"The Titan Giant Ape..."
"And the Sky Azure Bull Python?"
His eyes filled with disbelief.
Those weren't merely famous Soul Beasts.
They were among the very few Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts whose existence had been officially confirmed by humans.
The Titan Giant Ape was known as the King of the Star Dou Great Forest.
That title alone reflected humanity's fear of its overwhelming strength.
The Sky Azure Bull Python, on the other hand, appeared far less frequently.
Because so few people had ever witnessed it...
It remained shrouded in mystery.
Many scholars even believed that it—not the Titan Giant Ape—was the true ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Countless experts had argued for years over which of the two was stronger.
Yet now...
This transformed Soul Beast named Arou was calmly telling them something unbelievable.
Those two legendary Forest Kings...
Were both her juniors.
The Grand Elder stared blankly at her.
Good heavens...
Just how old are you...?
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)