Chapter Nine: The Blond Leonberger! A Super Spirit Beast with an Innate Domain! Lu Yu Unleashes Full Firepower!

Golden-haired Lion Mastiff!

An extremely ancient species of soul beast! Whether in terms of bloodline tier or innate abilities, it stands as one of the absolute pinnacles among soul beasts. Lu Yu never expected that he would encounter a Golden-haired Lion Mastiff in this Soul Hunting Forest.

It must have been captured while it was still a cub, which is why its uniqueness went unnoticed. After all, this Golden-haired Lion Mastiff still appeared to be in its juvenile stage. The "age" of a soul beast does not refer to how many years it has lived, but is merely a classification of its strength. Lu Yu could determine that this specific beast had been born only a short while ago, yet even so, it already possessed the cultivation of a high-level century-grade soul beast.

The Golden-haired Lion Mastiff is renowned for its strength; a century-grade specimen can hunt down thousand-year soul beasts, and a thousand-year specimen can rival those of ten thousand years! It was precisely because of this that Lu Yu judged the beast to be of century-grade cultivation. Had it been a thousand-year-grade beast, he would have been severely wounded during their very first exchange.

To describe this Golden-haired Lion Mastiff, Lu Yu could only think of two words: Perfect! A perfect first soul ring!

The Golden-haired Lion Mastiff is naturally belligerent; even when facing powerful enemies, it will fight to the death. Seeing Lu Yu take the initiative, it charged at him without a moment’s hesitation.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Man and beast collided repeatedly. Lu Yu kept being forced back, yet the excitement in his eyes grew ever more intense. Compared to their first clash, the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff had now activated its "Dominator Domain," causing its strength to skyrocket, and Lu Yu could no longer easily gain the upper hand. But the stronger this beast was, the more powerful the skills its soul ring would provide!

"Bang!"

Another collision occurred. Lu Yu staggered back a dozen steps, the golden light enveloping his right arm dissipated, and his palm trembled slightly.

"My physical strength, bolstered by the Golden Light Incantation, should barely be able to contend with a Soul Grandmaster, but the strength of this Golden-haired Lion Mastiff clearly far exceeds that!"

Having gained a better understanding of his own strength, Lu Yu stopped engaging in head-on collisions. Instead, he began to dart and weave through the forest, dodging the beast's attacks while continuously conjuring and firing off various talismans.

Consequently, the forest flickered with flashes of fire, bursts of lightning, and sudden, sharp drops in temperature. These attacks caused little damage to the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff, but Lu Yu’s angles were extremely crafty, targeting its eyes and underbelly, which annoyed the beast and made it increasingly irritable.

As he maneuvered, Lu Yu cast a Ding-Fire Talisman. The flames surged with immense momentum, sweeping toward the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff. Watching the beast charge out of the fire with only its fur slightly scorched, Lu Yu frowned and thought to himself, "Standard attack talismans, without the infusion of soul power, cannot inflict damage even when hitting its vital points..."

Lu Yu’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. A new talisman materialized by his side and shot toward the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff!

"Crackle... Crash!"

Brilliant lightning illuminated the woods as a bolt as thick as an arm slammed into the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff!

Five-Thunder Talisman!

"ROAR!"

The Golden-haired Lion Mastiff let out a furious growl. The Dominator Domain beneath its feet trembled, and black runes merged into its body. As the lightning faded, a large crater remained in the ground. Watching the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff—its fur scorched but suffering no fatal wounds, only becoming more ferocious and charging forward—Lu Yu narrowed his eyes and pondered while dodging.

"Damn it! If it didn't have this ridiculous domain, it would have been heavily wounded!"

Lu Yu cursed inwardly. The energy consumption from using his soul power to trigger the Five-Thunder Talisman was immense; he had to end this quickly! With this thought, Lu Yu waved his hand, and three Tiangang Talismans materialized and descended upon him!

The next moment, Lu Yu’s aura climbed steadily, and the golden light on his body became even more brilliant, nearly solidifying.

"Come on!"

Lu Yu let out a long roar and, instead of dodging, charged straight at the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff!

"Bang!"

Fist met claw! Lu Yu retreated half a step, while the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff was forced back repeatedly. As Lu Yu went all out, the situation instantly reversed!

Another talisman materialized and fell upon him, instantly restoring the Qi he had nearly exhausted. The fatigue and muscle soreness from the prolonged battle vanished.

Heaven and Earth Divine Talisman!

The Heaven and Earth Divine Talisman could instantly restore one's physical state, heal minor injuries, and alleviate severe ones—its effects were truly monstrous. However, conjuring it consumed a massive amount of mental energy. Even with Lu Yu’s mental capacity, which rivaled that of a Soul Saint, he could not conjure it repeatedly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

The two clashed again, causing the weaker soul beasts nearby to flee in terror.

"Crackle..."

A thick bolt of lightning descended. Taking advantage of the moment the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff was stunned by the Five-Thunder Talisman, Lu Yu lunged forward and smashed his fist into its head.

"Bang!"

The beast’s head made intimate contact with the ground. Lu Yu did not let up. He conjured the Five-Warrior Talisman upon himself, his strength surging once more, and he hammered down with blow after blow.

Although the Five-Thunder Talisman hadn't dealt a fatal blow, it had paralyzed the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff for an instant, and Lu Yu would not let such an opportunity slip.

"ROAR!!!"

The Golden-haired Lion Mastiff roared, and the domain at its feet rapidly contracted, merging into its body. Lu Yu’s expression shifted slightly, and he retreated rapidly.

The next moment...

"BOOM!!"

The Golden-haired Lion Mastiff’s claws landed where Lu Yu had been standing, the terrifying force shattering the earth. Seeing the beast bleeding from its seven orifices but experiencing a surge in combat power, Lu Yu knew this was its final desperate struggle!

Facing this last-ditch effort, Lu Yu could only choose to avoid the brunt of its power and returned to his harassment tactics.

"Truly worthy of being called the ancestor of canine and feline soul beasts!"

"It is this powerful despite only having century-grade cultivation!"

"Fortunately, it was I who encountered it; otherwise, it wouldn't be long before the authorities of the Soul Hunting Forest took notice!"

"If that happened, a top-tier century-grade soul ring like this would never fall into the hands of a commoner without a background like me!"

Thinking this, Lu Yu became even more determined. However, the effect of the Tiangang Talismans could only last for ten minutes; beyond that time, his body would be unable to bear the strain. As time passed and the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff showed no signs of weakening, a ruthless glint flashed in Lu Yu’s eyes.

"To think I'd have to risk my life just to obtain a first soul ring!"

With a low curse, Lu Yu suddenly turned around. He stopped dodging and lunged toward the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff. At the same time, a talisman materialized and landed on him.

Lu Yu was instantly enveloped in six layers of silvery-white light shields.

Six-Ding Heaven-Armor Talisman!

"Bang!"

Relying on the protection of the Six-Ding Heaven-Armor Talisman, Lu Yu met the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff head-on, then used the momentum to pivot in mid-air, slamming his elbow into the beast's head!

Simultaneously, a talisman materialized above them and transformed into a blurred phantom.

Then, the phantom raised its hand and pressed down—a massive palm descended!