Chapter 21: Royal Decree: Arise!

A Tiger Demon Cat emerged from the jungle, carrying a deer in its mouth. With a few jumps through the forest, it arrived at a tree and began meticulously tearing apart the deer's corpse.

After a while, the Tiger Demon Cat, satisfied after its meal, leaped down from the tree. It roamed the forest for a while, circled around, and not detecting any other creatures tracking it, suddenly darted into the bushes, running at an incredible speed.

With its dark skin, the terrifying speed turned it into a ghostly shadow. In no time, it returned to its lair.

Shaking off the dewdrops on its fur, the Tiger Demon Cat comfortably settled into its nest and began to doze off. Its breath went from shallow to deep, gradually becoming heavy.

[Second Soul Skill: Stellar Falling Strike!]

Suddenly, during the Tiger Demon Cat's slumber, a streak of starlight plummeted from the sky, hitting near the cat. Unable to dodge, the cat was forcefully pushed back. It arched its back, intending to adjust its posture to counterattack, but its body suddenly stiffened. A dizziness rendered it powerless to resist.

[Second Soul Skill: Blood Spear Thrust!]

The attack of the blood-red lance came as promised, piercing through the Tiger Demon Cat's abdomen.

The cat howled in pain. Its exceptional speed, its forte, seemed useless now. It could only let others besiege and kill it.

[Third Soul Skill: Scorpion Poison Mist!]

In the next instant, a large amount of poisonous mist sprayed out not far from it, shrouding the Tiger Demon Cat.

Seven figures emerged from the bushes; it was Dai Chong and the others!

They had been tracking this Tiger Demon Cat for three days, already familiar with its habits. Today, as the cat went out foraging, they infiltrated its lair, lying in wait for its return!

The poison mist rapidly corroded the Tiger Demon Cat's body. It writhed in pain, about to roar, when suddenly, golden light illuminated the entire lair. Dai Chong, covered in dazzling radiance, descended from the sky, ruthlessly stomping on the cat's head, instantly silencing it.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

Dai Chong's fists struck relentlessly, and the power was unleashed on the Tiger Demon Cat's body.

With the fourth soul skill and the support of auxiliary soul skills, Dai Chong's punches were not much weaker than a power-type soul beast. In just a few breaths, the Tiger Demon Cat was heavily wounded, lying on the ground on the brink of death.

"Sixth, hurry!"

Old Six rushed forward, and his claw pierced into the agile body of the Tiger Demon Cat.

"Swish!"

The sharp claws instantly pierced the cat's heart, and the vitality in its eyes rapidly faded. It never expected to die in what it considered the safest lair, and especially not without a chance to resist.

"Roar!"

A surge of unwillingness rose, and the gradually dispersing pupils suddenly erupted with a burst of brilliance. The Tiger Demon Cat roared to the sky, its mournful cries resonating through the jungle.

However, it was already at its last gasp. More than half of its body had been corroded, and its heart was shattered. There was no way for it to turn the tables.

"Bang!"

The Tiger Demon Cat fell to the ground with a resounding thud, lifeless. A vibrant purple soul ring slowly rose from its body.

"It's done!"

Dai Chong's face revealed a touch of joy. He then sighed in relief, retracting his Martial Soul, and the golden light gradually dissipated from his body.

"This time, we're lucky. No one got injured," Old Six said, shaking off the blood from his hands. His stiff face seemed like it wanted to smile, but the gruesome scar made it look terrifying.

Every hunt was a gamble, fearing that someone might get hurt or even die. Successfully taking down the Tiger Demon Cat without any casualties was indeed fortunate.

"Young man, come here! The rest is up to you!" Dai Chong waved towards the bushes, and immediately, a young man emerged.

"Thank you all for your hard work," Cheng Xiao cupped his hands and expressed his gratitude.

"It's our duty to do the job we're paid for," Dai Chong smiled, then gestured for everyone to leave. "Let's go, leave the young man alone for a while. We'll explore the surroundings to prevent any unruly soul beasts from barging in."

According to the agreement, after killing the soul beast, they couldn't watch Cheng Xiao's operations. Dai Chong naturally wouldn't let the employer feel awkward and took the initiative to leave, creating space for Cheng Xiao.

After everyone left, Cheng Xiao took a deep breath. His eyes gradually became solemn. This was his first attempt to extract shadows, and he hoped for success!

[Shadow Domain!]

Closing his eyes, an invisible domain spread out, covering an area of a hundred meters in radius. All the shadows within the domain appeared in his perception. The shadows of Dai Chong and the others swayed at the edge of the domain, tree shadows swayed with the wind, and some harmless small soul beasts were doing what they loved.

Cheng Xiao opened his eyes, and his pupils, as black as ink, seemed like an abyss without a bottom, deeply terrifying.

In that moment of opening his eyes, Cheng Xiao's entire aura underwent a drastic transformation. His whole body was surrounded by a chilly deathly aura, as if he had crawled out of the abyss of hell, yet possessed an inviolable majesty.

"Arise!"

A deep voice echoed, containing absolute authority, as if it were the will of a deity, making it difficult for any undead to resist.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Countless tentacle-like dark shadows rose from the Tiger Demon Cat, as if something would be born from its corpse in the next moment.

"Resist, huh?"

Cheng Xiao sensed a resistance, feeling a hint of difficulty.

This was a Tiger Demon Cat of about 2500 years. Its strength was enough to rival some weaker Soul Masters. Cheng Xiao, at the age of twenty, was only at the 20th level, without even a soul ring. He was still just a Soul Master, and his Martial Soul hadn't been completely released. It was easy to understand why there was resistance.

"Arise!"

Cheng Xiao uttered the Soul Curse again, the sternness in his voice carrying the anger of a sovereign, causing all the shadows within the domain to tremble. It seemed like they were afraid of the wrath of the sovereign.

"Buzz!"

The undead spirit of the Tiger Demon Cat seemed to be deterred. The emotion of resistance seemed to melt away instantly.

The shadows became even denser, emerging from the Tiger Demon Cat's body. A soul beast exactly like the Tiger Demon Cat appeared in front of Cheng Xiao, but its entire body was like a ghostly shadow, exuding a deathly silence.

"Roar!"

The Tiger Demon Cat roared, announcing its return to the forest. With the Tiger Demon Cat at the center, the forest rustled, startling a group of birds.

But in the next moment, the dominant Tiger Demon Cat bowed down at Cheng Xiao's feet. It turned into a harmless little cat, flipping over to expose its belly to Cheng Xiao, spitting out its tongue with barbed hooks to show submission. It was a cat's nature.

"It's a success!"

Seeing this scene, a relaxed smile appeared on Cheng Xiao's stern face.

On the other side, hearing the roar of the Tiger Demon Cat, Dai Chong suddenly raised his head, looking towards Cheng Xiao's direction with a terrified expression.

"Something's wrong! Trouble!"