Chapter 2861: Chapter 2861
Ye Liuyun and his companions were still several days away from their next destination. Along the way, the White Tiger had been continuously absorbing bloodline energy, causing its divine beast aura to grow noticeably denser. Its physique had even expanded slightly, allowing it to draw in more primordial energy.
They were in no hurry this time, advancing at a leisurely pace. As they traveled, Ye Liuyun steadily channeled mystic energy into his spatial world. Meanwhile, the Divine Command Token had been incessantly absorbing the ambient energy since their arrival, as if it could never be satiated.
The Dragon Girl was also absorbing energy nonstop. The atmosphere here strengthened her draconic aura, comprehensively enhancing her power.
As they journeyed onward, a golden eagle suddenly took notice of them. The Dragon Girl, the Vermilion Bird, and other demonic beasts felt it was too dangerous to assume their true forms here, as doing so would make them conspicuous targets in the sky. Thus, they all took human form for combat.
Only the White Tiger remained in its true form, with the Scarlet Viper coiled around its neck. Yet, compared to the feral beast of this land, the White Tiger’s size seemed relatively small.
Spotting the group, the golden eagle dove straight for the White Tiger, disregarding the humans as too scrawny to be worth eating.
Although the Falcon had taken human form, its vigilance toward the skies remained sharp. It was the first to detect the approaching golden eagle from afar. Ye Liuyun’s golden pupils scanned the eagle, assessing its strength to be on par with the White Tiger’s. Confident that the White Tiger could handle the fight, he signaled for it to engage alone.
The others quickly distanced themselves, clearing the battlefield. As the golden eagle swooped down, it became clear that its target was the White Tiger.
The eagle descended rapidly, extending its sharp talons toward the White Tiger.
Waiting until the last moment, the White Tiger unleashed its bloodline pressure, roaring with a sonic attack infused with a soul-shaking wave. The startled eagle frantically flapped its wings to slow its descent.
Seizing the opportunity, the White Tiger leaped into the air, swiping its claws at the eagle.
The eagle countered by blocking with its own massive talons, resulting in a loud *boom* as the two sets of claws collided. The White Tiger twisted mid-air and landed gracefully, while the eagle was sent tumbling backward, crashing to the ground.
"Roar!"
The white tiger let out a pained roar, its paw bloodied from the earlier collision—one of its claws had actually been shattered by the golden eagle.
Seeing the eagle flap its wings, preparing to take to the skies again, the tiger leaped into the air, positioning itself above the bird. With a fierce snarl, it unleashed a barrage of golden rays, shooting toward the eagle like tangible spears. Yet, the eagle merely beat its wings, effortlessly deflecting the attack. Though the tiger’s assault prevented the eagle from gaining altitude, it failed to inflict any real damage.
“That golden eagle’s physical strength is remarkable,” the dragon maiden remarked, unable to hide her admiration.
Realizing that it and the tiger were evenly matched in power, the eagle cast a menacing glare at its opponent. Deciding against retreat, it flapped its wings, rising to the tiger’s height, and lunged with its talons extended. At the same time, it let out a piercing shriek, launching a sonic attack. However, its spiritual energy was weak, and the sound waves lacked the tiger’s devastating force. Even the tiger’s companion, the scarlet serpent coiled around its neck, remained unfazed.
Enraged at the eagle’s audacity—and humiliated that a mere bird had broken one of its claws—the tiger met the attack head-on, swiping with its other paw.
Another thunderous crash echoed, followed by an even more agonized roar from the tiger. This time, two claws snapped, sending searing pain shooting through its limb. The tiger landed unsteadily, too injured to put weight on the wounded paw.
Seeing its advantage, the eagle pressed on, talons slashing repeatedly. Hovering mid-air, it seized the tiger by the shoulder, digging deep enough to scrape bone, and lifted the massive beast off the ground.
In a desperate counterattack, the tiger twisted its head and sank its teeth into the eagle’s leg. Though resilient, the eagle couldn’t ignore the tiger’s most powerful bite. It loosened its grip slightly—just as the tiger struggled to break free.
With a sickening tear, a chunk of the tiger’s flesh and fur was ripped away. In the chaos, the eagle’s other claw lashed out, striking the tiger’s skull and leaving three deep, bone-exposing gashes across its forehead.
The White Tiger howled in agony, blood dripping from its fangs. It had bitten the golden eagle moments earlier, only to feel as though it had sunk its teeth into solid iron. While the eagle had certainly felt the sting, its skin remained unbroken—whereas the tiger’s own canine teeth had been loosened, two of them now wobbling precariously.
With its primary weapons—claws and fangs—both damaged, its innate golden radiance proving useless, and its body already wounded, the tiger quickly realized this golden eagle was no ordinary foe.
Seeing the tiger’s clear disadvantage, the eagle lunged again. It could feel its own power of bloodline fading rapidly and wrongly assumed the tiger was the cause. Eager to end the fight before its strength waned further, the eagle pressed the attack.
But the White Tiger was no novice in combat. Knowing a head-on clash was suicide, it did two things at once: it unleashed its power of bloodline to suppress the eagle’s abilities, and simultaneously launched a soul attack. Earlier, it had sensed the eagle’s spiritual defense was its weak spot—a vulnerability the tiger now aimed to exploit.
Over to the side, Scarlet Lian had only absorbed about a third of the eagle’s bloodline energy. But the tiger could wait no longer; its very life was on the line.
As expected, the golden eagle’s soul was its Achilles’ heel. In an instant, the tiger’s spiritual force overwhelmed and devoured the eagle’s consciousness—a telling sign of how fiercely beasts nowadays cultivated their soul strength.
*Thump!*
With its spirit extinguished, the eagle’s massive body tipped backward, legs twitching briefly before falling still.
Without delay, the White Tiger swallowed a drop of Life Spring Water to heal its wounds. It didn’t even bother looting the eagle’s body, simply collapsing to the ground to focus on recovery. Meanwhile, Scarlet Lian worked swiftly to absorb the remaining bloodline energy from the eagle’s corpse.
Ye Liuyun and the others gathered around, examining the eagle’s sharp talons and metallic body.
Using his Golden Pupils, Ye Liuyun scanned the creature and noted an astonishing density of metallic energy within—so concentrated that the eagle’s body resembled a solid block of gold. Its talons, in particular, seemed perfect for forging directly into weapons.
“You should refine this eagle’s body rather than eat it,” Ye Liuyun advised the tiger. “The metallic energy inside will definitely strengthen your physique.”
“You think I could even bite into it?!” the tiger snarled, baring its teeth. Only then did Ye Liuyun notice the blood around its gums—proof that the eagle’s hide had been far tougher than the tiger’s bite. A quick glance at the eagle’s hind leg confirmed it: not a single tooth mark remained.
