"Rise," Su Bai said calmly.
Although they were all hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, the dragon-headed soul beast seemed pathetically weak in Su Bai's perception.
"Thank you, Ancestor..." the dragon-headed soul beast said, trembling as it stood up.
All twelve soul beasts were silent, watching Su Bai.
"What? Isn't this a roundtable meeting? Now that I'm here, you're not going to continue?" Su Bai smiled as he approached the dragon-headed soul beast.
The dragon-headed soul beast immediately vacated its seat.
"Please, Ancestor, take a seat."
Su Bai nodded and sat down without hesitation.
The pig-headed soul beast looked at Su Bai and said, "We wonder what brings you here, Senior? We were merely discussing territory issues to avoid future conflicts."
Su Bai replied, "Then go ahead and discuss. I won't disturb you."
Su Bai's stance was clear: he wanted to hear the outcome of their discussion.
The pig-headed soul beast was speechless.
"Senior, this is a matter for us twelve soul beasts. If you have no business here, please leave immediately, or else..." A voice came from another soul beast.
Su Bai looked up and saw it was the tiger-headed soul beast.
The tiger-headed soul beast stared back at Su Bai, undeterred.
"Or else what? Go on," Su Bai said with a slight smile.
At this moment, Su Bai seemed harmless, but only the dragon-headed soul beast could sense the ancient dragon's power within him.
However, with Su Bai present, it couldn't interrupt.
"Roar..."
The tiger-headed soul beast roared, its voice echoing through the forest.
Countless birds were startled and flew out of the forest.
"Or else, you will die."
The tiger-headed soul beast's strength was among the top in the group of twelve, so no soul beast thought it was boasting.
But in the next second, a bolt of lightning, thicker than the tiger-headed soul beast's body, struck from the sky.
"Crackle!"
The lightning hit the tiger-headed soul beast, and the smell of charred flesh filled the air.
The other eleven soul beasts' eyes widened.
"Ahhh!"
The tiger-headed soul beast barely had time to speak before collapsing.
Its body uncontrollably reverted to its original form—a giant tiger.
"How... how is this possible..."
Weak moans escaped the tiger soul beast's mouth as it looked at Su Bai in disbelief. The sudden lightning strike had shattered its human form.
"I am a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Who are you..." The tiger soul beast's fur stood on end, watching Su Bai warily.
Su Bai smiled. "Who I am doesn't matter. You don't need to care about me."
The tiger soul beast gritted its teeth. "Now that the leader is dead and a strange soul beast like you has appeared..."
"I must have been careless just now. If I use my full power in my true form, I can surely defeat you!"
The tiger soul beast roared and leaped at Su Bai.
"Black Tiger Heart Strike!"
Its claws turned black, exuding a terrifying power.
All the soul beasts took a step back.
None of them intervened. They wanted to see how strong Su Bai really was.
If Su Bai was weak, then being killed by the tiger soul beast would be deserved. If he was strong, they could allocate the deceased tiger soul beast's territory to Su Bai.
This was their mindset.
Up until now, they all thought Su Bai was here to claim part of the Sunset Forest territory.
Su Bai saw the confident look on the tiger soul beast's face, knowing this was its best skill.
So he stood still, even exposing his chest and patting it, "Come, hit me right here."
The tiger soul beast saw Su Bai's relaxed demeanor and suddenly felt a pang of fear.
It was afraid Su Bai might summon lightning again to strike it.
However, as it got closer to Su Bai, it realized Su Bai wasn't moving at all.
"Dare to underestimate me?" The tiger soul beast's anger flared, and its power increased.
But when its claws struck Su Bai's chest.
The tiger soul beast felt as if it had hit a steel wall.
The black claws that could shred a heart couldn't harm Su Bai in the slightest.
The other soul beasts saw this too.
The rabbit-headed soul beast touched its heart.
It knew it would have been seriously injured if it had taken that claw.
If it had been a sneak attack, it might have died.
But Su Bai just looked calmly at the tiger soul beast. Then, Su Bai slowly reached out and grabbed the tiger soul beast's arm.
"Let go!"
The tiger soul beast roared but found it couldn't break free from Su Bai's grip.
Su Bai turned and threw the tiger soul beast over his shoulder.
The tiger soul beast was slammed into the ground.
The impact created a deep crater.
Then Su Bai stepped on the tiger's head.
"Am I the one who should die?" Su Bai smiled at the tiger soul beast, which was now coughing up blood.
The tiger soul beast was utterly shocked by Su Bai's power.
It quickly got up and said, "No, no, I should die. How dare I challenge you... I deserve to die."
The tiger soul beast was completely subdued by Su Bai.
It realized that if Su Bai had wanted to kill it, it would have died several times over.
Su Bai released the tiger soul beast.
The tiger soul beast immediately lowered its head and returned to its position.
Now, all the soul beasts realized how powerful Su Bai was.
For a moment, none of them dared to speak.
The strongest among them, the pig-headed soul beast, spoke first. "Since no one has any objections, we welcome Senior to join our discussion."
After all, even if they disagreed, Su Bai had made it clear he wasn't leaving.
So the pig-headed soul beast had no choice but to say this.
As for the other soul beasts, the last one who disagreed had already been subdued.
Naturally, no one objected.
Seeing the soul beasts accept his presence, Su Bai smiled and greeted them.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's discuss the division of the Sunset Forest."
The pig-headed soul beast took out a map of the Sunset Forest, mimicking human behavior.
The map clearly marked each area of the Sunset Forest.
"First, we need to discuss the core area previously occupied by the leader, which is now unclaimed. Does anyone have any thoughts?"
At this moment, Su Bai raised his hand. "Ah, sorry, but I want that area."
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POWER STONE!!!!
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek.
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