Xiahou Que kept pushing forward in the darkness, staggering like a madman. He fell to the ground from time to time, biting into the dirt, but he didn't care and continued running.
He didn't know how long he had been running before he fell to the ground again. By then, he was completely exhausted, gasping for breath and unable to stand.
Just then, he heard a contemptuous woman's voice from the side: "A coward is a coward. Even if you activate the Demon Pattern, it doesn't change your nature."
Xiahou Que had just been utterly defeated by Wang Yan, and the word "coward" struck a nerve. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt
Furious, Xiahou Que yelled, "Who is it? Come out here!"
He looked up in the direction of the voice as he spoke.
Yet, as soon as he lifted his head, a shadow flashed before him, and in a daze, he saw someone standing in front of him.
Then that person swung their hand, with a "slap" sound, hit Xiahou Que's face, echoing loudly in the distance.
Xiahou Que was stunned by the slap, his face burning with pain. He looked carefully.
Before him stood a youthful girl with a lovely face and a voluptuous figure, heavily made-up, her lips fiery red. Her upper body wore a revealing leather strap top, and her lower body was in a very short leather skirt, showing off her long, smooth legs, wearing high-heeled shoes with sharp heels that shone like daggers.
Xiahou Que recognized this girl; he had seen her in the Black Dragon Association.
This girl was none other than Catwoman Xiaojie.
After slapping Xiahou Que, Catwoman Xiaojie said coldly, "I slapped you because you disrespected me. Now follow me, Lord Black Dragon wants to see you."
Hearing the name of Lord Black Dragon, Xiahou Que shuddered, instantly sobering up.
Seeing Catwoman Xiaojie turn and leave, Xiahou Que quickly got up from the ground and followed closely behind her.
However, looking at Catwoman Xiaojie's slender waist and perky hips, Xiahou Que gritted his teeth in hatred and thought, "How dare you hit me, one day I'll get my revenge."
Catwoman Xiaojie had already led Xiahou Que into the castle.
Lord Black Dragon sat on a high chair within the castle, his face expressionless.
Xiahou Que quickly knelt before Lord Black Dragon, pleading, "Lord Black Dragon, spare me. I know I was wrong. Please give me another chance."
Lord Black Dragon said, "It's normal to lose if you're not as skilled, but you lost so disgracefully, completely tarnishing the Black Dragon Association's reputation."
Seeing Lord Black Dragon angry, Xiahou Que lay on the ground, trembling, continuously begging for forgiveness but his words were slurred.
Lord Black Dragon snorted coldly and said, "Enough, since it's your first time, I'll forgive you, but next time, I won't let you off easily."
Hearing this, Xiahou Que hastily kowtowed, his forehead thumping against the ground, even drawing blood from his forehead.
Lord Black Dragon said, "Wang Yan's victory is only because he has a Magic Skill. Just a Demon Master with Soul Star, an Orange Star, indeed a stroke of luck. But my Black Dragon Association never lacks Soul Beasts. Xiahou Que, today I will grant you your First Soul Skill, and this First Soul Star will also be a Master Tier Orange."
Kneeling on the ground, Xiahou Que was overjoyed, he hurriedly lifted his head, blood flowing down his forehead, yet a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.
Catwoman Xiaojie's face turned cold and she showed a look of jealousy upon hearing this.
Lord Black Dragon stood up and began to walk to the back of the Black Dragon Association, Xiahou Que immediately followed.
Following Lord Black Dragon, Xiahou Que passed through numerous dark corridors of Black Dragon Castle, finally arriving at a thick iron door deep within the castle.
The iron door was as tall as ten people and as wide as three. Outside, it was covered with rust and spider webs filled the gaps between the door and frame, indicating it hadn't been opened for a long time.
Standing outside, Lord Black Dragon spoke solemnly to the iron door: "Open up! Your master has arrived!"
With Lord Black Dragon's words, the giant iron door suddenly creaked open, slowly inwards.
As the door opened, countless dust fell from it, and the creaking sound became more piercing, clearly it hadn't been opened for ages, rusting shut.
As the door opened, Xiahou Que's eyes widened, for what he thought was just a tall, wide iron door turned out to be even thicker than its height.
What kind of iron door was this? It was a giant iron block placed there.
A rough estimate suggested it weighed at least ten thousand pounds, leaving him wondering who could open such a door.
Seeing Xiahou Que's surprise, Lord Black Dragon, accustomed to this, said softly, "This is the highest secret of the Black Dragon Association. You must not reveal a word of what you see today, do you understand?"
Hearing Lord Black Dragon's icy voice, Xiahou Que immediately tensed and respectfully said, "I understand, my lord."
With the door opening further, the two of them entered, though it was a door frame, it was like a bridge entrance. They walked a dozen steps to reach the other side.
Past the "door frame," Xiahou Que first poked his head out, looking inward.
But suddenly, Xiahou Que was startled.
He saw a black bear standing behind the iron door.
The black bear stood upright like a human, about one and a half times a human's height, covered in black, sturdy bristles, looking like a black iron tower.
As Xiahou Que saw the black bear, it too saw him.
Its eyes glinted fiercely, and it suddenly roared, swinging its paw towards Xiahou Que.
Xiahou Que was terrified, hurriedly lifting both arms, unleashing his entire Demon Pattern power, a black spider appearing above him, using this power to brace against the black bear.
A "boom" sound was heard as the black bear's giant paw struck Xiahou Que, sending him flying like a ragdoll. He crashed into a distant wall and then fell to the ground.
The black bear pounced forward, its large body descending on Xiahou Que.
Xiahou Que rolled over on the ground, sat up, and using both hands and feet, quickly turned around to flee.
But as he turned, he collided with something hard and icy cold.
Looking up, Xiahou Que saw a gigantic python coiled before him; what he had collided with was the python's thick, trunk-like body.
With the black bear behind and a python ahead, Xiahou Que was petrified.
At this moment, he also realized he was inside a dim room filled with dozens of iron cages, each housing a Demon Beast, all grinning wickedly at him.
"Lord Black Dragon, spare me—" Xiahou Que's first thought was that Lord Black Dragon intended to kill him, so he quickly begged for mercy aloud.
Raising a hand, Lord Black Dragon stopped the black bear and giant snake, then said, "Choose a Demon Beast from the cages, slay it to claim its soul, and I will bestow upon you the First Soul Skill—"