Chapter Seventeen: Brothers of Life and Death

  For the past seven years, Gong Sun has been constantly on He Lian's mind, although it's annoying, but also gained a lot of knowledge. The Gong Sun family is known as a knowledgeable family in the Yinyue continent, and with some secret forces under their control that have undergone special training, they have been exploring all over the world for years, and countless secrets unknown to others have been mastered by the Gong Sun family. Having such an active information library whispering in his ear every day is both a fortunate and painful thing.

  Gongsun Zhan once said that among the soul beasts, the holy beast is an existence that has transcended everything, and human power can hardly resist it. The ninth rank is almost invincible, even if a super-strong soul master of the soul lord level takes action, they must pay a terrible price to defeat it. Although the eighth and ninth ranks seem to have only one rank difference, there are actually essential differences between them. Once a soul beast advances to the ninth rank, its intelligence is almost indistinguishable from that of humans, but most soul beasts below the ninth rank still retain their racial characteristics and disadvantages.

  The giant bear in front of him was one of the weaker ones among the eight-stage soul beasts. It was weak compared to the strong, but for Helianuo, who hadn't even reached the lowest level of soul apprentice, an eight-stage soul beast was an invincible existence. According to the Gong Sun family's Tian Ge Pavilion estimates, there were only about a hundred nine-stage soul beasts left in the world of You Yue today. Each one was extremely terrifying, but fortunately, most nine-stage soul beasts lived deep within the You Yue forest and rarely appeared on the outskirts. As for eight-stage soul beasts, they were relatively more numerous, with smaller destructive power, but still not something that ordinary soul practitioners could handle.

  This Fissure Bear King is one of the most common ones among the eight-stage soul beasts, and it's also known as the Earth King. In close combat on land, there are hardly any soul beasts that dare to confront them head-on. This soul beast has incredible strength, its fur defense is astonishing, and its claws are sharp enough to cut through iron and shatter steel. For those below the Soul Emperor, it's a terrifying killing machine-like soul beast.

  Recognizing the powerful eighth-stage soul beast, Hecleonero calmed down and understood that if he messed up today, the outcome would be disastrous. Rather than fleeing in cowardice, it was better to fight to the death, and perhaps there was still a chance of survival. After all, although the Earthsplitting Bear King had terrifying strength and defense, it also had a fatal weakness - its slow movements due to its heavy body. On the other hand, his own Little Sky Wolf was one of the fastest soul beasts, and his own agility was sufficient. If he could find a way to provoke the bear, he might be able to gain the upper hand in the chaos, or at least protect Little Sky Wolf from leaving.

  He Lianuo was busy thinking of a countermeasure, but the Earthsplitting Bear King on the other side did not rush to attack. Instead, it stopped at a distance and looked directly at Xiao Tianlang with its huge yellow eyes. It was clear that Xiao Tianlang's silver fur and the powerful aura that was faintly visible made it somewhat fearful. The reason why the Earthsplitting Bear King had not been scared away was mainly because it saw Xiao Tianlang's humble and obedient appearance, which did not seem like the Heavenly Wolf it dreaded. After all, sacred beasts all have very strong self-esteem, and none of them would be like Xiao Tianlang, who was taught by He Lianuo to hide behind someone else's protection when facing an enemy!

  As he stared at the giant bear opposite him, Hekelano noticed that it was only cautiously sizing up the small Sky Wolf behind him. He realized this was his best chance to escape, knowing that if the bear reacted, neither of them would be able to get away. With a fierce cry, he suddenly shouted "Run!" and swiftly switched the dagger in his left hand to his right. With his now-free left hand, he grabbed a handful of the Sky Wolf's long fur at the back of its neck and flung it far away. Without breaking stride, he sprinted towards the bear like lightning and struck at its right eye with all his might.

  The giant bear was stunned by the sudden turn of events, and it didn't think that its seemingly weak opponent would dare to launch a surprise attack. Before it could react, Helianuo had already charged forward, and evasion was no longer an option. Just as the sharp dagger was about to pierce its eyes, the giant bear suddenly closed its eyes in a flash of inspiration. The defensive capabilities of its fur were truly astonishing, and although Helianuo's desperate attack did not miss, it only managed to scratch a small wound on the bear's eyelid without harming its eyes. Helianuo secretly lamented his underestimation of the Eight-Stage Soul Beast's ferocity. Just as he was about to retreat and look for another opportunity, a silver light flashed by on his left side. The giant bear, proud of its own cleverness, had just opened its eyes to counterattack when it saw a pair of silver claws rapidly enlarging in its pupils. This time, the bear's reaction was too slow, and Helianuo's desperate swipe ripped out the bear's yellow eyeball with one claw. The bear howled in pain and instinctively slapped its paw down, sending the silver figure flying far away. After a few convulsions on the ground, it stopped moving altogether. The giant bear, however, continued to wildly cover its lost eye with its paws, roaring incessantly.

  He Lian Nu didn't dodge the enraged giant bear, but instead rushed towards the silver figure like a madman. As he approached, he saw that Xiao Tian Lang was lying stiffly on the ground, with silver blood flowing from the corners of his mouth and eyes. The eight-stage demon beast, Lie Di Xiong Wang, had unleashed a palm strike with a force of at least 10,000 kilograms when it went berserk. If not for Xiao Tian Lang's incredible innate defense, he would have been killed instantly. Now, although he still had a breath left in him, there was no way he could escape the giant bear's revenge.

  Originally, after Helianno threw out Xiao Tianlang, Xiao Tianlang did not take the opportunity to escape, but instead ran back without hesitation to prepare for a final battle with Helianno. Just as Xiao Tianlang pounced, the giant bear opened its eyes, and its defenseless eyes could hardly withstand Xiao Tianlang's desperate swipe. However, Xiao Tianlang dodged too late and was also hit by the giant bear's random slap. This attack severely injured the giant bear, but at a great cost.

  He Lianuo walked to Xiao Tianlang's side, knelt down on one knee, and held up Xiao Tianlang's head in his arms. The blood flowing from the corner of Xiao Tianlang's mouth quickly stained He Lianuo's palms, but he didn't know how to stop the loss of his brother's life. He could only stare blankly at Xiao Tianlang, looking at this partner who had grown up bullying him but never left his side, and for the first time seeing the usually restless and energetic Xiao Tianlang lying quietly in his arms. He Lianuo wanted to say something, but felt something blocking his throat, also blocking his breath...

  Perhaps this is an emotion I never experienced in my past life...

  This feeling is called brotherhood!

  Seeing Helianthus choke back tears and almost unable to speak, Xiao Tianlang struggled to force a smile, as if trying to tell his partner that he was fine, but his injuries were too severe, so severe that even such a simple action didn't have the energy to complete.

  The giant bear beside him had stopped its rampage, and with only one eye left, it finally saw the culprit who had scratched out his eyes not far away. With a loud roar, the bloody empty eye socket looked particularly hollow and terrifying under the moonlight. As the giant bear took step by step towards them, Little Tianlang struggled to lift up his front paws and pushed against Helian's chest. His wolf eyes, which had become dull due to excessive blood loss, still stared at Helian with great effort, as if trying to remember his partner's appearance, or urging him to leave quickly. Helian gently removed Little Tianlang's paw from his chest, smiled helplessly, and said: "Old buddy, do you want me to abandon you and escape? Not only do I not have the chance to escape, but even if I did, I would come back with you and die together. I won't leave you behind, my friend. Do you remember when we were young and fought over milk? From then on, our fates were tied together, and no one can separate us, not even death!" After speaking, he hugged Little Tianlang tightly again. Little Tianlang stopped urging Helian to leave and slowly closed his eyes, quietly resting his head in Helian's arms.

  In an instant, the giant bear finally approached, this time without any hesitation, opening its huge mouth and letting out a loud roar as it pounced forward. Helianuo gazed despairingly at the massive yellow-brown body that was about to crush him, smiled wistfully, and raised his head to look in the direction where Youyue was...

  There, Nan Huang Yue's figure stood elegantly, smiling as she gazed at herself. He Lian Nu returned a smile, slowly closing her eyes.

  A severe pain struck, as if something was being torn out of one's own body, was it the soul?

  Everything seems to be ending like this...

  Suddenly, in the distance, a mountain ridge, a place where a wolf howls echoed through the clouds...