In the forest, a fox slipped between the trees with impressive agility, dodging trunks, roots, and branches as if it knew the path as well as the pads of its own paws. Behind it, the ground trembled with each step of a colossal rhinoceros, whose skin seemed to be covered in a thick layer of metal. The contrast between them was obvious. Where the fox moved with extreme agility and precision, the rhinoceros charged blindly, destroying everything in its path as if it were made of paper.
Each of its steps left deep marks in the ground, and the trees it struck split with cracks that echoed for hundreds of meters. Its tremors even scared nearby soul beasts, as if nature itself submitted to its advance. It stood over four meters tall, and its speed was terrifying for a creature of such size and weight. However, it was not enough to catch the elusive fox.
This rhinoceros was no ordinary soul beast. It was an Iron Devouring Rhinoceros, a beast with over 3,000 years of cultivation. Soul beasts like this possess the earth attribute and typically inhabit mineral-rich sedimentary zones. They feed on mineralized rocks, which they refine inside themselves, and the properties of the minerals gradually coat the surface of their skin, transforming it into a natural armor of brutal resistance. So resistant, in fact, that even 10,000-year-old soul beasts rarely manage to injure them. That's why many avoid them. They're not only hard to kill, but also extremely persistent.
They are extremely territorial. Once they detect an intruder, they chase it relentlessly until it is dead or completely out of sight. And Zhen Len knew this.
That was precisely why he had deliberately entered its territory.
For years, he had continued practicing. From time to time, he trained the Tang Sect techniques, but most of the time he spent using Fire Elemental Meditation. Day after day, without interruption, repeating the same routine. Meditating, occasionally hunting nearby beasts, or receiving the occasional delivery from his siblings. Although his progress was steady and consistent, he was beginning to feel the effects of monotony. He knew that if he continued like that, he would eventually lose his sanity.
What he regretted most before dying a second time was never having found a mate, not because he couldn't, but because he didn't know if there were any human women nearby, and if there were, it would be dangerous to get involved, being a soul beast. Besides, his aesthetic preferences still adhered to memories from past lives, and he didn't think that would change. Therefore, the only conclusion he came to was that he needed a change of environment.
So he decided to explore a direction in the forest, a zone where soul beasts were more powerful. He hoped to find some interesting herb with good properties to use or give to one of his siblings. He didn't plan to face any soul beasts, so he avoided them most of the time. But if something interesting came up, he didn't mind confronting it.
That was when he saw it.
He recognized the beast immediately. The Iron Devouring Rhinoceros was a species that had gone extinct much faster than others because it made for an excellent defensive soul ring, and its skin became a coveted resource for blacksmiths and armor craftsmen. The mineral forming part of its skin had excellent soul power conductivity, making it a highly valuable material for forging many types of spirit tools. With such a massive body, enough material could be obtained to make several tools. He even planned to craft a storage-type spirit tool that would be very useful moving forward. When he thought of this, he couldn't stop staring at the rhinoceros and imagining all the things he could do with the minerals coating its skin.
But that wasn't all.
When he activated his Eye of Truth, he noticed something unusual. Normally, he could determine a soul beast's cultivation by the color coating each part of its body. However, the rhinoceros' horn emitted a peculiar glow, and the longer it chased him, the brighter it became.
It was likely a spiritual bone. Since Zhen Len wasn't a humanoid soul beast, he couldn't absorb it directly, so for a moment he considered saving it for when he became human. But considering how much time that would take, it was much more useful to use it to create a spirit tool that could evolve over time. Besides, he didn't want to look ridiculous with a horn on his forehead or nose when he became human. Even more so upon realizing there were two horns one massive in front, and a smaller one right behind. Deep within, he refused to even consider absorbing that spiritual bone, even if he turned human.
So for now, Zhen Len was more interested in the corpse.
But dragging a creature over four meters tall, coated in hardened mineral, and weighing several tons from a sedimentary zone through trees, hills, rivers, and rough terrain to his den was simply impossible. He didn't believe his physical strength would be enough to move a corpse of that weight and magnitude.
So he devised another plan.
He deliberately made himself seen, provoking the rhinoceros into chasing him. He would take advantage of its territorial nature and lure it dozens of kilometers to his den. When the rhinoceros stumbled, he slowed down, and when it got tired, he even waited for it to recover. By doing this, he angered it even more, increasing the peculiar glow from its horn.
The chase had already lasted more than five hours, and although the rhinoceros didn't seem willing to give up, its steps were growing slightly heavier. Zhen Len, however, didn't rush it. On the contrary, he slowed down or blatantly made himself visible whenever the soul beast seemed to falter. He didn't just want to tire it out, but also keep alive the resentment fueling its pursuit.
After another hour, he finally reached the den. His siblings were frightened by the loud sounds that seemed to get closer and closer. When they saw their invincible brother fleeing from a large soul beast, they felt great fear. But instead of running, they waited for their brother. Even if they had no chance of defeating it, they would at least buy time for their elder brother to escape.
Zhen Len, seeing his siblings running toward him, thought they had gone mad. So he used his blood core and spiritual power to immobilize them and keep them at least 100 meters away from him.
He gave them a quick glance and vaguely sensed their emotions. A mix of fear, worry, and determination. That softened him a bit, but he kept running toward the den. The Iron Devouring Rhinoceros was already very exhausted but still hadn't given up and kept chasing him.
When they were just a few dozen meters from the den, Zhen Len turned around and launched two spiritual power attacks simultaneously using the energy gathered by the Eye of Truth.
When two purple lights shot from the Eye of Truth into the rhinoceros' head, its body stumbled and slid several meters before becoming still. However, its soul ring had not yet appeared, indicating it was still alive.
Since the Eye of Truth evolved when Zhen Len reached 100 years, its spiritual attack had not only become stronger, but now he could launch three spiritual power attacks, each far more powerful if released in sequence.
He could launch all three at once, multiplying their power by about five, or just one or two. Since the rhinoceros was completely exhausted both physically and mentally, its spiritual defense was at its lowest. So using just two attacks was enough to defeat it. Had he used all three, he would've killed it instantly, but Zhen Len hated being temporarily unable to use the Eye of Truth.
He approached the Iron Devouring Rhinoceros and tried to pierce its skin with his claws, but it was useless. Not even a scratch, despite using all his strength. But seeing this, Zhen Len didn't seem disappointed instead, he smiled. He stood on two legs and used the Mysterious Jade Hand technique to reinforce his claws with fire.
But instead of the expansive fire he had used when his innate ability evolved, allowing him to extend his claws and cover his teeth with flame, he began compressing it. It went from a reddish-orange to a light blue, and then he compressed it further until it became a thin layer of blue fire coating his claws.
Without hesitation, he plunged them into the rhinoceros' forehead. Despite using all his strength, he only managed to pierce its skull slowly. Zhen Len was thankful it didn't have strong spiritual power, or it would have been very frustrating to waste so much time luring it only to be forced to flee and lead it away from its territory.
After a minute, he finally finished piercing the skull. It only took a moment to end its suffering, and a purple soul ring began to rise from the corpse. From the horn, a spiritual bone detached, shaped like the two horns but much smaller. Unlike the rhinoceros' horns—one a meter long in front and another half a meter in back—these were much, much smaller by comparison.
His siblings, who had been temporarily suppressed by him, had already returned and were shocked by the scene before them. Their elder brother had easily defeated the strongest soul beast they had ever seen since birth.
Once everything was over, Zhen Len felt more relaxed and began to think that he had never seen such a stupid soul beast. Even soul beasts give up if they see something is completely pointless. That rhinoceros should have realized it would gain nothing by chasing him, and yet it did. Although Zhen Len knew about its behavior from school, he had never truly believed they would continue chasing without rest until killing or losing sight of an intruder.
They weren't even soul beasts designed to travel long distances. The grudge it must have held toward Zhen Len was so intense he wondered if he had fucked with its mate in front of it for it to harbor such hatred.
But he just sighed and stopped worrying about it, before cutting off a piece of its skin to begin practicing blacksmithing. He also tore off chunks of meat to feed to his siblings.
Even if they were a bit dumb, at least they hadn't tried to abandon him at the first sign of danger. Still, he hoped they wouldn't become as stupid as the Iron Devouring Rhinoceros.