"To be honest, we are from the Holy Light Treasure Hunting Team. My name is Ou Chen, and this is my partner Chen Xue." Ou Chen said breathlessly.
"The Holy Light Treasure Hunting Team? Are you from the inner city?"
"A single eighth-tier beast managed to defeat your Inner City Treasure Hunting Team like this?" Han Chengyong asked in disbelief.
Only Inner City Treasure Hunting Teams are eligible for independent naming, and their strength is exceptionally powerful. Moreover, those two battered beasts were clearly eighth-tier in power—how could they be driven into retreat by a Magic Eye Beast?
Ou Chen noticed the confusion in everyone's eyes, hesitated for a moment, and said, It's not an ordinary eighth-tier beast. I estimate it's already at the peak of the upper eighth tier, and this Magic Eye Beast is a mutated one. Look at the faint purple ring around its pupils."
Han Chengyong and the others were instantly startled. The peak of the upper eighth tier! And it had mutated. Judging from the aura it emitted, it had clearly mutated in a positive direction, meaning it was almost at the ninth tier.
"So your team is now down to just the two of you?" Han Chengyong snapped back to reality and asked.
Ou Chen sighed wryly and said, "We were the rear guard stationed at the outer perimeter. The main force was deep within the spacetime fissure. It should have been an easy assignment, but suddenly a swarm of strange insects appeared and scattered the five of us. If not for that, we wouldn't have ended up in this predicament."
"A strange swarm of insects! It's a carrion-eating insect swarm!" Han Chengyong exclaimed.
Su Heng, who was behind him, clenched his fists tightly upon hearing this. It was these damn things that killed his most beloved beast. Damn it.
"A carrion-eating insect swarm? Do you recognize it?" Ou Chen was startled.
"To be honest, we encountered them too, and lost a powerful exotic beast. They're terrifying—something we could never defeat," Han Chengyong said, frowning.
With a loud boom,
the Magic Eye Beast was grabbed and flung away by the Shadow Moon Dog, crashing into dozens of trees before coming to a stop. The force was immense.
Ou Chen was also startled by the commotion and hurriedly looked over, exclaiming in shock, "That's a ninth-tier beast, the Liu Ying Huan Yue Dog! Goodness gracious! You outer city dwellers actually have such powerful individuals!"
Han Chengyong was also startled. Zhou Ran's Liu Ying Huan Yue Dog was simply too powerful. If defeating the Zhi Wang Beast was merely a stroke of luck from swallowing that blood pearl, then this was purely a matter of strength.
"Um... no, he's an external reinforcement we hired," Han Chengyong explained.
"Too powerful..." Ou Chen's expression changed slightly. He took a deep breath and hesitantly said, "One of my team members, a Six-Tailed Spirit Fox, was separated from the group during the earlier attack by the carrion beetle swarm. Could you help us find it?"
Han Chengyong and the others heard this and looked disbelieving. "You, the high-and-mighty treasure-hunting team from the inner city, were saved by us from the outer city, yet you're still not satisfied? You actually want us to help you find a beast? What a big deal!"
Zhou Ran also sneered upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "Hmph! The inner city isn't so great after all."
Seeing Zhou Ran and the others' gloomy expressions, Ou Chen hurriedly added, "Once we find it, we will definitely compensate you. All the exotic beasts and equipment you lost during this treasure hunt will be fully reimbursed, and there will be additional compensation. I swear on my brother Ou Hao's name—there is no falsehood in my words!"
"Ou Hao!" Han Chengyong was about to refuse when he was startled, "You're Ou Hao's younger brother?"
The team members and Su Heng beside him were also very surprised. They were very familiar with this name.
"Ou Hao, who is rumored to have become an eight-star beast tamer at the age of twenty-five!" Su Heng shouted.
Zhou Ran beside him was a little confused. Ou Hao? Who is that? Is he that powerful...
"That's right! I hope you'll seriously consider this," Ou Chen said earnestly.
Han Chengyong's expression changed constantly. As the wounds on the Magic Eye Beast grew more numerous, and his own beasts, led by the Shadow Moon Dog, grew increasingly fierce, he felt that defeating the Magic Eye Beast was only a matter of time. However, completely killing it would be difficult.
After all, this type of beast belonged to the Ghost-type, with extremely strong survival abilities.
Han Chengyong and the others gathered around Zhou Ran and whispered, "What do you think? Should we help him?"
"Why should we help him? Who is this Ou Hao?" Zhou Ran asked.
"...
"What the hell! You don't even know Ou Hao? Are you even from Xuan Zhong City?"
"He's the most prominent young talent in Xuan Zhong City's martial arts scene in recent years. At just 25 years old, he's already broken through to become an Eight-Star Beast Tamer. He's a prodigy!" Li Feng hurriedly explained.
"So he's that powerful? Does that mean he's also very wealthy?" Zhou Ran's eyes lit up suddenly as he spoke.
"Of course. The Ou family is extremely wealthy. Mr. Lin can make a fortune off of them." Jiang Yuxi laughed, fully understanding this little money-grabber's mindset.
"Then it's settled. Help! We'll definitely help!" Zhou Ran laughed.
Everyone felt a bit embarrassed. Dealing with Zhou Ran, money was indeed the most important thing.
"Cough cough, Mr. Ou, we'll help you with this favor," Han Chengyong patted his chest and said.
Being able to reimburse all the expenses of this treasure hunt and the dead beasts was simply fantastic. Wang Tao, who had been frowning earlier, gradually began to smile.
At that moment, the blood-red eyes of the Demon Eye Beast suddenly emitted a blinding light, as if it were about to unleash a powerful attack.
Ou Chen was about to relax when his expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "Trouble! The Demon Eye Beast is about to use Soul Shatter!"
Han Chengyong and the others' expressions changed instantly. Ghost-type beasts excel at mental attacks, and this Soul Shatter technique is an enhanced version of mental attacks, capable of directly shaking the soul.
Zhou Ran also froze, recalling how he had been tortured to the brink of death by that terrifying half-dragon creature, causing his hair to stand on end and his body to tremble.
"Back up quickly!" Zhou Ran shouted, signaling everyone to move away from the attack range.
Zhou Ran didn't want to endure that kind of pain again, so he ran off without hesitation. The others followed suit, scattering in all directions.
Hum!
Even though he was far away, Zhou Ran was still partially affected, feeling as though his head had been struck by a heavy hammer, leaving him dizzy. Fortunately, he was mentally prepared and quickly regained his senses.
"Huh? It doesn't seem that bad. Could it be that I've become immune after that ordeal last time…" Zhou Ran muttered in confusion.
Others weren't so lucky. They clutched their heads and frantically pounded the ground, in extreme pain. A few even fainted on the spot.
The beasts let out a wild roar before falling into a stupor. The direct impact of the soul shock made them feel as though their souls had left their bodies. Fortunately, they were all seventh- or eighth-tier beasts; otherwise, they would have bled from their seven orifices and died in agony.
Swish, swish, swish!
Several dark purple beams suddenly shot out. After being hit by the soul shock, they all moved extremely slowly, their minds foggy, unable to dodge. But at that moment, the Liu Ying Huan Yue Dog suddenly snapped out of it.