Seeing Chu Tianxiu return, Er Ming noticed his significantly stronger aura immediately. Overjoyed, the giant ape charged forward, swinging its arm in their familiar greeting. Chu Tianxiu, wanting to test his newly enhanced strength, met the blow with one of his own, the impact creating a sonic boom that tore up swathes of grass around them.
After several exchanges, Chu Tianxiu began to falter. Contending with a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in pure physical strength for so long was a feat most could never boast of. He staggered back a few steps, rubbing his aching arm. Seeing his condition, Er Ming reluctantly lowered its arm, a look of clear concern in its large eyes.
Just then, the lake's surface rippled, and Da Ming's colossal form emerged. Chu Tianxiu knew the Azure Bull Python rarely appeared without reason. He walked to the lakeside. "Da Ming, what can I do for you?"
Da Ming's massive bull head inclined slightly. "Tianxiu, there is a matter I hope you can assist with."
Chu Tianxiu patted Da Ming's serpentine body reassuringly. "If it is within my power, just name it."
Da Ming seemed relieved by his willingness. "In the depths of this forest," he began, his voice a low rumble, "lurks a soul beast known as the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. It was once an ordinary White Tiger, but it was corrupted by a fragment of an evil god's power. It has grown incredibly strong and malicious, constantly preying on the other soul beasts of the forest, spreading fear and discord."
Chu Tianxiu immediately knew the beast. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was a notorious existence in the original story, a true outlier in power. 'Its inner core is the key,' he thought.
"But surely it's no match for you and Er Ming?" Chu Tianxiu asked, voicing his confusion.
Da Ming's sigh seemed to stir the water. "We attempted to deal with it. But I cannot easily leave this lake; my absence would cause widespread panic among the forest's inhabitants. So Er Ming has been the one to confront it. But that beast is cunning, and you know Er Ming's nature... It relies on brute strength. Every time, the tiger simply escapes, and Er Ming returns frustrated and empty-handed."
Chu Tianxiu readily accepted the task. "I will help. But I request that Er Ming accompany me."
Er Ming, who had been idly drawing in the dirt, sprang to its feet upon hearing it could finally confront the creature that had repeatedly eluded and embarrassed it. It carefully picked up Chu Tianxiu, placed him on its shoulder, and bounded off into the forest with ground-shaking strides. Behind them, the Azure Bull Python sank silently back into the depths of its lake.
Perched on the Titan Giant Ape's shoulder, Chu Tianxiu laid out the plan. "Er Ming, you engage it head-on. I will flank it and cut off its escape. This time, we won't let it slip away."
The Titan Giant Ape nodded, a grim determination in its eyes. It knew it was stronger, but the tiger was infuriatingly slippery.
At that very moment, the subject of their hunt was finishing its meal. The tiger-shaped soul beast was entirely gray with darker stripes. Unlike any ordinary tiger, it possessed wings on its back and a venomous-looking scorpion tail. A dark, king-shaped stripe on its forehead gave it a supremely imposing and malevolent aura.
Without warning, a colossal fist the size of a small house came crashing down from above. The tiger spread its wings and dodged with preternatural speed, leaving the patch of ground it had occupied shattered into rubble.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger recognized its old foe, the Titan Giant Ape. It knew it couldn't win a direct fight against the stupid monkey, but it held the creature's simplistic mind in contempt. As usual, it shot the ape a look of pure mockery and prepared to take flight.
But the next moment, three chains flashing with different elemental auras shot out from the forest behind it, expertly binding three of its legs. As the tiger struggled against the chains, the Titan Giant Ape seized the golden opportunity. It leaped high into the air and brought both its massive arms down upon the tiger, slamming it out of the sky and onto the ground with earth-shattering force.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger tumbled head over heels before struggling to its feet, its condition visibly weakened. Taking a full-force blow from the Titan Giant Ape and surviving was a testament to its monstrous durability.
Chu Tianxiu's figure emerged from the forest shadows. Only then did the tiger realize the source of the chains. Before it could react, ten more figures sprang from the surrounding woods, perfectly encircling it and blocking its retreat.
"Attack!" Chu Tianxiu commanded.
The ten Soul King spirits lashed out with their cold iron chains. Injured and disoriented, the tiger could only watch as the chains wrapped around its body. It struggled desperately, but the combined strength of the ten spirits and Chu Tianxiu held it fast.
Seeing no escape, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger began to gather its power. Six orbs of different elemental energies condensed around it.
"Er Ming, suppress it!" Chu Tianxiu shouted.
Er Ming leaped and landed heavily on the tiger's back, interrupting the attack. What followed was a brutal, one-sided beating.
The Titan Giant Ape Er Ming vented all its accumulated frustration on the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. The tiger's once handsome (by soul beast standards) face was swollen to three or four times its original size. Thus, the Douluo Continent version of a "Fat Tiger" was born.
Before it could recover from its dizziness, Er Ming grabbed its scorpion tail and began slamming it into the ground repeatedly, like a child throwing a tantrum with a ragdoll.
Er Ming, having been outmaneuvered so many times, was unleashing all its pent-up anger. It grew more enthusiastic with each pound, and the tiger's resistance gradually weakened. Seeing things were getting out of hand, Chu Tianxiu stepped in.
"Er Ming, that's enough."
Though having a great time, Er Ming obediently released its grip on the tail. Inertia sent the "Fat Tiger" flying, landing in a broken heap right next to Chu Tianxiu.
Chu Tianxiu approached and was taken aback. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was completely unrecognizable, its body bloated and mangled. Though it had been brutally beaten, as Chu Tianxiu ended its suffering with a precise strike from his Nine Nether Demon Chains, he thought he saw a flicker of relief and gratitude in its eyes before they dimmed forever.
Immediately after its death, Chu Tianxiu located its inner core and used a soul imprint to draw the beast's remaining soul power into it.
A soul ring, uniquely interwoven with hues of deep purple and absolute black, rose from the corpse. Chu Tianxiu began to absorb the immense soul power contained within. Once fully absorbed, he was astonished. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's soul ring possessed energy that dwarfed that of ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts, directly raising the age of his first and second spirit rings to match his new third ring's level of over 87,000 years.
His first action after absorption was to retrieve the tiger's inner core, a pulsating gray orb, from its abdomen.
As Er Ming happily hefted the "Fat Tiger's" corpse onto its shoulder and gestured for them to return, Chu Tianxiu heard a faint, rustling sound coming from a thicket in the distance.
"You go on ahead, Er Ming. I'll catch up," he said.
The Titan Giant Ape grunted in acknowledgment and loped off. Chu Tianxiu turned and hurried towards the source of the sound, his senses alert. A new mystery awaited in the depths of the Star Dou Forest.