Song Junhou's combat experience was indeed considerable. With the Winged Tigers closing in, he knew that further trouble was brewing.
Even facing a single Winged Tiger King was already a formidable task, as it was a ninth-order powerhouse while he was only at the eighth. Only by leveraging his golden bloodline could he narrow this gap. However, the prior exertion had taken a considerable toll, and with so many Winged Tigers around—four of them at the eighth order and the rest at the seventh… it would be like ants overpowering an elephant, except he was no elephant and they were no ants.
He had to flee and he had to flee now.
In an instant, he made his decision. Continuing the fight would lead to certain death. Escape was the only viable option.
A fierce golden light suddenly burst forth, and the golden lion silhouette emerged again.
With its appearance, the Winged Tiger King's attacks were slightly weakened. In the next moment, Song Junhou erupted into action!
His body suddenly enlarged, and the golden silhouette behind him merged with him directly. The surrounding air shimmered with faint golden light, and even the sky itself brightened, now adorned with a golden glow.
As he observed from a distance, Tang San felt a unique power awakening in the world around him. A power far surpassing the Winged Tiger King and Song Junhou suddenly surged.
In the distant sky, a golden lion's head slowly emerged. The colossal golden lion's head, spanning hundreds of meters, appeared, and at that moment, all the Winged Tigers present subconsciously felt their legs go weak as if they were about to prostrate themselves.
A deep roar echoed throughout the forest. "Great Ancestor, please allow me to borrow your power and let the golden radiance spread across the land!"
The next moment, the body of Song Junhao, which had already expanded to fifteen meters, turned far bigger, and a golden crown slowly emerged. The terrifying aura rendered even the ninth-order Winged Tiger King immobile.
The massive golden lion let out a deafening roar. It swung its claw, forcefully sending the Winged Tiger King, covered in Wind Astral, flying.
The protective Wind Astral wrapping the Winged Tiger King shattered, and the enormous claws nearly tore the tiger in half
Among the surrounding Winged Tigers, the seventh-order Winged Tigers almost collapsed to the ground, unable to resist the sudden burst of overwhelming aura. This was the power of the Golden Mind, the aura of the Golden Lion Demon Clan ancestors.
A hint of disdain flickered in the golden lion's eyes. The next instant, one of its sharp claws struck the ground, picking up the Bear Demon. With a flash of golden light, it then transformed into a golden lightning bolt, flying toward the golden lion's head floating in the air.
The massive lion’s head and the smaller yet still huge lion in which Song Junhou had transformed shrank down instantly, closing the distance between them at the same time. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared without a trace.
In Tang San's eyes, this scene was truly breathtaking.
The power unleashed by Song Junhao just now was no less than that of a ninth-order pinnacle expert. Although it had not quite reached the level of a god, combined with the pressure of the golden bloodline, it was no different from a god-level expert to the demonic beasts.
The Winged Tiger King was heavily wounded in an instant, and Song Junhao actually managed to escape thanks to his ancestor's power taking over. Although it was clear that it could only be unleashed for an instant, such a trump card was indeed terrifying.
Tang San had a clear sense of self-awareness. If it were him, unless he ignited all of his divine consciousness, he would be instantly devoured by the formidable Golden Holy Fire. He was already considering this golden bloodline for when he was able to absorb a seventh bloodline imprint.
Just then, the Winged Tiger King, who had been heavily wounded, struggled to rise slowly and roared in defiance. Large mouthfuls of greenish-blue blood sprayed from its mouth, and its vitality rapidly faded.
The four eight-order Winged Tigers seemed to understand its intention. They all flapped their wings, soared high into the sky, and pursued Song Junhao, who was escaping into the sky.
The Winged Tiger King wobbled, then fell back to the ground. Although the injuries it had just suffered were not fatal, they were extremely severe, leaving it incapable of chasing the enemy any longer. However, as a ninth-order peak beast, it had some measure of sentience and could naturally see that the strong warrior that had injured it was on his last legs, with no strength left for further combat. Its actions moments ago were a message to its subordinates that they had to kill the Golden Lion at all costs; otherwise, if they attracted the attention of his clan, their species would likely face extinction.
Seeing the four eighth-order Winged Tigers fly away, Tang San didn't dare to delay and quickly activated his Golden Roc Transformation, closely following them in low-altitude flight.
Song Junhou had used his ultimate trump card and he had definitely depleted his strength. In this situation, his first choice after escaping was undoubtedly to rendezvous with Mei Gongzi and the others. However, the four eighth-order Winged Tigers in pursuit might still catch up by following his aura.
Mei Gongzi's safety was the top priority for Tang San. Despite the presence of many incapacitated seventh-order Winged Tigers and a heavily injured ninth-order Winged Tiger King, he couldn't afford to wait. Protecting Mei Gongzi was paramount.
Moments after he left, however, a figure silently appeared before the Winged Tiger King. And when it saw this figure, the Winged Tiger King let out a roar filled with unwillingness and despair….
The speed of the flight offered by the Golden Roc Transformation was simply ridiculous. Although Tang San's Golden Roc Transformation level was slightly lower than Cheng Zicheng's, his cultivation was far superior. With the long-lasting energy of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, he could continue flying for a much longer time.
The Winged Tigers soared high in the sky, but unbeknownst to them, they were closely followed by Tang San, who was flying low among the trees without falling behind. Thanks to the guidance of the Discerning Eye of Heaven, the trees ahead might just as well not exist. Tang San easily adjusted his direction, maintaining considerable speed even as he flew through the forest.
Judging from the speed at which Song Junhou had fled, he was definitely five kilometers away at the very least. Had it not been for the command of the Winged Tiger King, it was doubtful that the other Winged Tigers would have pursued. Song Junhou's indeed had bad luck.
Of course, Song Junhou’s misfortune was not without reason. Cursed by two Celestial Fox Visions, it would have been stranger if his luck were good.
Tang San had no worries about not finding them; he simply followed the pack.
He had to admit that the Beauty and the Beasts team was just as fast to flee as it was to fight. It took a good half hour before the eighth-order Winged Tigers in the air seemed to discover something, and they suddenly changed direction and accelerated.
In the end, the Kali Academy team was still bound to be caught.
Tang San slightly slowed down and approached carefully.
Sounds of battle emanated from not far ahead. Tang San could see various types of elemental energy converging and colliding ahead through the Discerning Eye of Heaven.
The Beauty and the Beasts team had already regrouped by the time he got there.
Transformed into human form, Song Junhou was on the Bear Demon’s back, his face white as a sheet. Neither of them had any strength left to fight, so they were hiding in the rear.
Among the other five, the Ironback Ape was at the forefront, with the Cat Demon and Shadow Sparrow on either side. The Skunk Demon, shivering in the rear, was so frightened that it dared not even make a sound. Mei Gongzi held the central position.
The Beauty and the Beast squad seemed in dire straits, and the troubled expressions on their faces were a far cry from their earlier demeanor.