First Acquaintance

For a moment, that powerful airflow generated from within Ryuseki swept through the surroundings like a storm, the bushes all around swaying left and right as flocks of birds fled the area in fright. The airflow burst forth in ripple after ripple like waves, and Ryuseki was surrounded within these layers of circular airflow rings.

To think he would release such strong power! Isn't that bastard afraid of destroying his own body? While glaring at Ryuseki, Slumber looked around out of the corner of his eye. However, lacking that thing, you cannot fully control this power. Right now, you all have momentum without substance, a mere outward show. With that, Slumber crossed his arms in front of his chest and clenched his fists tightly.

Airflow similar to the previous one was generated in Slumber's hands, and then the airflow actually took the shape of two short daggers. He looked up at Ryuseki with his head raised, his legs assuming a sprinting posture.

"Heh~"

Slumber cracked a smile with a grin, and then he shot forward at extreme speed, looking like an arrow released from a bowstring.

"~Soul Annihilation!~"

A bright white large cross appeared in front of Ryuseki's chest, and this slash abruptly unfolded the layers of airflow swirling in front of him. Just like that muscle-bound fellow from earlier, Slumber spread his arms and appeared behind him, then opened his hands as the airflow daggers in his palms vanished into the air.

"I can conclude now that you really are here to snatch what I guard!"

Ryuseki turned around to look at Slumber, and Slumber also noticed that the attack just now had caused no harm. It had merely sliced through the airflow encircling his entire body, and at this moment, Slumber could not help but be on guard against everything Ryuseki would do next.

Yet just as Slumber focused his attention on Ryuseki, a danger warning suddenly appeared in his mind. He hastily rolled aside to dodge, only to see a transparent dragon claw descending from the sky.

"Where did this attack come from?"

Puzzled, Slumber followed that dragon claw up, only to see that the dragon claw extended all the way to the upper air, and then spread to behind Ryuseki. As it turned out, using himself as a target, Ryuseki had used a feint to extend the airflow on his body to attack Slumber.

The dragon-claw-shaped airflow rapidly retracted, wrapping around Ryuseki's arm. Ryuseki charged toward Slumber like this, that arm of his wreathed in the dragon-claw-shaped airflow as if intent on tearing him apart.

Taken aback, Slumber quickly leapt to dodge the attack. The rocky ground, however, was not so fortunate, smashed completely to pieces.

"This destructive power is truly astonishing. Although that demon dragon cannot be considered the strongest among the Eight Mythical Beasts, it is one of the Eight Mythical Beasts nonetheless!" Slumber rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. "Still, I won't lose all that easily either. Bring it on, and I'll show you some real skill as well, you demon dragon." Then, he watched as Slumber used his right hand to tightly grip his left arm, and a black circle could be seen appearing in the palm of his left hand.

Let us first talk about the Eight Mythical Beasts here: the so-called Eight Mythical Beasts are the eight most powerful mythical beasts in existence in this world, monsters that guard the eight great gates of the world. They are: the Full Moon Dragon of the Full Moon Tower, the Eight-Headed Serpent of Nine Dragon Mountain, the Phoenix of the Sun God Temple, the Jade Qilin of Kirin Spring Falls, the Underworld Hound of the Valley of Death, the Nightmare Baku of the Land of the Dead, the Crested Phoenix of Azure Cove, and the Nine-Tailed Forked Cat of the Forest of Bewilderment.

Naturally, there are far more than just these eight mythical beasts in this vast world, and many other mythical beasts exist, yet the existence of these eight is the most special among them. Only these eight mythical beasts possess the power to maintain the balance of the entire world, and correspondingly, they also possess the ability to destroy the world—quite terrifying existences.

To mention another thing, the most powerful among these Eight Mythical Beasts is the Phoenix of the Sun God Temple.

Compared to before, Slumber's arm looked noticeably different, appearing much more swollen. Furthermore, not only had his arm changed, but even the surrounding aura had undergone a slight transformation. The flowing airflow brought a gust of wind pressure, which subsequently blew up the surrounding material. The sand and dust all around rushed toward Slumber, or more precisely, toward the black circle in the palm of Slumber's left hand. That black circle was attracting, sucking in all the surrounding air and nearby tiny matter. Moreover, Slumber's left arm was growing increasingly thick, looking already more than twice its original size, as if afflicted by some strange disease.

"Hey, what are you doing over there?" Impatiently, Ryuseki prepared to launch his next round of attacks.

"You had better shout all you want while you still have the energy, because in a moment you won't be able to." Gritting his teeth, Slumber replied with effort. By this time, his arm had already become disproportionate to his body, that left arm having swollen to an unbelievable degree.

Roaring, Ryuseki charged forward: "I will definitely protect everything I guard!"

Slumber, however, had no intention of dodging his attack; with his right hand, he laboriously propped up his terrifyingly thick left arm, aiming his left palm straight at Ryuseki. The very instant Ryuseki charged up, the black circle in his palm activated the opposite mode from just now.

"Heh~"

Like a sluice gate being opened, the long-accumulated energy poured out from the black circle, the erupting might comparable even to a volcanic eruption. The huge shockwave made it difficult for Ryuseki to resist, and he was quickly engulfed in this energy cannon. Looking again at Slumber's left arm, it was shrinking back to normal size at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Dozens of seconds passed, and Slumber's arm had also returned to normal, the black circle on his left palm disappearing as well. The surrounding smoke and dust slowly subsided; looking through the swirling dust at the bombarded area before him, which extended all the way for several kilometers, it completely looked as though it had undergone a terrifying disaster, leaving behind a dreadful impact crater.

The power of this bombardment was truly terrifying, probably comparable to the cannons on a battleship. Slumber's left arm twitched and shook; slowly lowering his left arm, he could see Ryuseki lying several kilometers away in the distance.

"If not for the power of that demonic entity, you would have died long ago. Heh~" Rubbing his left shoulder, Slumber took a deep breath and walked toward Cheng Shun Gong, whom he had just kicked away, muttering to himself as he walked: "Still, if you can't master this power, you'll die sooner or later."

Only when Slumber walked out of that huge crater did he realize that because Ryuseki had used his body to directly block it at the start of the attack, the impact had scattered and crushed the surrounding rock ground entirely, creating an impact crater seven or eight meters in diameter.

This battle was truly astonishing; because of that shockwave, Ryuseki was still lying several kilometers away, fast asleep.

Slumber adjusted the hat on his head and vanished into the dusk along with the unconscious Cheng Shun Gong.

After a short while, Ryuseki gradually regained consciousness. He looked at everything happening before him with extreme astonishment. At this moment, he only felt his head spinning, yet he still remembered what had happened just now, especially the bounty hunter named Slumber.

"That fellow, I won't forgive him." Slowly crawling up, he gnashed his teeth as he looked at his own hands. Where on earth did that power from just now originate?

Slowly walking toward the crater just created by the impact, he stood by the edge of the crater panting and remained standing still for a long time. At this moment, a chilling wind blew past, instantly making Ryuseki feel a bit cold.

"It's so late already, it's so freezing!"

Apart from fatigue, Ryuseki had unexpectedly sustained no injuries all over his body.