The opening Yu Yuanchen forcibly tore open with Purple Lightning Thunder Claw was like a boulder thrown into the boiling Beast Tide, briefly parting the surging waves. The three of them did not hesitate in the slightest. Pushing their speed to the limit, they charged forward along that fleeting passage.
Tang Chen took the lead, his Clear Sky Hammer whirling like the wind. He no longer pursued devastating single blows, instead transforming his attacks into an unending barrage of violent Hammer Shadows. He no longer deliberately targeted vital points. With the most tyrannical force possible, he sent every Soul Beast that dared approach or block his way—regardless of size or cultivation—flying or reeling back! Like a crazed Fierce Beast, he forcibly plowed a bloody path through the torrent of Soul Beasts. Shattered bones and flesh splattered beneath his hammer, staining his robes red, yet his eyes only grew brighter. His fighting spirit burned like fire, as though the endless slaughter had awakened the savagery buried deep in his bones.
Yu Yuanchen followed close behind Tang Chen's flank, and his role was crucial. Tang Chen cleared the way from the front, while he dealt with threats lunging in from both sides and the rear. His attacks were precise and efficient. His dragon-transformed right arm shifted between claw and finger, Purple-Gold lightning flashing like Death's scythe. Sometimes, a condensed lightning finger pierced through the skull of a Shadow Blade Leopard attempting a sneak attack. Sometimes, a backhanded claw ripped open the belly of an Iron Backed Grey Wolf charging from the flank. Sometimes, he stomped hard, unleashing a circular blast of Thunder Power centered on himself and shocking the encroaching smaller Soul Beasts into numb stiffness. His Electric Field Perception was fully activated, like a precise radar constantly scanning threats in all directions. He could always react a fraction of a second in advance, snuffing out danger before it took shape. Sweat had already appeared on his brow. The continuous high-intensity perception and precise control consumed enormous amounts of Spiritual Power.
Qian Daoliu, meanwhile, danced gracefully and lethally through the low air. Rather than blindly unleashing large-scale Soul Skills, he concentrated his power into single points. The holy aura brought by the Six-winged Angel Martial Soul naturally suppressed evil and violent creatures to some extent, and he used that advantage with surgical precision. Whenever a particularly troublesome Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast attempted to organize an effective encirclement, or a Soul Beast skilled in ranged attacks prepared to release a skill, his Angel Sacred Sword would arrive in time. A focused golden sword light either pierced the throat of a Corrupt Lizard spewing poisonous mist, severed the wings of a Wind Breaking Eagle Accumulating Power, or precisely struck a Mountain Shaking Rhinoceros in the eye, forcing it to howl in pain and veer aside. His presence greatly disrupted the Beast Tide's attack rhythm, creating a relatively stable environment for the two below to unleash their attacks.
The three of them advanced through the raging tide in this manner. Tang Chen was an unstoppable spearhead, Yu Yuanchen was a sharp and deadly flanking guard and cleaner, while Qian Daoliu provided aerial support that controlled the entire battlefield and picked off targets with precision. They had no time to communicate and rarely even exchanged glances. All their coordination relied on their judgments of the ever-changing battlefield, as well as the faint trust and tacit understanding that had only just begun to form between them.
However, the Beast Tide was far more terrifying than they had imagined. There were simply too many of them, and they seemed endless. Whenever one batch fell, another immediately filled the gap. Though the trio's advance was not slow, their Soul Power drained away at a terrifying rate, like floodwaters released from a broken dam.
At this rate... we won't last until we break out of the encirclement! Yu Yuanchen's heart turned cold. More than half his Soul Power had already been consumed, and waves of stabbing pain were beginning to surge through his Spiritual Power. Tang Chen's breathing grew heavier, and his swings of the Clear Sky Hammer were no longer as violent as before, carrying a touch of heaviness instead. Even the sacred radiance around Qian Daoliu in the air seemed to have dimmed slightly.
Worse still, in Yu Yuanchen's perception, the several powerful presences that had previously lingered in the rear were rapidly closing in! One of them was especially conspicuous, carrying a scorching heat and an aura of Destruction that made his heart pound!
"Watch out! Something huge is coming from the rear right!" Yu Yuanchen warned urgently.
Before his words had even faded, a sharp, piercing cry that seemed capable of tearing apart the soul rang out from the rear right! A scorching blast wave swept over them alongside it!
A gigantic bird with a wingspan exceeding ten meters came diving down at astonishing speed. Its entire body burned with dark-red flames, like a Demon God flying out of hell! Its hooked beak gleamed with metallic coldness, while its talons were wrapped in unsettling streams of dark-red fire!
"It's a Hellfire Kite with more than fifty thousand years of cultivation!" Qian Daoliu's voice carried unprecedented gravity. "The scent of blood and slaughter has completely enraged it!"
This Hellfire Kite was clearly one of the true overlords of this region! Its appearance sent the already chaotic and violent Beast Tide into even greater frenzy, and many Soul Beasts instinctively avoided its diving path!
"Tang Chen! Hold the front! Qian Daoliu, distract it! Create an opening for me!" In the face of danger, Yu Yuanchen's mind was abnormally calm as he made his decision in an instant. He knew that they had to quickly kill or severely wound the Hellfire Kite. Otherwise, if it latched onto them, the three of them would never escape!
"Leave it to me!" Tang Chen roared. Holding nothing back, the Sixth Soul Ring around him—that deep black radiance—bloomed once more! "Sixth Soul Skill, Clear Sky Formation!"
Ignoring the Soul Beasts harassing him from all around, he activated the skill. Instantly, a strange circular formation composed of countless fine black runes appeared on the ground, centered on him! Within the formation's range, gravity seemed to multiply several times over, and even the air became incomparably viscous! A powerful force of restraint and suppression descended, not on the Hellfire Kite, but upon the densest part of the Beast Tide! Then he smashed down with Earthquake Mountain, intending to clear enough space and time for Yu Yuanchen!
Boom—!
Black hammerlight exploded amid the beast horde like a bomb, instantly clearing out a vast area as severed limbs and mangled bodies flew in all directions! Tang Chen himself was jolted until blood leaked from the corner of his mouth by the countershock, but he remained firmly rooted in place, carving out a temporary safe zone for the two behind him.
Almost at the same time, Qian Daoliu moved as well. The six wings behind him erupted with dazzling sacred light, pushing his speed to the limit. Like a golden meteor streaking upward, he took the initiative to meet the diving Hellfire Kite!
"Sacred Imprisonment!"
With the Angel Sacred Sword in his hand pointing forward, countless golden chains formed from sacred energy appeared out of thin air, winding around the Hellfire Kite's wings and talons like spirit serpents! He was not trying to defeat it. He only wanted to restrict its movements as much as possible and create the perfect opportunity for Yu Yuanchen's Accumulated Power attack!
"Shriek—!"
The Hellfire Kite let out an enraged screech as the dark-red flames around its body surged, trying to melt those troublesome sacred chains. The chains hissed within the flames and rapidly dimmed, clearly unable to restrain it for long. Qian Daoliu's face turned pale. Maintaining such a powerful control-type Soul Skill was an enormous burden for him as well.
And in that flash of lightning, Yu Yuanchen moved!
He took a deep breath. The strand of Thunder God Power within him was completely drawn out, wildly merging and compressing with his surging Bloodline Power and nearly peak Purple Lightning Soul Power! His dragon-transformed right arm instantly swelled by a full size. Blinding Purple-Gold lightning burst from between the scales, while the true form of the Thunder Dragon Claw became clearer and more solidified than ever before!
He held nothing back, pouring every bit of power he could muster into this claw! A terrifying aura that seemed capable of tearing apart the heavens and crushing all things rose from his body! He had long known that he lacked an exceptionally powerful offensive Soul Skill. Back when he was still in the clan, he had sought guidance from its elders and learned of a half-finished Self-Created Soul Skill passed down by an ancestor. Its principle was to use the First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw, as its foundation, compressing Thunder Power onto the Dragon Claw before generating high-frequency vibrating lightning force. This gave the Soul Skill penetrating power, allowing the lightning to bore through gaps in scales or armor and attack an enemy's internal organs. However, it was extremely difficult to learn. It required exceptional control over the Lightning Attribute. Those with low cultivation lacked the qualifications to learn it, while those with high cultivation would already possess their own offensive Soul Skills and have no need for it. Thus, aside from the ancestor who created it, no one had mastered it to this day.
Yet Yu Yuanchen had taken a considerable interest in it, and he met the conditions to learn it. He had occasionally studied and practiced it, and by now, he had basically mastered the Soul Skill.
He stomped down fiercely, shattering the ground beneath him with a thunderous explosion. His body shot up like an arrow leaving the bow—not toward the high sky, but at the instant he calculated that the Hellfire Kite was briefly bound by Qian Daoliu and its diving path had become fixed. He soared upward at an almost vertical angle!
"Thunder! Dragon! Shatters! The! Sky!"
With a low roar like an ancient Dragon Roar, Yu Yuanchen's Purple-Gold Thunder Dragon Claw—carrying all his essence, energy, and spirit—clawed forward with absolute determination toward the Hellfire Kite's comparatively vulnerable abdomen!
At that moment, time seemed to freeze.
The Hellfire Kite sensed the fatal threat and released a shriek intertwined with terror and fury. It struggled desperately, its dark-red flames frantically burning the golden chains as a thick barrier of fire formed over its body.
Qian Daoliu grunted, a thread of golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Yet his gaze remained unwavering as he maintained the imprisonment with all his strength.
Tang Chen swung his Giant Hammer, smashing back the Soul Beasts that seized the chance to pounce and stubbornly guarding the area from which Yu Yuanchen had leaped.
"Pfft—!"
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft yet teeth-grating sound, like a sharp blade piercing leather.
The Purple-Gold Thunder Dragon Claw struggled through the fire barrier, only to be barely stopped by the seemingly soft feathers. But that did not matter—
The next moment, Thunder Power at the height of its fury erupted inside the Hellfire Kite's body, carrying that unique Rupture effect and ignoring the feathers entirely!
"Shriek—!!!"
The Hellfire Kite let out a heart-rending scream. Its massive body convulsed and tumbled violently through the air as dark-red blood, like lava, sprayed from its mouth along with charred fragments of internal organs! The flames around it instantly dimmed, flickering unsteadily.
Qian Daoliu took the chance to withdraw Sacred Imprisonment and landed back on the ground with a slight stagger.
Yu Yuanchen also fell from exhaustion, and Tang Chen caught him in one swift motion. His face was white as paper, and his right arm trembled faintly. That strike had nearly drained most of his remaining Soul Power and Spiritual Power.
The previously arrogant Hellfire Kite struggled in the air for several breaths before finally trailing black smoke as it fell crookedly into the distance like a kite with its string cut. With the Life Force of a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast, it probably would not die, but its injuries were surely severe.
With its leader badly wounded, the surging Beast Tide froze in confusion for a moment. Fear appeared in the eyes of many Soul Beasts.
"Move! Now!" Yu Yuanchen forced himself to draw another breath and shouted hoarsely.
Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu knew they could not miss this opportunity. Immediately supporting Yu Yuanchen between them, they charged forward at full speed along the bloody path Tang Chen had blasted open with "Sky Breaker" earlier!
The crisis seemed to have eased somewhat for the time being. But all three of them had paid a considerable price. Their Soul Power was nearing exhaustion, and they were wounded. Deep within the Savage Beast Hills, unknown dangers still lurked.
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