Border Kill Trap, Battle Soul Sage (Part 2)

The Diamond Mammoth True Body's mountain-like giant foot came crashing down. Before it even reached him, the terrifying wind pressure had already cracked the ground inch by inch, while the air let out explosive booms under the strain. An enraged strike from a Soul Sage was powerful enough to split mountains and sever rivers!

Facing this unavoidable blow, Yu Yuanchen showed not the slightest panic. He knew full well that directly clashing with a strength-type Soul Sage was far from wise, especially when the opponent had activated his Martial Soul Avatar.

Just as the giant foot was about to come down on him, fine Purple-Gold lightning suddenly lit up across his legs like living creatures. It was not a violent stimulation, but flowed rapidly through specific tiny meridians in his legs at a strange frequency, forming circuits! This was the burst technique taught by that Elder, imitating the swimming movements of an Electric Eel. At the same time, Dragon Swimming Steps—the movement technique he had created through two years of observing snake-type Soul Beasts, combining their movements with his incomparably resilient meridians after Body Tempering, and improving it through repeated trial and error—activated instantly!

Whoosh!

His figure seemed to transform into a twisted streak of purple lightning. Rather than retreating in a straight line, he moved along an unnatural, bizarre arc like a swimming dragon flicking its tail, slipping past the edge of that giant foot by the narrowest margin! He was so fast that he left behind a solidified afterimage that did not disperse.

Boom!!!

The giant foot stomped viciously onto the spot where Yu Yuanchen had been standing. The ground shook violently, and a deep pit over five meters wide suddenly appeared as dirt and shattered rocks shot into the sky like a fountain.

The Soul Sage's attack had missed. The Diamond Mammoth turned its enormous head, its cold eyes locking onto Yu Yuanchen, whose figure had just solidified dozens of meters away, and let out an enraged roar. He had never expected this Kid, who appeared to be merely a Soul Emperor, to possess such bizarre and swift speed!

"I'd like to see how long you can keep dodging!" the Soul Sage roared. His Third Soul Ring suddenly lit up—Third Soul Skill, Suppression Crush!

An invisible, powerful binding force field instantly spread outward from him, covering an area twenty meters in radius. Yu Yuanchen immediately felt his body sink, as though he had fallen into a thick swamp, and his movements became sluggish. At the same time, the Diamond Mammoth's massive true body suddenly leaped up. Though it did not rise very high, its crushing momentum, carrying both the force field's suppression and its own terrifying weight, was even more frightening than the earlier stomp, and covered a wider area!

Though Dragon Swimming Steps was exquisite, its effectiveness was greatly reduced under such broad suppression. Yu Yuanchen barely twisted aside, once again avoiding the frontal crushing force by a hair's breadth, but he was still swept by the edge of the terrifying Blast Wave from the descent. The light of his Dragon Scale Armor flickered chaotically as his Qi and Blood churned.

Before he could even catch his breath, the Soul Sage's Fifth Soul Ring immediately lit up—Fifth Soul Skill, Position Tracking!

An invisible spiritual mark instantly descended upon Yu Yuanchen. In the next moment, the Diamond Mammoth True Body that had just landed moved like a ghost. Its massive body charged fiercely along the ground at a speed completely at odds with its size, rushing in the direction Yu Yuanchen had dodged! No matter how Yu Yuanchen changed the trajectory of his Dragon Swimming Steps, the huge mammoth clung to his route like a festering disease in the bone. Its long trunk, like an enormous battering ram, thrust straight toward him with a piercing howl!

This is troublesome! Yu Yuanchen's heart sank. These two locking-type Soul Skills, combined with the Martial Soul Avatar, greatly restricted his speed advantage and forced him to confront the enemy head-on.

I can't drag this out! I have to end this quickly! His gaze turned sharp as he knew he could no longer hold back. No one knew whether this Soul Sage had companions nearby or some special means of calling for help.

"Purple Lightning Domain, activate!"

With a low shout, a twenty-meter-wide purple Thunder Domain suddenly spread out from Yu Yuanchen! Within the domain, Electric Snakes danced wildly and thunder rumbled! The Suppression Crush force field was immediately weakened by more than half under the domain's interference, greatly reducing the binding sensation on Yu Yuanchen's body. At the same time, the Thunder Domain also affected the Soul Sage's speed and perception to a certain extent, causing an almost imperceptible moment of stagnation in his charge under Position Tracking.

"A domain?!" the Soul Sage cried out in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief. How could a Soul Emperor possibly possess a domain?!

In the instant of his shock, Yu Yuanchen moved! Thunder God Mode was pushed to its limit, and Dragon Swimming Steps became even more elusive under the Thunder Domain's enhancement. He no longer simply dodged, but took the initiative to charge forward!

"Third Soul Skill, Wrath of Thunder! First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!"

The enhancement Soul Skill and attack Soul Skill activated simultaneously, but he did not release the Dragon Claw. Instead, he completely compressed the Furious Lightning Power and gathered it upon his fully Dragon-Transformed claws. Lightning was contained within his right claw, faintly radiating an Artistic Conception of Rupture that could destroy everything; electric radiance flickered from his left claw, carrying extreme sharpness and tearing force!

Bang!

His left claw, covered in thick dragon scales and lightning, collided head-on with the Diamond Mammoth's sweeping trunk! A piercing scraping sound rang out as Fire Stars scattered everywhere! Yu Yuanchen's body shook violently as he slid back several meters. His left arm went numb and sore, and several white marks appeared on his Dragon Claw. Yet several fine tears had also been ripped into the mammoth's trunk!

Such strong defense! Yu Yuanchen was secretly alarmed. But his assault did not stop. He lowered his body and used Dragon Swimming Steps, closing in along the mammoth's side like a loach. His right claw carried the Shattering Effect as it viciously struck at the relatively vulnerable Joints of its abdomen!

Clang!

It was like striking refined steel, producing a dull, thunderous sound. The diamond armor around the Joints was exceptionally tough. The Shattering Effect failed to break through its defense directly, but its glow dimmed, and fine cracks appeared.

"Roar!" The Soul Sage cried out in pain. The mammoth's giant foot rose and stomped down like a colossal pillar.

Yu Yuanchen narrowly avoided it once more with Dragon Swimming Steps. Both claws struck out together, tearing and rupturing as they constantly clashed head-on against the mammoth true body. He deliberately made his aura appear somewhat unstable, and intentionally controlled the light on his Dragon Scale Armor to flicker erratically, as if he had suffered some Hidden Injury during the earlier collisions. Each clash sent him "shuddering" backward, making him seem overwhelmed from all sides.

He fought while retreating, seemingly searching for an opportunity to escape, yet Position Tracking continued to cling tightly to him.

Seeing that he had failed to take Yu Yuanchen down after so long, the Soul Sage grew impatient. Noticing Yu Yuanchen's "unstable aura," a fierce light surged in his eyes. "Kid, even your domain can't save you! Die!"

He abandoned part of his defense and poured more Soul Power into his attacks. The mammoth's trunk lashed and stabbed like a raging storm, while its giant feet stomped repeatedly, forcing Yu Yuanchen into "constant peril." Once again, his shoulder was struck by the trunk, and his entire body "staggered" backward through the air. Several pieces of dragon scale shattered, and he even forced a trace of blood from the Corner of Mouth. In truth, he had deliberately injured the inside of his mouth slightly.

Now! A cold gleam shot from Yu Yuanchen's eyes! This was what he had been waiting for—the instant his opponent became agitated after failing to win for so long and relaxed slightly upon seeing him "injured"!

While flying backward, he forcibly twisted his body. His Soul Power, Qi and Blood, and that wisp of Thunder God Power surged wildly toward the Dragon Claw on his right arm at an unprecedented speed! All of his strength, all of his spiritual will, compressed and condensed at one point on the tip of that savage Dragon Claw! The Purple-Gold lightning no longer spread outward, but instead collapsed inward, making the claw tip dark and profound, as though it could swallow even light itself. The surrounding space began to distort slightly!

Seeing Yu Yuanchen knocked away, the Soul Sage was about to press his advantage when he suddenly sensed a fatal threat from Yu Yuanchen's seemingly injured right claw, one so terrifying that even his soul trembled!

Not good! His pupils constricted sharply. He tried to defend with all his strength, but his previous fierce assault had left his old strength spent while New Strength Not Yet Arisen, and his Martial Soul Avatar was a moment too slow to turn!

"Thunder Dragon Shatters Void!"

Yu Yuanchen let out a low roar like a Dragon Roar. His body, like a taut bowstring, suddenly released. His right claw, which had gathered all his power, seemed to cross the distance through space itself, carrying a terrifying Artistic Conception that ignored defenses and pierced straight to the source. It struck with incomparable precision at the center of the Diamond Mammoth True Body's head, directly upon its hardest forehead bone!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a faint yet bone-deep squelch.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The Soul Sage's savage expression and horror froze. He felt an incomparably condensed, terrifying power carrying high-frequency vibrations and destructive properties pierce through the diamond defense he had been so proud of as easily as a red-hot needle, penetrating his skull and plunging directly into the depths of his brain!

All consciousness, all Soul Power, collapsed instantly beneath this strike like a punctured balloon!

The Diamond Mammoth's enormous Martial Soul Avatar suddenly dissipated like smoke, revealing the Soul Sage's burly yet lifeless body within. There was only a tiny charred hole in his forehead, with no blood flowing out, because the brain tissue inside had been annihilated in an instant. Disbelief, fear, and confusion still lingered in his wide-open eyes as he crashed to the ground, sending dust flying.

Yu Yuanchen panted violently, his face pale. That all-out Thunder Dragon Shatters Void had nearly drained more than half his Soul Power and spiritual energy, while waves of tearing pain came from the Dragon Claw on his right arm. Yet he did not dare linger for even a moment. Enduring the strain, he swiftly cleared the battlefield, placing the corpses of all the Elephant Armored Sect disciples, including the Soul Sage, and every potentially valuable item into his Storage Soul Tool. He then used Thunder Power to burn away and disrupt the traces of battle as much as possible.

After finishing all this, he immediately swallowed a pill and circulated his Soul Power to Regulate Breath. When night completely enveloped the land, a cold gleam rose in his eyes once more.

"The Elephant Armored Sect disciples in the Border City can't be spared either!"

Like a ghost in the darkness, he silently returned to the border town where the checkpoint had been established. Relying on his powerful spiritual perception and bizarre movement technique, he easily found the place where the Elephant Armored Sect disciples had settled—a courtyard they had temporarily occupied.

He showed not the slightest mercy. Yu Yuanchen would never go easy on enemies who wished to kill him. He infiltrated the courtyard like death wielding its scythe. Amid flashes of purple lightning, those Elephant Armored Sect disciples, the strongest of whom were no more than Soul Kings, were instantly killed without any ability to resist, whether asleep or standing guard.

Afterward, he summoned thunderfire and reduced the entire courtyard to ashes. Towering flames dyed half the sky red and swallowed every trace completely.

Standing on a distant hill outside the city, Yu Yuanchen looked at the flames soaring into the sky with cold eyes. After this battle, the Elephant Armored Sect would likely find it difficult to organize another effective pursuit in the short term, but they had now forged an irreconcilable blood feud.

He did not linger. Turning around, he merged into the dense night and accelerated toward the Heaven Dou Empire, toward the place where his family was located. The road home was destined to be far from peaceful, but the lightning in his hands had already become even sharper.