Blood Armor

Ye Lan's greatest weakness now was himself; most of his fighting strength still lay in Blue Silver Grass.

In just a few breaths, Ancient Beast's Touch used its enormous body to arrive before Ye Lan in an instant.

Blue Silver Grass simply could not stop the massive creature from moving.

Several of Ancient Beast's Touch's tentacles rose ten meters into the air, gathering strength before smashing fiercely toward Ye Lan.

The several tentacles came down with crushing force, and Ye Lan could feel the air being slapped against his face.

Faced with such a heavy blow, Ye Lan was not foolish enough to take it head-on.

Soul Power circulated, and in an instant, Ye Lan activated Flash Step.

Just before the tentacles' heavy strike landed, Ye Lan's figure darted several meters away, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Ancient Beast's Touch was puzzled by Ye Lan's sudden disappearance, but with the aid of its dozens of eyes—

Ancient Beast's Touch swiftly locked onto Ye Lan's position and closed in on him again.

After using Flash Step, Ye Lan's legs were still sore and had yet to recover.

Ye Lan did not intend to keep using Flash Step to evade Ancient Beast's Touch. Instead, he infused his legs with Soul Power and continuously dodged its attacks.

Ancient Beast's Touch moved while attacking with its tentacles.

Ye Lan, meanwhile, kept his distance from Ancient Beast's Touch while using Blue Silver Grass to block its attacks.

Ancient Beast's Touch possessed eight brains and was highly intelligent, able to think even as it fought.

Before long, Ancient Beast's Touch realized that the deck was cramped, and its large size gave it a considerable advantage.

As long as it occupied the center of the deck instead of circling around with the Blond Youth, it could restrict the Blond Youth's movement.

Ancient Beast's Touch immediately adjusted its strategy, firmly taking up the center of the deck before spreading its tentacles to constantly squeeze Ye Lan's space.

With Ancient Beast's Touch's changed strategy, Ye Lan had less and less room to maneuver.

Ancient Beast's Touch's tentacles were like a giant net spreading open, as though they intended to devour Ye Lan.

In the end, only the railing remained behind Ye Lan, with a pitch-black ocean beyond it.

Ye Lan had been driven into a desperate situation. There was nowhere left for him to retreat—he could not exactly jump into the sea.

Jumping into the sea would be nothing but suicide.

Fighting Ancient Beast's Touch in the ocean would put Ye Lan at an absolute disadvantage.

Inside the captain's cabin, the fisherman had initially thought Ye Lan was doomed after his martial soul had been severed.

But then he saw that Ye Lan's Blue Silver Grass could regenerate. As the Blue Silver Grass and tentacles continuously clashed, the unease in his heart gradually subsided.

Just when the fisherman thought Ye Lan could still hold on, Ye Lan was unexpectedly forced into another dead end.

The fisherman's heart rose to his throat once more, but this time, he did not lose faith in Ye Lan. Instead, he believed that the young man before him could break through this desperate situation.

Trapped in a desperate position, Ye Lan continuously released Blue Silver Grass from his body to resist Ancient Beast's Touch's attacks.

Strand after strand of Blue Silver Grass was smashed apart and twisted off by Ancient Beast's Touch.

In the end, Ancient Beast's Touch seized the moment when most of the Blond Youth's golden vines were still regenerating and decisively sent all eight tentacles at him.

With nowhere left to retreat, a golden flash flickered in Ye Lan's eyes.

Ye Lan activated Golden Eye! Soul Power continuously gathered toward his eyes, and the golden light within them grew ever brighter. His reaction speed increased severalfold, while his dynamic vision left the attack intentions of the eight massive tentacles nowhere to hide.

Everything Ye Lan perceived seemed to slow by a beat, and Ancient Beast's Touch's tentacles no longer seemed frightening.

Ye Lan moved as though he had foreseen Ancient Beast's Touch's attacks in advance, using incredibly subtle footwork and all sorts of movements that caught Ancient Beast's Touch off guard.

Ye Lan continuously turned sideways, lowered his head, and bent backward. His footwork was ghostlike.

The tentacles repeatedly grazed past the Golden-Haired Man's body by the narrowest margins.

Every tentacle strike landed on the deck, causing the fishing boat to rock more and more violently under Ancient Beast's Touch's blows.

The rocking fishing boat did not affect Ye Lan's movements. He seized an opening in Ancient Beast's Touch's attacks.

Soul Power gathered beneath his feet. Bang!

With a deafening sound, Ye Lan used Echo Shift to leap instantly onto Ancient Beast's Touch's head, four meters above the deck.

Borrowing the speed of Echo Shift, Ye Lan infused his waist and abdomen with Soul Power.

Soul Power infusion: one hundred percent!

Ye Lan twisted his waist and kicked at Ancient Beast's Touch with his right leg.

Echo Shift was so fast that Ye Lan's leg traced a black crescent arc.

Thud.

Ye Lan's instep struck Ancient Beast's Touch with a dull sound.

Ancient Beast's Touch was kicked by Ye Lan and tilted to the right. Just as Ye Lan thought he had succeeded—

Ancient Beast's Touch had only been knocked back two meters before recovering from its stiffness.

Ancient Beast's Touch had not expected that, despite forcing the Blond Youth into such peril, it would still be injured by him.

Ancient Beast's Touch was enraged by Ye Lan. The ancient beast found the ant before it increasingly hateful.

Its dozens of eyes twisted in an instant, like distorted Blood Flame.

Before Ye Lan had even landed, eight thick, pitch-black tentacles were already close to surrounding him.

This time, Ancient Beast's Touch's tentacles became even faster. Although Ye Lan's Golden Eye fully discerned Ancient Beast's Touch's attack routes, he had no leverage in midair.

He could only use Blue Silver Grass braced against the ground and the ancient beast's tentacles as footholds, twisting and darting about.

Ye Lan was far less agile in the air than on the ground. After only a few exchanges, the tip of one tentacle wrapped around his right hand. Though it was only the tip, its average diameter was nearly thirty centimeters.

Ye Lan's expression changed, and he cried out inwardly, This is bad.

After battling Ye Lan for so long, Ancient Beast's Touch had finally seized an opportunity. Its joy made its enormous body tremble with excitement.

The tentacle wrapped around Ye Lan's right hand instantly erupted with tremendous force.

Just because octopuses were soft-bodied creatures did not mean they lacked strength.

Even ordinary octopuses could hunt hard-shelled creatures. Their strength was extremely formidable.

Much less King's Touch, an octopus sovereign at the thousand-year level.

Just as Ancient Beast's Touch thought it had succeeded and imagined crushing the Blond Youth's arm, a different sensation came from the tentacle wrapped around the Blond Youth's right arm. His arm had become incredibly hard!

It turned out that the moment Ancient Beast's Touch's tentacle wrapped around Ye Lan's arm, Ye Lan circulated Soul Power through his blood.

The rapid flow of blood greatly strengthened the muscles in his arm, causing its defensive power to rise sharply.

This was the Self-Created Soul Skill Ye Lan had developed a year ago—Blood Armor!

Blood Armor could increase the hardness of Ye Lan's muscles, enhancing his defense.

If Ye Lan's body had been wrapped by a tentacle nearly a meter thick near Ancient Beast's Touch's head, Blood Armor definitely would not have been able to withstand it.

But since it was only the tip of a tentacle, Ancient Beast's Touch's constriction did not have much effect. Only the saw-like teeth on the tentacle's suckers tore through the skin on his arm.

While Ancient Beast's Touch was momentarily stunned, golden light continuously emerged from Ye Lan's bloodied arm.