Vajra Ape

The Spine-Armored Dragon was already the size of a two-story building, and the Vajra Ape was even larger. Aside from exceptions like the Green Shadow Demon Snake, all Magic Beasts followed the rule that the bigger the body, the stronger the beast.

In the distance, a massive Vajra Ape with gleaming golden fur loomed like a small mountain, even larger than when Guen had last seen this ferocious beast.

The Vajra Ape sat cross-legged among several hills, itself seeming like one of them.

Though Beast Canyon was called a canyon, it could accommodate many High-Tier Ferocious Beasts due to its vast terrain—stretching for hundreds of miles, with wide sections over ten miles across, winding and twisting like a maze.

If Del hadn't brought Guen along, Guen wouldn't have been able to find this place on his own.

"So? What do you think of this big guy?" Del asked, the corner of his mouth lifting, but his expression was extremely grave.

This was no ordinary giant—it was a genuine, threatening Planetary Level ferocious beast, whose ferocity in battle couldn't be compared to common beasts.

Guen simply flipped the Kejia Beast aside, drew his Meteor Light Blade, and made his stance clear.

"Alright then. I'll take the lead and draw it in head-on. You find an opening and cripple it," Del said, pulling out his own emerald-green longsword. "This is a Force Weapon personally forged by the High Priest—no less than your blade."

Guen just smiled, having no intention of competing over such matters, and made a gesture inviting Del to proceed.

Del stepped into the forest first, jogging toward the Vajra Ape at a steady pace.

Guen kept some distance from Del.

"This Vajra Ape just arrived and doesn't have any underlings yet—that makes things a bit easier."

Most ferocious beasts preferred to act alone; pack beasts were rarer. But there were exceptions—once a beast's rank broke through to Planetary Level, many High-Tier Ferocious Beasts would naturally gather around it, forming a protective ring that benefited both sides.

However, Beast Canyon wasn't a natural forest from the outside world, and the Vajra Ape was a newcomer with no followers yet, making it the easiest to deal with.

"ROAR!"

The Vajra Ape stood up straight. At twenty meters tall, its mere rising brought an indescribable pressure crashing down. Its golden fur gleamed like an impenetrable suit of armor, inspiring fear in all who saw it.

As a Planetary Level ferocious beast, this valley was its territory. Any living creature that approached would be detected.

Guen and Del were no exception.

This infuriated the Vajra Ape.

It had already been captured and brought here by those unstoppably powerful humans—and now two humans who hadn't even reached Super Tier dared to challenge it? It would grind them to dust to vent its rage.

With a soft sound, the Vajra Ape vanished from its spot.

"Swoosh."

A massive figure suddenly appeared before Del. Del urgently activated his Flame God Armor, and the fiery red Battle Suit instantly extended to cover his entire body, tightly wrapping all his vital points.

The Vajra Ape snorted streams of foul, reeking breath from its nostrils—a sign of its extreme fury.

The air around them suddenly grew heavy. Just the Vajra Ape clenching its fist was enough to nearly expel all the air from the space.

"BOOM!"

The Vajra Ape punched Del before he could react. Del was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the ground and sinking over ten meters deep. Before he could recover from the violent shock, the Vajra Ape leaped after him, deliberately compressing the surrounding soil and forcing it all toward Del.

Del's body creaked under the pressure.

If not for the Flame God Armor, Del would have been crushed into paste.

"I still underestimated the power of a Planetary Level ferocious beast. I've seen it before, but actually fighting one is completely different," Del thought with some regret. "Now I want to tell Guen to leave, but it's too late."

Del was growing anxious.

Though he wasn't in immediate mortal danger, the Flame God Armor only weakened attacks—it didn't block them entirely. Waves of powerful shock still damaged his body.

The Vajra Ape had completely seized control of the fight's rhythm, preventing Del from using the techniques he relied on.

Now he worried about Guen. This newly joined genius of the Forest Goddess Temple—Del was a core member of the temple's main bloodline. In true danger, the High Priest wouldn't abandon him. But Guen was another matter.

Aside from the main bloodline, the High Priest never concerned himself with the life or death of others.

In the distance, Guen watched the Vajra Ape's eruption with relative calm.

Moto's database contained very detailed data on the abilities of Planetary Level beasts, so Guen could assess that the gap between himself and the Vajra Ape wasn't insurmountable.

Besides, the Vajra Ape was just an ordinary ferocious beast. In Moto's records, there were countless far more powerful monsters. One Vajra Ape was nothing special.

"ROAR!"

Under the Vajra Ape's assault, Del was tossed and thrown repeatedly, like a toy.

But the Vajra Ape's gaze wasn't fixed solely on Del—it stared straight at Guen. If Guen showed any sign of retreating, it would chase him down and teach this overconfident human a lesson.

But why would Guen retreat?

Guen maintained his rhythm and charged toward the Vajra Ape.

"ROAR!"

The Vajra Ape went berserk.

Purple flames of rage burned in its pupils—anyone could see its intent to utterly destroy Guen, to annihilate him.

Guen swung his Meteor Light Blade. The blade's tip trembled lightly as a special energy drove the surrounding air into a sharp, terrifying force at the edge. Guen slashed from a distance, and even though the Vajra Ape dodged with all its might, it couldn't evade the strike.

A tuft of gleaming golden fur drifted away on the wind, leaving a wide gash on the Vajra Ape's skin from which blood flowed freely.

"He actually managed to wound the Vajra Ape?" Del's eyes went wide.

Even while being squeezed, he could still steal a moment to slash at the Vajra Ape a few times—otherwise, he wouldn't have had the nerve to come looking for trouble with it. But his sword could only leave a tiny scratch on the Vajra Ape's body, not even drawing a single drop of blood, while Guen's single strike had actually wounded it.

The ground trembled as the Vajra Ape abandoned Del and charged straight at Guen.

Guen narrowly dodged the onrushing Vajra Ape, but his brow furrowed. He was not satisfied with the power of that strike.

That was the first move of Flame Slash. Although Guen was only at the Apprentice Level, limiting its power, the result still left him dissatisfied.

Every move of Flame Slash was exceptionally powerful at the same rank.

Mastering the first four moves made one invincible at the Planetary Level; mastering the fifth move even allowed a Planetary Level cultivator to challenge a Star Level.

So Guen spun around and swung his blade again. This time, he would use the second move of Flame Slash.