Defeated

Blades flashed one after another, then converged on a single point.

"Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!"

Guen's blade cut through the Vajra Ape's muscles, even leaving a wound on its bone. It had been difficult, but he had managed to cut through.

"Roar!" The Vajra Ape stopped paying any attention to Del and fixed its gaze on Guen.

"Incredible. The Green Shadow Demon Snake's defenses are almost as strong as the Vajra Ape's, even though one is an Apprentice Level beast and the other is Planetary Level." Guen pulled back after withdrawing his blade, unable to stop himself from murmuring.

Along the way, Guen had gained a deeper understanding of Flame Slash, and its power had grown as well. But killing the Green Shadow Demon Snake with a single strike was still unlikely.

Ferocious beasts had intelligence, too.

They couldn't speak human languages, but it wasn't hard for them to understand what Guen meant.

This human had actually compared it to a Magic Beast that wasn't even Super Tier. The Vajra Ape naturally felt insulted.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Vajra Ape unleashed its full power, becoming a series of afterimages. It moved so fast that its trajectory was impossible to make out.

"Thud."

Guen was hit and blasted into the ground by the Vajra Ape's fist.

The Vajra Ape raised its fist, larger than a boulder, high into the air, then slammed it down with crushing force.

"Look out!"

Del hurried toward them, shouting a warning to Guen.

But it was already too late. The Vajra Ape's movement speed alone exceeded the speed of sound, let alone its full-powered attack. Del's warning couldn't possibly reach Guen in time; it was nothing more than an attempt to reassure himself.

"Boom!"

The ground shook, and Del's face turned pale.

If he had taken that punch himself, even the Flame God Armor wouldn't have stopped him from coughing up blood.

"Take another slash!"

Suddenly, a figure burst out of the ground and slashed the Vajra Ape's ankle, leaving a huge wound. The Vajra Ape repeated its earlier tactic, using its speed to blast Guen back underground.

Only then did the sound reach Del's ears.

Guen burst out of the ground again, but the Vajra Ape had seen it coming and dodged aside.

"You call yourself a Vajra Ape, but you're not strong at all. You're just good at running." Guen had swung with all his might, but still missed. All he could do was taunt the Vajra Ape; he knew it could understand him.

Sure enough, the Vajra Ape let out a thunderous roar. Relying on its speed, it attacked Guen again and again, while Guen could barely land a hit in return. He was repeatedly driven into the ground, much to his frustration.

"Because of Flame Slash, I've focused too much on putting power into my attacks and neglected putting power into my speed. But the techniques for applying power are connected to some extent. My power output is already close to 9.5 times, but my speed is still less than eight times. I'll start training it now." Guen's eyes lit up as he charged forward, letting the Vajra Ape pummel him again and again.

But gradually, Guen grew faster and faster. Several times, he even managed to keep up with the Vajra Ape.

Del's jaw nearly hit the ground.

He could have accepted Guen improving over the course of a year, or even a month. But watching him improve second by second, right before his eyes, was simply too much to take in.

The Vajra Ape was just as astonished. It caught sight of Del out of the corner of its eye and suddenly charged at him.

Del jolted, staring at the Vajra Ape's mountain-sized form. Only then did he remember that one punch from it had nearly left him gravely injured, while Guen had taken God knew how many hits and was still bouncing around as if nothing had happened. Del couldn't do that.

Del's face turned the same color as his hair.

"Boom!"

Del was blasted underground, sending dust flying as rows of trees toppled one after another.

Guen's expression turned grave.

He and Del wore the same Flame God Armor, so Guen's ability to take a beating came down to how he applied power. If he could use that technique for attacking and moving faster, why couldn't he use it to defend himself?

A technique called the Qi Energy Technique circulated among the people of the Aoyu Empire. It was, in fact, only a crude application of the principle.

By engaging his entire body when taking a hit, he could amplify his defense just as he amplified his power. The difficulty lay in coordinating his whole body and constantly adjusting how he absorbed and redirected the force. Guen had only managed it because of the Legacy stored by Moto.

But expecting Del to learn it in such a short time would be asking too much.

"Die!"

Guen caught up and kept using the first and second forms of Flame Slash without a break. Each strike consumed a great deal of stamina, but his body still contained some undigested Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid and Green Marrow. They turned into strands of Life Energy that seeped into his body while rapidly replenishing his strength.

Does this human never get tired?!

The Vajra Ape was already thinking of retreating. It had seen plenty of humans with unusual techniques, but using them usually took a heavy toll.

Ferocious beasts rarely had such techniques, but their powerful bodies gave them greater stamina in battle.

But now Guen was like a monster that couldn't be crushed or killed, and could still slash its bones one strike at a time. Even the Vajra Ape would have been exhausted after using attacks of that level so many times.

And Guen was only Apprentice Level!

Yet Guen's attacks showed no sign of stopping. He kept swinging, using the first and second forms over and over.

The Vajra Ape's attacks: dodge if possible; if not, take them head-on!

The Flame God Armor, which required Planetary Level 5 power to damage, showed not the slightest mark, no matter how furiously the Vajra Ape struck it.

"Roar!"

The Vajra Ape fled at top speed, but Guen refused to let up. He was even faster.

"Die!"

Guen was exhilarated. He swung his blade, and its shadow converged on a single point. The blade trembled faintly as it struck the Vajra Ape's resentful gaze at a speed beyond sound. The Vajra Ape's head was severed. By then, Guen had already struck it five times.

Its enormous head rolled to the ground, and its gushing blood soaked the dust.

"I actually did it." Guen's hand trembled slightly as a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

The Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid and Green Marrow had been completely absorbed. Without him realizing it, his physical strength had broken through to Apprentice Level 9, and he was already close to the Apprentice Level Limit.

With a little more training, he could try to break through to Planetary Level.

But Guen knew he had relied on plenty of external aids: the Grey Bamboo Shoot Liquid, Green Marrow, Meteor Light Blade, and Flame God Armor. In a true one-on-one fight, he might not have been able to beat the Vajra Ape.

After all, there was a vast gulf between their levels.

The gulf between Apprentice Level and Planetary Level.

Only after confirming that it was safe did Del slowly deactivate the Flame God Armor, revealing his battered body. Several bones were out of place. He gasped heavily, feeling deeply ashamed. "I'm sorry. I was the one who invited you, but I barely helped at all."

Guen shook his head. "We both underestimated the gap between Apprentice Level and Planetary Level. But now we know how wide it is, and we'll have plenty of chances in the future."

Guen gave the enormous corpse of the Vajra Ape a regretful look. He cut off only a few valuable body parts, then set off with Del and the Kejia Beast toward the exit of Beast Canyon.

Soon, the surging High-Tier Ferocious Beasts devoured the Vajra Ape's corpse.