It Began, One Move Kill

Flender reacted instantly. They had entered the final stage of hunting Soul Beasts—pursuit.

Soul Beasts were not stupid either. Once injured, if continuing the fight meant they would likely be severely wounded even if they won, they would choose to flee directly.

What? The dignity of the strong?

Soul Beasts had never received moral education. All they learned in nature was survival.

Running at the first sign of trouble—that was the true beastly nature of Soul Beasts.

"Old miser, can you stop it?!"

Zhao Wuji's voice came from afar as Flender mobilized his Wind Domain to accelerate him.

"Hold it for three seconds!"

The Griffin moved extremely fast and could cover over a thousand meters in seconds. If not for the Iron Tree Forest obstructing it, it would likely have already shrunk to the size of a grain of rice in the distance.

"I'll do my damn best!"

The gale propelled Zhao Wuji forward. With the Fourth Spirit Ring's Positioning Tracking, the accelerated Zhao Wuji closed in on the Royal Griffin once more.

His two massive palms clenched into fists as large as sandbags. Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth, and the darkest Spirit Ring on his body gleamed brightly.

Sixth Spirit Skill: Earth-Shattering Fist!

The friction set the air aglow with scorching light. Zhao Wuji finally caught up to the Royal Griffin, his two heavy fists ready to smash down upon it.

A rumbling sound rang out. The young Griffin keenly sensed the enormous threat behind it and wanted to turn at once to counterattack, but that whirlwind clung to it like a festering infection.

The wind around its body collapsed as if foam had met water, and the young Griffin's movements were impaired once again.

Boom!

Zhao Wuji ignored everything and threw a fierce punch, striking the young Griffin squarely in the waist again.

It was neither as immovable as a mountain as before, nor was it sent flying like at the beginning. The young Griffin merely let out a pained cry, as though its internal organs had been shattered.

"Screech!"

Hearing the sound, the Ninety-Thousand-Year Griffin immediately turned back. Seeing the young Griffin in such a state, it beat its wings with all its strength and rushed closer.

Bang!

With an instinctive swipe of its claw, it sent Zhao Wuji, whose Fourth Spirit Skill had been interrupted, flying away. The young Griffin twisted its body in discomfort.

"Damn it..."

Zhao Wuji groaned from where he lay. He felt as though his back were about to break, but seeing the two Griffins preparing to act again, he used both hands and feet to climb back up.

Whoosh...

A calm breeze swept across the entire Iron Tree Forest. It felt as indifferent as air itself, yet as fierce as a tornado, appearing abruptly.

The two Griffins stiffened instantly, overcome by an almost instinctive discomfort born of suppression.

Zhao Wuji had only just risen when this feeling pinned him down as well, his neck stiffly turning toward it.

And then...

Flender, clad in armor from head to toe, appeared before Zhao Wuji.

Gentle yet violent winds swirled around Flender. The ultimate hues of emerald and azure transformed into streams of flowing light.

Layer upon layer of distinct armor covered him from head to toe, even appearing over every finger. It armed his entire body without the slightest gap or weakness.

Martial Soul Bone Armor True Form—the power only a Title Douluo could fully awaken.

"Old miser?"

Zhao Wuji called out, scarcely believing his eyes.

Flender did not answer. He merely looked toward the two Griffins. Every second counted now.

After his fundamental improvement, Flender could temporarily wield this power before reaching the Title Douluo rank. The cost was still mana consumption—an utterly enormous amount of mana consumption.

But in the current situation, whether it consumed mana no longer mattered. The target had already been decided.

The instant his figure appeared, Flender did not hesitate in the slightest. He simply reached out and clenched his hand, and endless gales immediately surged forth, pouncing upon the two Griffins.

Absolute suppression crashed down. Whether it was the Ninety-Thousand-Year Griffin or the Royal Griffin, both were forced straight to the ground, their trembling eyes filled with absolute terror.

Flender looked down at the two Griffins and lightly waved his hand. A wind blade flew over.

Crack! Crack...

The Ninety-Thousand-Year Griffin's head was instantly severed by the wind blade. When the Royal Griffin's head had been cut halfway through, the blade suddenly stopped before dispersing.

With a puff, the armor across Flender's body vanished. Every wind in the Iron Tree Forest collapsed with it, reverting to calm air.

Zhao Wuji watched helplessly as Flender, who had looked like a god just moments earlier, fell to the ground and nearly landed flat on his back. He only barely steadied himself with all his strength.

The Ninety-Thousand-Year Griffin's head fell to the ground, its gaze still fixed in the direction where Flender had stood. Beyond the fear in its eyes was deep admiration.

The Royal Griffin was also taking more breaths out than in. Blood sprayed everywhere from its neck, nearly staining half its body red.

Only then did Li Yusong and the other two arrive. They stared blankly at Flender, who had just displayed such overwhelming might, unable to believe that he was their boss.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and help me. I really don't have any strength left."

Flender knelt on one knee, his voice seeming to squeeze out from between clenched teeth.

Every bone in his body felt swollen. It was not painful, but the discomfort was extreme.

No wonder Title Douluo were said to exist in another dimension from other Spirit Masters, capable of extending their lives and returning to youth. This kind of power was truly terrifying.

"Oh, oh..."

The four finally snapped out of it and hurried over to help Flender up.

Shao Xin summoned another handful of candy beans and stuffed them all into Flender's mouth.

Only after feeling the sweetness spread through his mouth did Flender feel himself recover slightly.

With the battle over, Zhao Wuji looked at Flender, then at the decapitated Ninety-Thousand-Year Griffin, and could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Old miser, if you had this kind of ability, why didn't you say so earlier? We brothers fought alongside you for nothing all this time."

"Nonsense. If you use your trump card right at the start, how can it still be called a trump card?!"

Flender retorted casually. If he had not discovered that his attacks could clearly take effect under the wind's suppression, he would never have done this.

What if he had unleashed his strongest move right away and failed to kill them? He would have gone limp afterward, and those two Griffins would have chewed through them like beans.

"Check on that Royal Griffin. If it's not dead, Zhao, go finish it off. There should only be the two of them in this area. Get ready and end this quickly."

"Mm."

Zhao Wuji nodded. After witnessing Flender's terrifying display, he no longer had any objection to the old miser absorbing the Ninety-Thousand-Year Griffin as his seventh Spirit Ring.

Geniuses were always monstrous exceptions. Zhao Wuji considered himself a genius, but the old miser's talent surpassed even his own.

By that logic, perhaps he should also try exceeding the limits and absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring in the future?

With that thought, Zhao Wuji approached the dying Royal Griffin.

Just as he was about to act, a black Spirit Ring silently rose before his eyes the next moment.

The Royal Griffin had died from severe damage to its respiratory system and excessive blood loss.

Zhao Wuji grinned. This saved him the trouble of doing it himself.

Hm?

Suddenly, Zhao Wuji faintly sensed something unusual from the Royal Griffin's corpse.

"This is..."

He reached out to touch it. Upon sensing an excessively dense aura of Soul Power, Zhao Wuji was electrified. He thrust his hand in and pulled out a gleaming object from amid the flesh and blood, something both soft and hard in texture.

Ten Thousand Year Royal Griffin Right Forearm Bone.

"Holy shit..." Zhao Wuji blurted out a curse, waving the Spirit Bone at Flender.

"Old miser, we've struck it rich!"

"This aura... a Title Douluo!"

Within the poison miasma, Dugu Bo abruptly rose to his feet, a sinister glint appearing in his eyes.

Why would a Title Douluo come to Sunset Forest at a time like this? Could it be...

No, he had to go take a look!

A figure shot out from the poison miasma, speeding through the sky with precision toward a certain direction.