Phoenix True Fire, Rise!

Damn, Phoenix True Fire, Rise!

"Be careful. If this happens again, whether you agree or not, we're leaving immediately."

After striking, Gu Yue glanced at him and spoke calmly.

Qiangu Wuji nodded, feeling helpless. He knew Gu Yue had promised Leng Yaozhu that they would leave at once if they encountered danger they couldn't handle. That was why she'd said that.

So, at the very least, he couldn't afford to nearly get himself killed again.

Thinking this over, Qiangu Wuji looked up at the Flame Demon Lion pack before him, considering his options.

His offensive abilities were far too limited right now. He only had Soul Shock, which was useful against ordinary opponents, but left him struggling against anyone much stronger than him.

There was no way he could win this fight.

Wait, no. Wasn't he here to test the healing ability of the Phoenix Flame? Why did he need to beat these things?

Thinking it over, he felt relieved.

Since the goal was to test it, what he needed to do next was obvious.

All he had to do was treat this battle as a fight to the death, then fight with everything he had until he was exhausted.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Qiangu Wuji took a deep breath. His blood began to boil.

He stepped forward, and the Mental Exploration Domain spread out again, covering the entire area.

"Gu Yue, I'm going to fight with everything I have. When I go down, please get me out of here."

Behind him, Gu Yue stared at the golden-haired boy's back and froze for a moment. Though his body was small, even a little thin, she sensed in him a determination to face death without fear.

Without thinking, she took a few steps back, giving the boy the stage, then nodded.

"Okay. I'll get you out."

Qiangu Wuji said no more. He pulled a dagger from his pocket and charged straight at the Flame Demon Lion leader.

Attacking first while outnumbered and weaker than his opponents would make anyone watching from the outside think he had given up and was trying to get himself killed.

The Flame Demon Lion leader thought so too. When it saw Qiangu Wuji charging toward it, it visibly hesitated, clearly not expecting anyone to be so reckless.

But as soon as it recovered, it flew into a rage. Raising its head, it swung a paw as big as a fan straight at Qiangu Wuji's head.

Just as the paw was about to hit him, however, something unexpected happened. Qiangu Wuji seemed to have anticipated the attack's trajectory. The instant the paw came swinging toward him, he tilted his head slightly and dodged, then drove his dagger into the Flame Demon Lion's lower abdomen.

"Roar!"

It had all happened in the blink of an eye. Once it was over, the Flame Demon Lion leader let out a shrill scream.

Inside the Spirit Pagoda.

The staff stared at the images on the screen, dumbfounded.

"Th-That's a thousand-year Soul Beast, right?"

"Y-Yes. This kid is only a One-Ring Soul Master, and yet..."

This was the room where the Spirit Ascension Platform was monitored. A massive screen stood in the center, displaying the moment Qiangu Wuji stabbed the Flame Demon Lion leader.

The staff who had witnessed the scene didn't know what to make of it.

They had worked at the Spirit Pagoda for many years and had seen all kinds of monstrous geniuses, but never a One-Ring Soul Master who could take on a thousand-year Soul Beast.

Even the weakest thousand-year Soul Beasts were at least on par with human Soul Masters of the Third or Fourth Rings.

And yet this thousand-year Soul Beast had been bested by Qiangu Wuji, a One-Ring Soul Master...

Leng Yaozhu sat to one side of the room, watching the screen with a furrowed brow.

Unlike the shocked staff, she was a Limit Douluo, one of the strongest fighters around, and naturally saw more than the others.

"That child... Did he know where the attack would land before it happened?"

"Can he see the future?"

Remembering how effortlessly Qiangu Wuji had dodged that attack, Leng Yaozhu found the idea increasingly plausible.

But after thinking it over, she decided it was unlikely. Seeing the future was practically a divine ability. It shouldn't be something a One-Ring Soul Master could do.

After considering it for a while, she reached a conclusion.

"His Body Martial Soul must have other abilities I don't know about."

Leng Yaozhu murmured, then stood and addressed the staff.

"All right, stop watching and prepare to forcibly wake those two children. They should be reaching their limits soon."

The staff all nodded. None of them asked why.

Because Leng Yaozhu was right: Qiangu Wuji was about to reach his limit.

Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform...

After stabbing the Flame Demon Lion leader, Qiangu Wuji hadn't taken it out of the fight. It wasn't even seriously injured.

Worse, the creature seemed to go berserk. Its eyes reddened as it roared and launched one attack after another at him.

Spirit Exploration let him dodge most of its attacks in advance, but he couldn't be everywhere at once.

While the lion king attacked him, the smaller ones weren't idle either. They hurled fireballs at him one after another, as though they would never run out.

Under such a dense barrage, even though Qiangu Wuji could see the attacks coming, he couldn't dodge every one without getting hurt.

Before long, he was battered and bleeding, and his usually smooth golden hair had been singed.

Seeing his sorry state, Gu Yue, watching from the sidelines, spoke up.

"Isn't it about time we left?"

"Wait, not yet..."

Seeing Gu Yue about to press her emergency escape button, Qiangu Wuji hurriedly stopped her.

Gu Yue frowned.

"Didn't we agree on this beforehand?"

Qiangu Wuji didn't answer. He simply looked down at his battered state and smiled bitterly.

Thankfully, this was a virtual world inside the Spirit Ascension Platform. If he were out in the real world, all these scars would be a real headache.

Still, the virtual world was what let him fight without holding back.

Now it was time to test the effects of the Phoenix Flame.

With that thought, he closed his eyes and shouted inwardly:

"Phoenix True Fire, rise!"

Boom!

Flames erupted, and dazzling firelight illuminated the surroundings!