The Times Have Changed

Boom—!!!

As the two flash bombs detonated at point-blank range before the Void Shadow Rat, blinding white light devoured everything in an instant, and a deafening roar echoed through the forest, shaking leaves into a flurry.

The Void Shadow Rat let out a shrill scream, its eyes instantly blinded, eardrums ringing, its whole body writhing and convulsing in agony on the ground like a headless fly.

"Now!"

Tang San, who had been circling on the flank, had his eyes brimming with purple light, his Purple Extreme Demon Eye pushed to its limit.

As a disciple of the Tang Sect, kicking a dog when it's down was basic instinct.

With a flick of his wrist, a crisp mechanism sound rang from his sleeve.

"Silent Sleeve Arrow!"

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Three Bone-Piercing Nails, gleaming with cold light, shot out in a triangular formation, whistling through the air, aimed precisely at the Void Shadow Rat's most vulnerable spots—its throat and belly.

But a four-hundred-year soul beast was still a four-hundred-year soul beast, and a rare spatial attribute one at that.

Just as the Bone-Piercing Nails were about to pierce flesh, the Void Shadow Rat, driven by an instinctive sense of danger, forced itself to endure the pain as yellow light flared from its body.

Hum!

Its body seemed to melt into the air, instantly becoming illusory and distorted.

Pfft! Pfft!

The three Bone-Piercing Nails passed through its fading afterimage, only one grazing its hind leg and embedding into a tree trunk, sending a spray of blood.

"Squeak—!!!"

The sharp pain of the injury jolted the Void Shadow Rat awake from its daze.

Its bloodshot little eyes swept across the scene.

That iron lump was too hard, that sunglasses-wearing one was too sinister.

Pick the soft persimmon to squeeze!

Its gaze instantly locked onto the one standing farthest out, who had just eaten its excrement and looked the most frail—Yu Xiaogang.

You perverted old man!

You eat my shit and bring people to corner me!

The Void Shadow Rat kicked off with its hind legs, activating Shadow Leap, turning into a purple-black bolt of lightning, leaping over the crowd, and charging straight at Yu Xiaogang's face!

"G-Grandmaster, watch out! Dodge left!"

Tang San's face was full of urgency, his cry startled, his demeanor of respecting his teacher so moving it seemed he wished he could take the blow himself.

Yet, the moment he shouted the word "left," his left hand, hidden in his sleeve, suddenly jerked, and a faint mechanism sound clicked.

Zheng!

Three Bone-Piercing Nails shot out.

But not a single one of these hidden weapons was aimed at the Void Shadow Rat mid-air.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

They struck with pinpoint accuracy behind Yu Xiaogang's left, right, and directly rear, sealing off all escape routes!

Especially the nail aimed at the left side, perfectly positioned on the path Yu Xiaogang would instinctively take to dodge.

Yu Xiaogang, who had initially heard the warning and subconsciously moved to dive left, caught a glimpse of that throat-severing cold gleam from the corner of his eye. Terrified out of his wits, he forcibly halted his evasive motion, frozen in place like a wooden post.

Not only did he not rescue, but he had actually pinned the man down!

Tang San maintained his striking posture, a faint trace of regret flickering deep in his eyes.

"Ah... care leads to mistakes, slipped off target."

Yu Xiaogang could only watch helplessly as the ferocious rat face grew closer and closer, his soul nearly fleeing his body in terror, stumbling and nearly falling.

At the critical moment of life and death, the instinct of his twenty-ninth-level Soul Grand Master finally awakened.

"Come out! Luo Sanpao!!"

Yu Xiaogang formed hand seals and roared.

Bang!

A cloud of soul power smoke exploded, and a strange creature appeared out of thin air—round-bodied, looking like a mix of pig and dog, with floppy ears.

"Luo luo!"

Luo Sanpao emerged, still disoriented, and saw a giant rat charging at it.

Yu Xiaogang had no time to think and simply shouted his soul incantation:

"Fart like thunder! Shake the heavens and split the earth, Luo Sanpao!!"

Luo Sanpao's round body suddenly contracted, its rear aimed at the Void Shadow Rat midair.

Pfft—!!!

A visible, thickly yellow toxic gas, accompanied by a thunderous roar, erupted in an instant, enveloping the Void Shadow Rat completely.

Though this attack lacked lethal force, the stench—enough to make any living being question their existence—forcibly stalled the rat's movements, its eyes rolling white.

"Good chance!"

Su Yun, who had been watching from the sidelines, stared at the dense yellow flammable gas cloud, a mad grin curling at the corner of his mouth.

He whipped his head around and shouted at Red Hair:

"Red Hair! Light it up! Give the Grandmaster a little show!!"

"Huh? Light it up?"

Red Hair blinked, looking at the yellow mist. He had no idea why they'd set that on fire, but his adoptive father's orders were absolute!

"Yes, Father!"

Red Hair roared, his first soul ring flaring as a blazing fireball coalesced in his hand.

"Burn bright, my youth!!"

Whoosh!

The fireball left his hand, slamming precisely into the dense cloud of biogas Luo Sanpao had spewed.

The next second.

When open flame met high-concentration flammable gas.

Boom—!!!!!!

An earth-shattering explosion rang out, and a small mushroom cloud rose from the forest!

A terrifying shockwave, laced with flames, swept through the surroundings in an instant.

"Holy mother of—!"

Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao were sent flying by the blast, dangling from a tree branch five meters away, faces blackened with soot, hair turned into afros.

Red Hair and his three companions were also blasted into a mess, sprawled on the ground groaning.

"Cough, cough..."

The smoke cleared.

The original clearing had been cratered into a large pit.

"Squeak—!!!"

The Void Shadow Rat was still alive!

It crawled out from the bottom of the pit, its fur scorched off, raw flesh exposed, and half its tail severed.

But this searing pain only ignited its ferocity.

Its eyes were blood-red, locked onto the instigator of it all—Su Yun.

If it didn't kill this human, it would die with regret!

Whoosh!

This time, its speed doubled!

It zigzagged between tree trunks like a black bolt of death, closing the distance to Su Yun in an instant.

Fifty meters!

Thirty meters!

"Brother Su! It's enraged! Dodge!"

Tang San shouted urgently. Though his Purple Extreme Demon Eye could track its trajectory, his body couldn't keep up.

Facing this lethal charge, Su Yun stood still, unmoving.

He even had the leisure to adjust his sunglasses.

"Fast? Faster than an American draw?"

Su Yun's left hand brushed over his ring.

Click!

A matte-black assault rifle, fitted with a holographic sight and vertical foregrip, appeared in his hands.

AR-15!

A specialty of America!

A symbol of freedom!

The chosen weapon of bullied introverts!

The nightmare of countless school students!

The 5.56mm scythe of death!

Su Yun smoothly pulled the bolt to chamber a round, pressed the stock into his shoulder, his movements fluid and practiced.

"Times have changed, Jerry."