Boom—!!!
As the two stun grenades detonated point-blank in front of the Void Shadow Rat, an intense white light swallowed everything. The deafening roar echoed through the forest, sending leaves flying.
The Void Shadow Rat let out a shriek. Its eyes were instantly blinded, its eardrums rang, and its whole body writhed and convulsed on the ground like a headless fly.
"Now!"
Tang San, who had been circling along the flank, had eyes brimming with purple light. He immediately pushed the Purple Extreme Demon Eye to its limit.
As a disciple of the Tang Sect, kicking someone when they were down was basic training.
Tang San flicked his wrist, and the mechanism in his sleeve clicked crisply.
"Silent Sleeve Arrow!"
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Three Bone-Piercing Nails, gleaming coldly and arranged in a triangular formation, shot through the air with pinpoint accuracy toward the Void Shadow Rat's most vulnerable spots: its throat and abdomen.
But a four-hundred-year soul beast was still a four-hundred-year soul beast, especially one with an exceptionally rare spatial attribute.
Just as the Bone-Piercing Nails were about to pierce its flesh, the Void Shadow Rat relied on its instinctive sense of danger and forced itself to endure the pain. Yellow light flashed brilliantly across its body.
Hum!
Its body seemed to melt into the air, instantly turning illusory and distorted.
Pfft!
Pfft!
The three Bone-Piercing Nails pierced through its fading afterimage. Only one grazed its hind leg before embedding itself in a tree trunk, drawing a spray of blood.
"Squeak—!!!"
The searing pain of its injuries forcibly jolted the Void Shadow Rat out of its daze.
Its tiny, blood-red eyes swept across the scene.
That iron lump was too tough. The one wearing sunglasses was too sinister.
You had to pick on the weakest-looking one!
Its gaze instantly locked onto the man standing at the very edge—the one who had just eaten its droppings and looked the most frail: Yu Xiaogang.
You perverted old man!
You ate my shit and brought people to block me!
The Void Shadow Rat kicked off with its hind legs and unleashed Shadow Leap, transforming into a streak of purple-black lightning. It darted past the others and lunged straight at Yu Xiaogang's face!
"G-Grandmaster, watch out! Dodge to the left!"
Tang San cried out in alarm, his face full of concern. His respect for his teacher was so moving, he looked as if he wished he could take his place.
But the instant he shouted the words "to the left," his left hand, hidden in his sleeve, jerked. The mechanism made the faintest click.
Clang!
Three gleaming Bone-Piercing Nails shot out.
But not a single one of the Hidden Weapons was aimed at the Void Shadow Rat in midair.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
They struck with pinpoint accuracy behind Yu Xiaogang—one to his left, one to his right, and one directly behind him—sealing off every escape route!
The Bone-Piercing Nail aimed toward the left had landed precisely in the path Yu Xiaogang would instinctively take to dodge.
Hearing the warning, Yu Xiaogang had instinctively started to throw himself to the left. But the moment he caught sight of that glinting, throat-piercing flash from the corner of his eye, he was scared out of his wits. He abruptly halted his movement and froze in place like a wooden post.
Not only had Tang San failed to save him, he'd trapped him instead!
Tang San maintained his attack posture, a hint of regret flickering deep in his eyes.
"Oops... I got flustered because I was worried and my hand slipped."
Yu Xiaogang could only watch helplessly as the hideous rat face drew nearer and nearer. He was so terrified he nearly collapsed, stumbling and almost falling.
At the brink of life and death, the instincts of this twenty-ninth-rank Soul Grandmaster finally awakened.
"Come forth, Luo Sanpao!!"
Yu Xiaogang formed a seal with both hands and shouted.
Bang!
A cloud of Soul Power burst open, and a strange creature appeared out of thin air. It was round-bodied, looked like a cross between a pig and a dog, and had two drooping ears.
"Luo, Luo!"
Luo Sanpao had barely appeared and had no idea what was going on when it saw a giant rat lunging at it.
Yu Xiaogang had no time to think. He immediately shouted the soul incantation:
"Let your farts rumble like thunder! Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!!"
Luo Sanpao's round body suddenly contracted, its rear pointed at the Void Shadow Rat in midair.
Ptooey—!!!
A visible cloud of thick, yellowish poisonous gas erupted with a thunderous boom, instantly engulfing the Void Shadow Rat.
The attack itself wasn't especially powerful, but the stench was enough to make any living creature question its existence. It made the Void Shadow Rat falter midair, its eyes rolling back.
"Perfect!"
Su Yun, who had been watching from the sidelines, saw the dense cloud of yellow combustible gas and curled his lips into a wild grin.
He whipped his head around and shouted to Red Hair:
"Red Hair! Light it up! Give Grandmaster a little show!!"
"Huh? Light it up?"
Red Hair froze, staring at the cloud of yellow gas. He didn't know why he was supposed to set that stuff on fire, but his adoptive father's orders were absolute!
"Yes, adoptive father!"
Red Hair roared. His First Soul Ring lit up, and a blazing fireball formed in his hand.
"Burn, my youth!!"
Whoosh!
The fireball left his hand and landed squarely in the dense cloud of methane released by Luo Sanpao.
The next instant.
When open flame met a highly concentrated combustible gas—
KABOOM—!!!!!!
A thunderous explosion shook the heavens, and a small mushroom cloud rose out of nowhere in the forest!
A terrifying shock wave, mixed with flames, swept through the surroundings.
"Good grief!"
Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao were sent flying by the shock wave and landed on a tree branch five meters away. Their faces were blackened, and their hair stood out in all directions.
The four members of Red Hair's Group were also blasted into the dirt. They lay on the ground, groaning.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The dust settled.
The clearing had been blown into a huge crater.
"Squeak—!!!"
The Void Shadow Rat still wasn't dead!
It crawled out of the crater, its fur burned away to reveal raw, bloody flesh. Half its tail had been blown off.
But the unbearable pain had completely unleashed its ferocity.
Its eyes were as red as blood as it glared at the one responsible for all of this—Su Yun.
It wouldn't die in peace unless it killed this human!
Whoosh!
This time, it was twice as fast as before!
It zigzagged between the tree trunks, ricocheting back and forth like a black bolt of death, rapidly closing in on Su Yun.
Fifty meters!
Thirty meters!
"Big Brother Su! It's gone berserk! Dodge!"
Tang San shouted anxiously. The Purple Extreme Demon Eye let him see its trajectory, but his body couldn't keep up.
Faced with the deadly charge, Su Yun stood motionless.
He even had time to push up his sunglasses.
"Fast? Faster than a good old American quick draw?"
Su Yun brushed his left hand over his ring.
Click!
A matte-black assault rifle fitted with a holographic sight and a vertical foregrip appeared in his hands.
An AR-15!
A product of America!
A symbol of freedom!
Handpicked by bullied introverts!
The nightmare of countless college students!
A scythe of death with a 5.56-millimeter caliber!
Su Yun expertly racked the bolt, chambered a round, and shouldered the rifle in one smooth motion.
"The times have changed, Jerry."
Before you continue