Xiao Feng Enters the Game, A'Man Joins the Team

Time ticked away, and wounds began to appear on both soul beasts.

The Blazing Lion's body was covered in claw marks of varying depths from the Iron Armor Bear, the blood flowing from its wounds vaporizing upon contact with its own flames.

The Iron Armor Bear was in an even worse state; a large chunk of meat had been bitten off its left hind thigh by the Blazing Lion, forcing it to stand in place and defend passively.

Xiao Qing summoned the Prism Ball and released Xiao Feng from within.

He understood that this was the best moment to enter the fray; the Blazing Lion's stamina had been mostly exhausted, and the Iron Armor Bear's life was hanging by a thread.

If this opportunity were missed, the Iron Armor Bear would likely die at the hands of the Blazing Lion.

Looking at Xiao Feng, who had nudged up against his side, Xiao Qing patted the wolf's head and instructed him earnestly:

"Xiao Feng, be careful. If there's danger, send your Phantom Shadow in first!"

Xiao Feng understood. He activated Phantom Shadow, and two wolf silhouettes leaped silently out of the rock crevice, sneaking toward the valley floor under the cover of shadows and boulders.

Xiao Qing followed closely behind, his nerves taut, clutching the Prism Ball tightly in his hand.

The capture range of the Prism Ball was limited; from his current position, Xiao Qing could not target the Iron Armor Bear. He had to move much further forward to lock onto it.

On the valley floor, the battle between the two soul beasts had reached a fever pitch.

The Blazing Lion had become even more frenzied due to its injuries; it stopped circling and chose to engage the Iron Armor Bear in a direct, head-on collision.

It swung its flaming claws, pouncing on the quadrupedal Iron Armor Bear and repeatedly slashing at the three legs that were less severely injured.

The Iron Armor Bear's eyes were bloodshot with rage. Enduring the Blazing Lion's onslaught, it gathered earth-attribute soul power in its front paws, preparing to take down the Blazing Lion in a single strike.

Just as the two were about to collide, an unexpected change occurred.

Two figures darted out from the nearby rocks, attacking the Blazing Lion in perfect coordination.

At this moment, Xiao Feng's speed was displayed to the fullest. Like a ghost, he danced around the enraged Blazing Lion, driving it into a frenzy.

Xiao Feng and his Phantom Shadow were like two mosquitoes, constantly harassing the Blazing Lion, which, having lost its reason, had no way to deal with them.

Just as Xiao Feng and his Phantom Shadow distracted the Blazing Lion, the Iron Armor Bear seized the opportunity to charge forward, raising its long-charged bear paw and slamming it fiercely into the Blazing Lion's waist.

"Crack!"

A clear sound of bone fracturing rang out. The Blazing Lion let out a miserable howl as it was sent flying, crashing into a boulder over a person's height and kicking up a cloud of dust.

However, the Blazing Lion was not so easily defeated. It struggled to stand, the intense pain in its waist helping it regain its sanity.

Looking at the "two" eight-hundred-year-old Wind Shadow Wolves and the five-hundred-year-old Iron Armor Bear, the Blazing Lion knew it had no chance of killing them all; at best, it could take the heavily injured Iron Armor Bear with it.

But to the Blazing Lion, that was not worth it. A momentary failure was nothing—survival was what mattered!

By the time Xiao Qing reached Xiao Feng's vicinity, the Blazing Lion had already tucked its tail between its legs and bolted out of the valley entrance, vanishing completely.

Seeing the Blazing Lion retreat, Xiao Qing shifted his focus to the Iron Armor Bear.

At this moment, the Iron Armor Bear's aura was extremely weak; it was clearly at the end of its rope.

As for the Blazing Lion, as long as it avoided intense combat for the next few months, it would be able to recover from the blow it took from the Iron Armor Bear.

But the Iron Armor Bear was different. The Blazing Lion had not only bitten off half the meat from its thigh but had also injected its own flames into the bear's body through the wounds.

Xiao Qing didn't need to guess to know that the Iron Armor Bear's internal organs were likely half-cooked by the flames; relying on its own internal recovery was impossible.

Xiao Qing stood beside Xiao Feng and raised the Prism Ball, aiming directly at the Iron Armor Bear.

The dying Iron Armor Bear sensed the threat and let out a roar, preparing to drag its wounded body into battle, but it was too severely injured, and its movements were more than a beat slow.

To the lightning-fast Xiao Feng, this was no different from slow motion. He controlled his Phantom Shadow to seize the opportunity, and both wolves launched an attack from the flanks.

Four claws struck the Iron Armor Bear's leg joints with precision. While the bear's shell was strong, its joints were relatively weak.

As the wolf claws slashed through, blood splattered.

The Iron Armor Bear let out a pained howl, completely losing the ability to resist, and collapsed weakly to the ground.

Xiao Qing seized this fleeting moment, pouring his soul power frantically into the Prism Ball before throwing it to strike the Iron Armor Bear.

The moment it touched the Iron Armor Bear, the Prism Ball shone brilliantly, emitting a beam of light that enveloped the beast.

The Iron Armor Bear struggled, attempting to resist the suction of the Prism Ball, but it was too heavily injured, and the soul power within its body had long since been exhausted. Its struggles grew weaker and weaker.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds...

Finally, the Iron Armor Bear turned into a stream of light and was sucked into the Prism Ball.

At this moment, Xiao Qing sensed that in his mental space, alongside Xiao Feng's cyan phantom, there was now a grayish-brown bear-shaped phantom.

This was something Xiao Qing had only perceived after breaking through to level twenty. After subduing the Iron Armor Bear, he finally understood its purpose.

Xiao Qing could now sense the status of the soul beasts stored within the Prism Ball, and he could choose which one to release, as there was only one Prism Ball.

Of course, Xiao Qing could also choose to release Xiao Feng and the Iron Armor Bear at the same time.

Xiao Qing let out a long sigh of relief and leaned against Xiao Feng; his second soul beast had finally been subdued without any major mishaps.

Just then, Xiao Feng suddenly barked at Xiao Qing a few times.

Xiao Qing looked toward the direction of the Blazing Lion with some surprise; Xiao Feng was telling him that the nine-hundred-year-old soul beast no longer had any signs of life.

"What? That Blazing Lion is dead? Could it be that the Iron Armor Bear's attack just now shattered its internal organs?!"

This was the only logical explanation Xiao Qing could come up with; otherwise, the wounds on its body alone would not have been enough to cause its death.

After resting for a moment, Xiao Qing had Xiao Feng control the Phantom Shadow to approach the Blazing Lion.

Xiao Feng directed the Phantom Shadow to slash through the Blazing Lion's eyes, just in case the beast was feigning death while waiting for them to approach.

Fresh blood flowed from the Blazing Lion's eye sockets, soaking the soil where it lay.

"Hmm, it seems the Blazing Lion is truly dead!"

Only when the blood stopped flowing did Xiao Qing finally set his mind at ease. He followed Xiao Feng to the Blazing Lion's carcass, drew his long blade, and plunged it into the beast's abdomen.

Soon, Xiao Qing found what the Blazing Lion used to store its flames—a fist-sized red crystal.

"I didn't expect that just trying my luck would actually net me a Flame Fire Stone!"

Excited, Xiao Qing took out a piece of linen to wrap the Flame Fire Stone; even through the cloth, he could still feel the fire-attribute energy contained within the crystal.

After putting the Flame Fire Stone away, Xiao Qing noticed that the vital signs of the Iron Armor Bear inside the Prism Ball had stabilized, so he released it.

Unlike its previous state of fury, the Iron Armor Bear appeared much more docile after being subdued by the Prism Ball, and most of its wounds had already scabbed over.

Having sensed Xiao Qing's prowess, it lay flat on the ground and gently nudged Xiao Qing's hand with its massive head.

Xiao Qing often played with Xiao Feng, so he naturally understood that the Iron Armor Bear was expressing its submission.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were no other soul beasts nearby, Xiao Qing took the time to carefully examine its injuries.

There were several forearm-length claw marks on the Iron Armor Bear's chest that would need time to heal, and the chunk of flesh bitten from its thigh severely hindered its mobility.

Xiao Qing took out the medicinal herbs he carried with him, crushed them, applied the paste to the wounds, and then bound them simply with strips of cloth.

"From today on, your name is 'A'Man'. From now on, you are responsible for defense, Xiao Feng is responsible for offense, and I will be responsible for command."