A Dazzling Stage

Jiang Ran had no idea how many eyes were watching.

But even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

When he decided to use a sports car and grenades to keep this ancient Exotic Beast at bay, he had already considered the possibility.

There weren't many spectators in life's arena.

If there were... then he would show them the most dazzling side of himself.

By now, he had cleared out most of the Bone-Spike Cat Monsters that had obeyed Zhi's orders and converged on him.

A few still followed from a distance, baring their teeth and growling low, but they didn't dare approach.

Monsters could feel fear.

Jiang Ran had discovered that back when he slaughtered a swarm of Human-Faced Spiders in the High-Tech District.

So, along the way, he had focused on the ordinary monsters, aiming to kill enough of them to terrify the rest and keep them from closing in.

That was all he needed.

But Zhi had noticed, too.

Its crimson eyes swept over the Cat Monsters that were cowering and holding back, then turned to Jiang Ran, standing atop the sports car and repeatedly drawing his bow to kill its underlings. It was visibly going berserk.

It refused to let this insignificant human keep dragging it around from that red metal box.

Roar!!

Zhi suddenly threw its head back and howled. Its enormous body leaped into the air.

The bone spikes on its back began to shudder violently.

The next second—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Several bone spikes shot from Zhi's back, streaking through the air in pale gray arcs toward the sports car where Jiang Ran stood.

Jiang Ran decided he had done enough.

He released the bowstring, stowed his battle bow in the Heavenly Net Pouch, and bent his knees slightly on the car roof.

Then he leaped high into the air.

He landed with ease on the street, thirty meters away, dropping to one knee to absorb the impact before rising.

He didn't even glance at the sports car, letting it be reduced to scrap.

He slowly stood, brushed the dust from his knees, and calmly looked at Zhi ahead.

Zhi had also stopped charging.

Its massive body crouched slightly in the middle of the street as it bared its teeth at Jiang Ran.

Meanwhile—

Inside a three-story commercial building not far away—

Xia Xuan followed close behind Zhao Feng, rushing up to the third floor and reaching a shattered window.

The two immediately looked toward the figure on the street and the suffocatingly imposing giant beast farther away.

As soon as Zhao Feng saw Zhi's size and appearance, his brows drew tightly together. He murmured, "What kind of monster is that?!"

Before Xia Xuan could reply, a woman's hushed voice came from behind them:

"Zhi."

At the sound of her voice, Zhao Feng and Xia Xuan immediately turned around.

Seeing who it was, Xia Xuan furrowed his brows. "Why are you here, too?"

Zou Yue looked embarrassed.

But she quickly jogged over to them and crouched by the window as well, her eyes fixed on the giant beast in the street. Her tone was serious.

"I saw information on this Zhi after yesterday's training class."

Hearing this, Xia Xuan and Zhao Feng forgot all about how Zou Yue had secretly followed them and immediately pressed her in low voices:

"How powerful is it?!"

Zou Yue thought for a moment, then spoke quickly.

"According to our teacher, aside from auspicious beasts, the Exotic Beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas can roughly be divided into two categories: those people eat and those that eat people."

Just then—

A low hum suddenly sounded in the street.

The three fell silent at once, their eyes fixed on the middle of the road.

Blood-red smoke suddenly billowed around the black-clad man, coiling around his body.

The smoke churned and rose.

Even from this distance, it made their eyes sting.

Then...

The black-clad man vanished.

Almost at the same moment, the roars of a dragon and tiger exploded through the street.

When Xia Xuan and the others looked again, Jiang Ran had appeared in front of Zhi.

A Dragon-Tiger Phantom coiled around his arm.

Zhi clearly hadn't expected the human's speed to increase so suddenly. In a panic, it raised both claws to block.

Clang!!!

The instant fist and claw collided—

Despite the enormous difference in their size—

Zhi was blasted backward by the punch.

It crashed into a six-story residential building to the side. The entire wall collapsed, and dust surged into the air.

On the third floor, Zhao Feng saw this and felt his scalp prickle.

He was a Transcendent, too, and had awakened the Rock Armor Divine Ability.

He could crush any ordinary person, and even hold his own when sparring with other Transcendents.

But this black-clad man...

He'd sent a five-meter-tall ancient Exotic Beast flying with one punch.

What level of strength was that?

They were both Transcendents, so why did he seem like a child in comparison?

Xia Xuan and Zou Yue exchanged a stunned glance.

This powerhouse... seemed to have grown far stronger since they last saw him.

And the real battle had only just begun.

The next second—

Several bone spikes shot out of the darkness in the rubble of the building Zhi had crashed into.

Jiang Ran darted back and forth across the street.

He drove Eight-Step Cicada Chase to its limit.

The buildings on both sides of the street blurred past his vision.

He didn't have time to care that the skill's experience points were rapidly climbing on his panel.

Then Jiang Ran abruptly skidded to a halt.

His feet gouged two shallow furrows in the ground. He thrust out his right hand, fingers curled like hooks, and caught an incoming bone spike.

The impact made his arm muscles tense instantly, veins bulging.

But he didn't let go.

He twisted his hips, his spine undulating like a great dragon. Power rose from his feet, passed through his waist and abdomen, and gathered in his right arm.

"Have it back."

Jiang Ran let out a low shout. He yanked his right hand back, then flung it forward.

The bone spike shot back even faster than it had come.

It flew straight at Zhi, just emerging from the rubble.

Zhi clearly hadn't expected that. A flicker of surprise crossed its crimson eyes, and it instinctively raised a forepaw to block.

Clang!!

The impact rang out like a great bell.

The blow sent Zhi sliding back several meters, ripping apart a patch of the dark blue-green fur covering its forepaw.

It lowered its head and looked at its paw.

Then it looked up at the tiny human in the distance.

Its crimson eyes filled with murderous intent once more.

Jiang Ran shook out his tingling right hand and grinned.

"Those bone spikes of yours are pretty nice."

Before he had even finished speaking, the spikes on Zhi's back began to shudder again.

The smile slowly faded from Jiang Ran's face.

He breathed out, and the qi and blood within him began to surge.

The Golden Bell Shield quietly activated.

The next second—

Zhi let out a deafening roar.

Every bone spike on its back tore free at once, sealing off every possible avenue of escape for Jiang Ran.

On the third floor, Zhao Feng's palms were slick with sweat.

"H-how can he dodge that?!"

Xia Xuan and Zou Yue held their breath as well, staring fixedly at the black figure in the middle of the street.

But Jiang Ran had never once considered dodging.

He stood where he was, feet slightly apart and center of gravity lowered. He slowly raised both hands and traced a semicircle in front of him.

The opening stance of Dragon-Tiger Fist.

The first bone spike had already reached his face.

Jiang Ran's left fist swept upward from below, crashing head-on into its tip.

Clang!!!

A visible ring of air burst outward from the point of impact.

The bone spike was knocked upward by his punch, grazing past the corner of Jiang Ran's eye.

The remaining spikes came one after another.

Jiang Ran took a deep breath. His chest drew in slightly as his qi and blood erupted.

He drove the Golden Bell Shield to its limit.

The invisible force covering his skin instantly solidified, taking on a faint golden sheen.

Clang! Clang!

Several bone spikes slammed into Jiang Ran.

His body slid back half a step, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

But the bone spikes still couldn't pierce that golden force. They fell uselessly to the ground.

The street was a complete mess.

Jiang Ran slowly straightened and raised a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth.

The wound by his eye was still bleeding, tinting his vision with a faint red haze.

But he smiled.

He smiled with pure delight.

"Now..." he said softly, his voice echoing through the empty street. "Again."

The instant the words fell—

A terrifying pressure erupted from Jiang Ran.

A column of crimson qi and blood surged into the sky, rising and taking shape behind him.

A five-meter-tall Furious Vajra Phantom appeared in the street!

Blood-red Buddhist light coiled around the phantom. Its eyes blazed as it struck a demon-subduing pose.

Meanwhile, the Dragon-Tiger Phantoms around Jiang Ran's arms had also fully solidified. The dragon's whiskers fluttered, golden light swirled in its eyes, and the tiger's stripes and fangs were bared as its roar echoed faintly.

Buddha's Wrathful Vajra, unleashed!

Zhi's crimson pupils shrank abruptly.

Its instincts warned it... danger!

Extreme danger!

It let out a low growl and lowered its limbs slightly. The bone spikes on its back began to grow again, but clearly at a much slower pace than before.

Jiang Ran naturally wasn't going to give it a chance to catch its breath.

The five-meter-tall Vajra Phantom moved in sync with Jiang Ran as he took a step forward.

Boom!!!

The ground exploded, leaving a crater three meters across.

Jiang Ran vanished from where he stood.

When he appeared again, he was already above Zhi's head.

He raised his right fist high as the White Tiger Phantom threw back its head and roared.

Then he brought his fist down.

The ground beneath Zhi collapsed with a roar, and the punch forced its entire body to its knees.

But it was an ancient Exotic Beast, after all.

The instant it fell to its knees, its thick, long tail lashed out like a steel whip, aiming straight for Jiang Ran's side.

Jiang Ran didn't dodge or retreat.

The Azure Dragon Phantom suddenly thrust out from his left arm. Its dragon claw closed around the lashing bull's tail.

"Get... up!"

Jiang Ran roared. The muscles in his left arm bulged, his blood and qi surging to their limit.

The Azure Dragon Phantom heaved with him.

The enormous, five-meter-tall Zhi was actually swung clean off the ground. It traced an arc through the air before crashing hard into the outer wall of a nearby office building.

BOOM!!!

Zhi was buried beneath the rubble.

Jiang Ran pressed his advantage without mercy.

He charged into the ruins, the Vajra Phantom's fists raining down like a storm.

Zhi tried to fight back, tried to struggle.

But every punch tore its wounds open even wider, exposing its pale golden bones.

Jiang Ran had no idea how many times he had struck.

He only knew that the blood and qi in his body were burning wildly.

The Buddha's Wrathful Vajra was nearly at its time limit.

But Zhi was in even worse shape.

Its head was badly deformed, and one eye was completely blind.

Blood mixed with fragments of its organs kept pouring from its mouth.

All the bony spikes on its back had broken off at the roots, exposing the pale golden bones beneath, now covered in cracks.

Finally.

As Jiang Ran's last punch landed,

Zhi let out a low growl, almost a whimper, and its enormous body crashed to the ground.

On the third floor.

Xia Xuan drew a deep breath and quietly reminded them, "We should go."

Zou Yue nodded at once.

After all, they could claim they'd been drawn over by the commotion while the fight was still going on.

But if they stayed when the battle was about to end, they might well provoke the hostility of the man in black.

Zhao Feng immediately nodded as well.

The battle had shaken him to the core. Right now, he just wanted to leave as quickly as possible and go home to process everything he'd seen today.

However, just as they were about to turn and leave...

Jiang Ran's voice suddenly rang out in the street.

"Wait."

All three of them froze.

They slowly turned around.

There stood the man in black who had just slaughtered an ancient Exotic Beast, looking up at them.

His eyes were so calm they sent a chill through them.

"Come down."