The Radiant Lion seemed to sense the battle intent that had suddenly burst from Ye Feng. It let out a deafening roar, its limbs pushing off hard as it turned into a golden bolt of lightning and pounced at him again!
This time, Ye Feng didn't dodge!
He stamped both feet hard against the ground. Instead of retreating, he charged straight at the Lion!
"Bring it on!"
With a low shout, he brought his hands together before his chest. The little Soul Power he had left surged wildly through him, condensing into a golden Light Blade about half a meter long!
Man and Lion crashed together in the forest!
The Light Blade collided with the Lion's claws, erupting in a blinding shower of sparks.
Ye Feng felt an irresistible force surge through his arms. He was knocked back seven or eight steps, his arms numb and the Light Blade on the verge of dissipating.
The sharpness of the Light Blade had left a white mark on the Radiant Lion's claw. Stung by the pain, it grew even more ferocious!
It opened its jaws and spat out a golden orb of light the size of a human head, which hurtled toward Ye Feng at incredible speed.
Ye Feng's pupils contracted. He tapped the ground several times, his body turning into a blur as he barely dodged the orb.
The orb slammed into the giant tree behind him, blasting a huge, charred crater into it and sending splinters flying.
What terrifying power!
Still shaken, Ye Feng didn't dare let his guard down again.
He pushed his speed to the limit, darting around the Radiant Lion as the Light Blade in his hand stabbed at its vital points from every tricky angle.
Its eyes, neck, belly...
But the Radiant Lion's combat instincts were simply too strong. No matter how unpredictable Ye Feng's attacks were, it always managed to block or evade them in the simplest, most effective way, while striking back with its claws, fangs, and orbs of light.
The battle ground to a stalemate.
Ye Feng's Soul Power was rapidly running out, and the wounds on his body kept multiplying. Every clash with the Lion's claws sent his blood and qi roiling.
At this rate, he'd be the first to fall, without a doubt!
He had to go all in!
A look of grim resolve flashed in his eyes. He deliberately left an opening, allowing the Lion's claws to rake across his left shoulder.
"Riiiip!"
Flesh tore, and pain flared through him.
But Ye Feng used the force of the blow to close in on the Radiant Lion, pouring all his remaining Soul Power into the Short Sword in his right hand!
Not the Light Blade, but that tempered steel Short Sword!
He would stake everything on this last burst of Soul Power!
But just as he was about to drive the Short Sword into the Lion's body, a sly glint flashed in the Radiant Lion's eyes. It whipped its huge head to the side!
"Thud!"
Ye Feng's vision went black. It felt as if he'd been struck by a massive siege hammer. He flew backward, slammed hard into a tree trunk, then slid to the ground.
It felt as though every bone in his body had nearly come apart. His Soul Power was completely spent; he didn't even have the strength to gather a glimmer of light.
He was drained...
The Radiant Lion came toward him step by step, its golden eyes filled with a victor's arrogance.
It stopped in front of Ye Feng and looked down at the prey that had nearly exhausted all its patience.
It didn't kill him right away, as if it wanted to savor this final moment.
Ye Feng lay on the ground, his chest heaving. Blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth, and his body trembled as though he'd lost all ability to fight back.
Now!
The instant the Radiant Lion lowered its head and opened its gaping maw, ready to bite through his throat!
Ye Feng, who had been "playing dead," sprang up like a bowstring pulled taut to its limit!
Summoning the last shred of strength he could wring from himself, he thrust the Short Sword upward with blinding speed, driving it hard into the defenseless underside of the Radiant Lion's jaw!
Pfft!
The Short Sword sank straight into its throat!
Pain pierced its jaw, and the Radiant Lion let out a strangled cry as its massive body erupted into one final, desperate frenzy!
It shook its head wildly, trying to fling the tiny creature impaled in its throat away.
The tremendous force whipped Ye Feng's body violently from side to side. His bones groaned under the strain.
But he refused to let go. Instead, using the Lion's violent shaking, he summoned the last of his strength, flipped himself on top, and straddled its head!
His legs clamped tightly around the Lion's neck. Letting go of the Short Sword, he instead seized the mane and flesh at the back of its neck and squeezed hard!
"Rrgh... whimper..."
The Radiant Lion thrashed more violently. It charged wildly through the forest, smashing through countless low shrubs, its massive body gouging deep furrows into the ground.
Ye Feng felt as if his internal organs were about to be shaken loose. He gritted his teeth and pressed all his weight down. The muscles in his arms bunched, and his knuckles turned bloodless from the strain.
He didn't know how long passed before the wild strength beneath him began to fade.
The Radiant Lion's charges weakened, and its steps grew unsteady.
At last, its massive body crashed to the ground. Its limbs twitched unconsciously, its golden pupils gradually clouded, and blood and foam spilled from its mouth.
In that pathetic, twitching state, it looked exactly like Ye Feng had when he'd collapsed from exhaustion moments earlier.
Ye Feng rolled off the Lion's head and gasped for breath, his whole body soaked in sweat and blood.
Seeing that the Radiant Lion wouldn't last much longer, he didn't dare waste a second.
The stench of blood was so strong here that this was no safe place to absorb a Soul Ring.
Forcing himself to his feet, he walked over to the Lion, grabbed one of its thick forelegs, and began dragging it toward the tree hollow where he'd been hiding.
The Lion weighed at least several hundred pounds, and in Ye Feng's current condition, dragging it was a tremendous struggle.
Every step he took sent a tearing pain through the wound in his shoulder.
The heavy corpse scraped over the fallen leaves, leaving a clear trail of blood.
As he dragged it, Ye Feng kept a wary eye on his surroundings, afraid that some other Soul Beast, drawn by the smell of blood, might target him.
The hundred-meter distance felt as long as a century.
At last, he dragged the Radiant Lion's corpse to the foot of the enormous ancient tree. After a desperate struggle, he barely managed to stuff most of it into the hollow he had dug out.
When he'd finished, Ye Feng could no longer hold himself up. He slumped to the ground, leaning against the tree trunk, feeling as if every ounce of strength had been drained from him.
Half an hour later, one last faint twitch came from inside the hollow. Then all fell silent.
The once-magnificent Radiant Lion was dead.
A yellow ring of light, not especially thick but exceptionally pure in color, slowly rose from its corpse and hung motionless in midair.
After resting and recovering some of his strength, Ye Feng looked at the Soul Ring. It was a little disappointing that it was only around three hundred and sixty years old, falling short of the First Soul Ring's limit.
Still, he was more than satisfied.
He had hunted this top-tier Soul Beast alone, and at a level above his own! That sense of achievement couldn't be measured by its age.
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