Assisting Mingyue to Slay the Blazing Demon

Meeting his bright, violet-colored eyes, the earnest look on his face made Xiao Xiao's cheeks flush once more. She lowered her head slightly, whispered a soft agreement, and let Su Qing lead her toward the area where the battle was unfolding.

Su Qing only stopped when he heard the sounds of soul skills being unleashed by those few individuals. At this distance, his spiritual power could fully perceive the state of the battle...

"Senior Sister, just go! Don't worry about us anymore!"

Zhou Qing clutched the wounds on his legs where the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Flame Demon Lizard had torn through him. The pain left his entire body in a state of near-convulsion. With eyes full of despair, he looked at Zhang Lexuan, who was fighting the soul beast to the death to protect them, and shouted tremblingly.

At the same time, the other students at the Soul King level who had accompanied them had already fallen, their bodies even mangled beyond recognition. Zhang Lexuan's heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife, but facing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had become even more brutal after being wounded, she could not afford a moment of distraction.

The other surviving team members had almost all lost their ability to move. This soul beast was cunning; its attacks were aimed almost exclusively at the legs and spine—areas that would immediately incapacitate a target upon injury. Its goal was simple, much like a classic tactic from a certain five-character game: besiege the corpses to bait the reinforcements!

Whenever it fought near the incapacitated team members, it would occasionally launch attacks at the wounded lying on the ground, forcing Zhang Lexuan to use her soul skills to block for them, only to seize the opportunity to ambush her. By now, Zhang Lexuan had actually exhausted all seven of her soul skills, and she had sustained significant injuries of her own; she was merely burning through her remaining potential.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Moonlight Clarity!"

To better cope with the Flame Demon Lizard's attacks, she first cast a buff on herself. This soul skill could increase all her attributes by 170% for a short time. In truth, the first time she used it, it had been 300%, but back then, she had been too focused on protecting the students to find an opening for an active attack, completely wasting that boost. In her current state, 170% was already the limit of what her body could handle.

The Flame Demon Lizard could clearly sense that Zhang Lexuan's condition was slipping. Its offensive became more ferocious, fully committing to a strategy of trading injury for injury. With its limbs, sharp claws, tail, and the demonic flames burning across its body—flames that would instantly begin to erode a victim upon contact, sending agonizing, heart-piercing pain through the wound with every passing second.

Chen Yao, who lay near Zhou Qing, had been struck in the back by those demonic flames. At the time, she had only felt intense pain, but she had gritted her teeth and launched multiple attacks at the Flame Demon Lizard using her soul power. It wasn't until the erosion reached her spine, causing her to lose all mobility, that she realized the severity of the situation. But it was too late; like Zhou Qing, she had become a liability for Zhang Lexuan.

In the original story, when Zhang Lexuan killed the soul beast, none of her team members survived. This meant they still had to fight for a while longer. This timing was perfect for Su Qing. Of course, he would not participate in the battle; with his current strength, entering would be a death sentence. However, he could provide assistance in other ways.

"Fourth Soul Skill, Moon Shadow Soul-Fixing!"

With her attributes boosted, Zhang Lexuan immediately launched an attack. As her fourth soul ring lit up, a golden crescent moon, shaped like a sickle, descended violently from the sky at her gesture. It slashed toward the Flame Demon Lizard like a guillotine. Seeing this, the Flame Demon Lizard's expression shifted drastically, and it spat out a massive amount of demonic flames in an attempt to block the attack. Unexpectedly, the golden crescent spun in mid-air, instantly bypassing the flames and slicing into the Flame Demon Lizard's forelimb from the side. The deep, bone-exposed wound severely restricted its movement.

"Roar—!!!"

The pain surging from its leg ignited its fury. Its gaze shifted instantly to Zhou Qing, who was closest to it, and it began to condense demonic flames in its maw once more.

"Bastard!"

Seeing this, Zhang Lexuan's eyes nearly split from rage. To retaliate, the Flame Demon Lizard had actually chosen to target the wounded. She instinctively wanted to use a soul skill to block the attack for him, but it was already too late. The demonic flames in the beast's mouth condensed in an instant, and the next moment, a beam of purple-black fire blasted toward Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing, who had expected to lose his life, had already prepared himself for death. Unexpectedly, just as the flames were about to touch him, a pair of translucent wings sprouted from his back, pulling him directly out of the battlefield.

"?"

The Flame Demon Lizard's eyes widened. This human had no legs left; how did he teleport to that spot? It had been fighting for so long, how did it not know the opponent had a teleportation soul skill? But as a battle-hardened beast, it immediately realized that a new soul master had joined the fray. It became instantly alert, its nose twitching frantically in an attempt to detect the newcomer. However, after pulling Zhou Qing out of the battlefield, Su Qing immediately pulled Xiao Xiao into his arms and switched to his second martial soul. Protected by the range of the Soul Jade, the beast couldn't smell them at all.

"Sorry, my concealment method can't cover a very large area at the moment."

Su Qing looked at Xiao Xiao apologetically. Previously, he had only ever needed to conceal himself, so he had never felt the range was too small, but holding Xiao Xiao now, it was truly a bit awkward.

"No, it's fine."

Xiao Xiao's face was flushed deep red. She didn't mind being held in his arms at all. The sounds of the soul beast's screeching reached her ears from not far away; she knew clearly that he was doing this to protect her. Moreover, a faint, pleasant scent emanated from Su Qing. If she could, she would have liked to hold on for even longer.

"Hmph, it seems your luck has run out. Die, Flame Demon Lizard!"

Seeing that Zhou Qing had survived, Zhang Lexuan let out a sigh of relief. Too preoccupied to wonder who had extended the helping hand, her mind was now entirely focused on slaughtering this beast.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Silver Moon True Form, Sixth Soul Skill, Moon Eclipse Domain!"

As Zhang Lexuan's words fell, she and the full moon behind her flew into the sky together, merging into one to become a scarlet moon. At the same time, the sixth soul ring circling the moon lit up. The moon bloomed with countless blood-red beams, all firing simultaneously at the Flame Demon Lizard. The moment the beams made contact with its incredibly tough scales, they pierced right through. The Flame Demon Lizard let out a series of mournful cries in pain; knowing the situation was lost, it completely gave up on resisting.

Before it died, a fierce sense of unwillingness rose from the depths of its heart.

"Damn it! If it weren't for that guy who suddenly joined the fight, my tactics would have been flawless. I could have tortured these wretches to death. It's all because of this human who inexplicably helped them—absolutely detestable! Even in death, I won't let you go!"

With its death, a blood-red soul ring emerged from its corpse. At the same time, a wisp of black mist, invisible to the naked eye, flew up into the sky until it vanished from sight.

"Finally... it's over!"