Xue Yao still held that same position, standing watch from the rear.
His spotless white robes fluttered lightly in the wind at the edge of the storm.
Everything was within his calculations.
The overwhelming speed advantage was already established. Next came the finish.
"Flash Strike."
From the rear, Xue Yao coolly issued the first formal attack command. It traveled instantly through their psychic link to the streak of blue lightning in the sky.
"Wree!" The streak of blue lightning, darting through the air at high speed, abruptly halted.
Then the Royal Griffin forcibly twisted onto a trajectory that defied common sense.
It swept its wings sharply back, its entire body becoming a perfect streamlined shape!
Under the calculations of its 240-percent top speed, this divine-grade Martial Soul pushed one of the most basic formulas of kinetic energy in physics to its absolute limit.
The faster it went, the more terrifying the force of impact!
This was the Self-Created Soul Skill, Flash Strike, which Xue Yao had tailored to the Griffin's fearsome body!
BOOM!!!
The crowd had no time to react. Their vision blurred, and it seemed as if a blue meteor had plummeted from the sky!
The Royal Griffin carried a terrifying gust that tore through the air as it smashed into the Wind-Breath Dragon's broad, pride-and-joy back!
BANG!!!
A deafening crash that set their teeth on edge exploded before the cliff!
A visible, blue, ring-shaped shock wave swept wildly in every direction from the point of impact, snapping the towering trees around them—each one too wide for a dozen people to encircle—in half!
"Roar—!"
The Wind-Breath Dragon let out a bloodcurdling cry.
Under the Royal Griffin's terrifying high-speed collision, its blue-gold scales shattered across a wide area once more!
Gouts of blood and broken scales soared into the sky.
Its massive, several-ton body was sent lurching backward, its thick hind legs carving two deep furrows into the ground.
And yet, this was only the beginning.
The first glimpse of Xue Yao's outrageous chain of tactical attacks had only just appeared.
After landing its blow, the Royal Griffin didn't press its advantage recklessly.
Using the tremendous force of the rebound, it nimbly flipped through the air.
As it turned, the pure yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring circling its body suddenly glimmered.
First Soul Skill passive—[Wind-Riding Combo] activated!
This was the core mechanism granted by Xue Yao's First Soul Ring, from a 420-year-old Mutated Green Wind Falcon.
Every successful wind-attribute attack automatically accumulated a stack of wind-element combo marks inside the body, causing the next attack's power to leap qualitatively!
Combo count: +1!
The Royal Griffin spun with the momentum of the rebound, without the slightest unnecessary pause.
Its eyes locked onto the Wind-Breath Dragon's throat, fully exposed as it reared back, and the reverse scale beneath it—the most vulnerable, yet most lethal spot.
Behind them.
Xue Yao, who had been standing like a statue all this time, finally showed a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
"Clang—" Xue Yao sharply turned his wrist. The exquisite Soul Tool sword in his hand swept through the air in a keen flash of cold light, its tip pointing straight at the exposed reverse scale on the Wind-Breath Dragon's throat.
"Gale Pierce!"
Xue Yao's sword flashed as he issued the final execution order.
The instant he gave the command—
The Royal Griffin's steel-hard talons and beak, which could easily pierce solid steel, suddenly gathered an intense concentration of blue wind elements!
With its overwhelming 240-percent speed advantage, the Royal Griffin had, without a doubt, seized the absolute initiative in this exchange!
Conditions met.
The Self-Created execution skill—[Gale Pierce]—erupted!
This terrifying killing move was exceptionally demanding in its conditions. It could only be used when its wielder had the absolute initiative and completely outmatched its opponent in speed.
Once the conditions were met, the original single piercing strike would split into three in an instant!
"One becomes three, plus the First Soul Skill's passive stack..."
The corners of Xue Yao's mouth curled into an elegant smile. "Four strikes. Five-thousand-year Sub-Dragon, what can you use to stop them?"
To everyone's utter horror, the Royal Griffin became a blue storm, too fast for the naked eye to follow, during the fraction of a second it hung in the air.
"Pff!" The first muffled sound of penetration rang out.
That was the first layer of [Gale Pierce].
Its beak, infused with wind elements that cut with utmost sharpness, struck the basin-sized reverse scale on the Wind-Breath Dragon's face with perfect precision!
The reverse scale immediately cracked with a sound of protest, fissures spreading across it.
"Pff!" The second sound followed right on its heels, less than a hundredth of a second later.
That was the second layer! Its talons followed the crack gouged by its beak and tore into it. With a crisp explosion, the hardest reverse scale on the five-thousand-year Wind-Breath Dragon shattered!
"Pff!" The third sound had already become the hair-raising noise of flesh being torn apart!
The third attack drove straight in, piercing through the tough flesh beneath the reverse scale and heading for the major artery in its throat!
"PFF—!!!" The final sound rang out as the First Soul Skill, [Wind-Riding Combo], unleashed its accumulated passive power at its peak!
Four wind-attribute physical piercing attacks, each more terrifying than the last, stacked their power and converged on the same spot at the same instant!
The blue storm was like an unstoppable lance of divine judgment. It pierced the Wind-Breath Dragon's throat from the front and burst out through the back of its neck!
A chill straight through the heart.
A rain of blood scattered down through the air.
"Roar..."
The Wind-Breath Dragon's massive body stiffened in midair.
Its dark golden, vertical pupils filled with utter disbelief and fear. The light of life went out in an instant.
CRASH—!!!
The top-tier five-thousand-year Sub-Dragon hadn't even had time to unleash its most prized talent, its wind-attribute magic, before its massive, several-ton body crashed to the ground.
The entire field fell silent.
Above them, the Royal Griffin had just completed a slaughter worthy of a work of art. It traced an elegant golden-blue arc through the air.
It beat its wings, and the wind elements instantly evaporated the dragon's blood clinging to its feathers.
Then it rapidly shrank, returning to its tiny, palm-sized form.
It drifted through the rain of blood and dust and landed securely on Xue Yao's shoulder. As if seeking praise, it affectionately rubbed its fluffy little head against his cheek.
That harmless, adorable appearance was utterly at odds with the cold-blooded killer that had just instantly slain a five-thousand-year Sub-Dragon. They seemed like two entirely different beasts!
Xue Yao smiled faintly, casually flourished his sword, and put the Soul Tool blade—the one he had used only to "point the way" from beginning to end—back into his storage ring.
He raised a hand and gently rubbed the Little Griffin's head. "Well done. You didn't get my clothes dirty."
Xue Yao's voice was utterly calm, as if all he had done was tell his pet to catch a grasshopper.
But at that moment, everyone standing a mile behind him had gone completely blank.
The fifty elite heavy cavalrymen of the Heaven Dou Royal Knights stared wide-eyed, as if they'd seen a ghost.
King Xue Lang of the Farack Kingdom and Queen Gao Nianzhen stood with their mouths agape, unable to utter a word.
But the most shocked of all was Feng Cang, the level-82 Soul Douluo.
Feng Cang still stood in his Martial Soul Possession, the blue wings on his back flapping awkwardly. He stared blankly at the eight-year-old boy in the distance, dressed in white, with not even a wrinkle in his clothes.
Feng Cang's eyes trembled violently. His scalp prickled, and a chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!
What the hell kind of divine combat style was this?!
From beginning to end, this eight-year-old boy hadn't even activated his Martial Soul Possession!
He had simply stood in the safe rear, posing with a sword in his hand. He hadn't moved his feet once. He'd barely even moved his lips to say a few words!
And then?
Then that top-tier Sub-Dragon, with a cultivation of a full five thousand years and enough strength to tear a Soul Ancestor apart, had been instantly slain like a chicken by his detached Martial Soul, using a dazzling chain of tactical attacks?!
There had been no hard-fought battle, no bleeding, not even the slightest hint of disarray.
Only ultimate elegance, overwhelming superiority, and merciless coldness!
Feng Cang swallowed hard, his throat so dry it hurt.
He looked at the five-thousand-year-old Wind-Breath Dragon, dead on the ground, then at Xue Yao, who stood in place as calm and composed as an immortal descended from the heavens.
An absurd yet undeniably real thought exploded through the mind of Feng Cang, a Soul Douluo...
This eight-year-old boy... hadn't even used a single Soul Skill of his own!
By relying solely on his Martial Soul's instincts in battle, he already possessed the terrifying strength to instantly slay a Soul Ancestor of a higher rank!
Was this the eight-year-old, level-30 quasi-Soul Elder from the Farack Kingdom? This wasn't a genius. This was a monstrous god dealing a dimensional blow!
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