Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape

Boom!

Another enormous chunk of molten rock came flying. The Rock Mountain Lord hurriedly dodged it, then charged toward the direction it had come from, furious.

"Let's go. We'll follow and take a look." As soon as Xie Yue finished speaking, he took the lead and followed. The others came right behind him, keeping close on the Rock Mountain Lord's heels.

Following the Rock Mountain Lord, they dodged another chunk of molten rock. A giant ape appeared before them, its main joints glowing fiery red and its body shrouded in scorching Soul Power.

Hu Liena exclaimed in surprise, "It's a Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape."

"Another ape-type Soul Beast?" Yan frowned, then guessed, "Could it be in cahoots with that Long-Armed Giant Ape? Is the Rock Mountain Lord fighting both of them at once?"

"Possibly." Xie Yue nodded. "Ape-type Soul Beasts can coexist with their own kind. The Long-Armed Giant Ape and the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape may well live together."

"They're mates."

"Mates?" The other three all turned to look.

Zhang Yang pointed toward a distant tree. "Look over there. There's a young Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape behind that tree."

At his words, the three immediately followed the direction of Zhang Yang's finger.

Sure enough, behind a tree stood a young Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape, barely over a meter tall, with several tufts of red fur around its joints.

"A Long-Armed Giant Ape and a Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape with a baby. No doubt about it—they're mates." Hu Liena nodded.

In the Soul Beast Realm, Soul Beasts of the same type could reproduce with one another.

The scorpion-type Soul Beast Pink Lady could become mates with the Earth King, who was also a scorpion-type Soul Beast.

The Long-Armed Giant Ape and the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape were both ape-type Soul Beasts. They could mate, too, and produce a young Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape of the same species as its mother.

Hu Liena continued, "This Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape is nearly four meters long, with a wingspan of almost six meters. It's at least 1,200 years old."

"1,200 years? Perfect timing. Just what I need." Zhang Yang smiled.

Xie Yue and the other two understood what Zhang Yang meant.

According to the information Teacher Dewey had given them, the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape was indeed on the list.

It had a fire attribute, and its main means of attack was hurling molten rock. When the rocks hit, they shattered and spilled lava, dealing splash damage.

Looking at it, this Soul Beast really was an excellent match for Zhang Yang.

"Looks like we can't just stand by." As Xie Yue spoke, the Moon Blade appeared in his hand.

Hu Liena and Yan also began circulating their Soul Power, ready to follow Xie Yue's orders at any moment.

"The fight is still at a stalemate, but the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's defeat is inevitable. Watch for the right moment to jump in."

"Yan, as soon as the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape can no longer fight back, stop the Rock Mountain Lord from killing it. Buy Nana and me some time."

"Zhang Yang, once the time comes, your goal is to kill the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape before anyone else can. A Soul Ring this suitable is a rare find. You can't let it slip away."

"Also, we can't let that young Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape go. If it disturbs you while you're absorbing the Soul Ring, it'll be all over."

"And..."

While Xie Yue was still laying out their plan, the battle had already entered a new phase.

Once the distance between the two had closed, the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's hurled rocks became increasingly difficult to dodge.

The Rock Mountain Lord's strength lay in its immense power, so it had to get in close to make the most of its advantage in close combat.

To maintain its charge, the Rock Mountain Lord could only dodge the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's projectiles with small movements, avoiding hits to its vital spots.

If I can just reach that spot...

Just then, another searing chunk of molten rock grazed the Rock Mountain Lord's shoulder.

"Roar!"

The Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape leapt high into the air. Its Soul Power erupted, and it curled into a ball, spinning rapidly overhead.

Then it suddenly unfurled, lifting an enormous chunk of molten rock above its head. Its surface shimmered red.

It was a strange sight. The rock was clearly hard as iron, yet to the eye it looked a little soft and springy, like a "molten-lava-filled bread roll."

"Whoosh!"

The air split with a sharp whistle. The Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's waist was like a bowstring released after being drawn to its limit. In an instant, the enormous chunk of molten rock slammed into the Rock Mountain Lord below.

The next moment, lava burst skyward like a volcanic eruption.

A vast torrent of lava, carrying blistering heat, instantly engulfed the Rock Mountain Lord.

"Huh? Did the Rock Mountain Lord lose?" Xie Yue frowned in disbelief.

The outcome had truly left them dumbfounded.

"No." Yan shook his head. "I can sense earth-attributed Soul Power resisting the lava."

Yan's Martial Soul was the Flame Lord, with both fire and earth attributes. He was extremely sensitive to fire- and earth-attributed Soul Power.

So while Xie Yue wondered at the battle's unexpected turn, Yan could sense the earth-attributed Soul Power resisting the lava through the scene's overwhelming fire-attributed aura.

The lava spurted out, and the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape landed back on the ground, panting heavily.

After using its ultimate move, the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape had less than one-tenth of its Soul Power left.

At that moment, a powerful surge of Soul Power burst from within the lava. The Rock Mountain Lord charged out, its body covered in burns.

The Rock Mountain Lord took one step, then leapt high into the air. It raised its enormous paw, shrouded in dense earth-attributed Soul Power, and brought it down with crushing force.

"Roar!"

The broad paw carried overwhelming power. Earth elements gathered into the phantom of a giant bear's paw, which crashed down toward the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape like a meteor.

This move was strikingly similar to the blow that had just killed the Long-Armed Giant Ape.

Seeing the danger, the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape could only raise both arms and brace itself.

"Yan!"

Xie Yue shouted.

Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring appeared beneath Yan's feet. The next instant, two yellow Soul Rings flared brightly.

Scorching dark-red flames burst from Yan's body. His shirt tore apart, and his body swelled to more than three meters tall, his muscles bulging like granite.

The next moment, like a cannonball leaving its barrel, Yan closed in on the Rock Mountain Lord in an instant. He swung both fists, their unstoppable force smashing into the Rock Mountain Lord's enormous head.

The heavy blow to its head inevitably disrupted the Rock Mountain Lord's attack.

"Roar!"

The Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape was sent flying by the slap. Its body tumbled away and smashed hard into a thick tree trunk.

Zhang Yang moved at the same time as Yan.

The M14 appeared in Zhang Yang's hands, and two yellow Soul Rings rose beneath his feet.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang..."

A rapid burst of gunfire rang through the treetops. Countless bullets ripped through the air and tore into the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's fur and flesh.

Then the First Soul Ring began flashing like a breathing light, and more than a dozen bullets streaked toward the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's face.

The Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape was sprawled on the ground. After being knocked flying by the Rock Mountain Lord's blow and then hit by countless bullets, it was already gravely wounded.

At this life-or-death moment, its head spun, and its body stopped obeying its brain, as if it were drunk.

Boosted by the First Soul Skill: Auto-Aim, the bullets seemed to have eyes of their own, striking the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape squarely in the face.

After tearing through its flesh, the Soul Power-infused metal bullets, carrying immense kinetic energy, struck its hardest bone: the skull.

The first bullet hit, and the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's frontal bone shattered, but the bullet's kinetic energy was spent as well.

The second bullet struck. With the shattered frontal bone no longer able to distribute the bullet's force through the whole skull, the high-speed projectile smashed through the bone fragments and bored into the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's brain.

When a bullet entered the brain at such high speed, the cavity it created expanded and then violently contracted, churning the brain tissue and tearing it apart in an instant.

Then the bullet struck the parietal bone from the inside. The bone shattered, and the bullet itself broke into metal fragments of different sizes, which began spinning and ricocheting inside the skull.

The soft, fragile brain within was churned directly into a bloody pulp by the metal fragments.

Then one Auto-Aim bullet after another tore through the Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape's skull, scattering blood and brain matter across the ground.