How the hell do you have wings?

Ghost Douluo Gui Mei had never run this fast in his entire life.

He transformed into a dark, ghostly afterimage, not even daring to look back for a second.

His mind was still frantically ranting.

You are a Titan Giant Ape; having immense strength is one thing, but how on earth do you grow wings?

Is this some kind of genetic mutation?

Or was your biological father the neighbor, Uncle Wang?

Gui Mei couldn't wrap his head around it. The Titan Giant Ape was a purely strength-based spirit beast; from its bloodline to its heritage, it was strictly a terrestrial creature.

So, what was the deal with those Dark Gold Bone Wings blotting out the sky behind him?

Watching the panicked Ghost Douluo flee, Er Ming grinned.

Ever since he obtained the Demon Emperor Bone, he had possessed the traits of the Abyssal Demon Emperor.

Flight was merely the most insignificant of them.

With a slight spread of those Dark Gold Bone Wings, lightning erupted across their surface in a blinding arc, leaving more than half the battlefield behind him in an instant.

His massive frame carved an afterimage through the air, appearing directly above Ghost Douluo as if he had teleported.

Ghost Douluo poured every ounce of his spirit power into deploying no fewer than six defensive spirit skills before him.

Dark, ghostly energy wove into shield after shield, layered and airtight, each one capable of taking a full-force blow from a Spirit Douluo head-on.

He poured out his Title Douluo-level spirit power without reservation, wrapping himself like an impenetrable silkworm cocoon.

The next moment, the Thunderlight Fist descended.

The six defensive spirit skills were like six layers of water-soaked rice paper, torn apart one by one by that fist.

The Thunderlight Fist didn't even pause, slamming solidly into Ghost Douluo's chest.

One punch.

Just one punch.

Ghost Douluo was sent flying like a pebble, tracing a parabola through the air before crashing precisely at the feet of Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, gouging a three-foot-deep humanoid crater into the ground.

Beside him, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's mouth twitched, his scalp tingling so intensely he forgot to even hold his signature orchid gesture.

He had been partners with Gui Mei for decades and knew his abilities better than anyone.

Once Ghost Douluo's Avatar was activated, he was virtually immune to all physical attacks—an ability that should have been a hard counter to a pure strength-type like the Titan Giant Ape.

But what was that just now?

The immunity Gui Mei took such pride in was completely ineffective against that fist, and he had been swatted away like a dead dog.

If that had been him, would he have survived?

Chrysanthemum Douluo's back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.

Shock, fear... a myriad of emotions flooded his heart.

If it were anyone else, even if it were Bibi Dong lying there, he would have turned and fled without hesitation!

But he glanced at his old partner on the ground, gritted his teeth, and flickered to Ghost Douluo's side, bending down to pull him from the crater.

"Old Ghost! Are you alright?"

Gui Mei coughed violently, squeezing a few faint words from his throat: "Cough, cough... not dead yet..."

Chrysanthemum Douluo glanced out of the corner of his eye at the rapidly approaching Golden Crocodile Douluo, then at the Titan Giant Ape whose Dark Gold Bone Wings were slowly flapping, his mind racing with calculations.

Run?

In Gui Mei's current half-dead state, combined with the terrifying speed the Titan Giant Ape had just displayed, they couldn't possibly escape.

The giant ape had even resorted to flying; what could they possibly use to outrun it?

There was only one path left for them now.

"Old Ghost, give it everything!" Chrysanthemum Douluo's voice was extremely low, his speech rapid, "Hold out until Golden Crocodile Douluo arrives."

Gui Mei spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood and nodded without hesitation.

The two stood side by side, ancient incantations flowing from their lips.

Two streams of Title Douluo-level spirit power surged from their bodies simultaneously—one yin, one yang, one hard, one soft—weaving and fusing in mid-air to form a bizarre power entirely distinct from their own.

Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Polar Static Domain!

An invisible domain suddenly expanded from the center of the two, shrouding the descending Er Ming within it.

Inside the domain, time and space froze simultaneously, and all things fell into a state of near-absolute stillness.

Er Ming's raised fist stopped in mid-air, his massive body firmly bound by an invisible force, unable to move a muscle.

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were also anchored in place by their own domain, unable to move even a finger.

The Polar Static Domain used oneself as a prison, trapping the enemy while trapping oneself.

This was their trump card for survival, never to be used unless absolutely necessary.

There was no time to worry about that now!

Every second bought was a second gained.

As long as Golden Crocodile Douluo arrived, there would still be a chance to turn things around.

Xiao Wu felt her heart constrict violently as she saw Er Ming trapped by that eerie domain.

Without a second thought, she bolted toward Er Ming.

But the Golden Light Eagle was faster than her.

"Skree!"

Its dark golden wings carved an arc through the air, and the massive wings of the Golden Light Eagle slammed unceremoniously into Tang San, who was blocking its path.

Tang San raised his arms to block instinctively, but the wing struck his chest with full force, spinning him halfway around and forcing him to stumble several steps before he could barely steady himself.

"Golden Light Eagle! You..." Tang San nearly shattered his teeth, itching to curse out loud.

Yet he had no time to bicker with this wretched bird.

If Golden Crocodile Douluo reached Er Ming and Xiao Wu first, he wouldn't even have a chance to get close!

Suppressing his inner rage, Tang San flicked his right hand, shooting out three strands of Blue Silver Grass that wrapped three times around the Golden Light Eagle's thick talons.

The Golden Light Eagle took flight, and the terrifying lift yanked Tang San off the ground, dragging him through the air as he swayed toward Er Ming and Xiao Wu.

The moment he landed, Tang San stumbled toward Xiao Wu.

His face was pale as paper, blood from earlier still staining the corner of his mouth, his chest heaving violently; he looked as if he had just returned from the gates of hell.

"Xiao Wu, run! I'll stay behind to cover our retreat—I'll take on Golden Crocodile Douluo!"

His tone was so sincere.

So sincere that his eyes turned slightly red, so sincere that his voice carried just the right amount of tremor.

Tang San had known since he was very young that he possessed this talent; almost everyone believed what he said.

He felt this was the protagonist halo bestowed upon him by the heavens, the innate cheat code of a reincarnator.

With this ability, what did a few flaws in his plan matter?

As long as he let this silly rabbit hear his explanation, with the rhetoric he had honed since childhood, she would surely trust him again.

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San's face, which was sincere to the extreme, and felt moved.

Yet, the words Bibi Dong had just spoken surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.

Along with everything that had happened today.

Her Lovesick Heartbreak Red slipped from her bodice for no reason.

One time might be an accident, but what about twice?

It couldn't all be a coincidence!