Thus Burns the Dawn

Bai Yuan watched the three figures rushing at him from different directions, his pupils shrinking slightly.

The yellow and purple Soul Rings beneath Golden Crocodile Douluo's feet lit up simultaneously, and his golden scales gleamed with a metallic luster.

He raised his right arm. The hand that had already transformed into claws abruptly swelled, and five dark golden arcs tore through the air, enveloping Bai Yuan's position.

First Soul Skill—Golden Crocodile Sky-Ripping Claw.

His right arm transformed into a dark golden crocodile claw, slashing out five metal-element arcs as if tearing space itself apart, carrying scorching heat with them.

At the same instant, the second purple Soul Ring beneath Mighty Lion Douluo lit up. His entire body transformed into a blazing mass of fire as he charged head-on with savage, violent force.

It was his second Soul Skill, a powerful offensive technique with immense explosive force and impact.

Azure Luan did not charge forward. He remained where he was, the phantom of cyan-blue wings spreading behind him as his misty blue eyes narrowed slightly.

The purple Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed, and an invisible sound wave pressed toward Bai Yuan from every direction.

Third Soul Skill—Doomsday Wind Sphere.

Azure Luan Douluo excelled at using wind elements and sound waves for attack and control. This skill created a vacuum around the target, restricting movement.

Bai Yuan moved.

He did not retreat. He cut diagonally inward.

Golden Crocodile's arcs grazed past his left shoulder, Mighty Lion's flames roared past less than half a foot from his right side, and Azure Luan's sound wave exploded behind him.

The three attacks converged on one point at the same instant, but he had already vanished from it.

"What?"

Mighty Lion Douluo's flames struck nothing. His massive body staggered forward two steps from inertia before he steadied himself.

He spun around, staring in disbelief at the child standing at the edge of the battle zone. Even with a three-sided pincer attack, they had still been too slow?

"Such speed?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo said nothing, but his golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly.

He had seen something in the path Bai Yuan had taken to evade them.

It was not a speed boost from a Soul Skill, nor was it the explosive movement of an agility-type Soul Master. It was something more fundamental, like an innate reaction speed.

Azure Luan Douluo frowned slightly.

The Worldbearing Coreflame sensed the three presences charging in from different directions.

The dominance of the Golden Crocodile King, the ethereality of Azure Luan, the savagery of the Blazing Lion.

Three entirely different forces stirred some kind of resonance deep within it.

It began to glow.

Bai Yuan had not activated it. The Core Flame itself was pulsing, as if answering some ancient summons.

Golden light surged from his palm, but it did not take the form of flames.

Instead, it was a more condensed stream of light, almost tangible, spreading up his arm and throughout his body.

Bai Yuan felt something taking shape inside him.

It was not a Martial Soul, nor was it Soul Power. It was something more fundamental, a power engraved deep within his Eidolon.

A Star Cone.

That radiance condensed within him into some manifested existence.

It had no physical form, yet it truly existed, like an invisible key opening a tightly shut door within him.

Several words appeared in Bai Yuan's mind, as clear as though they had been carved into his soul:

Thus Burns the Dawn.

The Star Cone's blessing flooded through his entire body at that moment, and he could clearly feel it being branded into his flesh.

Basic Speed increased by 12%.

Ignore 18% of the target's Defense.

Damage dealt increased by 12%.

Bai Yuan's pupils widened slightly.

This was...

This was the power of the new Star Cone granted to Bai Yuan by the Core Flame.

He had no time to think further, because the three of them had already reached him.

Mighty Lion Douluo's flames arrived first as his second Soul Ring lit up.

His second Soul Skill was a powerful offensive technique with immense explosive force and impact. His entire body turned into a burning meteor that crashed straight toward Bai Yuan from the front.

Golden Crocodile Douluo followed close behind. His first and second Soul Rings flashed together, golden claws ripping through the air as the ground beneath his feet cracked from the tremors.

Azure Luan Douluo stood behind them. His third Soul Ring flashed, and an invisible vacuum barrier pressed toward Bai Yuan from all directions.

A three-sided pincer attack had sealed off every path of retreat.

Bai Yuan moved.

This time, even he was startled.

That was not merely fast. It was faster.

His figure practically vanished from where he stood. Mighty Lion Douluo's flames smashed into the spot he had occupied, blasting out a charred crater;

Golden Crocodile Douluo's claws only tore through an afterimage;

Azure Luan Douluo's sound wave exploded behind him without even touching the edge of his clothes.

"What?!"

Mighty Lion Douluo's flames struck nothing. His massive body staggered forward two steps from inertia before he steadied himself.

He spun around, staring in disbelief at the child who was already standing at the edge of the battle zone.

"Why did his speed get even faster?!"

Bai Yuan did not answer.

His gaze had already locked onto Azure Luan Douluo.

Kill the controlling backliner first.

That was the most basic rule in any battle.

Azure Luan Douluo's wind sphere control was too troublesome. If he was not dealt with first, this fight could not be won.

Bai Yuan's figure vanished again.

This time, he moved so fast that he did not even leave an afterimage.

Azure Luan Douluo's misty blue eyes suddenly contracted.

The instant Bai Yuan disappeared, he had already begun to evade.

Wind elements surged beneath his feet, and his body shifted several feet to the left.

At that distance, he was confident he could dodge any attack.

Bai Yuan's sword arrived.

Dawnmaker stabbed out from the void, its tip aimed directly at Azure Luan Douluo's throat.

Azure Luan Douluo dodged. His body slid along the blade's edge, and the thin, cicada-wing-like sword blade came within less than an inch of his throat.

"Too slow." Azure Luan Douluo's lips curled slightly.

Then he saw Bai Yuan's lips curl as well.

The sword light exploded.

The instant Dawnmaker missed, its blade shuddered violently. The silvery-white sharpness originally concentrated at its tip spread in all directions like fireworks.

It was not sword energy, nor was it Soul Power. It was a purer, more fundamental force of sharpness.

Ignore 18% of the target's Defense.

Azure Luan Douluo's protective Soul Power was torn apart layer by layer before that spreading sword light, as fragile as paper.

"So fast—"

The sword light swallowed him.

When the light faded, Azure Luan Douluo's body had already become specks of light, dispersing into the air.

Bai Yuan stood amid those motes, Dawnmaker angled toward the ground, lingering sharpness still clinging to its blade.

Mighty Lion Douluo froze in place.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's golden vertical pupils abruptly contracted.

"What?" Even Mighty Lion Douluo's voice changed pitch.

"One sword and... what kind of Soul Skill was that?"

Bai Yuan took a deep breath, feeling the power within him rise once more.

Another one.

The Eidolon's boost had risen by another increment.

He slowly turned around, pointing Dawnmaker at the two remaining opponents. The curve of his lips grew wider and wider.

"Next."

The remaining two exchanged a glance.

Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded slightly, and the two moved almost simultaneously.

It was an all-out pincer attack.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's first and second Soul Rings flared at once. His golden scales shone with blinding brilliance as his clawed hands ripped through the air, slashing diagonally down from the left.

Mighty Lion Douluo lunged in from the right. The flames over his body condensed to their limit as he became a burning meteor, crushing forward with the momentum to destroy everything.

They attacked from both sides, sealing off every possible angle of escape.

Bai Yuan's pupils shrank slightly.

He pushed off with his feet and tilted his body to the left, barely evading Golden Crocodile Douluo's claw, which could have torn through steel.

The claw skimmed past his clothes, kicking up several scraps of fabric.

But Mighty Lion Douluo's fist had already reached him, and the scorching flames made his cheeks ache.

He could not dodge it.

Bai Yuan gritted his teeth, gripping Dawnmaker tightly in his right hand while his left hand instinctively pressed against the blade.

The power of Destruction erupted from the depths of the Core Flame.

It was not Soul Power, nor was it sword energy. It was a more fundamental, more primordial force.

Golden light erupted across the blade and collided with Mighty Lion Douluo's flames, releasing a deafening roar!

Boom!

Bai Yuan was blasted backward by the shockwave. He flipped twice in the air, then landed on one knee and slid several meters before stabilizing himself.

Part of his clothes had been scorched black, his palm was numb from the impact, and his chest ached dully.

But he had endured it.

That power of Destruction had canceled out most of Mighty Lion Douluo's fiery impact.

The remaining aftershock was still fierce, but it was no longer enough to inflict a fatal wound on him.

"Huff..." Bai Yuan panted heavily, fine beads of sweat covering his forehead. "That was close... almost."

Mighty Lion Douluo was stunned.

Even suppressed to the strength of three Soul Rings, that punch should have been enough to blast a Soul Master of the same level into severe injury.

Yet this child had taken it head-on and merely been pushed back a few steps?

Golden Crocodile Douluo's golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and a grave, appraising look flashed through his eyes.

Bai Yuan did not give them time to keep thinking.

He rose to his feet, gripped Dawnmaker, and took a deep breath.

The Eidolon's boost was pushed to its limit at that moment.

Thus Burns the Dawn.

Speed, set to maximum.

His figure vanished from where he stood.

It was not fast. It was so fast that not even an afterimage had time to remain. Golden Crocodile Douluo only saw a blur before a silvery-white sword light cut in from his blind spot.

He instinctively raised his claws to block, but the sword light changed course the instant he blocked, slipping around his defense and piercing into his chest.

Golden Crocodile Douluo looked down at the sword mark on his chest. His lips moved slightly before his body turned into specks of light and dispersed.

At that same instant, Mighty Lion Douluo felt a chill at the back of his neck.

He had not even seen when Bai Yuan had reached behind him.

The second sword pierced through the protection of his flames from behind and went straight through his heart.

Mighty Lion Douluo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

He looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest as his body began to crumble from the edges, turning into countless motes of light that scattered into the air.

Two swords.

Gone.

Those motes of light drifted around him.

He raised his head and called into the depths of the sky, "Elder Han, any more?"

The Illusion Space returned to calm.

Han Tianyi's voice came from the void, carrying a rare hint of amusement.

"Enough. If you keep fighting, you'll tear my illusion apart."

Bai Yuan grinned and sheathed his sword.