Song Chen stood inside the cage, staring at the exotic beast across from him.
It was a Flame Beast.
It crouched on the other side of the cage, its entire body dark red, its limbs thick and powerful, with a row of burning spikes standing along its back.
It resembled a lion, but had no fur. Its entire body was covered in cracked lava armor, bright yellow firelight shining through the fissures.
Its eyes were two condensed balls of flame, its pupils deep-red vertical slits, fixed coldly on Song Chen.
With every breath, scorching waves of air blasted from its nostrils, baking the surrounding air until it warped.
Another Third Rank.
Song Chen pushed the Eye of True Sight to its limits. Faint golden light flowed through his eyes as the Flame Beast's bodily data was broken down piece by piece before him.
He took a deep breath, and the heat wave rushed into his lungs, scorching him badly enough to make him cough.
The Flame Beast moved first. It did not pounce, but opened its mouth and spewed a pillar of fire from the depths of its throat, shooting straight at Song Chen's face.
The flames were bright yellow, white at the edges, and unimaginably hot. Before they even reached him, they had already baked the air into a searing haze.
Song Chen twisted aside. The fire pillar brushed past his shoulder and slammed into the alloy cage wall behind him.
The energy barrier hummed under the impact of the flames, and the temperature inside the entire cage instantly soared by more than ten degrees.
He felt the frostbite on his left arm rapidly thawing. Icy water mixed with blood dripped from his elbow, making him bare his teeth in pain.
The exotic beast gave him no chance to