Faced with Liu Erlong's taunt.
The Golden Armored Red Flame Dragon let out a roar of utter humiliation,
then dug in with all four limbs and vaulted into the air,
flames gathering and compressing around its horns before surging forward—Explosive Flame Impact.
It barreled toward Liu Erlong like a burning train.
Liu Erlong shot into the sky. The dragon beast crashed into empty air, thinking she was trying to flee,
and roared furiously as it continued its charge to pursue her.
"This thing's so stupid." Liu Erlong looked down from midair at the dragon beast still charging wildly and scoffed.
She could fly, and it couldn't, yet it kept trying to ram her.
"Then let it die doing what it does best—charging." Jiang Ce's voice suddenly sounded, followed by a thought transmitted straight into her mind.
"Let's try the Leo Kick."
Liu Erlong's eyes lit up, and she climbed higher again,
then
twisted around and plunged diagonally toward the Golden Armored Red Flame Dragon below.
Dark golden flames ignited around her right foot. Like a burning meteor, she shot straight at the dragon beast's horns.
On a distant rocky outcrop, Ye Yingling saw only a flaming meteor suddenly crash down from the sky toward the Golden Armored Red Flame Dragon.
A thunderous boom rang out. Blinding white-hot light exploded through the forest, and the terrifying blast was deafening.
A small mushroom cloud boiled up from deep within the forest. The shock wave ripped trees out by their roots, while shattered rocks and broken branches were caught in the gale and swept wildly in every direction.
When the dust cleared, a massive crater had appeared, as if a meteorite had struck.
The Golden Armored Red Flame Dragon still held its charging posture, but its horns had snapped off,
and a person-sized hole had been ripped open at the top of its neck, blood gushing out.
Judging by the trail of blood, it had charged quite a distance after its neck was pierced before finally collapsing.
At the very end of the blood trail, a stunning figure in a black bodysuit crouched on the ground, white smoke still curling from her right foot.
"Not bad, not bad. That Leo Kick was textbook."
Jiang Ce's voice sounded in her mind, and a palm of black liquid smacked her upturned rear.
Liu Erlong shuddered and rolled her eyes. "You bastard, couldn't you pick a better time?"
"No, this is a timely workout for you. Remember, three thousand times—three thousand times." Liu Erlong's mouth twitched violently.
This guy was always going on about how Anti-Magic Ninjas could withstand sensory tests at three thousand times. If anyone really reached that state, their brain would've been fried.
She ignored him and stood up.
A black Soul Ring slowly rose from the Golden Armored Red Flame Dragon's corpse.
A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. Liu Erlong stared at the black ring, excitement filling her eyes—
she was about to absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as her fourth Soul Ring, and this one was twenty thousand years old.
"Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts produce Soul Rings that cause Soul Shock." Liu Erlong's expression turned grave.
She'd heard of Soul Shock: after a Soul Beast reached ten thousand years, it gained intelligence,
and when it was killed, its lingering soul grew resentful. While a Soul Master absorbed its Soul Ring, that resentment would batter their mental sea.
If they couldn't withstand it, they'd become drooling fools with empty heads, or the resentment would possess and control them outright.
As for becoming a drooling fool with an empty head, she felt like she'd been that way for the past few days,
especially with this guy constantly bringing up three thousand times, three thousand times.
"But you don't need to worry. Your third Soul Skill and External Soul Bone each double all your attributes, including Mental Power.
"My amplification multiplies that by another five. Your Mental Power is already beyond what even a Soul Sage can match—
"Soul Masters only cultivate soul power. Their Mental Power strengthens passively as their overall strength increases, so there's no way they can compare to you."
Jiang Ce paused. "And after absorbing so many mental-type Soul Beasts lately, you've received their feedback. A mere Soul Shock will do no more than make your body twitch once."
Liu Erlong nodded and sat down cross-legged.
The instant the black Soul Ring entered her body, a violent will began assaulting her mental sea.
Sure enough, the dragon beast's lingering soul was violently fighting back.
But the assault slammed against her mental defenses, reinforced by multiple amplifications, and couldn't even leave a crack.
A short while later, the black Soul Ring slowly coalesced beneath her feet.
The instant the absorption was complete, soul power surged wildly.
The feedback she'd accumulated over the past several days and the energy of the Soul Ring erupted at the same time—
level forty-one, level forty-two, level forty-three, level forty-four.
After sensing the change for a moment, she held out her hand. Dark golden flames roiled in her palm.
Her fourth Soul Skill—
Blazing Dragon-Capturing Slam.
After locking onto a single target, she shrouded herself in golden flames and burst forward, seizing the enemy with one or both claws before slamming them into the ground nine times in succession.
Each impact dealt additional fire damage and unleashed an area shock wave. The target couldn't move at all while seized, until the combo ended or she chose to interrupt it.
At the same time, Jiang Ce's black tentacles spilled from Liu Erlong's thigh and spread over the entire dragon corpse.
It took a while, but once Jiang Ce had finished devouring it, his age increased from twenty thousand to twenty-four thousand years,
and he gave Liu Erlong the soul power equivalent to four hundred years of Soul Beast cultivation—
the equivalent of more than half a year of hard cultivation, which gave her level forty-four soul power another huge boost.
The Golden Armored Red Flame Dragon's six skills—
Golden Flame Dragon Horn Thrust, Dragon Tail Spin Sweep, Bone-Crushing Dragon Bite, Golden Flame Dragon Wing Strike, Dragon Claw Rock Smash, and Golden Flame Scale Armor
even gained a little extra damage across all their fire abilities after it was devoured.
Once the devouring was finished, a dark golden bone emerged from the black liquid.
A Ten Thousand Year right-leg Soul Bone, dark golden all over, its surface covered in fine scale patterns.
"Huh, it actually dropped a Soul Bone."
"Sure did, and it's a right-leg bone. Absorb it and use it for now. It'll strengthen your 'Erlong Flying Kick' too."
Liu Erlong's mouth twitched.
The perfectly good Leo Kick had turned into the Erlong Flying Kick in his mouth.
Still, she didn't so much as blink at Jiang Ce's claim that "if you find a better Soul Bone in the future, just chop off your leg and replace it"—
with this guy around, losing a leg was about as serious as clipping a fingernail. She had the nerve for it.
She fused with the Soul Bone, and scorching soul power poured into her body,
combining with the soul power equivalent to four hundred years of Soul Beast cultivation that Jiang Ce had just given her.
Her level climbed again from forty-four, then settled firmly at forty-six.
She'd obtained the Soul Bone Skill, Golden Flame Dragon Horn Thrust—
golden flames ignited around her, forming armor as she launched into a short-range burst charge.
On hitting a target, it forcibly knocked them back and stunned them. She gained super armor and couldn't be interrupted,
while enemies in her path were shoved aside by the force of the shock wave.
It also dealt explosive flame damage!
Liu Erlong flexed her newly fused right leg, and a series of crisp cracks came from her joints and bones.
"Feels great."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the black-liquid palm smacked her upturned rear again.
"All done. Time to celebrate."
"Celebrate my ass." Liu Erlong clenched her fists and looked toward the girl still sitting blankly on the distant rock.
She hadn't forgotten the new skill Jiang Ce had bragged about earlier—splitting.
If this bastard decided to parasitize that girl, she'd be strung up and tormented every day, without even her toes touching the ground.
Still, the power was undeniable.
"Tsk, that little girl's in for a rough time." She pursed her lips at Jiang Ce.
"You could play big sister for once and teach her a few things." Jiang Ce's voice carried a hint of laughter. "Like how to stay conscious while on the whip."
Liu Erlong was about to say that nobody in their right mind would want that kind of experience,
when Jiang Che hit her with Phantom Dragon Impact!
She let out a muffled groan and nearly lost her balance.
"You bastard—do you have any idea where we are? You fucking—"
Her curses echoed through the forest, but Jiang Ce merely let out a cackling laugh and urged her to keep walking.
Liu Erlong gritted her teeth and headed toward the rock.
Before you continue