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Shen Jin's fingers stopped tapping his arm.

He looked up at Xu Wuyi, a rare emotion in his sharp eyes.

"How detailed?" Shen Jin asked hoarsely.

"Everything," Xu Wuyi said. "Take the Golden-Scaled Beast. Its scales don't grow from its skin. They grow from its bones."

"Each scale has a root embedded deep in the bone, fused with the skeleton. Strike a scale, and the force travels through it into the bones, then disperses throughout the body. So there's no use striking its scales. You have to target its joints."

He raised his right hand and tapped the elbow of his left arm.

"The Golden-Scaled Beast's joints aren't covered by scales, only a soft membrane. That membrane is just one-third as thick as the scales and less than half as hard. A piercing attack there can damage the joint ligaments directly. Once a joint is injured, its movement speed drops by at least forty percent."

Shen Jin began tapping his arm again, much faster this time.

"What else?"

"The Golden-Scaled Beast's heart is nearly twice the size of an ordinary Beast King's, and each beat pumps three times as much blood. Its blood contains a special substance that accelerates cell division and repair. That gives it tremendous regenerative ability. Ordinary wounds heal quickly."

Xu Wuyi continued.

"But that regeneration has a limit. Accelerated cell division consumes enormous amounts of energy. The Golden-Scaled Beast's energy core sits directly behind its heart: a fist-sized, dark-gold crystal. Shatter that crystal, and its regenerative ability vanishes instantly. Even ordinary wounds won't heal."

Lu Shaoyuan rose from the head of the table.

The old man moved slowly as he stood, his knees creaking faintly. He walked to the conference table and looked down at the dark-gold liquid swaying gently inside the transparent container.

"Can all