Zhu Mao VS Black-Armored Troll; Feng Qie VS Clawed Terror Demon

The Blackwood Forest south of the valley was gloomy and oppressive.

The trees here were pitch-black from trunk to crown, their branches twisted like struggling ghostly shadows.

Feng Qie led the way ahead, his figure darting through the woods without making a sound.

Before long, Lu Ming's group reached the heart of the Blackwood Forest.

In a clearing not far away, a troll over four meters tall, covered in black bony armor, leaned against a large tree and snored.

"Roar!" Seemingly sensing the presence of intruders, the Black-Armored Troll abruptly opened its scarlet eyes and let out a violent roar!

It rose to its feet, grabbed a massive tree beside it as a weapon, and without hesitation smashed it straight at Lu Ming and the others!

Anyone who trespassed into its territory was an enemy...

"Zhu Mao, go!"

Lu Ming calmly gave the order.

"Yes, Master!"

Zhu Mao vanished from where he stood.

The next second, he appeared at the Black-Armored Troll's side!

Facing the massive tree sweeping toward him with overwhelming force, Zhu Mao neither dodged nor retreated. The four black spider spears on his back shot forward like four unsheathed blades!

"Clang!" A piercing metallic crash exploded through the forest!

Zhu Mao's four seemingly slender spider spears actually held back the Black-Armored Troll's full-force strike!

"Roar?!"

Disbelief flashed through the Black-Armored Troll's eyes.

It knew its own strength perfectly. That blow was enough to smash a boulder into powder!

Yet this spider-like freak before it had actually... blocked it?

In the instant it froze, Zhu Mao moved.

Using his four spider spears as footholds, he launched himself like a cannonball. The other four unused spider spears carved deadly arcs through the air and viciously stabbed at the Black-Armored Troll's heavy bone armor!

"Splat!" Sparks flew in every direction!

The Black-Armored Troll's prized defense was like paper before Zhu Mao's indestructible spider spears, instantly pierced through!

"Aaargh—"

The intense pain made the Black-Armored Troll let out a tortured roar.

It wildly swung its arms, trying to swat the "little bug" on its body to death.

But Zhu Mao's combat experience was extraordinarily rich. The moment his attack landed, he immediately withdrew, giving it no chance to counterattack.

Every attack that followed precisely struck the Black-Armored Troll's joints and weak points in its defense...

For a moment, blood sprayed from the Black-Armored Troll's enormous body as its screams rang out one after another.

It possessed nothing but brute strength, yet it could not even touch Zhu Mao's clothes!

In the distance, Xiao Wu, who had secretly followed them, took in the entire scene with her little mouth hanging open.

—[Th-this is impossible?!]

She knew Zhu Mao was strong.

But she had never expected him to be this strong!

That was a two-thousand-five-hundred-year Black-Armored Troll!

A soul beast lord famed for its strength and defense!

Yet before Zhu Mao, it was like a clumsy toy, toyed with until it had no ability to fight back?

Zhu Mao's attack power had completely surpassed everything she knew about Human-Faced Demon Spiders!

—[Could it be that Lu Ming was telling the truth last night? Zhu Mao and Feng Qie really possess strength comparable to three-thousand-year soul beasts?]

Xiao Wu did not know how many years Zhu Mao and Feng Qie's original bodies had lived before becoming Arrancar, but Lu Ming had mentioned the night before that Zhu Mao and Feng Qie should be Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

She had not taken him seriously then, but the reality unfolding before her kept proving that Lu Ming had not been boasting...

—[Is this... the power of an "Arrancar"?]

—[I need to keep watching... How could they have changed so much?! This completely defies the growth patterns of soul beasts!!!]

While Xiao Wu was stunned by Zhu Mao's strength, an intense battle erupted on the other side of the battlefield as well.

"Hiss—!"

A black afterimage shot out of the forest like Gui Mei, lunging straight at Yue Xi, who stood at the rear!

The Clawed Terror Demon was even more cunning than its older brother. The instant the Black-Armored Troll was attacked, he had judged that the little girl who looked the weakest and radiated a healing aura was the support of this team...

To capture bandits, capture their leader first. In a team fight, take out the healer first!

This was something a soul beast that had lived for over two thousand years understood!

He was unbelievably fast, and his pair of coldly gleaming claws were already aimed at Yue Xi's fragile neck!

"Watch out..."

Xiao Wu's heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively wanted to rush out to save her.

However, a cyan figure was faster than she was!

"Your opponent is me!"

At some point, Feng Qie had already appeared in front of Yue Xi, a teasing smile on his face.

He extended two fingers and casually caught the Clawed Terror Demon's claws, claws capable of tearing through steel!

"What?!"

The Clawed Terror Demon's pupils shrank sharply.

His prized speed and strength had been neutralized so easily by this cyan-haired youth?

"Too slow."

Feng Qie shook his head, then suddenly exerted force with the fingers pinching the Clawed Terror Demon's claws!

"Crack!" The crisp sound of shattering bones rang out alongside the Clawed Terror Demon's scream.

Feng Qie kicked him in the abdomen, sending him flying.

"I told you, your opponent is me." Feng Qie rolled his wrist, battle intent rising in his amber eyes. "Now, the game officially begins!"

Before his words had even faded, his figure vanished instantly.

The next second, countless cyan wind blades slashed wildly from every direction toward the Clawed Terror Demon, who had only just regained his footing!

The Clawed Terror Demon swung his other intact claw, desperately trying to block them.

But there were too many wind blades, and their angles were far too tricky...

Before long, dozens of wounds of varying depths had appeared across his body.

"Roar!"

The Clawed Terror Demon, having been relentlessly suppressed, was completely enraged!

With an unwilling roar, a layer of black flames ignited over the surface of his body!

This was his innate ability—

Terror Demon Flame, which could greatly enhance his speed and attack power!

Empowered by the black flames, the Clawed Terror Demon's speed rose to another level!

His figure left behind streaks of black afterimages among the trees as he began a high-speed exchange of attacks with Feng Qie!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The collisions between claws and wind blades rang out without end.

One cyan and one black figure streaked through the forest at extreme speed, leaving Xiao Wu dazzled.

—[So fast!]

Xiao Wu knew that if she were in his place, she would likely struggle to keep up with their speed without using Teleportation.

Feng Qie's strength had likewise exceeded her expectations.

Both he and Zhu Mao were extremely powerful, far surpassing ordinary Thousand-Year Soul Beasts...

However, the course of the battle gradually began to turn against Feng Qie.

The Clawed Terror Demon was, after all, a two-thousand-three-hundred-year soul beast. His soul power was far deeper than Feng Qie's, and Feng Qie was not as skilled in combat as Zhu Mao. Even if his strength was close to that of a three-thousand-year soul beast, as Lu Ming had said, he still fell short of the Clawed Terror Demon in combat experience.

Moreover, the Clawed Terror Demon's Terror Demon Flame seemed to have the effect of burning soul power as well...

As time passed, Feng Qie's speed began to decline slightly.

Several times, he barely avoided being struck by the Clawed Terror Demon's claws, leaving several charred marks on his body!

This won't do. At this rate, Feng Qie will lose! Xiao Wu's heart clenched again.

She looked at Lu Ming, who stood to one side and had not made a move from beginning to end.

—[Why hasn't Lu Ming stepped in yet? Doesn't he have a domain soul skill as his trump card?]

—[Can't he see that Feng Qie is about to collapse?]