Light Dragon Storm

The Flame Demon Lion pack closed in from three directions.

Their dark red fur gleamed with a rough sheen beneath the grayish-white light. Their claws dug into the earth, tossing up dirt that fell back down. Low growls rose from all around at once, as though something were tightening from every direction.

"Hold formation," Tang Wulin's voice suppressed the noise. "Don't let them scatter us."

His gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield. The Flame Demon Lions' encirclement was shrinking fast. He turned slightly to Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi. "Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi—activate your Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

Neither hesitated. The aura of the Bone Dragon and dark-purple mist erupted almost simultaneously, intertwining and colliding around them. A few breaths later, a dark-gray figure rose from the fused sphere of light. As its skeletal wings spread, dark-purple patterns of light climbed along their edges. The Flame Demon Lions' frontal assault was halted by the figure. The leading lions were forced half a step back by a sweep of its wings, and the encirclement visibly slowed.

Tang Wulin did not spare the fused figure another glance. His eyes had already shifted to the side. "Xie Xie, flank them. Disrupt that Flame Lion King."

Xie Xie tightened his grip on the Light Dragon Dagger. The Flame Lion King stood behind the pack, a full size larger than the other Flame Demon Lions. Its mane rippled unstably in the dim light, as if something invisible were heating it. The sheen on its mane flickered on and off, with tiny sparks occasionally bursting from its edges before swiftly fading, as though some power were slowly building within it.

Xie Xie stared at it, his Adam's apple bobbing before he moved. He did not charge from the front, nor did he make a wide detour. Instead, he cut diagonally along the edge of the battlefield, lowering his steps more than usual—the Light Dragon Dagger flipped in his hand, its blade catching a thin gleam in the darkness. That sliver of light flashed past the Flame Lion King's eye.

The Flame Lion King's gaze was drawn aside by that flash for an instant, making it miss the next frontal sweep of the skeletal wings. It kicked off the ground, trying to retreat. Its flame-condensed mane shone brilliantly in midair, like a sun that had never illuminated the forest. At that moment, all of Xie Xie's Soul Power gathered on his twin blades, creating an edge fiercer than anything he had ever seen. The instant golden light exploded, the Light Dragon Dagger seemed to ignite from within. Radiance spread from its tip to its hilt, wrapping his entire body in light.

"Light Dragon—Storm!"

His shout rang like an ancient bell, carrying holy radiance that cleaved through everything, including the last trace of hesitation in his heart. The sun in midair dimmed in an instant, utterly shattered by the burning supernova at its side.

The Flame Lion King's body stiffened. The unstable glow on its mane rapidly faded, then split apart from the center and turned into specks of light that gradually dispersed. When Xie Xie landed, his knees buckled. He had to brace himself against the ground before regaining his balance. He lowered his head and panted twice, then looked up at the Light Dragon Dagger in his hand. "I... I one-shot the Flame Lion King?" His voice trembled with delight and disbelief.

Tang Wulin stood several steps behind him. "That's great, Xie Xie. This time, you won't be so pathetic anymore."

Before he could finish marveling at it.

A scent appeared in the air—dry, tinged with rust, like something slowly grinding across the ground. It drifted steadily from that direction, drawing closer and heavier.

The lion pack had lost its leader and scattered in flight.

"It's here!" Tang Wulin narrowed his eyes. They still could not avoid it.

The Golden Dragon King's power gathered within him.

He glanced sideways at Gu Yue, as if confirming something, then turned back. His voice was steady. "We can't run. Do we press the button and go back, or do we take it down?"

That dark-golden outline slowly approached from the edge of the forest. The interval between each step was slightly longer than an ordinary stride, as though it were coming at them with unhurried patience, giving them time to think it through while letting the pressure blanket the clearing before it arrived. After Tang Wulin spoke, he paused for a moment, waiting for someone to speak first.

Xie Xie gripped his Light Dragon Dagger again. "Take it down."

No one objected. Tang Wulin stood at the very front as Blue Silver Grass began spreading from his feet once more, creeping along the ground in every direction. The edges of its thin vines were faintly taut, like bowstrings freshly nocked with arrows. He did not know what lay ahead, but he neither retreated nor urged the others to decide. The dark-golden outline came closer and closer, and every step it took made the ground move with it.

Tang Wulin narrowed his eyes. Blue Silver Grass burst from his feet, several vines spreading in different directions at once to form a temporary buffer line before the lion pack. When he spoke, his voice rose slightly. "Everyone, maximum alert."

A deep, powerful roar came from behind them. In a single instant, it nearly shattered the confidence Xie Xie had just managed to muster. His pupils contracted sharply. "Dark-Gold... Dreadclaw Bear. Ten-thousand-year level." That dry, rust-tinged scent filled the air again, like something slowly grinding across the ground as it drifted continuously from that direction.

"We can't run." Tang Wulin glanced at Gu Yue. "Do we press the button and go back, or do we take it down?" The Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear was closing in from behind, each step carrying crushing weight—the pressure unique to a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Tang Wulin paused after speaking, waiting for the others to answer on their own.

Xie Xie spoke first. "Take it down!"

No one objected. Tang Wulin stood at the very front, his gaze fixed on the dark-golden outline at the forest's edge. Blue Silver Grass began spreading from his feet again, creeping along the ground in every direction. Wind passed through the canopy with a constant scraping sound, as though something were crushing its way toward them from far away. He did not know what would happen next, but he did not retreat.