Soul Skill! Flame Demon Form!

At this moment, time seemed to slow to an extraordinary crawl.

The scorching heat, the spinning flames, the rapidly whirling fire tornado.

The terror on Wang Zhong's face seemed frozen in place like a mosquito trapped in amber, forever lingering in this instant.

Li Ren roared, yellow light blazing from his body as rocky armor covered him from head to toe, leaving no inch exposed—not even his face or eyes.

The next moment, the Green Lotus Core Flame swept through. Wang Zhong was completely swallowed by the fire tornado. The thousand-degree heat burned his clothes to ash and his skin to charcoal, leaving only a withered, gaunt figure reeking of scorched flesh and wreathed in black smoke, collapsed on the road.

He no longer made a sound.

Carrying Yang Ming's fury, the azure flames pounced onto Li Ren and landed upon his full-body stone armor.

In nature, tortoises were creatures with exceptional defensive power. Not to mention, Li Ren's Martial Soul was a Stone Tortoise!

Sparks scattered in every direction, igniting the grass, dead branches, and fallen leaves beneath Li Ren's feet. The sparks became a raging blaze, and amid the roaring fire, Li Ren's towering figure stood like a great bear, radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure.

One step, two steps...

Li Ren trudged forward with heavy steps. His hulking body, weighing several hundred pounds, emerged from the sea of fire. The blazing heat melted the rocks on his surface into molten slurry, which continuously slid down his body and splattered onto the ground with soft plops, extinguishing the flames beneath his feet.

Beneath the dissolving stone mask was a face blackened by smoke, along with a pair of bloodshot eyes.

He walked up to the corpse that had nearly been burned to charcoal, crouched halfway, and raised a palm as large as a fan. It landed on Wang Zhong's unrecognizable face. As if he could still see his unwillingness to die, he gently closed his eyes, though they were no longer there.

Rising to his feet again, Li Ren stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, cracked by the heat. Looking at Yang Ming, who could barely stand after exhausting all his Soul Power, his soot-black face was twisted with savagery.

"As expected of a descendant of a traitor to the organization. You've got some skill."

"Still, the price you paid to use that azure flame Martial Soul just now must have been enormous, right? Have you run out of Soul Power already?"

As he spoke, Li Ren strode toward Yang Ming, killing intent written all over him.

He swore that after capturing Yang Ming, he would never let him die so easily. He would torture him viciously for seven days and seven nights, let him die amid regret and wails, then feed both Yang Ming and Tang San to Soul Beasts!

Seeing that Li Ren's skin had merely been blackened by smoke, a bitter smile appeared on Yang Ming's lips.

Yang Ming had not expected Li Ren's Martial Soul to be the incredibly defensive Stone Tortoise. Combined with a Soul Skill that enhanced his defense, it had actually withstood the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Having exhausted all his Soul Power, Yang Ming was somewhat drained. Even his greatest pride, his speed, had dropped sharply, making Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track much more difficult to use.

As Li Ren steadily closed in, even though he was moving slowly, he was still slightly faster than Yang Ming in his current state.

Just as despair filled Yang Ming's heart, the situation suddenly took a turn. The system's voice sounded in his ear.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, Host, for speaking the classic line of Flame Demon King Ragnaros from Hearthstone. You have received one draw opportunity. Would you like to activate the prize wheel?"

Hearthstone had once swept the world, and Flame Demon King Ragnaros had also enjoyed a high appearance rate. He was a powerful legendary card, affectionately called "Big Ragnaros" by players.

In the World of Warcraft setting that Hearthstone drew from, Flame Demon King Ragnaros was even more renowned. He was the Fire Elemental Lord among Azeroth's four great Elemental Lords, symbolizing rage and Destruction!

As a legendary boss of Azeroth, Flame Demon King Ragnaros had lived for who knew how many years since ancient times. He was practically an antique.

"Yes!"

While evading Li Ren's pursuit, Yang Ming pressed the button on the virtual wheel.

As a legendary boss, Flame Demon King Ragnaros possessed an astonishingly rich arsenal.

Equipment included: Bone-Splitting Blade, Dragonblood Cloak, Spine Reaper, Crown of Destruction, Flame Shard, Malistar's Defender, Blade of Destruction, Band of Accuria, Band of Sulfuras, Cloak of the Shrouded Mists...

Skills included: Ragnaros's Wrath, Melt Weapon, Elemental Fury, Flame Explosion, Lava Blast, Magma Eruption, Summon Son of Flame, Flame Immunity...

Equipment, skills, even Ragnaros himself appeared on the virtual wheel!

"You little brat!"

Li Ren seized the chance when Yang Ming stumbled and moved behind him, raising a fist as large as a casserole pot with a savage expression.

"Die!"

His fist swung out. Though Yang Ming heard the movement and desperately twisted aside, he still could not avoid taking Li Ren's heavy punch in the back.

A crushing force shot from his back straight through to his chest. Yang Ming's face went pale as he pitched forward like a kite with a severed string, spraying a mouthful of blood into the air.

"Heh."

Li Ren viciously planted one huge foot on Yang Ming's back. As if venting his rage, he twisted his foot hard, and a faint crack of breaking bone could be heard.

Looking down at Yang Ming, Li Ren sneered coldly.

"Brat, run. Go on, keep running. Let's see if I don't break your legs!"

As he spoke, Li Ren moved his foot off Yang Ming's back and raised his casserole-sized fist, about to smash Yang Ming's legs to pieces!

It was at that very moment!

Within Yang Ming's vision, the virtual wheel finally stopped, its pointer landing on...

Flame Demon King Ragnaros himself!

In an instant, just as Li Ren was about to break his legs, a flash of inspiration struck Yang Ming. He transformed Flame Demon King Ragnaros into his Soul Ring!

Without a sound, a black Soul Ring appeared around Yang Ming's left foot!

In that brief instant, violent winds arose from nowhere within a radius of ten miles around Yang Ming. The Soul Power that had been depleted within him rapidly refilled at an unimaginable rate!

Li Ren's pupils suddenly shrank. A terrifying aura rose from Yang Ming's body, giving him the illusion that his scalp had gone numb for an instant!

"This boy cannot be allowed to live!"

The fist that had been aimed at Yang Ming's legs shifted toward his heart.

Yet in the time it took to change targets, Yang Ming let out a roar from deep in his throat, like that of an ancient creature!

"Soul Skill! Flame Demon Form!"

Azure flame armor covered Yang Ming's entire body, making Li Ren wary of striking. Afraid that his arm would be burned, he hurriedly pulled it back.

However, in the next moment, Yang Ming was enveloped inside and out by azure flames. In an instant, he grew from a six-year-old child into a Flame Demon King over ten meters tall!

Flames erupted from his eye sockets and fell upon Li Ren like a gaze. An ancient voice emerged from Yang Ming's mouth.

"Die! Insect!"

(Two chapters)