Opportunity! The Black-Patterned Dread Lizard's Weakness

Xu Bayan's request was not excessive, because he had seen his son's palm technique.

A palm technique that had entered the threshold of mastering "force" was definitely not just for show. He simply did not know how it would perform in actual combat.

Xu Bayan wanted to test him.

He also knew that aside from creating his own palm technique, his son possessed innate divine strength. At only six years old, he could casually swing a fifty-pound stone lock.

With such strength, he should have the power to fight the soul beast before them.

Besides, if he wished, he could make this Dread Lizard, which was less than a thousand years old, stop moving and reincarnate in an instant.

So long as he was present, Xu Huxiao faced no danger whatsoever.

"So? Will you accept this test?"

Xu Bayan asked as he watched the light in his son's eyes grow increasingly brilliant.

"No problem. I accept this test."

Xu Huxiao clenched his fists and raised his head, brimming with fighting spirit.

He had long wanted a real battle to test his combat strength.

Originally, Xu Huxiao had planned to visit the Great Soul Arena in Spirit City after obtaining his first soul skill.

Now that he had the chance to fight a soul beast, it was naturally even better. Besides, with his father watching from the side, nothing could go wrong.

After all, my palms have been hungry for this!

Xu Huxiao's fighting spirit surged. In his previous life, he had possessed martial arts theory but lacked actual combat experience.

This was his first time fighting a soul beast.

His gaze locked onto the Black-Patterned Dread Lizard over three meters long in the distance, and he reviewed its two abilities in his mind once more.

[Gluttonous Grip]: The Black-Patterned Dread Lizard's two short claws on its chest possess the ability to instantly enlarge during a hunt. So long as prey enters its attack range, its claws can instantly expand threefold, increasing its strength threefold and its defense twofold, allowing it to rip out the prey's heart directly.

[Hunting Camouflage]: The Black-Patterned Dread Lizard is extremely patient when hunting. It can camouflage and conceal itself according to its surroundings, killing with a single strike.

The Yang Origin Soul Power within Xu Huxiao accelerated its circulation, but he did not charge in immediately. Instead, he said to Bao Dexian beside him, "A-Bao, make me a speed-boosting abalone."

"Yes, Young Master Huxiao."

Xu Bayan had not said that attribute enhancements could not be used. He had only said that Xu Huxiao had to kill it himself.

When facing this Dread Lizard, Xu Huxiao was not most concerned about its multiplying strength.

He was concerned about the speed that the information had not mentioned!

A hunter skilled at camouflage and one-hit kills would have terrifying explosive speed. It was Xu Huxiao's first time fighting a soul beast, and what he feared most was an unexpected burst from the beast.

As long as he could adapt through the initial stage, victory would be within reach. The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, which had already reached perfection in the Martial Dao Essence Realm, were no joke.

"I sell abalone, not myself. Juicy and tender, Speed-Boosting Fresh Abalone, appear!"

After Bao Dexian quietly recited the lewd soul incantation, a Speed-Boosting Fresh Abalone with a salty, fresh aroma was created.

Because Bao Dexian's first soul skill came from only a ten-year white soul ring, even though he had already reached the cultivation of a Soul Ancestor, this Speed-Boosting Fresh Abalone could only provide its consumer with a fifteen percent speed boost.

After Xu Huxiao ate the delicious abalone, he immediately felt his body become somewhat lighter.

A fifteen percent speed increase was already enough.

Bao Dexian looked at the young master who had eaten his abalone, his fat face showing an expression of hesitation.

That was a Black-Patterned Dread Lizard!

In terms of strength and attack power, it was among the top-tier soul beasts. Even if it was less than a thousand years old, could a six-year-old child without even a soul ring truly handle it?!

Wasn't that absurd?

Bao Dexian felt that his values as a soul master were being challenged. He wanted to speak up and persuade him, but when he saw Demon Bear Douluo's relaxed expression, he ultimately held his tongue.

Perhaps His Excellency merely wanted his son to train his courage.

When the Dread Lizard pounced, His Excellency would definitely step in and cripple it, then leave the killing blow to Young Master Huxiao.

That had to be it. Sure enough, I had been overthinking things.

That was what Bao Dexian thought.

Then he saw his daughter. Perhaps he should find a chance to make Jingjing braver too and give her some training.

By the time Bao Dexian found a reasonable explanation, Xu Huxiao had already begun walking toward the tree where the Dread Lizard rested.

One step, two steps, three steps...

When he came within roughly fifteen meters of the Dread Lizard.

Whoosh—!

The cold-blooded hunter opened its eyes.

Beneath its fine, pitch-black scales, its cold dark-yellow beast eyes revealed murderous hunting intent.

Although it had already eaten its fill, hunting and bloodlust were imprints carved deep into the Dread Lizard's soul.

This pale, tiny living thing that had appeared before it would make for a fine after-meal activity.

And it looked rather tasty too...

Smack!

A pebble struck the Dread Lizard squarely on the forehead, interrupting its thoughts.

Hiss-roar—!!

Provoked by its prey, the Dread Lizard flew into an instant rage. It let out a wild roar and charged directly at Xu Huxiao.

There was only one thought in its simple mind now:

Bite this pale, stupid thing to death, rip out his heart, and swallow it!

The Black-Patterned Dread Lizard did not run on all fours. Like a dinosaur, it relied solely on two powerful hind legs, so it was incredibly fast.

The moment Xu Huxiao's pebble hit its mark, he was already prepared. Faint dragon-shaped force qi flowed around him as he directly entered the Martial Dao Essence Realm.

His force doubled, and his control over its momentum became perfect.

Just as Xu Huxiao had expected, the Dread Lizard's terrifying aspect was its explosive speed. It crossed fifteen meters in the blink of an eye.

Its huge, foul-smelling mouth, lined with rings of sharp teeth, used its momentum to bite straight at Xu Huxiao's head.

Crunch!

Xu Huxiao moved like lightning and twisted sideways. The cold gleam of the foul mouth's teeth brushed past his face.

With the fifteen percent speed boost from the Speed-Boosting Fresh Abalone, combined with Xu Huxiao's prior preparation, dodging had been easy.

Hiss-roar!!

Its teeth snapped together, biting nothing but air!

The Dread Lizard grew even more enraged and turned to bite again.

But Xu Huxiao's reaction speed under the Essence Realm's enhancement was astonishing. As he dodged once more, his right leg stepped across, his left palm drew a circle, and he struck the Dread Lizard's flank with Revisiting the Dragon.

Only after the palm landed did Xu Huxiao realize just how thick this soul beast's hide was.

The sensation was like striking a hard block of rubber.

He had to find this Dread Lizard's weak point!

The Dread Lizard's entire body was a killing weapon. Feeling pain in its flank, it swept its thick tail at him with a whining gust of wind.

Whoosh!

Xu Huxiao performed a textbook iron bridge, bending backward to evade it. Then he lowered his body, kicked off with his left leg, changed his palm into a claw, and flipped into a hunting stance.

Hidden Dragon Does Not Use!

He formed his index and middle fingers into a joined hooking grip, curled his thumb inward, and beneath the faint dragon-shaped force qi, his right claw resembled a dragon's claw.

Using Hidden Dragon Does Not Use, Xu Huxiao had now shifted to the Dread Lizard's rear flank.

Then he discovered that this soul beast was male!

Opportunity!

Dragon Claw Hand's Monkey Steals the Peach!

The Dread Lizard stood nearly two meters tall when half-upright. Xu Huxiao slid low, his right claw fast, precise, and ruthless as it directly crushed its vital parts!

Roar—

The Black-Patterned Dread Lizard's agonized screech pierced the forest as its powerful hind legs instinctively kicked out with extreme speed.

Xu Huxiao had no time to dodge this kick. His left palm withdrew to defend, forming the circular force of Dragon Appears in the Field. Yang Origin Soul Power burst from his body, forming a pale golden wall of force before him.

This was an ability to project Soul Power outside the body that could only be achieved after opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Xu Huxiao had only cultivated a single round of golden sun, and his cultivation was still weak, so he could not yet use protective qi. However, combined with the defensive palm force of Dragon Appears in the Field, it could produce a similar effect.

After blocking the heavy kick, Xu Huxiao used its force to pull away.

The Dread Lizard's lower body had suffered devastating damage, becoming a bloody mess. Its hind legs trembled, and it grew even more furious.

Hiss-roar!!!

Its eyes turned murky blood-red, its shrieks rising without end. The claws on its chest instantly enlarged and lengthened threefold, transforming into a pair of muscular giant claws.

The Dread Lizard's upper body rose upright. With its giant claws empowered, it resembled a terrifying beastman.

It kicked off with its hind legs, its speed soaring as its enlarged claws swept forth on a vicious wind and pounced at Xu Huxiao.

It swore to avenge its shattered eggs!

Although this Black-Patterned Dread Lizard had unleashed its innate ability—Gluttonous Claws—greatly increasing both its strength and defense, Xu Huxiao's heart settled completely.

Because it was already too late.

If the Dread Lizard had gone all out from the beginning, it might have caused some trouble.

But now...

The Dread Lizard had suffered a devastating blow to its vital parts. As it charged, the searing pain beneath its hips noticeably slowed and distorted its movements.

As a result, this claw strike looked fierce, but was in truth like a drunkard swinging a blade. It had lost the speed, precision, and ruthlessness a hunter should possess.

No matter how terrifying an attack was, it was useless if it could not hit its target.

Therefore.

Xu Huxiao easily dodged the pounce of its enlarged claws.

Then, seizing the instant when the Dread Lizard's claws had missed and its force was exhausted, he kicked off its massive arm-claw with both legs and leaped into the air. Force condensed into substance around his palms.

The hardness of force, Flying Dragon in the Sky.

Roar—!

The Yang Origin Soul Power in Xu Huxiao's body surged forth at full power. From above, he unleashed a series of downward palm strikes. Streak after streak of pale golden dragon-shaped force qi, carrying fierce power, struck the Dread Lizard's head solidly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After three palms, the Dread Lizard's eyes burst open and its flesh split apart.

Then Xu Huxiao used the vortex force qi of Six Dragons Revolving with his right palm, pushing backward and carrying his airborne body over the Dread Lizard's head, while also avoiding the soul beast's wild final clawing counterattack.

The reason it was a final struggle was that Xu Huxiao remained briefly suspended in the air as he leaped backward. He drew both palms back to his waist, maximized his Soul Power output, and aimed at the Dread Lizard's head.

"Double Dragons Fetch Water!"

Boom!

A golden dragon-shaped force qi even more solid than before raised its head and roared as it shot from Xu Huxiao's palms, carrying tremendous force as it struck the Dread Lizard's head again.

Bang!!

The Black-Patterned Dread Lizard's head exploded.

This terrifying eight-hundred-and-sixty-year soul beast died beneath Xu Huxiao's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms!

The remaining force of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms shot into the ground behind the Dread Lizard, leaving behind a deep palm print that fully demonstrated the terrifying power of that strike.

The Black-Patterned Dread Lizard's two-meter-tall body crashed to the ground.

At the same time, Xu Huxiao landed. He was slightly out of breath, but he could not hide his joy.

In less than three minutes, the Yang Origin Soul Power in his body had fallen below twenty percent.

But after landing, in only a few breaths, the Nine Yang Divine Skill's trait of producing internal energy with exceptional speed took effect, and his Yang Origin Soul Power directly recovered to fifty percent.

This swift recovery came from the Nine Yang Divine Skill's cultivation traits, as well as the fact that his body had already been tempered through the Indestructible Diamond Divine Skill's medicinal bath foundation and nourished by Yang Origin Soul Power.

Looking back on this first battle, Xu Huxiao was fairly satisfied.

This Dread Lizard's hide was tough all over, with basically no weak point that could deliver a one-hit kill. Its strength also exceeded his, though it was somewhat inferior to him in speed and agility.

If he had not landed the first strike on the soul beast's vital lower body, this battle might have lasted a while longer.

After suffering the pain of shattered eggs, the Dread Lizard's later attacks and reaction speed had clearly slowed by a beat, allowing Xu Huxiao the chance to unleash successive palm strikes and hit its head.

Thanks to the medicinal bath body-tempering foundation, Xu Huxiao was only six years old, but his strength had long surpassed that of ordinary children his age. In pure strength alone, he was even stronger than an average adult.

Back when he practiced at the Xu family's training ground, the palm force of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms alone could leave palm prints in stone bricks. This showed that his striking force had already exceeded two hundred pounds.

After his palm technique broke through into the Essence Realm, its power doubled under the enhancement of Yang Origin Soul Power, reaching a terrifying four hundred pounds.

Xu Huxiao's final palm, Double Dragons Fetch Water, was already the heaviest strike of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms in terms of raw force, and it was paired with the fierce force of Flying Dragon in the Sky.

With the two enhancements combined, the full power of this palm exceeded five hundred pounds. Even hard granite would shatter if struck, let alone a Dread Lizard's skull.

The power of his palm force was currently Xu Huxiao's greatest trump card!

Moreover, his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms differed somewhat from the traditional version. The original true meaning of this palm technique was to strike powerfully while retaining spare strength, seeking endless continuity and an invincible position.

But for Xu Huxiao, aside from the endless continuity of sustained attacks, what he comprehended more deeply was unmatched ferocity, supreme yang, and supreme hardness.

Destroying the enemy naturally meant remaining undefeated!

Thus, he had used his full strength in the final palm and killed it in one strike!

This was the domineering conviction in his palm technique: pressing forward without hesitation, with none able to stand against him.

"Looks like the effect is quite good. As expected, my understanding was correct."

Xu Huxiao looked at his palms, his confidence soaring.

Encouraged by this battle, Xu Huxiao's palm technique had broken free from the shackles of its original martial skill and begun uncovering its own unique profound meaning.

Everything was for the purpose of destroying the enemy.