Qin Yu vs. the Three-Eyed Golden Lion: An Even Match?

"If you don't show me what you've really got, you're going to lose."

Qin Yu smiled, looking completely at ease.

With the boost from the Purple Brilliant Demon Dragon Body Soul Skill, his strength had tripled. He had no fear of matching the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in raw power.

"Hmph. I was just afraid I'd hurt you." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion gave a haughty snort, then turned serious. "Now I'm going all out!"

Golden flames ignited across her body, glinting strangely in the sunlight.

Those flames contained not only fire, but light as well.

"First Soul Skill: Purple Brilliant Dragon Claw."

"Second Soul Skill: Purple Brilliant Dragon Fist."

Qin Yu's first and second Soul Rings lit up in succession, boosting his strength and defense once more.

His right dragon fist crushed; his left dragon claw tore.

Qin Yu had only just discovered this way of using his Soul Skills.

Neither Purple Brilliant Dragon Claw nor Purple Brilliant Dragon Fist required him to use a particular dragon arm. They were simply Soul Ring skills.

Once both his arms had transformed, he effectively had an extra dragon claw arm, meeting the conditions to use both skills at once.

Most terrifying of all was the boost to his attributes.

Strengthened by three Soul Skills, Qin Yu's power surpassed that of a Soul Sage in an instant.

Bang!

A single blow sent the Three-Eyed Golden Lion flying.

She was utterly stunned.

By the time she came to her senses, she had snapped through several towering trees and finally slammed to a stop against the trunk of an even thicker ancient tree.

Even the golden flames around her had been extinguished by the power of destruction.

Ultimate Fire and ultimate light could suppress other attributes, but the power of destruction was an exception.

Whatever attribute met it would be crushed and annihilated.

This was not the elemental destruction of lightning. It was pure destruction of everything.

"Ow!" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion cried. Shock filled her eyes. "How... how did you suddenly get so much stronger?"

"I said we were testing our strength. Of course I had to try a new move on you." Qin Yu grinned at her.

She was speechless, but she could hardly argue.

"You big jerk! I'll ram you flat!"

With an indignant huff, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion hurtled toward Qin Yu like a little sun.

Qin Yu advanced instead of retreating. He threw his right fist and slashed with his left claw, though his strength was nowhere near as terrifying as before.

Bang!

They collided. The crushing force of his dragon fist and the tearing force of his dragon claw were not yet strong enough to do much against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's formidable body.

Neither attack had much effect.

What mattered was raw strength.

"Huh? Why did your strength drop so much?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked, surprised again.

Qin Yu shook his head. "That burst of strength only lasts an instant. I can't sustain it yet."

If he could, he would be far stronger than this. Forget a Soul Sage—even a Soul Douluo would struggle to beat him in strength.

"Then you're going to lose!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion gave a sly grin and held back her power. Instead of meeting him head-on, she switched to a more agile style of attack.

She raced around Qin Yu, moving faster and faster until she left afterimages behind.

His Soul Skills had made his strength and defense astonishing, but he still had a weakness: speed.

"Good idea. That might have worked before, but speed isn't a weakness of mine anymore."

Qin Yu chuckled. The dragon wings on his back beat, and his speed surged. Like her, he left several afterimages in his wake.

In an instant, he appeared before the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. His right fist drove forward, and his left claw raked down without mercy.

He's fast too!

Startled, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion pressed on. Golden flames gathered around her forepaw as she chose to meet the blow head-on.

They collided once more.

After accelerating repeatedly, she had briefly built up enough force to match Qin Yu.

With a thunderous boom, their energies clashed again.

The power of destruction was so fierce that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had to keep pouring out golden flames to counter it.

Is Qin Yu even human? His two dragon claws have different effects, and both hurt like hell, she grumbled inwardly.

A deep, twisting pain ran through her left forepaw, while her right forepaw stung sharply.

Only her powerful body let her withstand it. An ordinary ten-thousand-year Soul Beast would have had the bones in its left forepaw crushed and those in its right torn apart.

"No, no! It hurts!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion hurriedly pulled back. She wanted no more head-on clashes with Qin Yu.

Qin Yu saw what she was thinking and pressed his advantage.

At the sight of him closing in, she dodged.

From time to time, she conjured golden fireballs imbued with both light and fire, attacking Qin Yu from a distance.

Bang.

Qin Yu took one head-on and staggered back a few steps.

"That actually hurts," he muttered. Rather than take another hit, he drew the Heaven Dragon Halberd and swung it, cleaving a golden fireball apart.

Then he flew toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

"You... you're using a weapon too?" she protested furiously.

"You're about to lose," Qin Yu said with a grin.

"No, I'm not!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion bristled. She immediately changed tactics, conjuring hundreds of golden fireballs that rained down on Qin Yu like meteors.

Faced with the dense barrage, Qin Yu's dragon wings flashed. His speed surged, and he charged straight through instead of retreating.

Relying on his tough body and the Heaven Dragon Halberd, he reached the air above her.

Qin Yu swept his halberd down.

Whoosh!

Watching the Heaven Dragon Halberd sweep toward her, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion showed no fear. A sly gleam flashed in her eyes.

"Hehe, you fell for it!"

Her red eyes flashed, and a wave of spiritual energy spread outward.

Her Spiritual Power was formidable too. If she could hold Qin Yu still for even an instant, she could turn the tables.

But just as the Three-Eyed Golden Lion thought victory was hers, she froze in disbelief.

Qin Yu was utterly unaffected. The Heaven Dragon Halberd kept sweeping toward her, cutting through the air with a heavy rush.

Bang!

Though she instinctively raised a forepaw to block, the halberd still knocked her away.

Her massive body went flying once again.

A long moment passed.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion finally recovered. Eyes wide with disbelief, she said, "How... how are you fine? Mental attacks don't work on you?"

Qin Yu only smiled and continued his assault.

Startled, she bolted.

The Heaven Dragon Halberd missed and slammed into the ground, leaving a crater over a meter wide with cracks spreading outward.

"Give up yet?"

Halberd in hand, Qin Yu kept chasing her.

"Never!"

She shouted back, then saw him closing in again. She picked up speed and fled, changing direction every so often.