A Miracle Born from Despair!

He left before dawn.

Xiao Ran thought it over. "My Soul Power has reached level 29. Looks like I need another Soul Ring. Where should I go?"

"I've got it! Let's go to the Star Dou Great Forest. The Soul Beasts there are higher quality, and the money the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect gave me will last ages."

Two days later, Xiao Ran arrived at the wondrous forest. It was the most famous Soul Hunting Forest on the Douluo Continent and the largest forest there. Tales of its Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were enough to strike fear into countless Soul Masters.

Xiao Ran was headed for the border between the outer and central regions of the Star Dou Great Forest. He had come this far to find a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

"Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, here I come! Be good and wait for me, my precious Soul Beast. I'm coming in..."

On his first day in the Star Dou Great Forest, he encountered two Soul Beasts. He split a nine-hundred-year-old Ironback Wolf in half, while a fifteen-hundred-year-old Red-Horned Python fled after a Galaxy Fireball scorched its vital spot.

"Ugh, worthless Soul Rings. No use to me, so you're dinner instead!"

That evening, Xiao Ran sat beside a campfire when he encountered something big.

"Mmm, this wolf meat is delicious. Damn, that's good." Xiao Ran dug in.

Whoosh—

A cold gust swept through and put out his campfire.

"Damn it! Who did that? I haven't even finished cooking my meat!"

He looked up. Gray mist drifted toward him, carrying a pressure that made his very soul tremble.

"Great. I've walked right into a trap. This could get ugly."

Still, Xiao Ran forced himself to sound calm. "Come out! I've got you surrounded!"

A moment later, a swarm of shimmering butterflies fluttered out of the gray mist.

"Wow, they're beautiful..." Xiao Ran reached out and touched one of the little butterflies.

The next instant, it dissolved and seeped into his hand, turning the whole thing green.

"Aaah, that hurts! Damn, is this poison?"

"I'm never touching random things again. The prettiest ones are the most dangerous!"

Before Xiao Ran could recover, a huge butterfly beat its wings and lunged at him.

Ignoring the pain, Xiao Ran twisted aside and dodged its attack.

"A Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly?" Xiao Ran had read about this kind of Soul Beast in the sect's records.

According to legend, Yin-Yang Illusion Butterflies were born where yin and yang converged. They naturally controlled the powers of light and darkness, and even a Hundred-Year Soul Beast among them possessed intelligence and fighting strength comparable to an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast. But the one before him was far from ordinary.

"Damn, Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old really are something else. But since you've run into me, be a good butterfly and become my Soul Ring!" His bewilderment vanished, replaced by a wicked grin worthy of Duanmu Yan.

"Thunder Yata—"

"Oh, wait. Wrong one. Let's try that again!"

"Super Fusion! Ultraman Ginga!"

He inserted the doll and transformed in an instant.

"Shuwatch!"

The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly gathered its strength and dove in for a second attack. Its body left an afterimage in the air as it hurtled toward Xiao Ran, trailing black-and-white light.

"Again?"

"Take this! Galaxy Fireball!"

Several massive fireballs appeared around him. He launched them straight into the butterfly's path. The blasts knocked it off course but did little damage.

The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly flew into a rage. It snapped its wings, releasing countless tiny butterflies that drifted toward Xiao Ran as green motes of light.

"That trick again? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Passive skill, Galaxy Barrier!"

The green motes struck the barrier.

Seeing that its poisonous powder had failed, the Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly changed tactics. Its wings opened and closed like twin guillotines, sending out two enormous wind blades.

"Wing Guillotine, too? Who do you think you are, Tang Wutong?"

Xiao Ran talked a big game, but his body knew better. The first wind blade grazed his right shoulder and instantly severed a tree behind him.

The second followed close behind. With no time to dodge, he gathered the light energy of his Galaxy Form into a golden shield before him.

Boom!

Xiao Ran's shield shattered. The remaining force injured him and hurled him several meters away.

The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly gave him no chance to catch his breath. It flashed around him, weaving black-and-white afterimages into a vast net that trapped him at its center.

Attacks came from every direction. All he could do was defend; he had no chance to strike back.

"Ding-dong... Ding-dong..."

Under the relentless assault, the indicator on Ultraman Ginga's chest sounded an alarm, flashing red without pause.

"Bastard! Then I'll use this! Dark Lugiel!"

Xiao Ran instantly switched from Ginga to Dark Lugiel.

"Second Soul Skill, Dark Star Barrage!"

Spotting an opening, he fired several scarlet energy shots from the core on his chest. The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly swerved and dodged every one.

"No good. It's too fast—I can't hit it!" Xiao Ran gritted his teeth. For the first time, he felt helpless.

"System! Why is this butterfly getting faster!?"

System notice: The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly has entered a berserk state. Estimated chance of host victory: 1.2%.

"One percent? Are you serious? Then give me some help, damn it!"

"Dark Spark Spear!"

Against the butterfly's rapid attacks, Xiao Ran pulled out the Dark Spark Spear and barely managed to fend off a few blows.

No sooner had Xiao Ran cursed than the Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly came for him again. It became a streak of light, diving at him from the sky like a meteor.

It was so fast that Xiao Ran had no time to raise his arms to block.

The "meteor" slammed into him, gouging a deep crater beneath his feet. Xiao Ran was in terrible shape, and the poison in his right arm began to spread deeper.

Xiao Ran struggled to speak. "Am I... in heaven? Why can I see my great-grandma waving at me?"

The poison had brought on hallucinations, but a sliver of his awareness remained.

"It's over... I really pushed my luck this time." Xiao Ran gave a bitter laugh.

"Does it really end here?"

At that moment, the system finally appeared.

Ding! Host detected in a life-threatening crisis!

Entry triggered: "A Miracle Born from Despair"!

Obtained a temporary trace of Ultraman Saga's original power—Saga Plasma!

Power unlike anything he had ever felt surged from within him. In an instant, Xiao Ran's Soul Power and stamina returned to their peak.

"All right. Let's do this!"

The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly tried to dive at him again, but this time, a mysterious force hurled it back before it could touch him.

Xiao Ran leaped out of the crater and switched to Galaxy Form. Combined with Ultraman Saga's power, this form was even stronger.

"Saga Plasma!" Xiao Ran attacked without a moment's delay, gathering energy before his chest and firing a ball of light straight at the Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly.

The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly pushed its power to the limit and swiftly dodged the blast.

"You wicked Soul Beast! Dodging one is bad enough, but what about a second? A third?"

"Saga Plasma!"

"Saga Plasma!"

"Saga Plasma!"

The trace of power within him seemed inexhaustible. Xiao Ran fired six energy balls in quick succession. They closed in on the Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly from above, below, left, right, front, and back, sealing off every escape route.

The Yin-Yang Illusion Butterfly's wings broke into tiny particles of light, and its body collapsed like a sand sculpture.

Only a pitch-black Soul Ring remained in the night sky.