When the golden pillar of light burst from the giant maw, a layer of ground at the center of the basin vanished first.
The rubble in its path had no time to fly up before it was crushed to fine powder. Bai Jin stood directly in front of the pillar, two fingers pressed together, slowly raising them.
Three spheres of Azure lit up behind him.
All three pulls activated at once, drawing the pillar's outer layer into spinning arcs. The force at its center did not veer aside. It slammed straight into the range of Limitless.
Bai Jin slid backward.
Invisible footholds shattered one after another beneath him. With every step he gave ground, a new layer of space unfolded before him.
The blue light in his Six Eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Golden Crocodile's Ninth Soul Skill kept bearing down. Deep within the pillar, several denser strands of golden light twisted around each other, boring forward like a drill.
Bai Jin saw the order in which they joined.
The strand on the left loosened for half an instant, and the one on the right moved in to take its place.
He flicked a finger, sending out a tiny sphere of Red.
The scarlet light slipped into the gap and was crushed the instant it made contact. But that junction still faltered. The three spheres of Azure seized the chance to tear in different directions, ripping three openings through the concentrated pillar.
Golden light shot past Bai Jin's shoulder and struck an empty hillside.
The hillside collapsed with a roar, sending great slabs of rock tumbling into the valley.
Bai Jin raised a hand and brushed his cheek.
A hair-thin streak of blood marked his fingertip. When he had adjusted his defense, he had put more Soul Power into the