The Second Child Flame

Xiao Yuan's heart jolted. This Rockscale Giant Serpent's defenses were even stronger than those of the Crimson Flame Tiger he had fought earlier.

The Rockscale Giant Serpent let out a piercing hiss. Its body lashed toward Xiao Yuan like a whip, trailing billowing scarlet beast flame.

Xiao Yuan stepped swiftly and dodged sideways. The serpent's tail swept past his flank, its scorching beast flame searing the air and gouging a charred black streak across the ground.

He dared not meet it head-on, instead circling constantly as he searched for gaps between its scales.

"Mad Lion's Roar!"

Xiao Yuan raised his hand, and sonic Dou Qi erupted with a boom.

Roar!!

Amid the fierce crackling of electricity, violent lightning rippled outward with the sound waves, battering the Rockscale Giant Serpent's soul.

This move was a variation he had developed from Mad Lion's Roar, and it was remarkably effective against foes with weak soul power.

The Rockscale Giant Serpent abruptly froze. Its scarlet eyes lost focus, and its movements stalled for a moment.

An opening!

Seizing that fleeting gap, Xiao Yuan lunged forward again, gathering all his Thunderfire Dou Qi into his right hand.

His fist, wrapped in violet-scarlet lightning, slammed into a gap between the scales on the giant serpent's head.

Crack!

A fissure split through the stone scales, and scarlet beast flame gushed from the wound.

Wracked with pain, the Rockscale Giant Serpent twisted wildly and spat a scarlet torrent of fire that swept toward Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan hurriedly leaped backward, evading the torrent. The fire struck the ground, instantly melting the scarlet stone and burning out a deep pit.

"The power of these flames... really isn't something to take lightly."

Xiao Yuan steadied himself, his gaze fixed on the giant serpent. This Second Tier Beast Spirit had a formidable body and could unleash beast flame in ranged attacks, making it even harder to handle than the Crimson Flame Tiger.

After that painful blow, the Rockscale Giant Serpent stopped merely defending. Its enormous body coiled upward, its head lowered as it gathered strength for another savage assault.

Xiao Yuan focused, slowly circulating the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art within his body. In his dantian, the wisp of myriad beast spirit flame origin pulsed faintly, as though yearning for the new child flame before him.

He drew a deep breath, preparing to keep fighting as he sought an opportunity to severely wound the Rockscale Giant Serpent with a single strike.

The Rockscale Giant Serpent twisted its neck, and its immense body shot forward with a howl of wind. Its great maw opened wide, bristling with fangs and churning with scarlet beast flame as it lunged straight at Xiao Yuan.

Scarlet firelight continued spilling through the gaps in its scales. Far from weakening it, that earlier punch had fully unleashed the ferocity of this child flame Beast Spirit.

Xiao Yuan's gaze sharpened. He activated Thunderflash beneath his feet, darting sideways like a phantom and narrowly avoiding the giant serpent's lunge.

The giant serpent missed and crashed heavily into the ground. Hard stone shattered with a boom, sending fragments flying everywhere. Before it could turn around, Xiao Yuan had already closed in on its flank.

Violet-scarlet Thunderfire Dou Qi burst from his arms, forming writhing fire serpents that wound tightly around the Rockscale Giant Serpent's body. Lightning snapped and crackled, scorching the beast flame scales covering it.

Sizzle—

The piercing sound of scorching echoed through the Valley. In pain, the Rockscale Giant Serpent rolled and thrashed violently, trying to shake off the Thunderfire clinging to it.

Yet the child flames of the myriad Beast Spirit flame shared the same root and source. The beast flame patterns mixed into his Thunderfire were actually beginning to unravel its outer shell of flames.

The giant serpent hissed furiously. Its tail swept sideways, wreathed in searing flames, and smashed toward Xiao Yuan's back.

Xiao Yuan had been ready for it. He abruptly ducked forward, escaping the blow by a hair's breadth. The rocks where the tail swept past were pulverized outright.

I can't let this drag on. We're not far from the cave. If I make too much noise and attract other Beast Spirits, I'll be in trouble.

Alarm bells rang in Xiao Yuan's mind. He had to end this fight quickly.

Having made up his mind, his eyes suddenly grew sharp. He drove all his Dou Qi into motion, Thunderfire gathering wildly around his forearms. Then, beneath the giant serpent's increasingly frightened gaze, he raised his hands to his mouth and cupped them like a horn.

Then...

"Mad Lion's Roar!!"

With a deep shout, sonic Dou Qi erupted, carrying crackling thunder.

Roar—

Violent sound waves rippled outward, hammering the Rockscale Giant Serpent's soul. Its scarlet slit pupils lost focus again, and its body went rigid, its attack forcibly halted in midair.

Now!

"Thunderflash!"

Violet-scarlet lightning burst beneath his feet. Xiao Yuan became a streak of electricity, reaching the side of the giant serpent's head in an instant, directly facing the split between its scales.

All his Dou Qi gathered at his fingertip, the lightning blazing with blinding intensity.

"Thunderclap Finger!"

Hiss!

A piercing bolt of violet lightning shot from his finger through the air, driving viciously into the crack between the scales!

Boom!

Lightning exploded inside the giant serpent, and scarlet beast flame churned wildly. The Rockscale Giant Serpent let out an agonized, piercing hiss, its enormous body rolling and twisting violently as beast flame splashed in every direction.

In unbearable pain, it opened its mouth and spat another raging scarlet torrent of fire, sweeping it toward Xiao Yuan.

"Thunderflash!"

Xiao Yuan did not pause for even a moment. Lightning flashed, and he shifted several yards sideways in an instant, narrowly evading the oncoming torrent. The fire struck the ground, melting the stone instantly and raising billows of white smoke.

The Rockscale Giant Serpent's rage towered to the heavens. Its tail swept around, carrying scorching flames as it lashed at everything nearby. Xiao Yuan kept darting and weaving with Thunderflash, drawing it back and forth while searching for another chance to strike.

After several exchanges, the giant serpent's movements began to grow sluggish, and the beast flame covering its body dimmed somewhat.

Xiao Yuan seized an opening and activated his technique again. "Mad Lion's Roar!"

The lion's roar sent sound waves rippling outward once more, disrupting the giant serpent's soul again and slowing its movements.

Taking advantage of that momentary opening, Xiao Yuan used Thunderflash to close in instantly, gathering lightning at his fingertip to its utmost intensity once again.

"Thunderclap Finger!"

The violet lightning burst from his finger at full force, stabbing viciously into the old wound on the giant serpent's head!

With a crack, the outer layer of stone scales shattered completely.

The Rockscale Giant Serpent let out one final, shrill hiss. Its massive body began rapidly dissolving, its gray-brown scales turning into motes of scarlet firelight that drifted away.

Only a serpent-shaped scarlet Beast Soul remained hovering in the air, its eyes filled with savagery as it hissed madly at Xiao Yuan.

After his first experience, Xiao Yuan plainly dared not be careless now. He circulated the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art, shielding himself with his Thunderfire Dou Qi as he slowly approached the Beast Soul.

The serpent-shaped Beast Soul abruptly became a streak of scarlet light and charged straight at Xiao Yuan, trying to invade his Consciousness Sea and seize his body.

Xiao Yuan had been prepared. He unleashed the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art at full power, firmly trapping the Beast Soul with an invisible devouring force. The serpent soul struggled wildly, countless frenzied thoughts battering his Consciousness Sea.

But after his battle with the Crimson Flame Tiger, Xiao Yuan's mind was steady. No matter how the Beast Soul battered him, he held fast to his own consciousness.

The Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art continued circulating, breaking down and refining this child flame Origin bit by bit.

A short while later, the serpent-shaped Beast Soul's struggles gradually weakened, and its savage bestial will was crushed completely. Pure scarlet child flame flowed through his meridians into his dantian.