[Dragon Dance]

"Awooo!"

The Wolf Bandit leader crouched beneath a ruined wall and let out a piercing howl.

"Woo, woo..."

Scattered answers rose from the surroundings.

The Wolf Bandit leader stood up, its blue-gray fur bristling as its two red eyes swept the area.

It had already sensed it.

In less than half a minute, more than half its kin had died.

Yet wind and sand surrounded it on every side, leaving it unable to tell one direction from another.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of sword light stabbed toward it from behind.

At some point, Ming Dashan had circled around behind the Wolf Bandit leader.

His Martial Soul was wrapped in a layer of blue-green sword energy, aimed straight at the back of the leader's head with ruthless speed.

"Shing!"

At the very last instant.

A burst of blue-green light erupted from the Wolf Bandit leader's left leg, and its body sprang half a meter to the side.

"Swish!"

The sword light grazed its shoulder, piercing only its skin.

"Damn!"

Ming Dashan's pupils abruptly contracted. This is bad.

Yu Chen had told him its position in advance, but the absolute gap in their strength meant that even with a surprise attack, he was still no match for this Wolf Bandit.

"Whoosh!"

The next moment.

The Wolf Bandit leader swept its right claw toward him with a sharp whistle through the air.

Ming Dashan had no time to dodge. He could only hold his Sword Martial Soul across his chest.

"Bam!"

A tremendous force struck his chest. As though hit by a massive hammer, Ming Dashan was sent flying backward.

"Crash, crash!"

He slammed into an earthen wall, sending chunks of dirt tumbling down.

A metallic sweetness filled Ming Dashan's mouth. He spat out a mouthful of blood, then passed out.

"Uncle Dashan!"

Yu Chen shouted urgently.

He had never expected this Wolf Bandit leader to be so troublesome. Even with the first strike from an ambush, Ming Dashan had been no match for it.

"Xiao Bai, stop."

Yu Chen's gaze turned icy as he gave the order.

Xiao Bai flew down from the air and landed beside Yu Chen's feet.

[Sandstorm] and [Sunny Day] were both sustained moves that continuously consumed Soul Power.

By now, Yu Chen had little Soul Power left himself.

His original plan had been for Ming Dashan to wound the Wolf Bandit, then unleash [Sunny Day] once and kill it outright.

Now, it seemed the Wolf Bandit's cultivation was at least above that of a Soul King.

Little by little.

The wind and sand subsided.

Moonlight shone down once more, illuminating the battlefield at the village entrance.

The Wolf Bandit leader looked around. Its kin lay scattered across the ground.

Some had their throats slashed open, while others had been impaled from below by sharp stones. Severed limbs littered the ground, and the entire village entrance had been stained dark red.

"Awooo!"

The Wolf Bandit leader raised its head toward the moon, a low, mournful howl rumbling from its throat.

Of the once-mighty horde, it alone remained.

These two humans before it, one a Soul Ancestor and the other a Soul Grandmaster, had actually brought utter annihilation upon its pack.

"Human, you deserve to die!"

Its blood-red eyes fixed on Yu Chen as it spoke in human language.

"You can actually talk?"

Yu Chen was somewhat surprised.

Then he realized that Wolf Bandits were the offspring of Soul Beasts and humans. They were hardly unintelligent.

"Heh. After killing so many people, you're the one who deserves to die! Blood debts must be paid in blood!"

Yu Chen gave a cold snort.

"Xiao Bai, attack!"

Yu Chen wasted no more words. His remaining Soul Power surged wildly.

Xiao Bai Dragon beat her wings, her entire body turning into a streak of light as she charged toward the Wolf Bandit leader's head.

"Whoosh!"

The wind element around her compressed to its limit, forming a layer of sharp wind blades. As she skimmed the ground, the airflow carved a shallow furrow through the dirt below.

"Bam!"

Xiao Bai Dragon's wing struck the Wolf Bandit leader's left shoulder.

The leader's fur split open instantly, exposing a large patch of bloody flesh.

"Whoosh!"

Xiao Bai twisted in midair and doubled back, angling her wing to slash at the Wolf Bandit leader's head.

"Damn you!"

The Wolf Bandit leader reacted swiftly, lashing out with its right claw.

A savage expression crossed its face. It had poured all its Soul Power into this strike. If it landed, even a Soul King would be left sprawled on the ground.

It had already realized that, rather than the Soul Ancestor, Yu Chen, who had only two rings, was the true culprit behind the slaughter of its kin.

Everything had happened because of this miraculous Martial Soul.

But-

Before absolute strength, any resistance was futile.

Instead of using the wind and sand to escape, its opponent had dared to attack it. He was simply courting death!

"Whoosh!"

Yet the expected sound of collision never came.

Xiao Bai Dragon swayed in midair and tucked her wings in slightly. Like a leaf blown aside by the wind, she slipped past the edge of the Wolf Bandit's claw.

"What?!"

For the first time, surprise appeared in the Wolf Bandit leader's eyes.

Its all-out strike had been dodged so easily?

"Whoosh!"

Xiao Bai Dragon doubled back once again.

This time, Xiao Bai slashed with one claw, opening a long gash along the Wolf Bandit's ribs.

"Riiip!"

Flesh peeled apart. The Wolf Bandit leader gave a muffled grunt, but Xiao Bai Dragon had already flown far away.

Then came the fourth pass, the fifth...

With every return, another wound appeared on the Wolf Bandit's body.

The Wolf Bandit fought back with all its might, but Xiao Bai seemed able to predict the trajectory of its attacks, always changing position at the last instant.

Yu Chen stood in the distance, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He had learned this move from Tang San.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

Combined with Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track's footwork embodied the principles of the Eight Trigrams. By predicting the direction of an enemy's attacks, it increased the chances of evading them.

Ghostly shadows overlapped, the real and the illusory impossible to distinguish.

When cultivated to its pinnacle, even a Titled Douluo would struggle to track its movements.

Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer could temporarily accumulate power at a single point.

Each hammer strike would be stronger than the last, until, after nine times nine-eighty-one strikes-the accumulated power was released all at once.

By combining these two techniques, Xiao Bai Dragon could use flight to dodge the Wolf Bandit's attacks while increasing her own attack power.

The Pokémon world had a similar move: [Dragon Dance].

"Whoosh!"

Xiao Bai Dragon dived again.

She bore down from above with the wind roaring around her, like a meteor crashing to earth.

The Wolf Bandit leader tilted its head back and crossed its forelegs overhead, trying to block the blow.

"Bam!"

The sound of cracking bones burst through the night.

The Wolf Bandit's body lurched backward and slammed heavily into the ground.

Its two forearms bent at grotesque angles. Jagged white bone ends pierced through its flesh.

Blood poured from its broken arms, staining the ground dark red.

"Awooo..."

A howl rang out.

By now, the Wolf Bandit leader's anger was gone. Only pain and terror remained.

"You... are only a two-ring Soul Master..."

Its voice came in broken fragments.

"Why... are your attacks... so powerful?"

Yu Chen did not approach. He watched it from a distance.

"I can't be bothered to explain. You don't deserve to hear it."

"Xiao Bai, use [Flame Attack]!"

In an instant, an enormous fireball erupted from Xiao Bai's mouth.