After several ferocious roars, the monster stretched out a claw and raked it down at Yi Chen.
Yi Chen snorted coldly. "Do you think I'd give you a chance to ambush me?"
He raised his left palm and slammed it against the monster's claw, producing a deafening explosion.
Yi Chen let out a muffled grunt, his arm trembling violently.
A trickle of blood ran down his arm. His skin had been torn open, exposing the muscle beneath. The wound was deep enough to reveal bone and had nearly sheared away half his arm.
With a ripping hiss, Yi Chen's arm returned to normal. He looked at the injury, snorted coldly, and charged forward in one burst, smashing a heavy punch into the monster's head.
The monster let out a desolate, mournful roar. An eerie glow coiled around Yi Chen's palm, a golden rune flickering within it, and an enormous golden halo enveloped the entire golden tower.
Yi Chen gritted his teeth and shouted hoarsely, "I hate creatures like you most of all! How do you control other people's souls? I'll kill you-kill you ten thousand times..."
The monster's body vanished in a flash. Wisps of black vapor poured out of him, and an immense mass of pure demonic energy filled an area of more than a hundred mu. It looked like countless black insects and ants writhing rapidly, giving off a scraping sound that made the heart tremble.
Skylar's voice came from every direction. "My master told me that every Soul Master's core holds all the power he has cultivated throughout his life.
"And you humans contain vast amounts of power of faith. Only by devouring enough power of faith can one grow stronger."
Yi Chen shouted furiously, "You vile creature of another race! You dare corrupt my body?"
There was an odd note in Skylar's voice. "I never said I was the one who corrupted your body. That was your own human mistake. Have you forgotten? Faith is something you offer of your own accord!"
Yi Chen froze in surprise. He had indeed overlooked that crucial point. Skylar was not human in any ordinary sense-in fact, there was no telling what he was!
Vast surges of demonic energy frantically burrowed into Yi Chen's body. His Soul Ring suddenly leaped, and an immense torrent of heat erupted, surging through his meridians. The wounds on Yi Chen's body healed completely.
Meanwhile, strands of pale golden flame burned within him, constantly tempering his body and increasing his physical strength.
With a thought from Yi Chen, his Soul Ring glimmered faintly. Threads of gentle power of faith flowed into every limb and bone, leaving him feeling more refreshed and comfortable than ever before.
Yi Chen threw back his head and roared, "Hahahaha! Now that's more like it! This is the strength I should have!"
The golden halo around his body gradually receded. Arcs of golden lightning dimmed until they vanished, replaced by a murky grayish-white sheen.
Yi Chen's strength had increased to more than three times what it had been, and his body's toughness had reached a terrifying level. He swung his right hand in a chopping strike. A faint series of crackles rang out like tearing silk as a powerful force shredded the void into golden flecks of light that scattered to the ground. At the same time, a dreadful blast of wind swept toward him, forcing him to retreat again and again.
An arm wreathed in black vapor materialized out of thin air before Yi Chen and lashed viciously at his neck.
Yi Chen snorted coldly. With a slight sway of his body, he evaded the arm and drove a punch toward the monster's face.
The monster's body churned like a mass of dark clouds, shifting dozens of zhang in an instant and narrowly avoiding Yi Chen's all-out blow.
Yi Chen stepped forward and slammed a punch into the monster's waist. An immense force surged back at him, sending his body sliding two feet backward against his will.
The monster let out a piercing howl. The scales covering one of his arms shattered all at once, and great sprays of blood splashed out, staining his body red.
Yi Chen cried out in delighted surprise, "So you're nothing but a small fry after all... I'll kill you! You won't escape!"
He strode forward, both hands clenched into fists. Streaks of flame coiled around his body as his punches rained down on the monster.
The monster roared hoarsely, swinging his claws to fight back while struggling desperately.
More and more wounds appeared on his body, but Yi Chen still could not get close to him. The monster moved with extraordinary agility.
Off to one side, Skylar bellowed, "You damned bastard! Are you trying to get me killed?"
Humiliated and furious, Yi Chen glared at Skylar, and a dazzling yellow radiance rose around his body.
Then his body abruptly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already above Skylar's head. He kicked Skylar in the forehead, but a tiny ball of light shot out from between Skylar's brows and struck Yi Chen's knee, knocking him to the ground. He rolled ignominiously into a corner.
Skylar shrieked hoarsely, "Damn you..."
A sharp blade pierced his throat. Yi Chen thrust his arm into Skylar's abdomen, tore out a beating heart, and crushed it to powder.
Skylar convulsed all over. Wisps of faint black smoke drifted out of his pores, then slowly dissipated.
The monster froze for a moment, then shrank back into human form.
He stared blankly at Yi Chen and muttered, "What... what kind of power is this?"
Yi Chen regarded him coldly. "You should be grateful you're not human. You piqued my curiosity."
The monster's pupils contracted sharply. "Impossible! How could you possess strength like this? I clearly sensed that you were only as strong as a Titled Douluo!"
Yi Chen shook his head languidly and sighed. "What an idiot. You still don't realize that, at your very root, you became what you are by absorbing countless humans' spiritual imprints and merging boundless power of faith, do you?"
The monster froze. His face suddenly turned deathly pale, and he said in a low voice, "Then all you humans deserve to die. You all deserve to die... no, I won't kill you. I can't kill you!"
Yi Chen nodded with a chuckle. "Oh, you can't kill us?" His figure vanished once more. An instant later, he appeared behind the monster and planted a foot on his back, sending him staggering forward several steps, roaring and shouting.
Yi Chen's voice was like ice. "You say you can't kill us? You can't?"
The monster struggled wildly. His tail whipped around in a heavy sweep, and Yi Chen slammed a fist into it. With a bang, the bones in the monster's tail snapped, and great clouds of black mist gushed out.
Yi Chen's body appeared eerily above the monster's head. He hammered both fists into the crown of the monster's skull. With a thud, the monster collapsed limply onto the ground. His body twitched once, and he no longer had the strength to resist.