Yi Chen breathed a sigh of relief, then leaped down in front of the beast. He grabbed his head and hauled it outward with all his strength. The beast let out a low roar, twisting his head desperately as he tried to break free of Yi Chen's grip.
Unfortunately, he no longer had any real ability to fight.
Yi Chen pressed his hand against the center of the beast's forehead. Rings of golden light flickered, and a golden character shot from his fingertips, sinking into the beast's forehead.
The beast's body trembled violently. Dazzling silver light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and his entire body began to grow, swell, and condense, transforming into a translucent monster roughly five meters tall.
In the next instant, like a bursting balloon or melting ice and snow, all the blood vessels and muscles in the beast's body crumbled away, exposing stark white bones and sinews dripping with slime. Waves of foul, filthy stench assaulted the nose.
The beast wailed in agony. His bones, blood vessels, and skin cracked inch by inch, then swiftly turned into a wisp of smoke and dispersed, leaving a pool of black liquid slowly writhing across the floor.
Skylar cried out, "No! Why did you kill him? Why did you have to kill him?"
The beast's corpse transformed into a dense mass of dark aura that circled above Skylar. He let out a strange laugh. "Do you know the greatest power of faith? With faith, you can live forever, beyond death and destruction!"
Yi Chen watched the scene, frowning. "Beyond death and destruction? Hmph. Unfortunately, I have no interest in knowing what exactly you people cultivate. Whoever stands in the way of what I intend to do, I'll kill them. Even if they're immortal, I'll kill them!"
Skylar's body abruptly went rigid. "You can't kill him!"
As he spoke, the viscous black liquid slowly began to draw together again. It soon regained its original form, and a hazy black figure appeared above his head. The beast laughed sinisterly. "That's right, you can't kill me... You don't understand the power of faith... Ha!"
Yi Chen looked up at the mass of black aura and shook his head. "Faith? To me, that's something utterly worthless."
He struck the black mist with his palm. It hissed wildly, then dispersed in the blink of an eye.
The beast stared at Yi Chen in utter terror. "You... Who are you? Your power is too great. Power at this level is simply beyond my ability to resist."
Yi Chen shrugged and said scornfully, "An insignificant ant like you thinks you deserve to know who I am? You said just now that I don't know what faith is?"
The beast nodded, trembling. "Yes. You've never witnessed the power of faith. You don't know it. Naturally, you're even less capable of understanding what faith is. It is a great existence that transcends life."
Yi Chen smiled. "I understand. I know."
His body vanished into thin air. In the next instant, seven or eight holes as wide as the mouth of a bowl pierced the beast's chest. Yi Chen clamped a hand over his heart, and thin threads of electricity seeped into his body through the wounds.
All the muscles in the beast's body began to go numb. Even the slightest movement became difficult.
Yi Chen walked lightly up to Skylar and asked with a smile, "Anything else to say now?"
Skylar gritted his teeth. "Despicable bastard! I'll fight you to the death..."
Skylar's words stopped abruptly as Yi Chen crushed his neck. Then his body slowly shriveled, ultimately turning into a heap of withered bones.
After all, Skylar was an expert at the Titled Douluo level. Although Yi Chen had completely destroyed his blood essence, he did not want to waste his body.
"Hmm, not bad. With this, it should be just about enough."
Yi Chen waved his hand with a broad smile, feeling the abundant power within his body, and murmured to himself, "But... I still need to work harder."
The beast shrieked hoarsely, "Vile mortal, how dare you treat us like this? When the Lord's glory descends upon the world, you will suffer boundless wrath!"
Yi Chen smiled as lightning coiled around his palm. Banks of thunderclouds formed out of thin air, and streaks of purplish-red lightning rampaged and rolled through the sky. Bursts of piercing shrieks frightened the beast nearly out of his soul.
"Hmm, didn't you say that glory would bring disaster to mortals? Then I'll bring disaster down upon you first."
A muffled thunderclap rang out. Endless lightning poured down, shattering two-thirds of the protective Barrier around the beast in an instant.
The beast howled shrilly as the lightning split his skin and tore his flesh. He roared in fury, "Despicable mortal! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!"
Yi Chen narrowed his eyes. "Unforgivable? You still have a chance to live..."
The beast had already been scorched black from head to toe. He howled in agony, "Despicable mortal, let me leave, or the Lord will punish you all!"
Yi Chen smiled coldly and closed his hand. All the lightning filling the sky went out at once. He said casually, "Since you're so certain, how could I possibly let you go back and tell your master? Enough nonsense. It's time for you to die."
With a casual flick of his hand, the beast's body and limbs vanished into nothingness, leaving only an incomplete skeleton collapsed on the ground.
Yi Chen smiled in satisfaction, but just then, his expression changed. An immensely powerful surge of pure Soul Power rushed toward him like a sharp sword.
Yi Chen's eyebrows rose sharply. A strange golden glow suddenly lit up the surface of his body, forming thick metal armor that enclosed and protected him.
When the surge of Soul Power struck the golden armor, it was like a clay ox sinking into the sea, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.
A mocking smile curled Yi Chen's lips. He gently exhaled a breath of stale air, gave a low shout, and flung his arms wide. With a crisp crack, a palm-sized golden crystal inside his body abruptly shattered. Countless golden soul flames surged out of him, gathered in his palms, and slammed into the ground.
The beast let out a piercing scream. The immense mass of mental thoughts stored within Yi Chen surged into the beast's sea of consciousness like a mountain torrent bursting forth. They forcibly tore open his consciousness space, searching the depths of his memories for certain hidden information.
The beast's soul was already on the verge of destruction. He struggled madly. "You... You actually..." His soul gradually dimmed, and a faint, barely perceptible aura of weakness spread to every corner of his body.
Yi Chen suddenly let out a long, piercing cry. His body seemed to turn into a small sun, and a mass of unimaginably scorching flames erupted with a roar. The beast's enormous body was instantly reduced to ash and smoke, leaving not even the tiniest scrap behind.