"That depends on whether you've got what it takes! Fire Blast!"
In an instant, vast amounts of Fire-type energy gathered around Zeng Tian. Barely a second later, he launched an enormous fireball.
As it flew, the fireball rapidly spread into a giant 大-shaped blaze nearly twenty meters across, hurtling straight toward Xiong Jun.
Yet Xiong Jun neither ducked nor dodged the massive flames speeding toward him, even though they towered above his body.
He rose to his feet and slashed forward with his nearly ten-meter-long right arm. Dark golden claw marks appeared in the air, instantly cutting through the twenty-meter blaze.
Boom!
Disrupted by the external force, Fire Blast could no longer hold its shape. It exploded into waves of fire that swept outward in every direction.
After dealing with Zeng Tian's Fire Blast, Xiong Jun withdrew his claws and blew gently on them. "That move was quite a bit stronger than the last one. If one of those hundred-thousand-year soul beasts carelessly took a hit, it might really end up badly injured."
"Xiong Jun seems to have gotten stronger again."
On the little hill, the Scarlet King watched the scene, his expression growing solemn.
Zeng Tian's Fire Blast was no weaker than his own enhanced attacks. Even he would have been unwilling to take it head-on, usually evading it with Flame Charge instead.
Yet Xiong Jun had blocked it with ease. That meant most of his own attacks would fare little better against Xiong Jun.
"He actually... used nothing but a swipe of his claws!"
Watching the scene before him, Zeng Tian's pupils contracted, and towering waves of shock surged through his heart.
Although Fire Blast was not the strongest move in his current arsenal, it was still a special move in the tier just below. Its instantaneous explosive power was more than twice that of Flamethrower.
Yet Xiong Jun had destroyed such a special move with a single swipe powered purely by physical strength, without even using a skill.
Only now did Zeng Tian truly appreciate how terrifying raw stats could be. Although the Auspicious Beast's stats were no lower than a dark gold terrorclaw bear's, its cultivation age was simply too low.
The Xiong Jun before him, however, possessed a full four hundred and seventy thousand years of cultivation and had survived four heavenly tribulations. His terrifying stats were utterly beyond the current Auspicious Beast's ability to match.
To deal with Fire Blast using his body alone, Xiong Jun's base stats-attack, defense, strength, and the rest-must be at least ten times the current Auspicious Beast's and more than five times the Scarlet King's. What an ultimate stat monster!
Having reached that conclusion, Zeng Tian could only call it absurd.
His own base stats were not even half the Auspicious Beast's. By that calculation, Xiong Jun's stats were at least twenty times his current ones.
No, I have to activate Sunny Day. Otherwise, the stat gap is too huge. There's no way to fight.
Zeng Tian immediately raised his head and fired a lava-like fireball into the sky. After traveling roughly a hundred meters, it abruptly burst like a dazzling firework.
The next moment, Di Tian and the others watching from the little hill sensed something.
"This is..."
Bi Ji noticed the change in the surrounding Fire-type energy and looked toward Di Tian.
Di Tian nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Yes, it's a domain. Its effect should be to strengthen Fire-type skills and weaken Water-type skills. The boost looks quite substantial, too. For a Fire-type soul beast, this domain is top-tier."
Although water and fire countered one another, under normal circumstances, a Fire-type soul beast facing a Water-type soul beast of the same level was practically serving itself up on a platter.
With this domain, however, Zeng Tian would not only avoid being countered by a Water-type opponent, but could even turn the tables and counter them instead.
Meanwhile, the Auspicious Beast also noticed the environmental change and told the Scarlet King delightedly, "Scarlet King, my flames have become fifty percent stronger."
As the Auspicious Beast spoke, some of its earlier worry immediately faded.
"I feel it too."
The Scarlet King nodded. At last, he understood what Zeng Tian had meant earlier when he spoke of his progress.
Only Zi JI pursed her lips. Her attribute was yin water, so Zeng Tian's Sunny Day did counter her to some extent.
On the battlefield, Xiong Jun felt the concentration of Fire-type energy around him rapidly rising while Water-type energy rapidly declined. He immediately guessed what Zeng Tian had done.
"A domain? It won't help!"
The next moment, Xiong Jun sprang forward and charged toward Zeng Tian.
As one of the foremost soul beasts, the dark gold terrorclaw bear was almost an all-round powerhouse. As the king of dark gold terrorclaw bears, Xiong Jun was not slow at all-he could even be called very fast. He simply lacked agility.
Almost instantly, Xiong Jun reached Zeng Tian and swiped at him.
Given Xiong Jun's terrifying stats, even without using a skill, this swipe would bring their bout to an end if it actually struck Zeng Tian's body.
Yet just as Xiong Jun's claws were about to land, flames instantly enveloped Zeng Tian. Moving at high speed, he slipped sideways and avoided the swipe.
At the same time, Zeng Tian's tail glowed red. Following the motion of his body, it lashed like a whip against Xiong Jun's claws.
Bang!
Xiong Jun's claws were knocked off course. At the same time, Zeng Tian flashed into a streak of red light, crossed ten meters, and instantly flew in front of Xiong Jun's head.
Zeng Tian's wings shone with dazzling blue-green and red light as they sliced precisely toward Xiong Jun's eyes, one of his few weak points.
Damn it, he's aiming for my eyes.
Alarm flashed through Xiong Jun's mind, and he instantly shut his eyelids.
Screeech-
The instant Xiong Jun closed his eyes, Zeng Tian's blue-green and red wings swept across his eyelids. Sparks flew, accompanied by the sound of clashing metal.
After that strike, Zeng Tian continued flying behind Xiong Jun, putting a hundred meters between them in the space of a breath.
What a shame. Even Windfire Wings couldn't break through his defense. Xiong Jun's defense really is outrageous.
As he circled Xiong Jun using Flame Charge, Zeng Tian sighed inwardly.
Windfire Wings was a move he had created by combining Wing Attack with Flame Charge. Not only was it extremely fast, but its concentrated burst of power was no weaker than Fire Blast.
With Sunny Day now boosting it, its power exceeded even the Fire Blast he had used earlier. Yet despite that, Xiong Jun's eyelids had still blocked it.
Throughout this time, Flame Charge's effects continued stacking, and Zeng Tian grew faster and faster.
Meanwhile, Xiong Jun opened his eyes, feeling a burning pain in his eyelids.
His eyes were, after all, one of his few weaknesses. Even if his eyelids had the same defense as the skin elsewhere on his body, the eyes behind them remained fragile.
Then Xiong Jun let out a furious roar. "Brat, you've made me angry!"
As a dark golden roar rang out, Zeng Tian actually felt his movements turn slightly sluggish.
Zeng Tian sneered inwardly. Sound-based Pressure? As if you're the only one who can do that.
Terrifying Growl!
The next moment, Zeng Tian let out a dragon's roar. Waves of pale purple sound spread toward Xiong Jun and collided with the dark golden sound waves.