The dragon claw on Bei Bei's right arm clamped tightly around the Mandala Snake's vulnerable neck, constantly releasing blue-violet lightning.
Although the Mandala Snake excelled in speed, it looked incredibly sluggish to Bei Bei with Spiritual Detection supporting him.
But speed and physical toughness were not the Mandala Snake's only strengths. It opened its mouth slightly and spat out highly poisonous pink venom.
With Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection supporting him, however, Bei Bei managed to dodge the Mandala Snake's venom just in time, every single time.
Still, the Mandala Snake had a powerful body and was fully two thousand years old. Bei Bei felt its immense strength firsthand. As the stalemate continued, his stamina drained rapidly, and he was close to giving out.
Suddenly, the Mandala Snake twisted its body, whipping its long tail at him like an iron lash.
Although Bei Bei saw its every movement, he had nowhere left to dodge. He could only grit his teeth and take the iron tail squarely across his waist.
"Ugh."
Pain shot through Bei Bei. He had no choice but to release the Mandala Snake, and the blow sent him flying into the air.
"Bei Bei!"
Tang Ya's heart burned with anxiety. She summoned two long blue vines, wrapped them around Bei Bei's waist, and pulled him back.
"Are you all right?" she asked anxiously.
"I'm fine."
Bei Bei forced down the pain in his side and squeezed out a smile.
The Mandala Snake neither left nor launched another sneak attack. It merely prowled through the surrounding darkness. Bei Bei's earlier attacks had injured it too, but in this first clash between man and beast, he had come off slightly worse.
Huo Yuhao's expression was grave.
Spiritual Detection truly was incredibly powerful. It could reveal an enemy's movements and always let them seize the initiative.
But that raised a problem: what could they do if they still could not beat their opponent, even with the initiative?
Against absolute strength, even the immense advantage of superior information became insignificant.
They knew the Mandala Snake's movements at every moment now, yet their anxiety had only grown compared with when they knew nothing.
Huo Yuhao put a piece of ice into his mouth, keeping his eyes fixed on the Mandala Snake's direction.
He wanted to find its weakness.
"Yuhao, why don't you let me handle this? You're no match for it."
Just then, Tian Meng's voice rang out.
Huo Yuhao considered it for a moment.
"It looks like that's our only choice."
It was merely a thousand-year soul beast. Tian Meng could easily finish it with Spiritual Shock, but Huo Yuhao had silently sworn not to rely too much on Tian Meng's power.
He was stubborn and determined, but he rarely made others pay the price for his stubbornness.
If he were alone, he would naturally dare to storm the Imperial Palace by himself and curse at the Auspicious Beast, fearing neither heaven nor earth.
But when the safety of those around him was involved, he left a little room for compromise.
Meanwhile, Tang Ya was gently stroking Bei Bei's injury, her heart aching terribly.
Bei Bei suddenly instructed her, "Xiaoya, if things go wrong later, don't worry about me. Take little brother Huo and leave first."
Tang Ya froze, then said angrily, "Bei Bei, what do you mean? Do you think I'd flee in the face of battle?"
"As sect master, how could I leave a disciple of my sect alone in danger?"
"I'll fight beside you until the very last moment!"
She lightly brushed the Sleeve Arrow and other hidden weapons concealed in her clothes, feeling the cold touch of metal, her gaze resolute.
"I'll be fine. You have to protect yourself!" Bei Bei's gaze was gentle. "You're the Tang Sect's master. If something happens to you, who will revive the Tang Sect?"
Tang Ya remained adamant. "You... I'm not leaving!"
Bei Bei shook his head. "Being this impulsive hardly makes you suited to being a sect master!"
"Sorry to interrupt." Expressionless, Huo Yuhao broke into their melodramatic, life-and-death farewell at a decidedly inappropriate moment. "Brother Bei Bei, do you still have any stamina left?"
"It's nothing serious. It doesn't even count as a flesh wound. I've more or less recovered already," Bei Bei answered.
"Then do you know this Mandala Snake's weaknesses?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"The Mandala Snake's weaknesses are its mouth and eyes," Bei Bei replied. "But it's very cautious and hardly ever opens its mouth. Its eyes are covered in armored scales too."
"The scales on this Mandala Snake's head are exceptionally hard. Even my full-strength attacks just now couldn't break them. As far as we're concerned, you could say it has no weaknesses."
"Not necessarily. Brother Bei Bei, what's your martial soul?"
Bei Bei had no idea what he had up his sleeve, but answered honestly, "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, a power attack system beast martial soul."
"Perfect. I have a technique that's very well suited to you. It was the signature ultimate technique of Wang Xiaohu, the previous master of my Dragon Tiger Sect-"
Huo Yuhao smiled confidently, though his smile carried a hint of wickedness. "Lightning Poison Dragon Drill!"
"Lightning Poison Dragon Drill?" Bei Bei and Tang Ya were both startled.
The name alone overflowed with domineering might and sinister menace. It also seemed tailor-made for Bei Bei's blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul.
"What kind of technique is this Lightning Poison Dragon Drill?"
"You concentrate your entire body's strength in your legs and spin at high speed. The rotation drives your leg muscles like a drill, grinding everything to pieces. Once mastered, it can bore through mountains and split rivers! It was only thanks to this move that Sect Master Wang Xiaohu, with his Soul Douluo cultivation, managed to perish together with the Titled Douluo Huo Yun Evil God."
"Hiss-" Hearing the Lightning Poison Dragon Drill's power, Bei Bei could not help drawing a sharp breath, but then shook his head. "Well... little brother Huo, I can't use Martial Soul Possession on my legs yet. They aren't strong enough to unleash this ultimate technique's power."
"Can't you be a little flexible and use your hand instead?"
"..."
Huo Yuhao hurriedly explained the key points of the Lightning Poison Dragon Drill to Bei Bei, then said, "With the Lightning Poison Dragon Drill enhancing your attack, piercing the armored scales over that Mandala Snake's eyes will be child's play, Brother Bei Bei."
"All right, I'll try."
Bei Bei flexed the dragon claw on his right hand.
Following the key points Huo Yuhao had explained, he unleashed his first soul skill, Thunder Dragon Claw. An illusory dragon claw formed from blue-violet lightning shot out of his hand.
He slowly rotated his body, bringing the Thunder Dragon Claw spinning along with it. The lightning's destructive power really did seem a little stronger than before.
This improvement did not come from an increase in soul power. It was a genuine enhancement to the technique's power.
Having cultivated the Tang Sect Secret Arts, Bei Bei could naturally appreciate this technique's advantages all the more.
"It really works!" Overjoyed, Bei Bei cast Huo Yuhao a grateful look, then leaped with all his strength and charged toward the Mandala Snake again.
He jumped into midair. His remarkable flexibility kept him balanced, even as his tall, straight body began rotating at an unbelievable angle.
Purple lightning coiled around Bei Bei. The scales on his right arm spread to his chest, and his aura instantly surged.
His third Soul Ring, a thousand-year soul skill: Thunderclap Fury!
His thick right arm blazed with dazzling blue-violet lightning as it spun, and a savage dragon claw whirled down toward the Mandala Snake's head.
His first soul skill: Thunder Dragon Claw!
An indescribable exhilaration and excitement spread across Bei Bei's face.
"Lightning Poison Dragon Drill!"
The armored scales on the Mandala Snake's head were pierced in an instant. Not just its vulnerable eyes, but its upper jaw, brain, skull... all were drilled through by that terrifying claw!
Under this thunderous strike, it did not even have time to unleash the venom it was so proud of.
But the Mandala Snake's vitality was extraordinarily tenacious. Even with the upper half of its head gone, it was not completely dead. Its long body struggled and writhed on the grass in a final flicker of life.
"All right, Tian Meng, it's your turn. Just kill that snake with Spiritual Shock."
"Uh... Yuhao... I don't think that's necessary anymore..."
Indeed, the Lightning Poison Dragon Drill was a technique whose name Huo Yuhao had shamelessly stolen from his previous life, while making up its actual execution out of thin air. His only purpose in telling Bei Bei about it had been to get him to clash with the Mandala Snake again, providing cover for Tian Meng's Spiritual Shock.
Huo Yuhao was just about to call Tian Meng out to save the day when he realized something was wrong.
How had that Mandala Snake been finished off just like that?
Hadn't I made up the Lightning Poison Dragon Drill?
"Little brother Huo, thank you!"
Watching Bei Bei walk toward him, his face full of excitement, Huo Yuhao fell silent.
Damn...
So the stuff Brother Hao made up actually worked...
This feeling...
It was like seeing some kid playing an arcade game by the roadside, telling him to mash the buttons at random, and watching him actually pull off a hidden super move...