The Amethyst Winged Lion King was deeply moved. Young Master Yan, you know my strength is still lacking, yet you took on the stronger foe yourself and left the weaker one for me.
The Flamefeather Eagle Emperor let out a strange, cackling laugh, as if it had just heard the funniest joke. "Brat, a human like you? I could crush ten of you in one claw. If you swapped with that Amethyst Winged Lion, you might live a few breaths longer."
"I don't hit women. Female beasts are no exception," Xiao Yan said slowly.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King abruptly raised its head. Young Master Yan, though my strength is lacking, I'm still the king of lions! Do I look like the type to bully women?
Yun Yun, who was the best authority on the matter—her backside still aching—blushed furiously, her almond-shaped eyes glistening as she glared at Xiao Yan.
"You're looking down on women?!" The smaller Flamefeather Eagle Emperor shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, its feathers instantly bristling.
Flames erupted around its body, transforming it into a blazing sun, as if intending to roast Xiao Yan into a dried-up husk on the spot.
"You…" Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and, under the collective stares of everyone present, corrected himself. "Right now, you're still a female beast. Talk to me about being a woman after you've taken human form."
The Amethyst Winged Lion King had initially thought Xiao Yan would change his stance and say something like, "Your strength isn't even worth my effort." Instead, it got this brutally honest remark and burst into laughter.
Yun Yun, who had been waiting for Xiao Yan to carefully choose his words, didn't expect him to stick to such a rigid distinction. She couldn't help but let out a soft, amused laugh.
The female Flamefeather Eagle Emperor screeched in fury, its body trembling violently as the flaming feathers covering it seemed to come alive, rapidly elongating and flickering.
With a shuddering motion—whoosh whoosh whoosh!—countless flaming feathers shot toward Xiao Yan like a torrential rain of fire.
"I'll burn you to death!" the female Flamefeather Eagle Emperor howled in rage.
The male Flamefeather Eagle Emperor was momentarily dumbfounded. The human was just stating facts. Was there any need to get so angry?
"Your opponent is me!" The Amethyst Winged Lion King's body erupted with a dazzling violet light, momentarily overshadowing the blazing flames.
With a powerful flap of its wings, amethyst flames surged skyward as the lion king shot forward like a falling meteor, intercepting the fiery barrage before it could reach Xiao Yan.
Yun Yun was stunned. The speed the Amethyst Winged Lion King had displayed earlier was already impressive, but now it was even faster.
The countless flaming feathers struck the amethyst flames seeping from the lion king's crystalline body with terrifying force.
A bizarre scene unfolded before the two Flamefeather Eagle Emperors' eyes—the moment the flaming feathers touched the violet flames, they let out sizzling sounds before being completely devoured.
The female Flamefeather Eagle Emperor let out a surprised "Huh?" This was one of its proudest techniques. Against the Amethyst Winged Lion King from years ago, it should have inflicted heavy injuries instantly.
Yet now, despite the lion king's hasty defense, it had effortlessly blocked the attack.
Given how slowly magical beasts typically progressed in cultivation, there was no way the Amethyst Winged Lion King should have improved so drastically.
A treasure!
The two Flamefeather Eagle Emperors immediately reached the same conclusion, their curiosity about the secrets of this small valley growing even stronger.
"Try to keep its pelt intact," Xiao Yan said, patting the Amethyst Winged Lion King's sturdy body before flying to the right, opening up a new battlefield.
The female Flamefeather Eagle Emperor called to its mate, "Don't kill that human right away. After I deal with the Amethyst Winged Lion King, I'll make sure he learns the power of a woman firsthand."
"Don't worry, my dear," the male Flamefeather Eagle Emperor replied casually. A human at the fifth-rank magical beast level wouldn't even be able to break through its flaming barrier. This was suicide.
With a flap of its wings, the male Flamefeather Eagle Emperor shot past Xiao Yan in an instant, appearing on his opposite side. "Human, are you ready to die?"
Xiao Yan's voice was solemn. "One move. If you survive a single strike from me, I'll leave the Magical Beast Mountain Range immediately and never return."
"Arrogant fool! You won't live to see tomorrow's sun!" The Flamefeather Eagle Emperor let out a piercing cry, flexing its razor-sharp talons as it eyed Xiao Yan, wondering where to grab him to ensure he wouldn't die in one hit.
The moment the words left its beak, Xiao Yan's gaze turned steely. Surging Dou Qi roared through his body like a raging flood, converging at the tip of his right finger.
Executing the new combat skill, "Armor-Piercing Seven-Spin Finger," was more difficult than Xiao Yan had anticipated. After gathering energy to a single point, he had to unleash a secondary attack—something far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person.
First, condensing such vast Dou Qi required incredibly resilient meridians to withstand the pressure.
Second, the control over the Dou Qi had to be flawless. A single misstep, and the uncontrolled energy could rebound, causing the user's body to explode before even harming the enemy.
For even a once-in-a-century genius, mastering these two aspects would take at least a year of dedicated training.
Yet for Xiao Yan, though this was his first attempt, he was only slightly unpracticed—unlike his usual near-perfect execution of other combat skills immediately after comprehension.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan focused most of his power into his fingertip. A glimmer of golden light flickered there before erupting into a dazzling radiance, as brilliant as a sea of stars.
His aura grew profound, each breath accompanied by the faint sound of swirling air currents.
When even those soft sounds vanished, an invisible force burst from his fingertip.
In that instant—
A streak of golden light, like the stroke of a divine brush, split the sky in two.
Though slender as a finger, its radiance eclipsed the red and violet hues of the heavens, illuminating the darkening horizon in a flash.
"This…" Yun Yun shot to her feet in shock. "This isn't Annihilation Slash?!"
Though the two combat skills had somewhat similar effects, the power behind this one was in a completely different league.
If he already has such a powerful technique, why did he ask for mine? Yun Yun couldn't understand. Unless… he learned and comprehended it on the spot?
The male Flamefeather Eagle Emperor only felt a golden light flash before its eyes but sensed no pain. "What was that? Humans and their flashy tricks—"
Before it could finish, a golden dot suddenly appeared at the center of its forehead.
Then—
A visible golden line split its body from head to tail.
"ARGH—!" The male Flamefeather Eagle Emperor let out a bloodcurdling scream.
This peak sixth-rank magical beast had been bisected in an instant, its flesh perfectly peeling away from its skeleton in clean, precise layers.
(End of Chapter)
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