Fire Meow Meow was slowly enveloped by a glowing orb of red starlight. The blood that had soaked its body began to dry and scab rapidly.
"My lord, is Fire Meow Meow going to be alright?"
Yue Guan and Gui Mei had just arrived. They saw Fire Meow Meow wrapped in a sphere of red energy in front of Aether, who continued pouring more of the same crimson power into the orb.
"It'll be fine. Just give it a moment."
Aether frowned slightly—not because of the severity of Fire Meow Meow's injuries, but due to its body's limited affinity with the pyro element.
Despite summoning a massive amount of Pyro elemental energy, most of it simply hovered around Fire Meow Meow's body without entering. It was like trying to force a torrent of water through a narrow straw—high volume, but minimal actual intake.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance and wisely chose to keep silent, stepping to the side.
But they couldn't tear their eyes away from that glowing red orb.
The energy it gave off felt eerily similar to the green energy orb Aether had previously summoned—except this one was burning hot and fiery, while the green one had been calm and refreshing, even soothing to the soul.
Could it be that each orb had a different purpose?
Neither dared voice the thought aloud, but both felt a deeper and deeper sense of awe at the mystery surrounding Aether.
Just then, waves rippled across the lake as a colossal form rose from its depths—Sky Azure Bull Python loomed tall and furious.
"Humans, how dare you trespass into my clan's sacred grounds?! None of you will leave here today!"
The moment it spoke, its Sluggish Domain expanded, trapping everyone within.
Then, with jaws wide open, it unleashed a beam of violet lightning from its maw—a blast reminiscent of atomic breath.
These humans hunted soul beasts like its kin to grow stronger. And now, they had found the Lake of Life itself—their source of survival. There was no way he would let them escape!
Earlier, it had only gone all-out with the two human Soul Masters for sport—it hadn't used its full strength.
But now, with more and more humans arriving, especially that strange youth who radiated unease—it acted decisively, unleashing a lethal strike to calm its rising dread.
Seeing this, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo prepared to activate their spirits in defense, only to feel the ground tremble beneath them.
Amber light radiated from Aether's hand as it pressed against the earth—then surged forward to meet the oncoming lightning breath.
Where the power passed, the ground cracked open. No one noticed a small rock—previously dropped by the Titan Giant Ape—shatter into dust under the energy's shockwave.
The force ripped across the earth to the lake's edge, then rose sharply, forming a towering earthen wall that absorbed the entirety of the lightning breath.
Sky Azure Bull Python froze. Its lantern-sized eyes locked on the figure behind the wall—Aether. In response, thunderous lightning surged around its twin horns, joining with a blast of gathered energy in its maw.
Three beams of destruction shot forward together, hell-bent on obliterating that wall.
The rumbling eventually faded. The lake, ravaged by the storm of lightning, had lost an untold volume of water to evaporation. As the fog slowly lifted—
The earthen wall still stood tall, amber light pulsing across its surface.
Not a single mark on it.
"Big Bro… what the hell…"
The Titan Giant Ape stared in disbelief, its voice trembling.
It knew how powerful Sky Azure Bull Python was—enough to treat it like a toy in battle.
What's more, that last attack had been one of Sky Azure Bull Python's trump cards: Annihilation Thunder!
If it had struck either of the Soul Masters from earlier, they'd have been dead or crippled!
Yet the blast had no effect on that wall?
Who is this freak of a youth? He didn't even use any soul power, yet pulled off something so godlike!
Even Sky Azure Bull Python, after unleashing two failed attacks, felt its unease swelling.
"Alright, stop pretending to be dead. You can't absorb any more anyway."
On the other side, Aether withdrew his hand from Fire Meow Meow, now fully crusted in dried blood. He looked down, clearly annoyed.
From what he sensed, the creature was completely healed—and more than that, it had grown stronger from the fire infusion.
But now, its body was saturated, like a sponge that couldn't take in another drop.
Hearing this, Fire Meow Meow dared not play dead any longer. In full view of everyone, it stood like a moving statue. Then with a shake, it flung off the blood crusts.
It looked up at Aether and, mimicking a human kneeling in reverence, dropped its forelegs and bowed awkwardly.
"Rrrow~ Thank you, my lord!"
"Fire Meow Meow! You're okay?!"
Yu Keke rushed over, crouching to check it, though hesitant to touch and risk hurting it.
"All good now, thanks for worrying, Miss Keke~"
Fire Meow Meow affectionately rubbed its head against her palm.
"Whew… Please don't run off like that again."
Relieved, Keke gently chided it, her voice a soft stream of murmurs.
Fwoosh—
Aether rose to his feet and waved a hand. The towering wall of earth between the two sides collapsed with a gust of wind. Head held high, he stared at the Sky Azure Bull Python that stood like a living pillar.
"Thunder power, huh…" He raised both hands. A new orb formed between them—crackling with arcs of pure lightning.
"Let me show you my thunder."
With that, he lobbed the Electro orb like a pebble—slowly, lazily.
But the moment it left his hand, it streaked through the air, landing squarely between the bull python's eyes.
ZAAAP—!!!
It was as if lightning tore the heavens apart. Mist rose violently from the Lake of Life.
Through the haze, they could just make out a massive form collapsing slowly into the lake, kicking up towering waves.
Aether casually waved his hand again. A windstorm blew the mist away. Then, with another wave, he yanked—
A massive bull's head, along with half its body, rose from the lake and slammed onto dry land.
"One hit… he killed that soul beast?"
"…"
Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo stared, stunned, at the gigantic bull head—just shy of smacking into their faces—its surface still sparking with residual arcs.
That hundred-thousand-year soul beast they'd just fought tooth and nail?
Aether flattened it with one strike?
"It's not dead."
As if to confirm Aether's words, the bull's head twitched—and its lantern-like eyes slowly opened. But the moment it caught sight of Aether, its whole body began to tremble.
Just then, Fire Meow Meow bounced over. Though its body was barely the size of the bull's eyeball, that didn't stop it from strutting.
It trotted up to the bull's nose, raised a paw, and gave it a light smack.
"Hmph~ So you two thought it was fun ganging up on me earlier, huh?"
"When you run the streets, you better know who's got your back!"
"You think you can show off in front of me? Fine. But you think you can act tough in front of my boss???"
"Keep it up—see if you don't end up flying!"
Then, without another word, it unleashed a flurry of no-explanation Meow-Meow Fists right onto the bull's nose.
SPLOOSH—
Two streams of lakewater burst from its nostrils, sending the mighty bull flipping head over tail—twice.
_
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