"Boom—"
As cyan and crimson figures interwove, bursts of air detonations rang out across the sky, energy waves overflowing in all directions.
The Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion and Lin Yuan were locked in fierce combat. As the battle dragged on, the situation unexpectedly fell into a stalemate.
On one hand, after entering its berserk state, the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's physical body and energy strength had surged dramatically, making it difficult for Lin Yuan to break through its defenses and deal heavy damage. On the other hand, Lin Yuan's physical body was equally formidable—ordinary attacks from the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion were unable to inflict meaningful harm on him, while more powerful, charged attacks were either sensed and anticipated by Lin Yuan's soul perception or interrupted outright, or else narrowly avoided through his superb movement technique.
The battle grew increasingly intense. With its berserk bloodline activated, the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion became ever more frenzied. Realizing that even in its berserk state it could not quickly defeat Lin Yuan, it steeled its resolve and shifted to an even more brutal fighting style—every strike aimed at trading injury for injury. Under such relentless assaults, Lin Yuan's situation began to grow perilous.
"This beast is quite clever. This won't do—I need to change tactics," Lin Yuan thought. With a single mental shift, he swiftly devised a new plan.
"Cloud Dragon—Three Manifestations."
Lin Yuan activated the Cloud Dragon Movement Technique, and in an instant his figure split into three, darting off in three different directions.
The Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion lunged after the figure before it, intending to tear it apart with a single claw. The claw passed straight through the figure without encountering any resistance, it was nothing but an afterimage. When it turned around, the second afterimage had also vanished, and Lin Yuan's true body had already appeared dozens of meters away, flying rapidly into the distance.
"Human, don't think you can escape!"
With a furious roar, the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion spun around and gave chase. It had to kill this human before its berserk state ended—once that happened and it fell into weakness, it would be in grave danger.
Seeing the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion pursuing him, a trace of a smile appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes. Activating his movement technique, he flowed like a cloud dragon, deftly evading the fireballs shot from behind while accelerating forward. At the same time, Dou Qi within his body surged along the long spear in his hand, continuously gathering toward the drill-shaped spearhead. As more energy was condensed, cyan flames enveloped the drill tip, which began to spin at high speed beneath the concealment of the flames.
Lin Yuan led the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion on a wild chase through the sky, darting up, down, left, and right. With the combined support of his movement technique and soul perception, the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion was never able to land a hit.
As time passed, the end of the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's berserk duration drew ever closer. Growing increasingly impatient, it focused solely on ripping the constantly darting human into pieces. Suddenly, it sensed the aura of the figure ahead weaken slightly, and joy surged wildly within it. It accelerated frantically, pouncing toward Lin Yuan.
"Hooked. This speed and distance are enough. It won't be able to dodge this attack—now!"
A flash of thought crossed Lin Yuan's mind as he fully activated the movement technique he had prepared in advance.
"Cloud Dragon—Grand Reversal."
Before the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's astonished gaze, Lin Yuan's forward trajectory suddenly reversed in an instant. Carrying the cyan flame spear, his speed not only failed to decrease but instead surged, charging straight back toward the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion. The two collided in a heartbeat. The spear tip struck the lion's protective energy; the cyan flames dispersed, and under the terrifying rotational speed and intense heat, the rapidly spinning drill tip instantly pierced through the defense. The long spear plunged deep into the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's body, nearly skewering it through.
The Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion let out a heaven-shaking howl of agony. Lin Yuan stomped against its body, and a surge of Dou Qi erupted from beneath his feet, propelling him away.
"Explode."
With a soft shout, the cyan spear—formed from condensed Dou Qi and the Green Lotus Core Flame—detonated. Violent flame energy erupted within the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion, wreaking devastating internal destruction.
As he was flung backward, a bloody gleam flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes. He activated a qi-and-blood transformation technique that could only be used once the Hundred Beasts Refining Spirit Art had been cultivated to a high level, temporarily boosting his cultivation by burning the qi-and-blood energy of his Natal Blood Pill.
"Hundred Beasts Refining Spirit Art—Blood God Transformation."
As the qi-and-blood energy of his Natal Blood Pill transformed into a stream of pure power and surged into his body, Lin Yuan's momentum soared, instantly reaching the level of a peak Dou King.
"Heavenly Flame Tribulation—Mountain and River Seal."
A cyan-and-crimson seal condensed into form, faintly drawing in the energy of heaven and earth. Under Lin Yuan's control, the seal slammed into the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion. Vast energy erupted outward, attacking from the outside, while the rampant power raging within its body continued its devastation. Amidst the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's agonized roars, its meridians were completely destroyed by the combined internal and external onslaught. Its vitality rapidly faded, and its aura neared extinction.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan condensed several fire cones and shot them toward the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's vital points. In just a few breaths' time, its head and heart were pierced through, its life completely extinguished. The massive body fell heavily from the sky, crashing into the ground with a thunderous boom.
"It's finally over! Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion—you weren't bad."
Lin Yuan let out a deep breath as his aura receded from peak Dou King back to the level of a Seven-Star Dou King.
After landing, Lin Yuan stored away the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's corpse, then headed toward its lair to search for any spoils of battle.
Along the way, Lin Yuan replayed the battle in his mind, reflecting on his strengths, weaknesses, and the limits of his current power.
"A Sixth-Rank magical beast's body really is formidable. Fortunately, I cultivated the Hundred Beasts Refining Spirit Art—otherwise, engaging the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion in close combat would've been far too dangerous. All that effort I spent tempering my body was worth it. I have many more tactical options in battle now."
"At present, Blood God Transformation still can't let my Dou Qi break through the Dou Emperor threshold. I wonder how effective it will be once fully mastered. I already have some ideas about combining it with the other secret technique the Grand Elder gave me—this will need further testing."
"The Cloud Dragon Movement Technique still has room for optimization."
"An Black-class cultivation method can no longer meet my needs. I'll have to find an opportunity to switch to a Earth-Class method."
"Judging from this battle, my strength is now comparable to most mid-tier Dou Emperor. If I go all out, I should be able to clash with some high-tier Dou Emperor as well."
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Lin Yuan arrived at the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion's lair and began exploring it. During the search, he discovered quite a few precious medicinal ingredients—the most valuable being five sixth-Grade medicinal herbs and ten Fifth-Grade ones.
"This Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion had quite the collection. All of it belongs to me now."
After storing all the medicinal herbs into his storage ring, Lin Yuan surveyed the surroundings once more. Once he was sure nothing had been overlooked, he left the lair.
After exiting the cave, Lin Yuan flew to several spots near the area where he had previously fought the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion. At each location, he raised a hand, releasing a pulling force from his palm. Several cyan objects flew out from the shallow soil and landed in his hand.
"These traps I set up for escape or creating openings didn't end up being used this time. Might as well retrieve them and save them for next time."
"It's time to head back. Today is Qing'er's birthday. The ingredients are all prepared—I can cook her a big meal to celebrate. She's been cultivating so diligently lately; she deserves a reward. Who would've thought that the cooking skills I developed for Zi Yan would end up being so useful."
With that thought, Lin Yuan spread his wings and rose into the sky, transforming into a streak of cyan light as he flew toward the northeast.
Not long after Lin Yuan left, an elderly man in coarse hemp robes arrived at the battlefield where Lin Yuan and the Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion had fought.
"What pure fire-element energy… it was the Heavenly Flame Berserk King and another fire-element expert. But there's no trace of the Heavenly Flame Berserk King's aura nearby anymore. Could it be…?"
He sucked in a sharp breath, his voice filled with doubt and astonishment.
"To actually slay a Sixth-Rank Heavenly Flame Berserk Lion? There's no fire-attribute expert of such strength in the Jia Ma Empire. Just who on earth could it have been?"
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