25: Go on a killing spree

Just as the formation was about to close, the Fusang Dark Guards, driven by their survival instinct, unleashed an astonishing burst of power and broke through the defensive line in one fell swoop.

They then became entangled in a brawl with the examinees and reserve Spirit Guards who had not yet evacuated from the formation's entrance.

Because they were at the very end of the group, Xu Yao and Wang Zi were the first to encounter the enemy; in just one exchange, both were heavily injured.

Xu Yao's naturally fair skin had turned deathly pale due to excessive blood loss, a heart-wrenching sight.

However, Wang Zi's injuries were even more severe. His body was covered in bright red blood, and his eyes were tightly shut as he lost consciousness.

Most devastating of all was the Blazing Flame Leopard Cat lying in his arms, devoid of breath; it had blocked a fatal blow for Wang Zi at the critical moment.

The death of his beast caused a massive shock to Wang Zi's spirit, causing him to faint instantly.

A beast and its master are linked by soul through a contract, so the death of a beast affects the master's soul; in severe cases, it can even turn a person into an idiot.

Fortunately, Wang Zi was merely in a coma and had not reached that point.

This was because, when faced with imminent death, the Blazing Flame Leopard Cat had proactively severed the contract, minimizing the damage to Wang Zi.

“You're finally back... Wang Zi and I have been waiting for you...” Xu Yao said, forcing a smile as she looked at Su Ze.

But Su Ze was already flying in the air, suppressing the rage in his heart as he said, “Give me a little more time, I'll be right back!”

He then turned his gaze toward the Fusang Dark Guards behind him.

Sensing that things were going south, they were desperately trying to flee.

But... flying is faster than running.

Su Ze dove down and quickly caught up with one of the Fusang Spirit Guards. A scorching line of death fire swept out from between his wings, instantly incinerating the man into ash amidst his screams.

One, two, three... these Fusang Dark Guards, who had just been rejoicing over the destruction of the formation, were now turning into charred corpses one by one amidst their wails.

There was no mercy to speak of for them.

After all, if it hadn't been for the demon beast egg Su Ze dropped earlier, the eruption of the Tianyun Volcano would have buried several nearby cities.

At that time, millions of Great Xia's people would have been turned to ash just like they were now.

However, considering the bigger picture, Su Ze left a few alive, only burning off their legs so they couldn't escape.

Soon, Su Ze caught up with the last person. He was the strongest and the first to realize something was wrong and start running.

But in the end, Su Ze dragged him out from a patch of hidden shade, like a soaring eagle plucking a rat from a dark, damp burrow with its talons.

Strangely, this Fusang Dark Guard didn't beg for mercy. Instead, he spoke in an extremely regretful tone: “It's you... the Captain's judgment was indeed wrong. I should have insisted on spending a bit more time to kill you back then!”

Su Ze recognized him then; the Dark Guard before him was the very one who had wounded the Great Xia Spirit Guard, Sun Hao.

He had sensed the hidden trio of Su Ze at the time, but Yano Takashi felt that three mere examinees posed no threat and would only be a waste of time, so he let them go.

He never expected that, in the end, they would all die at Su Ze's hands.

Hearing him say this, Su Ze realized he had been completely exposed back then. Breaking into a cold sweat, he said, “That truly is a pity, letting me live. It's too late to want to kill me now!”

Then, a line of death fire shot out, enveloping him completely and turning him into ash as well.

Su Ze remembered his behavior when he was torturing the Great Xia Spirit Guard vividly; there was no need to leave him alive.

But it wasn't over yet. The true culprit was currently high above Su Ze's head, locked in combat with Yu Shenghuo.

Su Ze flapped his wings, preparing to fly toward the heights.

Just as he was about to take off, the gilded wings were once again influenced by the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird's consciousness, trying to break free from his control.

Because Su Ze was currently squandering the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird's power, she didn't mind if it was just against those weak humans from earlier; in fact, she was quite happy to cooperate in burning them to ash.

But now, the enemy Su Ze wanted to face was a powerhouse of a higher rank than her. This meant consuming the power she had accumulated for her hatching, so she was unwilling.

Su Ze was forced to stop in mid-air, but he threatened coldly as if talking to himself, “You were just born and are still a child, so I won't hold the previous matters against you.”

“But if you cause trouble again, I will use the contract to obliterate you, even if it means discarding a Diamond-rank Demonic Beast!”

The consciousness of the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird within the gilded wings struggled for a moment before finally choosing to compromise. She was linked to Su Ze's soul through the contract and could sense his current emotions, so she was certain Su Ze would do as he said.

Regaining control, Su Ze, surrounded by golden flames, charged straight at Yano Takashi, who suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

Yano Takashi had just seized an opportunity when Yu Shenghuo's strength flagged to launch a counterattack. Before he could fully gain the upper hand, he felt a hair-raising sense of crisis coming from behind him.

He could only mobilize all the remaining power of the imitation yata no kagami to set up a defense behind him, while he continued to maintain his suppression of Yu Shenghuo in front.

But he had clearly overestimated the remaining power of the yata no kagami, or rather, underestimated Su Ze.

The golden flames on Su Ze's body were one of the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird's innate talents, Phoenix Fire.

Flames from the Divine Beast Phoenix were perfectly suited to incinerate the residual divine power within the imitation yata no kagami.

The yata no kagami only held out for a moment before shattering into a shower of crystalline fragments that fell below. Immediately after, the golden flames instantly surrounded Yano Takashi.

Yu Shenghuo retreated to avoid the searing heat of the flames. He could only vaguely see two figures clashing within the fire, but the high temperature of the Phoenix Fire made him afraid to approach.

“This kid... he'll be alright, won't he?”

Xiao Xu and Guo Linshan also flew over at this time. The former spoke up, “He'll be fine. That's Phoenix Fire, flames from a Divine Beast. Even if we went in to help, we'd be burned along with him.”

He then added with some surprise, “With Phoenix Fire of this intensity, the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird must be consuming its accumulated life-saving power to fuel it. How can his level of beast mastery have reached such a stage?”

How could he have known that the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird was only behaving because its life had been threatened?

At this moment, Guo Linshan also saw a figure gradually falling within the sea of fire and couldn't help but cry out, “Su Ze, leave him alive! I still have a lot of information to interrogate him for!”

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Su Ze had already extinguished the Phoenix Fire and walked out carrying a charred corpse.

“Did... did I say it too late?”

Su Ze shook his head: “It wasn't too late. I didn't kill him; he took poison himself.”

Within the sea of fire, once Yano Takashi realized he couldn't escape, he bit down on a poison capsule hidden in his teeth.

It was a lethal poison from some unknown demonic beast; even a high-level Beast Tamer like him died in an instant. Su Ze didn't even have time to try and dig it out.

After finally tossing Yano Takashi's body to Yu Shenghuo, Su Ze intended to head back, keeping his promise to Xu Yao.

“Wait for me, I'm coming back now...”

But before he could fly very far, he suddenly lost consciousness and plummeted toward the ground.

The Golden Feather Phoenix Bird's rank was far higher than Su Ze's, and calling upon her power was extremely taxing on his Spiritual Power. Su Ze had lost consciousness because his Spiritual Power was completely depleted.

Seeing this, Guo Linshan was about to fly to the rescue when he saw the wings on Su Ze's back turn into a streak of light. They then transformed into a Phoenix Bird that caught him on its back and landed safely on the ground.

However, as soon as they landed, the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird shook Su Ze off with a look of utter disdain.

This scene made Xiao Xu raise an eyebrow: “It seems... the relationship between Su Ze and the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird isn't exactly close, is it?”