Admittedly, stolen divine artifacts were quite handy.
In the Douluo Continent's classification, divine artifacts were equivalent to soul tools—but soul tools imbued with divinity.
The Angelic Sacred Sword, like the Heart of the Ocean God, was a soul tool containing divine laws, allowing it to resist the Douluo world's natural restrictions to a great extent.
In other words, aside from its slightly mismatched attributes, the Angelic Sacred Sword was truly a pleasure to use.
Most importantly—it gave her ranged attack capabilities.
In the world of soul masters, even if she reached the Grandmaster realm and could project zhenqi externally, her power would still weaken over distance due to the Douluo world's unique laws.
Perhaps only by stepping into the Perfection realm could she further utilize her own laws to counteract this unnatural suppression.
In simpler terms—if the shoe doesn't fit, make the shoe bigger.
But the Angelic Sacred Sword allowed Ning Rongrong to unleash most of her Grandmaster-level strength, especially in long-range combat.
Truly, the unclaimed divine artifact she had "borrowed" from Qian Daoliu back then was proving quite useful.
Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that the Heart of the Ocean God was being watched by the Sea God's divine will, it would have long fallen victim to Ning Rongrong's sticky fingers.
"Hmm… Something about that phrasing feels off." Ning Rongrong shook her head, refocusing.
"Sigh—"
She exhaled deeply.
In the distance, the Titan Giant Ape, which had been slowly approaching earlier, was now charging at her on all fours.
A cold glint flashed in Ning Rongrong's eyes.
"Big monkey, today, you shall be the sacrifice for my sword."
As she spoke, the Titan Giant Ape was already upon her, its massive fist crashing down.
The terrifying force of its punch created sonic booms in the air, the sound piercingly sharp.
"Traceless."
Ning Rongrong "whooshed" out of the Titan Giant Ape's line of sight.
The fist didn't stop just because she had dodged—it obliterated the tree branch she had been standing on, reducing it to splinters.
The hill-like fist smashed into the ground, causing the earth to tremble violently.
BOOM—! BOOM—!
The once-flat terrain now had uneven mounds of dirt and rock jutting out.
A clear fist imprint was left where the punch had landed.
"ROOOAAAR—!"
The Titan Giant Ape's massive eyes caught Ning Rongrong's figure in its peripheral vision.
Its other hand transformed into a claw, immediately swiping toward her position.
Ning Rongrong, hovering in midair, swiftly retreated, putting distance between herself and the Titan Giant Ape.
The Angelic Sacred Sword, as if guided, followed her closely, floating beside her just like her former Martial Soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda.
"Big monkey, no matter how strong your attacks are, they're meaningless if they don't hit."
"Let me teach you a move."
Ning Rongrong formed a series of hand seals. The Angelic Sacred Sword, already saturated with zhenqi, had long been molded to her will.
After completing the seals, the vertically positioned sword turned horizontally.
Under the flow of zhenqi, the Angelic Sacred Sword emitted a crimson, flame-like glow.
All this radiance was compressed along the blade's edge.
The sword itself seemed unchanged.
"Honestly, this move looks pretty cool when used."
As her zhenqi surged, a white mist formed around Ning Rongrong's body. Her brown hair began to flutter and change—
Turning from brown to a soft pink, giving her a youthful, vibrant appearance.
Streaks of flame-like energy flickered within her pink locks, causing the surrounding zhenqi to ripple with heat.
"Sword Technique—Hundred-Step Flying Sword!"
A deep dragon's roar echoed from nowhere.
The Angelic Sacred Sword trembled slightly as a blood-red dragon-shaped phantom emerged.
Then—"whoosh!"—it shot forward like an arrow, piercing toward the charging Titan Giant Ape.
The phantom radiating from the Angelic Sacred Sword made the Titan Giant Ape's eyes fill with terror:
"ROOOAAAR—!"
Thousand-year soul beasts typically couldn't speak, and the Titan Giant Ape was no exception.
But that didn't mean they were unintelligent—especially not a Titan Giant Ape. While not geniuses, their IQ was at least passable.
A sense of deadly crisis overwhelmed it. Injured and sluggish, it couldn't dodge.
The Titan Giant Ape's eyes turned blood-red as its six-to-seven-meter body rapidly expanded, growing even more massive.
It reached eight meters tall, its muscles bulging grotesquely.
Most frightening was its aura—completely different from before.
"Oh? An all-attribute enhancement skill."
"Attack, defense, and speed all increased. How terrifying." Ning Rongrong observed the Titan Giant Ape with interest.
But the Angelic Sacred Sword was no ordinary weapon—especially when combined with her zhenqi.
"If you can really withstand this, maybe I'll consider sparing you again."
Soul beasts grew extremely slowly. Reaching Title Douluo-level strength would take thousands of years—by then, it'd be far too late.
By that time, Ning Rongrong would have long ascended to who-knows-where.
Novel tropes like "scheming and dangerous, must eliminate" or "leave no future threats" didn't need to apply to a mere soul beast.
"ROOOAAAR—!"
Sensing imminent death, the Titan Giant Ape no longer cared about its injuries. It gathered all its remaining power into its right fist—
And threw a devastating punch forward.
A violent gust of wind formed around its fist, uprooting nearby trees.
The Angelic Sacred Sword collided with the Titan Giant Ape's fist.
BOOOOOOM—!
The resulting explosion sent shockwaves rippling outward, uprooting every tree within hundreds of meters.
Ning Rongrong raised a barrier around herself, shielding against the aftermath.
She brushed aside the pink strands covering her eyes and surveyed the devastated landscape.
"No Soul Ring has appeared… So the Titan Giant Ape isn't dead yet?"
At this moment, the Titan Giant Ape's eight-meter-tall body shrank back to six or seven meters.
Its right fist, which had struck the Angelic Sacred Sword, was the most severely injured—bones visible, blood gushing from the arm.
Countless gashes covered its body, all inflicted by sword energy.
Blood dyed its fur crimson.
Its face, usually somewhat dopey-looking, was now twisted in agony, as if it had lost all sensation.
"Incredible."
"Still alive after all that?"
"Just a thousand-year soul beast, yet it endured a strike from this sword…" The Angelic Sacred Sword flew back into Ning Rongrong's hand.
She gazed at the mountainous Titan Giant Ape lying motionless on the ground.
"It's unconscious. With injuries like these, it won't survive without treatment."
Why would she heal the Titan Giant Ape she had just beaten half to death? So it could wake up and attack her again, only for her to knock it out once more?
Was this some kind of "Seven Captures of Meng Huo" reenactment?
How boring.
Forget whether this big monkey was a masochist—Ning Rongrong's tastes and preferences were at least normal.
She wasn't a sadist.
With a soft sigh, Ning Rongrong's eyes flicked toward the northwest. Her tone was indifferent:
"Those eyes peeking from the shadows—care to come out now?"
"You're making this very awkward for me."