"Jiang Li!"
"Seize its body! If you take it over, you'll hit the jackpot!"
Babata howled nonstop inside Jiang Li's sea of consciousness.
It knew very well that a Gold-Horned Beast in its juvenile stage was roughly at the Hengxing-level. And Jiang Li's soul was so terrifying that even an Undying like Duo Yi found it unbelievable. Taking over a Gold-Horned Beast would practically be as easy as lifting a finger for him.
From beginning to end, Babata had always believed Jiang Li was some peak lifeform who had seized a human's body, so of course he would know how to perform a
"Too ugly."
Jiang Li tossed down that sentence in his consciousness sea.
Babata:
"Don't use human aesthetics!!!"
Babata was practically wailing.
After obtaining the Chaotic Immortal Ancestral Dragon Body, he didn't crave the Gold-Horned Beast nearly as much anymore.
And the greatest advantage of the Gold-Horned Beast lay in the inherited secret techniques within its bloodline memories—something his Ancestral Dragon Body also seemed capable of solving.
With that, what meaning was there in seizing it?
Not long after Jiang Li left War God Palace, his communicator lit up again.
"First Speaker!"
Jiayi's urgent voice rushed through: "There's been a sighting of the Gold-Horned Beast…"
"It appeared once nine hundred nautical miles out from the Changhe Battle Base. Its next target is most likely our Hanxia's Changhe Battle Base!"
Receiving the news, Jiang Li didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat.
The Gold-Horned Beast grew at an alarming rate. Right now he didn't fear it—but once time stretched on, even he had no certainty he could handle it.
As Jiang Li descended the stairs wearing his combat suit, Ling Ling's eyes rippled faintly.
Claiming she wasn't worried would be a lie.
"Rest easy. Without my wife's permission, your husband absolutely won't let anything happen to himself."
Jiang Li nodded solemnly, then flashed a crafty grin. "When your husband comes back, he'll teach you calligraphy."
Hearing that…
Ling Ling's cheeks instantly reddened.
She understood.
Right now, Jiang Li was humanity's only hope.
Stopping him simply wasn't an option.
...
On the outer city wall of Changhe Battle Base.
Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
Blades whirled and sliced across the steel wall, knocking down the monsters scrambling up the counter-flowing riverbed. In a black combat suit, Luo Feng leaped forward, stepping across shields as he darted along the outer defenses.
"Madman, you're amazing!"
Jiang Chen, another student from the Elite Training Camp, gripped a war blade in one hand and a war shield in the other as he fought atop the wall.
Their year's life-and-death trial required them to assist, in batches, the three major battle bases in guarding the nation's gates.
Suddenly—
A sharp, piercing alarm ripped through the base. The soldiers were momentarily stunned.
"What is that?"
"The retreat alarm?!"
Since the founding of the Hanxia Changhe Battle Base, the three-long retreat siren had never once sounded.
"Are we abandoning resistance?!"
"There's a base city right behind us!"
"I refuse to retreat! I'll fight to the death before losing even an inch of land!"
"Brothers, following orders is a soldier's first duty!"
"Retreat! Immediately retreat! A terrifying monster is approaching! Don't make meaningless sacrifices!"
The base broadcast repeated the message nonstop.
"Hm?"
Luo Feng checked his student communicator. The message was from the Elite Training Camp: "A starry-sky giant beast is about to attack Changhe Battle Base? All students evacuate immediately?"
"Luo Feng! Jiang Chen! Move!"
Zhao Ruo and Shi Jiang rushed back from the distance, shouting, "That kind of terrifying beast isn't something we can deal with!"
"Look!"
"The sky!"
Jiang Chen leaped up and suddenly shouted.
At this moment—
Across the pitch-black night sky, a streak of white light appeared from the far horizon, like a meteor shearing across the heavens. It shot past Changhe Battle Base and out toward the open sea—moving so fast the naked eye could barely register it.
Everyone could guess the owner of that light.
"It's Brother Jiang!"
Luo Feng turned just in time to see Jiang Li's figure vanish into the distant firmament.
"That's Jiang Li?"
"Can he win?"
Zhao Ruo and Shi Jiang both stared into the sky, their faces tense.
They had no idea how terrifying a suddenly-emerged starry-sky monster could be. Even the term "Hengxing-level" was something unheard of.
"Is dealing with a Hengxing-level giant beast really as easy as Jiang Li made it sound?"
Inside the triangular, Honghuang-grade intelligent fighter jet, Hong and Thor were also rushing to Changhe Battle Base, their faces similarly shadowed with worry.
"How strong is Hengxing-level?"
Hong trailed off, then shook his head.
He didn't know either.
Thor chuckled loudly. "Brother Hong, even you have moments where you're stumped."
Hong shot him a glance. "All we can do now is hope he gives us another surprise… and another miracle."
Even if Jiang Li spoke calmly, the sheer terror displayed by the Gold-Horned Beast meant no one in the entire world could truly feel at ease.
If he killed the Gold-Horned Beast—
If he won, humanity would be saved. A monumental blessing.
But if he lost?
"The projection is coming in. Jiang Li's speed is far beyond ours."
At that moment—
Inside the Honghuang-grade jet, a 3D projection displayed the outer sea.
At the same time—
Leaders of every powerful nation, warriors of countless forces, all watched their giant screens with clenched hearts.
Humanity's strongest being was about to face a starry-sky monster. This battle would surpass all of human history, marking a massive turning point in human civilization.
"Jiang Li… you must win!"
At the Qin Emperor Battle Base, William, Candice, and the others cleaved through monster after monster as the alarms blared, all silently praying.
"He will. He definitely will."
In the Limit Guild hall of Mingyue District, nearly a thousand warriors and family members crowded into the conference hall, staring up at the massive display.
The night was anything but calm.
Amid the roaring winds, the abyssal sea churned violently, waves surging hundreds of meters high.
Boom!
A monstrous creature burst out of the sea.
Its massive wings spread wide, stirring storms as it rose. The golden horn that pierced toward the heavens shone even brighter than before.
Its dark-gold eyes locked forward. In the vast pupils, a drifting human silhouette reflected clearly.
The world held its breath.
As Jiang Li released his spiritual force, his figure traced a strange arc across the sky. With a reverse grip, Zhu Xian appeared at his hand like a shadow birthed from thought.
The Gold-Horned Beast hovered in midair. Those dark-gold eyes stared coldly at the approaching human. To it, this human felt roughly equal in strength—but relying on the peak bloodline of a starry-sky giant beast, why would it ever place him in its eyes?
"Wuaaargh!"
The Gold-Horned Beast craned its head and unleashed a roar that shook heaven and earth. Its figure flickered into an afterimage. The massive tail whipped forth like lightning, breaking the sound barrier. A thunderous boom cracked across the heavens as its impenetrable, armor-scaled tail smashed against Jiang Li's Zhu Xian!
Crash—!
The sword's shadow swept past. There was no metallic clash as one might expect. Zhu Xian slid alongside Jiang Li's spiraling movement, grazing the Gold-Horned Beast's tail. Scales burst open, and a long gash appeared. Threads of golden blood illuminated the night, impossibly bright.
"It's hurt!"
"Fantastic!"
"Haha!"
"First Speaker, keep going!"
"Humanity is saved!"
In an instant, nearly the entire planet erupted in jubilant shouts.
That terrifying existence—one even the most powerful laser cannons couldn't scratch—had been injured by a single strike from Jiang Li?!
Even if it was only a wound, for the people of the world, it was enough to fill their hearts with boundless hope.