"Looks like… we won't need to fight to the death after all."
The triangular, Honghuang-class intelligent fighter jet had already approached to within five hundred li of the outer sea. Thor and Hong exchanged a look—worry and tension finally easing a little.
And in the projected image—
The golden-horned behemoth let out several furious roars in succession!
It was enraged!
A creature of noble blood, from birth to now it had never once suffered even the slightest injury.
Yet this tiny ant before it—whose presence in its inherited memories clearly marked him as a mere human, not any high-blooded race—had actually managed to hurt it?
Impossible!
But then—
The golden-horned behemoth's enormous pupils locked onto the object in Jiang Li's hand. The strange and intricate runes carved along that spear kept surfacing within its mind.
As a noble star-beast with an exalted bloodline, it couldn't understand the meaning of those runes either—but instinct screamed at it that this was something terrifying.
In its mind, in that instant, three words rose like an instinctive command—
"Flee immediately!"
The golden-horned behemoth truly lived up to being a peak species among billions of races. Guided by inherited instinct, the moment it sensed danger, it beat its wings and dove straight toward the seabed—
"What?!"
"It's running away?!"
Jiang Li froze for a moment, surprised.
Not just him—everyone watching was dumbstruck. The higher-ups of the Eagle Nation nearly had their eyeballs fall out.
This?
Was this still the same rampaging, savage monster from earlier?
"Do you think you can escape?"
Jiang Li's figure blurred, descending like a falling meteor into the sea—
"BOOM!"
It was as if heaven and earth collapsed. The entire surface of the sea was blasted open by a terrifying impact force, forming a massive concave pit over a hundred meters long. From the path of this crater, a towering white wave erupted skyward, surging outward in a sweeping tide.
Jiang Li, now at Stellar-level Stage Three, was barely any slower than the golden-horned behemoth, which was only Stellar-level Stage One.
"Waaahhhh!"
Only now did the fighter jet's alarm sound come through. The entire screen was swallowed by the sky-reaching white wave, the turbulent water stretching all the way to the horizon—so fast that even the pursuing aircraft couldn't keep up or capture the trail.
"So this is the speed of a stellar-level powerhouse…"
Witnessing the true limit of his explosive speed, the council members all widened their eyes, momentarily speechless.
The gap in strength… was like trying to gaze up at a towering mountain.
"Wushuang Sword Realm!"
"Open!"
After fusing his soul twelve times, Jiang Li's spiritual coverage exceeded fifty thousand square meters. Matching the beast's fleeing speed, his eyes sharpened—an invisible pressure slammed down, forcing the golden-horned behemoth's massive body to sink!
Its speed instantly dropped by nearly thirty percent!
Ten thousand meters!
Eight thousand meters!
Six thousand meters!
Three thousand meters!
The distance between Jiang Li and the golden-horned behemoth was rapidly shrinking.
"Jiang Li! What are you waiting for?!"
"Take it over!"
"Take it over already!!!"
Facing the golden-horned behemoth, Babata was practically brainwashing him—nagging nonstop inside Jiang Li's mind.
"Babata, do you really think seizing its body is the only method?"
Jiang Li's eyes glimmered with light as he replied calmly within his consciousness.
Then—
In his soul sea, a bizarre drilling-like sound suddenly echoed. A towering pillar of light manifested from the void.
Once it appeared, the light swirling around it spun rapidly. Strange runes were etched by that light, finally condensing into a brilliant, flickering sigil.
The sigil flared—
And suddenly shot out through Jiang Li's pupils!
"What is that?!"
Inside the intelligent space, Babata's crimson eyes widened. He let out a shrill scream:
"A soul-seal? No… no, this is similar to my master's soul-seal, but it's not the same…"
"Jiang Li!!!"
"Just how many secrets are you hiding?!"
This was naturally not the servant-mark inherited from Huyan Bo's legacy—it was Jiang Li's own evolved version of "Hun Yin", modified into a new "Enslavement Technique". Its essence shared the same origin as a servant seal.
Swoosh!
The hazy, reality-blurring beam pierced through space instantly and shot into the golden-horned behemoth's body.
"RRROOOAARRR!"
A high, furious bellow echoed.
Gulu—gulu—gulu!A torrent of bubbles burst upward. The golden-horned behemoth seemed to have been thrust into immense agony. Jiang Li's pursuit even halted for a moment.
The next instant—
Invisible spiritual power surged forth like rivers returning to the sea, flooding violently into the behemoth's body.
"Enslave it first. If you ever change your mind later, you can still seize it!"
Seeing this, Babata immediately understood. His projected avatar hopped excitedly around Jiang Li, cheering him on.
"Hu!"
The shimmering sigil shot through the behemoth's head—then lunged toward its torso.
Because Jiang Li understood: unlike the human race, the golden-horned behemoth's soul sea was not in the head.
Its true soul resided within a single transparent soul-crystal hidden somewhere in its body.
"Found it."
Through his spiritual sense, Jiang Li located a transparent crystalline sphere radiating golden light, covered in complex secret patterns.
The next moment—
The shimmering sigil slammed into the sphere.
BOOM!
The outer shell of the soul sphere shook violently. The giant beast trembled, roaring in fury. The golden lines on its scales lit up all at once.
The runic lines converged upon the golden horn atop its head. A dazzling golden pillar soared upward, illuminating the entire ocean in radiant brilliance.
"Your soul defense really is formidable…"
"But unfortunately—"
"You met me."
Faced with the behemoth's desperate resistance, Jiang Li's pupils contracted. His expression hardened with cold intent.
Chi—chi—chi!Pebble-like particles within his soul sea suddenly released bright rays, funneling energy toward the rotating void-tower.
The strange sigil assaulting the crystal sphere erupted with power.
Then—
CRACK.
A clear shattering sound echoed inside the behemoth's body.
The sigil forcefully drilled inside!
The once-frenzied golden-horned behemoth suddenly weakened. Its massive body stiffened, its proud head lowering as the innate wild arrogance faded… sinking downward.
Then—
A peculiar sensation washed into Jiang Li's mind, forming an inexplicable link to his soul sea.
This connection was like controlling one's limbs with thought.
"One念 governs life and death…"
"No wonder this is called an enslavement technique. Once controlled, even life and death belong to the master."
Feeling this pure control, Jiang Li's lips lifted into a faint smile.
At this moment—
With just a single thought, he could decide the fate of this terrifying creature.
Soon—
A spiritual fluctuation reached his consciousness. No words, but Jiang Li understood perfectly.
It was—
"Greetings, Master."
With that mental message, the colossal golden-horned behemoth bent its thick limbs and lowered its head, assuming a posture of complete submission!
"Jiang Li, beautiful work!"
Babata snapped his fingers, eyes shining. "Whatever you tell it to do next—"
"Trust me, it won't resist at all!"
Jiang Li: "..."
In Jiangnan Base City, even elderly people struggling to walk, and pregnant women braving the storm, crowded before the giant screen in the plaza, staring nervously at the ocean now returning to normal after the fading golden light.
"Brother Jiang, you absolutely must win!"
Wei Tie and Wei Qing stood among the crowd, unable to blink as they stared fixedly at the giant screen.
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