Ao Shen crouched beside the blood-soaked Zhuo Riyan, her hand stretching toward the Celestial Stone glittering beside him.
But she never touched it.
A thunderous screech tore through the air.
In the next heartbeat, Xiao Xiao unleashed a Razor Wing attack, a gleaming brown arc of wind exploding from his wings. The slash ripped through the wooden house like it was made of paper. Walls shattered, beams snapped, and the entire structure collapsed in a single breathless moment.
Ao Shen and Kin Dou stumbled back in shock as fragments of the destroyed house rained down.
Jagged wooden pieces crashed toward Ao Shen, cutting into her skin, tearing her robe. Another large chunk hurtled down toward Zhuo Riyan—
—but Xiao Xiao flashed in front of him, blocking it with his wings, shredding the falling debris before it could touch his master.
Xiao Xiao hovered above Zhuo Riyan, trembling with rage. His eyes dripped bloody tears as he looked down at the broken, barely conscious body of the person he was bound to.
Then his gaze shifted.
He saw Ao Shen reaching again for the Celestial Stone.
His pupils shrank. His killing intent burst out violently.
Ao Shen felt it immediately—a suffocating, murderous pressure from above—but she gritted her teeth and lunged forward anyway, snatching the Celestial Stone and sprinting toward Kin Dou.
Xiao Xiao's rage exploded.
He unleashed another Razor Wing attack directly at Ao Shen's back—again a terrifying brown arc slicing the air apart.
Just before it struck—
Kin Dou stepped forward, raising his hand carelessly, mocking in his posture.
The ground trembled.
A massive lion covered in thick plates of earth armor materialized—Kin Dou's Life Bounded Beast, the Great Ground Lion. It slammed its armored body in front of the attack, blocking the deadly wind slash with a thunderous impact.
Kin Dou smirked at Xiao Xiao.
"Haha… stupid bird. Your master's half-dead. There's no way you can fight properly now."
Ao Shen reached him, clinging to the Celestial Stone. She cast a disgusted glare upward.
"Fucking bird. Go to hell already. Loser master, loser beast."
Xiao Xiao let out a heart-piercing cry, his wings trembling with fury. A blazing brown aura erupted around him, swirling like a storm, shaking the air itself.
Below him, Zhuo Riyan lay helpless, his vision fading, breath uneven.
W-why… Why d-did she do that… W-were they planning this since the start… Why… Why does any of this matter… Am I… going to die here…?
Before the thought could finish, the Great Ground Lion roared and launched upward, claws extended. Earth energy surged through its limbs; its claws turned into massive stone blades sharp enough to carve boulders apart.
It slashed at Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao didn't dodge.
He couldn't.
He shielded himself with his wings. The earth claws tore into him, ripping feathers, splitting flesh. Blood sprayed through the air.
But he didn't retreat.
He dove downward with explosive speed, aura blazing brown-hot, and attacked with his beak—aiming straight at the lion's armored throat.
Xiao Xiao's beak shot forward like a sharpened spear.
The Great Ground Lion roared, twisting its massive head to dodge—but Xiao Xiao was faster.
His beak pierced through a gap in the lion's earth armor, stabbing deep into its exposed flesh.
A burst of hot blood splattered across the air.
The lion howled in agony.
Its huge body flailed, shaking the mountain peak as it stumbled backward. Chunks of its cracked armor crumbled off its neck, revealing a gaping, bleeding wound.
Kin Dou's eyes widened in disbelief.
"WHAT?! This damned bird—!"
This damned beast… sure, it's powerful. Five-star and Beast Vein Fifth Stage—big deal. If it weren't that strong, I wouldn't even bother killing him.
But before he could finish shouting, Xiao Xiao struck again.
A whirlwind of brown aura spiraled around Xiao Xiao's wings. With a furious screech, he unleashed a barrage of small but deadly Razor Wing slashes—hundreds of thin brown arcs shredding through the air like a storm of blades.
The lion roared as dozens of those arcs sliced into its legs, shoulders, and face. Armor shattered, blood burst out, and gouges tore through its hide.
Kin Dou felt fear crawl up his spine.
Ao Shen's face twisted in shock.
"Kin Dou! We have to get out of here now! That fucking bird is losing its mind!"
Xiao Xiao dove again, aiming directly for her.
Ao Shen's heart froze.
She clutched the Celestial Stone tightly and stumbled backward, eyes wide with panic.
"Shit—Kin Dou! Do something!"
"I'm trying!" he yelled, but even he sounded terrified.
Xiao Xiao's beak glowed faintly as his killing intent locked onto them.
The lion, driven by instinct and pain, threw itself between Xiao Xiao and Ao Shen again.
Xiao Xiao slammed into the lion's shoulder with brutal force. The impact sent a cracking shockwave across the mountaintop.
The lion's armor shattered completely on one side.
It coughed blood, staggering.
Kin Dou grabbed Ao Shen's arm.
"We're leaving! NOW!"
He jumped onto the lion's back, dragging Ao Shen up behind him.
The lion roared weakly, struggling to lift its damaged body, but Kin Dou screamed, "MOVE! MOVE, YOU STUPID BEAST!"
The Great Ground Lion, fueled by desperation and fear, forced its battered legs to run. It dashed across the broken peak, leaving trails of blood behind, before leaping off the mountain edge and plunging into the forest below.
Xiao Xiao didn't hesitate.
He tried to chase.
But his wings were shredded, bleeding heavily. Each flap sent waves of pain through his body. He managed only a few meters before collapsing on the ground beside Zhuo Riyan.
He let out a heartbroken, agonized cry.
The forest below swallowed Kin Dou, Ao Shen, and the wounded lion…
and the Celestial Stone.
Xiao Xiao dragged his bloodied body closer to Zhuo Riyan, trembling violently.
He nudged his master's hand with his beak, letting out weak, broken calls.
Zhuo Riyan couldn't move.
He could barely breathe.
But the sight of his beast crying over him…
hurt even more than the daggers in his body.
His vision blurred.
Everything dimmed.
Yet he whispered one thing, barely audible—
"…Xiao… Xiao…"
And then the world fell silent.