Facing Yu Chen's fastest Wind Dragon Roar, the Wind Striding Dragon, with its back turned to him, sensed the vibration in the air but had no way to dodge it.
Hiss—hiss—hiss—
The air column crashed against the Wind Striding Dragon's invisible wind armor, emitting a fine but dense sound.
The twenty-thousand-year soul technique, cast with the soul power of a 70th-level Soul Emperor, failed to break through the Wind Striding Dragon's defenses.
However, the Wind Striding Dragon, having already sustained heavy injuries, was in high-speed flight, and even though the impact's power was largely absorbed by the wind armor, the residual shockwave still caused it great discomfort.
It was as if a bird collided with an aircraft flying at maximum speed, which could cause substantial damage to the aircraft.
The Wind Striding Dragon's skin and feathers, naturally evolved to form wind armor for high-speed flight, could greatly reduce such damage. Compared to an aircraft made of steel, it could withstand much stronger impacts in high-speed flight.
But the Wind Striding Dragon had already been heavily injured, and it was as if the aircraft's engine and parts were already damaged before the bird strike, leading to an even more severe outcome.
Blood poured out of the numerous wounds from Yu Chen's Air Blade technique, spilling into the air.
The Wind Striding Dragon immediately lost speed and staggered in mid-air. Meanwhile, during the time it took to regain its speed and stabilize itself, Yu Chen had successfully closed the distance to within a thousand meters.
Yu Chen's maximum speed was not as fast as the Wind Striding Dragon's, and he did not have enough soul power to sustain long-distance flight.
Thus, his only option was to chase and attack, continually interfering with the Wind Striding Dragon's flight, preventing it from escaping too far.
"As long as I keep the distance manageable and don't let it completely pull away, I can keep disturbing its flight with my soul power recovery from the pills. This distance will be maintained!" Yu Chen thought with clear focus.
However, the Wind Striding Dragon was clearly not going to cooperate.
If Yu Chen's goal was to keep the Wind Striding Dragon occupied, then the Wind Striding Dragon's goal was to shake Yu Chen off completely.
Without hesitation, the Wind Striding Dragon accelerated to its maximum speed once again.
The Wind Striding Dragon's top speed was at least three times that of Yu Chen's at his regular state. Every second of travel in the same direction would stretch the distance by over five hundred meters. In the blink of an eye, their distance widened again at a rapid pace.
Yu Chen's face grew increasingly grim.
He hadn't expected that, even after being struck by the Wind Dragon Roar and worsening its injuries, the Wind Striding Dragon would not hesitate to reach maximum speed.
This was behavior that defied both human and beastly nature. Without immense courage, such a decision would have been impossible.
Yu Chen couldn't help but wonder if fate itself was favoring the Wind Striding Dragon...
Yu Chen couldn't use the fastest and longest-range Wind Dragon Roar again in such a short time.
After enhancing his second soul ring, Yu Chen's Wind Dragon Roar's cooldown had been reduced from several minutes to mere seconds.
But in this high-speed chase, even that cooldown was too long!
Seeing the distance stretch past three kilometers, Yu Chen knew that if he hesitated for another two seconds, his remaining attacks would have difficulty hitting the fast-moving Wind Striding Dragon... he had to make a decision now!
"Storm Currents!"
Yu Chen activated this seemingly ineffective skill!
However, his target was not the Wind Striding Dragon but its surrounding environment!
With the Storm Currents, the chaotic natural energy in the atmosphere gathered around it, directly disturbing the surrounding air currents!
The Wind Striding Dragon's speed was immediately affected!
The reason was simple: the left wing of the Wind Striding Dragon had already been wounded by Yu Chen's Air Blade, which, combined with the heavy blood loss and water accumulated in its wing from the storm, had made its left wing significantly heavier than the right.
Although the Wind Striding Dragon had superb control, the disturbance in the left air currents directly disrupted its balance!
"Now's my chance!"
Yu Chen's eyes glinted sharply, and without hesitation, he drew out the Barrett sniper rifle, aiming at the Wind Striding Dragon's largest and least likely to miss body part, and fired the shot!
At this point, it didn't matter if he hit a vital spot or not! He just needed to increase the Wind Striding Dragon's injury enough to prevent its escape!
The bullet ripped through the rain and shot out with incredible speed, creating a sonic boom that was clearly audible despite the thunderous storm.
Even though the sound came late, the Wind Striding Dragon's skin, which sensed air vibrations, immediately detected the threat.
But this time, it didn't dodge. Instead, it used the wind powers to counterattack Yu Chen.
The bullet hit the Wind Striding Dragon's back, passing through its abdomen and leaving a massive hole.
The Wind Striding Dragon spun like an aircraft being shot down, crashing into the mountains below.
However, Yu Chen was not in a better condition.
At the same time as he fired the bullet, the Wind Striding Dragon used its wind powers and unleashed a—
"Storm Currents!?"
Yu Chen's eyes widened.
It was a surprise counterattack. The Storm Currents disturbed the flow of air in a way that Yu Chen's anticipation failed to account for.
The Wind Striding Dragon's unexpected attack caused Yu Chen's predictions to fail, and as a result, he couldn't react in time. He lost control mid-air and entered a stall.
Unlike the Wind Striding Dragon, which had flown for thousands of years, Yu Chen only gained long-distance flight abilities after his spirit evolved into the Starbone Dragon and after acquiring his fifth ring.
In such a harsh flying environment, his flying skills were nowhere near the Wind Striding Dragon's.
The slower Yu Chen fell, and before he could regain his balance, he crashed into a mountain peak.
Boom! Boom!
The sounds of crashing rocks echoed through the mountains.
"Ugh—!"
Yu Chen, covered in blood and barely able to move, let out a painful cry.
The damage from a sudden crash during high-speed flight was immense, and he felt as though his internal organs had shifted.
But there was no time to worry about his injuries; his priority was to assess the Wind Striding Dragon's condition.
Through his spiritual mark, Yu Chen sensed that the fallen Wind Striding Dragon was not dead but also unable to take flight again.
Before Yu Chen could rejoice, his sixth sense screamed at him with a warning.
Yu Chen had fallen a few seconds after the Wind Striding Dragon, which delayed his actions. He didn't have time to dodge and immediately switched to his second body, activating his first soul technique, Sacrificer's Sacred Domain.
Almost as soon as he activated the soul technique, a terrifying tornado breath shot through the mountain, heading straight for his face!
It was the Wind Striding Dragon's signature long-range breath attack!
The violent tornado cut through Yu Chen like countless small knives, leaving his body full of wounds, instantly turning him into a blood-soaked figure!
If it weren't for the Sacrificer's Sacred Domain, which weakened the damage, Yu Chen would have lost almost all his combat ability!
However, the ten-thousand-year Sacrificer's Sacred Domain, in comparison to Yu Chen's current combat strength, was outdated.
Even with Soul Emperor-level attacks, the effect of the Sacred Domain only reduced the damage by more than fifty percent...
But now, Yu Chen was facing an attack from a Title Douluo-level beast, so the effect only reduced the damage by ten percent at best.
And the worst part was, Yu Chen realized this wasn't over yet.
At the same time as he blocked the tornado breath, a massive dragon tail slammed into him like a giant pillar!
It seemed that the Wind Striding Dragon was now using its physical strength, burning its life force to unleash a close-range attack!
Boom!
The tail strike sent Yu Chen flying, bouncing like a ragdoll across several mountain peaks, finally coming to a stop!
Yet, Yu Chen, sliding down the mountain like a discarded rag, couldn't help but grin.
"You think I'm heavily injured, and you think you can counterattack me?"
Yu Chen looked at the Wind Striding Dragon, whose soul power was almost depleted and whose eyes were cold with fury, and laughed. "If you just kept running, I would have been worried about you dying too far away, but now... you're just digging your own grave!"
The Sacrificer's Sacred Domain flared with starlight, and Yu Chen's soul power inside the domain quickly transformed into pure healing light. The domain shrank from a hundred-meter radius to just half a meter around Yu Chen before disappearing in the blink of an eye, healing most of his wounds.
The ability of Sacrificer's Sacred Domain—when activated, each time Yu Chen was attacked, his soul power would accumulate in the domain... He could either spend a large amount of soul power to grant a period of invincibility or heal himself in an instant.
The two attacks from the Wind Striding Dragon had caused Yu Chen significant damage, but they had also filled the domain's reserves to their limit.
Unlike other cooldown-free soul techniques, once the domain was broken and consumed, it couldn't be reactivated quickly. But for now... there was no need to reactivate the Sacrificer's Sacred Domain.
Seeing Yu Chen, who had healed almost instantly, the Wind Striding Dragon's pupils narrowed.
Even a soul beast couldn't help but feel despair in this moment.
With its pride as the ruler of the Disaster Mountain range, the Wind Striding Dragon had always remained calm and made the best decisions. But this time, its eyes were filled with fury, tinged with red.
"Roar~—!!!!"
The fully unleashed Wind Striding Dragon, filled with madness and rage, broke through its own wind armor and unleashed a terrifying tornado, burning its life force to activate its soul power.
The storm centered on the Wind Striding Dragon, which was now speeding toward Yu Chen, determined to bring him down with it.
Such a terrifying sight would send even a Title Douluo into fear and regret their provocation, but Yu Chen's eyes remained calm as a still pond, silently watching the Wind Striding Dragon rush toward him.
'Extreme Focus, 270% Power, Soul Chilling Technique!'
From start to finish, Yu Chen released his soul power without restraint at this critical moment.
Madness didn't equate to strength; in fact, it meant the breaking and vulnerability of the mind.
The black sun burning through the storm shattered the Wind Striding Dragon's already fractured mental world.
The soul power went completely berserk, sending the Disaster Mountain range's ruler toward annihilation and self-destruction.
On the ground, a black soul ring tinged with red light and a soul bone lay silently.
Seeing this, Yu Chen sighed in relief and walked forward, first placing the soul bone in his storage soul tool. He then looked at the soul ring, his eyes burning with excitement.
It seemed that the Wind Striding Dragon had grown stronger since the intelligence gathered by the Soul Beast Organization years ago, probably reaching 90,000 years in age.
But whether it was 88,000 years or 90,000 years, to Yu Chen, it was the same.
He switched back to his primary form, sat cross-legged, and absorbed the soul ring into his martial soul, using a ten-thousand-year soul ring age increase card without hesitation.
In an instant, the seventh ring on his martial soul turned bright red.
(End of Chapter)