At the last moment, Zhuo Riyan stomped the ground, purple thunder exploding outward. He grabbed Little Cat and vanished in a streak of lightning, reappearing behind a cluster of giant stone slabs.
The explosion swallowed their previous position completely. Fire roared, earth shattered, and molten rock sprayed everywhere.
Zhuo Riyan slammed to one knee, coughing violently. "Fuck… that was close."
Little Cat shook himself, fur standing on end. "That thing burns through energy fast. Big moves, big cost."
Zhuo Riyan's eyes flicked upward, watching the Roc. Its wings were still blazing, but the flames flickered slightly.
"Exactly," he said. "It's strong, but it's arrogant. It thinks we're already dead."
The Imperial Inferno Roc scanned the burning ruins, roaring in irritation when it didn't find their corpses. It flapped its wings again, preparing another Inferno Wings.
That was when Little Cat moved.
Purple thunder exploded as he shot out from cover, streaking low across the ground. He didn't attack. He ran straight at the Roc, roaring provocatively.
"Hey, oversized roast chicken! Over here!"
The Roc shrieked in fury and dove, Flame Beak igniting again.
At that exact moment, Zhuo Riyan moved.
Cosmic Lightning Movement.
Purple thunder traced a precise route through the battlefield—tree trunk, shattered stone, burning root. His body blurred, appearing above the Roc's wing in a blink.
His black-scaled arm pulsed violently.
He slammed his fist down.
The punch didn't explode.
It crushed.
The Roc's wing buckled under the impact, bones cracking audibly. Flames sputtered as the beast screeched in pain, its flight destabilized.
Little Cat didn't waste the opening. He leapt, thunder-wreathed claws slashing across the Roc's neck, drawing a line of sizzling blood.
The Imperial Inferno Roc roared in agony, crashing into the ground and tearing up the earth in a fiery explosion.
Zhuo Riyan landed heavily, coughing again, blood dripping from his chin—but he was grinning.
"We can hurt it," he said through clenched teeth. "Again."
Little Cat stood beside him, fur scorched, eyes blazing like a devil's. "Yeah. Slowly. Strategically."
High above, the pink-haired woman's smile finally faded.
The white-haired woman's eyes gleamed.
"This is getting interesting," she murmured.
The Imperial Inferno Roc struggled on the ground, flames flickering wildly as blood sizzled where it touched the earth. Its wings twitched, fury and pain mixing in its roar.
Zhuo Riyan straightened slowly. Purple thunder crawled over his body while the black-scaled arm pulsed like a living weapon. His eyes were cold, almost inhuman.
Little Cat stepped forward beside him, fur bristling, crimson pupils glowing. Both of them wore the same expression—twisted, vicious, like devils who had tasted blood and wanted more.
Zhuo Riyan took a step.
Little Cat crouched, thunder gathering around his claws.
They were going to finish it.
"Stop."
The single word rang out sharply.
Pink-haired woman raised her hand, her expression no longer playful. The Imperial Inferno Roc immediately halted, flames retracting as it obeyed her will.
Zhuo Riyan paused mid-step, eyes narrowing.
Little Cat clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Fuck, just when it was getting good."
Pink-haired woman exhaled slowly, staring at them both with clear disbelief. "That's enough. You injured him. A deal is a deal."
The white-haired woman smiled faintly from the side.
Zhuo Riyan relaxed slightly, thunder fading—but the devilish glint in his eyes did not disappear.
Zhuo Riyan stepped back, putting distance between himself and where the Imperial Inferno Roc had been, Little Cat following lazily at his side.
"Okay, I stopped," Zhuo Riyan said calmly, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. His tone was relaxed, almost teasing. "I know your beast didn't use his full strength."
Pink-haired woman snorted coldly. She raised her hand, and a void crack split open in the air. The Imperial Inferno Roc was pulled inside, flames and heat vanishing instantly.
"Yeah," she replied sharply, eyes locked onto Zhuo Riyan. "I told him not to use his full strength. I thought you'd be crushed anyway." Her gaze darkened. "But you hid your strength pretty damn well, huh."
Zhuo Riyan chuckled, hands behind his back, a playful smile on his face. "Then why tell him to hold back in the first place?"
Before she could answer, the white-haired woman walked over, her footsteps light. "That was my decision," she said calmly. "But even I didn't expect you to push him that far."
She stopped in front of Little Cat, then crouched down and gently petted his head.
"So," she said softly, fingers brushing through his fur, "tell me. How much Three Leaf Frozen Grass do you want?"
Little Cat's eyes half-closed in bliss, tail swaying happily. Fuck… her hands are soft. Why the hell isn't she my master, he thought shamelessly.
Zhuo Riyan straightened, his face instantly shifting into a polite but clearly greedy smile. "Well, I'm not greedy," he said smoothly. "But it's for someone important. I'll take a thousand. That should be fine, right?"
Pink-haired woman stared at him without blinking. Not greedy? How shameless can this bastard be, she thought.
Without another word, the white-haired woman stood up and waved her hand. In an instant, piles of Three Leaf Frozen Grass appeared on the ground, stacked densely, their cyan-tipped leaves shimmering with cold energy.
There were so many that they couldn't possibly be carried without a spatial ring.
Zhuo Riyan's eyes lit up like a starving beast seeing meat. He immediately opened his spiritual ring and swept every single blade of grass inside, not leaving even one behind.
The white-haired woman glanced toward the horizon. "Junior Sister, we should leave. Master told us to return quickly."
The sky was already brightening.
The sun slowly rose, golden light spilling across the forest, washing away the night—and the bloodshed that came with it.
Zhuo Riyan glanced at the sky, the morning light fully breaking through the canopy. He grabbed Little Cat by the scruff of his neck before the bastard could do something stupid and looked back at the white-haired woman.
"So," he said casually, "I never asked. What's your name?"
The white-haired woman smiled faintly, her expression calm and unreadable. "Why do you want to know?"
Before Zhuo Riyan could answer, space behind her twisted. A void crack opened soundlessly, and from it emerged a massive dragon head. Its scales were light blue, shimmering like frozen water, its fur soft like cotton drifting in the wind. The dragon fully emerged and let out a deep, domineering roar that shook the forest.
Pink-haired woman instantly leapt onto the dragon's back, sitting comfortably, cheeks puffed in irritation as she crossed her arms.
Little Cat's eyes widened. He stared at the white-haired woman, then spoke directly into Zhuo Riyan's mind by telepathically.
Hey master… I want this girl to become your woman. Ask for it.