Fire Lingling wasn't interested in the secret manual and had been observing the Short Sturdy Man, pondering who was stronger between them.

She reacted instantly, throwing a punch to meet his.

Boom!

The surging Qi and Blood energy struck Fire Lingling's fist, sending her tumbling backward two full rotations before she stabilized herself.

Without bothering about Li Xuan, she smashed through the window to escape.

The Short Sturdy Man was utterly shocked. Fire Lingling hadn't entered any martial grade, and there were no traces of martial training on her body, yet she possessed such formidable strength to exchange blows with him without being at a disadvantage!

Pure physical strength! Without any Qi and Blood enhancement!

Heaven-bestowed divine power?!

No!

She was a natural-born martial prodigy!

Destined to become a Martial Emperor in the future!

A Martial Emperor seed!

Greed arose in the Short Sturdy Man's heart. Such a woman deserved to be controlled by his family.

He absolutely must capture Fire Lingling!

By this time, Li Xuan had already obtained the secret manual but was also restrained by Shui Lanlan.

A dagger pressed against Li Xuan's throat as Shui Lanlan mocked, "You refused to marry me for her sake, yet when danger came, she was the first to flee without caring about you at all."

Li Xuan wasn't the least bit panicked. He could transform into the Giant Beast at any moment to turn the tables. If Shui Lanlan had tried to kill him directly instead of threatening him earlier, he would have transformed immediately.

Transformation only took an instant, so he wouldn't be in danger unless Shui Lanlan's attack speed exceeded what his eyes could perceive and surpassed his bodily instincts. Otherwise, if she couldn't kill him in that instant, he could still transform.

Based on his understanding, Eighth-Grade and Ninth-Grade Martial Artists didn't possess that level of speed and power.

Even if the Short Sturdy Man attacked him, he could transform into the Giant Beast before being hit, let alone Shui Lanlan.

"Why? Because I refused to marry you, you want to kill us?" Li Xuan asked.

Shui Lanlan sneered, "Did you really think I wanted to marry you? The only one we want to kill is you. Fire Lingling will become my sister-in-law. The one who will truly join our family is Fire Lingling, not you. You're merely a tool to get me pregnant! An instrument to help our family continue our bloodline!"

The Short Sturdy Man had already charged out and was battling Fire Lingling in the courtyard. The fight was extremely intense. While Fire Lingling appeared to be at a disadvantage, her physical constitution actually far surpassed ordinary people and was even slightly stronger than the Short Sturdy Man's. The final outcome of their battle remained uncertain.

Shui Lanlan glared at Fire Lingling with resentment. "I hate geniuses!"

"Is the secret manual genuine?" Li Xuan asked.

"Don't move! Move again and I'll kill you! I know your external divine weapons are those strange rods. As long as you don't get your hands on those strange rods, you're just an ordinary person. Even if you pretend to be indifferent, I won't be intimidated."

After entering the village, Shui Lanlan had repeatedly approached outsiders holding black strange long rods specifically to memorize how many styles of external divine weapons there were. There were three types in total: one very short, like a dagger;

one very long;

and another that appeared quite heavy.

"You should know that I'm only letting you restrain me to gather information from you, and those strange divine weapons you fear are to me..."

Shui Lanlan sensed something was wrong and tried to act, but the next moment, she was grabbed by a pair of enormous claws. Her entire skeletal structure made sounds as bones fractured one after another. Her internal organs emitted mournful cries as they were crushed together. Excruciating pain contorted Shui Lanlan's face, her eyes bloodshot, black blood seeping from the corners of her mouth.

Boom~

Li Xuan vanished, replaced by a Giant Beast over seventy meters tall. The wings on its back stretched dozens of meters even when not fully extended. Its two front claws had changed form, no longer small like a Tyrannosaurus Rex's claws but proportionally matching the Giant Beast's body, appearing perfectly coordinated.

"Completely useless!" the Giant Beast spoke in human language.

Both buildings of Shui Lanlan's family home were reduced to ruins, crushed beneath the Giant Beast's feet.

The Short Sturdy Man was both shocked and furious. The outsiders could transform too?

What kind of martial art was this!

He had never heard of such a thing!

"Release my daughter immediately!"

Shui Lanlan's face was pale as paper, her lips blackened, eyeballs bulging outward, blood overflowing from her ears as she emitted an extremely faint sound, "Father... save... me..."

Li Xuan didn't want to linger. He hadn't yet figured out what martial grade the Giant Beast form corresponded to and was unwilling to confront the Soul King Village chief.

Crunch!

Li Xuan crushed Shui Lanlan, then swung his massive tail with a roaring, piercing sound through the air, like the cry of a dragon and roar of a tiger.

"Water Explosion Fist!"

The Short Sturdy Man roared violently, swinging his arms with bulging veins on his forearms, burning his Qi and Blood to unleash the essence of Water Explosion Fist.

A turbulent great river seemed to appear behind him, water currents following his fists as he struck directly at the Giant Beast's tail.

Boom!

Fist and tail collided.

The Short Sturdy Man's expression changed drastically as terrifying power transmitted through his arms, tearing muscles, snapping tendons, his forearm bones emitting pained cries before cracking with a sharp snap.

Pfft~

The Short Sturdy Man spat blood, his body sent flying backward to crash heavily onto the ground. Both arms were mangled, shattered bone fragments visible—a miserable and horrifying sight.

"Monster~" the Short Sturdy Man murmured, regret filling his heart. If he had known outsiders possessed such abilities, he wouldn't have given in to greed.

At least Li Xuan didn't know he had a son. The family bloodline could continue, not severed completely. He could face his ancestors in the afterlife with some dignity.

The next moment, the Short Sturdy Man glared furiously as Li Xuan dug up his family's ground and discovered the cellar!

"No! Don't! He's innocent!" the Short Sturdy Man screamed desperately.

Li Xuan looked at the bones in the cellar and the man chained with iron chains, then stomped down.

He had no interest in learning about Shui Lanlan's family history and secrets.

When eliminating weeds, remove the roots. Whether someone was innocent or not didn't matter.

The man in the cellar roared, seemingly unaware of fear.

The massive claw descended, and the man fell silent, never to make another sound.

The Short Sturdy Man stared blankly, unable to accept that his son had died just like that.

"You... you..." the Short Sturdy Man stammered emotionally.

Seeing the Short Sturdy Man showing signs of losing consciousness, Li Xuan quickly acted, stomping the Short Sturdy Man to death and successfully preventing him from passing away painlessly while unconscious.

"Lingling, we need to run!"

Yun Xiuzhi flew in from outside, shouting to Fire Lingling.

Fire Lingling transformed into a white snake, grabbed by Yun Xiuzhi who flew high into the sky.

Li Xuan spread his hundred-meter wings, flapping them frantically as he flew at low altitude, charging toward the external mountain forests.

The Chinese Alligator had long been hidden by Yun Xiuzhi and never entered the village at all.

The commotion caused by Li Xuan's transformation into the Giant Beast was enormous and had already been noticed by Soul King Village residents. The villagers living near Shui Lanlan's home all resided in earthen houses, with the strongest among them not much different from the Short Sturdy Man. After seeing the Giant Beast, they barely had time to flee—no one stepped forward to help.

The Eighth-Grade practitioners and the Seventh-Grade village chief living in the village center were all estimating the Giant Beast's strength, unwilling to risk their lives.

After the Giant Beast left, the village chief immediately organized the village's Eighth-Grade Martial Artists. "Quick! Investigate who brought that monster here!"

"Hunting team, pursue the Giant Beast!" the village chief ordered.

The hunting team consisted entirely of Eighth-Grade Martial Artists who nodded in agreement upon hearing the order, though internally they completely lacked any desire to give chase.