Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

Shan Yifeng rolled backward, boots slicing a shallow arc through the grass before he bounced back to his feet in one fluid, practiced motion.

His eyes locked onto her.

"Angie?! What the hell?!"

She strolled forward through the haze, unhurried, almost playful.

"There's no 'we', it's just going to be me," she purred, lips curled into a soft smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Shan Yifeng's hands snapped into motion, fingers weaving through the air, carving invisible sigils with surgical precision.

His gaze sharpened into cold fury.

"Unbelievable… You were waiting for this moment, weren't you?"

"You are a fool, you know. And I thought you'd be wiser." she said, voice as light as silk, "Dragon Armor."

The last two words echoed like the toll of a war bell.

A shimmer of golden scales cascaded across Angie's body, locking into place with a grinding hiss as her Dragon Armor took form, metal forged of soul power and bloodline.

Her aura thickened, pressing down on the field like a storm before lightning.

"You humans…" she began, voice low, teeth clenched, "...have spent centuries hunting us, taming us, killing us if we don't bow. And just when he managed to contain your kind, you wish to go out?"

She took a step forward, heavy and deliberate. The ground beneath her feet cracked, spiderweb fractures crawling outward.

"You think you're entitled to our blood? Our knowledge? Our legacy? Just because you are half blood?"

But Shan Yifeng didn't wait for her monologue to crescendo.

His hand snapped upward, fingers slicing a sigil in the air.

"Summon, Bryan."

The spirit realm pulsed. A sudden gust of wind whirled around him as the shadows lengthened. And then—

Boom.

A rift tore open behind him, from which emerged a massive wolf, his fur silver-white like starlight, his eyes glowing with sovereign wisdom.

The ancient Spirit Sovereign Wolf stood beside Shan Yifeng with regal poise, fangs bared, each breath a mist of cold authority.

Angie paused. Her eyes widened slightly, then narrowed.

"So that's what's been helping you cheat fate," she whispered.

The rage in her voice warped into madness.

"That's all the MORE reason why you should just DIE!"

She raised both arms to the heavens. The air turned molten.

"DRACO METEOR!!"

The sky howled in response. Flaming orbs rained down like wrathful stars, each one bursting into geysers of heat and spirit force.

Shan Yifeng, calm despite the blazing destruction, stood rooted in place.

"Four-Season Turtle Shell," he intoned, voice steady.

The ground beneath his feet flared with golden script.

Ancient glyphs formed a four-layered dome of translucent light, like the overlapping backs of sacred turtles.

He pressed one hand to his chest, and whispered again.

"Golden Turtle Back."

A denser shell snapped into place behind the original formation, a second skin, humming with layered defense and time-forged stability.

BOOM!

The first Draco Meteor smashed into the barrier—blinding light and thunderous quake. The shield rippled but held.

BOOM!

The second struck harder, faster. The wolf bared its teeth but stayed within the formation's circle.

BOOM. BOOM.

Each explosion tested the edges of his control.

Fifth Meteor—

CRACK.

The golden shell shivered then cracked. A jagged fault-line split through one of the formation plates like glass under pressure.

Angie didn't hesitate.

Her eyes burned with triumph, hair wild around her armored face.

"Let's see how long your turtle shell lasts, HALF BLOOD!"

She leapt again, fists raised—

And Shan Yifeng's eyes narrowed.

"Bryan. Now."

The wolf howled.

His silver fur bristled as ethereal blue flames raced down his limbs, the aura of a Spirit Sovereign unleashed without restraint.

Angie's foot came crashing down, the force enough to shatter boulders.

But—

"Shift."

Shan Yifeng's voice whispered like silk through a blade's edge. The moment her strike landed—

BOOM

Bryan vanished in a flash of moonlight, reappearing behind her, jaws wide. His teeth glowed with soul power.

He bit down but Angie twisted at the last second, blocking with her armored forearm.

The force sent her skidding across the field, carving a trench as sparks burst from the contact.

She hissed through her teeth.

"Clever mutt," she spat. "But I'm still the apex predator here!"

"Soul Core Pulse!"

She slammed both hands into the ground—crimson energy erupted in a violent radius, burning the grass black and flaring up in a whirlwind of destruction.

Shan Yifeng threw his arm forward. "Void Shift, Phase Step Two!"

In a flicker, he and Bryan vanished again reappearing mid-air behind Angie.

He moved faster than she expected, his form blurred, fist glowing.

"Spirit Drill Punch!"

WHAM!

His knuckles landed against the back of her shoulder with a flash of silver and blue.

The dragon armor cracked, just slightly. But it was enough to make her grunt and stagger.

Her eyes widened in surprise, he wasn't supposed to hit that hard.

He wasn't supposed to move that fast.

"You…" she muttered, spinning and unleashing a tail sweep, laced in soul power.

He blocked the attack but the force sent him tumbling through the dirt, even Bryan recoiling from the aftershock.

Angie was breathing hard now. Not tired but frustrated.

"You learn way too quickly. That's your problem and your flaw."

Her voice dropped, her hands glowing with molten gold.

"Time to burn that spirit clean out of you."

"Soul Inferno, DRAGON'S HEART!"

She clapped her hands together.

A wave of golden fire roared outward, the heat collapsing the nearby trees, turning night into false dawn.

Shan Yifeng's pupils shrank.

He dropped into a crouch, slammed both hands into the dirt.

"Activate, Reverse Lotus Formation!"

Lines of white, intricate and ancient, bloomed outward beneath his feet like a glowing flower.

The petals spun, pulling the incoming fire into the formation's spinning mouth—

BOOM!

The ground shook, sucking in the soul flames, dispersing them into harmless motes of light.

Angie stumbled, just for a breath.

Shan Yifeng stood up, blood dripping from his mouth, arms scorched but firm. His formation had held, barely.

"I'm not gonna be your prey," he said, breath ragged.

"I'll be your last and worst nightmare."

Bryan stepped forward beside him, fur crackling with frost and lightning.