Yunze leapt forward several steps, and behind him, phoenix wings appeared, swirling with flames—bright and magnificent.
Flapping its wings, Yunze soared upward, reaching the same height as the phoenix, together chasing after the Lava Lord.
Guyuena was stunned, still in shock. She hadn't expected that the method to deal with the Lava Lord would be so simple, yet so effective—how could it force the Lava Lord to flee?
"Truly full of surprises," Guyuena murmured, quickly chasing after Yunze.
The phoenix continued absorbing the Lava Lord's body fire energy, which the Lava Lord could not resist at all.
The Lava Lord's strength far surpassed Yunze's. In a real battle, even with his combat armor, Yunze would be no match.
The power gap was too great, something that battle experience or skill alone could not compensate.
However, in terms of fire quality and control, Yunze had absolute advantage, able to easily overwhelm the Lava Lord.
At this moment, the phoenix easily absorbing the Lava Lord's flames was proof enough, forcibly taking control of its fire.
The Lava Lord was not strong enough to forcibly suppress the detached flames; it could only endure.
The phoenix grew stronger as it absorbed more flames, accelerating the absorption process—a positive feedback loop.
Meanwhile, the Lava Lord grew weaker and weaker, its resistance diminishing, the situation worsening.
After more than ten minutes, the Lava Lord felt hollowed out, unable to run further; its body became extremely heavy, making each step difficult.
Thud! The Lava Lord could no longer support itself and fell face-first to the ground, creating a large pit.
Where it had run, destruction was left behind—trees snapped and toppled, forming a clear path.
Gu Yuena ran up from behind. Seeing the fallen Lava Lord, she felt a surge of joy and looked up at Yunze in the sky.
Yunze landed tens of meters from the Lava Lord, the phoenix flying beside him, continuing to absorb its energy.
The Lava Lord's remaining energy was barely one-tenth of what it had before, indicating it was nearly depleted.
Sensing the Lava Lord on the verge of collapse, Yunze signaled the phoenix to stop absorbing, and it quietly hovered by his side.
"I'll absorb this soul spirit," Yunze told the approaching Gu Yuena, walking steadily toward the Lava Lord.
Gu Yuena raised her hand, opening her mouth to warn him to be careful in case of a last-ditch counterattack, but then thought better of it and stayed silent.
Such carelessness might happen to her, but with Yunze, it seemed unlikely.
She ran alongside him, feeling unreal seeing this massive creature now lying motionless.
The battle had ended so easily, overwhelmingly one-sided. The Lava Lord, a soul-level being comparable to Soul Saints and Soul Douluos after over four thousand years, had no strength to fight back—something she could not comprehend.
The Lava Lord lay unmoving, like a lifeless rocky hill, as if it never intended to move.
Without a word, Yunze approached, sat cross-legged, and extended his soul power over the Lava Lord, beginning to absorb it in the method of soul absorption.
The Lava Lord's body slowly shrank. Half an hour later, it reduced to about a foot in length, floating in front of Yunze as a soul.
The shrunken Lava Lord regained vitality, glaring at Yunze, baring fangs and claws, its eyes filled with defiance and stubbornness.
It strongly resisted becoming Yunze's soul spirit. More accurately, it resisted being absorbed by any human—it would not serve as a human's subordinate.
Now, in rebellion, its unyielding soul roared, like a wild horse, difficult to tame.
Yunze opened his eyes and calmly looked at the Lava Lord. His gaze was so serene that it instilled deep fear in the creature's soul.
"Submit, or die. Erasing your soul is no challenge for me," Yunze said coldly.
He then began the process of refining the Lava Lord's soul—meaning to obliterate it, to ensure its complete death.
A golden flame shot from Yunze's brow. Seeing it, the Lava Lord panicked, its soul burning, suffocated by the danger, unable to remain calm.
The golden flame touched the Lava Lord, immediately causing it to scream in agony, thrashing wildly, trying to extinguish the fire.
But this flame was not something that could be extinguished by mere flailing.
Its struggles only spread the flame further, burning its soul, forcing it to writhe in midair, enduring inhuman torment.
Gu Yuena instinctively stepped back at the sight of the golden flame, her soul tingling with the threat.
After over a minute of burning, the Lava Lord could no longer resist. It surrendered, begging for mercy.
"Why suffer if you submit earlier?" Yunze shook his head. With a thought, the golden flame left the Lava Lord and returned to his brow.
The Lava Lord fell back in the air, gasping heavily, looking as if it had barely survived a catastrophe.
"Even an unyielding soul fears death," Gu Yuena thought, realizing she had assumed such souls were fearless.
In truth, it was not merely fear of death—the pain from being burned was far more intense, worse than dying.
Moreover, the golden flame, besides causing pain, eroded the will of the soul, weakening its resistance and prompting submission to survive.
After taming the Lava Lord, absorbing its soul became effortless. Everything proceeded smoothly, without obstacles.
The third purple soul ring evolved, Yunze's soul power broke through to level thirty-one, becoming a three-ring Soul Lord.
Breaking this bottleneck greatly elevated Yunze's aura, bringing a small qualitative change. His total soul power nearly doubled.
"Congratulations! A six-year-old three-ring Soul Elder—this must be a record in the continent!" Gu Yuena exclaimed joyfully.
Yunze only smiled slightly, showing no real excitement. He cared little for these nominal accolades.
In his view, power breakthroughs were natural progressions, not reasons for celebration.
"We should leave," Yunze said, sensing interference from outside.
"No need to rush… quickly release the Lava Lord…" Gu Yuena began, but she felt the world spin, her consciousness blurring before she could finish.
When she regained awareness, everything was dark. A cabinet had been moved.
Yunze calmly rose from the cabinet, facing the staff surrounding him. Leading them was Wei Yang, the branch tower master.
Wei Yang and the other staff stared at him, their expressions solemn, eyes like those of a thief being caught.
(End of Chapter)