"Sister Xiao Wu… I'm sorry…"
"In the future, take good care of yourself… don't be sad… be happy…"
The Titan Giant Ape gazed deeply at Xiao Wu. An awkward, gentle smile tugged at its massive face—completely out of proportion to its colossal body.
"No… Er Ming… don't…"
Xiao Wu shook her head, sobbing uncontrollably. She tried to step forward, but a single glance from Bai Mu stopped her cold.
Er Ming slowly closed its eyes.
Without the slightest hesitation, a terrifying surge of spirit power erupted from its battered body. Crimson light poured outward, transforming into a torrential stream that surged straight toward Bai Mu.
A blood-red spirit ring condensed and merged into him.
That vast, solemn pressure—belonging to a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast—spread outward, casting nearly half of the Star Dou Great Forest into a tragic stillness.
"This aura… Er Ming?!"
At the Lake of Life, the Sky Azure Bull Python stiffened, its expression changing drastically.
The distance wasn't far.
This time, it hesitated no longer—erupting with full power and charging toward the source of the aura.
---
On the battlefield, the Titan Giant Ape's sacrificial power continued to gather.
A viscous, peculiar spirit-energy liquid fused into Bai Mu's left leg, slowly condensing into a complete left leg Spirit Bone.
Meanwhile, the Titan Giant Ape's body became increasingly transparent.
When the Sacrifice ended, its massive form rapidly shrank—until only the corpse of a small, dark monkey remained, collapsing silently onto the ground.
"Er Ming—!!"
Xiao Wu cried out, clutching the small body tightly.
Bai Mu, however, had already turned his focus inward.
Within his mental space, familiar lines of text appeared once more:
[Successfully absorbed the Hundred Thousand Year Titan Giant Ape Spirit Ring. Obtained Eighth Spirit Ability (1): Titan Firmament Cannon — Condenses and continuously compresses energy, firing it like a cannonball that pierces the heavens. Requires a brief charge.]
[Successfully absorbed the Hundred Thousand Year Titan Giant Ape Spirit Ring. Obtained Eighth Spirit Ability (2): Earth Power — Titan bloodline ability. Allows effortless manipulation of the earth for attack, defense, and support.]
"Not bad. Not bad at all."
Bai Mu smiled in satisfaction.
"As long as I have Earth Power, that's enough."
Unlike the Pokémon move of the same name, the Titan Giant Ape's Earth Power was brutally simple—pure manipulation of the terrain.
Although Zygarde could also control the earth, its precision and fluency were lacking. If Zygarde could use this Spirit Ability, it would massively enhance all ground-attribute techniques and drastically improve casting efficiency.
A true, all-around upgrade.
As for Titan Firmament Cannon…
"Trash ability. Resonance."
Bai Mu didn't hesitate for even a second.
[Titan Firmament Cannon can be Resonated and replaced with the following moves: Earthquake, Gravity, High Horsepower, Hyper Beam, Fissure, Precipice Blades…]
"I choose—Precipice Blades."
Hesitating here would be an insult to everything that couldn't fly.
[Resonance successful. Spirit Ability replaced with Move: Precipice Blades — Converts earth power into sharp, destructive blades to strike the enemy.]
When Bai Mu's consciousness withdrew, a terrifying, mountain-cleaving "sword intent" surged within his spirit power—sharp, heavy, and peerlessly destructive.
He casually pointed at an open area nearby.
"Precipice Blades!"
Caw, caw, caw…
"…Wait."
Bai Mu frowned.
"Where are my Precipice Blades?"
He looked inward and finally noticed—his eighth spirit ring was faint and illusory.
A careful check revealed the truth.
Level 77.
He had jumped from Level 73 straight to Level 77—but he still hadn't reached Level 80.
Without reaching the threshold, he couldn't activate the eighth spirit ring.
"Right… I used Asura God power to resonate with Yveltal."
Bai Mu scratched his head, slightly embarrassed.
Fortunately, while he couldn't use it yet, Zygarde could exploit the resonance loophole.
"Zygarde—use Precipice Blades!"
"Zige~"
With a single thought, blazing stone blades erupted from the ground ahead, as if molten lava had taken solid form.
The surrounding area—dozens of meters wide—was instantly scorched by intense geothermal heat.
The power detonated violently.
"Not bad."
Bai Mu nodded.
Zygarde hadn't even used its full strength, yet the result was already terrifying.
Precipice Blades perfectly compensated for Zygarde's weakness—its ground techniques had always excelled in wide-area destruction but lacked killing power against equally strong single targets.
And there was more.
The Titan Giant Ape's left leg Spirit Bone.
"This is excellent."
Bai Mu examined it carefully, his eyes lighting up.
Two Spirit Bone abilities emerged.
The first: Gravity Swamp—allowing direct manipulation of gravity to slow, trap, or amplify attacks. Combined with techniques like Thousand Arrows, increasing gravity mid-fall would drastically boost lethality.
The second ability was even simpler—and more brutal:
[Earth's Protection: While standing on the ground, all attributes and recovery speed are increased by 100%.]
The restriction was harsh.
But the enhancement was monstrous.
"Perfect."
"Earth Power, Earth's Protection, Precipice Blades, Earth Divine Power, Thousand Arrows, Thousand Waves…"
"With this lineup, who dares say Zygarde isn't the true God of Earth?"
"Anyone who disagrees gets a warning shot of Precipice Blades."
Bai Mu grinned broadly.
"Sob… sob…"
A soft, stifled cry interrupted his celebration.
He frowned and turned his head.
Xiao Wu was kneeling beside the small corpse, trembling as she wept.
"Sister Xiao Wu, why are you crying?"
Bai Mu asked gently.
"Er Ming is already dead. Can crying bring him back?"
"How about this—beg me."
"I'll resurrect him later and let him keep being devoted to you."
"Even better, I'll let him watch with his own eyes as I favor you. Doesn't that sound… interesting?"
Xiao Wu's crying stopped instantly, as if her throat had been seized.
She stared at Bai Mu in disbelief.
She desperately wanted to scream, Can you please act like a human being?
But she knew exactly how he would respond.
To avoid further humiliation—for herself and for Er Ming—she forced a stiff smile.
"Respect… the dead… Mas—Little Mu. Please let Er Ming rest in peace."
"Tsk tsk. Such a good girl."
Bai Mu smiled faintly, stroking her rabbit ears.
"As expected, 'Little Mu' sounds best coming from you."
"Next time, I'll take you to say that in front of Tang San."
Xiao Wu's face instantly drained of color.
And at that very moment—
"MOO—!!!"
A roar filled with boundless grief and raging fury exploded from the heavens, like thunder descending from the Nine Heavens.
The entire Star Dou Great Forest trembled.
Seconds later, an enormous figure descended from the sky—far larger than Er Ming.
A colossal python with azure scales, bearing bovine features, wreathed in surging blue lightning.
It landed with a deafening crash.
The Sky Azure Bull Python—
Da Ming—had arrived.