Chapter 22: Golden Trait Fusion

"Who exactly are you?"

A look of gravity crossed the face of the Lion-Elephant. Although he hadn't unleashed his full-power lion roar, an ordinary demon general would never have been able to withstand such a vocal assault. Yet this fellow... he remained calm and composed, without a single hair out of place.

"This cave is known as Sky Crow Cave." From the distance came the cold, clear voice of Qingqiu Xue.

"I see. So you are the Great King they have been waiting for—the Sky Crow King."

As he spoke, the Lion-Elephant’s form began to shift continuously, eventually transforming into a rugged figure over two meters tall, possessing a lion’s head and a body covered in golden fur.

"Hahahaha..." The Lion-Elephant suddenly let out a booming laugh. "Good, very good! Since you have returned, then fight me."

As the words fell, the Lion-Elephant stomped his foot onto the ground.

*Boom!*

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the earth seemed unable to bear his strength and began to shatter, while his entire body launched into the sky like a cannonball.

"Be crushed into powder!"

At some point, a massive hammer had appeared in the Lion-Elephant’s hands. He raised it high with both hands and swung it down, aimed directly at Yu Qiye’s face. Before the hammer even landed, a terrifying gale had already been whipped up.

*Bang!*

A sound like metal striking metal echoed through the heavens and the earth. In the Lion-Elephant’s stunned gaze, a pitch-black wing had blocked the strike like a shield in front of Yu Qiye.

"This?"

The Lion-Elephant was bewildered. A thin black wing had actually blocked his full-strength strike? What kind of joke was this? More importantly, this guy hadn't even swayed an inch.

"Is this your full strength?" The indifferent voice held no trace of emotion.

However, in the next moment, the black wing lashed out with a violent motion. With a thunderous boom, the Lion-Elephant’s entire body was struck as if by a heavy blow and sent flying toward the ground.

The Lion-Elephant was flying backward at high speed, but no matter how fast he was, he was no match for that streak of dark light. It was Yu Qiye. His figure moved like a shadow, catching up to the Lion-Elephant, and then his right leg lashed out like a whip, slamming into the beast.

*Boom...*

Another thunderous sound rang out as the Lion-Elephant was kicked in a different direction like a ball.

"Gulp..."

Swallowing hard, the Divine Mastiff’s expression shifted repeatedly. "Is the Master’s strength this terrifying?" The Lion-Elephant, who was his equal and even slightly stronger, was like a mere toy in the Master’s hands, completely unable to resist.

"So this is a true Demon King." Watching Yu Qiye kick the Lion-Elephant around the sky like a ball, a shimmering light flickered deep within Qingqiu Xue’s eyes.

The battle continued...

Yu Qiye was, after all, a Demon King-level existence. Even if he held back most of his strength, it was enough to crush the Lion-Elephant. However, he was waiting. Waiting for the moment the Lion-Elephant would fully erupt.

"Roar, roar..."

One mournful cry after another echoed through the heavens. These were the cries of the Lion-Elephant. At this moment, he finally realized he had provoked an existence he could not afford to offend.

"A Demon King... you are actually a Demon King!" The Lion-Elephant’s face was filled with disbelief. How could a Demon King emerge from a place like this? And a Demon King he had never even heard of, at that.

But now, he had to run. If he didn't, he feared he would truly leave his life here. And so... while still in mid-air, the Lion-Elephant suddenly erupted with a terrifying aura. This aura was ancient to the extreme. At the same time, the heavens changed color, and thunder streaked across the sky.

"Roar, roar..."

A low growl, as if coming from the ancient past, exploded through the world.

"So this is the Ancient Lion Roar." Stunned, Yu Qiye retreated rapidly. He felt a sense of extreme danger. Looking at the distant Lion-Elephant, one could clearly see a colossal phantom emerging behind him—a giant lion’s head, yet far more ancient and majestic than any he had seen before.

"Roar..."

A sudden, piercing roar erupted from the phantom’s mouth.

*Boom!*

Layers of sound waves rippled outward. In an instant, the clouds shattered. The mountains and rivers trembled. Even Yu Qiye, far away, felt like a small boat in a storm, his body swaying unsteadily. This roar seemed to resonate from the depths of one’s soul. It was shocking. It was chilling.

At that moment, the Lion-Elephant whipped up a demonic gale and, like a madman, fled into the distance.

Escape. He had to escape. He knew his own situation best. He was well aware that his Ancient Lion Roar was terrifying, but it was still insufficient against a Demon King. Delaying him for a moment was the limit. And he would seize this brief opportunity to flee.

"Wait until I step into the Demon King realm, then I shall return to challenge you." The Lion-Elephant had made up his mind: until he reached the Demon King level, he would never set foot in Sky Crow Cave again, even if it killed him.

...

However, what the Lion-Elephant did not know was that the moment he departed, a figure silently vanished from the sky. It was Yu Qiye. He turned into a wisp of demonic wind and followed the Lion-Elephant.

Not long after:

"Roar..."

With a single mournful cry, a massive figure crashed deep into the heart of the mountains.

[Ding! You have defeated the Lion-Elephant. Randomly plundering trait—Ancient Lion Roar (Gold). Do you wish to fuse?]

[Ancient Lion Roar (Gold): Draws upon the power from the depths of one’s bloodline, invoking the ancient lineage to unleash an earth-shattering roar capable of shaking the soul and shattering mountains and rivers.]

The sudden notification rang in Yu Qiye’s ears, causing a slight curl of his lips. "I didn't expect to actually plunder this trait." He felt a sense of pleasant surprise, and even more, excitement. A gold-tier trait. Extremely extraordinary. Every one of them was enough to turn the tide of battle or even change one's destiny.

"Fuse. It must be fused. But..."

With that thought, Yu Qiye looked at the Lion-Elephant, who had fallen into a coma not far away. When the beast had relaxed while fleeing, Yu Qiye had caught him off guard with a kick, sending him from a thousand meters in the air deep into the earth. However, the demon race possessed powerful bodies, so he had only fallen unconscious.

"Divine Mastiff."

"Your subordinate is here." The Divine Mastiff turned into a black stream of light and arrived before Yu Qiye.

"Take him back and lock him up."

"As you command, Master." The Divine Mastiff grinned, stepped forward, opened his jaws, grabbed the Lion-Elephant, and headed toward Sky Crow Cave.

...

Watching the Divine Mastiff and the Lion-Elephant leave, Yu Qiye sought out a high peak. He sat cross-legged on a giant boulder.

"Fuse."

Speaking suddenly, Yu Qiye’s face was filled with anticipation. The previous gold-tier trait—Golden Eyes—had already become his most powerful trump card. So what of this one?

*Boom!*

With a sudden thunderous roar, Yu Qiye’s entire body shuddered. It wasn't just his body; it was his sea of consciousness. His sea of consciousness, which had been extremely calm, suddenly erupted with a terrifying aura.

*Step, step...*

In Yu Qiye’s astonished gaze, a terrifying golden creature, lion-like yet not quite a lion, walked step by step into the deepest part of his sea of consciousness. The sea of consciousness was the most fragile place of all. Yet now, an ancient golden lion had just walked right in, and was slowly opening its mouth.

"This is bad." Yu Qiye’s spirit was shaken to its core.

"Roar..."

An ancient roar erupted within his sea of consciousness.

*Crack, crack...*

Sounding like one brittle snap after another, his entire sea of consciousness began to shatter like a broken mirror.