The great Roc Bird let out a piercing shriek and soared into the sky, for a moment seeming to blot out the sun. Each flap of its golden wings, which spanned a total of twenty meters, unleashed a gale like a sweeping hurricane.

This Roc Bird stood over seven meters tall, its form both streamlined and massive. Every single one of its feathers seemed forged from azure gold, gleaming with a dazzling light while also exuding an archaic aura that spoke of an endless passage of time.

This was the aura of its heritage. Even though it was only a juvenile Great Roc, the ancient lineage of the Divine Bird flowed through its bloodline.

"SKREEE!"

At that moment, looking down at Su Zhou, Garuda let out another furious cry. The human form of the golden-haired girl was merely a body it had instinctively created. Its true self was stored within its Pure Cyan Glaze Heart—that was its real weak spot. In either human or bird form, its head was not the critical point.

But even so, having its head blown off was hardly a pleasant experience. The sensation of its human form being obliterated still lingered within it. Garuda had only to recall it for a moment—that feeling, that close brush with death, would drive most intelligent life in this world to terror, and then to madness!

Su Zhou, naturally, felt no guilt about this. ’After all, aren’t humanity’s traditional virtues sneak attacks, strength in numbers, crushing the enemy with a technological advantage, and cold-blooded ruthlessness?’ he thought. Besides, Garuda had brought its own Evil Beast, while he had only brought Bai Canglang.

’The only thing this proves is that their Evil Beast isn’t as useful as my Bai Canglang!’

The enraged Garuda fixed its eyes on Su Zhou, who remained standing in place with no intention of fleeing or dodging. A golden light swirled in its pupils as it tried to see through his every flaw and detail. And perhaps due to the rage from having its head blown off, its gaze and aura now carried a trace of instinctive, predatory hunger for those of the Dragon Serpent ilk.

Then, it attacked. Now in its Demon True Body and unleashing its full power, Garuda created a tremendous gale with just a thought and a beat of its wings, sending a volley of tornadoes pressing down on Su Zhou.

Next, it gathered the surrounding Spiritual Qi, suffusing its body in a brilliant golden light as it drastically boosted its Defense Power.

Just then, Bai Canglang fired again. A specially-made sniper round streaked through the air—but this time, against the Golden-winged Bird that had deliberately gathered Spiritual Qi to bolster its defenses, the bullet failed to even pierce a single feather before being sent ricocheting away. Utterly ineffective.

’Sigh... Looks like it learned its lesson. Sneak attacks are useless now.’

After all, Bai Canglang’s Spiritual Power was only at the Awakening Peak. Facing a Great Roc Golden-winged Bird that was practically an entire major realm above him, even the boost from a top-tier modern weapon wasn’t enough to breach its defenses. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Su Zhou, too, was narrowing his eyes, using his Spiritual Vision to examine Garuda’s entire form. He had to admit, in its Demon True Body, Garuda was truly a top-tier Divine Beast Bloodline. Empowered by Spiritual Power, its body was as durable as a Spiritual Alloy; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was forged from refined gold.

What was even more terrifying was that the Great Roc Golden-winged Bird’s body had no weaknesses in terms of Spiritual Power. Every inch of it was protected by a naturally formed network of Spiritual Power flowing through its bones and capillaries, making it an iron fortress. Even a tank cannon might not be able to breach it. And this was merely at the Extraordinary Level. If it advanced one more level to become a Commander-class Youth Body, then aside from a nuclear bomb, it would be truly invincible in this world. Even a direct hit from a Staff of God might not wound it.

’So beautiful. A near-perfect avian lifeform.’

Casually shattering the incoming tornadoes with a Thunder Spear, Su Zhou gave Garuda a very high assessment.

And now, this perfect Demon Bird was circling high in the sky before suddenly plunging into a dive aimed right at him.

The shriek of its dive grew deafening. A cone of water vapor formed at its front as the air screamed, torn asunder by its passage. Garuda was now diving at supersonic speed, coming to strike with the purest, most terrifying kinetic energy. Its sharp beak was aimed straight at Su Zhou’s head, clearly intending to give him a taste of having his head blown off and being forced to reveal his True Body!

’Well now, I don’t have some kind of "Dragon True Body" to reveal. Probably because I haven’t focused on that kind of Cultivation. I’ll have to ask Yara if I can learn how.’

Shaking his head slightly, he knew he couldn’t let his head get blown off, nor would he automatically transform into a True Body if it did. So, Su Zhou uncharacteristically stopped holding back. For the first time in a long while, he unleashed fifty percent of his power, activating the special ability of his Sacred Geometry: Pentagram—Enhanced Soul: Bullet Time!

It felt like entering another world.

Su Zhou’s thoughts accelerated over a dozen times, and his body kept pace perfectly. It felt as if the world around him had frozen. Only Garuda continued to approach, still moving faster than a world champion sprinter. Ring-shaped shockwaves were slowly forming around it, stretching backward. The shriek of the sound barrier was stretched out many times over, becoming unsettlingly sharp.

But to the current Su Zhou, this speed was pitifully slow. As Garuda charged, he even had time to rummage through the various strange gadgets hanging from his waist and pick out a Sound Shock Bomb—standard issue for all exploration team members.