"It seems dealing with this savage beast is proving a bit tricky." As Lin Luo frowned, gazing across at the Western Wolf King, whose fangs were bared and face contorted in a ferocious snarl, he had to admit that while fear was absent, the brute certainly exerted immense pressure.

Xiu Ze nodded in agreement. "There's a reason the werewolf faction holds sway over the world; once they activate their 'Ancestral Return' and 'Frenzy,' overcoming opponents of a higher level isn't difficult. Moreover, the Western Wolf King’s base strength is already comparable to ours. However... while Ancestral Return and Frenzy grant immense combat power, they carry significant side effects. Furthermore, my last strike wasn't merely for show—its full effect will manifest given time. So, as long as we can endure the initial onslaught, our chances of winning are quite high."

"While what you say is logical, our opponent won't make it easy for us to simply hold out."

Just as Lin Luo predicted, the Western Wolf King understood his own strengths and weaknesses better than anyone, and he certainly wouldn't waste his power needlessly. After dodging the Black Phoenix's assault, he tapped the void beneath his feet, vanishing on the spot as if teleporting, closing the distance towards the two of them in an instant.

"Do not clash with him head-on!" Xiu Ze urgently warned, retreating instinctively. To his surprise, Lin Luo didn't fall back but instead positioned himself directly opposite the Western Wolf King, adopting a stance ready for a direct confrontation.

Xiu Ze was instantly bewildered. He had just explained the situation so clearly; why was Lin Luo choosing to meet the Western Wolf King's charge head-on? Even with confidence in his own power, this seemed excessively reckless and entirely unnecessary.

Only in the next moment did he grasp Lin Luo's reasoning: standing a short distance behind them was Shenqi.

Even a peak-condition Shenqi couldn't defeat the Western Wolf King in a one-on-one, and in her current near-exhausted state, a single blow from the berserk Wolf King would surely result in instant annihilation.

I see now. It seems the person who spoke was correct after all. I can rest easy, then.

Understanding this, Xiu Ze felt a pang of guilt mixed with relief. Guilt for having focused all his attention on the Western Wolf King and neglecting Shenqi, nearly causing a catastrophic mistake; relief that Lin Luo, under such pressure, had remained mindful of Shenqi's vulnerability—a rare quality indeed.

With this clarity, Xiu Ze stopped retreating and immediately charged forward, intending to lend Lin Luo strength. After all, while Lin Luo's character was proven, whether he could withstand the Western Wolf King in a direct power struggle remained an unknown.

But the instant his feet moved, he witnessed a sight that stunned him into momentary paralysis.

Facing the Western Wolf King's crushing, mountain-like assault, Lin Luo neither evaded nor retreated. Standing in the open void, he simply thrust out both palms. With a deafening boom, their colliding fists and palms unleashed an earth-shattering roar.

The resultant shockwave seemed to make the very fabric of space tremble.

Then, another boom, as both were forcefully repelled by the sheer power of the other, staggering back several meters.

"This... how is this possible?!" Seeing this, Xiu Ze's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. While he knew Lin Luo was powerful—so much so that even Xiu Ze himself wasn't certain of victory against him—he always attributed that strength to Lin Luo's terrifying black flames.

Yet now, Lin Luo had met the Wolf King’s charge purely through a test of raw strength, without invoking those flames. Werewolves were legendary for their unparalleled might; it was rumored the strongest could cradle the sun, moon, and stars. How could a mere human like Lin Luo possibly match the Western Wolf King in brute force?!

Xiu Ze was unaware that Lin Luo possessed innate Divine Strength. In the past, when the Book of Contracts was sealed, this ability was unusable. However, since his rebirth, the insights absorbed from the Heart Sutra had become inherent to him, not bound by the seal on the Book of Contracts, allowing him full access to it.

With the amplification of Divine Strength and Lin Luo fighting at maximum output, a direct power contest with the Western Wolf King was, perhaps, not so strange... though attempting to simultaneously wield Destruction in such a scenario would be exceptionally difficult.

"A mere human dares to try and match my strength... You court death!"

The Western Wolf King, momentarily stunned that his offensive had been blocked, erupted in fury. A great roar tore from his throat as he charged Lin Luo again, unwilling to believe a mere human could withstand his full-force assault.

Lin Luo met the challenge without yielding, unleashing his utmost power to hold the line firmly. He understood the Wolf King sought to break technique with sheer force, relying on absolute speed and absolute strength to win. Indeed, in both metrics, the Wolf King had surpassed them, and a moment's lapse could result in being pulverized. Thus, the only path forward was a direct opposition of power.

In a flash, the two engaged in a ferocious aerial contest. Each impact felt like the heavens cracking open, leaving Xiu Ze and Shenqi watching dumbstruck from below.

Xiu Ze, however, had no intention of remaining a mere spectator. Seeing the two locked in an even power struggle, he hesitated no longer, unleashing his full speed. His figure blurred, becoming spectral as he darted in.

One relying on supreme strength, the other on unmatched speed. Although the Western Wolf King was not inferior in either aspect, he could not fight two opponents simultaneously. The situation quickly turned against him. If he focused entirely on Lin Luo, he couldn't guard against Xiu Ze's swift attacks; if he turned to Xiu Ze, Lin Luo's sheer power would force him onto the defensive.

"Damn it! You two blasted flies!" Realizing his disadvantage, the Western Wolf King roared in a mix of shock and anger. Disregarding all else, he opened his maw and unleashed a horrifying sound. "Aaaaaah!!!!"

This was a roar born from the soul itself, far beyond a simple sonic attack. The terrifying wave instantly shattered surrounding offensive energies, forcing Lin Luo and Xiu Ze to break away and retreat.

"What is he doing now?" Xiu Ze's face paled as a sense of dread washed over him.

"No, stop him quickly!" Lin Luo, after a moment of disorientation, understood the brute's intent. He cried out sharply, ignoring the spatial vibrations, and charged forward enveloped in the fiercely burning Destruction Black Flame.

But it was too late. Following the roar, red flames ignited around the Western Wolf King. The intensity of this blaze even seemed to suppress the Black Flame of Destruction, forcing onlookers to squeeze their eyes shut against the glare.

At this moment, Xiu Ze understood.

The Western Wolf King was burning his soul!

No monster, no matter its level, could be underestimated when burning its soul, especially one of the Western Wolf King's caliber. Xiu Ze recalled how Young Xiang, though vastly weaker, could compel werewolf elites into fear after sacrificing her soul. The Western Wolf King was already powerful to begin with... Even Lin Luo sensed immense danger, knowing that failure to fight with everything he had meant certain doom.

"You flies! All of you, perish!"

After igniting his soul, the Western Wolf King bellowed, ignoring Lin Luo and the others. He thrust both hands upward. "Sun, Moon, and Stars, move! Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow, turn! Ahhhhhh...!"

As the Wolf King roared, a visible surge of power erupted from his body, rocketing toward the heavens. Instantly, winds gathered and thunder rolled; infinite, terrifying fluctuations converged in the sky, forming a massive vortex that connected the earth and the sky.

"Th-This, could it be?!" Xiu Ze was utterly aghast, suddenly recalling an ancient legend.

"This is bad!" Lin Luo's brow furrowed deeply. While he knew nothing of any specific exaggerated werewolf legends, his body screamed a warning against the terrifying power fluctuations. Even he, if struck directly by that force, would die!

It was clear the Western Wolf King intended to take them all down with him.

"Star Shift! Heaven Darkens, Earth Dims!" Before Lin Luo or Xiu Ze could mount a counter-attack, amidst the Wolf King's final shout, he violently swept his hands to the side—and then... BOOM!!!

A terrible, world-rending sound ripped through the space, and an overwhelmingly powerful wave surged downward. For a moment, the world was consumed by a single color: darkness!

The boundless gloom enveloped everything, followed by the appearance of a round moon hanging in the sky.

Illuminated by this cold moonlight, the Western Wolf King stood alone in the void. Below him, mountain peaks were scattered, the earth was flattened, and rock was pulverized. The corpses of the monsters that should have been there were gone—the Witch's Altar, the dreaded Sea of No Regrets, even Lin Luo and his companions had vanished... In a hundred-mile radius, only a desolate expanse of barren yellow earth remained!

The world fell utterly silent. Centered on the Western Wolf King, no other living creature existed within a hundred miles, as if he were the sole inhabitant left... But then!

"Come out! You flies! I will grind your bones to dust!"

The Western Wolf King roared his fury. Though the area appeared empty, he could sense his enemies were alive, hidden somewhere nearby.

Splash!

Not long after the Wolf King’s shout, a mound of yellow earth nearby was violently torn apart, and three dust-caked, somewhat disheveled figures scrambled out: Lin Luo, Xiu Ze, and Shenqi.

Previously, when the Western Wolf King unleashed his "Star Shift," no one could avoid being caught passive, waiting for the attack to land, knowing full impact meant complete obliteration.

Yet, in that moment of ultimate peril, Lin Luo had refused to yield, desperately seeking a solution. As the terrifying wave of energy washed over them, something vague in Lin Luo’s mind suddenly sharpened... Equivalent Exchange!

Following his battle with the Heavenly Dao, many profound concepts unknown to him had surfaced in Lin Luo's mind, one of which was Equivalent Exchange. This concept differed from the common interpretation of "you get what you give"; rather, it meant exchanging something you possess for something you lack—any asset could be traded, provided the individual deemed the exchange equivalent. For instance, trading one's soul for power, or the ability to kill for the ability to protect.

Lin Luo had no direct counter to the Western Wolf King’s Star Shift; even using Creation to defend would have led to death. Only the sudden manifestation of Equivalent Exchange offered a sliver of hope. In that instant, he unhesitatingly forsook Destruction and Creation, indeed, every ability he possessed, and traded it all for one thing... Survival!

It was precisely because of this sacrifice that the three of them, though appearing utterly wretched, had managed to survive that world-destroying assault.

"That was terrifying. I never thought that legend could be real!" Xiu Ze, climbing out of the dirt, stared at the Western Wolf King hovering above and couldn't help but speak. Even he felt a chill down his spine at that moment.

"What legend? What exactly did he do just now?" Shenqi’s face was deathly pale. Despite their unresolved grievances, she couldn't help but ask.

Xiu Ze explained, "An ancient legend speaks of werewolves possessing the power to move the stars—their hands can hold the sky, and their feet can shake the earth. I’ve never seen proof until now, but that wolf just achieved it. He traded his own soul to acquire that legendary power. In that moment, he shifted the celestial bodies, causing the sun and moon to exchange places. That’s why what we see now is not the sun, but a full moon!"

"This... how is such a thing possible?!" Shenqi exclaimed, utterly shocked. Could such an absurd level of power truly be achieved by one individual?

Xiu Ze gave a wry smile. "I can hardly believe it myself, but he actually did it. What surprises me more is that we survived such an attack; that is even more preposterous."

As he finished speaking, Xiu Ze’s gaze shifted to Lin Luo. Instinctively, Shenqi followed suit.

Both knew that their survival rested entirely on Lin Luo.

"Surviving that was pure luck. The real focus is what comes next," Lin Luo stated calmly, his attention fixed entirely on the Western Wolf King, not looking at them.

Meanwhile, seeing them emerge from the earth, the Western Wolf King merely smiled instead of raging. "Good, very good! To survive my strike, you are indeed tenacious. It wasn't a waste of my soul sacrifice. But... you might block me once, but can you stop me a second or third time?!"

As he spoke, the Western Wolf King slapped his hand forward. "Star Crush!"

Instantly, an invisible but palpable force descended like a tidal wave. Beneath this pressure, Xiu Ze and Shenqi’s bodies involuntarily trembled, a surge of primal fear rising within them—a fear divorced from their will, stemming purely from being life confronting an ocean of stars.

Having borrowed the power of the stars, the Western Wolf King was no longer fighting alone; he fought alongside the myriad stars above. His strength had reached an unprecedented peak... though the price for this power was his life.

Only Lin Luo's expression remained unchanged. Facing the crushing pressure of the stellar power, he simply raised both hands upward, and the terrifying force immediately halted.

"You two go! I’ll handle this alone!" Lin Luo spoke, sounding deceptively relaxed, yet bearing immense internal strain. He gritted his teeth, not looking back, as he spoke.

"What did you say?!" Shenqi was momentarily stunned, but Xiu Ze reacted instantly. Hearing Lin Luo’s command, he grabbed Shenqi. "Go! We need to leave this place quickly!"

"How can we! Are we supposed to abandon him here alone?" Shenqi protested angrily. Although Lin Luo had blocked the Star Crush twice, even guessing wildly, she knew how agonizingly difficult that must be. Just as the Wolf King implied, blocking once or twice was one thing, but three or four times was impossible. Abandoning Lin Luo to flee was unthinkable, especially since this battle had nothing to do with him—it all stemmed from her situation.

"This is not the time to hesitate! Trust him; he will be fine!" Xiu Ze's stance was resolute. "You saw the brute’s power. We are completely unable to resist. Staying here will only drag him down."

"But..."

"Hurry up and go! If you dawdle, we all die! You two liabilities, don't stay here to harm me. Run as far as you can!" Shenqi tried to argue further, but Lin Luo's sharp roar cut her off, silencing her protest.

Shenqi was momentarily stunned into silence by Lin Luo's harsh words, and Xiu Ze seized the opportunity, swiftly pulling Shenqi away in flight.

Seeing the two flee, the Western Wolf King frowned but did not pursue. It wasn't that he didn't want to eliminate them, but that he currently could not. He could only channel the power of the stars once per surge. With Lin Luo currently nullifying his stellar energy, he couldn't attack Xiu Ze and Shenqi. If he recalled the stellar power to target them, Lin Luo would undoubtedly block it again.

"In that case, I will eliminate you first!"

The Wolf King knew that nothing mattered until Lin Luo was dead. Furthermore, he refused to believe that Lin Luo’s strength could withstand the power of the stars indefinitely. He immediately increased the crushing intensity.

Boom! Under the suppression of the stellar force, Lin Luo’s legs sank into the yellow earth up to his knees, and thin lines of blood began to seep from his lips.

However, a smile touched his face.

"I see. I finally found it!"

Creation and Destruction were useless. Even the ability to exchange for survival proved insufficient against the power of the stars. Lin Luo had been frantically searching for the one ability that might offer a chance to defeat the current Western Wolf King. Heavenly Dao power? He wasn't strong enough to earn that yet. Causality and Reverse Causality? Too advanced for him in his current state.

Countless abilities flashed through his mind until, finally, he pinpointed the single power offering a glimmer of hope against the crushing force of the stars... Chance and Inevitability!

"Even the sun and moon in the heavens cannot suppress Chance!"