Life evolves on Earth, and spirit beasts on Spirit Star evolve too. The great demon beasts of the Primordial Age gradually declined over generations—more numerous, yet far weaker than their ancestors.

But exceptions always exist.

In the ancient wastelands, one beast clan never changed its form since birth: a single colossal eye, a monstrous maw, devouring the life force of all living things. Wherever it passed, grass withered, earth turned barren, and beasts fled in terror.

They were called Wasteland Beasts.

---

The demon beast before us stretched forty meters long, grotesque beyond words. Its body was ink-green, like an elongated, sideways aloe plant. Where its head should be sat a single blood-red eye above a bizarrely shaped maw. Its thick, lizard-like limbs looked crudely jammed into its body—utterly unsettling.

Centuries ago, Wasteland Beasts ravaged the Eastern Emperor Continent. Their presence triggered unprecedented famine, then riots and wars. Small nations collapsed overnight. Even great powers lost control. Finally, the continent’s strongest nations united. Their elite warriors paid a horrific price to nearly exterminate this ancient clan. The few survivors burrowed underground, entering hibernation to escape death. No sightings had been reported since.

Yet here, beneath Salt Crystal Lake, one had slipped through the net. This unnatural desert existed because of it! Something had woken it from slumber!

“Don’t move rashly. Let’s see what it wants…” Rui Feng quickly regained his composure.

The Wasteland Beast twisted its massive body, scanning the area. Its ink-green pupil spun wildly within the blood-red eye—then locked onto us!

*ROOOOAAAR—!*

It unleashed a deafening shriek, its deformed maw gaping wide. A violent suction erupted! Spiritual energy churned in the air. From rock cracks, from withered grass, faint green wisps seeped out—sucked straight into its throat!

“Run! It’s draining life force!”

Unlike spiritual energy, life force sustains living beings. It flows within creatures, within fertile soil, within oceans. Normally, it never drifts freely—so absorbing it is impossible. But the Wasteland Beast could rip it out by force, consuming it for itself!

I realized with horror: even our bodies leaked pale green wisps! I tried to retreat—

*Thud.*

A small, limp body slumped against me. Lin Bing! Her already pale face had turned waxen. Her eyelids drooped. Her skin cracked like dry earth.

“Ye! Take Lin Bing and go!” Sinan Long roared. I saw it now—every teammate showed the same symptoms. Sinan Long could still run, but barely. He looked ready to collapse. No time! I scooped up Lin Bing and sprinted back the way we came. Absorbing life force was the Wasteland Beast’s feeding method—and its deadliest weapon. Warriors hunting them centuries ago carried special Spiritual Medicine to counter it. We had none. Fighting now would be suicide!

A thunderous crash echoed behind us. A colossal shadow swept overhead. The Wasteland Beast landed before us with a ground-shaking *boom*, blocking our path! It moved faster than I’d imagined. It had us cornered.

“Damn it. We have to fight!” Rui Feng activated his arm bracers, shoving a spirit stone into his mouth. “Shi Tao, Du Lin—you’re tougher. Hold it off with me. Xiao Xin, get the others out!”

“Got it!” The two didn’t hesitate. They charged the beast without fear. Shi Tao stomped the ground. Stone walls erupted like fortifications, separating us from the monster. Roars and clashes erupted beyond the barrier!

“Let’s go! Staying here just slows them down!” Rui Xin grabbed my wrist. Tears streaked her face. Fighting beyond that wall was her own brother. Yet she forced herself onward, fulfilling her duty as a teammate.

I stared at her, stunned.

Such strength.

Family…

Having someone to call family in this world—it was a blessing.

I’d never truly understood that before.

Not until I arrived in this new world. Until everything from my past slipped away.

Only then did I realize how precious the ordinary things had been.

Being utterly alone in a strange world… it was hell.

So…

I refused to let this kind girl suffer the agony of losing her brother!

“What’s wrong? Run!” Rui Xin tried to drag me away, but her strength had vanished.

“Take Lin Bing…” I pushed Lin Bing into her arms and turned back.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“To kill that beast.”

---

*BOOM!*

Rui Feng’s glowing arm bracers slammed against the Wasteland Beast’s forelimb. He flew backward, skidding to a halt. The beast roared in fury, its massive claw swiping down. Rui Feng couldn’t dodge—

A human-shaped figure wreathed in flames crashed into the beast’s side. Scorch marks blackened its ink-green hide!

“Du Lin!”

“We… won’t last much longer…” Du Lin shook his head grimly as his flames dimmed. His charge barely hurt it. It only enraged the beast further.

“If we’d brought life-sustaining Spiritual Medicine, we could fight it. But now…”

Du Lin and Rui Feng were at their limit. Shi Tao, who’d raised the stone wall, knelt on one knee, gasping. The Wasteland Beast, however, grew fiercer. It reared its head, blood-red eye wide. An eerie crimson light gathered within its pupil.

“Shit! That move again!” Du Lin lunged with his last strength, shielding the motionless Shi Tao. A blood-red beam—thick as a tree trunk—blasted from the beast’s eye. It swept toward them like a giant, stench-filled sword!

“I’ll take you down with me!” Rui Feng bellowed. His muscles swelled, tearing his clothes apart. His arm bracers blazed brighter than ever. Like a raging lion, he charged straight into the beam!

*SKREEE—!*

Sparks exploded where bracers met beam. Rui Feng, body nearly spent, actually held back the beast’s killing strike!

But only for a moment. He slid backward, carving deep trenches in the earth. At the last second, his bracers roared—a shockwave shattered the crimson beam! The backlash hurled Rui Feng into a stone wall. Blood gushed from his mouth. He couldn’t move.

*Is this the end…?*

The beast’s descending claw filled Rui Feng’s blurred vision. Fear had vanished. Faces flashed before his eyes—parents, sister, Captain Sinan Yuan, the Young Mistress, loyal comrades… and that mysterious girl, Ye…

“…Feng… Rui Feng…”

…Strange. Why was Ye’s face clearer than the rest? And why did it seem she was speaking to him?

“Snap out of it, Rui Feng!”

Rui Feng jolted awake. His vision sharpened. Dirt pressed against his back. Every inch of his body screamed in pain. *Alive.* He was alive! That truth flooded him with new strength. He pushed himself up—and froze at the sight before him.

A giant hand, forged from blood, clamped the Wasteland Beast’s claw mid-swing. Under that crimson grip stood the familiar figure in dark red trench coat. Its ever-present hood had blown off, revealing flowing black hair and breathtaking, otherworldly beauty.

The three men gaped, stunned. For the first time, they saw the mysterious stranger’s true face.

I caught their dumbfounded expressions and couldn’t help but smile slightly. Time to say the line I’d always wanted to use:

“You guys step back. I’ll handle this one.”