He decided to create distance and launch a long-range attack with "Air Bullets" against the Poison-Scaled Lizard King.
At that moment, however, Gong Xiao made a startling move. Instead of retreating from the billowing green venomous flames spraying toward her, she actively charged forward.
Su Li, who was pulling Xu Xuehui back, raised an eyebrow sharply, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
Gong Xiao's audacity exceeded everyone's expectations.
Around her body, three whirlwinds surged and spun rapidly. Suddenly, they sucked in the corpse of a Sea Scorpion Beast that had drawn near. The creature's body was twisted and compressed by an invisible force, its hard shell cracking, flesh and blood churning within, gradually being squeezed into the shape of a shield of flesh and blood that protected her front.
As the "Storm Shield" took form, Gong Xiao braced herself against the green venomous flames spewed by the Poison-Scaled Lizard King, using the flesh-and-blood shield formed from the Sea Scorpion Beast to charge swiftly toward it.
The venomous flames instantly ignited the flesh-and-blood shield made from the Sea Scorpion Beast's corpse, causing it to blaze fiercely. Gong Xiao blocked its path, and nearly all the venomous flames struck the "Storm Shield" rotating around her.
The terrifying defensive power of the "Storm Shield" was perfectly displayed at this moment. Amid such ferocious and intense venomous flames, the "Storm Shield" held firm without a single leak, not allowing a single spark to penetrate and reach the protected Gong Xiao.
The Sea Scorpion Beast's corpse was quickly reduced to charred flesh and bone, emitting crackling sounds.
With a "whoosh," another corpse of a beast was drawn in by the "Storm Shield's" power, instantly deforming and twisting, compressing into another flesh-and-blood shield to reinforce the "Storm Shield's" defense.
The Poison-Scaled Lizard King was also taken aback, never expecting an enemy to withstand its spewed venomous flames and close in on it. This enraged it, and its gaping maw spewed even more violent venomous flames, as if it wanted to burn Gong Xiao and the rotating flesh-and-blood shield around her to ashes.
"As expected of the 'Spirit Source Technique,'" Su Li said, taking a deep breath. Such formidable defensive power left him in awe.
The special abilities gained from killing elite or leader-level beasts were far inferior to the "Spirit Source Technique."
Only by reaching level 5 could one comprehend a "Spirit Source Technique," bringing about a earth-shattering change in strength. Thus, advancing from level 4 to level 5 represented a qualitative leap.
Gong Xiao brought her left hand together with her right hand, which held the military spike. Spikes began to appear between her hands, and with a continuous series of "swish, swish, swish" sounds, over a dozen spikes shot out in an instant, all embedding themselves into the Poison-Scaled Lizard King's open maw.
This was the "Hetero-Spike Barrage" she had just mastered.
The dozen or so spikes all sank into the Poison-Scaled Lizard King's mouth. It let out a pained roar, instinctively closing its jaws and stopping the venomous flames. It reared up, intending to pounce down on Gong Xiao from above.
Seizing the opportunity, Gong Xiao leaped forward, gripping the military spike tightly with both hands, and stabbed it into the exposed belly of the rearing Poison-Scaled Lizard King.
The spike sank deep into the soft, silver-white belly of the Poison-Scaled Lizard King. Gong Xiao exerted all her strength, slicing downward with the spike. Though the spike wasn't as suited for cutting as a sword or blade, under her immense power, it still managed to rip open the lizard's belly.
From the torn belly, a torrent of blood mixed with entrails spilled out. The Poison-Scaled Lizard King, suffering a fatal wound, writhed in agony. Its massive body crashed down heavily, launching a desperate counterattack with all its remaining strength. With its weight and power, that single pounce could have crushed Gong Xiao into a pulp.
But Gong Xiao was prepared. With a wave of her left hand, the two flesh-and-blood shields formed from the beast and Sea Scorpion Beast corpses flew up simultaneously, blocking the descending bulk of the Poison-Scaled Lizard King.
The lizard king slammed into the two shields with a tremendous crash, sending flesh flying. The shields shattered and exploded into pieces.
Taking advantage of this moment, Gong Xiao pulled out the spike and quickly retreated, creating distance.
Su Li and the others watched silently from afar. Ding Longyun, his mouth agape, had abandoned his plan to fire "Air Bullets" and muttered, "This girl has gotten this strong? Too crazy—wasn't she afraid she couldn't hold it off?"
As the massive Poison-Scaled Lizard King crashed to the ground with a thud, a Spirit Source flew out and merged into Gong Xiao's forehead. The formidable level-6 leader monster had been killed by her.
Even if Su Li had taken her place, he might not have been able to kill the Poison-Scaled Lizard King so easily, yet Gong Xiao had done it.
Su Li understood that this wasn't because Gong Xiao's strength surpassed his own, but because their abilities happened to counter each other.
The Poison-Scaled Lizard King's venomous flame spray countered close-combat opponents like him. Faced with such fierce flames and lacking long-range attacks, he would indeed be at a loss for a time. Gong Xiao, on the other hand, was the opposite. Her "Storm Shield" countered the Poison-Scaled Lizard King, rendering its signature flame spray ineffective against her. Then, catching it off guard, she struck and killed it in one go.
Of course, Gong Xiao's precise judgment and boldness were on full display throughout.
As the Poison-Scaled Lizard King fell, a green orb of light emerged from its mouth, shot out swiftly, and merged into Gong Xiao's body.
Su Li knew this was the special ability "Venom-Scale Fire" that could be learned from killing the Poison-Scaled Lizard King, now acquired by Gong Xiao.
This was a special skill only obtainable by killing a leader-level monster, and it was likely no simple thing.
Gong Xiao sensed and comprehended the "Venom-Scale Fire" ability, her phoenix eyes gleaming with light. Clearly, this ability brought her immense joy, and even with her usual composure, she couldn't fully hide the excitement on her face.
Moreover, killing the level-6 leader-class Poison-Scaled Lizard King, which was above her level, also netted her eight Spirit Sources.
Ding Longyun let out a long sigh, his face full of envy. "Gong Xiao, you really are something."
Gong Xiao looked up at Ding Longyun and said, "Are you teasing me, Brother Ding? I think any of you could have killed it just as easily."
Ding Longyun hummed in response. "That's true. I was about to fire 'Air Bullets,' but you charged in, and I was afraid of hitting you, so I held back." He thought to himself that with the power of his "Air Bullets," he could have blown up the Poison-Scaled Lizard King too.
Gong Xiao smiled faintly. "In that case, thank you, Brother Ding, for going easy on me."
Su Li said nothing, instead continuing to toss the remaining corpses on the rooftop into the water below.
Xu Xuehui still needed the last thirteen Spirit Sources to level up, but now there were no living monsters left on the rooftop for her to kill.