The earth shook. A terrifying noise sounded with the thump of the ancient evil ape. An enormous deep
pit was being formed under the monster's feet. To Austin's surprise, the pit was at least six meters wide
and ten meters deep. As if that wasn't bad enough, numerous crevices formed at the center of the pit
and sprawled out as far as possible to constitute a wide web of cracks. Most of the cracks were at least
one meter wide.
The ancient evil ape stood steady, its monstrous body moving freely and flexibly in the spacious pit.
With an arrogant gaze, it measured the young man standing before it with sheer contempt.
"Human! What a tiny creature! You're daring and defiant, young boy. The best way to end your
meaningless life is to tramp you into meat paste. I'm sorry, I cannot come up with any better idea.
I pity you, boy, as nothing of you will remain intact once I bring my foot down on your weak body. Your
bones will shatter into ashes and your meat will be crushed into a paste."
Then, the ancient evil ape murmured to itself, " I don't think it will taste good as it will be mingled with
sand and dirt. I'm going to feel disappointed. I hate it. But this is the only way. Do you know how long
I've been longing for a bumper meal of human flesh? Centuries! I miss the taste. Damn it! The meal will
be ruined!
All right, maybe I'll pass this time. I'll catch several demonic beasts for my meal instead even though
they're not that tasty. They're coarse and smelly animals. But I have no choice. I have to feed myself."
The ancient evil ape seemed less furious now. All of a sudden, it raised one of its legs and strode out of
the deep pit, its dramatic movement causing the fringe of the pit to collapse again.
It patted and shook the dirt off its fur and got ready to leave. The next moment, however, it froze and its
eyes widened. It just stared ahead, forgetting what it had wanted to do.
Its barrel-sized eyes were glued to the ground, its mouth agape as if having seen something
unbelievable. And it was something unbelievable indeed, as far as the monster was concerned. The
young boy was still standing on the ground! The ancient evil ape blinked its eyes in an attempt to dispel
the illusion. But the boy remained there with a brilliant smile on his face.
Of course, the boy was Austin. Relying on his bodily movement skill, he hadn't had any difficulty in
avoiding the ancient evil ape's attack. He waited and kept still until the monster lifted its foot right above
his head. Then, at a fleeting speed, he dodged right before the ancient evil ape brought its foot down
so that the monster was only able to stamp on his shadow.
"Don't worry about me, big guy. It will be a bit difficult to turn me into meat paste. Do you want to try
again? Is that all you're capable of?
As I said, I'll conquer and tame you today. That's my sole purpose for being here. I won't die before I
achieve it."
Right now, there were numerous special symbols floating in front of Austin. They were arranged in a
specific order to form a magical array of attack and defense.
All these strange symbols hung in the air slightly above the ground, like leaves floating on water. Each
of them emitted a ray of mysterious aura, aura that clearly manifested its unusual mighty force. They
looked so breath-breaking that anyone would feel stunned by their magnificence.
That was the so-called Beast-subduing Skill Array. Austin inwardly let out a sigh of relief, feeling elated
that he had finally succeeded in refining it. Between his breaths, however, he clearly felt a sense of
vertigo from his Soul Sea, a dangerous signal to remind him how strenuous it was to activate and use
the Beast-subduing Skill Array as it would consume too much of his spiritual sense. He quickly became
alert.
He had already consumed eighty percent of his spiritual sense energy to refine the Beast-subduing
Skill Array, and more would be demanded of him if he was going to use it to subdue the ancient evil
ape.
He was already feeling dazed after such an exhausting and energy-consuming practice. His body had
become weaker and lighter, but he still managed to hold his ground and keep a smile on his face.
The monster howled in anger and flames appeared in its eyes.
It was enraged that Austin was still alive. This weak young boy had brought dishonor upon its name.
And his disdainful words made it feel even more irritated. The only thing the ancient evil ape wanted to
do now was to kill the tiny human in front of it and rip him into pieces. It was like a bomb that was about
to explode.
The ancient evil ape quickly assumed an aggressive posture, rallying its strength for a fatal attack. Its
glaring eyes turned red as blood with fire in them. With another piercing roar, it suddenly dashed
toward Austin with all its energy.
Austin, however, remained calm in the face of the monster's attack. Focusing his attention and energy,
he slightly moved his lips to murmur a word in a measured tone.
"Seize!"
With this word, the Beast-subduing Skill Array refined through Austin's spiritual sense energy shot out
toward the ancient evil ape with a noisy swish and reached the point right above the monster's head in
just the blink of an eye. It followed the ape wherever it moved, whirring and flashing colorful lights. Like
a fish trying to get rid of a fishing net it had been caught in, the ape kept running around in circles in an
attempt to cast the Beast-subduing Skill Array off.
It let out another furious roar at the array above his head.
But this time, there was a hint of fear in its roar, too. For the first time in its life, this fierce animal was
afraid to make a move. It instinctively sensed danger from this strange web shrouded in a mysterious
aura. It wanted to run but it seemed impossible for it to escape the web. In a fit of desperation, it let out
a series of roars to show its wrath and strength. Clenching both its fists, the ape suddenly leaped
toward the Beast-subduing Skill Array and hit it with all its energy.
The air surrounded by the Beast-subduing Skill Array condensed into layers of an invisible shield. The
fierce force generated from the movement of the ancient evil ape's fists momentarily broke the shield
into pieces before it magnetized together again. Clusters of air seethed in the sky with an explosive
sound under the monster's ceaseless attacks. As a result of the confrontation between two different
kinds of energy, a huge mushroom cloud was formed in the air.
The Beast-subduing Skill Array was a special weapon. In addition to its mysterious powers, it had been
refined through Austin's spiritual sense energy. Combined with the two kinds of strength, the array was
practically invincible. So in spite of the ancient evil ape's violent attacks, the array remained
intact.
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