Unlock Kamen Riders in Douluo's Way Ch 44

Yin Xiaoya knew, looking at its right fist emitting blue light, that there must be a huge amount of energy compressed within.

It's compressing and condensing the flames into its body. The power must be amazing. It just so happens I also have a similar trick. Let's see who's stronger.

He slammed a button on the Meteor Galaxy device on his right wrist.

[Mars!]

[Fingerprint Authentication: Success!]

[OK! Mars!]

The holographic projection of Mars materialized on his right hand, a sphere of fiery red energy radiating intense heat.

"Hooah!"

"Grah!"

The fists of the two sides collided once more. This time, the shockwave not only flattened the younger Ghost-Faced Griffins—those under a thousand years old—but also unleashed alternating blasts of red and blue energy. The intense heat visibly melted the stone forest within a fifty-meter radius. Both combatants were submerged in dazzling light.

"BOOM!"

With a deafening roar, Yin Xiaoya was sent flying. He slammed into the ground back first, rolling before managing to kneel on one knee. Though he'd stabilized himself, he was still pushed back nearly twenty meters, gouging furrows in the earth.

He released his grip on the ground, panting slightly, and stared at the fading light. The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin stood motionless, right fist still extended. In this exchange, Yin Xiaoya had clearly been at a disadvantage.

"Cry! Cry! Cry!!!"

The surrounding Ghost-Faced Griffins shrieked loudly. Even the Ghost-Faced Griffin King wore something akin to a human smile. It looked at its mutated offspring with a mixture of helplessness, reluctance, and regret.

With its cultivation base of over one hundred thousand years, how could it not recognize the quality of the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin? If it wasn't to protect the reproduction of the race, how could it willingly make such an arrangement?

However, this weird human also surprised it. It had never expected humans to obtain such power through means other than being soul masters. And according to what Mantis said just now, with such power, soul beasts could obtain a new way of life, and the evolution brought about by this was also very fast.

Perhaps this existence called Kamen Rider may bring some major changes to this world in the future. So, now it's necessary to learn more.

"Human, if this is all you have, you cannot take my child." The Griffin King watched as the human was still standing.

The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin lowered its fist and raised its head in challenge.

Yin Xiaoya chuckled under his helmet. The other party is testing me, so why aren't I testing it? After those few exchanges, Yin Xiaoya had grown even more fond of this Azure Flame Heaven Griffin. At the same time, he felt a pang of envy for Ma Hongjun, who would gain such a powerful Kamen Rider power right off the bat.

"I'm really sorry. I can do more than this. So, this power has to go. This fate is up to me."

Yin Xiaoya, slowly rising, gripped the Meteor Storm Switch tightly in his left hand. Though they couldn't identify the object in his hand, both the Ghost Face Griffin King and the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin felt a sudden, alarming premonition.

"Is this little thing what you call the Kamen Rider's power? It does seem to possess an extraordinary aura."

The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin's eyes burned with renewed fighting intent. It even beckoned at Yin Xiaoya, its body language dripping with provocation.

Yin Xiaoya chuckled and inserted the Meteor Storm Switch into his belt.

[Meteor Storm!]

[Meteor ON! Ready?]

Vigorously turning the blue-and-gold turntable on the Meteor Storm Driver, Yin Xiaoya was engulfed in a powerful blue-and-gold storm. The gale tore at the already shattered ground. Through the storm, the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin, sensing Yin Xiaoya's escalating power, finally looked serious.

The storm whipped up magma from the ground, forming a swirling fire tornado that surged toward the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin. However, for the Griffin, which possessed the flame attribute, the magma itself wasn't a threat. But the strength of this storm forced it to fight with everything it had. It poured soul power into the storm, and fanned its huge wings to generate thrust, ready to meet it head on.

At that moment, it noticed a figure hurtling toward the storm. Before it could react, the figure slammed into its abdomen, sending it flying. The same thing that had happened to Yin Xiaoya had now happened to it.

The storm dissipated, revealing the blue-and-gold armored form of Meteor Storm. Yin Xiaoya gripped a long, blue-and-silver staff.

"My destiny is to call the wind and call the rain! Ugh! HAAAAAA!!"

Yin Xiaoya, wielding the long staff, leaped toward the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin. The staff, now charged with the power of a meteor shower, slashed down. The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin, just regaining its balance, braced itself with one hand, raised a foot, and hooked its heel-toe onto the meteor staff. Only then did Yin Xiaoya notice that its feet were bird-like, with heel-toes that could close like a fist.

"GRAAAAAH!"

The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin roared, unleashing a barrage of blue flame bullets from its mouth. Yin Xiaoya immediately released the staff, flipped backwards, and jumped away. Though he dodged the flames, he couldn't retrieve the meteor staff. The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin flapped its wings, giving chase. It flipped in the air, swinging the meteor staff down at Yin Xiaoya with its feet.

Yin Xiaoya didn't dodge. Instead, he braced himself against the staff, raised his fist, and swung at the Griffin's paw. The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin naturally wouldn't allow that. It loosened its grip, spun in the air, and unleashed a back kick at Yin Xiaoya. A punch and a leg collided in mid-air, and then the two combatants separated.

This round was evenly matched, so there was no point in prolonging the fight. Both prepared their final blows in tacit understanding.

The Azure Flame Heaven Griffin erupted with intense blue flames, compressing them into its body. It transformed into a being of pure, pale light. It shot upward, reaching a height of several hundred meters in an instant, then dove back down at Yin Xiaoya.

"Heh, you're more like a shooting star than I am. But my strength is more than this!"

Yin Xiaoya pulled out the Meteor Storm Switch and pressed the button three times.

[MAX Power!]

[Limit Break!]

"Go! Meteor Storm Punisher!"

The spinning top detached from the meteor staff, rocketing toward the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin.

In the center of the scorched stone forest, a storm of Azure Flame Heaven Griffin flames soared into the sky. It didn't stop for a long time...

"Fang Xin, do you think Senior is really alright?"

After separating from Yin Xiaoya, Ma Hongjun had been deeply unsettled. To be honest, he felt pressured into this. He knew this was his only chance to change. But if others got hurt because of it, he wouldn't know how to cope.

"I don't care what other people think. Anyway, I believe Brother Xiaoya will be fine." Fang Xin didn't even bother to look at Ma Hongjun, only looking at the way Senior Yin went.

"That's right, Fatty, if you have the heart to worry about others, you might as well worry about yourself. If you can't absorb the spirit ring of that soul beast, then your body will expand to be bigger than it is now, and then—BOOM!—it'll explode!" Tang Wu said, causing a terrified Ma Hongjun to imagine the moment.

Tang Wu's eloquent description made Ma Hongjun, who was already somewhat exhausted by the heat, turn pale with fright.

Xiao San tugged her behind him, glaring at her, who was still giggling, and said, "Okay, she's bluffing you. Master… Senior didn't say it all? He has a way for you to absorb the soul ring. I don't think he'd talk big."

Just then, the Batta Candroid leading the way stopped, turned around, and hopped toward Su Xuan.

"What's the matter, little guy? Already here?"

The Candroid nodded, jumped toward her, and transformed back into a can in mid-air. After Su Xuan caught it, she gestured behind her, and everyone quickly quieted down, leaned low, and moved forward.

They soon spotted a five-meter-long, red scorpion crawling through a low-lying grotto. Its red carapace gleamed like a jewel in the sunlight. Its tail held a half-meter-long stinger that swung back and forth, emitting traces of purplish-red flame from time to time—its unique poison fire.

The accompanying teachers exchanged grim looks. This made Ma Hongjun even more uneasy.

"Sure enough, it's over seven hundred years old. Forget Fatty, even an excellent soul master wouldn't choose a spirit ring of this age at the beginning."

"Yes, I remember Su Xuan's first spirit ring was only five hundred years old. Is Mr. Yin really sure about this?"

"But I heard that with his help, Luo Pupu successfully absorbed a second spirit ring of over a thousand years. Maybe it's really possible."

Su Xuan shook her head. "You weren't there at the time. Pupu's situation is different from Fatty's. Xiaoya said she could absorb spirit rings of over a thousand years, so I just helped her absorb the excess energy that she couldn't handle. But Fatty is just going to have to bear the spirit ring year that he can't absorb. To be honest, I don't know how Xiaoya will use this to complete it, so I'm worried…"

Seeing everyone's concerned faces, Ma Hongjun shrank back, but then he remembered what Yin Xiaoya had said before they separated. So he patted his cheeks and said, "No matter what, I have no way out. No matter how difficult it is, I'll hold on. If I fail, then I'll admit it. Anyway, I've lived in despair until now. Succeed or die trying!"

"Good resolve. It seems I haven't misjudged you."

A voice came from above them. Everyone looked up and saw Yin Xiaoya riding a thousand-year-level Ghost-Faced Griffin slowly descending.

"Brother Xiaoya!" Fang Xin exclaimed in surprise, but didn't dare approach because of the soul beast.

"It's okay. I've established a friendly relationship with the Ghost-Faced Griffins. It won't hurt you." Yin Xiaoya jumped down, patted its wings, and said, "Thank you. You can go back and thank your king for me."

The Ghost-Faced Griffin let out a snort, nodded, flapped its wings, and flew back in the direction it came from.

Seeing this, Su Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He must have succeeded. This man really could do anything.

Of course, Ma Hongjun was the most excited. After all, whether he could succeed or not depended on Yin Xiaoya.

"Senior, I..."

"Here."

Yin Xiaoya tossed something to him. Ma Hongjun caught it and was stunned. It was the Henshin Onsa that he'd always carried. But the Henshin Onsa was no longer off-white. It was a blue-grained black, with a metallic sheen and a heavier weight.

He quickly checked himself and found the ghost tuning fork that had been on him was gone.

"Huh? It was on me before? When…"

Yin Xiaoya chuckled. "As long as I want, things can be returned to my hands immediately. That's not important anymore. The Henshin Onsa has been unlocked through a very powerful soul beast. Speaking of which, it has some similarities to you. Because of its mutation, the ethnic group had to take drastic measures against it. Of course, it's much better than you, because at least its mutation is a powerful one. You should be able to feel it now. It's watching you from inside."

"?"

Ma Hongjun lowered his head to look at the Henshin Onsa. He was drawn to the grimace on its surface. He reached out a hand, only to see a pair of eyes stared back. When Ma Hongjun's eyes met those on the Onsa, the scenery around him changed. He stood in a sea of blue fire, and the people around him had vanished. The tuning fork was gone, too.

In this inexplicable world, a black-and-blue soul beast with the head of an eagle and a humanoid body stood before him, looking down with piercing eyes. Those eyes were clearly scrutinizing him.

For some reason, Ma Hongjun didn't panic at all. Instead, he felt strangely familiar with this place. More than that, information flooded his brain. He saw not only the fighting methods of the ghost warriors but also the battle between the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin and Yin Xiaoya, all from the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin's perspective. He understood everything.

"You are very weak, very weak, and simply unable to bear my strength. But your belief is good, and that persistence may allow you to control my emotional fire."

"Eh? Say... speak?"

"What a fuss. You already know what you need to know. How long do you intend to stay here? Have you forgotten there's a battle waiting for you? No, ours."

The surrounding blue flames surged violently, engulfing them. Amidst the flames, the Azure Flame Heaven Griffin stepped forward and crashed into Ma Hongjun's body.

Outside, Su Xuan and the others were growing worried because Ma Hongjun had fallen into a trance. Then, the Henshin Onsa in his hand unfolded automatically from its folded state.

Seeing this, Yin Xiaoya's mouth curved into a smile. He immediately gestured for everyone to step back.

The Henshin Onsa emitted black ripples that vibrated at the same frequency as the song. Under the influence of these black ripples, Ma Hongjun's whole body glowed. An oni's face appeared on his forehead.

BOOM!

Blue flames gushed out, engulfing him.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

An arm burst through the flames, pushing them away. In front of everyone stood the chubby little fatty. Now, he was a nearly two-meter-tall warrior clad in black armor, with blue flame patterns swirling around his body and a gray, feathered helmet on his head. No, it wasn't a warrior. It was more like a wild oni.