Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Jin Nuhen and the dozen spirit snakes quickly reverted to their lamia form and started digging through the earth as fast as they could.

With Tang Yue having successfully diverted the attention of the Emperor beast, there was no longer the presence of the intimidating pressure holding them back.

They shoveled the thick densely packed grains of sand and rocks back and forth and back and forth, slowly and steadily extending the tunnel route all the way to the chasm.

Luckily the distance was not too much and they only need a few more minutes at most.

"Clan leader, will the Empress really be okay?" One of the snakes paused and worriedly asked.

"Selena. Since when did you become someone important enough to worry about the Empress?" Nuhen rudely cut her off. Not that he was not worried about Tang Yue.

Every other second the earth shook and loud thundering noises rumbled. They could feel the gravity and the intensity of the battle happening up above the earth.

But even so… Nuhen had complete faith in Tang Yue. So he didn't allow anyone to question her capabilities as if doing so would improve her chances of success.

"Do your job, Selena and don't think about unnecessary things." He warned her and started digging with even more force than he had previously applied.

"Ah… ok. I apologize for my behavior, clan leader." Selena pouted and bowed, before returning back to digging again. 

And while she did so, her mind once again wandered to think about the great Empress and her sharp emerald eyes. She silently prayed that nothing would happen to her.

Meanwhile… Outside… On the surface…

A group of lava salamanders froze on the spot after seeing blades of fire flying towards them.

However, it was only momentary. 

As the attack involved fire element, they daringly continued dashing forward towards Tang Yue, scurrying along with their short fat paws.

On this island, they were the Gods of fire element. They ruled the hot flowing lava which other beasts did not dare touch.

So they were quite confident of facing Tang Yue's fire blades. 

Not to mention each one of them were at least, if not stronger compared to the high-grade poisonous frog Tang Yue had faced previously.

Back then, she had struggled fighting against even a single one of the poisonous frogs but now…

As the first slash landed on a salamander at the front, it used its thick hard skin to block the attack, whipping the slice of fire away with its tail.

However, when it tried moving its body again, surprisingly, its own body did not listen to the salamander's commands and the next instant, the beast loudly shrieked before dropping down dead, its body split apart into two.

Tang Yue's fire element laced sword slash had been so powerful that the moment it touched the beast's body, it had split it into two halves.

But how was its tempered body unable to withstand a mere flame slash? Till the very last minute, the beast had absolutely no idea how it died.

When the first one fell, the rest of the salamanders quickly became alert. 

The attack didn't seem like a simple flame slash. Nevertheless, it was a bit too late. 

One by one, the entire group of salamanders fell as Tang Yue spun her body and sent out sword beams, not moving an inch from her spot.

The beasts which had threatened her very existence before were now not even capable of withstanding a single attack from her.

The Emperor beast that was surrounded by its trusted capable soldiers was suddenly standing alone all by itself.

"What did you do to my soldiers???" A deep and hoarse voice bellowed, surprising Tang Yue.

"Eh? You can talk?" Tang Yue chuckled. "Too bad. We don't have time today for a lengthy chat."

Her long forked tongue flickered in and out as she flicked her sword towards the giant reptile.

The Emperor beast had thick hard skin almost like the shell of a turtle. 

The attack that had massacred the high-grade beasts did not even scratch the skin of the Emperor beast.

"Just as I thought." Tang Yue hissed.

"You can't defeat me, you pitiful snake. I should have killed you all and eradicated your entire clan when I had the chance." The Emperor beast loudly harrumphed.

But Tang Yue looked far from being intimidated. "I am not from this island, you stupid beast." She chuckled.

"So what? Your tricks will not pass through my defense." Tang Yue knew why the salamander was so confident in its words.

When she had attacked the high-grade salamanders earlier, she had combined both fire elemental and wind elemental magic, hiding sharp cutting wind slices in her flame sword beams.

But the Emperor beast's defense was too strong and this attack did not put a dent on its physical defense. This was why the beast was so confidently mouthing off.

"I am not done yet, salamander Emperor." Tang Yue hissed and her entire body suddenly started radiating thick dark putrid energy.

The Emperor beast shook and its body visibly trembled. "How is it possible?" It took a step back subconsciously. It knew that it was no match for Tang Yue.

It let out a loud roar, calling for more reinforcements.

But the next second, a sharp ice spear struck in the middle of its open mouth, black flames enveloping the spear.

The Emperor beast was just like that impaled, blood leaking from its mouth.

Roar! It shook its head in pain and then quickly coughed up, producing smoke and flame.

A spiral of hot burning flames arose from its body, completely enveloping it. 

The spiral quickly turned into a tornado and Tang Yue felt her body being drawn to the salamander.

"You want close combat? Fine by me." Tang Yue smiled and then unexpectedly allowed herself to be pulled into the flame spiral.

The salamander's eyes shone from within the spiral knowing that its attack had worked. 

"I am going to eat snake meat today. Ba ha ha ha!" It growled excitedly.