Her petite frame was so slender that her two small hands couldn't even fully wrap around the griffin's massive talon. Yet, Sisi clung desperately, her body being dragged mercilessly across the jagged rocks as the beast charged forward. Her cries were fragmented, broken by the violent jolts.
"Sister, I'm coming!" Eric finally clawed his way out of the mountain stream, soaked and gasping, before stumbling toward Sisi.
He had been paralyzed with fear earlier—face-to-face with death for the first time, his mind had blanked. Only after Thunder kicked him to safety did he snap out of it.
Both siblings knew their beginner-level spells were useless against this griffin. Sisi had thrown herself at it purely to slow it down, while Eric now rushed in to save his sister.
*Will we survive?* Even as they steeled themselves for death, the question lingered in their hearts.
Thunder, having dodged the griffin's lightning barrage with Maria in his arms, had already retreated several yards. When he turned and saw the siblings' desperate struggle, his chest tightened.
Back at the academy, Sisi had always been brash, teasing and belittling him at every turn. Yet here, in the face of death, this little beauty was willing to sacrifice herself.
Gratitude and warmth surged through him.
Gently setting Maria down, Thunder took a deep breath.
*"Footwork's essence lies in rhythm—without it, all effort is wasted. The front step hovers between a tread and a stomp; the rear step swings like a whip yet glides like a current. The fury of a mad bull, the might of a raging tiger—all hinge on rhythm to achieve the extraordinary. Reverse drive the legs, sway the hips, block the waist—swift as the autumn wind."*
The口诀 of the *Celestial Master's Ethereal Steps* flashed vividly in his mind. Never had he understood it so clearly.
With a subtle shift of his weight, his front leg lashed out as if stepping into empty air—and in an instant, he slid forward several yards, closing the gap to the griffin in a blink.
The charging griffin hadn't expected its prey to move so fast. By the time it reacted, Thunder was already upon it, his palm crackling with a modified *Palm Thunder*. He struck hard—right into the griffin's ruby-like eye.
A shrill, enraged screech tore through the air.
But unlike before, Thunder didn't pour in more magic to sustain the attack. Instead, he yanked his hand back, slid beneath the griffin's belly, and scooped up the dazed Sisi in one fluid motion.
*Swift as a fleeing hare.*
Maria barely registered Thunder setting her down before he was already back, Sisi in his arms.
*Too fast.* Faster than her eyes could follow.
Sisi stared blankly, her expression still frozen in grim determination. Thunder grinned at her.
She felt dizzy. *One moment, I was being dragged to my death—how did this bastard snatch me back?*
Depositing her beside Eric, Thunder noted her ghostly pallor. Her delicate constitution couldn't handle such violent motion, and she dry-heaved weakly.
"Stay put," he said. "Watch this Taoist master destroy it."
Never had he felt so confident.
Maybe it was the selfless courage of Sisi and Maria that fueled him. Or perhaps his newfound insight into the *Ethereal Steps*.
*So what if it's an eighth-tier beast? It can't fly now.*
The griffin had suffered dearly. Caught off-guard, its wing crippled by Thunder's earlier strike, then bombarded by spell talismans—it was far from peak condition. Only burning rage kept it fighting.
Griffins were vicious. They remembered grudges. This one's pride had been shattered; it wouldn't let its tormentors escape.
"Wood—*Dancing Leaves*!" Thunder turned, silhouetted against the sunlight. Though ragged and dust-covered, he wore a smirk.
Countless emerald-green leaves materialized, swirling around him in a dense, ten-foot radius.
*Dancing Leaves* was a wood-element support spell, masking the caster within a storm of foliage to disrupt enemy aim.
"Ice—*Frostblade*!" His second-to-last offensive talisman activated, conjuring a three-foot glacial sword in his hand—gleaming blue and radiating cold.
For most mages, this spell was useless. What mage would charge into melee with an ice sword? Without physical prowess, combat aura, or proper technique, it was a joke.
But Thunder was out of options. Only two attack talismans remained.
The swirling leaves encased him fully, forming a verdant sphere. No one could pinpoint his position inside.
To close-range foes, the leaves were as deadly as a porcupine's quills—each one razor-sharp. Underestimating this "support" spell meant bleeding for it.
Linked to the wood elements, Thunder alone could see through the storm.
Preparations complete, the griffin—fixated on him—ignored Maria and charged.
Thunder inhaled deeply, syncing his rhythm to the griffin's pounding strides—then struck.
*Still as a shadow, swift as lightning.*
In an instant, he was upon the beast. The whirling leaves sheared through its feathers like scissors through hair, sending plumage flying.
His *Frostblade* plunged deep into an existing wound on the griffin's belly.
The griffin reeled. Before it could even locate its attacker, pain erupted everywhere—then agony exploded from its gut.
**Will Thunder's gamble pay off?**