After the Duel

Now, my qi was nearly depleted, and the forced absorption of the world's energy had inflicted considerable damage on my meridians.

A scant remnant of my qi and the absorbed energy still clashed within me. Since the world's energy wasn't cultivated by me, I could guide it when my qi was abundant, but now, I was helpless. In my current state, I knew I couldn't withstand even the simplest attack from the Black Dragon.

My only option was to attack, and it had to be a decisive strike. Otherwise, this bout would end in my defeat.

"Take this!" I shouted, summoning the last thread of my qi and launching myself towards Elder Dak, who was still reeling from casting the forbidden spell.

In the fierce gale, I traversed the distance between us in an instant. My open right palm silently connected with his abdomen.

This time, there was no blinding white light. The observing dragons thought my qi was exhausted.

But Elder Dak's reaction puzzled them all. The once-soaring Black Dragon wobbled and then plummeted to the ground with a heavy thud.

Shaking his enormous head, he looked at me in confusion and asked, "Kid, what move did you just use?"

What seemed like a weak slap was actually a concentrated strike of qi that bypassed his tough scales and targeted his heart directly.

Even a physically formidable Black Dragon couldn't endure a direct hit to the heart. Unfortunately, my qi was nearly exhausted, so the effect was merely to cause him a sharp pain.

It was only because Elder Dak was weakened after casting the forbidden spell that my attack succeeded. Otherwise, landing such a blow would have been nearly impossible.

I laughed heartily, struggling to stand up. But my fatigued body refused to support me, and I felt my consciousness slipping away. Finally, everything went black, and I passed out completely.

Though I had fainted, my ingrained habits kept my inner breath circulating through my body. Unexpectedly, the world's energy, which I couldn't control earlier, now flowed wildly along the paths of my qi throughout my meridians.

Everywhere it traveled, the violent energy caused some damage to my meridians. But as it passed through the dragon crystal, part of the energy was absorbed, enlarging the crystal.

Simultaneously, my internal skill restored my depleted qi. The newly formed qi no longer clashed with the world's energy but merged smoothly, each following the other through my body.

The damaged meridians were gradually repaired by the circulating qi. The once-violent energy became gentle and eventually merged completely with my qi.

The fused qi was purer than before, flowing more smoothly and repairing the damage in my meridians. Even the severe internal injuries from the forced absorption were fully healed.

By the time I awoke, three days had passed.

As I regained consciousness, I noticed the significant changes within me. My qi was nearly twice as pure, its volume doubled, and its flow through my meridians was smoother and more robust. Both my internal core and the diamond-shaped dragon crystal had nearly doubled in size.

If I were to face the Black Dragon again, I believed I could now withstand several forbidden spells without depleting my qi as quickly as last time.

Reflecting on my performance during the duel, I was dissatisfied. Although Elder Dak was formidable, I shouldn't have been so defenseless.

I had chosen to confront him head-on from the start and later decided to block both his dragon breath and forbidden spell, leading to enormous qi consumption and my eventual defeat.

Throughout the battle, I hadn't leveraged my strengths effectively. If I had utilized my agility and the properties of my qi better from the beginning, defeating Elder Dak might not have been so difficult. My final strike did catch him off guard, after all.

It was clear that my inexperience against high-level opponents and my unfamiliarity with forbidden spells led to numerous mistakes. I needed to be more cautious in the future.

I opened my eyes and found myself back on Dragon Island, lying on my wooden bed. The dragons must have brought me back. The doorway was now just a large hole, likely made by Anna.

Shaking my head, I recalled how, despite my guidance, Anna's control over her strength had improved over the years. She could now open and close doors properly most of the time. Yet occasionally, she still smashed them open.

Through the hole, I saw Anna quietly lying outside. In the sunlight, her golden scales shone brilliantly. The usually lively Anna had an entirely different kind of charm when she was calm.

Curiosity struck me—what would Anna look like in her human form? She must be as beautiful as Elder Elina!

But then I laughed at myself. Anna wouldn't mature for another 2,700 years. By then, I'd likely be long gone.

Still, with sufficient energy, dragons could grow rapidly. If I could find some rare treasures, it might be possible to hasten Anna's transformation by a few hundred years.

The pure world's energy was the most potent form of energy. If I could somehow channel it into Anna, even a small amount might significantly accelerate her growth.

But given my current lack of control over the world's energy, I couldn't risk harming Anna. After a year together, I had come to cherish her like my own precious sister.

Lost in thought, I saw Anna stand up and happily trot towards me.

"Brother Edmund, you're finally awake! You've been asleep for three days and nights. I used a lot of healing spells on you, but you didn't respond. I was so worried about you!"

Seeing Anna so delighted, knowing she had stayed nearby waiting for me to wake up, filled me with gratitude.

"Little silly, your brother is mighty and won't be brought down by a mere forbidden spell. I still owe you a lot of roasted meat!"

"Hehe, I almost forgot! But Father asked me to tell you to see him as soon as you woke up. After that, you have to roast some meat for me. I'm off to catch some magical beasts."

Watching her leave happily, I smiled, knowing she'd be gone for at least an hour. With so many dragons around, finding a magical beast nearby was almost impossible.

She'd have to venture far from the dragon valley to find any magical beasts. Each trip required her to travel many miles to locate any signs of them, and the islands' sacred beasts managed those territories.

Anna knew all the sacred beasts on the island, so despite her current strength being insufficient to handle level eight and above magical beasts, I didn't worry about her safety.

Entering the council hall, I was surprised to see the Black Dragon Elder there. He approached me eagerly.

"Kid, you're really something! When can we have another match?"

I looked at him puzzled and replied, "Sparring can happen anytime, but I could barely defend myself. What's so impressive about that?"

"You withstood my dragon breath and forbidden spell with just your qi and still managed to strike me down," Elder Dak said, slightly begrudged. "Even among us elders, few dare to face my dragon breath head-on like that. You're not even twenty yet!"

Elder Elina, seeing my confusion, explained, "The dragon breath is one of the dragon race's most powerful skills. Even in battles between two dragons, we don't usually take it head-on. We either dodge or counter it with our own breath. A direct hit would severely injure even a Black Dragon with the strongest physical defenses."

"And blocking a forbidden spell directly is unheard of. A forbidden spell cast by a Grand Magus could instantly kill a Sword Saint. Elder Dak's dark forbidden spell is no exception."

"So, although you lost to Elder Dak, it was mainly due to your tactical mistakes. It's natural to say you're impressive. And that final strike that brought Elder Dak down shows you have the ability to harm a Black Dragon."