Competing Against the Dark Dragon

The so-called arenas of the dragon clan were merely a few small islands near Dragon Island. To avoid damaging Dragon Island during battles, the dragons always moved their competitions to these nearby islands.

For the combative dragons, a significant portion of their waking hours was spent in contests with each other. Hence, these islands were never without the presence of dragons.

Currently, nearly twenty dragons were gathered on our target island.

Seeing Elder Dak's arrival, the dueling dragons immediately stopped their activities.

The Dark Dragons are inherently fierce, and Elder Dak was one of the best among them. Even as an elder, he frequently sought out other older dragons to spar with.

As a result, almost all the dragons were intimidated by him.

Seeing him, it was only natural for them to come forward to pay their respects.

After the greetings, the dragons dispersed to find good spots from which to watch the forthcoming show.

Soon, Chief Karle brought me and the other elders to the arena. He flew above the ground and unceremoniously tossed me down, saying, "Kid, it's your turn!"

The watching dragons were in an uproar, none of them expecting that the Black Dragon Elder's opponent would be me.

Until now, the dragons on Dragon Island had never thought much of my strength, and few dragons were willing to spar with me. Now, the sudden prospect of me facing Elder Dak seemed incredible to everyone.

Seeing me in human form and empty-handed, Elder Dak roared angrily:

"Kid, are you underestimating me? Show all your strength, or don't blame me if you die."

I circulated my true qi throughout my body and calmly said:

"Elder, please forgive me. It's not that I underestimate you, but since arriving on this continent a year ago, I haven't found a weapon that suits me."

"However, I believe that even barehanded, my combat ability won't be affected."

"Moreover, I am not originally in dragon form. My transformation into a Shenlong was guided by Chief Karle's dragon aura. Therefore, in my current form, I can fully exert my strength, whereas in dragon form, I can only use about half of it."

Elder Dak emitted a powerful dragon aura and said in a deep voice:

"In that case, come at me!"

Knowing he wouldn't make the first move out of respect for his status, I called out:

"Elder, take this! The first form of the Free and Easy Divine Fist, Earth Shatter!"

Concentrating my energy into my right fist, an immense force surged skyward, rushing towards the Black Dragon. With a powerful punch, I moved with the fist, creating a white light that tore through the ground, leaving a deep trench.

Seeing the power of my strike, the onlooking dragons were stunned and cheered.

Elder Dak laughed heartily and shouted:

"Good! That's what I like!"

He did not dodge but curled his front claw into a fist, meeting my punch head-on. There was a tremendous explosion, the shockwave blasting the ground and filling the air with debris.

I was thrown back dozens of meters by the recoil, struggling to stabilize myself and stand firm.

Shaking my wrist, I thought, "This won't work. Directly clashing with a dragon is too disadvantageous."

Elder Dak, however, merely wavered slightly before standing steady.

The watching dragons, seeing me unscathed after such a powerful exchange, cheered loudly.

Elder Dak had initially intended only to teach me a lesson, not considering me a worthy opponent. But now, feeling pain in his claw and seeing my resilience, his fighting spirit soared. He increased his strength, his dragon aura growing stronger, and his roar filled the air. His massive body, moving with surprising speed, lunged at me.

I smiled, eager for a full-on battle with such a powerful opponent.

With a push off the ground, I shot forward like a cannonball, my fist again aiming for the Black Dragon's claw, now charged with dragon energy.

Boom!

Another explosion erupted, the arena's ground turning to dust, leaving a massive crater.

The second form of the Free and Easy Divine Fist: Sky Breaker!

This time, as I was thrown back, I didn't wait to stabilize myself but immediately charged forward again, my energy at full capacity. My fists, glowing with white light, continuously pummeled the Black Dragon, my movements as swift as lightning, dodging his powerful claws.

Direct confrontation was not my strong suit, especially against such a colossal dragon. The earlier punches were merely to test the power of his claws and to gauge my current strength.

Elder Dak, despite extending his giant wings, struggled to turn his massive body quickly. His swift claws couldn't catch me, and I managed to land several punches on him.

However, the Black Dragon's physical defense was incredibly robust. Even with my full strength, I could only injure his scales, causing him temporary pain.

The surrounding dragons, watching my physical fists clash directly with the dragon claws, were left speechless by my prowess.

Even Chief Karle and the other elders hadn't expected me to be so fierce, taking the upper hand.

Anna was already cheering loudly, "Go, Edmund! Beat him!"

Elder Dak, shocked to find himself at a disadvantage, had his battle lust fully aroused. His massive dragon eyes radiated endless fighting spirit, his fierce mouth opened, and a black dragon breath shot towards me.

The powerful dragon breath, laced with scorching flames, came at me overwhelmingly, leaving no room to dodge.

I had no choice but to circulate my true qi throughout my body, trying to block the dragon breath. The intense heat continually drained my qi, seemingly endless.

If not for my recent breakthrough and increased true qi, I wouldn't have withstood this dragon breath attack.

Even so, my qi was nearly half consumed. This direct defense was unsustainable.

"Kid, I didn't expect you to withstand my dragon breath. It's been over two thousand years since I've encountered such an opponent. As a sign of my respect, take my forbidden spell, 'Hellfire'!"

He began chanting a mysterious and arcane incantation.

"Damn, he hasn't learned moderation even after five hundred years!"

Chief Karle muttered, worriedly thinking:

"His strength should be enough to withstand this forbidden spell. If anything goes wrong, I don't know what to do."

As Elder Dak chanted, the sky turned dark red, thick clouds covering the arena. Amidst the clouds, flashes of dark red light created a hellish scene.

As Elder Dak finished his incantation, huge swathes of dark red flames began to fall from the sky.

The observing dragons didn't hesitate for a moment; they shot into the air, swiftly distancing themselves from the island. Even the chief and the elders were no exception. Anna, having noticed Elder Dak using a forbidden spell, had already been carried far away by Elder Elina, where they hovered in the sky.

While dodging the falling flames, I focused on quickly recovering my true qi. Only now did I truly appreciate the immense advantage of being in the Xiantian realm. In just a short time, I had regained three-tenths of my qi. With eight-tenths of my true qi restored, I felt confident that I could safely withstand even the terrifying force of a forbidden spell.

The descending flames increased in number and density, making it impossible to continue evading them with my movement techniques.

Suddenly, from the crimson clouds above, countless streams of purple fire burst forth, winding through the air like serpentine dragons. They then spiraled rapidly towards the ground.

This must be the legendary Hellfire, said to consume everything. Such enchanting, yet deadly flames!

Staring at the multitude of purple fire dragons filling the sky, I felt helpless despite my intelligence and confidence. There was no choice but to face it head-on.

I stood directly beneath the densest part of the fiery clouds, where the Hellfire was most concentrated.

Even when the purple flames struck rock, they did not extinguish but instead burned the rock to ash.

With no other option, I continuously channeled my protective qi to keep the Hellfire at bay. My once bright white qi shield was growing dimmer with each passing moment.

I realized that unless I found a solution quickly, my qi would be exhausted, and I would be reduced to ashes by the Hellfire.

In this life-and-death moment, I abandoned all caution and began forcibly drawing in the energy of heaven and earth, directly absorbing it into my dantian and merging it with my true qi.

Previously, I could only cautiously absorb a small amount of the world's energy at a time. Now, by forcibly absorbing large quantities, I could unleash immense power temporarily, though the internal conflict between these two energies could severely damage my meridians.

However, with my life on the line, I couldn't afford to worry about such consequences.

As the powerful energy of heaven and earth merged into my dantian, my nearly depleted qi shield stabilized. The dimming light began to shine brightly once more.

Finally, the purple Hellfire grew sparser, and the sky gradually cleared. I breathed a long sigh of relief. I had endured the forbidden spell.

Reflecting on my awkward defense under the spell, I suddenly felt a strong urge to learn magic.