death of the flame serpent

The battle within the cave reached an unprecedented level for Li Tian. He had already used his dragon transformation ability and his battle power was now at its peak. The booming sounds continued and the heat within the cave was extremely high. The space was twisting and vision became blurred. 

The serpent was even more powerful than Li Tian had imagined, before it Zhao Shengmin looked like a toddler. 

Its scales were strong and its defense impenetrable. Li Tian had tried many ways to injure the snake's body but so far it has only suffered superficial injuries. 

All this was even under the bloodline suppression from Li Tian.

The battle continued and as time passed it became even more treacherous. The teeth of the serpent could penetrate stone like cutting butter causing even iron to melt. 

A day passed and Li Tian was already getting exhausted. The serpent too was already very sluggish in its action. Its golden eyes were filled with hatred--the greed that had filled its eyes when it first sensed the bloodline within Li Tian had also diminished. 

Even after suffering so much damage, both have still not said a word to each other and throughout the battle, they had been careful not to destroy the Purifying Lotus. Still for the serpent, from the moment it laid eyes on Li Tian, the Purifying Lotus had just become an additional bonus.

Li Tian soon withdrew when he realized that even a battle of attrition would be of no use to him. The cultivation level of the serpent was too far ahead of his. 

He moved into one of the tunnels and stayed there, the serpent still within his view. He had confidence that his recovery speed was higher than that of the flame serpent. 

When he had recovered to a satisfying level he attacked the serpent again and after a gruesome battle he would return. 

The struggle went on for days and today even when Li Tian tried to withdraw, the serpent did not allow it. It had also come to the conclusion that Li Tian's recovery ability was higher than his. Up to today, its battle ability has only reduced while Li Tian's has stayed relatively the same. 

Booming sounds continued echoing till about a day later when the serpent was thoroughly exhausted and could no longer move. Its defensive power had greatly reduced and there were wounds all over its body.

Li Tian searched for the weak point under the serpent's neck and using his Saber technique cut through it. As the serpent lost its life, the sound of the system could be heard. 

"Ding"

[Congratulations to the host for killing the flame serpent, you receive a bloodline increase of 20%]

Li Tian felt as the blood within his body roiled and felt as his body became stronger. It felt as though he had taken a qualitative milestone.

He dug out the serpent's core and saw a few strands of dragon Qi within the core. He couldn't help but sigh

"This serpent was truly close to its evolution. The path to transcendence is truly treacherous. Heaven only knows how long it took this serpent to cultivate to such a level still it faced its end in such a manner"

He continued

"This time I am the one who brought about the end of this serpent but who knows when it will be my turn. I have to hurry and get stronger...I must never allow myself to be put in such a situation"

With the core in his grasp, he had now gathered all the materials needed to establish his foundation. His Rising Dragon Foundation was close to being established. 

Li Tian had made up his mind to break through before leaving, this was as suitable a place as any. He went to a small hole in the wall of the cave and opened it further, walked in took out the dragon Qi vein, placed it down, and started healing. His body gradually restored to his peak level and his exhausted strength was restored. 

Without hesitation, he started refining the materials according to the method stated in his cultivation technique. The refining process was going to take a long time.

.....

Zhao Yumin's grandfather had contacted his friends and connections to verify who was backing up Li Tian and his efforts bore no fruit. This made him very upset, all the servants and clansmen of the Zhao clan were now behaving with care around him. No one knew what could trigger him. The loss of his grandson had put him in a bad mood recently.

Today he was sitting in his courtyard, his mood as bad as always when he sensed a pressure fall on him. He looked up and saw two core realm cultivators floating in the air above him. 

He was shocked, who were these people who dared to fly above his residence?

His observation led him to believe that these people were not simple if they could do this without any fear within this city 

He did not want to offend them without knowing their background, so he invited them in. He soon knew their identity, it turns out that while investigating Li Tian he had caught the attention of the Li and Zhang clan of Prime City.

Hearing that they were from prime city he was very respectful toward them. His cultivation level was higher than theirs still he did not dare to offend them. He had now found the opportunity to get revenge for his grandson. From the words of these people, they were also at odds with Li Tian.

Zhang Ming and Li Yan had already come clean to their clan. They had originally intended to keep everything a secret and keep the benefits for themselves but their actions soon drew the attention of their respective families and after some investigation, the truth came to light. 

At this moment, it was not them who were after Li Tian but their entire clans.

They were intent on getting the treasures Li Tian had on him. So when they found someone investigating Li Tian and finding recent information about the Zhao clan, they realized that perhaps they knew the current location of Li Tian.

They had always kept taps on Li Tian but within city E their level of control was not as high, hence when Li Tian left the city they had lost sight of him.

Now with the information from the Zhao clan, they were determined to get Li Tian now that he was in the wilderness and were now preparing a killing party against him.