Crushing Azhdaha, Divine Dragon Lord Lin Yuan!

On the ground, Azhdaha was repeatedly smashed into the earth by Lin Yuan, utterly unable to fight back.

The elemental attacks that once made many gods fear Azhdaha were now being countered by Lin Yuan with elemental power several times stronger.

Even in physical combat, when Azhdaha used all its strength to ram into Lin Yuan's dragon tail, the most it could do was leave a slight mark on a few of Lin Yuan's dragon scales. Meanwhile, a casual flick of Lin Yuan's tail caused countless cracks to appear in Azhdaha's rocky body.

This battle was a complete one-sided domination by Lin Yuan, overwhelming Azhdaha in every aspect.

Azhdaha, feeling oppressed by Lin Yuan's relentless attacks, became increasingly furious. Just as it was about to launch a reckless assault, Lin Yuan struck first.

Lin Yuan opened his dragon mouth, releasing an icy mist that chilled the air. Crack, crack!

The mist fell from the sky and, in an instant, froze Azhdaha's massive body, along with the surrounding land and sky.

Lin Yuan's control over the seven elements was no weaker than that of the individual Archons of each element.

After freezing Azhdaha, Lin Yuan swung his divine dragon tail once again, smashing the frozen body of Azhdaha into countless shards of ice.

Azhdaha's enormous body shattered into a field of icy debris. However, both Lin Yuan and those nearby, like Kun Yu, knew that even this was not enough to destroy Azhdaha.

Sure enough, the scattered fragments of Azhdaha's body began to tremble and slowly merged with the earth.

Under the power of the land, several larger fragments shattered the ice, coming together to form a core and quickly restoring Azhdaha's body.

The entire process took less than a minute.

Azhdaha's ability to recover was truly astonishing.

Once its body was restored, Azhdaha let out a furious roar, venting its frustration at being crushed by Lin Yuan.

High in the sky, Lin Yuan watched as Azhdaha restored itself once again. Instead of feeling pressured, he smiled lightly, as if he had discovered a new toy, and casually said,

"Your strength isn't much, but your regenerative ability is quite impressive. Just perfect for me to practice my power."

Upon hearing this, Azhdaha was instantly furious. What do you mean by 'strength isn't much'?

It was Azhdaha, a being that could rival Morax at his peak! Countless gods and demons alike feared its name, yet in the eyes of this divine dragon, it was being treated like a mere plaything.

"Daring to insult me, Azhdaha, you will pay for this…"

Just as Azhdaha was roaring in anger, Lin Yuan's overwhelming dragon aura swept over it, immediately pressing down with immense pressure, silencing the beast and stopping it from continuing.

Lin Yuan chuckled mockingly and said,

"With your strength, you should first learn how to keep quiet."

Azhdaha, humiliated by Lin Yuan's taunting, was consumed with rage, but the difference in power between them was undeniable. It was like night and day.

Not far away, Kun Jun and the others were completely stunned by the one-sided battle unfolding before them.

The pure water spirit, Lottie, exclaimed in shock,

"Lin Yuan only recently gained divine power, so how can he already wield it so proficiently?"

In Lottie's eyes, Lin Yuan's mastery of divine power was already on par with the Seven Archons. Watching Lin Yuan effortlessly toy with Azhdaha made it hard to believe that not long ago, he had been a young dragon without even the slightest hint of divine strength.

Kun Jun deeply agreed, marveling as he said,

"When he was just a young dragon, we didn't notice, but now that he's grown, Lin Yuan has revealed his astonishing all-around talent. Is this the natural-born superiority of a Divine Dragon?"

Kun Jun had always thought that his true form, Azhdaha, being connected to the earth and able to control five elements, was already an exceptional gift. But compared to Lin Yuan, Azhdaha seemed rather ordinary.

In fact, in Kun Jun's eyes, his true form barely stood a chance against Lin Yuan's overwhelming power.

Zhongli spoke calmly,

"Lin Yuan is no ordinary Divine Dragon. He cannot be judged by common standards."

Kun Jun nodded in agreement. Lin Yuan was simply too extraordinary; even the well-traveled Morax could not discern his true origins.

While Zhongli and the others were leisurely discussing Lin Yuan's immense power after his growth, the battle between Lin Yuan and Azhdaha was nearing its end.

Though it was called a battle, Azhdaha had been taking blows the entire time. Any ferocity it managed to muster was quickly suppressed by Lin Yuan's relentless attacks.

At this point, the red glow in Azhdaha's eyes had dimmed significantly. It was unwilling to accept this outcome. Having only just broken free from a thousand-year seal, it was now being beaten senseless by a Divine Dragon even stronger than Morax at his peak.

It still wanted to see Morax fall here, to destroy Liyue, and to make everyone pay for its thousand years of hatred. However, the defeat was already set in stone. Azhdaha had no chance against this god-like dragon standing before it.

The sheer terror of Lin Yuan's power was undeniable. Forget about fighting back—Azhdaha was only able to survive due to its elemental nature, which allowed it to regenerate after each blow.

Even so, all Azhdaha could do was serve as a punching bag, being shattered by Lin Yuan over and over, only to heal again and again.

Once more, Azhdaha's rocky body was crushed by Lin Yuan, and as it used the power of the earth to recover, it let out a furious roar at the Divine Dragon who had been toying with it from the sky:

"How is this possible?! How can you be stronger than Morax?"

"Who are you? What are you?!"

Even as its body was repeatedly shattered, Azhdaha's thunderous rage boiled over. If it weren't completely outmatched by Lin Yuan, the furious Azhdaha would have long since torn everything around it to pieces.

The mightiest god-dragon it had known, Morax, couldn't even compare to Lin Yuan's overwhelming strength. Azhdaha realized that such a terrifying existence couldn't share the same bloodline as Morax.

From the sky, Lin Yuan's voice descended like divine judgment, booming with majestic power:

"I am the Divine Dragon of Huaxia, the Dragon Sovereign!"

Dragon Sovereign?

Kun Jun and Lottie instinctively glanced at Zhongli, but Zhongli simply smiled calmly. He gazed at Lin Yuan, the second Dragon Sovereign, with a look of pride and satisfaction.

It seemed that he had entrusted his divine power to the right person. Zhongli believed that Lin Yuan would lead Liyue into a new era—an era even more prosperous than the one he had created.

At that moment, Azhdaha's body had nearly finished regenerating. It roared in defiance,

"Sovereign? You are also a Sovereign? I refuse to accept such a fate!"

A thousand years ago, it was sealed by the Geo Archon, and now, after a thousand years, it was once again defeated by the Dragon Sovereign. This chain of destiny enraged Azhdaha, as it felt trapped in a cycle of inevitable defeat.

Its thousand-year grudge shouldn't end like this. It had yet to make all of Liyue tremble in fear, and its revenge was far from complete!

The red glow in Azhdaha's eyes flared as it seemed ready to go berserk once more. However, Lin Yuan casually flicked his dragon tail, once again teaching Azhdaha its place.

Azhdaha's freshly restored body was instantly struck by Lin Yuan's tail, leaving deep cracks all over it once more. No matter how furious Azhdaha became, the difference in power between them was simply too vast to overcome.

Yet Azhdaha roared defiantly,

"It's useless! Neither the Geo Archon nor the Dragon Sovereign can truly defeat me!"

Azhdaha was, after all, a peculiar stone born of the earth. No matter how much damage it sustained, it could always rapidly regenerate by drawing upon the Geo element and the power of the land.

Azhdaha had faced several brutal battles in the past, but in the end, it always outlasted its opponents, slowly grinding them down with its seemingly endless regenerative power.

At this moment, Azhdaha regained a bit of the confidence that Lin Yuan had previously shattered.

If I can't defeat him now, then I'll just rely on my near-immortal nature to keep fighting. Sooner or later, my infinite strength will wear him down!

Just as Azhdaha was regaining its self-assurance, Lin Yuan's tail struck again, smashing Azhdaha back into the earth.

Lin Yuan paid no attention to Azhdaha's enraged howls.

Despite its shattered and tattered form, Azhdaha still roared madly,

"It's useless! I am Azhdaha! I am eternal! I am immortal!"

Lin Yuan calmly replied,

"Azhdaha, this is nothing more than your final frenzy. Destroying you is not difficult for me."

Lin Yuan looked down at Azhdaha, recognizing it as a truly troublesome opponent. As a being born of elemental creation, Azhdaha could not be permanently defeated unless it was completely annihilated—reduced to dust and scattered to nothingness.

Azhdaha never tired, making it seem like an eternal combat machine. Even powerful gods, if careless, could fall to it in battle.

However, for Lin Yuan, there was indeed a way to deal with Azhdaha. One option would be to seal it again, just as Zhongli had done in the past. But that would still leave a lingering threat to Liyue's future, and Lin Yuan preferred to completely eliminate the danger Azhdaha posed.

In truth, Azhdaha was once a protector of Liyue. Given this, Lin Yuan had another idea—return Azhdaha to its original form, allowing it to be reborn and serve a new purpose.

As the new Dragon Sovereign, Lin Yuan knew it was time to strengthen Liyue's defenses. If a being as powerful as Azhdaha—comparable to the top gods—could be restored and made to defend Liyue once again, Lin Yuan wouldn't need to worry about any threats to the city, even if he, like Zhongli, occasionally traveled abroad.

However, since Azhdaha had once been Zhongli's close companion, returning it to its original form would essentially erase its current consciousness. For that reason, Lin Yuan decided to consult Zhongli and Kun Jun on the matter.

Lowering his massive dragon head from the clouds, Lin Yuan spoke in a deep, commanding voice:

"I intend to return Azhdaha to its original form, allowing it to grow once again as an elemental being to protect Liyue. What do you think?"

Kun Jun was visibly shocked by this proposal. He immediately responded,

"Return Azhdaha to its original form? Such a god-like feat—is it truly possible?"

Even Morax, at the height of his power, hadn't been able to return Azhdaha to its original form. All he had managed was to seal it deep beneath the earth in the Chasm.

Kun Jun, being the good-natured fragment of Azhdaha's memory, also doubted whether such a method would work on the powerful Azhdaha. But since Lin Yuan was the one suggesting it, there was likely a way to make it happen.

Lottie, the pure water spirit and also an elemental lifeform, added,

"Returning an elemental being to its original form is no simple task, especially for a being like Azhdaha, who has been worn down and fractured in both body and mind."

Lottie understood that this was generally considered impossible. Only the immense divine power of the Seven Archons could make something like this achievable. The Seven possess godly powers capable of wondrous feats—powers that could create life and, in theory, revert life to its original state.

As a pure water spirit, Lottie herself had been born from the first Hydro Archon's divine power, and Azhdaha, similarly, had been formed by Zhongli's divine Geo power. If Lin Yuan wanted to use divine power to give Azhdaha a new life, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Lin Yuan explained,

"Precisely for that reason, I need you, Kun Jun, to rejoin Azhdaha's body and merge with it once again. Only then can I cleanse its current violent instincts and restore the wisdom it once had."

Kun Jun immediately responded,

"I am, after all, a part of Azhdaha. If there is a chance to give it a new life, I am willing to try."

Zhongli, who had been silently contemplating, also spoke up. He had once considered this possibility himself after the great battle with Azhdaha, but the circumstances at the time didn't allow for it. On one hand, he had been too exhausted after the battle, and on the other, his old friendship with Azhdaha made it hard to follow through with such a harsh decision.

Now, however, Azhdaha's condition had deteriorated to the point where there was no turning back.

With that in mind, Zhongli slowly said:

"If a rebirth for Azhdaha can be achieved, then perhaps it is indeed a good choice," Zhongli finally said after some thought.

With everyone's agreement, Lin Yuan prepared to extract the essence of goodness from Kun Jun's body—the benevolent aspect of Azhdaha. However, before he could begin, Azhdaha once again emerged, breaking through the ground and stepping out of the rocks.

"The current me is perfect! Don't even think about..." Azhdaha began angrily, but before it could finish speaking, Lin Yuan's tail struck again, shattering Azhdaha mid-sentence. This time, to prevent any further resistance during the fusion process, Lin Yuan struck Azhdaha a few more times until its body was completely destroyed, leaving only a single core stone embedded in the ground.

Witnessing this, Kun Jun and the others were once again reminded of the sheer overwhelming power of Lin Yuan's true form.

"Alright, now relax your mind, and I'll extract the essence of goodness from you," Lin Yuan said.

To ensure that Azhdaha wouldn't recover, Lin Yuan immediately began to draw the essence of goodness out from Kun Jun. Kun Jun closed his eyes and cooperated fully with the process.

A beam of white light slowly emerged from Kun Jun's body and, under Lin Yuan's careful control, floated towards Azhdaha's core. With the extraction complete, Kun Jun collapsed to the ground. After all, Kun Jun was just an ordinary person who had been possessed by Azhdaha's essence of goodness. Now that it had been removed, Kun Jun fell into a deep sleep.

Lin Yuan then guided the essence of goodness into Azhdaha's core. As soon as the essence entered, it was immediately attacked by the malicious essence that controlled Azhdaha's body. Without hesitation, Lin Yuan used his divine power to protect the fragile essence of goodness. Without this protection, the essence of goodness would have been quickly consumed by the overwhelming malice of Azhdaha's dark nature.

Within the spiritual world of Azhdaha, a fierce battle between its good and evil sides began.

Seeing that its essence of goodness was protected by divine power, the evil side of Azhdaha transformed into another version of the dragon. It spoke to its counterpart with disdain: "Even with the protection of the Divine Dragon power, how does that change anything? You, weak as you are, cannot hope to consume such a powerful me." Azhdaha's evil side roared fiercely. Although it was being thoroughly dominated by Lin Yuan in the outside world, this was its domain, and it would not allow Lin Yuan and the others to succeed.

The essence of goodness also transformed into an identical version of Azhdaha, but without the red glow in its eyes, it calmly said: "I did not come here to consume you. I have Morax and the others who do not wish to see you destroyed; we should merge together once more." The essence of goodness was evidently closer to the original Azhdaha than the evil side that controlled the body, emanating a calming white light.

"Merge?" the evil side of Azhdaha replied with fury. "Our separation is the best outcome! Since you have abandoned your body and voluntarily entered here, with your weakness, I can easily consume you. Why would I want to merge with you?" After saying this, the evil side attacked the essence of goodness once more.

However, Lin Yuan's divine power continuously protected the essence of goodness, preventing the evil side from making contact. For the time being, a delicate balance was achieved between good and evil.

The events within the spiritual realm were unknown to the outside world. Nearby, Lottia spoke with a hint of doubt in her voice: "This essence of Azhdaha seems so weak. Is it really possible for them to merge successfully?" Azhdaha's psyche had already undergone severe deterioration, and the powers of good and evil were completely unbalanced. If they were forcibly merged, this fragile essence could easily be consumed by the evil side.

Zhongli analyzed calmly: "In theory, it is indeed possible. However, even I, back in my day, would not have had absolute confidence in such a process."

"If it fails, the Azhdaha that consumes the essence of goodness will grow even stronger…" Zhongli glanced at Lin Yuan, who was focused on merging the good and evil aspects of Azhdaha. If it were Lin Yuan, he would surely succeed.

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T/N:

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