Lin Yuan Arrives, the Young Dragon Roars!

T/N:Thank you, Ryan Bagan , for joining my Patreon and supporting the journey!

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When Azhdaha saw a slight crack appear in Zhongli's shield, it stomped all four feet on the ground, its battle intent surging, and roared:

"Morax, after enduring endless time, your strength has severely diminished, while I am the everlasting existence!"

Zhongli calmly raised a new shield, slowly replying:

"As an elemental creation, your strength is indeed impervious to wear, but what you have truly lost is your far more precious heart."

A hint of compassion seemed to linger in Zhongli's eyes.

Even if Azhdaha still retained its peak strength from a thousand years ago, compared to Zhongli, it had lost much more in terms of what mattered.

The true Azhdaha, having been a close friend of Zhongli, naturally possessed a heart full of love for the world, just as Zhongli did.

However, this version of Azhdaha, which gained consciousness only through Zhongli's assistance, seemed to lack some depth of character.

After following Zhongli in battles, its heart quickly became worn down, transforming it into a more ferocious, almost beast-like existence.

In contrast, Zhongli still retained both his divinity and humanity, making him, in some sense, even stronger than the Azhdaha who merely maintained peak power.

Zhongli's calm demeanor seemed to incite even greater rage in Azhdaha.

It threw back its head and roared, charging directly at Zhongli.

Each stomp on the ground sent tremors through the earth, reverberating deep into the ground and reaching other parts of Liyue.

Connected to the earth, every move Azhdaha made held immense destructive power.

Zhongli's gaze sharpened; he wanted to stop Azhdaha from shaking the ground.

He raised a hand and grasped at the void.

Suddenly, a gigantic hand made of stone emerged from the ground, roughly the size of Azhdaha's head.

The rock hand reached out and directly grabbed Azhdaha's head.

A powerful force transmitted from the stone hand, halting Azhdaha's momentum.

Azhdaha let out another furious roar, like an enraged bull, continuously shaking its head in an attempt to free itself from the grip of the rock hand.

Although the rock hand symbolized Zhongli's divine power and possessed immense strength, Azhdaha, as an elemental creation favored by the earth, could draw continuous power from the ground beneath it while standing.

As Azhdaha thrashed its head, after a brief stalemate, there was a loud crash, and Azhdaha managed to shatter the rock hand.

"Morax, is this all the strength you possess now? This is the result of becoming a mere ant of a god. You shall fall here today."

Azhdaha understood very well that the rock hand was one of Zhongli's main abilities, capable of immense offensive and defensive power due to its divine enhancement.

During the War of the Archons, countless Archons had fallen beneath Zhongli's rock hand.

Even Azhdaha had suffered from this technique when it was sealed away by Zhongli.

Seeing that it had defeated the rock hand, Azhdaha felt certain that Morax was far weaker than he used to be, its red eyes glinting with hatred as it prepared to obliterate Zhongli before it.

Zhongli remained silent; although the rock hand he had summoned earlier did not contain a significant amount of divine power, he also hadn't expected Azhdaha to break free so quickly.

It seemed that after a thousand years, his strength had indeed waned compared to his peak.

In contrast, Azhdaha, being an elemental creation, did not experience any decline in power.

Zhongli, wishing to seal Azhdaha once more as he had a millennium ago, found it increasingly unlikely.

Just as Zhongli was contemplating how to deal with Azhdaha, Azhdaha launched another assault.

Its tail coalesced ice spikes once more, shooting them toward Zhongli.

Zhongli waved his hand, conjuring several gigantic rock spears from thin air, which shattered the countless incoming ice spikes and pinned them to the ground where Azhdaha stood.

Azhdaha attempted to retreat underground again to evade the rock spears.

Zhongli's gaze sharpened, and a hint of golden light emerged from his indifferent eyes as a terrifying dragon might descended upon Azhdaha.

This dragon might was eerily similar to Lin Yuan's.

Feeling the pressure of the dragon might, Azhdaha's body instantly froze.

At that moment of Azhdaha's hesitation, the rock spears overhead descended upon it.

Azhdaha quickly snapped back from Zhongli's dragon might, but it lost its opportunity to evade underground.

Faced with the descending rock spears, it roared in rage, lowering its head and charging at the spears with its horns.

The collision between the rock spears and Azhdaha's dual horns echoed loudly throughout the vast cavern.

The rock spears exploded into a cloud of dust, enveloping Azhdaha's form.

As the dust settled, Azhdaha appeared almost unscathed.

Only a few layers of rock on its body were shattered by the rock spears, but under the earth's power, they quickly regenerated.

With its fury unabated, Azhdaha continued its assault on Zhongli.

Meanwhile, Zhongli remained steady in the air, skillfully wielding divine power in combat against Azhdaha.

Though the two top-tier powerhouses of Teyvat fought back and forth, it was evident that Zhongli was gradually losing ground.

If this continued, Zhongli would inevitably be defeated.

However, amidst the fierce battle, Zhongli's primary concern was not his own safety.

As he observed Azhdaha, he became increasingly worried about the situation in Liyue, which was not far away.

The shockwaves from their battle were enough to affect the entirety of Liyue.

The so-called earth dragon rolling over shook heaven and earth.

The fights between Zhongli and Azhdaha back then had directly created a great chasm.

Although Zhongli was not as strong as before, he was still among Teyvat's elite.

If he and Azhdaha unleashed their full powers, it would likely cause the mountains of Liyue to collapse and rivers to change course.

Because of this, Zhongli had been intentionally suppressing the residual waves of their battle, making it difficult for him to fully commit to the fight.

However, Azhdaha was not any weaker than Zhongli at his peak.

As Zhongli fought with divided attention, he found himself steadily overpowered by Azhdaha.

In that moment, Azhdaha seized an opportunity, summoning a series of water bullets as cover, and crashed into Zhongli's shield.

At that moment, with all four feet firmly planted on the ground, Azhdaha unleashed an overwhelming force, its dual horns piercing straight into Zhongli's shield.

With a crack, another noticeable fissure appeared in Zhongli's shield, this one larger and more pronounced than the last.

A flicker of seriousness crossed Zhongli's eyes, and he quickly conjured a stone giant hand, striking Azhdaha away.

His shield was not infinite; if this continued, it could lead to…

Just then, a peculiar dragon roar resonated through the air.

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T/N:

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