"Even though he clearly had the power to kill the dragon from the very beginning, why did he wait until now to go all out?"
"Don't tell me he never took that Ancient Azure Dragon seriously in the first place…"
The moment that possibility dawned on them, leaders across the world felt a chill creep into their hearts.
In Miracle Nation, Li Dapu gripped his coffee cup so hard his knuckles turned white.
"How can Dragon Nation's contestant be this strong?" he said through clenched teeth.
"If all of this is real, then if he ever reaches Miracle Nation, wouldn't that mean everyone here would be at his mercy?"
No matter how much confidence Li Dapu had in his nation and its contestants, he no longer dared claim Miracle Nation could truly stand against Adrian Vale head-on.
The truth was right there in front of him.
Adrian had already reached the point where even an Ancient Azure Dragon could be toyed with.
His adjutant standing beside him had fallen completely silent.
Over in Eastern Isles, the nation's top leadership had gathered together.
A thin man with a small mustache spoke first, his face grim.
"If this continues, then under no circumstances can we allow any direct conflict with Dragon Nation."
"Otherwise, Dragon Nation would only need to send Adrian Vale…"
"And Eastern Isles would be wiped off the map."
He looked around the room.
"Speak. How are we supposed to deal with this?"
Not a single person answered.
They had all seen Adrian's strength with their own eyes. Who among them could possibly come up with a solution now?
Seeing the room dead silent, Eastern Isles' leader instantly flew into a rage.
"Baka! Useless trash!"
"You were all so eager to jump around before. Why are you mute now?"
"Don't tell me your answer is for Eastern Isles to simply give up struggling!"
After witnessing Adrian's battle, a single thought had begun spreading through the minds of countless people across the world—
Can a human really become this strong?
Even a dragon that had survived since ancient times couldn't stand against Adrian Vale.
If that was the case…
Then was there still anyone left in this world who could challenge him?
Back in Dragon Nation, the people had already started celebrating.
At this point, no one believed Adrian would lose to the Ancient Azure Dragon anymore.
"Hahaha! I knew Eat-Stream Adrian Vale would win in the end!"
"At this rate, the final victor is definitely going to be him!"
"This time Boss Raven really did grab hold of the biggest thigh possible—she barely had to do anything and she's already about to enjoy the final victory!"
"Hold onto Old Adrian's thigh and let him carry all of Dragon Nation to the sky!"
Inside Dragon Nation's live studio, Bingbing spoke with obvious excitement in her voice.
"Captain Ryan Cole, just like you said, Adrian really is about to win. How did you know?"
A faint smile appeared on Captain Ryan Cole's face.
"Because Adrian has something in him—something very familiar."
"He has that same spirit we see in Dragon Nation's soldiers. The spirit of enduring everything and never stopping until victory is in hand."
"That spirit exists in the blood of all Dragon Nation's warriors."
"And because of that, I knew from the very start that Adrian was never going to lose."
Even Professor Luo couldn't help sighing in admiration.
"It seems I still have a great deal to learn from Captain Ryan Cole."
"I've realized that my understanding of Dragon Nation's soldiers was still far too shallow."
"Dragon Nation's warriors are always strong."
"And when disaster comes, they always find a way to keep moving forward."
"In that sense, Adrian is very much like Dragon Nation itself."
"A nation that has always walked through hardship by advancing, never retreating."
Meanwhile, Fahai was still crossing the wasteland, chatting with Dragon Nation's viewers through the livestream comments to pass the time.
"This benefactor right here—you say your family line has lasted three generations, and now you want to join Buddhism? If I accepted that, how would I explain myself to your ancestors?"
"What? A lay disciple? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We don't have such a precedent in this humble temple."
"And as for this benefactor who wants to buy my kasaya—I advise you not to even think about it. If you were standing in front of me right now, I would've sent you flying with one punch already."
Fahai said it through gritted teeth, staring at the latest outrageous comment.
The livestream instantly became even more cheerful.
"Master Fahai, my son just turned five. Can I send him to your temple for cultivation? If he could become your disciple, that would be even better!"
"Master Fahai, your hand-to-hand skills look pretty good, but you still wouldn't be my opponent."
"If you don't believe me, let's arrange a fight someday and livestream it nationwide."
"The guy above is unbelievably brave. I've already bought your wreath and cemetery plot."
Even Fahai couldn't stop himself from smiling at that.
"All of you benefactors really do know how to joke around. Keeping company with you all is truly—"
Rumble! Rumble!
Before he could finish, the sand fifty meters ahead of him suddenly began shaking violently.
The moment he saw that, Fahai shut off the livestream comments without hesitation and shot to the right at top speed.
But even as he moved, the violent shaking continued to chase after him.
Seeing that, Fahai's face darkened.
"It seems something has set its sights on this humble monk," he said.
"Good."
"I can take this chance to loosen up my bones."
Dragon Nation's viewers, who had been fooling around a second ago, immediately grew nervous.
"Holy crap, with that kind of movement, there's no way it's just an ordinary A-rank Divine Domain creature. At minimum, it's S-rank!"
"Fahai's hand-to-hand combat is amazing, but he's still not Adrian. What if he really flips over in the ditch this time?"
"No way! Fahai has never lost, not even in the Blue Star Deathmatch. There's no way he loses now that he's in the Divine Domain!"
"Fahai's become one of my biggest daily sources of joy. Nothing can happen to him!"
"That's right. Fahai is definitely going to beat whatever this thing is!"
At that moment, Fahai was still sprinting across the sand while glancing back over his shoulder.
A second later, he took a deep breath.
Then—
he pulled the red kasaya from around his waist and flung it aside.
His entire body vanished from the viewers' sight in an instant.
The livestream erupted.
"Holy crap, where did Fahai go?! I can't see him anymore!"
"He disappeared from the whole screen!"
"Did Master Fahai just use earth escape or something?"
"Brother, don't be ridiculous. Buddhism doesn't have earth escape techniques."
The next instant, the Will of Blue Star thoughtfully gave the audience a close-up.
Whummm—!
A violent wind rose around the battlefield, dragging yellow sand into the air and rapidly forming a massive sandstorm.
And from above, a figure came plunging down—
both fists aimed straight at the ground.
Golden light blazed over those fists.
Only then did everyone clearly see the figure.
It was Fahai.
His muscles were swollen to the limit, golden light shimmering across his body as he dropped toward the earth like a human-shaped meteor.
"Holy crap, Master Fahai went straight into full-power mode?!"
"Fahai is angry! Vajra's wrath, three zhang high!"
"One punch, one kid—the show's starting again!"
"Honestly, I love bulky men like this… if he were bald too, that'd be perfect."
"Get out of here, you creepy fangirl! This is the hot-blooded battlefield of men!"
At that moment, Fahai looked like a golden missile, his fists forming the tip as he smashed downward with terrifying speed.
Boom!!
A deafening explosion shook the wasteland as Fahai drove both fists straight into the sand.
At once, the sand around the impact point erupted in every direction like a blooming yellow flower.
And beneath Fahai's fists, thick green blood sprayed wildly across the battlefield.
Only then did the Will of Blue Star finally speak.
[Warning! Dragon Nation contestant Fahai has encountered a Divine Domain creature. Analyzing…]
[Name: Golden Desert Lizard]
[Threat Rating: S-rank]
[Traits: A Divine Domain creature born of the desert. Its body is its greatest weapon. Special note: this is a female desert lizard.]
At that moment, Fahai's fists had already punched through the outer hide of the giant lizard.
The green blood kept splashing outward.
The moment it touched the surrounding sand, it displayed terrifying corrosive properties, rapidly eating the sand down into blackened powder.
And yet Fahai remained completely unharmed, protected by the golden light wrapped around both fists.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The giant desert lizard's tongue flicked wildly as it let out furious screeches.
Judging by the amount of blood gushing from the wound, Fahai's opening strike had clearly hurt it badly.
Only now did the audience finally see the creature's full appearance.
The Golden Desert Lizard was over ten meters long, with thick, powerful limbs and two huge scarlet eyes the size of water barrels.
Its long, flicking tongue made it resemble some monstrous cross between a giant lizard and a grotesque toad.
The moment the full creature appeared on screen, countless female viewers immediately burst into disgusted complaints.
"So this is what a lizard looks like when it scales up? That is revolting."
"It looks like some giant green toad. That's disgusting."
"Thank God I hadn't started eating yet, or my room would already be a crime scene."
"Master Fahai, please kill this ugly thing quickly. It doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as us."
Naturally, countless male simps instantly rushed out to perform.
"That's right! A disgusting thing like this dares insult the eyes of our lovely ladies?!"
"I, Liu Qilin, absolutely refuse to let this creature live!"
"The guy above, please wake up. Changing your name to Qilin doesn't make you Zhang Qilin."
"And no, it still won't make any girl like you either."
Back in the wasteland, the giant desert lizard suddenly twisted its body.
Its thick tail lashed out with terrifying force, ripping through the air toward Fahai.
Boom! Boom!
Fahai put one palm together, his muscles tightening instantly as he shot left to evade.
A deafening impact followed.
Fahai remained untouched—
while the giant lizard's tail buried itself deep into the sand.
The next second, the lizard's enormous body twisted and charged straight at Fahai like a moving fortress.
At the same time, a savage windstorm rose around them.
The sandstorm grew larger and larger, sweeping up countless grains of sand until the sky itself began to darken.
Under the black clouds and endless yellow storm, the entire world seemed to lose its light.
Only then did Fahai's expression truly grow serious.
No matter how powerful his fists were, he was still ultimately human.
And right now, he had yet to receive any Divine Domain-exclusive enhancement.
Surviving inside a sandstorm of this scale was no easy thing.
Elsewhere, Wuxian suddenly lifted his head and looked toward a distant patch of pitch-black sky, a trace of confusion appearing in his eyes.
And deep within the Dreamlike Forest—
a dragon's roar suddenly rang out.
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