His eyes glowed brilliant gold, and the pressure of a great beast rolled off his body in suffocating waves.
"TCh, I will have to use that treasure," the Patriarch thought, hovering in the air, a brilliant red light shimmered in his hands.
Thud, Thud, Thud
The people still trying to flee collapsed instantly, fainting the moment the Qi washed over them.
"Hohoho…" Wang chuckled, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"Is that Divine Aura?"
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"It would seem another soul is trying to descend into the little one's body."
Wang watched with naked anticipation as, from Lin Feng's mouth, a thunderous voice boomed.
"Who dares attack my son?!"
The voice was deep and old.
Every word stirred the heavens; thunder rumbled as a strong wind blew things about.
Clouds rolled in violently. The sky darkened. Rain began to fall as the weather twisted under the pressure of that voice.
"I dare!" Wang roared, shooting up into the sky.
The dragon's massive head snapped toward him, its eyes blazing with pure rage.
"What are the people from South Gate doing here?" the thunderous voice echoed.
Below, Patriarch Xing stared upward, his face pale.
"What did he just say…?" he muttered.
"South Gate, what are people from the Highlands doing here?"
"Did you hear that, Xing?" Elder Zhou said grimly. "We can't deal with them, we should call for him…" the elder dived down towards the remaining pavilion tower.
"Ohhhh, you would expect no less from dragons," Wang replied calmly, shrugging off his feathered coat as it fell to the ground.
"How do you even know of that place, hmm?"
Golden runes began forming across his body, engraving themselves into his flesh like living tattoos, each one radiating terrifying authority.
"Well," Wang continued lightly, "even if you are a dragon… You can't do anything here, can you?"
He leapt forward, two fingers raised.
"You insignificant insect!" the entity controlling Lin Feng roared, slashing the air.
SPLASH!
Blood erupted from Wang's chest, and he staggered backwards.
But instead of crying out, A wider grin stretched across his face.
"Weight of the Great Mountain Ba Tuan."
Wang traced sealing letters through the air with casual precision. The glowing symbols flew upward, slamming into the dragon's body and melting into its scales.
Instantly,
The dragon's form dropped.
Its body felt unbearably heavy, its ascent halted midair as the seals pressed down upon it. It struggled, muscles straining, legs staggering, but the seals held fast.
"MMMMM YOU PEST YOU DARE!!!" it roared.
The dragon smashed into the ground, its massive body crashing downward.
BOOM!
Stone shattered as it burrowed violently into the earth, vanishing beneath the arena in a storm of debris and ruin.
"You are copying the techniques of the dragons…!!?"
Blue flames erupted from the dragon's horns, roaring to life like living lightning. As it rose from the shattered ground, its massive form shifted scales receding, bulk compressing until its body became sleek, refined… almost humanoid.
Gone was the mindless rampage.
What stood before Wang was something new. The dragon raised a single hand and pointed.
The sky split open.
A colossal bolt of thunder descended, smashing into Wang, hurling him straight into the earth with explosive force.
Before the dust could settle, the dragon pointed again.
From its finger, a concentrated beam of blue energy erupted, piercing straight through Wang's torso.
Blood sprayed.
Wang staggered once… then collapsed into the rubble.
"Mmm," the dragon said coldly, stepping forward.
"That is what you get for imitating dragonkin."
"…Is it now?"
Wang rose from the debris.
The hole in his torso sealed itself, golden runes crawling across his flesh as they stitched bone, muscle, and blood back together.
"Come on," Wang laughed, bloodshot eyes blazing.
"Come on, let's fight some more."
His left hand twisted unnaturally.
Black scales surfaced, glimmering as the limb reshaped into something inhuman.
"Tch, you foul little thing," the dragon snarled.
It vanished.
In the next instant, it reappeared behind Wang.
A claw clamped around his throat.
Wang's eyes bulged out, riddled with confusion.
"You dare steal the blood of my kind and use it in your disgusting rituals," it roared.
"That hand, where did you get it?!"
But Wang didn't say anything; he just looked ahead with that crazed grin still plastered on his face.
The dragon started to mumble something, the words incomprehensible.
"@*&$@$@$)@$*@$@)$$@*&^$^@^@()@_@"
With a violent wrench.
CRACK!
Wang's scaled arm was torn free.
Blood exploded into the air.
"You people from Southgate have gone too far…" the dragon growled, fury shaking the space around them.
"I will wipe every last one of you from existence."
Blue flames gathered in its mouth, condensing into a blinding inferno. The pressure pouring off its body crushed stone to dust, pulverising everything nearby.
The air screamed.
Gluuuub!
A piercing, wet gurgle echoed through the air.
"You dragons are ever so arrogant," Bo said casually. "You who see, everyone is an insect."
He stood behind the dragon, completely unscathed.
"Shouldn't be so cocky without showing your true body, even if you are a dragon, you too are bound by the great Dao of life."
In Wang's hand rested a silver scale smooth, flawless, and pulsing faintly with draconic authority.
"I've heard that once a dragon's reverse scale is taken," Bo continued with a grin, "they're forced into a deep slumber for hundreds of years. I suppose you'll be losing control of this body for a while."
Crack.
Bo crushed the scale in his palm.
The dragon's head snapped around just in time to see Bo smiling.
Its horns splintered.
The blue flames vanished.
The overwhelming draconic presence shattered.
"May the wheels of fate turn and torment your soul through even incarnation," the ancient voice uttered one last word.
The form collapsed.
Lin Feng's massive body shrank rapidly, scales receding as he fell, returning to his human form before crashing to the ground.
At the same time
Wang's severed arm suddenly ignited.
Blue flames consumed it entirely, reducing it to nothingness. The smoke swirling rushed to his neck, leaving a star shaped engravement.
"Hahaha! Wang, you're a mess," Bo laughed, slinging Wang's battered body over his shoulder.
"He even severed your connection to the secret tree. You can't even heal yourself now"
Wang groaned but didn't resist.
"Let's return to the palace," Bo said calmly.
"We've gathered everything we came for. If we stay any longer, the Heavenly Seers will descend and since we can't access our full power here…"
He smiled thinly.
"…we'd be killed."
With that, Bo leapt into the sky, carrying Wang with him as they vanished beyond the clouds.
….
"Patriarch Xing, they are gone, they took all the youth who had gathered here, even the princes of the Hua clan," a Patreon from the Heavenly sect spoke.
"Tch, this is beyond us. Send word to the sect." Xing spoke the red light that was forming in his hand, shuttering.
"Thank goodness they didn't want to fight the rest of us, otherwise I would have exposed myself." Xing exhaled, gathering his Qi.