Letting loose a magnificent roar, the Black Dragon King whipped its serpentine body around like a whirlpool, dragging his tail around with enough force to tear open space. With how fast space was destabilizing around them, Xiao Binzi and Hu Yang could only retreat and wait for another time to strike.
The Black Dragon King was fighting with great hatred for his two opponents. Even after his attack managed to push the two back, he was ready to do more. Like an arrow, he speared through the swathes of energy to fly away.
Having been at the edgemost part of the battlefield, the Black Dragon King only had to break away from Xiao Binzi and Hu Yang in order to flee the battlefield. And now that he was unobstructed, the Black Dragon King quickly flew away like a meteor.
âBoom!!â
The Black Dragon King touched back down onto a faraway area, the force of his sudden descent splintering the forest ground he stood upon.
His plan was to reach the mountain peak several hundred meters away and leave a decoy. If he used his humanoid figure to hide his aura, the Black Dragon King would surely be able to flee.
But he began to feel that something was off when he neared the mountain. He was unsure of the reason, but his instincts were telling him to be careful.
Then it happened. A giant figure shot forth from a hidden spot near the mountain toward him!!
âBoom!!â
The two figures collided with devastating force. The mountain they stood on trembled violently as the Black Dragon King reeled backward away from the blow!
He staggered several steps back before managing to find his balance. He was greatly shocked and angered that someone would be able to stop him. Snarling, he looked up to glare at his pursuer, only to let out another roar in anger when he saw who it was.
âYou!!â
Right in front of him stood another large being. Two pillar-like legs, two short forelimbs, and a large head. Overall, this being looked a lot like a Tyrannosaurus Rex in ancient Earth history.
Long Lan!!
Right in front of the Black Dragon King was the blue-eyes white wyrm: Long Lan!
The aquatic-blue scales of his person were sleek and glossy, but they rippled with a great deal of power. And just like his scales, Long Lanâs eyes were brimming with a domineering light. He wasâŠa class-eight soulbeast now!
In just several months, Long Lan managed to breakthrough and become an early-stage class eight soulbeast!
He had to have come here with the Frostfeather Saint. Though they came together, Long Lan was clearly a step slower than the other and was barely able to stop the Black Dragon King from fleeing.
Was it chance? Fate? Or perhaps a âdestined battleâ?
Long Lan had been nothing more than a relatively rare wyrm-type soulbeast. If not for his meeting with Bai Yunfei, itâd never have been possible for him to even reach the class seven level.
His story could be retold as an âepicâ for anyone within the world of soulbeasts. In what was an unexpected turn of destiny, Long Lan was able to grab a hold of some of the Black Dragon Kingâs blood and absorb it.
Absorbing the blood of a âhigh-classâ dragonic soulbeast gave Long Lan a great deal of power. One of those powers was the very rare ability to wield elemental darkness and also a substantial boost to his sentience.
He never had to worry about a shortage in resources whenever he traveled with Bai Yunfei. In the world of soulbeasts, having just a single soulgem would mean fighting for your life over it. Every day was a challenge for him to find three meals in a day, and even then, it most likely meant he had to fight against an even stronger soulbeast to even live. A high-leveled soulgem was basically akin to a high-grade pill for soul cultivators.
A few months ago, the Blue-eyes White Dragon King took Long Lan back to the dragon clan to train. Sparing no expense, the Blue-eyes White Dragon King gave a few of the more precious treasures they had so Long Lan to become a peak late-stage class seven soulbeast before taking him to the Tomb of the Emperor Beasts.
From there, Long Lan was able to receive the inheritance of an ancestor of the dragon clan and became a class eight soulbeast.Â
The growth of Long Lan was one that spanned only a decade from when he was a small class six soulbeast. It was a story that would marvel anyone.
âŠâŠ
Thus, the Black Dragon King was shocked to see Long Lan standing before him today. Never did he imagine the âantâ that was the blue-eyes white wyrm somehow managed to become a class eight soulbeast like him and even stand in the way of his retreat!!
Back against the Two-winged Kings, the Black Dragon King had to sacrifice his class seven body in order to escape. He intentionally had the blood splatter where it did so he could go back in the future and reabsorb it all back into his body so he could regain some of his power faster. But Long Lan had âbeatâ him to it and took it all with him.
The Black Dragon King had to resort to becoming Mo Niâs soulbeast partner to regain his strength after that. Though he was given plenty of resources from the Soul Refining School, his own blood being stolen weighed heavily on his mind. Always did he want to take revenge on the one who stole it.
But he never managed to do so. Whenever they fought against Bai Yunfei, the Black Dragon King never had the chance to fight Long Lan.
That was, not until today. Today, the Black Dragon King was finally able to meet Long Lan. ButâŠnot at the right moment!Â
The Black Dragon King felt his eyes redden at the very sight of his most hated enemy. Howling furiously, he lashed out with an attack before any words could even be spoken!
âRoar!!â
The roar that exploded forth from the Black Dragon Kingâs mouth jarred the nerves and hindered the sensesâthis was the ultimate skill the Black Dragon King had, the Ninth Heaven Shaking Dragonâs Roar!
Long Lan stiffened when the roar slammed into him. But instead of being rendered frozen, he fired back a powerful roar of his own!
âRoar!!â
It was as if the heads of two dragons appeared overhead when the two roared. Energy rippled away from their mouths like waves as both techniques tried to incapacitate their foes. They both staggered backward, tired, but successful in being able to ward off the most.
Like a drunkard, the Black Dragon King staggered two steps more than Long Lan. He was shocked by Long Lanâs resistance. Furious that his very own soul skill had beenâŠblocked!
âImpossible!!â
He roared, unwilling to accept the reality in front of him. The Ninth Heaven Shaking Dragonâs Roar was his ultimate move, how could it possibly be stopped by this âinferiorâ wyrm?!
Forever since Long Lan joined Bai Yunfeiâs adventures, he had been forced to accept a âsupportingâ role in the story. Every battle he was forced to play second fiddle to Bai Yunfei and Xiao Qi. It was only when Bai Yunfei disappeared and he traveled with Xiao Qi in search for him that he gained a nickname that even Soul Kings feared to hear.
His second turning point came when he visited Tianhun Academy. It was there that he managed to study under a senior of the dragon clan, Long Zhen. Long Lan had learned plenty from the man, but then he was then noticed by the Blue-eyes White Dragon King in the Soulbeast Forest and taught even more. Itâd be a disgrace to both his teachers if he had only one or two skills to show for it.
That roar Long Lan unleashed was similar to the Black Dragon Kingâs skill. It was an extremely powerful soul skill taught in the dragon clan!
It was with this roar that Long Lan hoped to send a powerful message. The âfearâ he had of the Black Dragon King would be no more starting today!
He owed the changes made to his body to the lifeblood of the Black Dragon King. But because he had the Black Dragon Kingâs lifeblood in him, Long Lan had always a âfearâ of the Black Dragon King. Just meeting him wouldâve been enough to reduce Long Lan to a shivering coward before, but not anymore today. After traveling with Bai Yunfei for so long, Long Lan was used to seeing stronger people all the time. His fear of the Black Dragon King seemed almost inconsequential in comparison.
âWho said Iâm inferior to you?! Who says I should fear you?! I mightâve been weaker than you before, but not anymore!â
The weight of determination never felt so light on Long Lanâs shoulders. TodayâŠhe would prove his own worth against his old foe, the Black Dragon King!
With his own fear being suppressed, Long Lan began to power himself up. He roared once more at the sight of a shocked Black Dragon King and pounced onto him to begin their fight!
âRoar!â
âBoom!!â
Once again, the Black Dragon King was forced back by Long Lan when the two collided. Wincing from pain, the Black Dragon King looked down only to see several of his scales were gone! Long Lanâs claws had torn them off!
âRoar!!â
The fury rekindled in the Black Dragon Kingâs eyes at this. Lashing out, he extended his neck forward to bite at Long Lanâs throat!
He couldnât use a soul skill or attack with an elemental attack due to their ineffectiveness, so the Black Dragon King had to rely on his own physical strength to finish the job!
So powerful and quick was the Black Dragon Kingâs attack that Long Lan was unable to move out of the way. The Black Dragon Kingâs jaw clamped onto a part of Long Lanâs shoulder and tore some of its flesh away!
Blood poured out from the wound at once. Gleeful, the Black Dragon King swallowed the flesh in his mouth and gave him a fanatical sneer!
âTodayâŠthe lifeblood you stole from me will be returned!â