Chapter 84: Five Colors
Chapter 84: Five Colors
Dragons, perhaps, were the most diverse and varied species.
Besides the Outer Realm Dragons such as the “Six Strategies,” and close dragon-like relatives like “Dragon Turtles” and “Qilin,” the dragon species of the Nine Provinces were roughly divided into three categories—Five-Colored Dragons, Metallic Dragons, and Gem Dragons.
For example, the Dawn Dragon—Morning Duck—was the “Yinglong,” or “Golden Dragon,” among the Metallic Dragons.
Among these, the Five-Colored Dragons were the most bizarre, strange, and sinister.
The black “Black Dragon,” the red “Red Dragon,” the green “Evil Dragon,” the blue “Chi Dragon,” and the white “Coiled Dragon”—each was a fearsome existence of ferocious nature, capable of destroying heaven and earth at the slightest provocation! Even the prison dragons from the deepest depths of Purgatory could hardly compare.
And Li Yi could clearly sense that the Rune was of a dark, swirling, and lingering Black Dragon form!
This Bloodline Rune danced and leaped with vitality, perhaps taking shape within just a few hours of a day.
When that happened, it would become a brand new Bloodline Ability.
With the precedent of “Bearing the Stele,” he could almost guess that this ability might be related to the Black Dragon.
“Bearing the Stele is a Bloodline Ability belonging to the Dragon Turtle lineage, extremely unorthodox and taking an unconventional approach! But this Bloodline Ability might be even more extreme and heretical than Bearing the Stele!”
Li Yi touched his chin and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
“Forget it, a free Bloodline Ability is still a sure profit no matter how you look at it…”
Stopping his wild thoughts, he slowed his breathing, let his soul tendrils wander, and continued exploring within his body.
“Strange, really strange…”
His body was empty, devoid of any strength or Mana.
But aside from that, there were only minor, scattered injuries all over, nothing severe enough to damage muscles or bones.
Li Yi remembered that the scene before he fell unconscious was definitely not like this.
“Could it be the Six Strategies Qi?”
He pondered to himself, his expression shifting slightly as he turned his head to look. Sure enough, the three strands of Six Strategies Qi were nowhere to be found.
After repeatedly checking his body several times and confirming there were no major issues, Li Yi relaxed and turned his attention to his equipment.
One look, and his face immediately turned gloomy, with a hint of heartache.
The Grip of Serenity and the Eight Dou Ring—both pieces of equipment were destroyed!
These two items, one for enhancing meditation and the other for attribute bonuses, were Li Yi’s most valuable pieces of equipment beneath the Samsara Shroud!
The good news was that the rest of his equipment was undamaged.
Feeling around his chest, he pulled out a spread-out piece of leather parchment.
This draft of “Snake-Hair Hunter Type II” was actually completely intact, without even a single mark or crease. Thanks to this item protecting his chest and abdomen, Li Yi had avoided the fate of having his internal organs incinerated.
It could be said that this item saved his life.
“What in the world is this thing? Even Dragon skin might not have such defense…”
Li Yi was filled with nothing but question marks.
His gaze fell on the back of his hand, and his expression changed again.
His skin was pale and translucent, vaguely revealing a network of crisscrossing blood vessels, strangely marvelous.
The sense of Elemental Affinity was also unprecedentedly powerful.
With every beat of his heart, he faintly felt the surrounding elements resonating in sync.
“What is this, a rebirth? Forget it, no more wild thoughts, better start meditating…”
Although his body still ached, Li Yi didn’t dare relax. Having passed the most difficult hurdle, it would be a huge loss if he capsized here.
Closing his eyes and focusing, outside his body, the Ancient Alligator roared. Strands of elements descended from the beast’s form like lines of rain, falling onto him.
However, these scattered elements didn’t directly turn into Mana. Instead, they sank deep into his body, some nourishing his bloodline essence, others being devoured by the Black Dragon-like Rune.
Deep within his body, which was already riddled with flaws, needed the elemental energy to patch up deficiencies.
He didn’t know how much time passed, but the feeling of exhaustion gradually faded, and within his energy channels, tiny drops of Mana began to form.
“Good!”
His tension easing slightly, Li Yi grew more composed.
Time passed slowly in the quiet meditation.
And at that moment, a figure followed the coordinate guidance, slowly approaching.
…
“So, this is where you are…”
A cold, mocking laugh shattered the tranquility.
Clang!
The roar of a sword echoed and twisted, as if trying to pierce the heavens!
Golden light, brilliant like the sun, illuminated the world. A burly figure, cloaked in thousands of golden rays, wielding Dragon-Slaying Blade, swung horizontally from right to left!
As if suddenly missing a section, Li Yi’s head vanished.
“Huh?”
The figure let out a light sound of surprise. The great sword reversed its momentum, swirling back, its radiance erupting, the sword’s song a mournful dirge, while blood energy surged like a beast weeping blood!
Li Yi’s upper body disappeared once more.
“This is interesting… Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts? No, there’s no Battle Aura fluctuation. Body refining technique?”
With the sword’s momentum spent, the figure hummed with interest, sheathed the great sword, and with light and shadow intertwining, flashed away to a spot ten meters distant.
It was Yazi!
Crack, crack—bones emitted a series of crisp sounds as Li Yi’s body returned to its original form.
“Who are you?” he asked, heart still racing with lingering fear, his gaze vigilant, while also feeling an inexplicable sensation.
Was this truly a rebirth?
Just now, he had tilted his head back, then his upper body back, his entire frame twisting like soft, boneless dough into corkscrew-like contortions.
Siren Splits the Tide—his cultivation was still shallow, and he absolutely could not have achieved such a level.
Moreover, his body’s reaction speed had also become noticeably sharper, his intentions following his heart’s command as easily as moving his own arm.
It seemed those three strands of Six Strategies Qi weren’t just for healing injuries; it was more than that…
“Sorry, if you’re after the Six Strategies Qi, you’re too late,” Li Yi said, his expression clearing slightly, speaking calmly. “I’ve completely refined all three strands. Killing me will only give you a corpse.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in the Six Strategies Qi on you…” Yazi shook his head, a sinister smile revealing his snow-white teeth. “I only want your head.”
“Do we know each other?” The opponent’s unreasonable behavior made Li Yi’s expression turn cold, his eyebrows slightly raised.
“Never met.”
“Is there any feud between us?” Li Yi asked again.
“How could there be a feud if we’ve never met?”
“There has to be a reason for killing someone!” Li Yi was greatly frustrated and somewhat angry.
“Reason? If I really must find a reason, then let’s just say you stole my limelight…” Battle Aura surged, the bloody great sword roaring like a demonic lion. On Yazi’s body, bloody light billowed like waves, his aura soaring to the heavens.
“Just for limelight, you want to kill?” Li Yi felt a sense of absurdity rising in his heart, his eyes flashing with anger.
“Find it unbelievable? The reason, put simply, is simple; put complexly, is complex.”
A wild and arrogant smile spread across Yazi’s face.
“I have an older brother. I myself am a Heaven’s Pride talent not seen in a hundred years in the clan. Unfortunately, my brother is the ‘Child of Light,’ a prodigy not seen in ten thousand years! Since childhood, I’ve always been second-best. No matter how well I performed, the evaluation was always—’worthy of being so-and-so’s younger brother.’ But I am me, not someone’s son, not someone’s younger brother, just myself!”
“As a Heaven’s Pride, I risked my life coming to this place of near-certain death. Do you know why? Here, I can temporarily escape that omnipresent shadow and become the one and only king of this Dragon’s Burial Ground!”
“I took great risks to come here, only to have you steal my limelight. Tell me, can I tolerate that?”
“Madman!” Seeing that things were unlikely to end peacefully, Li Yi snorted coldly.
Hum!
The Dragon-Slaying Blade rested on his shoulder as Yazi spun on his feet, a ring of brilliant light sharply expanding!
Two soft tearing sounds echoed as two sneaking Air Servants were sliced in half, dissipating into smoke.
“Don’t play these cheap little tricks… it makes me think you’re insulting me.”
Tilting his head, the great sword on his shoulder, bloody light bursting from his entire body, he took a step forward!
“You’re courting death!”
Li Yi once again put on a show, making several quick, intricate Magic Gestures. An Inferno, wreathed in flowing flames, roared to life!
“Foolish!”
Yazi didn’t dodge or evade, instead piercing through the Inferno’s illusory form. A heavy fist, shining with brilliant light, struck out fiercely!
Thud!
Light blossomed as Li Yi’s body slammed hard against the bone wall.
“I already said, these little moves are boring!” Yazi looked down from above, sneering.
“How did you see through it?” Li Yi coughed a few times. Luckily, he had that draft; otherwise, his internal organs would have been severely injured.
“You mages have ‘Mage’s Intuition.’ We warriors also have ‘Warrior’s Premonition’!” Yazi chuckled. “Besides, my energy sense tells me there’s no trace of Mana flow on you.”
Li Yi’s eyes turned cold, and he said no more.
Truly a Heaven’s Pride!
Although warriors have Warrior’s Premonition and mages have Mage’s Intuition, low-level practitioners still subconsciously rely on their eyes and ears.
This person relied completely on the warrior’s energy sense and premonition, belonging to the type with extremely high talent, the most troublesome and fearsome kind.
Li Yi assessed his remaining cards.
His Mana had recovered seventy percent.
His remaining equipment had been tested and was of little use.
To defeat him, perhaps he’d have to rely on this soon-to-form Bloodline Ability.