Aside from the grotesque noise of Zi Ji's body constantly enlarging as her shape took the form of a real dragon and began to blot out the sky itself due to her sheer mass, Ja Sun found himself staring at others with a stifling silence. Resisting his urge to roll his eyes back, his wings glowing akin to holy light, he seemed to deter the female Deep Sea Demonic Whale.
Ja Sun kept his gaze on Di Tian.
"Leave our king," a cold female voice broke Ja Sun's attention as he looked at the almost violet-haired woman. His stare turned the slightest bit cold while his smile gained his characteristical craze, "Make me."
Still, the woman didn't seem to make a move and cautiously glanced at Zi Ji whose large wings took shape.
Furrowing his brows, Ja Sun couldn't help but gaze at Zi Ji. Even now, other spirit beasts refused to move. He could feel their intent to attack but something stopped them and he couldn't help but feel that this factor was none other than Zi Ji.
"If it wasn't for you..." Zi Ji's cold whisper sounded more bestial which suited her current form. As if her transformation had reached its final touches, her almost ink-purplish scale began to reflect light but her jet black eyes seemed to devour it. Standing at the height of more than 200 meters and a wingspan of 500, the Abyss Demon Dragon locked her gazes with Ja Sun as if she couldn't see how easily one of the strongest beasts of the world itself was currently in his arm, knocked out cold.
"If it wasn't for you..." Zi Ji repeated herself. Her giant mouth parted slightly and the entire region was covered by the terrible, blood-curdling stench emanating from her mouth that screamed of countless massacres the beast had ensued.
"She would still be here..." A dark domain began to spread out, causing other beasts to unwillingly move away. Zi Ji kept the speed of her domain in check. While the beasts familiar to her may let go of the offense, should she include the foreigners, they would stop giving her face and attack without a single thought. After all, Domain wasn't just a skill in its purest essence but one's true fortress. No beast would feel comfortable being pulled into a foreign domain.
The female whale looked at the man in Ja Sun's arms and reluctantly left but Ja Sun was now being distinctively aware of the hidden joy in her eyes which surprised him, only slightly.
"Hey, I didn't exile her. Why don't you blame the person who did banish her, eh? Anyway, once I'm done, I might just find Bi Ji. I quite like her nature... hehe, I'll send you the pictures of me showing her the sights," Ja Sun chuckled, goading with his outrageous words as every beast of the King's Lair felt their blood boiling in rage, including Di Tian, but Zi Ji grew eerily calm. Her giant, truck-sized eyes gazed at the two golden rings around Ja Sun's hands and her voice rumbled again, "Two million-year-old spirit rings... human, your sins know no bound... But I will kill you today."
The dark domain finally covered Ja Sun and he let it cover him. He instantly felt suppressed. 20%, he estimated. But aside from the usual suppression, Ja Sun knew that each domain has a special ability similar to how Bi Ji could cause opponents' life force to lose its effects to he was curious to see what almost 400000-year-old Zi Ji had to offer in that regard.
"Isn't that adorable," He replied with ease. His realm of self ensured a perfect control of his spirit energy so after using his Silver Burst and Silver Light Wings once, Ja Sun didn't constantly consume spirit energy, and even if he did... his core had an abundance of spirit energy to the point that he could fight at his best for days!
Yet, Ja Sun still stuck with his two-most plain skills. When the Bright Goddess Butterfly broke into a million-year-old rank by absorbing the soul origin of the Iceworm, her spirit rings turned into golden while her skills not only enhanced but also had an addition with each ring. Still, Ja Sun was a little despondent that the additions weren't too much. Only his first and second spirit ring gained an additional skill but his third one was completely transformed into something new which balanced out the quantity with quality. Ja Sun felt that it had something to do with the spirit soul itself.
Just as how a human can develop spirit skills aside from devouring them from spirit beasts, spirit beasts, too, can develop spirit skills given time. As the first of her species to reach the million-year-old realm, it was natural that the Bright Goddess Butterfly had a lot of potential now but the lack of time revealed how little she could actually emphasize her strength. It was alright, though. Ja Sun was partially satisfied with his gains. He will be fully satisfied once he wipes the ground with the beasts.
Seeing Ja Sun as dauntless as ever, Zi Ji narrowed her eyelids prominently while a dark vortex began to form in front of her.
Spirit beasts, all of them, gave clear to the region surrounded by her domain. Unfortunately, trees couldn't move.
As the vortex began to grow, Ja Sun felt a pull.
"Attractive force?" He looked curious and then glanced at the spirit beast in human form in his hands. This only made things difficult for him. Although he could draw arrays and form spirit rings that support life for a little while... he never had the use for it since Bibi Dong had one of those rings. Welcoming the challenge, however, he looked at the dark orb the vortex congealed into as the attractive force grew exponentially. Even the air visible twirled as it was getting sucked into the orb while trees began to uproot. Grain after grain of soil floated upwards and the space twisted around the dark orb in a rather terrifying manner.
"Say what you will about her... destruction attribute remains as dangerous as ever..." The jade-eyed girl narrowed her eyes with a hint of caution while the Heavenly Snow Maiden next to her nodded calmly.
"This attribute gives her the right to be boisterous but this attribute itself will be her doom. Does she even train her skills? Oi, Di Tian, how can you not make such a subordinate more efficient?" The Evileye Tyrant seemed in a pleasant mood seeing how... pathetic Zi Ji's display of power really was.
Di Tian, however, deigned not to reply to the eye. Since they are going to battle in time, words had already lost their meaning.
Still, Di Tian used his divine intent to contact Zi Ji, "See that you can secure the body of that Whale... he can be used to not only power her transformation but can also be used to nourish all of our cultivation."
Di Tian's words caused Zi Ji to falter for a moment as she glanced at the body under Ja Sun's pit. It was a humorous sight. A little above 2 meters high human carrying a beast converted from a thousand meters to just three in his human form.
Agreeing to Di Tian's words silently, she powered the orb even more and Ja Sun noticed himself beginning to float towards the orb. Soon, the speed picked up and he flew towards the orb at a great pace. Just as everyone was beginning to believe that Ja Sun was all talk no show, and just when the Female Whale had her eyes glowing in anticipation, not for the spirit beast to come out of Ja Sun's hand but to fall in Zi Ji's claws, Ja Sun suddenly flapped his wings.
A strong burst of wind suddenly formed around him, stopping his flow while a gigantic, glowing phantom of a gorgeous butterfly emerged behind him, shrouding his form protectively.
"What's that spirit beast?" One of the 100000-year-old spirit beasts inquired and someone more knowledgeable murmured, "Looks like a Bright Goddess Butterfly... but it's different."
The butterfly's form seemed to have... gone a step further.
"Say, can I call you Zi Ji?" Ja Sun, meanwhile, stood in front of the hill-sized dark orb and smiled, "Did you know that a Bright Goddess Butterfly has hidden, almost extinct dragon lineage? Neither did I until some things changed. But this is an entirely new species, a better variant of a Bright Goddess Butterfly... what should I name her?"
Every spirit beast has a high chance to evolve after the 100000-year mark. Some beasts— rarer ones— like the Emerald Swans, don't. Bright Goddess Butterfly fell into the former category and her spirit soul soon evolved. Yet... what could she be called? As the first of her species to evolve into something new, the butterfly's suicidal tendencies had grown mellow but utterly unbothered by the name itself, she left things for Ja Sun to decide.
And Ja Sun, too, utterly unbothered by name decided to ask the next individual willing to communicate with him even if out of sheer rage— Zi Ji.
"The fuck I know!" Zi Ji screamed, a violet flash of life emerged from the pitch-black orb and instantly began to crumble the phantom of the butterfly surrounding Ja Sun.
This phantom construct was the second spirit skill of his second spirit ring alongside the Silver Light Wings.
Silver Goddess Convergence.
Zi Ji came to know firsthand that this construct wasn't as simple as it seemed.
"Oh? What is this attribute? It's the first time I've come across something so... destructive," Ja Sun still floated without being bothered by the attractive force of the black hole in front of him and the purple essence crumbling the silver phantom. A large section of the ground had been cleared off of trees and shrubbery with sand constantly rising and getting devoured by the ball in the middle.
"Eh?" Zi Ji felt ominous for reasons unknown to her. She found the phantom looking at her... as if alive.
Every centimeter of the phantom destroyed not only caused the surrounding pressure to increase but she could feel... Ja Sun getting stronger.
As if sensing something wrong, Zi Ji halted her attack momentarily but Ja Sun only questioned her, "How does Holy Empress Butterfly sound? Hmm, a little too much. But she's gotten so strong and she usually sulks in a corner so I might just give her a more uplifting name..."
Thinking for a second, Ja Sun shook his head, "Well, I got none..."
The butterfly was destined to remain depressed in his world of consciousness, to flutter her wings about and then stay in one corner, silently cultivating...
After, Bright Goddess was already a cheerful name but it was probably her past experiences that caused her to be depressed, something that can only be healed by time.
In a deadlock, Zi Ji was inclined to believe that the skill Ja Sun had manifested wasn't as simple as a phantom construct. Questions like why Ja Sun was treating his spirit rings as if alive could be thought after killing him. Not to remain passive, Zi Ji opened her large mouth, revealing to Ja Sun her sharp set of interesting fangs that would grind anything that did enter her mouth... yet, Ja Sun seemed unimpressed. As great as a giant body sounded, Ja Sun had already found such forms... cumbersome. Dai Taiyin, who lost to Ja Sun, would now agree that the Spirit Avatar wasn't as much of a boon as a spirit master might expect.
Her mouth instantly snapped forward, clenching against Ja Sun entirely and swallowing him in one go. The fangs tore into the construct while she even swallowed the black hole she had formed. Still, the attack didn't pull her long tongue and destroy it. Instead, it lost its effects for a moment while the floating sand drizzled onto the dry ground with a hint of green. In fact, due to constant devouring, quite a bit of layer of the ground had been lost forever, making the area within Zi Ji's domain descent into a gentle slope that formed an even bowl.
From the outside, everything seemed to have regained its calm. Di Tian's gaze glittered since Zi Ji secured the body of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale alongside the human who had million-year-old spirit rings... he was curious about the human's identity.
Just when Di Tian was beginning to think about flanking the foreign spirit beasts and making them cough out natural treasures for their arrogant display, he looked towards Zi Ji with a hint of caution.
*Rumble*
*Chhkkk*
A terrible, gut-wrenching sound echoed as a tiny figure tore out of the mouth of the giant, jet purple dragon. Unlike its tiny size... the hole the human pierced was simply... unimaginable.
Almost ten meters in diameter!
Drenched in blood, Ja Sun equipped a mocking grin. His silver fur and hair now gained a comforting color of dark crimson with a hint of gold, ascertaining that the true dragon in front of him may not have the higher quality of energy but her body was already half-step into it.
*Roar*
Pain fueled her rage as Zi Ji roared, unleashing the giant orb once again but the moment she opened her maws, those with amazing eyesight found that the hole Ja Sun tore was simply... too clean.
"Shouldn't you be thanking me?" Ja Sun's wings unfurled as he flew back and laughed, "I didn't piss in your mouth or tore out from another direction, effectively ending your life. Oh, sweety, next time, find out the true nature of my skills before pulling such a stunt or you wouldn't even be able to see the things Bi Ji enjoys later."
His words only made the true dragon more unnerved. Even if half-step divine in terms of the body... a physique of a dragon wasn't something a human could tear through without regard!
How?
The only culprit, in Zi Ji's mind, was that phantom...
She was distinctively aware of the force that Ja Sun suddenly erupted with and he could have torn into her body as easily as he tore out from her mouth, giving her left nostril a piercing, effectively. Still, as her flesh regrew, she let the devouring orb float while a purple wisp of energy that seemed to destroy everything in its path shot out to chase Ja Sun once again.
With every second, Ja Sun had to exert more and more. His silver burst now working in full display with his upper pair of wings.
Now that his silver burst was a million-year-old skill, every end of the limb was enhanced by 300%.
This meant that his upper two wings had the enhancement of 1200% each!
The speed alone was taxing to his body.
But the slight injuries only made Ja Sun more entertained to play with the beast in front of him.
"I don't believe you can use that skill continuously!" Zi Ji proclaimed loudly once her injuries healed naturally but her scales had yet to grow in that region.
"Aight, bet?"
Ja Sun grinned.
Stopping right where he was as the phantom of the same graceful butterfly appeared around him once again. The purple devouring light began to eat away at the construct as Ja Sun soon grew closer to the dark orb and the construct bent around the devouring orb.
Ja Sun continued to match his gaze with the stunned Zi Ji who couldn't believe that he would reveal the same strength once again.
Yet, the moment the construct was devoured completely, the purple light flashed again and almost ate away at his head when his second spirit ring glimmered once again and the Silver Goddess Convergence ballooned up, forming a flimsy line of defense as Ja Sun punched out.
*Crackle*
Scales tore out of Zi Ji's face, her horns had cracks spreading out as her heart shuddered in horror!
"You!" She screamed as if realizing what was going on. The purple light vanished and the orb was swallowed promptly.
"Aww... done already?" Ja Sun smiled sadly as if a wonderful toy had been taken from him.
"Abyss Demon Dragon... although they are well-versed with darkness attribute... in reality, they are darlings of the destruction attribute. I can assume that the purple light of energy was the destruction attribute, right? If so... then the orb was the mix of darkness and destruction attribute. Darkness attribute is the heaviest of all elements and if stranded in an empty space with high concentration, it will form its own attractive force that even bends light... mixed with the destruction attribute, it can look like the orb is devouring its surroundings when really, the destruction attribute is reducing the things absorbed to nothingness.
Did I get it right?" Ja Sun smiled and inquired, "This is your domain's special skill, right? But I can also assume that a spirit beast of your caliber may have trained in this skill to use it without the domain..."
Zi Ji flinched while Di Tian narrowed his eyes.
"Insightful," Heavenly Snow Maiden murmured. As if offended, the girl next to her pouted, "He isn't that smart... I could understand it at a glance, too..."
Looking at her, the woman smiled, "Then what about the human's skill? Can you tell me what that particular skill is all about?"
Ice Jade Scorpion felt stifled as she looked away.
Meanwhile, Ja Sun waved his hand and the phantom construct disappeared, "I actually don't like using this skill all that much... it's just too depressing."
Zi Ji failed to understand the implications but knew that... the human hadn't gone all out. She was attacked twice and got injured twice while the Spirit Sage human only had injuries from his own actions...
The thought of it humiliated her but...
There was more to come. Ja Sun would make sure of that.
"So? Can you describe my own skill? I just dismantled yours, after all."
"You're using my own attack against me," Zi Ji barked.
"Exactly," Ja Sun snapped his fingers with a pleasant expression.
The reason why Ja Sun called the butterfly suicidal wasn't only because of the fact that she was so depressed that she appeared in front of him to have him take her life but also this skill itself exemplified her... nature.
The Silver Goddess Convergence was a phantom that would absorb the energy of each attack landing on it. The energy would be stored in a spot of Ja Sun's choosing and when the entirety of the construct is destroyed, Ja Sun can unleash the accumulated attack he suffered in a single strike.
Or, he could absorb the energy to temporarily increase his base strength but the upper limit to this part was only 300%. So, if the accumulated energy could increase his strength by 350%, the remaining 50% would be forced out.
Of course, understanding that the sheer energy accumulated through destruction attribute, devouring orb, and getting swallowed by Zi Ji would be way beyond 300% enhancement, Ja Sun decided to unleash the attack in her mouth and tear out of her. It was with the same biting force of the dragon within a dragon where no scales protected her skin.
That's why Ja Sun was so sure that he would have easily killed Zi Ji in that move itself. She was reckless and failed to grab the true essence of his skill.
Zi Ji had a terrible expression. Her enlarged physique had become her very weakness at this point. But she wouldn't be able to show her true strength if she wasn't in her prime form and now she realized that to deal with this extraordinary... and infuriating human, she needed to be in this—
Not letting her think further, Ja Sun's wings flapped and he suddenly appeared in front of Zi Ji's left eye.
*Bang*
Hoisting the whale king in his arms by his legs, Ja Sun smashed the body into Zi Ji's face.
Compared to the Million-year-old beast with adequate strength even in his human form, it was Zi Ji who suffered from the attack.
"Come on? Fight back!" Ja Sun laughed. Even in her own domain, Ja Sun appeared in various spots, beating Zi Ji with another spirit beast.
Each strike drew scaled.
Each strike drew blood!
Each strike numbed her.
She clawed at him yet he disappeared, uppercutting her promptly as her body shifted up by the sheer force of it.
"Should... we help her?" The large bear whispered. Di Tian's expression was dignified at this point.
"Hahahaha! What a dragon?! Di Tian, your kind is somewhat pathetic. No wonder the Bringers of Pain—"
"Not another word, you fool!" Di Tian roared at the Evileye Tyrant while confusion took over many spirit beasts. Only Di Tian seemed to understand what the eye was talking about.
"Hehe, those rules don't apply to those who have lived the era... But come on, if it is a battle you want, it is a battle you shall have! I came here to take away the second Auspicious Emperor but that Human is of no use to either of us. He will die. But only the winner will have the spoils, right?"
The Evileye Tyrant exposed what was within Di Tian's mind, "That human and that whale... although marred by a god, that beast is too nourishing to be left in your pathetic, scally claws. Your kind has grown worthless. The era of dragons is over!
I will be taking that human's corpse, and the whale's body. Of course, of all of us here... only you and I can compete for it so let's!"
The Female Whale bit her lower lip yet she almost failed to hide the joy in her eyes.
Adopting a deferred stance as if deterred by the might of the King of Beasts and the Evileye Tyrant, the woman lowered her head and kept her attention on the fight where her male counterpart was used as a battering hammer of sorts to physically violate the giant dragon that couldn't keep up with the human anymore.
In terms of strength, skills, adaptability, and insight... the human eclipsed the usually proud Abyss Demon Dragon!
As shocking as the sight was, many beasts were sure that if they weren't seeing it for themselves... they wouldn't have believed it.
"Fight you?" Di Tian's frown vanished while the trace of mockery grew more prominent in his eyes, "Evileye... you're truly a fool..."
A massive pressure locked the region in an instant, causing every other spirit beast to feel their heart palpitate at the show of might while an unprecedented somberness flashed in the Evileye's... eye.
*Crash*
Their confrontation was interrupted by Zi Ji's body crashing into the gentle bowl formed within her domain. Her body was still regenerating from various areas. She only chose to descent to keep Ja Sun from using every blindside of her to his advantage. Her abdomen was currently littered with injuries!
Still flaying the bloodied Deep Sea Demonic Whale in his hands, Ja Sun appeared in front of Zi Ji.
"Oh? Lost? Then I shall take my trophy," he chuckled, revealing a sense of carelessness Zi Ji found it hard not to make use of!
In an instant, a giant vortex of destruction and darkness attribute was blasted out of her mouth!
A breath attack that threatened to destroy the major portion of the forest if Zi Ji hadn't curved it to fly upwards.
Seeing that not even a single part of Ja Sun was left... Zi Ji grew satisfied. But she suddenly recalled Ja Sun's weapon— the whale.
Her attack shouldn't have destroyed his body...
"Naive little sweetheart," As if the devil's whisper, Ja Sun's chuckle echoed while Zi Ji found him stepping down on her nostrils.
Ja Sun smiled and suddenly revealed a skull-sized light magenta scale.
On her entire body... there was only one magenta scall that stood out from the rest, dark ink-purple scales.
"I'll kill you!" Zi Ji roared seeing her reverse scale in his hand.
The loss of reverse scale is purely... decorative because once lost, a dragon can never reform this scale. The spot where the scale is torn from would remain void of any scale and the only way to be complete once again is by snatching the scale.
"No, you won't. You've had your chance, alas, I'm a man that cannot be fettered to a single woman. Let's have a more entertaining... whatever this was, next time," Three of Ja Sun's eyes glowed as Zi Ji fell unconscious that very instant.
Meanwhile, Ja Sun pocketed the reverse scale.
To a dragon, nothing would be more humiliating than losing her reverse scale.
"Now then," Ja Sun turned to look at the group of beasts with a hint of exhaustion in his eyes due to pushing his divine intent further than it was once again while waving the giant of a man in his hands, "Whose my next opponent?"
***
Shoutout to Sedeho, Zero_Requim, Peter Evans, IH, Shadi Elmowafi, Luziffer!
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