Free Web NovelChapter 88: Chapter 88: Dragon’s Might
Wang Rong held nothing back, striking with his full power. It was clear that Shen Daoxing would be pulverized by such a monumental blow.
"Idiot! Run! You’re just throwing your life away!"
Ling Shuanghua cried out in alarm. She tried to stand and intervene, but searing pain shot through her body. GAGGING, she spat out a large mouthful of blood, too weak to move an inch.
’Am I going to have to watch another disciple of my Sword Institute die right in front of me?’
A sharp pain twisted in Ling Shuanghua’s heart. She turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear watching.
Of course, Shen Daoxing knew that with his cultivation at the Eighth Layer of the Profound Platform Realm, he was no match for a Spirit Transformation Realm master. But he acted this way because he had an ace up his sleeve.
"Senior, if you don’t make a move, I’m going to die here today, and the Venerable Domain will close once more."
Shen Daoxing’s consciousness entered the Venerable Domain and shouted.
Outside, the massive handprint in front of Wang Rong crushed forward with unstoppable momentum. Everywhere it passed, the ground cracked and trees were splintered to bits, leaving a wake of utter devastation.
Wang Rong sneered, feeling the kid before him was grossly overestimating his own abilities. ’And to think Ren Changfeng considered him the greatest future threat to Celestial City Academy and begged me to intervene.’
’Using a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken!’
Wang Rong lowered his hand, feeling that the whole affair was rather dull.
However, just as he lowered his hand...
...a brilliant red light suddenly erupted from within Shen Daoxing’s body.
"ROAR!"
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering dragon’s cry suddenly boomed from within him.
Immediately after, a colossal red figure materialized behind Shen Daoxing, resembling an ancient demonic dragon as it coiled high in the air.
With the appearance of the colossal red figure and beneath the sound of the immense dragon’s cry...
...the massive, unstoppable handprint that had been crushing down on him instantly vanished, as if it had been erased from existence.
Shen Daoxing stood before him, completely unscathed.
"Hm?"
Wang Rong froze, staring in astonishment at the massive Blood Dragon before him.
Then, he suddenly burst into laughter. "HAHAHA, who would have thought! So you had a trick like this up your sleeve, kid. It seems I underestimated you earlier! No wonder Ren Changfeng took you so seriously!"
Only now was Wang Rong’s interest piqued. He watched Shen Daoxing with great curiosity, feeling that only now was the boy worthy of a Spirit Transformation Realm master’s serious attention.
Immediately, his aura surged, seeming to rise from the very earth. He raised his hand high and slapped it down. A massive black mountain that blotted out the sun materialized, poised to suppress everything in its path. It would kill gods who stood in its way and slay buddhas who dared to block it, descending with the force of a thousand thunderbolts.
Only then did the Blood Dragon behind Shen Daoxing deign to look directly at Wang Rong.
"Ant."
The Blood Dragon showed no joy or sorrow, its expression completely blank. It spoke that one word dispassionately, then casually opened its mouth and spat a gout of Long Yan.
As Wang Rong met the Blood Dragon’s icy gaze, he suddenly realized something was terribly wrong. An inexplicable fear welled up from the depths of his heart, and his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably before he could even understand why.
The Blood Dragon’s Long Yan had already shot forth. The black mountain in his hands met it for but an instant before melting away like ice and snow.
"Huh?"
Stunned, Wang Rong slapped his palm down again, sending a massive, illusory handprint pressing forward to block the oncoming Long Yan. Only then did he realize just how terrifying the Blood Dragon before him was—what kind of existence was he facing!
His Spiritual Qi offered no resistance against it whatsoever; the illusory handprint was effortlessly pierced through.
Wang Rong’s eyes widened. He stared blankly down at his own body. Before he could even register the pain, he discovered that his arms and legs had already been mostly melted away by the Long Yan.
’This...’
Wang Rong was aghast. The Blood Dragon’s power was far, far greater than his own. It was above the Spirit Transformation Realm, at the Concentration Realm... no, it was far, far beyond even that.
’But why would such a terrifying existence obey the commands of a mere Profound Platform Realm boy?’
This was Wang Rong’s last thought.
Because in the next moment, his entire body was incinerated by the Long Yan, burned so completely that he vanished into ash and smoke. Not a single trace remained, as if he had never existed at all.
Ling Shuanghua kept her eyes shut, unable to bear the thought of watching another disciple from her Sword Institute die horribly before her.
But after a short while, everything around her fell completely silent.
Ling Shuanghua’s heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling. She wanted to open her eyes but was terrified of seeing Shen Daoxing’s mangled corpse.
She waited for a long time. When the silence persisted, she slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Shen Daoxing’s gentle smile.
Ling Shuanghua froze, finding it hard to believe. She never would have imagined that Shen Daoxing would be standing before her, perfectly fine and completely unharmed.
Then, a thought struck her. She turned her head and scanned the surroundings, but there was no sign of Wang Rong.
Ling Shuanghua was stunned. "What about that old villain, Wang Rong?"
"’That old villain, Wang Rong?’"
Shen Daoxing paused for a moment, then realized who Ling Shuanghua was referring to.
At that moment, the Blood Dragon’s voice echoed in Shen Daoxing’s mind: "Do not speak of my existence to outsiders!"
Shen Daoxing had no intention of revealing his secret, of course. He smiled calmly and said, "He ran away!"
"Ran away?"
Ling Shuanghua’s eyes widened in disbelief. Celestial City Academy and their Sword Institute had always been like fire and water. This time, they had come for revenge; there was no way they would give up so easily.
"I heard the cry of a dragon just now."
Ling Shuanghua said suspiciously after a moment of thought.
"That’s right!"
Shen Daoxing nodded and said with a straight face, "Just now, at the critical moment, an earth-shattering dragon cry suddenly rang out from somewhere. It was as if Wang Rong saw something terrifying, and he fled in a panic!"
’Impossible! She knew those bastards from Celestial City Academy better than anyone. They would never give up such a perfect opportunity so easily.’
Ling Shuanghua froze. She recalled how confident Shen Daoxing had looked earlier. ’Could it be...’
A thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened as she gave Shen Daoxing a strange look.
But no matter how she looked at Shen Daoxing, he was just an ordinary Profound Platform Realm disciple. She shook her head, dismissing the wild idea from her mind.
Just then, Shen Daoxing suddenly crouched down, lifted Ling Shuanghua onto his back, and sprinted toward the distant mountain forest.
"What are you doing?"
Ling Shuanghua was momentarily stunned.
"Even though Wang Rong left, there’s no guarantee he won’t come back. Staying here is not a good idea."
After a short while, Shen Daoxing arrived at the foot of a mountain. With a few waves of his hand, several flashes of sword light shot out and blasted a large hole in the cliff face.
After expanding the opening, Shen Daoxing carried Ling Shuanghua into the cave.
Shen Daoxing summoned Ying Er from the Venerable Domain, ordering him to secretly guard the outside of the cave in case anyone else from Celestial City Academy appeared.
Then, Shen Daoxing went inside, sealed the entrance, and began to cultivate.
Since Celestial City Academy had been able to set an ambush here, there was no telling if more dangers awaited them on the road back. With Ling Shuanghua so heavily injured, rushing back now was definitely not the best choice.
The best option was to wait for Ling Shuanghua to recover from her injuries and then find a way back to the imperial city. In the meantime, Shen Daoxing could also seize the opportunity to cultivate.
