Chapter 21

1

"Qin Yang! I know why you oppose me." Marutian grinned as if once again seeing through me.

"Go ahead, tell me."

"It's not some feeble and hypocritical idea of saving the world. It's merely...the three realms, which you established order in, have veered off course. It's the challenge to your authority, more like the anger of a child whose toy has been taken away. You need to ask yourself deeply, it's not the Holy Dragon or the Demon Dragon, it's you!"

The possession of the three realms has been under self-control for one billion three hundred million years, but for me, it was just over a decade ago. Regardless of being a demon or a god, there will always be impulses to change what one cannot bear to see, coupled with the confidence that no matter how far one strays from the original form, they can always revert back to their true self. I have to say, saving the world is the Holy Dragon's idea, while the Demon Dragon's idea is to let the world be but to remain superior to all. What the combination of the two ideas turns into, I dare not say for sure. But it is completely impossible that Marutian's reasons are what he claims. When Marutian said those words, I couldn't help but suspect whether his reasons were truly reflected in everything I had done.

"I don't even know what the real reason is. I only know that the people I cherish the most are on the list of those you've destroyed. Just based on this, I should fight you to the end."

"If that's your only reason, then it's truly disappointing. If you don’t have the resolve of a true king, what right do you have to stand before me?"

I took a kick right in the abdomen, and Marutian's hand produced a spear. Although I blocked one spear, I was forcefully pushed back into The Human Realm. In that instant when the spear was thrown, I clearly saw Marutian's arm partially transform into that of a dragon, which only reaffirmed that the gap between Marutian and me was closing!

I came to a stop on the surface of The Human Realm's sea, and the abrupt halt caused the already turbulent sea to rise even higher. A silver dragon shadow appeared beneath my feet. Elena reacted swiftly, carrying me on her back as she dashed across the sea surface, just as Marutian's second spear approached.

"Isn’t it a stab in the belly?"

"All three dragon heads have been reduced to one, so there's no more stomach to stab!"

"What about the Fang of Yuyuan?"

"This is not the time for jokes, Elena! It would be troublesome if he still had the fang."

I still vividly remembered on the dragon tomb in The Demon Realm, Marutian removing the "stomach stab" from one of the three dragon heads, a long stab capable of spatial jumping.

Elena's five floating objects formed a cannon, delivering a powerful Dragon Breath Bomb to The Divine Realm!

Marutian's spear pierced through, slicing the Dragon Breath Bomb in half. The two halves exploded in the sky of The Divine Realm, prompting the gods to look up, hesitant to intervene in this inter-realm battle between dragons.

The explosion's airflow disturbed Marutian's long coat, but he remained undeterred, standing at the pinnacle of this battle.

"Qing, sing a verse of 'Ghostly Ode' for me!"

"I thought you no longer needed me to sing for you!"

"Consider it my way of livening up the atmosphere."

The voice of the Spirit Snake Princess echoed from The Divine Realm. Though the singing was melodic, it was detestable to the side incurring negative effects.

"With our current state, Qing's singing has little impact on us, and Qin Yang, you don't need to look so disgusted, right?"

"This is a modified version of the song of our Dragon Clan, if you don't like it, then you don't like it."

"Should we continue?"

"Knock him off the high platform!"

Elena's five floating objects formed sharp spikes, with a wave of her silver wings, she gracefully raised the dragon's head, under the cold and beautiful silver dragon, even the deep blue sea couldn't help but pale in comparison. The dragon's appearance contained rose-like spikes, without any toxin but enough to make people hesitate.

Standing at the highest point, Marutian showed no mercy, he was not fully transformed into a dragon but half of his body was covered in transparent dragon-like skin.

Translucent and colorless? So I could not see him as I accidentally slipped into that small world, but I could feel him. Dragon clan colors are chosen by themselves, the only chance to choose, who would choose transparency?

At this moment, Marutian punched through the floating objects, starting his attack on me. The swords of light and darkness were both in my hands, the two swords unleashed their greatest power, the silver dragon figure burst out from my body, shattering the last remnants of the temple. The energy of light and darkness intertwined swept through the clouds, breaking apart the entire cloud layer in the sky, unveiling the long-lost blue sky for the gods on the ground.

"Did it work?" Elena eagerly asked.

"It's never that easy! Let's do it again."

A spear pierced through a gap in Elena's floating objects, I released one sword and grabbed the spear with one hand. Unexpectedly, there was a long energy line tied at the end of the spear. With a sudden tug from the other side, I fell from Elena's back. Protected by Elena's magic, I was unharmed, but I hit hard on the mountain where the palace was originally built. Elena rushed over with a dragon roar echoing through the sky, both sides stood still on the spot.

"How about it, Qin Yang! Have you decided to transform into a dragon?"

"Cough…" Being hit made me lose balance a bit, but I managed to stand up again with determination.

The "Demon-burning Sword" split into hundreds of sword shadows, as Marutian took a step and moved between the sword shadows. In the next step, he was in front of me, thrusting his spear with one hand, while the sword shadows returned to my side to counter the spear.

"Qin Yang, I fear nothing but you not transforming into a dragon. But if you don't transform, you won't be able to change what's in front of you. You have no choice now!"

"Dragon transformation happens in an instant!" My upper body was half-transformed into a dragon, the golden energy threads formed a framework for the transformation, incomplete transformation meant I couldn't refine a dragon's core, which was a condensed form of a dragon's body, unless there was a dragon bone! Dragon bone? I had the Dragon Bone Greatsword, a spine left behind before the split! But unfortunately, the magical power was not enough.

"Let me remind you, the Dragon Spirit Contract is not just an engagement, it's also a weapon for battle! You know this better than me."

"What do you want me to transform into a dragon for? Or do you want my transformation into a dragon to bring about the world's destruction?"

"Neither! But if you don't transform into a dragon soon, I will show you what The Human Realm Inferno truly means!"

Marutian extended his hand and let a drop of blood fall into the open spatial hole. It was this drop of blood that turned the Fallen Angel back into a virtuous Angel. A drop of this blood touching any living being could turn them into a dangerous entity. Especially this guy's blood, the fallen three-headed dragon had already drenched a sea with it, whatever mutations that would come would not be as terrible as this guy's single drop of blood.

"Chase after that drop of blood!" Elena and I jumped into the spatial hole, intercepting the drop of blood in mid-air in an attempt to eliminate it.

"Qin Yang, if there's no other way, then you should give it a try!"

"Elena?"

Elena quickly flew back to The Divine Realm. Marutian watched as we all settled back down on his throne. Yu Yuanqing sat on his lap, gently tending to the wound he had suffered.

"There's no need for us to fight anymore. I'll give you some time to think. Look at the strange signs appearing in the distance at The Divine Realm. It's said that omens from the heavens are ominous, yet the gods of The Divine Realm seem clueless. It won't be long before The Divine Realm experiences elemental depletion. The war that occurred today in the Othrie Empire will likely play out in all the countries."

"Stealing energy?"

"Yes, energy in The Divine Realm has always been the scarcest in the Three Realms. Forcing our way to harvest the vast clouds above is just one manifestation of that scarcity."

I glanced back at Elena, silently understanding that before fully transforming into a dragon, I must first undergo a partial transformation. If Marutian were to use a method akin to that of a three-headed dragon to transform, a complete transformation might not necessarily defeat me. Moreover, his original body was still sealed beneath the magma, and surely that would affect his strength post-transformation. So, why not give it a try?

"Elena, do you think it's worth trying a partial dragon transformation using the covenant?"

"Assuming that both of you have equal dragon powers after transformation and that the initial values of partial transformation are the same, but you both make use of dragon spirit covenants, Marutian only has a Five-style covenant while you have at least two Five-style covenants, right?" Elena gave me an unusual look, a subtlety that only I knew: "Moreover, the power of covenants may not be simply additive!"

Recalling the battle with the Fire Dragon Sislofi, the eruption of power was astounding after borrowing Li Liu's power. Also, since Li Liu represented the actualization of the world's power from The Human Realm, I had the support of an entire world behind me!

"Everyone, can you gather your strength and lend it to me?"

"We will live and die with our dearest you!" I was surprised by the unanimous response from the girls, tears glistening in their eyes. We were all once peaceful and content students at the academy. The youthful campus life seemed like a recent memory. From Elena's first appearance to Hanya challenging me as the academy's "First Knight," and Wenxin's constant visits to wake me from slumber, to the companionship of electricity and food brought by Xiao Qiong and Xiao Yao, my beautiful roommate Qin Ying... Yes! The reason for my reckless battle with Marutian wasn't driven by lofty ideals of saving the world or protecting previous orders; throughout it all, Marutian was holding the girls hostage under his covenants. My fight was to help them return to their rightful campus lives, to save their lives, to protect everything about them... Saving the world was just a byproduct! And it was this presumptuous fellow before me who disrupted our lives.

"I've figured it out!"

"What have you figured out now?" Marutian suddenly realized that I seemed indiscernible.

"Since the two dragons, the Holy and the Evil, have merged into one soul, my thoughts have been in disarray. What am I really saving this world for? There's no reason why the world demands that I save it, and yet I feel compelled to. Wouldn't that be foolish of me? The truth is, I can't bear to leave this world behind, along with its people and the life we've built here. I'm not saving the world, I'm saving my life. I could have just enjoyed my high school days peacefully, but now I'm troubled by how to save my life. The dragons and the Three Realms had coexisted tranquilly for ages, and yet you had to shatter our peace! Marutian, you truly are a selfish and despicable dragon!"

"Oh? And so what? I've generously told you the reason I destroyed the world, and now you're blaming me?"

"Well, I'm just expressing my feelings! Next, I will tell you that my choice is definitely not to become a dragon... but I can achieve semi-dragonization using your method!"

My forehead burned hot, and I felt the power from the girls, the collision of magic expanding. Elena was drained of all power, reverting back to human form and collapsing, while my body was covered in golden energy lines. The semi-dragonization was no longer a framework structure as my body was surrounded by the golden Flame of Punishment, dragon-like armor skin replacing my human skin. In the flames, I saw the shadow of semi-dragonization.

"Qing, give me your power too!" Marutian blocked Qing's mouth, ruthlessly extracting the power of the Spirit Snake Princess to counter me.

Stepping out in the flames, a dragon bone greatsword appeared at my feet, with the "Demon Incinerator Sword" inserted into the greatsword serving as the hilt. The wind from swinging the greatsword scattered the golden flames.

"I have completely semi-dragonized, thanks for reminding me!"

"Ahaha! Qin Yang, only in this state do you have a fighting chance. After I defeat you, you will surely crave dragonization even more!"

With the massive curtain of light from The Divine Realm above, another great battle of the dragon race begins, with the gods who seek survival having long evacuated this place of turmoil.

The three worlds are also trembling, and I can feel the world trying to expel us, but it is difficult to accomplish!