Chapter 22

1

On the Clouds of the Divine Realm, two forces clashed, splitting open the earth of The Divine Realm. The rocky ground where palaces once stood was reduced to a mere few square meters in the blink of an eye. At this moment, only two exhausted beauties remained, stubbornly holding on amidst the rubble.

"Qing, I used to believe in myself. I thought the people I chose would never turn their swords against each other."

"I can only say, Elena, you were too confident. Perhaps you lacked experience back then, thinking that by secretly running to The Human Realm and paving the way for Qin Yang, he would be infinitely grateful and stay with you forever. The fact is, no one can fully get what they want. The price of resurrection is not the same as the reward you seek!" Qing's gaze lingered on the fierce battle in the sky, where all kinds of visions emerged, yet not a single harm befell the ground beneath them.

"Being with Marutian, don't you seek anything in return?"

"I don't seek tangible things. The only..." Qing didn't finish his sentence.

"The only thing is that you still have expectations. By helping Marutian destroy the world, what will the outcome be, and what do you have left to look forward to? Do you expect to become the founding ancestor with Marutian after the world ends? If it were me, I wouldn't expect him to leave a place for you after the apocalypse."

"Elena, you and I both know that our contractual relationship ties our lives together. Without me, there would be no him."

"Don't forget he can tear up the contract!"

"That's because you've forgotten who you truly love! Even if he wants to shake me off, what he ultimately pursues is what I most desire to see! It's a result I've longed for!"

"Qing, what kind of outcome do you really want to see? What is there in this world that still doesn't satisfy you?"

"Just like you and Qin Yang, always trying to understand each other's reasons for destroying the world. Do you think war wouldn't happen if we knew the reasons? Would today's events not have occurred without reasons? The answer is, none of this would change."

If Elena had any strength left now, she would definitely want to strangle the man. Depriving others of the right to survive without reason, making everything in the world disappear without reason, would a world starting anew be any better? The expansion of the divine race, the conflicts in The Demon Realm, the innovations in The Human Realm, they all just want to see their desired outcomes in this world.

"Qing, is there no tie for you within the Three Realms? And what about Li Liu? Have you forgotten the time we spent together?"

"I haven't forgotten! It's just... I don't like seeing Qin Yang!"

"Qin Yang? Do you still resent the Sacred Dragon not being enticed by your song?"

"It's not just that!" Qing seemed to recall memories of indescribable hell. She tightly gripped the cloak around her shoulders, her nails as if ready to tear through. Her voice choked up for a moment before she continued, "Despite being cherished countless times in The Demon Realm, why did I go to The Divine Realm to tempt a piece of stone!"

Elena gently furrowed her brows, already figuring it out. "The Demon Dragon sent you, didn't it?"

"Although at the time, I wanted to challenge my limits, but without the sweet words of the Demon Dragon, I wouldn't have had the courage to go to The Divine Realm and face the ridicule of the Sacred Dragon. And then came the humiliation from the Demon Dragon... and ultimately, I was eaten alive by the Demon Dragon! Even in the underworld, I couldn't find peace. Pluto said that countless souls died from my singing, and they needed to be satisfied for him to reincarnate one by one so that I could await my own rebirth! The life of the Spirit Snake Princess is long. In the depths of the underworld, in that disgusting hell, there is a place for me..."

In the teardrop light of Yu Yuanqing, Elena slowly saw strength and resilience. From a chronological perspective, the Spirit Snake Princess died before the battle of gods and demons. It was at least 13 million years ago when she regained her memory along with Guffy at the bottom of the pyramid and encountered Marutian's dragon head. Time can be terrifying.

"Elena, do you want to experience the feeling of being chewed in the dragon's mouth as well? I promise you won't forget it."

Suddenly, Qin Yang dove from high above, passing through the clouds behind Yu Yuanqing. The three formed a straight line, with Qin Yang turning around to unleash a dragon air burst containing elements of light and darkness, piercing through the clouds. He was impaled by Marutian's spear, causing the explosion of light and darkness, turning The Divine Realm into a fast-paced day-night cycle. Elena watched Qin Yang on the ground, feeling as if everything was somehow connected to him at that moment. The saying "he who ties the bell must untie it" seemed like Qin Yang was destined to be there.

"I am delighted, Qin Yang!"

Looking up in the sky, I saw Marutian's smile, and it filled me with anger. I couldn't tolerate this sense of superiority!

"Sky Fire Kirin!"

The golden fire Kirin made up of the Flame of Punishment leaped onto Marutian, flashing its teeth. Marutian swiftly dodged, realizing something was missing from his hand. He lifted it to see that his spear was broken in half within Kirin's mouth.

"What a pity." Marutian extended his hand, and Yu Yuanqing was controlled, floating towards him.

"Qin Yang, I believe I heard you say that without the three-headed dragon, I no longer have the 'thorn in my belly,' right?" Marutian pinched Yu Yuanqing's cheeks with three fingers, while using another hand to probe Yu Yuanqing's throat with two fingers, seemingly searching for something as casually as if he were looking for something in his own house.

"It turns out Elena was right!"

Slowly, Marutian extracted a long "thorn in the belly" from Yu Yuanqing's throat, glistening with his clear saliva. As it was hidden within Yu Yuanqing's body, its removal produced a clear and melodious tune, not just for the sake of aesthetics.

*Cough!* Elena, now devoid of strength to protect herself, coughed up blood.

I raised my enormous sword, preparing for a lethal strike! An ethereal figure appeared before Marutian, and sword energy filled The Divine Realm, slicing the clouds in half. The blade clashed with the "thorn in the belly," and Marutian's smile became more pronounced.

*Buzz!*

A more terrifying sound resonated, causing Elena even more distress.

I separated from Marutian and returned to Elena's side.

"Don't return your power to me; it will undo the half-dragon transformation!"

"But..."

"True...Void Defense Zone!"

Following Elena's reminder, I deployed a defensive magic array around Elena, creating a vacuum zone to isolate sound within a small radius. However, if the vacuum zone is not opened within a limited time, Elena will exhaust her oxygen and suffocate.

"Not a bad idea; it's just that you are running out of time. It's a bit regrettable that this won't be a prolonged battle." Marutian understood the principles of science, after all, being originally a human himself.

"I despise your regrets so much!"

The dragon bone giant sword absorbed elemental energy. In our war, as elements, they did not want to participate, but they had no choice but to resist.

At the same time, we maximized the power that could be used within the dragon soul. Although the power of the dragon soul is infinite, the world has its limits on power. Both Marutian and I utilized half-dragon transformation to condense the power. Behind us, spontaneously appeared countless black holes leading to unknown small worlds. Our gathering of power surpassing the limit was expelled from the world.

"Oh? Can't expel us, then choose to expel the power! The thoughts of the world are becoming more and more interesting." Marutian didn't care in the slightest, tossing the "stab in the abdomen" through the spatial hole, appearing unabashedly right in front of me. The dragon bone giant sword's edge slashed down, causing the world to suddenly tremble, and countless huge mountains rose from the ground.

The two forces continued to expand, evenly matched and indistinguishable.

"The last time the dragon head seal had an impact on you, right, Marutian!" I clearly felt that his power circulation was not faster than mine, probably because the attraction between the dragon bone and the dragon soul affected him.

"A prolonged battle may have hope, but now we are both competing in speed. Are you going to undo the seal and let Elena be tormented to death by the sound, or let her suffocate to death? I doubt you'll choose either one. If she dies, you won't live either."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Elena breathing heavily, and soon the oxygen in her lungs would be insufficient. It would be too late by then!

At this moment, I decided to release my hands, transfer the power to Elena, and receive the blow with my half-dragon-transformed dragon skin. I probably wouldn't die either.

"Let's do this!"

I released my hands, letting the earth-shattering spear from Marutian pierce through my body, while returning the power at the same time!

Elena was horrified, as the "stab in the abdomen" pierced through the clouds below, causing earth-shaking ripples. But she didn't care; with restored power, she stood up, breaking the defensive barrier to catch my body.

"Idiot!"

"I... I'm not dead yet!" With the golden dragon skin peeling off my body, there was only a small hole left, but it penetrated deeply into my back, and the half-dragon transformation also brought a heavy burden to my body.

"The Human Realm always says that pretending needs three seconds, and you haven't even started yet! Are you forfeiting by default?" Marutian approached us with feathers swirling around him.

"I..." Suddenly, I felt something like my blood being absorbed by something, causing intense pain. Turning my eyes, it was the dragon bone giant sword. The huge sword suddenly began to move on its own, sucking my blood and gathering it into a palm-sized hollow on the blade, a design of my past self that I never understood, using my own spinal bone.

"It seems like your sword, or rather your dragon body, is calling for your dragon transformation!" Marutian was extremely excited to see this, which made me extremely uneasy.

The hollow on the dragon bone giant sword gathered a large amount of my blood, mixed with a force on the sword's body, forming a dark golden semi-liquid and semi-solid sphere!

"Dragon core!"

"Qin Yang, your chance has come!" Marutian gave me a look. He would not easily let me obtain the power of dragon transformation. Obtaining the power of the dragon body and dragon soul would allow for a hundred percent adeptness. Even if Marutian, who had transformed into a dragon, couldn't use it to a hundred percent efficiency for some reason, why did he want me to transform into a dragon?

"Qin Yang, he must have a trick up his sleeve, but at this point, we have no choice!"

"Even you say the same thing, Elena!"

I glanced at the Dragon Core, then looked over at the Marutian nearby. Since the timing was right and I had no reason to convince myself otherwise, I decided to leave it up to fate!

I helped Elena to her feet, the giant sword in front of me had been waiting for a long time, and the final condensation of the Dragon Core was about to be completed. I reached out my hands, ready to firmly grasp the Dragon Core that could complete my dragon transformation. At that moment, a blazing and powerful fire burst out from a spatial hole in The Human Realm and surged towards my hands. It unexpectedly interrupted the condensation of my blood, causing the Dragon Core to become unstable and shatter into liquid instantly.

"Who!" Marutian shouted in even greater anger than me, as he turned to glare at the chubby figure standing at the entrance of the spatial hole. He uttered with agony, "Geirerofi!"

"I heard that it was you who destroyed our Dragon Realm! It was you who erased our memories of the Dragon Realm! And, it was also said that you claimed our dragon clan lacks dignity, isn't that right? Who are you after all? Such audacity!"

Geirerofi was enveloped in flames as intense as the sun, the scorching flames in his eyes surprised us and left us feeling extremely parched. Without an expanse as vast as the ocean, there was simply no way to contain him.