Poison Fog Swamp was infamous for its outer layer of colorless miasma.

This miasma was not only colorless and odorless—it only struck after accumulating in the body to a critical threshold.

It wouldn’t kill. It merely plunged victims into unconsciousness.

Leaving them as easy prey for the swamp’s monsters.

Kozi watched blankly as Ryosuke and the others entered the swamp, murmuring to herself.

“Those two idiots didn’t even take antidote pills before charging in?”

A satisfied smirk then spread across Kozi’s face.

“But that’s what makes it fun.”

She popped a milky-white pill into her mouth and strode into the swamp.

True to its name, the swamp was a quagmire of mud.

Poor Apsen suffered the most.

His sheer weight, combined with the treacherous terrain, meant Lord Sima Luan Tong was already thoroughly decorated with mud just moments after entering.

Each time Apsen lifted his heel, a thick clump of mud would fly toward Ryosuke.

“Stop! Stop! Walk! Walk on foot! No—hop!” Ryosuke yelled.

Poor Apsen could only bunny-hop forward.

To Kozi, he looked like a giant… rabbit.

“Hahaha! This odd pair is absolutely hilarious!”

Kozi wiped tears of laughter from her eyes just as a Black Tumor Serpent lunged from the deadwood thicket.

Kozi didn’t move. The violet aura swirling around her instantly coalesced into a giant python, snapping the serpent’s head and hurling it back into the undergrowth.

The Black Tumor Serpent was a low-tier demon beast, named for the poisonous black growths on its head.

But this one had sealed its fate by daring to attack a member of the Radiant Ten Stars. The violet python had already crushed its tumor—the core of its life force.

Kozi smiled faintly and continued tailing them, maintaining a steady distance of about ten *li*.

Her unique Battle Qi ensured she’d never lose them.

Since entering the swamp, Ryosuke had sensed several powerful auras.

High-tier demon beasts. Stronger than the Azure Wind Wolf King.

At least eighth-tier. Among them was one aura he recognized intimately.

—The scent of a dragon.

This must be the Emerald Dragon.

What annoyed Ryosuke was how these high-tier beasts remained unmoved by his presence. Normally, they’d either grovel or hide. But these held their ground, guarding their territories like sentinels.

Almost as if restraining each other.

Or perhaps guarding something together…

Strangely, the dragon’s aura—the one he knew best—felt the weakest among them.

Reno Continent truly was a den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers…

Lord Sima Luan Tong felt a peculiar thrill. This was his first encounter with such power.

A flicker of excitement stirred within him. Was this fear?

No. It was burning fighting spirit. Everything he’d trained for would be tested now.

Alongside a fierce anticipation.

Why had Sima Liangjie left home?

Initially, to cover Apsen’s daily expenses. As a Lost Giant, Apsen’s appetite—and lodging costs—had drained their savings from Xianglong City long ago.

Back in Kempfa’s class, Saori had said:

“Real combat is the greatest teacher.”

That convinced Ryosuke to take mercenary jobs. Too young to register as an adventurer himself, he’d borrowed Apsen’s identity.

But that wasn’t the main reason. He sought the Primordial Force.

Through systematic study of Battle Qi, Ryosuke understood this force wasn’t Battle Qi itself.

And its origin? Only his kin could reveal it.

Dragons.

That’s why he’d been so thrilled to see the Emerald Dragon quest.

The mystery of the Primordial Force lay before him. How could he hold back?

“Stop, old man! This’ll take forever! We need a faster way!”

Apsen, native to Reno Continent, didn’t grasp “monkey year, horse month,” but halted anyway.

“Steady your stance!”

Ryosuke leaped lightly, tilting his body forty-five degrees. He planted his feet firmly on Apsen’s solid chest muscles like a drawn bowstring—then kicked off with all his might.

“Let’s go!”

The kick sent Lord Sima Luan Tong rocketing forward!

Ryosuke soared in exhilaration. Poor, loyal Apsen, however, was doomed.

Even shrunken to two meters and three hundred pounds, the giant sank deep into the mud under the recoil.

Kozi, trailing behind, stared dumbfounded.

“Holy crap! Is that kid even human?! But damn, I love it!”

A hundred meters vanished in the blink of an eye for Ryosuke.

What was Kempfa’s ten-meter wall to one with the physique of an Iceflower Evil God Dragon?

A mere frog’s leap…

The biting wind made Ryosuke narrow his eyes. His mind locked onto that familiar aura.

It was moving.

Straight toward him.

“Finally reacting to my surprise attack, you overgrown green lizard?”

A distant dragon’s roar grew clearer in Ryosuke’s ears—then thundered like a storm!

Ryosuke blasted away the dead leaves ahead with Battle Qi.

A hideous, familiar face loomed before him.

—A massive head scaled in deep green, slit yellow pupils like a serpent’s, nostrils flaring with emerald vapor…

**ROOOOAAARRR!!!**

A pale green dragon’s breath erupted from its maw.

“Damn! No warm-up? Straight for the kill!”

Ryosuke crossed his arms over his face mid-air, flaring crimson Battle Qi into a small shield.

Crimson Battle Qi—peak Battle Master.

But against Reno Continent’s apex species—the dragon—his shield shattered like paper.

The无形 dragon’s breath hammered him into the earth like a sledgehammer.

**CRASH!**

The ground cratered beneath him.

“Lucky… this dragon’s lair is solid ground. Else my uniform’d be ruined…”

Ryosuke suppressed the churning in his gut. The Emerald Dragon, enraged that its breath hadn’t crushed this “morsel,” raised a claw. It slammed down faster than a shadow.

Even on solid ground, the mud was soft and clinging.

Too slow to dodge, Ryosuke relied purely on brute strength.

In an instant, his—pitifully small compared to the dragon’s claw—hand shot out.

**BOOM!**

The claw plunged deep into the earth.

Within its slitted eyes, the dragon’s pupils rolled in human-like shock.

This human reeked of a power it both loathed and recognized. It had to be erased!

Surely, nothing survived its breath *and* claw strike!

Yet the dragon was wrong…

A force still pushed back from below.

Tiny hands were holding up the dragon’s claw!

Ryosuke gritted his teeth, arms trembling violently. This was pure dragon strength versus his own. His Battle Master-level Battle Qi was utterly insignificant here.

Against raw power, Battle Qi and magic were mere illusions.

Ryosuke wanted to scream:

“What good is Battle Qi?!”

The dragon’s slitted eyes widened in disbelief. Its massive body was rising.

Using the claw buried in the earth as leverage, Ryosuke wrapped his legs around one claw-tip like an octopus.

Then—

“Flip over!”

Ryosuke roared, unleashing all his strength.

Fear finally flickered in the dragon’s eyes. It shrieked in shock as its body lifted.

Its colossal form pivoted around the buried claw—and crashed onto its back.

**KABOOOM!**

The earth-shattering impact echoed all the way to Golum City…

“Hey… did you hear that huge bang?”

“Is the Emerald Dragon in heat? Sounded like roaring…”

“Shut it! You’d wet yourself seeing that beast!”

“Heh… think I’m those reckless fools from last week?”

“You mean that ragtag adventurer team?”

“Yeah. Idiots hunting ‘Jin Huan Cang Xing Grass’ in Poison Fog Swamp. Don’t they know high-tier beasts guard that stuff?”

“What’s so special about that grass anyway?”

“Cures all poisons. Duh.”

“Some people just don’t get it…”

Kozi was speechless. She wouldn’t dare approach the dragon’s territory.

But her Battle Qi was unique—Transformative.

Violet energy swirled before her, forming a mirror showing the brutal dragon-human brawl.

“Ugh…”

Kozi swallowed hard.

This savage fight surpassed anything she’d seen in Battle Qi duels—even Radiant Ten Stars trials were flashy, magical exchanges.

But the feedback from her ‘Serpent’ revealed a different truth.

This was a fight for survival.

Ryosuke’s fury had fully ignited. How dare an Emerald Dragon bury the Iceflower Evil God Dragon?!

The dragon blood in his veins forbade such weakness!

Absolutely forbidden!

**THUD!**

Ryosuke burst from the earth, charging straight at the dragon.

Seizing the moment while its massive body struggled to right itself!

But the dragon anticipated his move. Its tail whipped around.

Ryosuke was caught off guard, sent flying backward.

He skidded upright, tearing twin furrows in the ground.

Even then, he slid ten meters before stopping.

He looked up. The Emerald Dragon had vanished.

Where?!

Ryosuke scanned wildly…

Miles away, watching through her Serpent’s mirror, Kozi gasped:

“Above you!”

Whether Ryosuke heard or not, the silver-haired boy snapped his head up.

A torrent of deep green dragon’s breath engulfed him.

This blast held the dragon’s full power!

“Idiot! DODGE!” Kozi screamed, forgetting all decorum.

Staring into the oncoming inferno, Ryosuke’s mind suddenly fogged. His legs weakened. He dropped to one knee…

【What’s happening…】

Battered and bleeding, Ryosuke couldn’t withstand this blast…

The strongest boss faced his greatest crisis!

Would the delinquent Silver Demon King fall here?