The bone claw descended with the weight of the whole earth, ready to crush everything.

The two of them had already accepted they were dead, just quietly savoring this last bit of warmth. But this time, reality finally decided to be kind.

A dark figure suddenly dropped from above. A single stomp landed on that bone claw. The claw was kicked straight into the ground. In an instant, the earth exploded, and the stones that flew up crumbled and scattered away. Around the bone claw, a pit opened that was big enough to hold the whole Bone Dragon.

Juben felt a powerful force slam into his back, and then, in the next instant, he felt his collar get grabbed from behind.

What the—! He really wanted to curse, but he more or less understood what was happening. He immediately hugged the soft body in his arms a little tighter.

Sure enough, the two of them were yanked up and flung into the air. In the blink of an eye they were thrown into a safe zone, more than a hundred meters away from the Bone Dragon. Then they were just mercilessly tossed forward...

Dazed, they rolled twice. Luris finally processed what had happened, lifted her head, and was about to shout at Yan Yi.

But Yan Yi slapped a hand over his own eyes and shouted first.

“You two! My eyes! I’m blind from the glare here!”

“Huh?”

Neither of them had any idea what he was talking about. Then they abruptly realized Luris was currently on top of Juben. No matter how you looked at it, it was a little...

Both their faces flushed red in an instant. Luris went without saying; even Juben’s usually thick skin couldn’t take it. Sure, holding Luris felt great, but he really didn’t want anyone else seeing it. Especially when things between them had already been so… delicate…

They sprang apart and scrambled to speak at the same time.

“Y–Yan Yi, just now we only—”

“M–Master, w–we just—”

“No need. I get it.”

Yan Yi raised a palm to stop them, wearing a “what’s the big deal” expression.

“With my many years of gal—uh, cough, life experience, people blurting out their tsundere confessions in life‑and‑death moments is totally normal.”

He kept nodding to himself. Luris’ face went even redder, even though she hadn’t actually blurted any “confession.” As if echoing her mood, the moisture in the air seemed to start boiling.

Then Yan Yi stuck up a thumb, his white teeth practically sparkling as he grinned.

“Relax. One of you’s my boss, the other’s my disciple. I won’t burn it.”

“Burn your head! I didn’t say anything!”

Over ten water arrows burst into being at once and shot toward Yan Yi, fast enough to rival bone spikes.

Juben froze for a moment. Luris, did you just hold back on me?

Yan Yi’s pupils shrank. His figure flickered and vanished, then reappeared after slipping past the water arrows. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he hurried out,

“L–Lady Luris, calm down, calm down!”

Luris seemed to have forgotten where they were and was about to unleash a Raging Tidal Tornado when the Bone Dragon’s furious voice shook the air.

“Brat! Was that you just now?!”

Only then did the two of them remember how close to death they’d just been. Even though they’d already let go of life and death at the time, now that they were safe, a delayed chill crept up their backs.

Yan Yi’s fawning smile slowly faded as he turned his head. By the time his profile faced the Bone Dragon, there was only cold bloodlust and violence left in his eyes.

It was the first time the two in front had ever seen Yan Yi like this. In their minds, Yan Yi had always been powerful but never serious, with zero pressure as a “stronger.” Half the time he just made you want to punch him. But now, they finally felt it—Yan Yi really was a powerhouse.

“Shut up.”

Yan Yi’s voice was laced with cold anger. Juben and Luris were fine, but he’d almost been a step too late. The moment he thought about how they’d nearly died, he had trouble holding it back.

Yan Yi’s figure vanished from their sight, and even the Bone Dragon lost track of him for a moment.

Then Yan Yi appeared right in front of the Bone Dragon’s head. His left hand clenched.

One punch. He drove it forward.

“All things… shatter.”

It was like being struck by a giant. Like a meteor had smashed into its skull. Unbearable force slammed through the Bone Dragon. Its massive body was blasted into the air, and it felt as if every bone in its body was being hammered at once, countless fists pounding into it.

Boom.

A thunderous blast erupted. Where the two of them connected, a new shockwave ripped out. The huge pit the Bone Dragon had slapped into the ground moments ago expanded again. This time, the Bone Dragon’s whole body was launched, shooting clear across the hundred‑meter‑wide crater. It didn’t stop there. The Bone Dragon skidded across the ground, flying backward as bone‑trees were flung away behind it. The earth rolled up in waves, and a ravine over two hundred meters long tore open in the ground.

When the Bone Dragon finally ground to a halt, its entire body was covered in cracks. Its head was especially bad; the red light in its eye sockets went out. The moment it stopped, its skull exploded into powder.

Juben and Luris stared blankly at the scene, completely stunned. In their understanding, forget Yan Yi not using Mana— even a spell strong enough to carve out that ravine shouldn’t be able to beat a Demon Ascension creature to this state.

Before they’d even processed it, Yan Yi appeared in front of them again, Juben’s sword in his hand.

“Disciple, toss me the sheath.”

Juben subconsciously pulled the sheath from his back and threw it over. Yan Yi was just about to lift his left arm to catch it when a sharp ache stabbed through him. His left arm wouldn’t lift at all.

Tch. So using that move even at this level is still too much, huh?

To suppress his power, he’d basically put his body into sleep mode. There was no way a not‑fully‑awakened body could endure nearly all of his strength. Luckily all that acceleration on the way here had already been speeding his recovery. Otherwise, that punch probably would’ve blown the blood vessels in his left arm.

He gave his right hand a little flick, threading the sword neatly into the sheath midair. Another wave of his hand, and it was back on his back.

“Master?”

Juben finally came back to himself. Looking at this slightly unfamiliar version of Yan Yi, he spoke softly.

Yan Yi sighed. They’re both me anyway, what’s the big deal? he thought. But there was no time to explain. That weird thing wasn’t dead yet.

“Yeah. You two go find Interle and keep being lovey‑dovey. But you’d better leave the ‘absolutely safe zone’ too. I can’t promise it’ll stay safe after this.”

“What do you mean lovey‑dovey?!”

Luris didn’t even need to ask. Only Yan Yi could ignore the mood and say something like that right now.

“Isn’t it true?”

Yan Yi shot them a teasing look. Before Luris could retort, he turned and started walking toward the Bone Dragon.

“For a hundred li around here, this is my dragon‑hunting ground.”

That one overbearing line left the two of them shaken.

After a second thought, he felt it sounded a bit off and muttered under his breath,

“Though I’ve got no idea if that thing still counts as a dragon.”

Watching Yan Yi’s back, Juben took a deep breath. His desire for the Realm of Magic surged higher than ever.

“Master, be careful.”

With that, he and Luris turned to leave. The best way they could help Yan Yi was to get themselves out of danger as soon as possible. Luris thought for a moment, then added one more line before the two of them quickly ran off.

“I’ll give you a raise when we get back.”

Yan Yi gave a small laugh, but his eyes sharpened a moment later as he shot forward.

The cracks on the Bone Dragon’s body were mending at high speed. At its neck, a white glue‑like substance was gathering, and soon its skull had fully regenerated.

“Gaaahrooo—!”

With a roar dripping with rage, the Bone Dragon saw a tiny figure in the distance rushing toward it.

That was the human who’d blasted it away. Its wings snapped open, and countless bone spikes shot out.

Yan Yi frowned—not at the spikes, but at how fast the Bone Dragon had recovered. The spikes’ speed was nothing to him. He accelerated again, shattering through the attack range before the bone spikes even fell, then leapt high and drove his right fist forward.

The Bone Dragon instantly felt something pierce through its body. Its bones showed signs of cracking again. It roared and tanked the damage, then dove straight at Yan Yi.

All bone, so my right fist isn’t doing enough? This time Yan Yi wasn’t caught off guard; he wasn’t about to get swatted away again. In midair, he kicked upward, colliding with the Bone Dragon’s claw.

Another boom. As the bone claw was knocked aside, he used the recoil to drop. The moment his feet touched the ground, he sprang up again, aiming straight at the Bone Dragon’s chest.

Faced with a regenerating type like this, Yan Yi could only think of two ways to handle it.

First option: beat it. Just brainless beating. Beat it until it couldn’t function or regenerate, see how smug it’d be then. It’d be great for venting, and Yan Yi was pretty confident in his stamina. But it’d take too long. If he dropped before the dragon did, that’d be awkward.

So option two: anything that regenerates has a weak point. Like a slime’s core—find it and pound on it, saves time and effort. Looking at this Bone Dragon, anyone could tell that purple flame in its chest cavity was suspicious.

His fist smashed down and immediately felt wrong, bouncing back as if he’d hit an invisible barrier. Yan Yi was flung away.

A massive force crashed in a heartbeat later. The Bone Dragon brought a claw down with its full power, this time smashing toward the ground. Yan Yi blocked with his right arm, but still got driven deep into the earth. The ground shattered and caved in under the force of that claw wind.

The Bone Dragon gave him a contemptuous look.

“Kid, even an idiot knows to protect its weak point.”

Yan Yi burst up from the pit, furious. His clothes were no longer just ripped at the sleeves—his butler‑style suit jacket was hanging off him in strips. That alone proved how much strength the Bone Dragon had put into that strike.

Seriously? I’m getting looked down on by a non‑living thing now?

He wiped the corner of his mouth, feeling a bit of wetness. His right arm throbbed dully, but the Bone Dragon didn’t move either. Man and dragon fell into a staring match.

Breaking that barrier with close combat was going to be tough. Worse was the counterattack afterward—that hurt. Where did these stupid bones get so much power? And his left arm still needed time.

Is this brat really human? It punched me so far I had to spend a ton of Mana to recover. And now it’s even shaking my Mana barrier. Worst of all, I can’t keep up with its speed. I can only eat the hit and counter.

In short, close combat was dangerous.

So…

Yan Yi bent his knees into a squat.

The Bone Dragon’s wings flared open as it snapped backward into the air.

In a blink, a hundred meters of distance opened up between them.

Both of them paused for a second.

They’d thought of the same thing.

Next, purple orbs appeared all over the Bone Dragon’s wings, each wrapped in purple flame, each one six or seven meters across.

Just by showing up, they twisted the space around them. You could imagine that if they were actually fired, they’d flatten an entire area on the spot.

At the same time, Yan Yi’s right hand closed around his sword hilt. The bone-trees nearby instantly shattered into chunks, and a razor‑sharp sword aura suddenly burst out from within him.