In the massive crater that stretched for dozens of li, with dust still drifting everywhere, a huge figure slowly emerged. It was the Bone Dragon.

But it was in miserable shape now. Both wings were gone. Only half its body remained, and not a single bone on the other half was still intact.

The shield over its chest had shattered the instant the sword aura hit it. If it hadn't forced itself to move just a little at the last second, it would've probably been reduced to dust by now.

Its Mana was completely drained. It no longer had the power to regenerate. If this weren't a dead skeletal body, that attack would've been enough to kill it all over again.

Good thing the power from my Flame Jade explosion belongs to the power of Spirits. I have high resistance to it. Otherwise, I'd really be done for.

The Bone Dragon secretly felt lucky. With its one remaining eye, it looked toward the flame inside its chest cavity. The fire had dimmed a lot now, and within that cluster of purple flame, something bone-like could even be seen.

Just thinking about how that sword aura had almost brushed right past that flame made the Bone Dragon break out in lingering fear. It cursed Yan Yi nonstop in its heart.

"Hmph, brat—oh, no, wait, old fossil. You're finally dead, huh? Hahaha—ugh!"

The thought that Yan Yi had finally died eased a lot of its fear, and it couldn't help laughing. But just as it was getting happy, the familiar voice it least wanted to hear rose from below.

"Who the hell are you calling an old fossil?!"

A black figure leaped up from a humanoid-shaped pit. He looked like a man made of dirt. He shook the dust off himself, then stomped the ground and shot straight toward the Bone Dragon.

In the blink of an eye, he rushed to the flame. Without the slightest hesitation, he reached inside with a vicious grab.

"You bastard!"

The Bone Dragon shouted and only then reacted, but it was already too late. A burst of white light instantly spread from the flame and wrapped around both of them.

The white light was blinding. Even Yan Yi had to shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself standing on solid ground, surrounded by nothing but white.

Inside that pure white space, Yan Yi stared blankly at the strange scene around him, then at the Bone Dragon that almost blended into the background. His face was full of confusion.

But before his brain could start spinning, the Bone Dragon roared in fury.

"You damn old monster! Fine, pretend to be young if you want, but you even pulled a sneak attack! Put me down if you've got guts. Once I recover my flesh body, I swear I won't beat you to death!"

The confusion in Yan Yi's eyes changed instantly. He started roaring too.

"You're the old monster! I'm a vibrant sixteen-year-old, okay?! A blooming flower of the motherland! Sneak attack? That nuke of yours turned my disciple's sword into dust with just the blast wave. And that doesn't count as a sneak attack?! How am I supposed to explain that to my disciple as his master?!"

To withstand the explosion of the Crimson Spirit Flame Jade, Yan Yi had used almost all his strength at the end, channeling protective sword aura through that sword. This time, he didn't dare protect just his clothes. But that sword had already used Fallen River of Souls once, and after the explosion, it scattered into the wind on the spot.

The more Yan Yi thought about it, the more he felt he couldn't save face. Then he suddenly felt something in his right hand. Looking down, he saw a crystal-clear bone in his grip, about as long as his arm. Thinking of what the Bone Dragon had said earlier, an evil smile suddenly appeared on his face.

The Bone Dragon instantly felt that something was wrong. It watched Yan Yi slowly raise his right hand in front of himself. The smile on his face was enough to make even it shiver.

Crack—

As Yan Yi tightened his grip, a mournful cry came from the bone in his hand. At the same time, cracks appeared across the Bone Dragon's body in the distance.

"Wait! We can talk this out! Don't do it!"

The Bone Dragon was truly scared now. This guy in front of it could actually do something this horrifying while smiling.

"Oh ho, interesting. What's this thing? Feels pretty smooth in the hand. What's it made of?"

Crack—

That devil didn't stop at all. The chilling smile on his face somehow looked more and more charming. The Bone Dragon was about to cry. Just how shameless could this man be?

"Stop, stop! Spare me, hero!"

It caved. It had no choice. It had barely avoided dying for good, so getting killed like this would be way too unfair.

"Sigh. And here I thought someone called me an old fossil."

"I was wrong! Please don't squeeze it anymore! Why are you, a Heaven Defying existence, picking on me?!"

The Bone Dragon cursed wildly in its heart. Damn it, that final attack had absolutely reached Heaven Defying level, and this guy was still pretending. There was no way it believed someone that young could be that strong.

"Heaven Defying?"

Yan Yi still held the bone, but he slowly frowned at the Bone Dragon's words.

"That last attack of yours definitely wasn't something Demon Ascension could produce!"

The Bone Dragon was grief-stricken. From what it knew, if there was a Heaven Defying being in the human world, there could only be one. That was why it had relaxed a little after arriving here. It had been Heaven Defying in life, but in its current state, it had fallen to Demon Ascension. In other places, surviving would've been hard. Yet its luck was this terrible. It had only appeared in the human world for one month, and now it was already about to be finished.

"Above Demon Ascension?"

Yan Yi had only learned the divisions of magic realms bit by bit. Back in Ink Village, he hadn't known about the Realm of Magic. So not knowing about Heaven Defying was normal too. But after thinking for a moment, he figured, I'm probably at a bit less than seventy percent of full power right now...

The Bone Dragon gave him a look of contempt. It really felt like Yan Yi was still putting on an act. He already had that kind of strength, so what was there to fake?

What it got in return was the sound of cracking bone...

"Alright, alright. Tell me what that is. We're both foreigners here. If I'm in a good mood, I won't kill you."

Yan Yi really was in a good mood after a satisfying fight. He'd vented quite a bit. If it wasn't necessary, he wouldn't completely wipe out the Bone Dragon either.

The moment the Bone Dragon heard that, its mood turned awful. What did he mean, if I'm in a good mood, I won't kill you? Grief and indignation instantly filled its heart. Thinking of everything it had gone through, it was practically about to explode.

"What the hell did I even do wrong? I got killed for no reason, came to the human world for no reason, got targeted for no reason, and then got beaten up by you for no reason. I-I-I didn't even do anything, did I? And you were actually going to kill me?!"

The Bone Dragon spat out a whole stream of words in one breath, as if it wanted to pour out all its grievances.

"Wait, what random nonsense are you talking about? Damn it, now I'm confused too!"

Yan Yi's head started to ache. He carefully ran through the Bone Dragon's words in his mind, then suddenly thought of something.

"Wait. What about the villagers' Spirits? What are you acting wronged for?"

"My control wouldn't harm them. It would actually nourish them."

"Then... what about Xiamu? That green-haired girl. And my disciple and his girlfriend."

"No shit! If someone interrupted your recovery while you were injured, what would you do? Besides, none of them died, right?!"

"Oh, right. And Xiamu's four companions too!"

Yan Yi seemed to finally find the key point. And this seemed to be the indirect reason he had entered the Bone Forest. As for the direct reason... that was just wanting to prove he was useful.

To that, the Bone Dragon only said calmly,

"They were in the first pit, protected by my bone prison. Our battlefield didn't directly affect that place. They'll definitely be fine."

"Ah, right! Speaking of the battlefield, you destroyed the entire Bone Forest!"

At that, the Bone Dragon showed a look of disdain again and said in a tone full of contempt,

"Someone else should carry half that blame too. I can't carry it all myself."

Yan Yi blinked, as if still thinking. In the end, he scratched his head and said a little awkwardly,

"So... you're actually the victim here?"

"No fucking shit!!"

The Bone Dragon roared. After the two of them compared notes, it felt even more wronged than before.

"Sigh, alright, alright. It's not that big a deal."

Yan Yi waved his hand very decisively, looking broad-minded. But inside, he did feel a little guilty. Juben and Luris hadn't died. They'd even gotten stronger, and had even gotten together. And as for this Bone Forest... half of the destruction really was his doing.

"I don't care, I don't care! I protest, I protest! I want compensation! I want an apology!"

The Bone Dragon rolled around on the ground with its huge body in a completely undignified way. Even Yan Yi was left speechless. He glanced at his right hand, then squeezed again.

Crack—

At the sound of the bone breaking, the Bone Dragon immediately sat up straight. Its aggrieved look vanished without a trace. After all, when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.

"Alright. Now you can talk properly. By the way, are you a child or something?"

Yan Yi looked helpless. He could tell by now that this Bone Dragon was also the unserious type.

"How am I a child? I'm a young Dragonfolk. I'm only two hundred and fifteen..."

Yan Yi rolled his eyes. More than thirteen times my age...

Cutting the Bone Dragon off directly, Yan Yi signaled for it to get to the point.

"Ahem. Above the Realm of Magic is the Heaven Defying Realm. And your strength is at the first step of the Heaven Defying Realm: Heaven Defying."

Yan Yi didn't show much reaction. Even though he had only used seventy percent of his full strength, if Fallen River of Souls had Heaven Defying-level damage, then at full power, he really did have Heaven Defying strength.

"Go on. How is the Heaven Defying Realm divided?"

The Bone Dragon noticed that Yan Yi's expression showed genuine ignorance, which felt strange. Then it remembered Yan Yi saying he was also from a foreign land, and its doubts deepened. But to keep Yan Yi from attacking its true body again, it continued.

"Then let's start from here. The human world has no king. That doesn't mean some ordinary ruler. Or rather, it means the human world has no existence qualified to be called a king!"