On a distant sand dune, the massive sand eagle beast was sprawled atop a pile of sand. Its head lay beside a bone from some desert animal. Having just eaten, the sand eagle beast rested contentedly. Its expression seemed serene, yet its eyes occasionally narrowed in fear, glancing towards a certain direction in the distance. Earlier, it had circled high in the sky, carrying Xue Yi and that divine citizen, intending to observe the scene below where Ye Chui and the others were besieged by the Blood Scorpion tribe.
But suddenly, that terrifying giant dragon had been summoned. The dragon’s roar was majestic and boundless. The sand eagle beast nearly plummeted from the sky. Thus, the sand eagle beast, which ranked near the top of the food chain in this secret realm, fled over ten miles away before daring to stop and rest.
The divine citizen seated on its back had coaxed it with kind words for a long time, but it refused to fly back to investigate further.
“Does that giant dragon really have such immense power? How strange. According to the classifications from the outside world, the sand eagle beast is at least a peak sixth-tier magical beast. That giant dragon… could it possibly be a real one?” the divine citizen muttered to himself in confusion.
The giant dragon could it possibly be a real one. This sentence might seem awkward, but it was not. After the gods fell, the dragon race had gone extinct. Afterwards, some summoners used relics of dragons, such as dragon bones or scales, to transform dragons into their summoned heroic spirits. They could summon dragons to fight, but such summoned dragons were not true dragons after all.
Many people knew that Ye Chui could summon the Black Gold Flame Dragon, but no one believed it was a real dragon. They thought it was merely a summoned spirit beast.
Such dragons should only have the form of a dragon and could not exert the awe-inspiring majesty of a true dragon that intimidated all beasts. Yet, it had frightened the sand eagle beast into this state. Ye Chui’s dragon truly wielded power comparable to that of a real dragon.
“That beast swallowed the dragon soul from the empire’s dragon nest. Who would have thought he could convert the dragon soul’s power into his own, growing into this form? This size probably already rivals that of an ancient giant dragon, right?” Xue Yi said softly, standing nearby.
In her hands, she held a white gem. It was clearly no ordinary item. As Xue Yi infused some magic into it, a faint light screen spread above the gem. On it, the events unfolding in the oasis were faintly visible.
When Xue Yi had left that place earlier, she had quietly left behind a gem there. That gem, paired with the one in her hand, was called a soulstone pair. Once separated by a certain distance, they could be activated with special magic to view the surroundings of one gem through the other. Such gems were evidently very precious and valuable, but Xue Yi paid it no mind. The Moon Gem family lacked nothing when it came to rare gems.
Leaving half of the soulstone pair in the forest was precisely to witness what happened to Ye Chui and the others.
“Ye Chui’s power now is far greater than before. Damn it, how did he achieve this? It’s only been a few short months…” The scene on the light screen caused Xue Yi’s brows to furrow tightly.
The divine citizen, having calmed the sand eagle beast, walked over. He had heard of the dragon nest outside the secret realm, where the dragon souls were fierce and terrifying. Yet, it had been devoured by Ye Chui’s giant dragon? He was about to say something when he suddenly noticed Xue Yi’s body beginning to tremble slightly.
A smile appeared on the divine citizen’s face, hidden behind his mask. Though he had known this girl for only a short time, he understood her well. Seeing her like this, she must have witnessed some exciting scene and was trembling with excitement, right?
Thus, he said with a laugh, “That giant dragon is powerful indeed, but in the secret realm, it is nothing special. With the tenth prince fused to the ferocious spirit god, that dragon surely cannot match the ferocious spirit god… Eh?”
His voice cut off abruptly. For in the light screen raised by Xue Yi, he saw an unbelievable scene. First came Ye Chui’s Heaven’s Justice from above. Then, a girl summoned a magic guide book as large as a person, using ice magic to trap the tenth prince. Next, Ye Chui summoned a strange four-wheeled iron vehicle, which crashed and exploded. Then, Ye Chui used the same magic as the girl to freeze the tenth prince into an ice mountain. Finally, he descended from the sky and delivered a punch to KO…
When Ye Chui’s punch landed, the powerful shockwave caused the soulstone Xue Yi had left there to accidentally fall into the newly formed deep chasm. Thus, the image from the other side turned pitch black.
Yet, the tremor from the ground reached them from ten miles away.
The sand eagle beast, which had only just settled, leaped up in fright once more, emitting sharp cries repeatedly. Under the sound of those cries, both Xue Yi and the divine citizen felt their bodies stiffen somewhat.
“This is impossible… How could that Ye Chui be so formidable? And that girl magic tutor… If I remember correctly, a magic tutor’s magic guide book cannot be that enormous!” the divine citizen exclaimed in shock.
“That girl is the Xiang Wang…” Only then did Xue Yi realise that Bo Si Li had also entered the secret realm. And inexplicably, she had joined Ye Chui’s team. Xue Yi withdrew the magic from her body. The soulstone in her hand turned to stone powder and scattered with the wind. Soulstones could only be used once. After activation, they crumbled into dust and vanished.
“The Xiang Wang magic tutor!?” The divine citizen’s eyes widened in astonishment. The secret realm was isolated from the outside, yet even so, he had heard of the terrifying prowess of the Xiang Wang magic tutor. She was at the pinnacle of magic tutors!
Most importantly…
“But this Ye Chui seems to be… on par with that Xiang Wang magic tutor?” the divine citizen said, his voice trembling slightly.
“…” Xue Yi was speechless for a moment.
She was adept at scheming and ruthless without mercy. She had little deep knowledge of martial skills or magic. In her view, the sixth prince’s swordsmanship as the beggar prince was already remarkable. After all, he was a renowned genius among the younger generation of the Star Empire. She had even thought that if the sixth prince went all out, he might not be entirely outmatched by Ye Chui…
Even when Ye Chui defeated the snake-haired Yuren atop the dragon nest, she had not thought much higher of him.
But in reality? Just now, the sixth prince had charged at the tenth prince and been slapped away with a single blow. And now, the tenth prince was being brutally beaten by Ye Chui.
Suddenly, Xue Yi, who was always decisive and resolute in her choices, felt a twinge of regret in her heart. She should not have chosen to make an enemy of Ye Chui… Because he was simply too terrifying an opponent!
The divine citizen’s gaze grew more solemn. In the secret realm, there were four major powers: the divine citizens and the three great tribes. The divine citizens and the tribes had coexisted peacefully for hundreds of years. The divine citizens were the strongest faction. Now, with the Crown Battlefield reopened, the spirit gods worshipped by the great tribes were stirring. The peace of the secret realm was utterly shattered. The divine citizens were the largest force, but if the sand people of the three great tribes united, even the divine citizens could not oppose them… This was what Divine Citizen City feared most.
If someone could unite the three great tribes and learn of the event from three hundred years ago, then Divine Citizen City would face utter destruction!
Thus, when the Crown Battlefield opened, the elders of Divine Citizen City had schemed to incite conflict among the three great tribes, to deplete the sand people’s strength. The Blood Scorpion tribe’s attack on the Green Bay tribe had actually been guided in secret by the divine citizens, to make the tribes fight each other and weaken their forces. Now, Blood Scorpion and Green Bay had battled to the death, with over half their numbers lost. Especially the Blood Scorpion tribe, which had likely suffered a severe blow to its vitality this time.
Yet, in the divine citizen’s heart, a faint premonition arose. One Ye Chui alone could match ten thousand tribal warriors. And they had a Xiang Wang magic tutor as well…
“I must hurry back to Divine Citizen City and let the elders decide what to do next!” The divine citizen resolved immediately and returned to the sand eagle beast’s side. He looked at Xue Yi. “Miss Xue Yi, you wish to return to Divine Citizen City with me as well, do you not? The fourth prince, seventh prince, and eighth prince are already there.”
He knew Xue Yi’s goal. She craved power. Having lost the sixth prince as her fiancé, she surely wanted to select a new prince to support. Divine Citizen City had several princes for her to choose from.
Xue Yi hesitated for a moment, then made her decision and walked towards the sand eagle beast.
There was no longer any possibility of allying with Ye Chui. Now, she could only stand forever in opposition to him… However, unlike the countless decisions she had made in the past, this time, she suddenly felt that her future path was shrouded in utter darkness…
