“Black Dragon King, is this all you’ve got? I’m not even using sword techniques, just ordinary attacks, and you can’t even scratch me. Yet you dare boast about killing me?”
Ling Xiao sneered, activating *Celestial Dragon Golden Body*. His body quickly returned to normal, his legs no longer trembling, his face no longer flushed.
“Just toying with you, and you think you’re something special? Killing you would be as easy as slaughtering a dog or a chicken!”
The Black Dragon King’s expression normalised, his true essence surging, his already imposing figure growing even larger.
His body, originally two to three metres tall, instantly expanded to five or six metres.
Not only that, his entire form had almost completely transformed into a black dragon—black scales, a black dragon head, blood-red dragon eyes, and dragon claws.
Dark energy swirled around him, far stronger than before.
The moment this form appeared, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth seemed to rush toward his body, creating a peculiar resonance.
A mass of pitch-black clouds formed in the sky, hinting at a shift in the heavens.
“Kid, I’ve lived for tens of thousands of years. Though sealed, unable to reach higher cultivation, my battle experience and training time far surpass yours. This form is something you could never achieve!”
The Black Dragon King stood arrogantly, saying coldly, “Today, I’ll show you what a dragon is, what a black dragon is!”
With that, his massive body lunged forward, a gust of wind kicking up huge rocks, dust swirling, ferocious and wild.
In this form, his power neared that of a true black dragon, yet his speed didn’t falter—in fact, his moves were even more ruthless and terrifying.
Each punch left a massive crack in the ground.
It felt like the Black Dragon King was now thirty to forty percent stronger than before.
This time, his dragon claw formed a fist, smashing down, black flames erupting, a wild heatwave sweeping the scene.
“Black Flame Fist!”
Black flames wrapped around his massive claw, forming a giant fireball, crashing toward Ling Xiao’s head like a meteor.
Ling Xiao’s expression remained calm. He swapped his Rain-Covering Sword for the Ice Dragon Sword, his body subtly transforming. His human-dragon form, previously nine parts human, began shifting toward the Primordial Golden Dragon.
Eight parts human, two parts dragon.
The dragon horns on his head became more distinct.
“Thunder Phenomenon: Water Fusion!”
Amid a thunderous boom, the surrounding force field shifted. The Black Dragon King’s ferocious punch grazed past the sword tip, striking three to five metres away from Ling Xiao, instantly creating a massive pit burning with black flames.
In the faint mountain-and-river shadow behind Ling Xiao, the glacier became clearer, almost solidifying into reality.
“Glacier Power: Ice Storm!”
He held nothing back. Facing the Black Dragon King, Ling Xiao dared not hold back. The raging ice storm, infused with the mighty will of mountains and rivers, pierced toward the Black Dragon King like a glacier.
The Black Dragon King’s expression shifted slightly, knowing his defences couldn’t withstand this strike.
Black Spirit Advisor finally made his move.
He’d hoped the Black Dragon King could kill Ling Xiao alone, boosting his prestige.
But now, if he didn’t act, the Black Dragon King might fall.
“Black Rope Hell!”
As Black Spirit Advisor struck, countless strands of black true essence burst from him, coiling like black ropes, binding Ling Xiao’s Ice Dragon Sword.
*Black Rope Hell* was his signature technique, a gifted martial art like Dragon’s Roar, growing stronger with its user’s power.
In his hands, it had the might of a top-tier gold-grade martial art.
The true essence formed black ropes, entangling enemies or their weapons, injecting terrifying illusions and draining their true essence.
Onlookers could clearly see the black ropes weaving a dark space, a martial technique involving spatial power.
The ropes tightened, trying to wrench the Ice Dragon Sword from Ling Xiao’s grasp.
In that moment, Ling Xiao felt his true essence being siphoned through the sword.
“Truly sinister!”
Ling Xiao frowned, raising his Purple Lightning Sword.
“Purple Lightning Shock!”
Dazzling purple light shot into the sky, turning the dark night as bright as day.
“Break!”
Facing *Black Rope Hell*, though initially tricky, Ling Xiao showed no fear. The Purple Lightning Sword, upgraded to an immortal-grade treasure via its special ability, could sever the ropes.
Crackle!
Electric currents sparked from the sword.
“Lightning Phenomenon!”
Boom!
Under the immortal-grade *Purple Lightning Shock Sword*, the black ropes snapped like ordinary cords, losing their effect.
Even *Black Rope Hell* was cleaved open, revealing light.
Crackle!
Continuous electric surges shredded Black Spirit Advisor’s black cloak, exposing a bizarre face.
It had no eyes, no nose, no mouth—just a void-like black hole.
Could Black Spirit have no physical form?
Ling Xiao suddenly realised this.
When he’d killed that Black Spirit expert earlier, it felt odd, as if the corpse didn’t belong to them.
“He’s really from the Black Spirit organisation!”
“Our advisor was our enemy all along!”
“The Black Dragon King really conspired with our enemy to seize the throne!”
The onlookers grew agitated.
“Black Dragon King, your plot’s exposed. Let’s see how long you can keep up your bravado.”
Ling Xiao smiled faintly.
“So what? As long as I kill you, what can those cowards do? I’ll still be Dragon Emperor!”
The Black Dragon King roared.
“Fair point. Looks like killing you is the only way to settle this!”
Ling Xiao took a deep breath, facing the two formidable foes. Killing them would require everything he had.
“All generals, listen up! Surround Ling Xiao, set up the *Dragon Trap Formation*! We must kill this kid!”
The Black Dragon King’s face darkened.
He no longer cared about saving face.
Whether he fought alone or not didn’t matter.
Killing Ling Xiao was victory!
“And you onlookers, listen! Whoever helps will be a hero of Dragon Nation, rewarded with high rank, wealth, and top-tier martial arts.”
The Black Dragon King incited the crowd, “If you just watch, you’ll get no rewards. But as long as you don’t aid Ling Xiao, your current status will remain.”
He didn’t need to antagonise the spectators, though he despised them.
