“Protector, the Outer Patrol Team has sent word—someone’s broken into the territory. They’re very powerful.”
A cultivator draped in a black robe rushed into a small hut, reporting in an urgent voice.
The cultivator inside the room paused in his actions, frowning slightly. “Are they from the Gang Wolf Legion?”
“Unclear. But probably not. Their style isn’t like the Gang Wolf Legion or Ci She Hui.”
Not the Gang Wolf Legion or Ci She Hui? The cultivator addressed as Protector immediately slammed his fist down on the wooden table beside him, smashing it to pieces.
Who dares come courting trouble with Hei Long Gang? Audacious beyond belief! If they let these intruders pass by unchallenged, where would Hei Long Gang’s reputation stand?
Moreover, he was tasked with guarding this place—he absolutely could not let anyone approach. If he failed, the Gang Leader would never forgive him.
“Go search for them! Bring them to me!” he barked.
“Understood!”
The messenger nodded at once and hurried off.
Protector turned to look at the barely bright sky outside his window, irritation flashing in his eyes.
Being left here to guard the place was already bad enough, and now someone had the nerve to attack while the defenses were thin.
If he didn’t kill them, how could Hei Long Gang stand firm in these mountains!
He wanted to see just who had such nerve.
Rumble… faint thunder seemed to roll in from afar.
Rain coming? Protector looked up in confusion, only to see a flash of lightning streak across the sky.
No, something’s wrong. There were no storm clouds—where did that lightning come from?
And it seemed… to be coming right toward him?
That thought made Protector instantly raise his guard. Earth-colored Spiritual Power surged from within, swirling around him and transforming into several fragments of rock.
With a wave of his hand, the rocks split the air, hurtling swiftly toward the lightning above.
But the distance was too great; his attack barely grazed the tail end of the lightning.
However, this strike drew the lightning’s attention—originally its direction had not been toward him, but now, it shot straight at him.
Protector flicked his wrist, summoning a jet-black Ling Iron Staff into his grasp.
“Coming for me, are you? I’d like to—”
He hadn’t finished speaking before the lightning smashed through the roof and landed before him.
From the lightning stepped a white-haired, white-robed maiden, who slashed her sword straight at his head.
Protector hurriedly raised his staff to block. What kind of woman was this, attacking without so much as a word, not even giving him a chance to ask her intentions!
Boom!
The Ling Sword struck the staff; Protector’s face turned instantly pale, his knees buckled, and he was driven a few inches into the ground.
Such strength! Protector gritted his teeth and pushed up with the staff, barely managing to shove his opponent away.
“Who are you?” he gasped out after catching his breath.
The white-haired, golden-eyed maiden floated in the air, thunderclouds gathering above her head. She didn’t answer his question, but spoke softly.
“To withstand one strike from me without harm—you must be the strongest here.”
To withstand a single strike and be called the strongest here?
That remark made Protector feel slighted—no, it was as if the entire Hei Long Gang had been slighted.
In your eyes, is Hei Long Gang just a gathering of weaklings? Tolerable, this is not!
“White-haired brat, do you know who you’re making an enemy of? We are—”
“Hei Long Gang, I know you.”
“Then why do you—”
“I just want to know—what right do you have to call yourselves ‘Dragon’?”
As soon as the white-haired maiden finished speaking, lightning bolts descended from the thundercloud behind her, striking at Protector and forcing him into a sorry retreat.
“Pathetic. You don’t deserve the name ‘Dragon’!”
With lightning swirling around her, the white-haired maiden dove from the sky toward Protector, at that moment resembling a colossal dragon of thunder.
Protector was seized by terror. His will to fight vanished. How could he possibly handle such an opponent?
Even if the other two Protectors were here, he wasn’t confident they could defeat this sudden white-haired girl.
Clang!
Ling Sword and iron staff collided once more. This time, Protector was blown away by a monstrous force, crashing back into the small hut he’d just been in.
The white-haired maiden gave him no chance to catch his breath. Taking the upper hand, she unleashed a relentless assault, charging into the hut to continue her attack.
Within a few moves, the hut was smashed to pieces. Protector was kicked around like a ball, completely unable to retaliate.
The commotion quickly drew other Hei Long Gang cultivators. But upon seeing their Protector getting pummeled, none knew what to do.
Step in to help? But if this sudden enemy could beat their strongest Protector like a ball, what was the point in weaker cultivators rushing in to die?
“Form the Array, form the Array!” Protector yelled in rage, seeing his men frozen in place.
Fine if you can’t help, but can’t you use your brains? Solo isn’t working—so form an Array!
With nearly a hundred cultivators forming a grand Array, even this white-haired girl would have to avoid the edge!
With Protector’s reminder, the Hei Long Gang cultivators sprang into action.
Since joining Hei Long Gang, they’d practiced a special Array—much more refined than what common cultivators could achieve, and a trump card of the gang.
With a hundred Spirit Masters forming the Array, even a Ling King would have trouble breaking through head-on!
Soon, the cultivators took their positions, combining their Spiritual Power and starting to form the outline of the Array.
Even at this early stage, the Array was already siphoning spiritual energy from the surroundings.
Protector took the chance to strike the white-haired maiden’s sword with his staff.
Though he still lost the clash, the force let him tumble backward toward the Array.
Once he gained the Array’s support, defeating this girl would be simple!
“This Array…” Linglong frowned at the black currents swirling within the formation.
She had intended to settle this quickly by taking down the strongest opponent here, but the man’s resilience surprised her—he’d held out for over ten moves.
And now he’d managed to open the distance and get within the Array’s protection. Charging in recklessly would be too risky.
Worse, the Array gave her a terrible feeling—a dense aura of evil suffused it. This was no ordinary formation.
Most likely, it was crafted by the Magic Path!
“Little brat, let’s see if you can still act so arrogant before this Dragon Formation!” Protector laughed loudly from within the Array.
Though he’d just been beaten like a dog, now he could confidently proclaim: the advantage is mine!
The power of nearly a hundred Spirit Masters flowed into him through the Array. No one could stand against him now.
“Watch closely—my Black Dragon Secret Art!”
Protector reached into his Storage Pouch and drew out a black-and-red Alchemy Pill, which he shoved into his mouth without hesitation.
“Hahaha—power! Unmatched power!”
Under the effect of the Alchemy Pill, his body swelled to twice its original size. On his body, arms—almost everywhere—inhuman changes appeared.
The black currents within the Array were drawn to him like moths to a flame.
With the influx of black energy, Protector’s inhuman traits grew more pronounced. Soon, he’d fully transformed into something no longer human.
Jet-black scales covered his body; his pupils became blood-red with gold streaks; a hideous tail sprouted behind him, and his limbs became beast-like claws.
Protector had completely shed his humanity. He looked like a dragon that had never learned proper transformation arts—retaining bestial features even in humanoid form.
Linglong was repulsed by Protector’s transformation.
Possessing the true Dragon Blood herself, she could easily discern what this thing was: a crude forgery, a Monster catalyzed by a mere trace of dragon blood!
Not even a Sub-Dragon—at least Sub-Dragons had some genuine dragon lineage. This Monster had only the form, not the spirit. Anyone with dragon blood would view it the same way—
Such a thing had to be wiped from this world!
“Roar!” The Monster-Protector let out a howl, neither human nor beast. Though he’d lost the power of speech, his rationality remained.
That was why he dared swallow the Alchemy Pill to become this abomination—he’d experienced the strength before, and knew what the side effects would be.
Compared to defeating Linglong, the side effects were a minor issue—some rest would heal them.
If he lost to Linglong, though, the consequences would be far worse.
Power surged through his body. Protector stopped drawing in black energy from the Array and launched himself at Linglong like an arrow from the string.
Man and Monster clashed in the air—the battle began in earnest.
Compared to his original form, Monster-Protector was far stronger, able to clash with Linglong on equal footing. His claws could meet the Ling Sword head-on.
He looked ugly as sin, but even Linglong had to admit that this form’s combat power was impressive.
From being unable to fight back, he’d climbed to nearly a 50-50 match; this form pushed Protector’s power to the very limits of the Spirit Master realm.
Judging by the Array’s condition, he hadn’t even fully utilized its effects—if his potential ceiling were higher, perhaps Linglong would be the one on the losing end now.
That was the one bit of good news—if things had really gone that far, she’d have no choice but to retreat and look for another opening.
“So, Black Dragon—it’s definitely tied to the Magic Path.”
As she fought, Linglong studied her foe’s condition. The draconic traits of this Monster were obvious to anyone; the connection to dragons was plain.
And a dragon body so steeped in evil could only have one source in her mind.
That Magic Path sect she’d once encountered in Huiyue City—their symbol was a black dragon steeped in Demonic Qi!
Clang!
The Ling Sword struck Protector’s waist, forcing him back two steps.
Though he’d grown stronger, compared to Linglong—who’d trained since childhood in combat and swordplay—his moves were still full of flaws.
And sure enough, she’d found a gap to slash his waist.
Unfortunately, those black dragon scales were more than mere decoration. They provided serious physical defense. Her sword only broke a few scales; the real injury was slight.
A trickle of black blood leaked out, but the wound quickly healed; the damage from her sword was almost negligible.
After being struck, Protector retreated, returning to the Array to absorb more black energy.
Within a few breaths, his scales regrew and his expended strength was restored.
He was back in peak form, while the Spiritual Power Linglong had spent could not be recovered quickly.
“So it even has that effect?” Linglong realized that if this continued, Protector would wear her down.
It wasn’t a matter of self-doubt—she simply knew, after exchanging blows, that she’d lost her chance for a swift victory. Now it was a battle of endurance.
Clearly, with the Array supporting his recovery, Protector’s stamina far outclassed hers.
To defeat him, she’d need to destroy his “spring”—his source of power.
Or… wait for Hua Jian to arrive.
She had no way to take Protector down quickly, but Hua Jian did. Demonic Qi and the Illusory Dream Flower’s mist were guaranteed to work on Protector—just one dose and he’d be hard-controlled to death.
Perhaps this was a matter of specialization, Linglong thought to herself.
So, she’d try to disrupt the Array first. If that failed, she’d delay for time until Hua Jian showed up. Linglong quickly made her decision.
She knew how fast Hua Jian’s Feihua Dun was.