Lu Qiuchen had no idea that someone in the sea was secretly watching her. She flew straight toward Dragon Island, but halfway there, she was intercepted.
As four Shadow Demons emerged from the void ahead, Lu Qiuchen sensed that the space around her had once again been locked down. There must be many more demons lurking nearby.
After the demons’ plot to corrupt the Blue Dragon was exposed, they certainly wouldn’t let her return to report back. She had long anticipated that she would be intercepted on the way.
But this suited her just fine. Ever since the demons invaded her spiritual world, she had been eager to have a conversation with one of their higher-ups.
Now that she was truly an adult, her mental strength had grown far beyond what it once was. She no longer lost control of her emotions whenever she encountered demons.
What she hadn’t expected, though, was that the demons would send out four Legendary Shadow Demons this time. It seemed this plan was extremely important to them.
Still, there was no need to worry too much. Four Shadow Demons were troublesome, but even if she couldn’t win, she could still run.
Ever since her body matured, Lu Qiuchen’s speed had risen another notch—about one-third faster than an ordinary dragon. She could easily outpace the Shadow Demons.
“You…”
Before she could finish, the four Shadow Demons attacked in unison, forcing Lu Qiuchen to hastily defend herself.
The ice shield before her couldn’t withstand the combined assault of the four Shadow Demons. It shattered in the very next instant, and Lu Qiuchen had to flee in disarray.
“Ice Domain!” As she moved, the four Shadow Demons behind her spread out, attacking from four directions, searching for an opening. Lu Qiuchen could only cast a large-area ice spell to slow their movements, looking for a chance to escape.
Even so, the Shadow Demons’ encirclement was shrinking. An adult dragon’s massive body had no advantage in speed compared to Shadow Demons, and was far less agile. Only by using all sorts of magic to hinder their actions could Lu Qiuchen barely hold on.
Several times, her attempts to speak were interrupted by the ongoing battle. Seeing that the four Shadow Demons before her had no intention of communicating, Lu Qiuchen decided not to tangle with them further and burst forth at full speed toward Dragon Island.
The Shadow Demon on her left front attacked again. Lu Qiuchen took out a Mountain Dragon scale from her storage space to block the blow for a moment, then braced herself and took a slash head-on. At the cost of several shattered scales on her belly, she forcefully rammed through a gap.
Breaking out of the demon encirclement, she fled in the left-front direction, accelerating to top speed in an instant—all without hesitation.
She knew that since the demons had sent four Shadow Demons openly, their hidden strength could only be greater. If she didn’t escape decisively now, she’d never get away once reinforcements arrived.
Shadow Demons were assassin-type demons, masters of stealth and assassination. Right now, they were only here to intercept her; auxiliary demons hidden in the void had sealed the surrounding space, restricting her escape routes; the real combat-type demons hadn’t even made their move yet.
But by now, it was already a bit late. Just as Lu Qiuchen flew out of the Shadow Demons’ line of sight, a massive spatial rift suddenly opened behind her.
A gigantic, flame-wreathed arm stretched out from the rift, reaching for Lu Qiuchen.
This arm was like a fusion of magma and fire, with red molten liquid slowly flowing beneath the skin. The dark brown surface radiated intense heat, tongues of flame twining around it, with fire spurting from the arm now and then.
What’s more, the arm was enormous—its open palm was half as big as Lu Qiuchen herself. The surrounding air burned and steamed, space itself warping violently.
Under some unknown influence, Lu Qiuchen’s speed slowed drastically. As the searing heat approached, she was horrified to find the giant hand had grabbed her hindquarters. Immense strength and burning heat scorched her skin as Lu Qiuchen was dragged backward by the hand.
Magic, roars, and struggles were all useless. Lu Qiuchen could only watch helplessly as the massive arm pulled her into the spatial rift.
‘System!’ Lu Qiuchen could only pin her hopes on the seemingly all-powerful system.
She was the main boss of the game’s storyline now—surely she couldn’t just die here without rhyme or reason?
The system gave no response to her call, and despair crept into Lu Qiuchen’s heart.
She stared intently at the giant arm, desperate to know what kind of being could render her so utterly helpless.
Just as her body was about to be pulled into the rift, Lu Qiuchen, through a haze of chaos and distortion, saw the other side with the system’s help.
There was a sea of fire, solidified lava all around, and the owner of the arm stood atop a block of black stone, reaching out to drag her over.
[Flame Demon King] Angola.
Only a title and a name, no level.
Since awakening and the system’s return, Lu Qiuchen had only seen this before on Alduin.
She had once speculated that this was because they had entered another realm, or perhaps the system lacked the data.
Combining this with a previous system hint, in this moment she realized clearly: the reality of the Eternal World far surpassed that of the game.
Even if the system could quantify all her stats, its scope was limited to the instances it controlled. Once she returned to the Eternal World, the system could only detect information—and get her into trouble.
But none of that mattered now. She was about to be dragged into an unknown space—it could be the Demon Realm, or somewhere else entirely. Who knew what would happen next?
A dragon’s roar echoed from afar, old and resonant, rekindling hope in Lu Qiuchen’s heart.
If the newcomer was a powerhouse at the level of Dragon King or above, she might still be saved!
A flash of white light streaked across the front, tearing through space and appearing before Lu Qiuchen.
It was a Silver Dragon, but not Impart.
A wave of disappointment flashed through Lu Qiuchen, then shock—another dragon could actually teleport here through the space blockade!
She then noticed the nickname above the Silver Dragon’s head: Gaelph.
Another big shot with no displayed level!
The name seemed familiar. Gaelph… Wasn’t that the ancestor who created the Half-Dragons?
The elderly Silver Dragon roared in fury, and Lu Qiuchen sensed a powerful mental force pass through her, striking the rift behind.
A silver light circled the Flame Demon’s wrist, slicing open his skin, and jets of fire spurted from the wound.
The Flame Demon King flinched in pain, his grip on Lu Qiuchen loosening. She seized the chance to struggle free and escape the giant demon hand.
The moment Gaelph appeared, the pursuing Shadow Demons and other lurking demons had already retreated. Clearly, these high-level demons understood what the aura of this powerhouse meant.
After saving Lu Qiuchen, Gaelph did not pursue, only watching the giant hand warily.
Seeing he had failed to capture Lu Qiuchen, the Flame Demon King Angola withdrew, his arm slowly retreating into the spatial rift. As the space healed, only two Silver Dragons remained.
Gaelph looked at the Silver Dragon before him, her skin burned and scales blackened by the fire, and sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of heartache, though he showed nothing on his face.
Lu Qiuchen had no time to worry about her burns. Seeing the demons retreat, she anxiously said to Gaelph, “The demons have been corrupting the Blue Dragon here—he might be in danger!”