True Dragon Skeleton

"The dragon bones are in the city. I can take you to get them!"

Madame Gao said helplessly, "As for The Hand's assets, I can help you acquire them as well, but only those in the North American Region. I can't touch the assets in the Island Nation!"

"They're in the city? Then let's get them right now!"

Wang Bert looked impatient. He turned to Mercury and said, "Mercury, I'll leave the cleanup here to you. Freeze what needs freezing, burn what needs burning. As for the police, ignore them!"

Mercury nodded. "Yes, Blood God. Leave it to me!"

"Everyone, tonight we wiped out the wicked Hand and won a great victory. That's something worth celebrating! I've decided that tomorrow night, we'll hold a celebration banquet!"

Then, Wang Bert shouted to everyone, "Also, everyone here will receive an extra three months' salary as a bonus!"

"Long live the Blood God!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Even Frank had a faint smile on his face. He had been planning to move recently and was badly in need of money! Class divisions in America were very distinct: how much you earned determined what kind of neighborhood you lived in, and neighborhoods of different classes differed drastically in public safety, resources, education, healthcare, and more. They were practically two different worlds!...

"Is this the dragon bone?"

Wang Bert accepted the small white bone Madame Gao handed him, barely ten centimeters long, and frowned. "Why is it only a fragment? And such a tiny one?"

"This is all we have left. In fact, if we hadn't needed it to search for Black Sky, we wouldn't even have kept this piece. It's equivalent to our lifespan!"

Madame Gao sighed. "Don't underestimate this little piece. It's enough to resurrect two people, and it can be fused at least five times. Dragon bones are quite durable; otherwise, The Hand wouldn't have lasted this long!"

"Is that so?"

Wang Bert wrapped the dragon bone in blood and discovered that the blood became extraordinarily active, seemingly eager to absorb it. "It really works!"

Wang Bert was delighted, but he did not absorb it. He still needed it to open the Iron Fist Seal! He put away the dragon bone and said, "Let's go back. Once I've taken over The Hand's assets, I'll freeze you like the others!"

"I expected that."

Madame Gao did not beg for mercy. She calmly accepted her fate. She gazed in the direction of K'un-Lun from afar and sighed inwardly. She would never be able to return to K'un-Lun again! Each of The Hand's five fingers had different dreams, and Madame Gao's dream had been to return to K'un-Lun. Unfortunately, K'un-Lun would never accept her again!

Long-Term Rental Apartment. Thanks to Wang Bert's generous compensation, everyone had moved out in just three days. A huge character for "demolish" had been written on the wall, and the entire building would be torn down in a few days—the character had been written by Wang Bert himself, in Chinese! Under the moonlight, Wang Bert silently arrived at the first floor of the Long-Term Rental Apartment with Madame Gao. Without wasting time, he had Madame Gao keep watch while he turned into blood, then into a drill, spiraling downward until he quickly reached the location of the Iron Fist Seal!

"The Blood God's abilities really are convenient!"

Madame Gao stared in astonishment. If it had been them, they would have needed a construction crew to dig downward, which would have been extremely troublesome. Unlike the Blood God, who could descend silently and effortlessly!

After reaching the Iron Fist Seal, Wang Bert expanded the surrounding area, restored the shrunken Dragon Bone Fragment to its normal size, and controlled it to touch the Glass-Colored Iron Fist Seal, which resembled an energy barrier.

It has to work, or I'll have no choice but to drag that idiot Iron Fist over here.

Under Wang Bert's tense gaze, the dragon bone and the Iron Fist Seal began dissolving each other, like a red-hot iron rod plunged into snow! Wang Bert was overjoyed. It was working. He increased his power, and the dragon bone pushed forward, constantly disappearing itself while gradually dissolving the Iron Fist Seal it touched.

When most of the dragon bone had been consumed, the resistance ahead suddenly vanished. The Iron Fist Seal had been opened. Though it was only a tiny hole thinner than a chopstick, it was more than enough for Wang Bert!

Excited, Wang Bert slipped through the hole into the Sealed Land. It was not dark at all, because a complete Dragon Race Skeleton was emitting a faint red glow. It was dreamlike and fantastical, utterly miraculous! That was right, a complete Dragon Race Skeleton—and an enormous one at that. After Wang Bert returned to human form, he was not even as tall as one of its Ribs.

"A complete dragon bone actually glows? That instantly makes it seem so much cooler!"

Wang Bert laughed heartily. With so many dragon bones, not only could his strength increase greatly, but he could also train a large number of martial artists! In the Marvel World, one could never have too much power! "From now on, you'll follow me as I conquer the world!"

Wang Bert walked to the dragon skull and patted one of its sharp Dragon Teeth, speaking with a grin!

As the saying went, extreme joy begot sorrow. Suddenly, Wang Bert's vision blurred, and he entered a world filled with flames. In the sky, an Eastern Divine Dragon over a hundred meters long, complete with wings, soared through the air. Its immense dragon might enveloped the entire world, making people unable to resist falling to their knees in worship! "What the hell? Isn't this dragon dead?"

Wang Bert was shocked. At that moment, the divine dragon flew before him, its enormous crimson dragon eyes fixed on Wang Bert as though looking at food! Wang Bert felt a little unnerved and demanded, "Who are you?"

The divine dragon opened its mouth, its voice booming like thunder. "Human. Food. Servant!"

Wang Bert, who had been somewhat tense, was so angry he laughed. He cursed, "Are you things sick in the head? It's always food this, servant that. I hate self-important bastards like you the most. We humans will never submit."

The divine dragon seemed enraged. It released a Dragon Roar that pierced metal and shattered stone, shaking heaven and earth. Wang Bert was struck as if by a storm and sent flying, rolling across the ground for hundreds of meters before finally stopping! "So what if your voice is loud? Weren't you still killed? Humans are the strongest!"

Rather than being afraid, Wang Bert cursed even more fiercely. At the same time, he recalled the magnificent sword light Ancient One had unleashed, filling the entire world. A mere divine dragon wanted to treat humans as food? Had it asked Boss Ancient One? The instant Wang Bert thought of that sword light, an enormous seven-colored sword light suddenly appeared between heaven and earth, carrying terrifying power capable of splitting the world apart as it slashed down at the divine dragon!

The divine dragon stared at the sword light in disbelief and shouted, "Impossible! How can humans possess such power?"

In the next instant, the divine dragon and the entire world were cleaved in two by the seven-colored sword light. Then, the world collapsed and vanished.

Wang Bert's consciousness suddenly grew hazy. He seemed to become a dragon—being born, playing, hunting, invading... all kinds of memories flashed past one after another like a revolving lantern.

Those memories were vague, like a dream. In the real world, the red glow on the True Dragon Skeleton was slowly entering Wang Bert's body from the Dragon Teeth, causing him to gradually glow as well.

That red glow was actually the divine dragon's remaining soul. After its death, it had never dispersed, clinging to the dragon bones and barely surviving. When Wang Bert touched it earlier, it seized the opportunity to draw him into its spiritual world! The Dragon Soul had intended to destroy Wang Bert's mind through intimidation, then use Cuckoo Takes Over the Nest. However, Wang Bert was not only unafraid, but became furious. That fury then transformed into the strongest attack he had ever seen—Vishanti's Holy Sword—which shattered the Dragon Soul's remaining consciousness in a single strike! After all, it was only a wisp of lingering thought. Had Wang Bert not come, it would have dissipated on its own in a few years!

After the Dragon Soul's consciousness shattered, the Dragon Soul naturally entered Wang Bert's body. That was everything that had happened earlier!

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Bert slowly opened his eyes. They were no longer human eyes, but fiery red dragon pupils. At the same time, the red glow on his body gathered behind him, forming a huge Fire Dragon Phantom, lifelike as though it were real!

Then, feeling power flood his entire body, Wang Bert and the Fire Dragon Phantom behind him simultaneously opened their mouths and let out an earth-shaking roar. All of Manhattan Island trembled, countless windows shattered with crashing sounds, and countless car alarms began blaring madly!

It did not end there. Manhattan Island, which had been brightly lit moments ago, suddenly went dark—the power had gone out. The city that never slept was completely shrouded in darkness.

"Was that... an earthquake?"

The people on the island were both stunned and panicked. Some, seeing darkness all around them, could not help but develop ill intentions. Before long, chaos began to spread across Manhattan Island! Setting that aside for now, at the Long-Term Rental Apartment, Madame Gao sensed the powerful fluctuation. Her eyes widened as she shouted in disbelief, "Iron Fist!"

That was right, Iron Fist. Wang Bert, who possessed a Dragon Soul, was absolutely qualified to be called Iron Fist! It should be noted that while the Manhattan earthquake had indeed been caused by Wang Bert, it did not mean he had become strong enough to create earthquakes!

Manhattan had shaken because Wang Bert resonated with the Dragon Power within the earth—the True Dragon Skeleton had been buried underground for thousands of years, and its power had long since merged with Manhattan Island!

Manhattan was blessed with both outstanding people and spiritual land. That spiritual land was due to the True Dragon Skeleton!

The TV series The Defenders told this very story—the Hand wanted to excavate the Dragon Bone, and once it was dug up, Manhattan Island would collapse. So Daredevil and the others did everything they could to stop the Hand!

Simply put, Manhattan Island was Wang Bert's home turf. Here, the power he could wield far surpassed what he could use anywhere else!

Beside the Dragon Bone, Wang Bert slowly closed his mouth. His eyes gradually returned to normal, and the phantom image of the Dragon Soul behind him flew into his body and vanished.

Wang Bert had no idea he had caused Manhattan's earthquake. Thinking back on everything that had just happened, he took off his shirt. Across his chest, a fiery red Divine Dragon with wings soared freely—it was the symbol of the Iron Fist! "I actually became an Iron Fist. The world really is strange! An Iron Fist Blood God... interesting!"

Wang Bert was a little speechless. With a thought, the Divine Dragon Tattoo swiftly vanished—he did not like tattoos, and having one on his chest meant he would have to explain it every time he picked up a beautiful woman. What a pain!

Then, with another thought, Wang Bert's body gradually began to glow red. That was the power of the Dragon Soul. For now, it was not especially strong, because Wang Bert had yet to cultivate qi!

Of course, that was not a problem. After all, an entire True Dragon Skeleton lay before him!

As someone who possessed the Dragon Soul and was also the Blood God, Wang Bert could refine far more Dragon Bone than anyone else!

"Perhaps I'll become the strongest Iron Fist!"

Wang Bert smiled faintly. Then, he withdrew the Dragon Soul's power, put his clothes back on, and jumped onto the True Dragon Skeleton. He tore off the True Dragon Head, thought for a moment, then removed a Rib as well!

"I'll refine the dragon head myself, and crush the rib into fragments for the others to fuse with!"

Next, Wang Bert used Pym Particles to shrink the head and rib, then left through the hole he had drilled earlier!

The reason he had not taken everything was that it would cause an earthquake. Besides, he was not worried about anyone stealing it—although Iron Fists could break the seal, anyone who wanted to come down here would first have to excavate the ground above. That land was now Wang Bert's property, and in the future, it would become the headquarters of the Blood God Group!

Without Wang Bert's permission, who could dig into the ground on his territory?

After returning to the surface, Wang Bert reverted to human form. Seeing darkness all around him and hearing faint roars in the air, he asked Madame Gao in surprise, "What happened?"

Madame Gao looked at Wang Bert with complicated emotions and replied, "There was an earthquake just now."

"An earthquake? I didn't take all the Dragon Bone. Could it have been because of the Dragon Soul?"

Wang Bert was stunned. In other words, he could cause earthquakes in Manhattan? Madame Gao did not care about the earthquake. With a hint of hope, she asked, "Blood God, have you become an Iron Fist?"

Wang Bert raised his hand, and a faint red glow lit up around his fist. Madame Gao immediately became excited. Yes, it was the fluctuation of the Dragon Soul. The Blood God had truly become an Iron Fist! Madame Gao set down her cane, fell to both knees before Wang Bert, and said, "Blood God, I am willing to serve you as my master, so long as you promise to take me back to K'un-Lun someday!"

Through the Purple Man Virus, Wang Bert knew Madame Gao was sincere and not merely afraid of being frozen. He asked in confusion, "Why do you want to return to K'un-Lun so badly? Aren't you a traitor to K'un-Lun?"

Madame Gao said earnestly, "Because K'un-Lun is my home. Ever since I defected, I have wanted to return. The longer I lived, the more I wanted it. Even if the people of K'un-Lun will not accept me, I will be satisfied as long as I can be buried there!"

Wang Bert withdrew his Iron Fist and said flatly, "I stole the Dragon Bone, so K'un-Lun and I are enemies. In other words, if I want to enter K'un-Lun, I can only fight my way in!"

Madame Gao said, "That is fine. I merely wish to return to K'un-Lun. As for the people there, everyone I knew died long ago. The people of K'un-Lun are forbidden from using Dragon Bone to extend their lives. The only one who can live for centuries is Shou-Lao, K'un-Lun's dragon!"

Wang Bert was astonished. "K'un-Lun has a dragon too?"

"Yes, but it has never appeared before people. The Dragon Soul of the Iron Fist belongs to Shou-Lao!"

"A True Dragon attached its Dragon Soul to a human?"

Wang Bert frowned slightly and asked, "How much do you know about Shou-Lao?"

"Basically nothing. Only Iron Fists know Shou-Lao, because Shou-Lao must personally perform the Dragon Soul inheritance!"

"Is that so?"

Wang Bert fell into thought. Madame Gao was certainly not lying, but she had committed far too many evil deeds in the past—so many that they were almost impossible to forgive.

Madame Gao waited nervously for his judgment. She knew this was the closest she had ever come to K'un-Lun! Since Wang Bert had become the Blood God, he was destined to clash with K'un-Lun!

At that moment, the lights around them came back on. Power had been restored to Manhattan Island, and cheers rang out all around them. Sensing something, Wang Bert said to Madame Gao, "I cannot forgive you, but I can take you back to K'un-Lun!"