Dragon War in the Wilds

"Go clean up the house. Just tidy it up as best you can, there's no need to rush. Throw away anything that's broken and buy replacements later..." Zhongli instructed.

Aserine listened quietly. She understood many of these things already and did not need Zhongli to explain them in such detail, but it was proper etiquette to listen until her master had finished speaking. Not questioning him was loyalty. She would simply listen obediently.

"...Oh, right. If a purple-haired girl about my age comes by, treat her well. If she asks what happened, just say the house was robbed. As for the rest, explain it as you see fit." It took Zhongli quite a while to finish his instructions.

"Mm, I understand."

Aserine nodded slightly.

"I'm heading out. Wait for me at home."

Zhongli walked step by step in the direction where the Geo Elemental Particles were concentrated. He could clearly sense the enemies' location; they were currently near the Soul Beast Forest. They had most likely learned that Zhongli possessed Innate Full Soul Power and seen the Maid arrive at his home, assuming she had brought him to obtain a Spirit Ring. That was why they had gone to the Soul Beast Forest to try their luck.

If they failed to find Zhongli, they might come to the Zhongli Family again. What a nuisance. It would be better to deal with them as soon as possible.

Soul Beast Forest, outskirts.

"Six Soul Emperors, one Soul King, and one Soul Saint. What a luxurious lineup." Through the rocks, Zhongli watched the eight people in the distance as they searched everywhere and casually slaughtered Soul Beasts along the way. A faint but chilling killing intent flickered in his eyes.

"Hoo..."

After letting out a soft breath, Zhongli began to sense and stir the true power hidden within his body, releasing it and transforming into his strongest form.

Soon, highly concentrated Geo Elemental Power surged rapidly from his body. Vast quantities of Geo Elemental Particles swiftly enveloped him, forming a thick layer of Geo Elemental Mist that spread over a vast area.

From within the Geo Elemental Mist, a golden-yellow dragon head slowly emerged. Its true dragon visage was handsome and majestic, its bearing powerful and awe-inspiring. Even its ordinary breathing carried an overwhelming pressure that could easily instill fear in ordinary Soul Beasts over a wide area, sending them fleeing in all directions.

Next, the slender yet powerful body of the Divine Dragon gradually emerged from the mist. Its scales were as hard and dazzling as diamonds, its claws as sharp and peerless as divine weapons, and its flowing mane as magnificent and elegant as silk...

This was Zhongli's Dragon Form!

The Golden Yellow Divine Dragon was over thirty meters long, an intimidating sight and enormous even among Soul Beasts. One had to know that even a Ten Thousand Year Titan Giant Ape was normally only seven meters tall, and at most fifteen meters when standing completely upright. By comparison, Zhongli's Dragon Form was already immensely large and powerful!

However, Zhongli was still only in his youth. He had tremendous room to grow in the future; reaching hundreds or even thousands of meters was not impossible.

After all, in essence, he was neither a Soul Beast nor a human. He was the Geo Archon. Upon reaching adulthood, he would become a god without even needing to condense a Divine Core. As long as he put in a little effort, or simply lived a little longer, he could easily rise to the level of a God King.

Elsewhere, the Floating Spirit Eight-man Team.

"Over there... is there something there?"

The One-eyed Man's body suddenly trembled, his pupils contracting sharply. He slowly turned toward Zhongli's direction. His perception told him that an extremely terrifying monster was there, one with power roughly equivalent to a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast.

"Why are you scared? What could possibly be in this lousy Soul Beast Forest? Heh, don't tell me a Divine Dragon is going to pop out of the forest and kill us all? Hahahaha, that's hilarious!" a middle-aged man laughed.

"No, there really does seem to be something. I feel it too. A tremendously powerful aura is rapidly approaching us." The captain, whose strength had reached the Soul Saint level, possessed exceptionally sharp perception. His heart began pounding as he turned to the Soul Master who had spoken earlier. "Youngest, you're a Perception System Soul Master. I believe you. What did you sense just now? Speak!"

"It's coming! It's coming!"

Youngest looked in the direction from which the Golden Yellow Divine Dragon was charging, too terrified to remain standing. He collapsed onto the ground. His strength had already reached the Soul King level, so he was by no means weak. But his Soul King-level perception was just enough to sense the terrifying power radiating from Zhongli's Dragon Form—a power strong enough to drive him into despair.

"Prepare for battle!"

The Soul Saint captain immediately released his Martial Soul. Flying Eagle Wings unfurled from his back, and seven Spirit Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black—appeared instantly. He stared warily in the direction Youngest was watching.

The rest of the Floating Spirit Mercenary Group rose to their feet. Aside from Youngest, who had been frightened senseless, everyone else looked as though they were facing a formidable enemy.

Whoosh!

The Golden Yellow Divine Dragon instantly appeared above the Soul Beast Forest. The terrifying golden dragon, over thirty meters long, spiraled through the air. It looked down upon the members of the Floating Spirit Mercenary Group like a god gazing at insects on the ground.

"There... really is a dragon."

The middle-aged man from before said tremblingly.

"We're finished!"

The Soul Saint captain's heart sank. The Golden Dragon clearly had not reached the Ten Thousand Year level, but it possessed at least seventy or eighty thousand years of cultivation. With its racial advantage, it might not actually be weaker than a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast in a real fight! Six Soul Emperors, one Soul Saint, and one Soul King—how the hell were they supposed to fight that?

Roar!

The Golden Dragon let out a low roar, and countless Rain of Stone Spears instantly condensed in the sky behind it, raining down upon the ground like a gale and rainstorm.

"Run!!"

"Help!!"

"My dear mother!!"

The Floating Spirit Mercenary Group members activated all manner of Martial Souls and fled at full speed. Only Youngest, already scared out of his wits, remained sprawled on the ground, muttering, "It's useless. Completely useless. With energy intensity at that level, how could we possibly escape?"

Precisely because he excelled at perception, he understood just how strong the Golden Yellow Divine Dragon truly was. If the Soul Saint captain's Soul Power was a star in the night sky, then the Golden Dragon's Soul Power was the sun in broad daylight. They were not on the same level at all.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

Before the Floating Spirit Mercenary Group members could run more than a few steps, the Rock Spear Meteor Shower crashed down. Like a roaring beast, it savagely ravaged the earth. The terrain of the entire Soul Beast Forest was instantly rewritten, with countless Rock Spears standing across the land and forming a striking sight.

And those eight chosen people...

Had long since been buried Under the Rock Spears!

"Hmph, nothing much."

Zhongli returned to his Adult Form, turned around, stretched his body, and straightened his collar. A disdainful smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he headed home.

Still, some things were easy to destroy, but restoring them took tremendous effort. Even after they were restored, it was difficult to recover the original feeling. How irritating...

Should I find a chance to go straight to the Floating Spirit Mercenary Group headquarters in Suotuo City, wipe them out, find out who the Employer is, and deal with the Employer too? That would not do. Suotuo City was no small city. If he drew Spirit Hall's attention and triggered a Soul Hunting Operation, it would become troublesome.

Better develop for now...