Inspiration

"Margaret? That name sounded familiar."

After thinking for a moment, Leian's heart suddenly jolted. Margaret—wasn't she the legendary Goddess of Dark Night's foremost disciple?

She was fighting a Saint Realm magical beast?

After a brief hesitation, Leian's gaze hardened. He immediately dispelled his beast transformation and raced toward the source of the sound at top speed.

Battles between Saint Realm experts were extremely rare, especially one involving a Saint Realm peak expert like Margaret, who might be only one step away from godhood. Such opportunities were almost impossible to come by.

Therefore, no matter how dangerous it might be, Leian ultimately decided to take a look. Even if he gained no insight, he could at least broaden his horizons.

At the same time, his voice rang out in the mind of Selina, the Phantom Magic Monkey:

"Selina, follow behind me!"

Within the forest, Selina's round eyes shifted slightly, and a human-like glint of slyness flashed through them. No one knew what she had thought of, but her figure flickered as she hurried after Leian.

Leian did not see this. He had brought the little creature along because, if they encountered danger, a peak level-nine magical beast could at least hold it off for a while.

Both man and beast were fast. They soon entered the core region, and after passing through layers of dense forest, an enormous black shadow appeared in their sight a thousand meters away.

It was a Saint Realm dragon-type magical beast—a Dark Tyrannosaurus!

Dragon-kind was primarily divided into land dragons, known for their powerful bodies, and aerial dragons, which excelled at magic.

The Tyrannosaurus was one of the pinnacle species among land dragons. Its massive body stretched nearly a hundred meters, and its dark dragon scales gleamed with an unusual luster beneath the sunlight.

Within the Youquan Mountain Range, a Saint Realm Tyrannosaurus could be considered one of the most formidable magical beasts. Not only did human experts dare not enter its territory, even other Saint Realm magical beasts would not dare set foot within it.

Yet at that moment, a human figure stood in midair before the Tyrannosaurus.

She was a young woman with fair skin and stunning features. Her long, beautiful black hair was casually tied behind her head, and her entire body was enveloped in a black robe. The dark longsword in her hand was angled toward her front, Darkness Battle Qi flowing ceaselessly over its blade.

Leian did not dare get too close. He stopped and concealed himself a thousand meters away. With his eyesight, he could barely make out the woman's figure.

What surprised him slightly was that although this legendary foremost disciple of the Goddess of Dark Night cultivated Darkness Battle Qi, she had not taken the path of an assassin.

Judging by the scene before him, she was clearly challenging the Tyrannosaurus head-on.

As if confirming Leian's guess, Margaret's cold voice, infused with Battle Qi, carried over at that moment:

"Demos, didn't we agree before? We fight once every hundred years. Are you trying to go back on your word?"

The Tyrannosaurus named Demos seemed extremely angry upon hearing this and immediately cursed:

"Bullshit! Five hundred years ago, I already told you the agreement was canceled! Canceled! Did you understand me?"

After cursing, Demos could not help recalling their first meeting thousands of years ago. He deeply regretted agreeing to that "fight once every hundred years" arrangement.

One day thousands of years ago, Margaret had suddenly sought out Demos and told him that they both cultivated the Laws of Darkness. If they fought and exchanged pointers, they would certainly improve together. Perhaps one day, they might even reach godhood.

Demos had lived in the Youquan Mountain Range for over a hundred thousand years. If measured by human standards, he too was a Saint Realm peak expert, only one step away from godhood.

Thus, after hearing Margaret's proposal, Demos agreed without much hesitation.

However, what enraged Demos was that after every few sparring matches, Margaret would make some progress in the Laws of Darkness, while he gained absolutely nothing.

Worse still, after every battle, he would be covered in wounds. As a proud dragon, he found this deeply humiliating.

Therefore, five hundred years ago, Demos canceled their agreement.

But to Margaret, such a high-quality sparring opponent was extraordinarily rare. How could she possibly agree? Thus, she had simply kept pretending not to understand.

At that moment, once Demos's roar subsided, Margaret spoke as though nothing had happened. "Demos, watch closely. I'm going to attack!"

As soon as she finished speaking, black flames suddenly surged from the surface of her body. Immediately afterward, Margaret transformed into a black phantom and drifted toward Demos's forehead.

"Get lost!"

Seeing Margaret play dumb, Demos flew into a rage. He opened his jaws and spat out a stream of black dragon flame that instantly engulfed Margaret's figure.

Within the black dragon flame, Margaret's figure abruptly vanished. When she reappeared, she had eerily become four figures, positioned on both sides of Demos's body.

"Shadow Clone!"

Outside the battlefield, Leian recognized Margaret's technique at a glance and could not help sighing in admiration.

This cloning method was an ability gained after initially comprehending the Profound Mystery of the Shadow Clone Technique within the Darkness Element Laws. The true body could shift freely through shadows.

Margaret could create four shadows at once. She had already reached what the original work called the second level. She was truly formidable.

Demos understood Margaret's abilities very well. The moment he saw the four shadows, a layer of black flames rapidly ignited over his body as well.

At the same time, his thick, powerful tail lashed out like a steel whip, leaving flickering afterimages through the air.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Every collision between the dragon's tail and the Shadow Clones produced a dull impact. After several exchanges, Demos seemed to have suffered some kind of injury, and agonized roars continuously escaped his mouth.

Leian frowned, feeling puzzled. The Shadow Clone Technique merely increased the number of shadows; it did not enhance attack power. Compared to Demos's enormous body, even if Margaret's attacks broke through his dragon-scale defense, they should not have caused him such pain, should they?

Something was wrong here!

After pondering briefly, Leian's eyes suddenly lit up. A thought flashed through his mind. Since it was not physical pain, then only one possibility remained!

Margaret's sword techniques contained a Soul Attack!

Amazing!

As expected of the Goddess of Dark Night's foremost disciple. Her comprehension of the Laws and Profound Mysteries of Darkness ran so deep.

Leian silently marveled. Soul Attacks were invisible and intangible, and the battle itself was not particularly dazzling. While watching the fight, Leian still had enough attention to observe several other concealed locations beyond the battlefield.

If he was not mistaken, those places likely hid other spectators like himself.

However, everyone was far apart and doing their utmost to conceal their auras, so he could not determine their exact strength.

Within the battlefield, the fight between Demos and Margaret did not cease. Perhaps he had suffered enough of the pain in his soul, but Demos suddenly roared in fury.

"Bastard!"

"Awoo!"

As a piercing roar rang out, the black flames around Demos's body suddenly swelled. Beyond the black flames, a transparent black halo spread outward at terrifying speed.

No one knew what this Black Light contained, but wherever it passed, grass, trees, sand, and stones were instantly annihilated. Even half a meter of the ground was stripped away.

"This is..."

The instant Leian witnessed this scene, it was as though countless bolts of lightning flashed through his mind. Then, after the lightning, a spark of inspiration pierced deep into his heart, unraveling a question that had troubled him for a long time.