Heaven-Swallowing Hou Battles the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King

"You're the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian? What did you mean by other spheres?"

"A sphere means a sphere. The continent we live on is actually a sphere. Beyond the sea, there's another continent..."

"All right, no need to explain. I understand." Ye Qing cut Di Tian off.

A sphere? So this was a planet. Could Water Blue Star also be somewhere in this universe? Ye Qing's thoughts were immediately interrupted by the system.

"Stop thinking about it, Host. Even if it's in the same universe, your body is still unimaginably far from being able to cross the cosmos."

"Can't I even think about it?"

"Of course you can, but the system suggests that you deal with the trouble in front of you first."

"What trouble?"

Ye Qing looked up and realized that something was off about Di Tian's gaze. It seemed filled with fervor, like an obsessive fan seeing their idol. Ye Qing felt as though Di Tian would charge at him in the next second.

Di Tian had just examined Bi Ji's body. When the Heavenly Tribulation descended, he had sensed that Bi Ji had likewise broken through in cultivation. Yet during his examination, he discovered a familiar aura within the energy Ye Qing had transferred to her. It was the aura of Lord Dragon God. In other words, this rabbit-like Spirit Beast before him had some sort of connection to his Lord Dragon God.

The source of that energy was the fallen gods of the God Realm, naturally including numerous Divine Beasts and the Dragon God. Di Tian could not identify every kind of energy, but he could never mistake energy from the source of his bloodline like the Dragon God's. He immediately asked,

"Bi Ji said your name is Ye Qing, right? Where did this energy come from? How much do you have?" It would not have been strange if Ye Qing merely possessed such energy. After all, anyone could absorb energy that seeped into the forest. But Ye Qing could replenish others with it, which made him unique. This meant he had a way to store that energy, and his reserves were considerable.

Di Tian was not being greedy or trying to claim that energy for himself. He understood that one could not chew more than one could swallow.

Some Spirit Beasts, unable to withstand increasingly powerful Heavenly Tribulations, deliberately suppressed the growth of their cultivation and consolidated their realms to increase their chances of surviving. Di Tian knew that rashly absorbing more energy might cause him to perish in the next Heavenly Tribulation.

However, as the publicly acknowledged ruler of the Spirit Beasts of Douluo Continent, his tone naturally carried the Dragon Clan's arrogance. That was nothing unusual. Spirit Beasts with high cultivation had sufficient intelligence and would not engage in meaningless fights. Di Tian instead wanted Ye Qing to join his ranks. Setting everything else aside, Ye Qing's ability to replenish others' energy was enough to attract Di Tian. Moreover, Ye Qing seemed to have a good relationship with Bi Ji, and he did not look like a simple-minded species such as Xiong Jun.

Di Tian's reasoning was sound, but the problem was that Ye Qing's body belonged to a Heaven-Swallowing Hou. Hou and dragons were not races that could coexist peacefully. Di Tian possessed the bloodline closest to the Dragon God, and that dragon bloodline seemed to awaken the ferocity buried deep within Ye Qing's bones. What should have been an ordinary sentence came out as,

"Let's fight. If you win, I'll tell you."

Not only were Bi Ji and Di Tian stunned when those words came out, but Ye Qing himself was the first to freeze. His first thought was that Self-Discipline No. 3 was causing trouble again.

"What are you doing?"

"It has nothing to do with this system. This is an effect caused by the Heaven-Swallowing Hou's residual bodily instincts."

"Isn't that still your fault?"

"No need to worry. This system is handling it. This will not happen again in the future."

"What about now?!"

"This system recommends that the Host fight him. Look, he's already charging over."

Di Tian was genuinely excited upon hearing those words. He was of the Dragon Clan, and dragons did not fear battle. They even delighted in it. Ever since his battle with the Evil Eye Tyrant, Di Tian had not encountered a worthy opponent for a long time. He had assumed Ye Qing was a Support System Spirit Beast like Bi Ji, but Ye Qing had unexpectedly challenged him. Naturally, he would not refuse. Dragon Wings spread behind Di Tian's human form, and he flapped them as he flew into the sky.

"Then take this. Let me see what you're made of." With that, he swooped down from the sky toward Ye Qing.

"Then tell me how I'm supposed to fight! I don't know how!"

"Since this battle was caused, to a tiny, tiny extent, by the system, the system will offer you a little benefit. Let's switch to a mode you're familiar with."

As he spoke, Ye Qing felt himself enter a strange space. Before him was a computer he knew very well. The screen displayed the scene outside, except the image had been paused, and in front of him were familiar game controls.

"This is..."

"Those were the last remnants of combat awareness embedded in that Heaven-Swallowing Hou's bones. The reason you provoked Di Tian was also because of them. This system has edited them into your favorite game mode, but only this once. After this battle, that awareness will disappear completely. Aside from your body's muscle memory, you will have to learn how to fight on your own from now on. Now, the battle continues."

"At least let me look at the skills first!"

But the system ignored Ye Qing. Di Tian on the screen began moving again, and outside, he had already arrived before Ye Qing. Seeing Ye Qing's dazed movements, Di Tian felt some disdain.

"All show and no substance?" However, he did not hold back. Blackish-purple radiance wrapped around Di Tian's hand as he clenched it into a fist and struck Ye Qing. Yet when the fist landed, Di Tian felt no impact at all, while Ye Qing had appeared some distance away.

"An afterimage... I didn't sense any spatial fluctuations. Was it purely speed?"

Di Tian continued his assault on Ye Qing. This time, Ye Qing dodged in the same manner again, then opened his mouth wide.

"Roar!!!"

A peculiar roar rang out. Bi Ji, standing nearby, only felt dizzy and disoriented. Di Tian, the chosen target, felt as though a massive hammer had passed through his thick scales and struck his heart and brain directly from within. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Well played. A soul attack. I underestimated you."

A few seconds earlier, in the other space, Ye Qing saw Di Tian charge at him and hurriedly looked toward the skill buttons. He did not recognize any of them, but one yellow button reminded him of the blink skill from a certain game, so he pressed it without hesitation. The facts proved that he had guessed right. The moment he pressed it, Di Tian lost his target. When he saw Di Tian attack again, he pressed blink once more, then mashed the button marked "R" as though rolling across the keyboard.

Soul-Shocking Roar: Heaven-Swallowing Hou innate divine ability. Uses special sound waves to directly inflict soul damage upon a locked target, ignoring defense and impossible to evade.

What was even more interesting was that he discovered health bars above both his and Di Tian's heads. After taking the attack, Di Tian's health bar had actually fallen to only one-third.

Ye Qing did not care about the length of the health bar. According to the widely held view of the Fourth Calamity, as long as something had a health bar, even a god could be killed. Besides, the skill just now had clearly dealt substantial damage. Just as he was feeling smug, the system interrupted him.

"His health bar is low because the Heavenly Tribulation has just passed and he was already injured. The system also suggests that you hurry up and keep operating."

"Why?"

"Don't you know that bosses unleash their ultimate when their health turns red?!"

Outside, Di Tian, who had only spread his Dragon Wings before, now manifested a dragon tail. His limbs began to undergo Dragon Transformation, and a massive sword appeared in his hand.

"Black Sun Purple Moon Black Dragon Sword!"

"The probing is over. You are qualified to be this one's opponent. Now, let's get serious."

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