"Dragonman, are you ready to be killed by the great Sartius?"
"Sartius?" Linley raised an eyebrow at the Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon floating in the air. "That's a good name. As the first Saint-level opponent I kill, I'll remember it."
"Arrogant!" Sartius felt insulted. "You'll pay for this—what?"
Before Sartius could finish speaking, Linley had already appeared right in front of him.
"A newly advanced Saint-level?" Linley grinned ferociously. "You don't seem that strong."
As soon as he finished speaking, Linley punched forward.
His fist seemed to move in slow motion, yet before Sartius could react, it had already struck Sartius in the head.
"Dragonman!" Sartius stopped in midair. "You've angered me. The great Sartius will kill you!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, Sartius charged at Linley.
From above, Linley and the Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon seemed to be polar opposites.
The Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon was so fast that it was almost nothing but a blur.
Linley, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
Linley was far too slow.
So slow that he seemed to be out for a stroll.
And yet every attack from the Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon just barely missed Linley.
"Speed?" Linley watched the Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon attacking him relentlessly. "You are fast, but the Laws are what truly matter."
Unfortunately, Sartius had no idea what Linley meant.
"Sartius will kill you!"
The Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon roared, and a darkness so dense it seemed almost solid spread out from it in every direction.
The darkness seemed capable of devouring everything.
The dust floating in the air, branches and leaves, even the elements.
Everything that entered the blackened area vanished completely.
"Is that how you use the Laws?" Linley raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Then let's see which of us is stronger."
The next instant, Linley not only failed to retreat, but charged straight into the darkened area.
The moment Linley entered the darkness, his normally sluggish movements seemed to hit an accelerator.
"He's already comprehended the Mysteries of Fast?" Lin Ke raised an eyebrow as he watched Linley fight. "As expected, the Wind and Earth Elements suit Linley perfectly. I wonder when he'll be able to fuse the two into the Profound Mystery of Speed."
While Lin Ke was still musing over this—
"Splurt!"
"How could this be?" Sartius stared in disbelief at Linley, who had suddenly appeared before him with his right hand plunged into Sartius's eye socket.
"I've had my eye on you from the very start." Linley grinned ferociously as he grabbed the fist-sized Magic Core. "Goodbye!"
"Arghhhhh!"
Sartius screamed as Linley's right arm emerged with the Magic Core, covered in blood and white brain matter.
"Rumble!"
Sartius's corpse toppled to the ground, its back toward Linley.
"Saint-level Magical Beast?"
Linley weighed the Magic Core in his hand and shook his head disdainfully.
"Linley, don't say I didn't warn you." Lin Ke's voice rang out in Linley's mind. "You'll pay for being too arrogant sooner or later."
"What?"
Linley didn't understand what Lin Ke meant.
But the next instant, the sword-like spines along Sartius's back shot toward Linley.
"Damn it!"
Linley reacted, but the distance between them was too short.
Besides, even though Linley had comprehended the Mysteries of Fast and Slow, the spines shot out far faster than the attacks of an ordinary Saint-level expert.
Linley had no choice but to take the hit.
"Thud!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Thud!"
Seven or eight spines struck Linley, and he only had time to raise his arms in front of himself.
"Cough, cough..."
On the ground, Linley coughed weakly and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Linley was in an exceptionally sorry state.
His right arm was bent backward and broken, the scales had fallen off his left arm, a fist-sized wound pierced his abdomen, his right kneecap was completely shattered, and only a little flesh and scale still held his left leg together from the thigh down.
[Congratulations on killing a Saint-level Magical Beast. Green Energy Point +1,000,000]
"Linley? Linley!"
Doehring hurriedly called out to Linley. Bebe ran over from a distance and stood upright beside him.
"Lin Ke, big brother Lin Ke." Linley felt his vision growing increasingly blurry. "Exchange... exchange some medicine for me."
"No problem." Lin Ke snapped his fingers, and a green bean appeared before him. "A Senzu Bean costs 1,000,000 Green Energy Points. It can heal any injury below Saint-level."
As Lin Ke finished speaking, the green bean appeared in Linley's mouth.
"In... out... in... out..."
Linley jolted awake and looked around in alarm.
The ground was in ruins, and broken trees lay everywhere.
Bebe stood upright, his eyes bloodshot.
Grandpa Doehring floated nearby, looking somewhat dazed.
"Linley, Linley!" The moment Doehring saw Linley get up, he perked up. "Heavens, you've completely recovered! You look as if you were never hurt."
"Eek!"
"Boss... you're okay..."
Doehring and Bebe's voices brought Linley back to his senses. He hurriedly looked down at himself.
He had already ended his Dragon Transformation, and there wasn't a single injury on his body.
"I'm all right? I'm not dead?" Linley felt himself all over, his voice full of delight. "That's wonderful, Grandpa Doehring. I'm not dead."
Linley looked at Doehring in delight, only to see him glaring at Linley.
"Linley." Doehring's relief gave way to anger. "Why? Why did you take that risk? You could have stopped it. Why let it successfully advance into a Saint-level Magical Beast? You gambled with your life!"
Doehring practically shouted, his voice booming. Linley froze for a moment, then could only lower his head and take the scolding.
"I'm sorry, Grandpa Doehring," Linley said dejectedly. "I... I thought I was strong enough to handle any danger. I'm sorry. I was too arrogant."
"Linley." Doehring took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself. "Your rapidly increasing strength has cost you your composure. You haven't truly mastered your own power."
Doehring's words made Linley lower his head again.
Inside the System Space, Lin Ke rubbed his chin.
"Compared to the original story, Linley has endured too few trials, and his strength has come too easily. It's time to give him a task that'll make him understand himself."
At that thought, Lin Ke snapped his fingers.
Linley had still been listening to Doehring's lecture with his head lowered when a system message appeared before his eyes.
[Task: Survive and fight in the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range for six months without transforming into a Dragonblood Warrior] [Task Reward: Determined by the strength of the Magical Beasts killed during the task] [Note: Transforming into a Dragonblood Warrior during the task will count as failure. For the next ten years, the Energy Points gained from killing Magical Beasts will be halved]
Linley stared at the task before him, stunned.
"Without transforming into a Dragonblood Warrior?" Linley considered the task. "There'll be exactly six months between the Magic Test and the start of school. In that case..."
With that in mind, Linley looked up at Doehring. "Grandpa Doehring, I understand what I did wrong. From now on, I'll do my best to master my own strength. Trust me."
Before you continue