Lantan's squad, following behind, had no idea what Lei Lin was planning. Otherwise...
Well, even if they had known, there was nothing they could have done. As Angels, they were merely tools!
To complete their escort mission, even if it meant sacrificing themselves, they could only march to their deaths!
And so, Lei Lin secretly protected Lin Lei as he trained in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. He watched him hunt beasts and watched him cultivate.
He watched him enter the Misty Valley again!
He watched him get chased by a dragon horde and, in the end, enter a cave under Doehring's guidance!
Fortunately, although Lin Lei still couldn't cultivate battle qi, his physique was strong. He had already reached the seventh rank.
His overall strength was greater than in the original story. Though he was in a sorry state, at least his face hadn't been disfigured.
Seeing the dragon horde preparing to seal the cave entrance, Lei Lin stopped hiding.
He appeared in the open and, with a few swift swings of his blade, killed several dragons near the entrance!
Lei Lin's sudden appearance—and his immediate slaughter of several dragons without a word—stirred the horde into a frenzy once more.
The battle began anew!
But this time, it wasn't the dragons surrounding and slaughtering a human. It was Lei Lin slaughtering the dragons.
His tiny frame, incredible speed, and overwhelming attacks made Lei Lin seem like a god of death harvesting the dragons' lives.
Lei Lin darted through the horde like a bolt of lightning. Every time he swung his blade, another dragon fell.
In just a short while, he had sent the horde scattering!
"Pathetic weaklings~" Lei Lin didn't pursue them. He simply collected their Magic Cores along the way.
But after gathering all the Magic Cores, Lei Lin still didn't follow Lin Lei into the cave.
As long as the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon didn't use its desperate killing move—the spikes on its back—Lei Lin had nothing to fear from it!
But the Saint Realm Purple-Striped Black Bear was another matter. Even if it had only just broken through to the Saint Realm, Lei Lin didn't dare underestimate it!
The difference was one of level—a qualitative difference!
Lin Lei was too weak to matter. The Purple-Striped Black Bear and the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon wouldn't care if they found him, but if Lei Lin went in...
He wasn't sure whether the Purple-Striped Black Bear could see through his concealment at close range.
Nor did he know whether it would attack him.
All he could do was suppress his aura and use his detection abilities outside the cave, silently observing everything inside.
If necessary, he could rush in at top speed, use himself as bait, and draw Lantan and the others into action, giving Lin Lei a sliver of a chance to survive!
Inside the cave, Lin Lei kept himself hidden. As he listened to the Purple-Striped Black Bear and watched it torment the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon, his expression darkened.
He realized he had run into a Saint Realm magical beast!
The Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon had even glanced in his direction just now, making him suspect that it had spotted him.
Lin Lei's hand tightened around the Burst Elixir Token Lei Lin had given him.
He had already prepared himself to use the elixir. It was the only trump card he had that might save his life!
Outside, Lei Lin watched the battle inside the cave using his detection abilities, his aura suppressed. His expression had been calm.
Thanks to Lin Lei's protagonist luck, the Purple-Striped Black Bear and the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon had ended up badly injured, just as they had in the original story.
The Purple-Striped Black Bear, which had held the absolute advantage throughout, died to the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon's ultimate attack: its spikes.
It was a miserable death!
The heavily wounded, dying Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon intended to crush Lin Lei like the little bug he was, and charged toward him.
Without hesitation, Lin Lei crushed the token, intending to take the elixir and unleash his power.
But the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon was highly intelligent. The moment it saw the Dragonblood Pill in Lin Lei's hand, it sensed something was wrong.
It immediately slapped the Dragonblood Pill out of Lin Lei's hand, and broke his arm with the same blow!
As for the protective barrier created by the token?
It was nothing before the ninth-rank peak dragon. The Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon broke through it in an instant!
Squeak, squeak~
Realizing something was wrong, Beibei stood in front of Lin Lei, but the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon casually slapped him away too.
"Beibei!" Seeing Beibei sent flying, Lin Lei roared and tried to fight the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon to the death!
But he didn't get the chance!
The moment he confirmed that the greatest threat, the Purple-Striped Black Bear, was dead, he used a magic scroll to seal the cave entrance, left an order for Lantan and the others not to enter, and went inside.
Just as the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon was about to pierce Lin Lei's chest with one of its claws, Lei Lin had already become a bolt of lightning and appeared in front of him.
He raised the straight blade in his hand. The Judgment Blade blazed with dazzling lightning, illuminating the entire underground cavern.
It also illuminated the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon's road to the Yellow Springs!
The sharp blade followed the wound on the dragon's head and split it open, its brain spilling out.
One strike, one kill!
Lin Lei, who had been ready to fight to the death, saw this and asked in surprise, "Big Brother Lei Lin, what are you doing here?!"
Lei Lin sheathed his blade and glanced at the Dragonblood Pill, which had been knocked to the ground and smashed to pieces.
Then he looked at Lin Lei. "Sigh, in the state you were in back then, how could I really leave you to come to the Magic Beast Mountain Range alone?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon and thought, Well, no need to put it off. It'll be you after all!
Without Hogg, Lei Lin had planned to keep using Lin Lei as a test subject and continue researching how to turn him into the most orthodox Dragonblood Warrior without stimulating him with dragon blood.
But he hadn't expected Lin Lei to suffer a heartbreak so soon, leaving him not even a few months to conduct his research.
Watching Lin Lei carve Dream Awakening earlier had already stirred something in Lei Lin.
Now Lin Lei had even tried to take the elixir, only to be slapped away by the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon. Watching it had left Lei Lin deeply unsettled.
Lei Lin didn't want to put it off any longer!
It was only bloodline research, after all. There was no harm in setting it aside for a while. At worst, he could wait until Lin Lei's children were born and then continue studying their unawakened Azure Dragon Bloodline.
Let Lin Lei stick to the old path. Besides, the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon transformation looks pretty cool too!
Having made up his mind, Lei Lin asked, "Want to give it a try?"
Lin Lei, who had just escaped death, looked confused. "Try what?"
Lei Lin nodded toward the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon. "This Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon is only ninth—"
Before Lei Lin could finish, Lin Lei understood and threw himself onto the dragon, gulping down its blood.
As he drank, he also swallowed the Blue Heart Grass he'd gathered in the Misty Valley.
Watching Lin Lei, Lei Lin shook his head and chuckled. "That little guy really is impatient!"
He left Lin Lei to it and walked over to Beibei, who had been slapped away earlier, feeding him healing pills.
Thanks to the protective barrier, Beibei was only a little dizzy, with his blood and qi churning.
With his physique, he'd probably be fine in a moment.
But Beibei never turned down Lei Lin's pills. The pills and potions Lei Lin made had extra ingredients.
They were nutritious and delicious—really tasty!
They were specially made to tempt little ones like Beibei, who had a childlike nature and was especially greedy.
As he stroked Beibei's smooth fur, Lei Lin teased him. "I'm right here protecting Lin Lei. You knew that, so why'd you take the hit head-on?"
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