In a forest near Yan City, Lin Ge sat at the edge of a river, chewing on the roasted meat in his hand. A trace of dejection showed in his eyes.
Lin Ge had been in this forest for ten days. His use of sword energy had indeed improved considerably, but he still hadn't achieved the results he'd hoped for, which left him feeling rather down.
Over the past ten days, Lin Ge had slain countless beasts, and the killing intent about him had grown stronger by the day. Sometimes, he didn't even need to attack; a single look was enough to make some beasts cower.
"I'll keep going and see what's ahead."
Gazing into the distance, Lin Ge pondered for a long while before finally deciding to press on and see if he could find some stronger beasts.
"Right, don't I have a system? Why haven't I been using it?"
Just as Lin Ge was about to set off, he suddenly remembered that he could use the system's scanning function to pinpoint targets. There was no need to waste so much time searching on his own.
At that thought, Lin Ge eagerly opened the system and activated the scanning function.
"Smack!"
Looking at the multicolored dots on the panel, Lin Ge slapped himself hard, blaming himself for acting like an idiot and wasting ten days wandering around the forest.
"From the looks of it, there don't seem to be any particularly powerful beasts nearby."
After casually scanning the panel, Lin Ge didn't spot any beasts marked with especially dark colors. Most of the dots were green, and many were even gray.
The scanning function could detect targets within thirty li. Lin Ge decided to extend the scan to thirty kilometers, anticipation filling his eyes.
But the result disappointed him once again. No powerful beasts appeared on the panel, only a few dots darker than green.
"Is this panel even useful?"
Lin Ge frowned at the panel before him, his eyes full of doubt.
A range of thirty li was already enormous, yet he still couldn't find a single powerful beast. No matter how he looked at it, that made no sense.
Just then, a blood-red dot suddenly appeared on the panel, then vanished just as abruptly.
"Hmm?"
The blood-red dot hadn't appeared for long, but Lin Ge had been keeping his eyes on the panel and spotted it anyway. A trace of delight surfaced between his brows, and he hurried toward the spot where it had appeared.
But after running for more than ten li, he saw that the blood-red dot kept flickering in and out. Lin Ge realized the beast must be moving quickly, and its distance from him kept fluctuating around thirty li.
"I refuse to believe you can keep running forever."
Having finally found a strong beast, Lin Ge wasn't about to give up so easily. He swore to himself that he would find it and kill it!
Time flew by, and soon dusk arrived. At last, the blood-red dot reappeared on the screen, and this time it stopped moving. Lin Ge grinned with excitement. He knew the beast must have grown tired and needed to rest. Now he could seize the chance to see what kind of monster it was—a creature that had run all day before finally tiring.
Thirty li was a considerable distance for an ordinary person, but for Lin Ge, who had already reached the Origin Pellet Realm, it was easy. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he was already close to the blood-red dot.
The system's positioning wasn't exact, so although he'd found the spot, Lin Ge still hadn't seen the beast.
He looked around, then suddenly sensed a powerful presence. His gaze sharpened as he approached it step by step.
After walking about a hundred paces and crossing past dozens of trees, Lin Ge finally saw the beast's true form. His expression changed dramatically.
What stood before Lin Ge wasn't a beast, but a creature of a higher rank—a demon beast!
A powerful demon beast had appeared before Lin Ge!
"Demon Flame Emperor Dragon!"
Looking at the demon beast before him, Lin Ge slowly spoke its name.
This was an extremely rare demon beast. An adult Demon Flame Emperor Dragon could even possess the strength of the Nirvana Realm. But the one standing before Lin Ge clearly wasn't that powerful. It was only a young Demon Flame Emperor Dragon, with the strength of the Origin Pellet Realm. Even so, it was more than enough to make Lin Ge take it seriously.
Since ancient times, any beast or demon beast with a connection to dragons had been an extraordinarily powerful creature. They weren't true dragons, but the trace of dragon blood in their veins gave them terrifying strength, seemingly enough to crush others at the same realm.
The Demon Flame Emperor Dragon wasn't a true member of the dragon race either, but it carried a fairly strong dragon bloodline. A noble aura radiated from its entire body, making ordinary beasts and demon beasts dare not resist it—in fact, they feared it.
"This is just the kind of opponent I need."
Lin Ge grinned excitedly, releasing the full aura of an Origin Pellet powerhouse. Peerless Sword Intent surged out like a tide and coiled around his right arm, radiating a faint azure glow.
The sudden presence roused the sleeping Demon Flame Emperor Dragon completely. It opened its apple-sized eyes and slowly raised its enormous head, spotting Lin Ge at once.
"Demon Flame Emperor Dragon, let me see what you can do."
Lin Ge flashed a wicked smile and swept his right hand through the air. A streak of sword light shot toward the Demon Flame Emperor Dragon.
The Demon Flame Emperor Dragon didn't even move its body to face the sword light. It blocked the attack with nothing more than a wing on its back.
"What!"
Lin Ge was astonished that his sword light had been blocked so easily. Before he encountered the Demon Flame Emperor Dragon, no person or beast had ever managed to withstand his Peerless Sword Intent so effortlessly. Now, one of its wings had stopped the attack—and not a trace had been left behind. That was enough to show just how hard the Demon Flame Emperor Dragon's body was.
"Roar!!!"
Attacked by a human, the Demon Flame Emperor Dragon grew angry. Its massive body slowly rose, and its enormous wings spread wide and beat up and down, sending a gale toward Lin Ge and sweeping dust off the ground.
A moment later, the gale weakened. Lin Ge opened his eyes, but his gaze was fixed on the sky.
The Demon Flame Emperor Dragon was now hovering in the air, its emotionless eyes locked on Lin Ge below. Dark purple flames suddenly sprang up across its scales, covering its wings as well.
At the same time, a powerful aura gradually emanated from the Demon Flame Emperor Dragon. It was like a towering mountain bearing down directly on Lin Ge.
Facing that pressure, Lin Ge's expression grew especially grave. The origin energy within him surged into motion, and he pushed his Peerless Sword Intent to its limit, finally managing to withstand the Demon Flame Emperor Dragon's aura.
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