Dragon Shift Shadow

The Thorn Dragon's enormous golden eyes were filled with murderous intent toward the intruder.

A Soul Beast with four thousand years of cultivation already possessed considerable intelligence and an intensely strong sense of territory.

It and the Dark Demon Evil Tiger had once been the two kings of this mountain range. They divided it between them, one ruling the south and the other the north, and had dominated the entire range for nearly a thousand years.

With their strength, neither beast was weak even in the entire Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform. They had each secured a place for themselves, and no Soul Beast had ever dared provoke them lightly.

That was until ten years ago, when a Diamond Mammoth invaded with overwhelming force and shattered the balance. The Dark Demon Evil Tiger could not withstand the Diamond Mammoth's brute strength, and was forced to retreat into the Thorn Dragon's territory.

The three formed a delicate balance. With the Diamond Mammoth, a powerful enemy, at its side, the Thorn Dragon dared not fight the Dark Demon Evil Tiger outright. It could only resign itself to the other beast taking half its territory.

Over the past ten years, the Thorn Dragon and the Dark Demon Evil Tiger had joined forces every so often to try to drive out the outsider, the Diamond Mammoth. Today was supposed to be another of their tacitly agreed battles, but before they even reached the territorial border, a human Soul Master had suddenly appeared.

Not far away, the Diamond Mammoth and the Dark Demon Evil Tiger, old rivals, were also locked in fierce battle. Clearly, all three had been attacked by the humans.

Between Soul Beasts and humans lay a blood feud that could wipe out an entire species. Now that they had met, one side had to fall.

"Roar—"

The Thorn Dragon let out another low growl. The barbs on its scales stood on end, and the thorn Soul Power swirling around its body surged wildly, turning into countless fine poisonous spikes that shot toward Na'er like a torrential downpour.

At the same time, the spiked meteor hammer at the end of its tail gathered force, then swung toward Na'er with the weight of a thousand jun.

The spikes on the meteor hammer glinted coldly. The Thorn Dragon tried to bring poison and brute force together, hoping to crush the human girl before it in a single blow.

Na'er remained calm as spatial power suddenly erupted around her. Within three feet of her, space twisted, forming an invisible barrier.

The moment the fine poisonous spikes drew near, spatial fissures swallowed them all. Not a trace of poison touched the hem of her clothes.

Facing the Thorn Dragon's tail-hammer strike, Na'er turned her wrist and held the Silver Dragon Spear across her body, blocking it steadily.

"Clang!"

The piercing clash of metal rang through the woods. A vast shock wave struck, and Na'er borrowed its force to fly backward.

Her movements were graceful, and she was completely unharmed.

The Thorn Dragon also possessed spatial attributes. Seeing this, the killing intent in its eyes deepened. A flash of light passed over its body, and it used spatial power to teleport behind Na'er. The meteor hammer at the end of its tail had finished gathering force and slammed toward her once more, sealing off every possible avenue of escape.

The sharp rush of air was right behind her, but Na'er remained unruffled. Three purple Soul Rings suddenly rose beside her, and the Second Soul Ring shone brightly.

In the next instant, Na'er's body flickered and vanished from where she stood without leaving a trace.

Almost at the same time, space rippled around the Thorn Dragon. Na'er, holding the Silver Dragon Spear, suddenly split into two. The two figures shared the same aura, making it impossible to tell which was real.

Then the two figures split again: two became four, and four became eight. In the blink of an eye, eight identical Na'ers appeared, surrounding the Thorn Dragon.

The Silver Dragon Spear's Second Soul Skill, Dragon Shift Shadow!

A spatial Soul Skill, Dragon Shift Shadow's spatial division was impossibly tricky. Silver ripples of space swelled in layer upon layer. Not only was it difficult to distinguish the real from the false, Na'er could also freely switch places with her clones.

"Guh!?"

The Thorn Dragon's golden eyes were filled with shock and bewilderment. It couldn't tell which one was the real Na'er. Its previously savage gaze grew visibly frantic.

It was extremely sensitive to auras. Sensing a surge of Soul Power behind it, it immediately spun around, only to find another Na'er behind it. Enemies surrounded it on all sides, leaving it at a loss.

In its desperation, the Thorn Dragon's spines rose once more, and dense poisonous spikes shot indiscriminately in every direction, trying to find the real Na'er.

But the eight Na'ers flickered out of the way in an instant, avoiding every spike without a scratch.

The Thorn Dragon's pupils contracted sharply. Like a bird startled by the twang of a bowstring, it kept turning this way and that, its dragon scales taut as it feared Na'er would launch a sudden attack from some corner.

Na'er watched the Thorn Dragon blunder about like a headless fly, and the corners of her lips lifted. Her eyes were full of playful mischief.

Then all eight figures activated their Soul Power at once. Their power connected, quietly tracing out a formation.

Na'er had long since mastered Dragon Shift Shadow. Now, seized by a sudden playful whim, she wanted to bring the "Flying Thunder God" technique from the game into reality, using the opportunity to test her "Self-Created Soul Skill."

In an instant, all eight Na'ers moved.

Dragon roars overlapped and echoed, while the rush of air continued without pause. Space twisted faintly as the figures darted about, sending out heavy silver ripples.

In no time at all, the Thorn Dragon was covered in wounds of varying depth. Its scales were shattered, blood seeped out, and its once fearsome appearance had become utterly wretched.

Na'er had kept her aura restrained before, which was why the Thorn Dragon had dared to provoke her so brazenly.

Now, within the "Flying Dragon God" formation, dragon roars rang through the woods, and the dragon might within Na'er burst forth completely. A vast, crushing pressure bore down on the Thorn Dragon.

As a draconic subspecies, the Thorn Dragon had an instinct buried deep in its blood to obey higher dragons. Suppressed by the dragon might, its blood nearly froze, and its mind shut down completely. It lost all ability to think or resist, left only to be slaughtered.

After a while, Na'er had had enough of playing. Her seven clones vanished, leaving only her true self standing with spear in hand.

The Thorn Dragon was now covered in wounds. Most of the bony spines on its body were broken, its scales were shattered, and its blood had dried into crusts. It had become a Blood Dragon through and through.

Its eyes were full of fear, and it trembled all over, its fighting spirit gone. Even standing had become difficult.

Na'er looked at the Thorn Dragon, now entirely helpless to resist, and pursed her lips in boredom.

Well, Na'er certainly knew how to pick her opponents when it came to fighting Thorn Dragons.

Just then, a Soul Beast as huge as a small mountain flew backward from the nearby woods. It smashed through countless ancient trees, sending broken branches flying, before crashing heavily to the ground a dozen or so meters from the Thorn Dragon.

The beast's impact made the earth tremble, and dust billowed into the air.

"An Lan!"

The Lan-Na-Hui Trio had bravely ventured into the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, and Na'er recognized the Soul Beast at once. A brilliant smile bloomed across her face.

She waved the Silver Dragon Spear excitedly toward the woods, her voice full of affection.

Amid the broken trees and rubble, a handsome young man stepped out at an unhurried pace. Who else could it be but An Lan?

An Lan had grown into his frame. The childish softness had faded from him, and he stood tall and straight as a pine.

His Martial Soul had influenced his eyes, turning his pupils a deep red reminiscent of Yuanen Yehui's. But his eyes were darker, more sinister, and more captivating.