Storm War Dragon

"Do I really have to go?" Lin Yi looked up at the white clouds in the sky. Each cloud had a mind of its own. Once the wind blew, they all became whatever they wanted to be.

But he was different. Though he was a legend across the Douluo Continent, everything about him was controlled by the system.

If he didn't want to do something but the system wanted him to, then he had no choice but to do it. Though they benefited each other, he still felt terrible about it.

"System: Request for help. Reward: Aurora Shield."

The system's voice rang out again, but this time Lin Yi didn't feel that it was so heartless. Ghost Sorrow Cliff might be a living hell, but the Aurora Shield could protect a person from the lava.

No matter how you looked at it, the Storm War Dragon was still a Soul Beast. Even if it could move freely through the lava, with the shield, he could still kill it.

Overjoyed, Lin Yi hurried back to the inn, eager to share the good news with Pei Qinhu and the others and put their minds at ease. But when he opened the door, there was no one inside.

"Pei Qinhu!" Lin Yi shouted. He searched every room, but couldn't find them.

A terrible premonition welled up inside him. Suddenly, his chest felt unbearably heavy, as if a several-thousand-ton boulder were pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.

"Where did they go?" Lin Yi lowered his head and muttered. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, making him break out in a cold sweat. "They couldn't have..."

Lin Yi used a Soul Skill to float into the sky. Sure enough, he spotted three figures in the distance, heading straight for Ghost Sorrow Cliff.

"Damn it." He cursed under his breath and slapped his thigh. Even he would have a hard time dealing with the Storm War Dragon. Were those three trying to get themselves killed?

Lin Yi gave chase with all his might, but he had no idea how long ago the three had set out. He couldn't catch up.

After he left, the three had decided to subdue the Storm War Dragon in his place. Even if they couldn't, the three of them could wear it down together, making it easier for him to deal with when he arrived.

When they reached a point dozens of miles from Ghost Sorrow Cliff, they could already feel the intense heat. They could only imagine how they might be roasted to ashes if they went any closer.

"Are you ready?" Pei Qinhu asked, shifting his gaze from the distance to the two people beside him.

Zhang Linlang stared at the scene before her, lost in thought. Though they were still so far from Ghost Sorrow Cliff, not a blade of grass grew here. The sky had been overcast when they set out, and they had even felt a little chilly.

But now, although the sky remained gloomy, they were all sweating buckets. They could even see the air shimmering with heat just ahead.

"Ready." Huang Ruolin nodded. Though she was young, she knew the importance of repaying kindness.

Ignoring any propriety between men and women, the three held hands tightly and walked forward, as if declaring their resolve to die.

By the time they reached the vicinity of Ghost Sorrow Cliff, the heat from the lava had left them severely dehydrated. Zhang Linlang, who had only recently woken up, was especially pale, her lips white and her body swaying as she walked.

"Linlang!" When the person beside her suddenly collapsed, Huang Ruolin instinctively reached out to catch her. But she was weak, too, and both of them fell straight to the ground.

A sizzling sound rose from the ground as their clothes began to burn. The two tried to get up, but found themselves utterly powerless, forced to let the scorching ground burn their bodies.

"Ruolin! Linlang!" Pei Qinhu was a man, so he was naturally stronger than they were. When he saw them fall, he hurried over and helped them up.

Marks from their scorched clothes remained on the ground. Pei Qinhu checked their injuries and found that their arms had been burned and they were both severely dehydrated.

"This won't do. At this rate, you'll die before we even reach Ghost Sorrow Cliff." He frowned. His voice was hoarse, and his lips were beginning to crack from dehydration. "Go back. I can keep going."

"No! We came together, so we leave together!" Huang Ruolin shouted, grabbing Pei Qinhu's hand as he prepared to use a Soul Skill to send them away.

As the three struggled back and forth, a dark figure appeared not far behind them.

"You three really don't take me seriously, do you? You came all this way without me!"

At some point, Lin Yi had appeared behind them. Seeing how weak they were, he felt sorry for them, but his words were merciless.

"Alliance Leader Lin, we only wanted to help shoulder your burden."

The three tried to bow, but the ground was so hot it could burn through the soles of their shoes. They could only manage a shallow bow.

"Is this how you help shoulder my burden? You're clearly just making more trouble for me!" he roared. He swept his hands over them, and several faintly visible shields appeared around the three.

Once the heat around them vanished, replaced by a hint of coolness, they looked gratefully at Lin Yi's icy expression and bowed again.

"I'll deal with you when we get back!" Lin Yi said. He used a Soul Skill to lift the three high into the air. He wasn't injured, but he saw that their skin was peeling, as though they were dehydrated.

After returning home, Lin Yi lowered the three onto their respective beds and arranged for people to look after them. Then he prepared to search for the Storm War Dragon.

According to the latest information he had, the Storm War Dragon had appeared at Ghost Sorrow Cliff but wasn't actually there. It was deep in the core of the Star Dou Great Forest, in the depths of the lake where the Sky Azure Bull Python lived.

The Sky Azure Bull Python was a Soul Beast that had lived for over a hundred thousand years, and the Storm War Dragon was in the water. If it used a Soul Skill, wouldn't every Soul Beast in the lake be caught in the disaster?

"System notification: Twelve hours remain for the mission."

The system's warning sounded in his mind. Lin Yi was at a loss. He didn't know what the reward would be for completing the mission, but he knew that if he failed, he would never be able to go home.

"I don't care anymore!" Lin Yi roared and used a Soul Skill to reach the Star Dou Great Forest.

When he arrived at the forest entrance, the guards saw him and immediately stepped aside.

Lin Yi entered the forest. He didn't want to use a Soul Skill because his Soul Power was immense, and he was afraid he might hurt some of the smaller Soul Beasts that hadn't fully grown.

He was too powerful now. Even the slightest Soul Skill could reduce a Hundred-Year Soul Beast to ashes in an instant, so he didn't want to use one.

The wind whispered through the leaves as Lin Yi carefully made his way through the Star Dou Great Forest. The farther in he went, the denser the forest grew and the more powerful the Soul Beasts became, yet his path remained clear.