Battle Skill Awakening

For ordinary cultivators and magical beasts, directly devouring a magic core was impossible, especially the core of a magical beast of the same rank. Swallowing one was practically suicide; it could make them burst apart in minutes. But none of that was a problem for the Ancient Void Dragon Clan.

The reason was simple: an Ancient Void Dragon was an Ancient Void Dragon. It was an innate advantage, the unreasonable talent of a top-tier magical beast. The dragon veins within an Ancient Void Dragon could suppress the violent energy of a magic core, much like how Zi Yan could ignore the toxicity and violent energy of medicinal herbs and simply bite into them and swallow them.

"This! This is!" Zhu Jin's pupils shrank, his expression as though he had been struck by lightning. Then, his face seemed to soften. "It actually tastes like durian."

The instant the magic core entered Zhu Jin's mouth, it erupted. The earth-attributed energy within the Mountain-moving Ape's core surged violently, rushing toward every limb and bone of his dragon body. However, the Ancient Void Dragon's Dragon Flame within Zhu Jin soon emerged automatically, enveloping his entire body and sealing away the energy.

Inside the cave, Zhu Jin's purple Dragon Flame rapidly wrapped around his body. He used Dragon Sense to control his soul power and restrain the Dragon Flame. With a gulp, Zhu Jin swallowed the entire magic core, then abruptly released all the Dragon Flame. At once, Dragon Flame roared through the cave, nearly filling it completely.

Amid the burning Dragon Flame, Zhu Jin discovered that the fourth-rank earth-attributed magic core inside him seemed to have come alive. It began releasing a yellow energy, struggling desperately to avoid being destroyed.

Within Zhu Jin's body, the Dragon Flame and the magic core's yellow energy remained locked in a stalemate. Patches of yellow mist seeped from Zhu Jin's nostrils and mouth, continuously spreading into the surroundings.

"So hot!" Several Flame Wolf Unicorn guards outside the cave entrance hurriedly sprang to their feet. They discovered that the ground temperature had suddenly risen. Even fire-attributed magical beasts like them found it scorching beneath their hooves.

"What is Lord Dragon King doing?!"

"Could it be that Lord Dragon King is refining pills?" The deputy leader looked at the faint flames pouring from within the cave. It resembled the legendary phenomenon of pill refinement.

"Let's not worry about that. Guard the cave and don't let other magical beasts discover it. Lord Dragon King may be our clan's hope." The Flame Wolf Unicorn deputy leader gazed at the strange sight inside, a peculiar glint flashing through his eyes. "Perhaps Lord Dragon King can reclaim our clan's honor."

Looking up at the increasingly dense flames within the cave, Zhu Jin had no leisure to pay attention to any of it. All his attention was focused on the earth-attributed magic core inside his body, which was locked in a stalemate with the Dragon Flame.

Zhu Jin gradually realized that his Dragon Flame was unable to refine the magic core even after a long time. Soon, his stomach began growling with hunger, and a powerful sense of starvation washed over him.

"Damn it, my Dragon Flame is still at the lowest level. I don't have enough Dou Qi to refine this fourth-rank magic core!" Zhu Jin suddenly realized the problem. Ancient Void Dragons could indeed directly refine magic cores without fearing their terrifying energy, but refinement required an enormous amount of Dou Qi to support it. His mana bar was not enough!

To put it plainly, Zhu Jin was currently using his own body as a pill furnace. Dragon Flame was the fire, and he consumed Dou Qi to activate it and refine the magic core. But because Zhu Jin's Dragon Flame was at a very low level, refining a fourth-rank magic core required a considerable amount of Dou Qi.

Zhu Jin did not waste any words. He grabbed the Mountain-moving Ape's flesh, which had been cooked by the geothermal heat, and tore into it viciously to replenish his Dou Qi. The enormous, ten-meter-tall Mountain-moving Ape was devoured by him in just a few gulps.

The stalemate continued until Zhu Jin had eaten all the Flame Wolf Unicorn leader's flesh from his storage space. Only then was it gradually broken. Although the fourth-rank magic core contained rather immense energy, it was ultimately only a magic core. Under the relentless burning of the Dragon Flame, its energy barrier was finally burned through.

As the magic core's energy barrier was destroyed, the Dragon Flame let out an excited roar and surged forward in a flood, enveloping the magic core before beginning to temper it.

After the flames burned it for a long time, fine cracks finally began appearing across the magic core's hard surface. A while later, with a crisp crack, the surface of the magic core turned into ash and scattered away. Once the dust settled, a small clump of yellowish-brown energy floated within the dragon body.

Seeing the energy clump appear, a trace of joy finally surfaced on Zhu Jin's tense face. He said in a deep voice, "Good! Heaven does not disappoint a diligent dragon. Absorb it at once!"

The moment the magic core energy clump appeared, Zhu Jin used Dragon Sense to control the Dou Qi within his body. Surging dragon Dou Qi burst forth in a tidal wave, surrounding the energy clump. Then, under the control of his soul power, it began circulating through his dragon veins.

As Dragon Sense guided the energy clump through the pathways of his "dragon veins," Zhu Jin suddenly discovered that the magic core's energy clump was being gradually devoured and fused by the Dou Qi in his dragon veins!

Seeing this, Zhu Jin was both shocked and delighted. From the looks of it, he could now be certain of one thing: this fourth-rank magic core was extremely compatible with his dragon veins. He had truly struck it lucky this time!

When the last trace of the energy clump was completely absorbed and fused by his dragon veins, Zhu Jin, who had his eyes tightly shut inside the cave, abruptly opened his golden pupils. A dazzling golden radiance shot from his eyes, almost tangible in substance. Moments later, the golden light faded, and Zhu Jin exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

A stream of information from Dragon Sense rang out in Zhu Jin's mind.

Battle Skill Awakening:

[Low Earth-rank Movement Battle Skill—Dragon Flash (Beginner)]

[High Profound-rank Enhancement Battle Skill—Mountain-moving Strength (Mastered)]

The instant the information from Dragon Sense arrived, Zhu Jin, knowing what it represented, could barely suppress the curve of his lips. His smile nearly split his face as he laughed. "Hahaha, I've finally awakened battle skills! An Earth-rank movement battle skill—now I'll have a means of saving my life!"

Zhu Jin was no stranger to Dragon Flash. If not for the suppression of his cultivation back then, he would have nearly been caught off guard by his little brother's Dragon Flash.

"A low Earth-rank movement battle skill... judging by its rank, it's comparable to the Three Thousand Lightning Movement from the book." Zhu Jin could not help becoming excited as he recalled the book's description of Three Thousand Lightning Movement. It had been unbelievably cool.

Dragon Flash was a battle skill on the same level as Three Thousand Lightning Movement, but unlike Three Thousand Lightning Movement, it was not high-speed movement. It briefly and swiftly crossed through space, producing an effect similar to teleportation. Not only could it evade attacks, but it could also cross behind an enemy and launch a counterattack. It was an exceptionally powerful bloodline battle skill within the Ancient Void Dragon Clan.

"But this Mountain-moving Strength..."

After the excitement of awakening Dragon Flash faded, Zhu Jin examined the unfamiliar battle skill that had suddenly appeared in his mind. He had never heard of a battle skill called Mountain-moving Strength.

"Mountain-moving... Could this be the Mountain-moving Ape's bloodline battle skill? Did I fuse its bloodline battle skill?!"