A Small Boost

"Devour an enemy's magic core to obtain their Dou Technique? I can do that?"

Zhu Jin's dragon eyes widened, and he tilted his head. He didn't remember the Ancient Void Dragon Clan having such an innate racial ability.

"Could it be an ability from my mother's side? Or perhaps the Ancient Void Dragon Clan already has this ability, but it's so rare that ordinary young dragons don't have it, and I somehow unlocked an SSR? Or was it simply luck, and I accidentally stole the Mountain-moving Ape's Dou Technique?" Zhu Jin furrowed his brow and began recalling the contents of Battle Through the Heavens, hoping the creator god, Father Potato, could give him some hints.

But Zhu Jin soon shook his head. The original work had little description of the Beast Domain to begin with, and even less about the cultivation system and practices of magical beasts. It could be said that there was virtually no explanation of how magical beasts cultivated. Many things were only learned after he was reborn as a dragon—Oh, so this is how magical beasts cultivate.

Zhu Jin drew a deep breath and abruptly rose to his feet. Looking up at the sky, he clenched his fists and said, "It's fine. A great man once said, 'Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth!' Now that I've left North Dragon Island, meat is no longer rationed. If I hunt enough, I'll eventually encounter another magical beast with something worthwhile. Then I'll know whether it was just luck or a talent unique to me."

"First, let's see what this Dou Technique can do." With a thought, Zhu Jin activated his newly awakened Dou Technique, Mountain-moving Strength.

"Activate!" Zhu Jin shouted in a low voice. Dragon Dou Qi surged through his body, his dragon blood instantly boiling as every muscle swelled. With a crack, the cave floor split under the pressure. Then, with a boom, his enlarged massive dragon body rammed into the ceiling.

"Just as I thought. This Dou Technique is like the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change—a Dou Technique that temporarily boosts combat power. But instead of raising cultivation, it increases physical strength, making the body more powerful and boosting overall force." Zhu Jin lowered his head to look at his bulging muscles and quickly understood. This Dou Technique worked like inflating a balloon. The accelerated circulation of Dou Qi increased his blood flow, expanded his muscles, and temporarily raised his combat power.

Zhu Jin licked his lips, a smug glint flashing in his eyes. "Who would've thought my 'cheat' needed magic cores? North Dragon Island really held me back!"

Having figured it out, Zhu Jin nodded to himself and licked his lips. "Sure enough, Zi Yan brings me good fortune. Heading straight for Zi Yan must be fate. Huh? Why is there electricity! Oh, static electricity. Scared the life out of me."

Zhu Jin deactivated Mountain-moving Strength, shook his dragon claw that had been shocked by static electricity, then clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward the cave entrance. Looking at the sun in the sky, he felt more and more that his life as a dragon was full of hope.

"Dragon King, you've emerged from seclusion?" Seeing the Dragon King come out, Deputy Chief Wolf Lai immediately trotted over eagerly, prostrated himself on the ground, raised his tail, stuck out his rear, and waited for orders.

"Mm." Zhu Jin gave a deep grunt and asked, "By the way, how long was I in seclusion?"

"Reporting to the Dragon King, it has been seven days," Wolf Lai replied.

Zhu Jin couldn't help being startled. By his own perception, it had only been a short while. From refining the magic core to absorbing its energy, he hadn't expected it to take seven days. No wonder Zi Yan's sleep in the novel was measured in years.

Still, it wasn't strange. After absorbing the magic core, Zhu Jin had gained more than just a new Dou Technique—his cultivation had risen as well. Two of the spikes on the Dou Crystal inside his body had been worn away, while only half of the third remained. This meant he was now a fourth-tier magical beast, with cultivation at the level of a three-star Dou Ling. It was like a short period of seclusion that brought him a small boost.

The flesh-and-blood energy of three fourth-tier magical beasts and one fourth-tier magic core had raised his cultivation by two stars.

Zhu Jin thought, By my calculations, it's still early. Brother Xiao Yan still has three years before his three-year agreement. I need to raise my cultivation to at least Dou Wang. During the plot where Xiao Yan attacked the Misty Cloud Sect for the third time, he recruited Dou Wangs from the Black-Corner Region to form a temporary alliance. This is a perfect chance to cling to a powerful thigh. This is the merit of following a dragon. And at that time, Zi Yan was also a Dou Wang, still in that muddled stage where she didn't even know who she was. I can use my status as a fellow Ancient Void Dragon, give her some medicinal pills to get close to her, and everything will fall into place. Heh heh... Damn it, why is there static electricity again?

"For now, my top priority is to raise my cultivation to Dou Wang, gather medicinal ingredients and resources, find an alchemist to refine some fifth-tier medicinal pills, and then look for a way to leave the Beast Domain for Jia Nan Academy. It'll be enough if I can accomplish all that within three to five years. Right now, intelligence is the most important thing. I need to establish a force of my own. That will make gathering information and developing much easier." Zhu Jin set aside his "grand plan for dragon life," turned his gaze to Deputy Chief Wolf Lai, and asked, "Tell me about the Wild Mountain Range in detail."

Upon hearing Zhu Jin's order, Wolf Lai began recounting every piece of information he knew.

It turned out that three hundred years ago, the Wild Mountain Macaque Dragon Clan, the dominant clan of the Wild Mountain Range, had begun declining. After the strongest seventh-tier Macaque Dragon Beast King in the clan died, no seventh-tier magical beast ever appeared within the Wild Mountain Macaque Dragon Clan again. This led to a situation where various powers carved up the entire Wild Mountain Range.

The place where Zhu Jin and the others were now was once the territory of the Wild Mountain Macaque Dragon Clan. However, the Wild Mountain Macaque Dragon Clan had now completely vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a barren stretch of land with depleted spiritual energy. Only several fourth-tier magical beast tribes remained living here.

The Flame Wolf Unicorn Clan, Steel-winged Vulture Clan, and Mountain-moving Ape Clan were among them.

After silently listening, Zhu Jin roughly understood. The Ancient Void Dragon Clan's civil war had indeed had a huge impact. Without the support of Dragon Island, a former vassal clan had actually vanished in the end. But thinking about it, a clan like the Ancient Dragon Bear Clan producing someone like Xiong Zhan, who cultivated to Dou Zun, would be equivalent to a revival of the clan's glory. No wonder East Dragon Island later agreed to let Xiong Zhan return to his rightful place.

A Dou Zun was top-tier combat power even on Dragon Island. In the Soul Hall, that would be a Soul Hall Venerable—an existence capable of stirring the winds and clouds. After all, among the Four Pavilions and Three Valleys, there was only one Dou Zun.

Most of the vassal clans had likely withdrawn from the Beast Domain alongside the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, only to be wiped out in the end as well.

Zhu Jin asked, "By the way, you said there are other fourth-tier magical beast tribes here. Do you know where they are?"

Wolf Lai was momentarily stunned by the question, then nodded. "Yes. The remaining Heavenly Fox Spider Tribe, Green-horned Tiger Tribe, Divine Eagle Deer Tribe, and Purple Cloud Scorpion Snake Tribe are all on the other side of the basin. Those four tribes are stronger and occupy larger territories."

"And..." Wolf Lai seemed to want to say something, but then fell silent.

Zhu Jin glanced at him and asked, "And what?"

Wolf Lai's wolf tail drooped as he said in a low voice, "The Purple Cloud Scorpion Snakes are a vassal clan of the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan. They have the Nine Nether Deep Earth Pythons backing them. I heard they already know about the deaths of the three chiefs and are preparing to come hunt us."

"Nine Nether Deep Earth Pythons?" Zhu Jin raised a dragon brow, recalling the descriptions of the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan from the book. The corner of his mouth curled as he smiled. "They're merely a vassal clan of the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan. They want to hunt me? Lead the way."

Hearing that he was to lead the way, Wolf Lai's face filled with confusion. "Where to?"

"To hunt them."