Beast Power Pill

Pills—these two words could be said to run even more deeply through the entire story than Heavenly Flames.

Zhu Jin stared at the tiny purplish-red "little pellet," utterly insignificant compared to his own body, his eyes filled with envy. Although he had been born on Dragon Island, Dragon Island was no longer what it used to be. The medicinal herbs allotted to them were scarce enough, let alone pills.

Zhu Jin had once wondered what it felt like to swallow a pill. Or perhaps every reader of Battle Through the Heavens had wondered what they tasted like.

Xie Yun looked at the pill in his hand, his heart aching terribly. This pill was expensive; he had paid an enormous price to obtain it. It was practically his trump card, a secret weapon he had intended to use after the final encirclement succeeded, once everyone else had lowered their guard, to wipe out his other "allies" in one fell swoop.

But he had no choice now. If he did not use it, he would die here.

The moment the pill entered his throat, a strange red color surged across Xie Yun's body. A low roar came from his throat as the purple battle qi rising from his body abruptly erupted as though it had gone out of control. Within the deep-purple battle qi, faint traces of dark red could be seen.

The next second, Xie Yun's speed doubled. He rushed before Zhu Jin in an instant, his massive pincers smashing heavily toward him. With a boom, Zhu Jin answered with a punch of his own, only for an immensely powerful force to explode forth. Caught off guard by the recoil, Zhu Jin staggered back a step. Just as he steadied himself, a huge black shadow swept past him, and the enormous serpent tail behind Xie Yun lashed heavily across Zhu Jin's body.

"Bang!"

A dull sound rang out. The Battle Qi Dragon Armor around his body shattered instantly, and searing pain spread through him. After taking the pill, Xie Yun's strength had soared so drastically that he had sent Zhu Jin's massive body flying back more than ten meters.

"I had originally saved this Grade Five pill to send those three old Heavenly Fox Spiders on their way. Using it to kill you isn't a loss either!" Xie Yun said smugly upon seeing that he had suppressed Zhu Jin. At this point, he had nothing left to hide. He only wanted to beat the little dragon before him to death, then strip out his tendons, flay him, drink his blood, and eat his flesh. If he could eat dragon meat, it would benefit him too. That would not be much of a loss.

"Grade Five?" Yet upon hearing Xie Yun's words, Zhu Jin tilted his dragon head slightly. He might never have eaten a pill, but that did not mean he had never seen one.

Zhu Jin swept out with his Dragon Sense and easily noticed that Xie Yun's wounds had not only failed to heal, but had instead worsened under the pill's strengthening effect. This proved that the pill was not for healing. It had to be a pill that temporarily enhanced strength, but the increase in strength was not much at all.

Based on Zhu Jin's experience of rereading Battle Through the Heavens dozens of times, this pill could not possibly be Grade Five.

"That's right. What I used was precisely a Grade Five pill, the Dragon Power Pill." Xie Yun revealed a proud expression. "I obtained this Dragon Power Pill from the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan. Prepare to die!"

At those words, Zhu Jin could not help staring in stunned disbelief. If it had been any other pill, he was not an alchemist, so naturally he would not have recognized it. But it just had to be a Dragon Power Pill!

Zhu Jin looked at the triumphantly elated Xie Yun, pity appearing in his eyes. He shook his head helplessly and said, "What you took was not a Grade Five Dragon Power Pill. Judging from its color and power, it should be a Grade Four pill that had barely reached the Grade Four level—the Beast Power Pill."

Selling a Grade Four pill as Grade Five—tsk, tsk, tsk. Was that even human? No, the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan was not human to begin with.

Upon hearing Zhu Jin say this, Xie Yun's expression, which had been filled with certainty of victory, instantly froze. His face darkened as he said, "Impossible. A powerful member of the clan sold this to me. It is a genuine Grade Five Dragon Power Pill!"

Seeing Xie Yun's disbelieving expression, Zhu Jin crossed his arms over his chest and recited fluently, "A Grade Five pill, the Dragon Power Pill, allows its user to possess extremely formidable strength for a short period. This strength has nothing to do with battle qi amplification; it is purely physical strength. Furthermore, the Dragon Power Pill is somewhat more difficult to refine than ordinary Grade Five pills."

"Grade Five pills are pills used by Dou Wang-level experts. If a low-level Dou Wang took a Dragon Power Pill, he could contend with a mid-level Dou Wang. If someone at the Dou Ling level used it, they could basically become invincible below the Dou Wang level. Most importantly, Dragon Power Pills are dark red. What you just took was not dark red, but purplish-red. Though the difference is slight, whether in the strength it enhances or its appearance and color, what you used could not possibly have been a Dragon Power Pill."

Boom!!! Zhu Jin's words struck Xie Yun's head like a bolt from the blue. Whether Zhu Jin was telling the truth or not, Xie Yun had actually sensed it himself. If it truly had been a Grade Five pill, then with his own cultivation as an eight-star Dou Ling, even if one punch could not kill Zhu Jin, a three-star Dou Ling, it should at least have gravely wounded him.

The power of a Grade Five pill could not possibly be so little!

Xie Yun's reddened eyes resembled those of a gambler who had lost his entire fortune. He roared, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! The clan ancestor could not have deceived me! I traded my life and everything I had for this—it cannot be a Grade Four Beast Power Pill!"

"No~~"

Pfft, pfft, pfft. Xie Yun let out a skyward howl, then spewed a great mouthful of blood. He had actually been angered to death on the spot!

Already severely injured, Xie Yun had then suffered the Beast Power Pill's violent medicinal effects and a surge of rage that attacked his heart. The beast veins within his body collapsed, and he died miserably where he stood.

"Ah, why would a Magical Beast clan speak to you of familial affection? Even on East Dragon Island, even in Zi Yan's case, those elders had always regarded her as nothing more than a Dragon Emperor with the pure Ancient Void Dragon bloodline, someone who could unite all the Dragon Islands." Zhu Jin slowly walked up to the Xie Yun who had died of rage, feeling a sorrow akin to the death of a rabbit mourning a fox.

After all, although Zhu Jin's bloodline was somewhat stronger than the Dragon Beasts of the vassal clans—he was a mixed-blood Ancient Void Dragon—he was only a low-grade mixed-blood. The fundamental reason mixed-bloods existed was that the Four Dragon Islands had fought a civil war, causing too many Ancient Void Dragons to die and creating an urgent need for troops and soldiers.

To put it plainly, they gave birth to cannon fodder soldiers and sent them to the front lines to fight. Mixed-bloods were stronger than the vassal clans, were not difficult to reproduce, grew quickly, and could be supplied endlessly.

Still, sorrow was sorrow. With a sweep of his hand, Zhu Jin stored away the corpse of the Purple Cloud Scorpion Serpent that had died of rage. He muttered to himself, "I wonder if stewing it would let me refine the pill's power back out of it."

After cleaning up the corpse, Zhu Jin looked around. The surviving scorpion-serpent warriors of the entire Purple Cloud Scorpion Snake Tribe all picked up their weapons. Their instinct to survive drove them to resist.

"Everyone, stop!" At that moment, a sharp rebuke rang out. Deputy Chief Xie Dong raised both hands and looked at his fellow tribesmen around him. "Put down your weapons! Do not make futile resistance. It will only lead to our clan's destruction. Being able to pledge our loyalty to an Ancient Dragon is our honor!"

Zhu Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. He caught the deeper meaning in those words and transmitted through Dragon Sense, "You know who I am?"