The Scramble

Blood had already dyed a large patch of ground beneath Huang Fei red.

Lu Mingfei stared at Huang Fei in shock, then rushed to her side and crouched down, reaching out to check her breathing and pulse.

Her breathing was weak but still present. Her pulse was extremely slow, yet barely stable.

The tendons and bones in her left shoulder had been shattered, broken bone protruding through the skin in a ghastly white fracture.

Taotie's claws had torn open many parts of Huang Fei's body. The deepest wound stretched from her shoulder blade all the way to her waist, almost revealing the stark white ribs beneath.

The massive blood loss had plunged her into a deep coma.

"Lady Huang Fei! Lady Huang Fei!"

Lu Mingfei gently pushed her shoulder, his voice anxious and trembling. "Wake up. I'm back. Open your eyes and look at me!"

Huang Fei's eyelids twitched faintly, her long lashes trembling once, but she could not open her eyes.

Her lips moved slightly, releasing a weak breathy sound, but she could not even form a complete word.

Lu Mingfei's heart sank instantly.

Just as he was about to call out again, he suddenly felt a fierce gust of wind rushing at him from behind.

That wind carried a sharp surge of soul power.

Before Lu Mingfei could react, a withered hand seized the back of his collar and violently lifted him into the air.

Dugu Bo held Dugu Yan in one hand and gripped Lu Mingfei's collar with the other. His gray robes fluttered wildly as he shot into the distance like a dark green shadow.

His speed was unimaginably fast, leaving not even a trace on the ground beneath his feet.

Every rise and fall carried him dozens of meters away.

Lu Mingfei was jostled until his head spun in Dugu Bo's grip. The howling wind and Dugu Yan's faint coughing filled his ears, yet he still desperately twisted his neck to look back toward Huang Fei.

"Let me go!"

Lu Mingfei struggled frantically in his grasp, kicking wildly in midair as both hands clutched Dugu Bo's bony wrist.

"What are you doing? Lady Huang Fei is still lying on the ground! Let me go... I have to go back and see her!"

Dugu Bo turned a deaf ear, his steps not slowing in the slightest.

His green eyes held an unquestionable resolve—the cold decisiveness of one in power, willing to sacrifice a small part for a greater goal.

Instead, he moved even faster with Lu Mingfei and his granddaughter in tow, leaving the crowd at the valley entrance far behind in just a few leaps.

The entrance to Dragon Valley vanished farther and farther into the distance.

Held in Dugu Bo's hand, Lu Mingfei looked down at the rapidly receding ground and could not help feeling a tumult of emotions.

He had gone through too much today, dragged into a conflict far beyond his own strength.

And the cause of it all was merely that he had absorbed a soul ring and awakened a domain.

His gaze turned toward Dragon Valley behind him as he silently prayed that Huang Fei could hold on.

Then he clenched his fists and silently told himself...

No matter what he faced next, he had to survive and become stronger.

For Huang Fei, for Hui Liyi, for those who cared about him, and for himself.

The eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect suddenly came back to his senses.

His expression abruptly changed when he saw Dugu Bo taking Lu Mingfei away.

For the first time, panic appeared on his normally composed face, and his pupils contracted sharply.

He instantly understood Dugu Bo's goal...

The domain—the domain that could strengthen dragon bloodlines!

The domain that had bloomed with golden light within Dragon Valley, filling every dragon bloodline with awe and longing!

If Dugu Bo brought Lu Mingfei back to Heaven Dou City, then the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would gain control of that domain capable of strengthening dragon-blood martial souls.

This would be an enormous disadvantage for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.

The reason the Yu Clan had stood firm on the continent for a thousand years was the purity and power of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

Once someone possessed a domain capable of strengthening dragon bloodlines, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's advantage would vanish completely.

Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's status among the seven great sects would be challenged.

"Stop him!"

The eldest young master roared, his voice carrying an urgency never heard before.

But more than half of his soul power had already been exhausted in the previous battle. At this moment, catching Dugu Bo was nearly impossible.

He staggered and nearly fell, bracing himself against a tree trunk as he panted heavily, his eyes fixed tightly on the direction Dugu Bo had gone.

Grinding his teeth, the eldest young master punched the tree beside him. The bark exploded, exposing the wood beneath.

Dragon Duke Meng Shu watched Dugu Bo's receding figure and let out a deep sigh.

He knew he had missed the best opportunity. Given Dugu Bo's speed, it was already too late to catch him now.

He clenched his dragon-headed cane in frustration and looked toward his granddaughter Meng Yiran, deep regret rising in his heart.

If he had acted sooner, even if it meant falling out with Dugu Bo to seize that boy, things would not have ended this way.

Just as the eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect was nearly overcome by despair, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside Dragon Valley.

The sounds drew closer and closer, making the woods outside Dragon Valley rustle.

He turned and saw a white-haired elder leading several hundred disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect toward them at high speed.

The elder at the front wore a dark blue robe, with the clan emblem of entwined lightning and dragon claws embroidered on his chest. A heavy wave of soul power radiated from his entire body.

Every step he took sent a ring of fine lightning scattering across the ground.

He was the Soul Douluo expert stationed in Dragon Valley Town.

The moment he received word of the disturbance in Dragon Valley, he had immediately rushed over with his men.

Seeing the elder, the eldest young master hurried forward as though he had seen a savior, staggering so badly that he nearly fell.

"Elder, there's a hundred-thousand-year soul beast deep in Dragon Valley—Taotie, a pure-blooded Taotie! A hundred-thousand-year pure-blooded Taotie!"

The elder's expression changed sharply.

A hundred-thousand-year soul beast had appeared deep within Dragon Valley. The news was far too shocking.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect had claimed Dragon Valley as its territory for many years. To outsiders, this largest wild dragon-beast habitat had always been firmly controlled by the Yu Clan, a symbol of the clan's power and status.

But the appearance of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast meant that Dragon Valley's danger level had risen to an entirely new height.

The terrifying beings hidden deep within Dragon Valley, unknown to the world, had finally surfaced.

The other forces that had long coveted Dragon Valley...

Spirit Hall, the seven great sects, even the two great empires...

would all use this as an excuse to intervene, demanding joint management of Dragon Valley and joint exploration of its secrets.

It would be nearly impossible for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect to keep Dragon Valley for itself any longer. After today, the fate of this thousand-year-old clan territory would be completely rewritten.

The elder nodded gravely, then looked at the eldest young master's injuries and Huang Fei, who remained unconscious, before speaking in a deep voice.