Radiant Flame Dragon

The giant dragon's wings were tattered beyond repair, their membranes formed from burning Star Crystals and solidified flames. When spread, they blotted out the sky, and the shadow they cast covered the entire shield.

Three twisted crystal horns spiraled upward from its head, dark-gold lightning coiling around their tips.

Most horrifying were its eyes. Its left eye retained the dragon race's distinctive vertical pupil, brilliant golden and majestic. Its right eye was completely covered in Star Crystal, dark-purple light swirling within the crystal and radiating inhuman savagery and chaos.

A powerful dragon-type soul beast had been transformed into its current state after being altered by the Rift Realm.

Xiao Hongchen's mouth fell open, and an indistinct sound came from his throat as his face rapidly turned red.

One moment ago, he had been lying on the ground, listening to identify their direction and seriously analyzing the enemy situation. The next, the enemy was standing right before them. The contrast made him want to crawl into a crack in the ground.

Showing off.

And he had made a huge show of it.

But no one laughed at him now.

Because the dragon stopped advancing. It lowered its head, slightly drawing in its damaged wings as a deep hum rumbled from its chest.

Then the dragon's might erupted.

This was neither soul power suppression nor suppression by presence. It was the sovereign majesty flowing through its bloodline, the dragon race's innate oppression of lesser creatures.

Golden ripples merged with dark-purple Rift Realm energy, forming a tangible tide that surged toward them.

Xiao Hongchen felt the blood throughout his body freeze instantly. His Three-Legged Golden Toad martial soul emerged automatically, only to let out a mournful cry before shrinking directly back into his body before the dragon's might.

Veins bulged on his forehead as he dropped to his knees and tried to struggle to his feet. But the force was too immense, like a mountain pressing down upon his back, leaving him unable to move.

Meng Hongchen let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground. Her ice-blue butterfly bow accessory came loose, and the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad martial soul trembled violently the instant it appeared. Before the dragon's might, her power had encountered its natural predator.

She bit her lip, terror filling her watery blue eyes, yet she could not even lift a finger.

Ye Guyi knelt on one knee, her light sword planted in the ground to support her body and keep herself from collapsing completely. The Holy Angel martial soul behind her struggled to unfold, the holy light on its pure white wings already faint, like a candle about to go out.

She gripped the sword hilt tightly, emerald eyes fixed on the dragon beast as bright red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Under the impact of the dragon's might, the shield shook continuously and let out groans as though it could no longer bear the strain.

Among everyone present, Xu Tianming alone remained standing where he was.

He looked up at the enormous dragon, his red eyes holding not the slightest fear or tension.

The dragon's might swept toward him, but when it reached him, it was as though it had struck an invisible wall. It split automatically to either side, unable to stir even the hem of his clothes.

What a joke. He possessed the Golden Dragon King's bloodline and was the mighty Second-Generation Golden Dragon King. How could he possibly fear dragon's might?

Within the world of soul beasts, the Golden Dragon King was the incarnation of the Dragon God and the origin of the Golden Dragon Clan. The giant dragon before him appeared to possess Golden Dragon blood, but at most it was a draconic subspecies with part of the Golden Dragon Bloodline. On top of that, it had been corrupted by the Rift Realm and had lost its mind.

To Xu Tianming, this sort of dragon's might was not even a breeze against his face. Instead, it felt oddly familiar, as though he had encountered a rebellious distant relative.

Xu Tianming tilted his head and examined the enormous creature before him.

Then he raised his right arm. Golden light rose, and a miniature sun appeared. Red-gold flames burned around its edge, radiating intense heat and raising the temperature within the shield.

The giant dragon was provoked. It raised its head and released an earth-shaking roar.

The dragon's cry pierced through the Rift Realm.

The terrifying sound spread outward from the giant dragon. The dark-purple clouds were shattered, and the Star Crystal fragments on the ground all bounced up, striking the Soul Guidance Shield with crisp clatters.

Immediately afterward, the dragon's might erupted again. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen's bodies both shook, and even Ye Guyi could no longer hold on.

The light sword in her hand dispersed into specks of light. After swaying twice, she fell alongside Meng Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen still wanted to hold on, but his legs suddenly gave way and he crashed to the ground. Before the three children could even let out a groan, they had already lost consciousness and fallen asleep.

Xu Tianming remained where he was without moving.

The dragon's might lifted the hem of his clothes, sending his short golden hair drifting backward. Only his red eyes narrowed slightly; otherwise, he remained unaffected.

"Young people really are healthy. They fall asleep the moment they hit the ground."

Xu Tianming lowered his head and looked at the three beside him.

Xiao Hongchen's face was pressed to the ground, his arms still braced as though supporting his body. He looked utterly pathetic. Meng Hongchen lay curled on her side.

Ye Guyi frowned. Even unconscious, her fingers had not fully loosened, as though she were still clutching something.

Xu Tianming looked up at the giant dragon.

The creature before him had already been corrupted by Rift Realm energy. Its body was covered in dark-purple Star Crystals, while its originally brilliant golden scales had split into countless irregular crystalline layers. Its left wing was severely damaged, and its right eye had been completely filled with Star Crystal.

Yet the aura of light and fire could not be entirely concealed.

Xu Tianming recognized it.

"Radiant Flame Dragon."

It was a draconic subspecies with a thin Golden Dragon Bloodline.

It possessed both light and fire attributes, as well as a portion of true dragon bloodline. Among the soul beasts of Douluo Continent, it ranked among the very best.

Even more troublesome, the Radiant Flame Dragon before them was already more than thirty meters long. That meant its cultivation was nearing one hundred thousand years.

A top-tier draconic subspecies that required a Titled Douluo to defeat had actually been corrupted by the Rift Realm so quickly.

That was not normal.

Rift Realm energy could corrupt humans and soul beasts, but the process did not occur immediately. The stronger one was and the higher one's cultivation, the greater one's resistance to corruption.

None of them, these one-ring and two-ring soul masters, had undergone any major changes.

Why had the Radiant Flame Dragon been corrupted so quickly?

Xu Tianming's gaze fell upon the Radiant Flame Dragon's chest and abdomen.

Beneath layers upon layers of Star Crystal, dark-purple light constantly flowed, as though something inside was drawing in and expelling energy.

"Looks like it ate something it shouldn't have."

The moment Xu Tianming finished speaking, the Radiant Flame Dragon moved. All four claws exerted force, and its more-than-thirty-meter body charged toward them at a speed completely disproportionate to its size.

The earth rumbled beneath its feet. Every step it took caused the ground to cave in, while dark-purple cracks rapidly spread in every direction.

The Soul Guidance Array reacted at once. All twelve Soul Guidance Cannons turned their muzzles simultaneously, powerful white light gathering at their openings.