Advancing to Dou Wang and Battle

Half a month passed in a flash. During that time, Liu Yu happened upon a naturally formed, secluded cave with a waterfall and stream nearby. Hardly any magical beasts roamed the surrounding area, making it a decent temporary home.

So Liu Yu stayed there to unwind, spending his free time searching for medicinal herbs, refining a few batches of pills, teasing Little Qi, and making necklaces. What a life!

During his stay, he also heard the Amethyst Winged Lion King's furious roars. The king had probably discovered that his companion amethyst source was missing too...

Of course, he had not forgotten his real business. He summoned Queen Medusa and first presented his queen with the amethyst stone necklace he had made himself, then personally put it on her.

After explaining the effects of the cultivation method he intended to give Queen Medusa, he taught her the contents of the Origin-Nurturing Art.

To Liu Yu's surprise, his queen simply listened quietly without probing into the cultivation method's origins. In the end, she merely gave him a long, searching look before turning into light and disappearing.

Yet Liu Yu felt a little uneasy. He had the feeling this was the calm before the storm...

Afterward, Liu Yu rewarded himself as well. With the help of a bottle of companion amethyst source, he successfully broke through to the Dou Wang realm. That purple sphere had yielded only seven bottles of companion amethyst source in total.

In truth, he could have broken through to Dou Wang before long even without the companion amethyst source. He simply wanted to find out what it tasted like...

After all, three cultivation methods were constantly circulating on their own inside him. The weakest of them was the Middle Earth Tier Divine Flame Art, though that was only in comparison to the Myriad Forms Divine Art and the Origin-Nurturing Art.

Thinking about his cultivation left Liu Yu somewhat troubled. With his terrifying cultivation speed and exceptional talent, not to mention the earth fire lotus seeds he had consumed, he should have broken through to Dou Wang long ago. Yet he had not.

Sensing the reserves of Dou Qi within him, dozens of times greater than those of others at his level, Liu Yu sighed softly. It seemed he would have to find more high-tier cultivation methods in the future.

Feeling the tremendous Dou Qi surging inside him, Liu Yu decided he needed to find some magical beasts to test his skills on.

Ah, I don't want to do this either, Great Flying Lion. You'll just have to suffer a little! Liu Yu could not help "lamenting" inwardly.

Without hesitation, Liu Yu used Dou Qi Wings, and a pair of enormous blood-red wings unfurled behind him!

Flight! Liu Yu could not help feeling emotional. After spending so many years on the Dou Qi Continent, he was finally a man who could fly!

With a beat of his wings, Liu Yu became a streak of blood-red light and flew deep into the eastern reaches of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

His surging Dou Wang aura swept toward the mountain where the Amethyst Winged Lion King lived. This time, Liu Yu made no effort to conceal his presence. Naturally, the Amethyst Winged Lion King sensed the aura of a human Dou Wang, but he had no intention of moving. If he had to deal with even a Dou Wang personally, what use were his subordinates?

"Roar!" "Roar!" "Roar!"

Three rank-five magical beasts appeared directly in the blood-red streak's path. Three pillars of energy in different colors immediately blasted toward Liu Yu.

"Tsk!" Liu Yu chuckled. A terrifying mass of fire-attribute energy gathered above him, instantly forming a crystalline red finger that towered into the sky.

"Mountain-Splitting Finger!"

Liu Yu merely pointed downward, and the towering finger slammed down, shattering the three energy pillars like rotten wood and withered weeds. Without losing momentum, it bore down on the three rank-five magical beasts!

But all three beasts were veterans of countless battles. Though shocked by how easily their attacks had been destroyed, they instantly recovered and unleashed a succession of even stronger attacks.

Boom!

The collision of tremendous energies produced a thunderous explosion.

"Flame Spear!"

A teasing voice suddenly rang out between Heaven and Earth. As the energies clashed, a blood-red spear several meters long flashed toward the rank-five magical beast in the middle, poised to kill it in an instant!

At that very moment, a dazzling, enormous pillar of purple fire struck the blood-red spear. The two attacks steadily consumed each other before finally dissipating between Heaven and Earth.

So you did make your move! Liu Yu's expression did not change. He had learned this lethal combination in the Snake-People Tribe, where Hua She'er and the eight great leaders had taken turns sparring with him. No one else in the tribe could claim such treatment!

Mo Bass in particular remained "kind and approachable" on the surface, yet despite being an entire major realm above Liu Yu during their sparring sessions, he showed absolutely no mercy! Every blow went straight for Liu Yu's face. Still, the results were undeniably astounding. Under Mo Bass's tutelage, his practical combat experience soared!

Ah, what a pity. Whenever I got hurt, Hua She'er applied medicine for me. Sometimes Queen Medusa even did it herself. Unlike certain people... (Mo Bass: ...)

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Liu Yu looked ahead. An enormous creature had appeared in the sky—the Amethyst Winged Lion King!

His savage maw opened, and he spoke in human language, his voice booming like a great bell. "Human, you have some nerve, daring to dream of killing my subordinates!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King was also alarmed by the human's strength. Judging by his aura, he was merely a low-level Dou Wang, yet that final strike had possessed power comparable to a peak Dou Wang's!

He had already hidden himself nearby, gathering his strength and preparing to strike, when he sensed the first attack. The second attack would have been enough to kill one of his rank-five subordinates with ease!

At that thought, the Amethyst Winged Lion King cast an irritated glance at the three rank-five magical beasts below. Utterly useless! He was the mighty king of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, yet he had to handle every problem himself!

"Get lost! Stop standing around here making fools of yourselves!" Seeing those three idiots still frozen in place, at a loss for what to do, the Amethyst Winged Lion King felt his anger boil over. The theft at his home had already been aggravating enough, and now they had landed him in this mess.

After being roared at, the three rank-five magical beasts slunk away, looking thoroughly aggrieved.

"Don't be angry, Lion King! It's not that your subordinates are useless. This young master is simply too strong! Hahaha!" Liu Yu laughed "arrogantly," provoking him.

"Roar!"

How could the Amethyst Winged Lion King swallow such an insult? He attacked without hesitation. With a swing of his massive head, the red spiral horn atop it fired a huge blast of purple flame half a meter thick.

The scorching purple flames rushed toward Liu Yu, leaving him with a peculiar expression. Playing with fire against me?

The raging green lotus core flame surged from Liu Yu's body and devoured every last trace of the incoming purple fire! Then the green flames turned into a little Azure Dragon several meters long, coiling around Liu Yu and licking him affectionately, brimming with spirit.

"A heavenly flame!"

Clarity returned to the Amethyst Winged Lion King's murderous eyes, and his pupils abruptly contracted. Even as a rank-six fire-attribute magical beast, he could sense a scorching aura laden with destructive power emanating from that little dragon formed of green flames!

"Human, just who are you? What is your purpose in coming to the Magical Beast Mountain Range? Isn't it better to be an esteemed alchemist in the human world? Must you come here seeking death at my hands?"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King's expression grew grave. He had already taken the human before him for a distinguished alchemist and warily scanned his surroundings. He had heard that alchemists were always protected by numerous powerful experts.

"Don't worry. I'm the only one here." As though he knew what the Amethyst Winged Lion King feared, Liu Yu kindly offered an explanation.

"Human, if you leave the Magical Beast Mountain Range now, I can overlook your disrespect!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King spoke in a deep voice. In the end, he decided to avoid unnecessary trouble. This human was too mysterious, and he was not completely certain he could keep him here. If the human escaped, an alchemist's terrifying ability to rally powerful allies would ensure that he never enjoyed another peaceful day.

"Oh, really? Even if I took your companion amethyst source and Purple Spirit Crystal..." Liu Yu looked at the Amethyst Winged Lion King with considerable "delight," then turned as though to leave.

"Human, you're courting death!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King was utterly enraged! Who cared whether he was an alchemist or anything else? This human had to die!

Brilliant purple light blazed from his amethyst-scaled armor. In the blink of an eye, raging purple flames erupted from his body, rolling and billowing until they gathered into a massive pillar of purple fire that shot straight toward Liu Yu.

Big flying lion, why don't you ever learn? The little Azure Dragon coiled around Liu Yu instantly grew larger, opened its enormous maw, and darted toward the purple fire pillar.

There was no suspense whatsoever. As the saying went, when a heavenly flame appeared, all other flames bowed in submission!

The purple fire pillar became nothing more than food for the green lotus core flame. After devouring it, the Azure Dragon formed from the flame even looked expectantly at the Amethyst Winged Lion King, as if to say, Delicious. I want more!

Seeing that the Purple Flame attack was ineffective, the Amethyst Winged Lion King darted forward, purple light blazing in his eyes. His massive claw swept up a dazzling purple radiance as it slammed viciously toward Liu Yu.

Close combat? The blood-red wings on Liu Yu's back stirred, and he instantly vanished from the Amethyst Winged Lion King's attack range. After withdrawing the Green Lotus Core Flame, he formed a blood-red spear in his hand and thrust it into the Lion King's body with the speed of thunder before one could cover one's ears.

Clang! A crisp sound rang out in midair. The strike left only a white mark on the amethyst-scaled armor, but a small mass of fire attribute Dou Qi clung to those scales.

"Roar!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King roared in pain. It felt as though a ball of flame was burning his scales. Purple Flame surged from his body and enveloped the clinging Dou Qi.

The Divine Flame Art's effects are showing! Liu Yu chuckled. Though its cultivation requirements were stringent, the Divine Flame Art proved immensely useful once mastered, particularly when it came to tormenting an opponent! That suited him perfectly!

You may be tanky, and I may not be able to break through your defenses directly, but my attacks come with a burning effect. Sooner or later, I'll crack your armor!

While the Amethyst Winged Lion King was distracted, releasing Purple Flame to wear away that clump of Dou Qi, Liu Yu attacked again.

Having experienced the strange properties of Liu Yu's Dou Qi, the Amethyst Winged Lion King could only dodge his attacks. Despite his enormous size, his speed was astonishing, allowing him to evade them easily.

And so Liu Yu and the Amethyst Winged Lion King traded blows in the air, neither able to gain the upper hand for the moment.

Boom, boom, boom...

Terrifying blasts of residual energy resounded through the sky, sending the magical beasts of the mountain range fleeing far away to safety.

The battle in the sky continued, and by now, noon had given way to the slanting light of sunset.

The enormous purple beast looked utterly wretched. Though he had suffered no substantial injuries, patches of blackened scales covered his body.

By contrast, Liu Yu moved as casually as though strolling through a quiet courtyard, his pale-purple brocade robe untouched by even a speck of dust.

But that was merely how things appeared. His internal condition was far from promising. Less than twenty percent of his tremendous Dou Qi reserves remained!

Ultimately, he was only a One-Star Dou Wang. Fighting for so long against the Amethyst Winged Lion King, a rank-six magical beast comparable to a mid-level Dou Emperor, while relying on his Dou Qi's innate burning effect and his heavenly flame, was already an impressive feat.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King, meanwhile, clearly had strength to spare. Even after exhausting his Dou Qi, he could still fight with his physical body. If Liu Yu let this drag on, defeat was certain!

Now that he had gained some familiarity with a Dou Wang's power, it was time to follow the best of the thirty-six stratagems: retreat! Once his Dou Qi recovered, he could come back to "check in" and continue their "imperial city PvP" with the Amethyst Winged Lion King. It was not as though this Great Flying Lion would run away.

"Lion King, thank you for your 'hospitality.' I'll be leaving now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Yu became a streak of blood-red light and vanished into the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King simply watched Liu Yu leave in silence. Even knowing that this human was the little thief who had robbed his home, he chose not to pursue him. He was genuinely tired, especially in his heart!

That human was easily the most infuriating enemy he had ever encountered! He would rather fight a Dou Huang expert than face such an aggravating nuisance again!

He could neither hit nor touch him, and his astonishing Dou Qi reserves seemed inexhaustible. Most irritating of all were that heavenly flame and the burning effect attached to the human's Dou Qi!