Royal Dragonkin! Ascending to Lord Boss!

Yedela soon realized he had been wrong.

This was no longer a matter of a dungeon boss camping at the entrance;

the Black-Robed Man before him was countless times stronger than the final boss of a level 35 dungeon!

"There's something wrong with this boss!"

"It's too late. I have to withstand her attack first... then figure out how to escape the dungeon!"

Feeling the deadly cold gleam closing in, Yedela decisively abandoned any thought of fighting.

He summoned all his strength. The dragon-blood scales on his arms shone blue as he crossed them before his chest.

The next instant, a cold gleam flashed.

Alice tore through his all-out defense as though slicing tofu.

Among the Other Races of the Yagu Dynasty, Yedela was a half-Dragonkin of above-average strength.

But against Alice, the Blade Queen with dual templates and a hidden class, he could not withstand even a single blow despite being at the same level.

The coldly gleaming Light Wheel Blades seemed to mock him:

You're as laughable as your defenses.

The next moment, twelve Light Wheel Blades plunged into Yedela's body like a volley of arrows through the heart.

Yedela died on the spot.

Alice looked thoroughly pleased. "Boss was right. All I have to do is wait here, and people deliver themselves to my doorstep."

"Yedela... failed to clear it?!"

Outside, everyone present, humans and Other Races alike, was dumbfounded when the dungeon entrance became available for another challenge.

The challenge had failed, yet no one had emerged. There was only one possibility: he had died inside!

"How is that possible?!"

The Other Races could not believe it. He was a Half-Dragon! How could he have died in a level 35 dungeon?

Had the dungeon awakened after being cleared so many times? Had it evolved?

As everyone exchanged bewildered looks, Yi Tian smiled and collected every wager the Other Races had placed in the previous round!

Equipment of varying quality, materials, and more-a mountain of wagers all went to Yi Tian alone!

The items were not worth much, but who would turn down free loot?

Seeing this, Wan Jiang led the laughter. "Is that all your Yagu Dynasty has? That's your level?"

"You can't even clear a dungeon. If you suck, little bro, practice more!"

The Other Races flew into a rage, especially those who had wagered heavily in the last round.

"Yedela was useless! No wonder he couldn't take the medium secret realm. He was that weak!"

"Send someone else!"

Soon, the Yagu Dynasty sent out another Half-Dragon.

This Half-Dragon bore military rank and seemed to hold a fairly high position in their army.

The Other Races began clamoring again, placing even more wagers this round.

Half a minute later...

"What?! Another failure?"

The dungeon's status reset, indicating that the new Half-Dragon had also died inside.

Had the dungeon really evolved?

The Other Races exchanged bewildered looks while Great Xia's border troops mocked them mercilessly.

That was what infuriated the former most. Not only had they lost huge piles of wagers, but Great Xia's ridicule was making them lose face.

They were all stationed in the same city. How could they swallow such humiliation?

A giant scorpion from the Other Races, over three meters long, rose angrily.

"I'll do it!"

Twenty seconds later...

The dungeon challenge failed. The giant scorpion was dead.

The Other Races: "???"

Yi Tian chuckled helplessly at the sight. "Alice is still too impatient. Who'll dare challenge it now?"

Wan Jiang turned to give Yi Tian a suspicious look. Now he understood: Boss must have done something outrageous inside the dungeon!

Although Great Xia's border troops did not know exactly what had happened, seeing the Other Races suffer felt wonderful. Their taunts rose one after another.

The Other Races felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over them.

The three who had died were all among their strongest fighters below level 35. If even they could not win, the others stood no chance.

Just then, however, a massive dragon flew in overhead!

The dragon's enormous body landed, sending a blast of air rippling outward and forcing the Other Races to retreat.

Compared with the Half-Dragons, this dragon's size and appearance displayed far more pronounced Dragon Race traits. His presence was overwhelmingly powerful, and his golden slit pupils proved the greater purity of his dragon bloodline.

"Your Highness Nos!!!"

"His Highness Nos actually came in person!"

Reverence appeared on the faces of the Other Races, while Wei Yuan, Wan Jiang, and the others recognized him as well:

"A Royal Dragonkin..."

In the Yagu Dynasty, the purity of one's ancient dragon bloodline determined both strength and status.

Royal Dragonkin were the descendants with the strongest bloodlines, granted the title of "royalty"!

If a Half-Dragon's bloodline purity was a three;

then a Royal Dragonkin's was at least twenty!

In raw stats alone, their strength surpassed that of a Legendary warrior class, and their constitution exceeded that of a Legendary tank class. That was a Royal Dragonkin.

Wei Yuan warned, "He should be one of our opponents in the Race Championship."

For the Race Championship between Great Xia and the Yagu Dynasty, both sides had to send competitors from the younger generation. The dragon Nos was clearly an outstanding member of the young Dragonkin!

Wan Jiang stared at Nos, fighting spirit surging in his eyes.

Yi Tian, meanwhile, looked expectant. "Is he... planning to enter the dungeon?"

If he entered, Alice would probably be thrilled...

As his words fell, Nos snorted coldly:

"Hmph. Is a mere dungeon even worth competing over?"

His voice rumbled like thunder, making Great Xia's border troops look wary while the Yagu Dynasty's soldiers grew excited.

But then he looked toward the Other Races with even greater disdain:

"You can't even defeat mere humans! A pack of useless fools!"

To a Royal Dragonkin, these Other Races with their diluted bloodlines were not even worthy of being subordinates. At best, they were lackeys.

Nos had just completed the Crimson Emperor's trial mission and was preparing to return to the Yagu Continent. Passing through Dingcheng, he had noticed the race between the two sides and decided to come down for some amusement.

When Nos saw Yi Tian's clear record of eight minutes and thirty seconds, his disdain reached its peak.

"One minute is more than enough for a mere level 35 dungeon!"

Although Nos had only recently reached tier two and was around level 28, his dragon bloodline gave him extraordinary combat power.

At those words, the Yagu Dynasty's soldiers cheered in unison, their fighting spirit instantly restored to its peak!

"His Highness Nos is invincible!"

"Watch closely, humans of Great Xia!!"

Noticing where the wagers were being placed, Nos casually tossed down ten crystals shimmering with blue light, his expression brimming with confidence.

Everyone from Great Xia gasped:

"Holy shit! Dragon marrow crystals! Legendary materials!"

"These dragons are loaded! If we conquered the Yagu Continent, our army would never lack money..."

Even Wei Yuan took an interest. "Dragon marrow crystals seem to come exclusively from the Dragon Ancestor's Secret Realm on the Yagu Continent."

"They're forging materials for the very finest Legendary equipment!"

"The Dragon Ancestor's Secret Realm?" This was Yi Tian's first time hearing the name.

Wei Yuan said, "Legend has it that it's a mysterious space left behind by the ancient dragon ancestors. It contains endless dragon treasures and legacies, and only dragons with sufficiently powerful bloodlines can enter!"

"And supposedly, there's a ruin inside the Dragon Ancestor's Secret Realm that's considered forbidden."

Hearing that only dragons could enter, Wan Jiang felt deeply disappointed:

"What a shame. I remember the Crimson Emperor saying we could challenge any secret realm we wanted..."

Although the dragon marrow crystals were immensely valuable, no one from Great Xia went over to place a wager.

After all, everyone could personally sense Nos's power. There was little doubt he could set a new record.

Everyone except Yi Tian...

After Nos entered the dungeon, Yi Tian placed another hefty wager, becoming the only bettor from Great Xia.

Both Wei Yuan and Wan Jiang looked suspicious. Wan Jiang lowered his voice as much as he could:

"Boss, what exactly did you do inside that dungeon?"

Wei Yuan had also noticed some time ago that Yi Tian's expression had become distinctly peculiar ever since Nos decided to enter.

Yi Tian gave an utterly harmless smile:

"I think we might have one fewer opponent in the Race Championship."

Nos entered the dungeon space, his golden slit pupils calm and indifferent.

Even clearing the dungeon in one minute posed little difficulty to him. It was merely a diversion.

He hardly took this dungeon contest seriously, or even the Race Championship. Only competition with the other nonhuman races deserved his attention.

But just then, an excited voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"I thought no one else would come."

"Turns out the appetizers are finished, and it's time to serve the main course!"

To Nos, every word was laden with danger.

His muscles instantly tensed. He spun around and met Alice's eyes.

Her eerie half-human, half-demon appearance immediately put Nos under pressure.

Alice, by contrast, was delighted by such perfect prey.

With her monster template, the stronger the creatures she hunted, the faster her monster rank evolved!

After absorbing so many members of the Other Races today, her Elite Boss progress bar happened to be less than halfway from its next evolution.

This dragon had arrived at just the right time!

"Don't you dare run away!"

Alice issued another command to the dungeon: [All targets are forbidden from leaving the dungeon!]

"One minute is still enough."

At those words, golden light blazed in Nos's dragon eyes, his face contorting with fury:

"You're nothing but a special boss that developed a little intelligence!"

"You think you can defeat me?!"

With an earth-shaking roar, Nos, over four meters tall, spread his wings and took flight. His wings beat downward with a deafening boom.

Accelerating, Nos hurtled toward Alice like a missile.

Alice and Nos were close in level;

more remarkably, one was a dragon with an exceptionally pure bloodline, while the other received dual stat bonuses from a hidden class and a monster template, making her stats equally absurd!

Either would have been a terrifying presence in the outside world, possessing peak combat power for early tier two.

Had anyone witnessed this battle, they would probably have called it a true clash of:

Ace versus ace!

That was also part of what enraged Nos:

I am wary of you because we're evenly matched, but what gives you the confidence to think you can kill me in one minute?!

Alice's excessively relaxed expression angered him.

The shadow of Nos's enormous dragon claw enveloped Alice. Its steel-blade talons seemed poised to tear her to pieces at any moment.

"If I'm going to finish you in one minute, I'll have to give it my all too."

A cold, merciless black aura enveloped Alice. The eerie spider lily demon markings on her left cheek began to flow as though alive, releasing boundless dark power.

Just as the dragon claw came within a hair's breadth of crushing her, a fanatical, savage voice burst from her lips:

"[Dark War God]!"

In an instant, the dungeon's skies transformed. Dark power surged upward, blotting out the sky.

Fear gripped Nos's entire body and claw like an invisible crushing weight, forcibly halting his movements for several seconds.

Nos's dragon pupils contracted sharply, as though something exceptionally dangerous had descended before him.

"The power of the abyss! You're an evil demon corrupted by the abyss?!"

Whoosh!

A pair of enormous demon wings unfurled behind Alice. Pitch-black scales armored her entire body, while the twelve floating Light Wheel Blades merged into a single black saber streaked with glowing crimson patterns.

She slowly opened her eyes. Her left eye had turned a blazing crimson, radiating savage brutality.

This was Alice's first time using the abyss's power since the Abyssal Wormhole had corrupted her and turned her half-human, half-demon.

In her usual human form, suppressing the abyssal corruption was already difficult. Actively using it would only have hastened her death.

But after Yi Tian changed her to a hidden class, she could instead harness the abyss's power to transform at will!

This [Dark War God] was the demonized form of Alice's former Origin Martial Fighter class.

"It's too late to run now."

Alice murmured, then unleashed seven or eight slashes at incredible speed, carving explosive black-and-red trails through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the dragon claw Nos had been about to seize her with had already been sliced to pieces!

"Aaargh!"

Nos screamed as scorching dragon blood gushed from his cleanly severed claws.

[Demonization-Dark War God: Transforms the user into Dark War God form, increasing combat capabilities such as destructive power, attack speed, movement speed, skill damage, and reaction speed fivefold. Lasts 3 minutes.]

Destructive power was the collective term for attack power and defense penetration.

The moment Alice activated Demonization, her combat power became utterly overwhelming.

"Goodbye."

Alice flicked her wings and darted forward, unleashing a massive wave of dark energy from the demonic longblade in her hand that tore through Nos's body with unstoppable force.

"No! I'm a Royal Dragonkin! I was going to become the Dragon King..."

Nos's draconic eyes widened, his struggles growing weaker until his dragon body finally crashed to the ground, leaving a deep crater.

Alice absorbed the vast amount of experience from the Royal Dragonkin, reaching level 26. Her monster template also improved:

[Monster template advanced from 'Elite Boss' to 'Lord Boss'!]

[Void Traversal improved: Daily usage limit increased from 10 to 15. All previously traversed areas can now be marked and returned to at any time.]

[Lord Boss privileges obtained: ① Can alter the dungeon's environment and mechanisms; ② Can issue stronger ability-restriction commands; ③ Can command all monsters within the dungeon.]

Alice could not help feeling a little exhilarated. It had taken her a full six months to advance from an ordinary monster to an Elite Monster;

Yet after meeting Yi Tian, she had advanced two ranks in just a single day!

"Following the Boss really was the right decision..."