"Hm? That's..."
Di Tian naturally noticed Zeng Tian, who had become a streak of black-and-blue light. He acted instinctively, extending a black dragon claw to stop him.
Yet the moment they made contact, Di Tian's expression shifted slightly. This strength was actually not much weaker than that of Xiong Jun, whom he held in his grasp.
At that moment, the streak of black-and-blue light was halted, revealing Zeng Tian's true form.
Di Tian looked at the figure within his dragon claw and frowned slightly. "Zeng Tian? How did he become like this?"
Although Mega Charizard X differed from Charizard in many ways, even sporting completely different colors, his overall appearance had not changed much. Thus, Di Tian recognized Zeng Tian at a glance.
Meanwhile, the Auspicious Beast and the others caught up. Seeing Di Tian act against Zeng Tian, the Auspicious Beast cried anxiously, "Di Tian, don't! That's Zeng Tian! He suddenly turned into this!"
Bi Ji also called out, "Be careful, Di Tian! Something is very wrong with Zeng Tian right now!"
Indeed, barely had her words fallen when Zeng Tian, stopped by Di Tian's dragon claw, suddenly moved.
Raging flames erupted from his body. His speed soared, and he swept straight around Di Tian's dragon claw, charging directly at Xiong Jun.
With Xiong Jun restrained by Di Tian's Dragon God Claw, he could not mount an effective counterattack and took Zeng Tian's Flare Blitz head-on.
The next instant, blood sprayed from Xiong Jun's body, and eerie blue flames engulfed almost his entire form.
"ROAR!!!"
Xiong Jun let out a roar of agony. The damage from the special move was secondary; the eerie blue flames inflicted pain that seemed to seep into his very marrow.
This was one of the effects of deep crimson blaze: attacks inflicted a burn, giving them a one hundred percent chance of burning the target.
As for why Scarlet King had not been burned, he was a Fire type, and Fire types could not be burned.
Amid the excruciating pain, Xiong Jun finally began to regain the reason he had lost when his bloodline was activated.
The moment he came to his senses, he saw that Di Tian was holding him with Dragon God Claw, giving him a terrible fright.
"What's going on? Why am I here, and why is Di Tian holding me with Dragon God Claw?"
Xiong Jun trembled slightly. Dragon God Claw was a divine skill passed down by the Dragon God himself. Once it was unleashed, never mind a soul beast of merely four hundred seventy thousand years like him-even a nine-hundred-ninety-thousand-year soul beast caught in its grasp would be annihilated in body and soul unless they had received divine protection.
Di Tian had actually used Dragon God Claw on him. Had Di Tian finally made up his mind to eliminate him?
Just as Xiong Jun was imagining Di Tian's intentions, eerie blue flames suddenly flared over his body. The searing pain made him cry out incessantly, "Ah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! What is this? How can it hurt so much?!"
But Zeng Tian's attacks would not stop just because Xiong Jun was suffering.
Having moved behind Xiong Jun, Zeng Tian twisted, and a Dragon Tail wreathed in eerie blue flames lashed viciously across Xiong Jun's back.
Crack!
The dragon tail struck like a whip, splitting Xiong Jun's skin and flesh and sending blood streaming down.
Xiong Jun hurriedly looked behind him, only to discover that the one attacking him was actually Zeng Tian!
Only then did he finally remember that he had apparently been sparring with Zeng Tian to test his combat strength.
Seeing Zeng Tian about to attack again, Xiong Jun hurriedly shouted, "No, no, no! Stop! Stop right now!"
If Zeng Tian really kept attacking like that, he would probably die here today.
At the same time, he wondered why Zeng Tian had become like this, and why his attacks were so powerful that they could break through his defenses so easily and inflict considerable damage.
Yet Zeng Tian seemed not to hear Xiong Jun's cries. Without the slightest pause, he swung his Fire Claw, about to slash down.
I'm done for!
Seeing this, Xiong Jun's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally gave up altogether.
He could only watch as Zeng Tian's Fire Claw drew closer and closer, unable even to raise his own claws to block it.
But just as Xiong Jun resigned himself to his fate, Zeng Tian's claw suddenly stopped above his forehead.
Then, before Xiong Jun's bewildered gaze, the towering flames behind Zeng Tian vanished, and his black-and-blue skin reverted to its original orange-red.
Zeng Tian could not even stay airborne and plummeted straight down.
Meanwhile, the young Auspicious Beast, who had been watching Zeng Tian closely all along, immediately became a streak of golden light and caught him before he hit the ground.
Looking at the unconscious Zeng Tian before her, a trace of heartache appeared in the Auspicious Beast's golden eyes. She immediately called, "Sister Bi Ji!"
"Coming!"
The next instant, Bi Ji appeared beside them. Emerald light shone in her hands as she began treating Zeng Tian.
Countless pale-green motes flowed into Zeng Tian's body, rapidly repairing his injuries.
Suddenly, surprise appeared in Bi Ji's eyes.
"Sister Bi Ji, is something wrong with Zeng Tian's body?"
Noticing the change in Bi Ji's expression, the Auspicious Beast hurriedly asked.
Bi Ji shook her head. "No, his condition is far better than I expected. After an attack like that, I thought that even if every bone in his body hadn't shattered and every meridian hadn't snapped, he would be close to it. But right now, he only has ordinary severe injuries, along with excessive depletion of his mental energy and soul power."
"And..."
At that point, Bi Ji suddenly smiled and continued, "Because of what just happened, his Dragonkind bloodline seems to have been activated. Once its effects fully manifest, his strength will definitely climb another level. This misfortune has turned into a blessing."
Hearing Bi Ji's words, the young Auspicious Beast finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Zeng Tian was all right.
Then the young Auspicious Beast asked curiously, "Sister Bi Ji, what exactly happened to Zeng Tian just now? Why did he feel a little frightening?"
"Hmm..."
Bi Ji pondered briefly before answering, "It looked somewhat like bloodline ancestral reversion, but I don't recognize the soul beast he reverted to. It doesn't seem to belong to any currently known species, almost as though it were a creature from another world."
"A creature from another world?"
Hearing this, the young Auspicious Beast frowned slightly, her gaze flickering. There was no telling what she was thinking.
Bi Ji's reputation as the strongest healing soul beast was not an empty boast. Within just a few breaths, Zeng Tian's injuries were completely healed, without even a trace of hidden damage remaining.
"Mm..."
Under the gazes of the Auspicious Beast and Bi Ji, Zeng Tian slowly awoke.
"Zeng Tian, you're finally awake!"
The moment he opened his eyes, Zeng Tian saw the Auspicious Beast pouncing toward him. She frantically licked his cheek, then said with some anger:
"You can't take risks like that next time! Proving your strength was enough! Who told you to fight Xiong Jun with your life on the line? And Di Tian, honestly! He could have stopped the fight ages ago, but he just had to wait until even he couldn't control it anymore!"