As they spoke, the battle was decided. In the end, Howard's captain had broken through!
"Helu, you killed eleven of my brothers to keep the Earth Dragon Beast for yourself. Today, I, Daniel, will cut off your head and avenge them!"
Daniel roared, unleashing his level nine battle-qi and completely suppressing Helu. Andrew estimated that Helu would lose his head within twenty moves.
Andrew turned his attention back to the Wind Dragon.
He had been rather pleased to see the Wind Dragon. Earlier, he had promised Golden Tiger that he would obtain a level nine wind-element Magic Crystal Core to help him advance. He had thought he would have to break his promise for the time being, but who would have imagined his luck would be so good that he would encounter a level nine Wind Dragon here?
"Wind Dragons are magical beasts with only the wind attribute. His Magic Crystal Core will suit Golden Tiger even better than a Golden Peng's."
Andrew drew the Godslaying Saber, but instead of immediately joining Golden Tiger's battle, he stood to one side.
"Now this is a true clash between dragon and tiger."
The Wind Dragon's wing was injured and bleeding nonstop, and his abdomen bore a wound left by fusion battle-qi. At most, only sixty or seventy percent of his full fighting strength remained. In fact, if he had not been so high above the ground at the time, Andrew's battle-qi would have pierced straight through him.
Clearly, in battles below Saint-level, the ability to fly was an exceptionally potent advantage!
Though the Wind Dragon was several times larger than Golden Tiger, his movements were not sluggish. On the contrary, his attacks were extraordinarily fast, particularly his agile tail, which thrashed like a frenzied snake, making the surrounding air shudder.
"It seems Golden Tiger's bloodline falls far short of the dragon race's." Andrew shook his head slightly as he watched.
Golden Tiger was at a complete disadvantage in this battle. In terms of magical control, he was only an eighth-level magical beast, a full rank below the Wind Dragon. As for physical strength, the Wind Dragon had scales protecting his body. These densely packed scales were only palm-sized, but offered formidable defense. More than once, Andrew saw Golden Tiger's sharp claws strike the Wind Dragon, yet they only shattered some scales at most, failing to injure him.
Even injured, the Wind Dragon still held the upper hand!
Golden Tiger also knew he was no match for the Wind Dragon, but he did not give up. By this point in the battle, his ferocity had been fully aroused. He roared constantly as he moved around the Wind Dragon, his muscular paws striking with extraordinary force. Every blow that landed on the Wind Dragon produced a dull thud.
"I'll have to do it myself after all."
Andrew stepped forward and abruptly appeared beneath the Wind Dragon's neck. He swept the Godslaying Saber horizontally, and fierce battle-qi spread into a fan-shaped arc. With a flash of light, the Wind Dragon's five- or six-meter-long neck was severed and fell to the ground. His enormous body crashed down, spilling dragon blood across the ground.
Such powerful battle-qi. Is he really an eighth-level warrior?
Nearby, Daniel, who had already killed Helu, was utterly bewildered when he saw Andrew's battle-qi. Of everyone present, his realm was the highest and his strength the greatest, and he could clearly judge Andrew's strength. It was level eight battle-qi, without question.
But why is his battle-qi so powerful? Daniel kept pondering this question.
Regardless of what the others thought, Andrew was already quite satisfied. He pried out the Wind Dragon's Magic Crystal Core with his saber and admired it in his palm. This was his first time obtaining a dragon-type magical beast's Magic Crystal Core, so he could not help being curious.
From its appearance, there was nothing particularly special about the Wind Dragon's Magic Crystal Core. However, the wind elements within it were extremely pure, and its energy was very tightly contained.
"It's yours, Golden Tiger!"
After examining it a few times, Andrew lost interest and tossed the Magic Crystal Core to Golden Tiger. Delighted, Golden Tiger opened his enormous jaws and swallowed it. He had reached the peak of level eight long ago, but had always fallen just short of breaking through. With this Wind Dragon Magic Crystal Core, he would be able to become the Windwing Tiger Emperor he had always dreamed of becoming, once he spent some time digesting it!
"Andrew, thank goodness you arrived in time..." Howard sighed with emotion. When he left the imperial capital, he had already considered that he might encounter danger. Still, he had never expected something like this to happen on his very first mission.
"Yes, otherwise, we probably would have all died," Daniel chimed in. "I'm Daniel, Howard's friend. You're his son, aren't you? I never imagined you would be so powerful!"
Andrew smiled faintly. "It was all thanks to my father's letter. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known what was happening here. Now that everything here is settled, we should leave quickly."
Daniel did not take offense at his attitude. Strength was what mattered in this world. Even a junior was an adult if he had the strength. Having spent so long among mercenaries, Daniel certainly would not forget that principle.
Before leaving, they stripped Helu and the others of everything they had, obtaining more than a dozen Magic Crystal Cards. Andrew recalled that the Wind Dragon's corpse was also a rare magical material, so he told the others to leave first. Only once no one remained did he store it in his spatial ring.
Knowing that Janice was still waiting for news at home, Andrew and Howard traveled day and night back to the imperial capital. Seeing her husband and son return safely, Janice wept with joy. At last, the family was reunited.
After facing life and death, Howard seemed deeply moved, and he changed considerably as a person. However, his desire for strength had not diminished, and he often cultivated through the night.
He was not the only one. Golden Tiger's strength was also growing steadily. Two months later, Golden Tiger suddenly fell into a deep sleep. Howard happily told Andrew that Golden Tiger was about to advance.
Andrew was not surprised. He had anticipated this long ago. To prepare for it, he set up a wind-element magic formation for Golden Tiger, gathering all the wind elements within several li.
An eighth-level magical beast's advancement had a considerable impact and caused quite a commotion. Only two days later did Andrew realize he had miscalculated.
"At this rate, I'm afraid the entire imperial capital can sense the fluctuations of wind elements here..."
In the Lance family's backyard, five pillars of wind shot into the sky from a pentagram-shaped magic formation. The pillars were cyan throughout, each a meter thick. From the sky to the ground, wind elements poured endlessly into them, replenishing the magic formation's energy.
Hum!
Hum!
Hum!
Faint vibrations sounded in the air. Even Janice and Aida could sense them, let alone the other powerful figures.
At Divine Grace Academy, five li from the Lance home, everyone at level eight or above sensed the change.
"Headmaster, this disturbance..." a level 9 Great Mage at the academy asked.
The man addressed as headmaster was Meyer, the most renowned mage in the imperial capital and one of the Yulan Empire's three Saint-level Magi. Of course, those were only the publicly known ones. After all, given the Yulan Empire's deep reserves, no matter how scarce Saint Magi were, there were more than three.
Meyer looked toward Andrew's home and said calmly, "It's nothing. An eighth-level magical beast is advancing. Judging by this, it should be a wind-element magical beast."
"An eighth-level magical beast is advancing? Doesn't that mean it's about to become a level nine magical beast?" Meyer's words drew startled exclamations from them. A level nine magical beast could practically be called invincible below Saint-level. None of the Great Magi present dared claim they could defeat one for certain. Even in the imperial capital, magical beasts of such strength were found only among a few ancient noble families.
"Which noble's magical pet is advancing?" someone asked.
Meyer shook his head. "No, this family isn't noble. They should be friends of Bandeni's."
"Bandeni?" Someone remembered. "When Bandeni returned a year ago, he mentioned a magical genius named Andrew Lance. He seemed to have an eighth-level magical beast."
"That's right. According to Bandeni, Andrew is only in his teens, yet he has already reached the strength of a ninth-level warrior. His magical talent is even more astonishing, with exceptional affinity for both lightning and fire elements. His younger sister, Ling'er Lance, is also a student at our academy, and her talent for fire magic is very high."
"Oh, someone's already arrived. It seems I should go take a look too. The Lance family has close ties with our Divine Grace Academy. We should lend them a hand where we can." As soon as he finished speaking, Meyer vanished from the room. The remaining Great Magi exchanged glances before going their separate ways.
Outside the Lance residence, a large troop of soldiers in armor, weapons in hand, surrounded the entire courtyard under the command of a swordsman dressed in black.
"The fluctuations are coming from here. Aluqi, stay on your guard, and don't anger the powerful figure inside."
"Yes, Lord Adonis!" a man who looked like a general answered respectfully beside the black-clad swordsman.
Adonis watched the gate warily. The magical fluctuations coming from within made him apprehensive.
"It should be almost over. I wonder when such a powerful figure appeared in the imperial capital. With this level nine magical beast alone, even many of the capital's great families couldn't compare."
Andrew was fully aware of the situation outside, but he had no time to concern himself with it.
"May I ask which senior has come to visit?" Looking up at the sky, Andrew called out clearly. His voice echoed through the night sky, carrying far into the distance.
"Heh..." With a soft chuckle, Meyer appeared.
Andrew relaxed at the sight of him. Having studied at Divine Grace Academy for half a year, he naturally recognized Headmaster Meyer.
"Greetings, Headmaster!"
Meyer smiled kindly. He knew a great deal about Andrew. In private, even Meyer envied Andrew's talent. However, once one's strength reached his level, talent and such no longer mattered as much. Breaking through to Saint-level required more than talent alone.
"It seems you've made preparations too, young fellow," Meyer said approvingly.