Breaking Through to Level Six
Clang-!
The piercing clash of metal tore through the mountain forest!
Haoyue's miao dao met the Velocidragon's claws head-on, and a terrifying force surged back through the blade.
Haoyue's body sank abruptly, his feet plowing two deep furrows in the earth as he was forcibly driven back three steps.
The webbing between his thumb and forefinger went numb, and his arms trembled so violently that he nearly lost his grip on the hilt.
"Roar!!!"
The mutant Velocidragon's eyes blazed with ferocity, and its furious roar sent fallen leaves flying through the forest.
Its tail, thick as a mountain and trailing a foul-smelling gale, swept savagely past Haoyue's cheek!
The gust scraped his cheek painfully, its killing intent chilling him to the bone.
Haoyue twisted his body and barely dodged in time.
His heart instantly tightened.
Too fast! Too strong!
This early-eighth-rank mutant Velocidragon surpassed ordinary magical beasts of the same rank in strength, speed, and explosive power.
It was far more troublesome than any vicious beast he had killed before!
In a head-on fight, he would definitely be at a disadvantage!
In the space of an instant, Haoyue settled on a tactic.
Relying on the Mountain Dragon Soul's ever-present invisible shield as a safeguard, he forcibly endured a blast of wind pressure.
His hands rapidly formed seals as mana surged wildly!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three fourth-level Fire Element spells, Flame Critical Strike, struck in succession, blasting accurately into the Velocidragon's scales.
Raging flames burned fiercely, charring a large patch of scales in an instant.
But that was all.
The mutant Velocidragon had thick hide and steel-like scales. The fourth-level spells barely scratched the surface.
Aside from slightly disrupting the rhythm of its attacks, they did not cause it the slightest pain.
They could not penetrate its defenses at all!
The attack thoroughly enraged the highly intelligent mutant beast.
It kicked off the ground with all four limbs, its massive body bursting forward at tremendous speed as it charged madly at Haoyue!
Its claws tore and scratched, its huge jaws snapped, and its tail swept across, every attack aimed at a vital point!
For a time, wind howled through the mountain forest as layers of killing intent closed in.
Haoyue relied on the Tiger-Striped Warrior's incredible speed to dodge repeatedly, using his miao dao to block and redirect the blows.
But his attacks posed no threat to his opponent.
By contrast, even a glancing blow from the beast forced him to throw everything into defending and evading.
His disadvantage grew greater and greater!
"At this rate, it'll wear me down and kill me!"
Haoyue growled through gritted teeth.
The next moment, he stopped lingering in battle and pushed his Tiger-Striped Warrior body to its full speed!
Among the Four Ultimate Warriors, the Dragonblood Warrior was the most balanced, the Undying Warrior excelled in defense, the Violet Flame Warrior possessed powerful recovery abilities, and the Tiger-Striped Warrior was the fastest of the Four Warriors.
With his bloodline talent fully unleashed, he became a blurry afterimage and turned to flee, occasionally looking back to fire off a fifth-level spell, Explosive Flame Fireball. (Ghost blade activated, now you can't see me. Footwork, footwork, turn around and strike-frustrating...)
"Roar-!"
The mutant Velocidragon refused to let its only prey escape. Roaring furiously, it followed close behind in mad pursuit.
A running battle of pursuit and escape instantly unfolded in the vast, dense forest of the Magical Beasts Mountain Range.
Man and dragon raced through the mountain forest, one chasing the other.
Haoyue understood the situation perfectly.
With his Tiger-Stripe Transformation active, his combat power was fixed at the peak of the seventh rank.
This mutant Velocidragon, however, far surpassed an ordinary early-eighth-rank beast and was infinitely close to the middle eighth rank.
In a head-on fight, his chances of winning were zero.
But!
There was no way it could kill him either!
The enhanced vitality and physique from From Mind to Matter, the defense and shield provided by Mountain Dragon Soul, and the Tiger-Striped Warrior True Form formed three layers of defense!
His actual defensive ability had long since reached the level of an Eighth-level Warrior!
The Velocidragon's attacks could indeed break through his defenses and wound him.
But Ocean Dragon Soul's heaven-defying healing effect constantly restored his health throughout the fight, allowing his wounds to heal instantly as he fled and drew the beast along.
He healed all the way as he ran.
With these guerrilla tactics, the longer he fought, the better his condition became!
Haoyue was both surprised and delighted.
He was surprised that his shortfall in offensive power remained fatal; he still could not break through a high-rank beast's defenses at all.
He was delighted that his toughness was already enough to withstand an eighth-level magical beast head-on!
Thus, the most awkward and absurd battle in the entire mountain forest came into being.
Haoyue could not hurt the mutant Velocidragon.
The mutant Velocidragon could not kill Haoyue.
Neither of the two could do anything to the other!
After a full hour of relentless pursuit.
Haoyue leaned against a towering ancient tree, gasping for breath.
Not far away, the mutant Velocidragon also stopped chasing him and crouched on the ground, its scarlet vertical pupils fixed on him, full of brutality and bewilderment.
Man and dragon faced each other from a distance, both at an impasse.
Haoyue simply relaxed completely.
He stopped running and stopped fighting.
He sat down cross-legged, pulled rations and clean water from his backpack, and ate, drank, and rested as though no one else were there.
The mutant Velocidragon opposite him froze.
Its enormous head tilted slightly, utterly confused.
I'm chasing you down, so why are you eating?
It tentatively took a step forward, preparing to attack again.
"Want to eat?"
Haoyue did not even raise his head. He chewed his rations, his tone utterly casual.
"Come here. Let's have a fight. If you win, you eat me. If you lose, you become my mount."
The mutant Velocidragon was completely dumbfounded.
In all its years of life, it had never seen such an absurd, arrogant human!
"Roar!!!"
Overwhelming humiliation instantly ignited its fury, and it charged at him again!
The outcome remained unchanged.
The shield blocked the damage, speed kept the distance, and the chase repeated.
After several rounds of this, the intelligent mutant Velocidragon finally came to terms with reality.
The human before it simply could not be killed.
No matter how it tore with its claws, bit with its jaws, rammed with its head, or lashed with its tail.
It exhausted every means at its disposal, yet its opponent remained as lively as ever.
Meanwhile, its opponent's occasional magical harassment and sneak attacks with the miao dao were not deadly, but they were endlessly aggravating.
In the end, the mutant Velocidragon completely lost heart.
It slumped on the ground, its enormous head hanging low, and stared at Haoyue with an exceedingly complicated look, as though he were a monster. (Haoyue: Wait, buddy, you're the monster here!)
Seeing this, Haoyue grinned, stood up, and walked toward it.
"Since neither of us can do anything to the other, let's try something different."
"From now on, we'll fight once a day, a fair spar. I'll get some practice, and you can stretch your muscles too."
He held out his hand, his tone frank. "Deal?"
The mutant Velocidragon tilted its head and studied him silently, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
But it had no say in the matter.
From then on, deep in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range, a man and a dragon began a bizarre life of arduous training.
On the first day, Haoyue was chased all over the mountain forest, eventually forced to climb a small hill of rock over ten meters tall, where he hid for the entire night.
On the third day, he could already take three of the Velocidragon's fierce attacks head-on without losing his composure.
On the seventh day, they traded attacks and defenses, and he could fight evenly for more than ten exchanges without falling behind.
On the tenth day, Haoyue took the initiative, pressing forward step by step and forcing the eighth-level beast onto the defensive.
After half a month of grueling sparring and bloody battles day and night, Haoyue had drawn on this combat experience and developed a very mature grasp of practical fighting!
On the fourteenth day, boom-!
A deep explosion shook the valley!
Haoyue drew back his fist and slammed it squarely into the mutant Velocidragon's head!
The punch carried immense, overwhelming power, far surpassing any of his previous blows!
The bottleneck shattered!
The Level Five Warrior bottleneck that had held him back for half a year was utterly broken!
After knocking the Velocidragon back several meters, Haoyue exited his Tiger-Striped Warrior form. In his normal state, he had already reached Level Six Warrior.
Vast, powerful Battle-qi surged like rivers, instantly filling every part of his body.
The vortex in his dantian spun rapidly, his aura soaring and bearing down in every direction!
"I broke through!"
Haoyue's heart shook, and he could not help letting out a long cry toward the sky!
The next instant, he activated his Tiger-Striped Warrior transformation once more without hesitation!
Hummm-!
His combat power soared wildly again!
Level Six Warrior → early seventh rank → late seventh rank → peak seventh rank!
Finally, it settled firmly at the level of an early eighth-level warrior!
Not only had his attack power soared, but his defense had undergone another qualitative change!
The vitality enhancement from From Mind to Matter, the Mountain Dragon Soul shield, and the Tiger-Striped True Form provided three overlapping boosts.
His physical toughness broke straight through its limit, reaching the threshold of a peak eighth-level warrior!
He had one foot in the realm of a Level Nine Warrior!
At that moment, both Haoyue's offense and defense had been completely transformed!
The mutant Velocidragon beside him stiffened, its massive body trembling slightly.
For the first time, clear wariness and fear appeared in its intelligent vertical pupils.
The human before it was no longer remotely as strong as he had been before!
"Let's fight again!"
Haoyue's fighting spirit surged, and he flashed forward once more.
This time, he no longer relied on his miao dao. He directly activated his Tiger-Striped Warrior True Form, sharp tiger claws forming on his five fingers!
A cold gleam shone at his fingertips, their edges far sharper than the refined-iron miao dao!
His claws slashed down, easily tearing through the Velocidragon's tough outer scales!
Thin streaks of blood instantly seeped out.
He had finally broken through its defenses!
The Velocidragon could no longer hurt Haoyue in the slightest.
And every one of Haoyue's attacks could inflict real wounds on it.
If the fight continued, it would be the one defeated and killed!
The advantage had completely reversed!
After fighting for a short while, Haoyue voluntarily withdrew his attack and stopped.
He released his Tiger-Stripe Transformation and smiled as he raised a hand to pat the Velocidragon's huge head.
"No more fighting. I won."
The mutant Velocidragon hung its head, letting out a low, aggrieved whimper from its throat like a child who had been bullied.
It looked utterly docile.
Haoyue was amused by the sight.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you."
"You trained hard with me for half a month and helped me break through my bottleneck. Naturally, I won't treat you poorly."
He rummaged through his backpack, pulled out a large, fragrant piece of cooked magical beast meat, and casually tossed it over.
The mutant Velocidragon's eyes lit up, and it gulped down the meat, its grievance instantly swept away.
After spending half a month together, they had long since formed a bond.
Haoyue looked at the perceptive mutant Velocidragon before him, and his heart stirred slightly.
"It's time to leave the mountain range."
"Since we've spent this time together, I'll give you a name."
He pondered for a moment, then said with a smile:
"You're incredibly fast and swift on your feet, so from now on, you'll be called Wang Xun!"
The mutant Velocidragon: "???"
Its enormous face was full of confusion.
How had it, an eighth-level magical beast, ended up being given a name by a human?
Haoyue said no more. He quickly packed his belongings, miaodao, and magic staff, then turned and headed toward the outskirts of the Magical Beasts Mountain Range.
He had only taken two steps when he suddenly felt a gentle tug from behind.
He looked back.
The mighty, domineering eighth-level mutant Velocidragon was clinging pitifully to his leg, its round eyes full of reluctance to part.
Haoyue was slightly taken aback.
After a moment's silence, he took a yellowed sheet of special parchment from his robes.
It was the soul Master-Servant Contract scroll he had prepared in advance.
"Want to come with me?"
The moment Wang Xun saw the scroll, his eyes lit up, and he brought his dragon head forward without hesitation.
Hum!
The contract's magic array instantly flared with brilliant light, enveloping man and dragon.
An invisible bond between their souls formed in an instant, linking their minds.
The wondrous connection flooded into Haoyue's mind, and warmth welled up in his heart.
He smiled and patted Wang Xun's head:
"From now on, you're my brother. Follow me, and in the future I'll take you across the Yulan Continent, sweeping away all before us. We'll reach the pinnacle and make you an unparalleled, legendary, ultimate, invincible super ferocious beast!"
Wang Xun's innocent yet respectful voice sounded in his mind: "Okay, Master!"
"From now on, call me Boss."
"Okay, Master."
Haoyue smacked Wang Xun on the head. "Call me Boss!"
"B-Boss!"
"That's more like it!"
Haoyue laughed, full of high spirits.
"Come on! Let's go home!"
Wang Xun let out a long, joyful dragon roar. Pushing off with all four feet, he carried Haoyue away in a black blur, racing out of the depths of the Magical Beasts Mountain Range!