Chapter Thirty-Eight: Annihilation

The Frost Dragon gripped the snowy ground tightly with its four claws, red arcs of electricity flickering ceaselessly across its body. Even from a distance, Ye Bai could hear the crackling of bones within the Frost Dragon, as if its skeleton was undergoing some profound reformation.

What had once been small red arcs flickering along the outer layer of its icy armor now began to leap across several scales, repeatedly striking the white armor. In no time, the Frost Dragon’s size diminished, yet the aura surrounding it grew fiercer and more imposing.

Everyone witnessed the transformation and their expressions turned grave. They had seen the earlier battle between Wang and the Frost Dragon; even if there were several more like him, none believed they could defeat the beast.

Sharon and Xing Qingning understood the Frost Dragon’s strength best—it was nearly equal to a Star Core Warrior at the Foundation stage, while Wang’s power could not exceed the mid-Foundation level.

Arcs on the Frost Dragon multiplied and grew, powerful surges shattering nearby scales only to merge into new forms. The massive dragon’s head was now covered in a dense patchwork of red arcs, the scales on its face nearly all shattered or displaced to its neck. The protruding dragon’s snout disappeared, though the whiskers still floated, occasionally catching stray arcs.

Its body, compared to its first appearance, had shrunk as if a garment wrung out of water—now it looked like a miniature version of itself. The red arcs were no longer mere arcs; they had become pillars of electricity, piercing the dragon’s body and stabbing into the ground, forming a cage around it.

At Ye Bai’s right, a freckled woman saw the opportunity and noted that no one had moved.

“The Frost Dragon is immobilized now. If you don’t strike, will you wait until it completes its transformation and send us all to our deaths?”

Yellow elemental force flowed over her body, gathering into a hammer in her hand.

No one stopped her as she rushed toward the Frost Dragon, but before she could reach it, a red pillar burst from the ground, instantly vaporizing her.

Everyone instinctively stepped back. If it could kill the freckled woman so easily, it could surely kill anyone present just as swiftly.

In truth, her plan had crossed everyone’s mind—they just lacked a volunteer. All knew this was their best chance to strike, but the electric force tormenting the Frost Dragon was far from ordinary.

Her sacrifice confirmed their suspicions: the system or the rules wouldn’t allow such an obvious loophole.

The red pillars had pierced the Frost Dragon through and through. Its claws dug into the earth, unable even to cry out. Suddenly, all the arcs and pillars vanished, revealing the dragon’s battered, shattered form. Its claw tried to step forward, but before it could lift, it crumbled into fragments, scattering across the ground.

Ye Bai stared at the scene, full of doubt. Was it over? The boss hadn’t even fought, and now it was nothing but debris?

Of course, things would not end so easily. Even if the system allowed it, the King of Heavenly Wood would never permit human warriors to fish in troubled waters.

Ye Bai’s black eyes reflected a red electric sphere enveloping the dragon’s remains.

When it first appeared, it was only fist-sized, and its perimeter was ringed with matchstick-sized plasma that instantly reduced any nearby mutant beasts to ashes.

“Saint Elmo’s Fire?”

At the rear, Hu Yan Jiayi, the healer, stepped forward, her beautiful eyes full of astonishment.

“I’ve read about this in my family’s books. It’s caused by powerful electric fields during thunderstorms, ionizing the air and exceeding its dielectric breakdown, making air conductive and emitting intense light.”

“But most are blue-white. Why is this one red?” She gently covered her lips.

While she explained, the electric sphere grew to the size of an adult man, no longer blood-red, but like crimson amber, translucent.

Inside, the Frost Dragon was gone. In its place stood a man clad in dragon-scale armor. Two whiskers still fluttered at his lips, and a powerful tail was forming slowly in the electric glow, reminiscent of the Lizard Man from Spiderman.

The man in dragon armor kept his eyes tightly shut, as tiny red arcs began flickering anew on his body, evidently finalizing his transformation.

Everyone watched, powerless to intervene—the Saint Elmo’s Fire formed an impassable barrier.

A soft pop echoed through the air, like a soap bubble bursting. The red electric sphere vanished, and the Saint Elmo’s Fire converged toward the man.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, full of murderous intent. His right hand, now a dragon’s claw, grasped the air, drawing all the Saint Elmo’s Fire into his palm, lengthening it until a dragon-headed sword of flame was born.

In an instant, five people died. No one saw how; perhaps his speed surpassed the limits of perception. Those touched by Saint Elmo’s Fire were reduced to ash, just like the mutant beasts.

“Retreat.”

Wang, who had been recuperating at the rear, stepped forward.

He stamped the ground fiercely, and immediately the terrain changed.

White energy surged from Wang’s body, sketching an octagon around them.

“Quick, those with earth attributes, stand before me and at the left mountain position of the Five Elements formation.”

Three people emerged from the crowd, moving to their assigned places, including Sharon.

“Water attributes, stand at the mountain position and at my right hand.”

Xing Qingning stepped forward, taking her place, her chin raised in challenge toward Sharon beside her.

“Fire attribute, step forward and stand beside water.”

Wang had little hope for this—he had not seen a fire attribute in either of the two epochs.

Ye Bai in the crowd touched his nose and stepped out.

Xing Qingning’s eyes widened in surprise; fire attribute users were rare—there were only three at Tianhai Academy.

Sweat beaded on Wang’s forehead, “Last, the woman in white, you’re non-attributed, stand at the thunder position.”

A flush rose in Wang’s pallid cheeks.

“Go!” he shouted, and a shadow split from his body, standing beside him.

The Five Elements formation was complete. Today, the Frost Dragon would face its doom—after a millennium of waiting, all led to this battle.

“Rise!” Wang’s voice regained its earlier strength.

Instantly, colored beams appeared on each participant.

First, white light shone from Wang, then yellow from the man opposite, blue from Xing Qingning, red from Ye Bai, yellow again from Sharon, but Hu Yan Jiayi’s beam was first white, then turned violet.

“The formation is set. Execute the sentence!” Wang’s face twisted in agony, whether from the strain of bearing two positions or from the weight of a thousand years.

Eight beams shot skyward, then fell as one, merging and striking the dragon-armored man, pinning him to the earth.

A multicolored light eroded the dragon-armored man’s body. He roared in pain, his dragon-headed sword dissipating back into Saint Elmo’s Fire, which floated toward the group.

Several dull sounds followed; the wind, earth, and water attribute holders vanished.

The others formed elemental armor at their surfaces for protection, but Wang, at the heavenly position, had none—Saint Elmo’s Fire entered him instantly.

Yet Wang did not turn to ash; only his qilin battle armor, made from his own beard and eyebrows, vanished.

Missing three positions, the formation faltered. The dragon-armored man stood again, a gaping wound in his chest, red arcs repairing him within.

He glared at Wang, murderous intent erupting, and summoned his dragon-headed sword to charge at him.

He hadn’t expected to be defeated twice in one day by the same man; the proud dragon race could not endure such shame. Today, it was either him or Wang.

The dragon-headed sword and jade-handled long sword clashed in mid-air.

Wang’s feet dug deep into the earth as he staggered back, his sword chipped.

The dragon-armored man pressed the attack, his blade falling again. Wang could only defend; with a snap, his sword broke.

His face turned deathly pale. “Man and sword are one; if the sword is destroyed, so am I”—the oath he swore when he first received it.

Was it all for nothing? A millennium of striving, ruined in an instant. Why must he suffer this twice? The destruction of the city, the death of its people—why? A thousand years of solitude, gambled on this moment, and still lost. Why is heaven so unfair!

Saint Elmo’s Fire ran up the sword’s hilt, burning Wang’s hand—the era of the king ended then and there.

Stunned silence reigned; no one had expected Wang to fall in two moves. Even the gluttonous battle general, fighting off mutant beasts nearby, froze in disbelief until his head was bitten off.

Of the four remaining entry-level Star Core Warriors, Hu Yan Jiayi was the first to die. She lacked combat strength, always playing the healer’s role.

Next was Sharon, who gathered his last elemental force into a dragon, charging at the enemy. But the dragon-headed blade, forged from Saint Elmo’s Fire, cut through the dragon and sent Sharon out of the examination field.

Ye Bai stepped in front of Xing Qingning. Now only the two of them remained; without cooperation, the entire team would fail this test.

Knives of water, earth, and wood attributes appeared in Ye Bai’s hands, ready in case of sudden attack. Xing Qingning’s blue energy swirled in her eyes, her whip lengthened, its tip adorned with an octagonal blade.

With a flick of her jade wrist, the whip struck like a serpent at the dragon-armored man’s head.

But he revealed his superhuman speed again—their vision blurred as his sword pierced both Ye Bai and Xing Qingning.

As he departed, Ye Bai’s expression remained vigilant, but Xing Qingning thought, “Impossible, the difficulty is too high—the dragon-armored man is at the peak of Foundation.”

Instantly, darkness engulfed Ye Bai, his body weightless and immobile, his soul seemingly dragged elsewhere.