The horizon ignited with endless flames.
Countless brilliant colors bloomed within them, born from the power of innumerable dragons.
Like dusk, like dawn, like morning glow, like the last ray of light beneath the apocalypse’s horn on the horizon…
Beneath the ever-dyed clouds, the people on the ground looked up, as if in an instant witnessing billions of sunsets and sunrises, twilights and dawns.
An uncountable number of dragons stirred at this very moment.
That once intact, now shattered barrier was the last straw breaking their patience.
These legendary creatures, born with an insatiable urge for battle and untamable even by gods, how could they suppress the blood racing within their hearts?
Countless dragons’ auras collided, invaded, and intertwined with each other!
“—Roar!!”
The world trembled with deafening, rolling roars.
Lu Luda, like many around him, unconsciously collapsed to the ground, his brain reeling.
Gigantic silhouettes blotting out the sky spread their wings, launching not a tentative probe nor a defense, but as if declaring war on the entire world—opening with fatal strikes—
The red dragon wrapped in flames bared scarlet eyes.
The blue dragon summoned all the winds of heaven and earth.
The Shuangji Doubletail Dragon flashed by, a terrifying sonic howl crying out from the deepest fears of his soul.
“Chitong Dragon, Zuguang Liming!”
“Blue Dragon, Sky’s Breath!”
“Doubleback Dragon, Urgent Fear!”
Those legendary beings, unique in their kind, unleashed their ultimate techniques glimpsed only through tales and myths, displaying their imagined powers in this mad banquet!
“Baiyu Dragon, Supersonic Impact… Heizao Dragon, Poison Burn…”
And countless more dragons!
Bai Buwen’s gaze rapidly swept over those roaring, darting figures. His vision was so limited, unable to see through or grasp everything.
Yet, through countless texts and cold narrations, he had imagined and painstakingly sketched their forms in his mind, etching them into his soul.
This mere iceberg’s tip was enough for him to identify each living dragon.
But his speech couldn’t keep pace with the dragons’ swift passages, until a streak of gold suddenly entered his sight.
In that moment, as if a drifting giant ship had found its anchor, his chaotic vision instantly locked onto a fixed point!
Beiyuan was undoubtedly the most hated target among all the dragons present.
These dragons reigned supreme, yet they were not foolish— they clearly knew who the original provocateur was.
Especially since that golden hue belonged to a kind never seen before, dazzling far beyond any existing being.
The dragons charging at Beiyuan showed no interest in a group assault, violently swinging their long necks to knock aside those comrades competing for the same opponent.
The entire scene was in utter chaos—or rather, since Beiyuan appeared in this sky, it had been a massive boiling cauldron.
Yet some dragons in a frenzied state, entirely driven by instinct, broke through the encirclement and reached before Beiyuan.
Beiyuan: “Alright then, mind telling me the name of that ultimate move? I want to remember it… Fine, I know you won’t say.”
Most dragons had no intention of communicating with Beiyuan.
He sighed in regret, then shifted expression, a sly smile curling his lips as he resolutely faced the oncoming charge!
Dragons, to many, were gods; to many others, beasts.
They could be as wise, cold, and omnipotent as gods, or as wild and instinct-driven as beasts.
When facing Beiyuan, the latter nature was evidently dominant.
—An ancient, primal war.
The people on the ground sometimes saw the golden dragon chased by swarms of dragons, sometimes saw him dart through one lethal domain after another.
Lu Luda wiped the sweat from his forehead. By this point, he had even forgotten about winning or losing; all he wanted was an end result, lest his overstimulated heart fail him before then.
“What’s going on?” Lu Luda suddenly noticed Bai Buwen’s subtle change in expression, offering him a rare moment of relief—then realized he had forgotten to breathe since moments ago; no wonder he felt suffocated!
Bai Buwen’s focus never wavered from the sky; it was more like an instinctive response: “Danmu Machine’s broken.”
“…Still a streamer!?” Lu Luda knew full well that seeing real-world scenes in the game world was impossible, but he still panicked and glanced around, “Is it live streaming now? Who’s watching?”
“Brother Bai is a very famous streamer, don’t you know?” a nearby Chasing Dragon Clan player lying on the ground answered.
In this situation, Lu Luda didn’t want to reveal his ignorance, quietly pondering, “Danmu Machine’s broken, so there must be many sending messages — that means lots of viewers… Can I watch the stream too!?”
Of course, if he were more familiar with the streaming world and understood what a massive platform Yabei was, he’d know what the once flawless Yabei Live’s reputation was now facing—
The highest level server overload, repeated stutters, suspected near-collapse!
Bai Buwen, chasing the dragon shadows alongside the viewers, had mobilized the entire platform’s senior management, feeling both pain and joy over it.
Now, technicians were rushing to repair in real time on the front line!
“Boom—”
Unaware of what was happening in the real world, Beiyuan, after enduring countless ultimate moves, finally earned a hefty reward.
“This can end now,” he told himself.
Then the next second, as a silver dragon charged in with a sonic boom, Beiyuan swished his tail along an unusual trajectory, flipped, and ascended to a height.
From above, his golden eyes lowered to gaze down at the silver, pristine dragon.
The Silver Dragon immediately felt an unprecedented sense of danger; for a moment, it thought — how could a dragon become the prey of another dragon!
But it couldn’t retreat because its elder brother — the Black Dragon that first fought Beiyuan — was watching.
Brotherhood among dragons was thin, because once a hatchling could fly, their parents would expel them from the nest.
Leaving meant the young dragon already had its own territory. In such cases, even brothers wouldn’t share the same domain.
The Silver Dragon was no different; he had little memory or affection for the Black Dragon, but upon reuniting in the Wang Selection Battle, he watched his elder brother win victory after victory.
He came within one step of becoming the Dragon Clan’s New King!
The awakened common blood, and even more deeply rooted in all dragons — the innate reverence for strength — made him unable to accept the reality that someone could be stronger than his brother.
Then suddenly, the Silver Dragon heard Beiyuan say, “Let’s start from here.”
…What?
Before he could comprehend the sentence, the overwhelming pressure struck, stiffening him for a second.
The next moment, the golden dragon’s claws clamped sharply onto his neck!
For an instant, the Silver Dragon felt the claws’ tips graze the junction between his neck and abdomen—wait!
He narrowed his pupils sharply and let out a piercing long howl, struggling violently with his massive body.
—That place was the dragon’s reverse scale!
An inviolable sacred spot, hundreds of times more sensitive, where blood surged fiercely, never before touched, not even by his parents or brothers!
“Can’t…!”
Beiyuan looked on oddly, unable to believe the struggling, pained Silver Dragon.
Without hesitation, the next second, Beiyuan whipped his long tail, slamming the Silver Dragon down from the sky.
Then he lifted his head, charged up in milliseconds, and unleashed the already learned Trial of the Abyss as a finishing blow, striking from above, all in one breath.
The Black Dragon, who had been watching without joining the fray, took advantage of the wind to rescue the Silver Dragon from what “once was himself” and scolded, “Careless.”
“…Brother.” The Silver Dragon gasped, crawling out from the huge crater he made on the ground, shouting with his mouth but involuntarily looking up at the sky.
That golden figure had truly gone mad with killing.
At this moment, the Silver Dragon understood the meaning behind “Let’s start from here”—to start ending everything, sweep away all obstacles, and seize the one and only victory meant for that person!
Countless dragons like him, who challenged Beiyuan, were shot down from the sky. Beiyuan pressed his claws into their bodies and plunged down with his opponents like high-altitude bungee jumpers.
The world resounded with dragon roars and howls. These legendary beings, once rare and elusive, now filled the heavens with endless, enduring cries.
From afar, that golden figure looked like a sun falling to earth, clutching everyone’s hearts.
But the sun would always rise again after setting.
The defeated dragons lay panting in the deep pits carved into the ground, then, no matter how dirty their scales were, one by one chased after the graceful departing golden silhouette.
Those dragons had fallen from the sky to the ground, as if before that person, they all turned into the very mortals they once scorned and despised!
“He really is that strong…” The Silver Dragon didn’t realize how complicated his voice was when he said those words.
The Black Dragon glanced meaningfully at his nominal younger brother, “Didn’t you already feel it?”
“…”
Yes, the Trial of the Abyss was almost as oppressive as the one he experienced once from the Black Dragon himself! And Beiyuan was still just a novice who had recently mastered it!
“His growth speed is fast.” The Black Dragon looked toward the golden streak in the sky, “When he first fought me, he relied on nothing but basic speed and brute force, making me almost suspect he was a greenhorn… But his age and current form don’t match.”
“And now he can skillfully fight in a dragon’s way.” The Silver Dragon murmured, staring into the sky.
Beiyuan flexed his claws, flicked his tail, stirred his wings, and used his scales as armor with ease and mastery.
“Not only that.” The Black Dragon sighed for the first time in admiration. “Haven’t you noticed? Now, the entire Dragon Clan is his sparring partner.”
“From initially learning to fight dragons physically, to now comprehending the ultimate moves of various dragon types.”
“When he fully masters each ultimate technique’s power, that will be the end of everything.”
The Black Dragon let out a long sigh, shaking his body as he stood up. “I have to admit, he’s bolder, younger, more talented, and stronger than any dragon I’ve seen — unparalleled.”
“…”
The Silver Dragon never imagined he would hear such high praise from his seemingly indifferent, yet arrogantly aloof elder brother spoken aloud to another.
He watched as the Black Dragon took a step, slowly flapping his wings as if about to take flight, opening his mouth but somehow already knowing the answer, he asked, “Where to next?”
“To the sky.” The Black Dragon hummed softly, his eyes completely occupied by the golden figure.
Then the Silver Dragon heard him say, “To welcome—”
“—Our Dragon Clan’s New King!”
–
If asked how Beiyuan felt now, it was very good.
He had recorded every ultimate move he saw.
Some were attack domains, some auxiliary buffs, some broad-range effects.
Of course, there were rarer special abilities, such as controlling enemies through spiritual threads, slowing down time flow within a certain area, teleporting or swapping multiple pre-marked targets… many with varying effects.
These special abilities were hard to learn. Some Beiyuan couldn’t perform yet, nor knew if he could, so he tried his best to memorize the power fluctuations to practice later.
But some he had already mastered—
“Chitong Dragon’s Zuguang Liming, Dark Skynight Dragon’s Trial of the Abyss, Blue Dragon’s Sky’s Breath, Mist Dragon’s Ambush Trick, Ling Dragon’s Sevenfold Body…”
He counted each skill’s effects and counters—single target, burst damage, interference, wide range, ambush suitable…
“Heizao Dragon’s Poison Burn is troublesome…” Beiyuan flapped his wings against the charging Heizao Dragon like a sudden fierce clap, exulting, “Then break it with an even stronger Poison Burn!”
“…”
All dragons facing him felt as if they were not facing just one opponent but an army of countless dragons, including stronger versions of themselves!
Never had such a moment existed.
Dragons rarely fought each other, so never before had they experienced their ultimate moves used on other dragons, nor knew which dragons could suppress themselves.
Through Beiyuan alone, they were having a direct duel of ultimate moves with countless dragon types!
From some unknown point, the dragons charging at Beiyuan gradually thinned.
When the Black Dragon flew up high, as if by tacit understanding, all the wounded dragons ceased their attacks.
They couldn’t win.
They realized they were facing an insurmountable mountain, an undefeatable height looming ahead, beyond even their reach.
When Beiyuan noticed the sudden silence, he scanned his surroundings and suddenly found all dragons had retreated from near him, keeping a clear distance.
—His airspace radius was now empty, leaving only him.
Before he could wonder why, the Black Dragon appeared right before him.
Then the Black Dragon led, descending sharply to a height lower than Beiyuan’s.
Immediately, all the dragons around followed swiftly without hesitation.
Even some dragons lying on the ground stood up without protest, normally unwilling to have so many of their kind looming overhead, yet now silently endured, fluttering their wings and swiftly joining the descending groups.
—Thus, the altitude level of Beiyuan’s airspace dropped until only he remained.
An unusual atmosphere slowly spread.
“What are they doing?” Those watching from the ground saw this scene more directly.
Lu Luda and others, along with knights in the stands, and viewers in the real world all witnessed this stellar gathering.
The golden dragon was like the earliest dawn at the peak of the world, the wind billowing under his wings as he remained immovable, quietly hovering.
This hovering seemed fleeting, as if next second he would become the rising sun, soaring with the wind to places unreachable by anyone.
Those dragons surrounding him were those desperately holding onto him—wanting to approach but fearing to disturb, wanting to touch but filled with awe and reverence.
Bai Buwen obviously recalled something. Among countless documents he had read, only a single rare journal’s replica contained fragments describing a similar scene.
But those records were obviously a rare encounter, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He shared what he saw with many, yet no one believed him, so he angrily left behind only a single note—
【…I saw from afar that dragon guarded in the center, all dragons watching it.】
【As if listening to a divine decree, waiting for an answer.】
【No one would believe that those arrogant, intolerant dragons would sit together so calmly.】
More and more content surfaced from his memory, and Bai Buwen’s breathing quickened, until his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
【They lowered themselves more than one level, making that dragon nobler than anything in this world.】
【Then, bowed their heads.】
In the sky, the clustered dragons suddenly folded their wings, retracted their once proud claws, and slowly, uniformly lowered their proud heads.
The golden dragon seemed stunned, motionless for a moment.
【No one believed my words, but if you are fortunate enough to witness this— then congratulations—】
“We are witnessing the greatest moment in Dragon Clan history.”
【You are about to witness the greatest moment of a species.】
Lu Luda and others suddenly heard Bai Buwen’s hoarse voice, as if he had gone days without drinking.
He said, “The coronation begins.”
【That is the birth of the New King, what you see now is the beginning of the coronation, the finally sounded horn.】