The Legend of Dragon Warriors, Part 5: Dark's Mental Breakdown (Episodes 27-29) Author: Half a Frog

This post was last edited by s175366 on 2015-9-29 19:35.

[Main Story Part 5: Dark's Mind Loses - Episode 27: Ankagus] Chapter 1: Ankagus, the God of Destruction.

"Dragon Warriors? How lucky! How wonderful! After being cooped up for hundreds of years, I finally get some fresh air, and here I am, a whole bunch of guys I want to kill!"

The grotesque laughter had barely faded when the first generation of the Sea Dragon, Habaror Kirsten, began to transform. When the Sea Dragon Armor formed on his bare skin, I was once again horrified. That was because the Sea Dragon Armor, which should have been a deep blue like seawater, appeared black to my naked eye, while the simulated Silver Moon Eye saw only crystal-clear transparency.

Just as little Kirsten had predicted, the first generation of the Sea Dragon had completely broken through the limitations of his attributes, reaching the "nothingness" realm of a dragon king, and he was now shouting that he wanted to kill us.

With a murderous intent stirring, the transformation complete, the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon immediately launched his attack. Raising his left hand, he made a grasping motion towards the five of us from afar. The hand moved, in the blink of an eye—literally the blink of an eye—the speed of casting magic was almost faster than thought. Just as we had a chance to defend ourselves, the air between us and him was completely sucked away by this grasp, creating a vacuum area fifteen meters in diameter. The immense suction force pulled everyone's bodies out of control, hurling them forward.

A thought, a magic, instantaneous power! Fast, incredibly fast! This was the true, genuine Musou Reincarnation! The speed of casting magic was almost faster than thought!

Even more terrifying was that before the attack, Ruyue, standing to the side and behind the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon, upon hearing him shout that he would kill the dragon warrior, immediately used the Six Element Nullification Space to lock his body in preparation. Despite the intense interference and suppression from the Six Elements Nullification Space, the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon remained completely unaffected. In fact, it neutralized, disrupted, transferred, and ultimately incorporated the disruptive force into its attacks. The Six Elements Nullification Space is a mage's natural enemy, but here it was a joke.

What drove me even crazier was that the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon's power level since its appearance, as determined by the Silver Moon Eye, was only at the early stage of the Dragon Warrior's fifth transformation. Even Josie's power surpassed it!

After mastering Heaven's Destruction, my spellcasting speed had greatly increased. I once thought I was comparable to, if not quite, the true "Reincarnation of No Thought," but before the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon, my "speed" was like a tortoise's crawl.

The only consolation was that, thanks to the Silver Moon Eye's unparalleled insight and far superior reaction speed, my mind and eyes could still keep up.

Only Ruyue and I reacted in time, caught in the vacuum vortex, our bodies temporarily out of control. I didn't defend; instead, I launched a counter-attack, simulating the wind attribute most advantageous for this environment. Using the vacuum vortex's suction, I employed Aunt Brigitte's signature move, Gale Strike, to spin my body rapidly. I raised both fists overhead, using them as a weapon, and sped past the others who hadn't yet reacted, attacking the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon first.

Ruyue, standing behind the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon, perfectly coordinated with my attack, her golden fist appearing simultaneously behind him. Given Ruyue's personality, she usually disdained teaming up against others, but faced with this mythical opponent and his immense pressure, she resolutely abandoned her resolve.

Facing the pincer attack of two sixth-stage dragon warriors, the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon seemed to have anticipated this. His left hand, swinging in mid-air, transformed from a grab to a thrust, compressing the previously sucked-in air into a rice-grain-sized compressed bullet, condensing it on his middle fingertip. Without even glancing at the rapidly approaching Ruyue, he flicked his finger backward, launching a compressed bullet.

At the same moment, my "Swift Strike," a fusion of man and fist, had already struck the First Generation Canghai, about to blast his face to smithereens. He raised his right palm, surprisingly using only his bare hand to block my combined "Spear Tip" attack, a combination of the Heaven-Shaking Fist and the World-Reversing Fist.

What happened next is something I will never forget.

That seemingly frail hand, its tip shrouded in a layer of black energy, slashed at my joined fists. In the clash of fist and palm, a faint, almost negligible force was delivered, then it recoiled like lightning.

A sharp pain spread from my fists up my arms, disappearing abruptly at my shoulders. Then, my brain suddenly lost control of my arms; my joined fists first automatically separated, then uncontrollably clashed again.

Heaven-Shaking Fist on the left, World-Reversing Fist on the right—the clash did not produce the invincible "Void Annihilation." Instead, it was left hand attacking right, right hand attacking left, demonic energy and dragon power clashing against each other, the energy surging within my body. I felt a sharp pain in my chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood. My once invincible move became the most foolish defeat before this palm strike.

At the same time, Ruyue's muffled cry rang out. The invincible domineering fist, the iron fist that had caused countless divine weapons to fall on the ground, had broken its teeth before this small compressed air bullet. In the head-on collision, Ruyue let out a cry of pain and flew out, crashing heavily to the ground by the pool. It seemed that she had suffered a great loss from that blow.

With just two casual moves, he defeated both Ruyue and me. After succeeding, the First Generation Canghai Dragon immediately moved to the side and retreated. During the withdrawal, his right hand trembled violently. At this moment, Biji's attack came, but he easily dodged the air blast that came from afar with a teleportation. Distracted by her daughter's safety, she was a fraction of a second late in acting.

"Don't go!"

Josie was a little slower than Brigitte in controlling her body in the vacuum vortex. The Silver Moon Eye captured the trajectory of the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon's instantaneous movement, and Reflection Moon unleashed the Three Holy Light Slashes with all her might to intercept it. However, the three holy light slashes still only hit the ice phantom left behind by the opponent, always falling just a little short. And because Little Kristin was unwilling to pursue due to the ancestor, the weakest Melia didn't even have a chance to act, and the first round of the confrontation ended there.

The First Generation Azure Sea Dragon, which had teleported away, reappeared dozens of meters away. Its feet had just landed and it hadn't even stood firm when its body suddenly swayed, and then its right palm exploded into a cloud of blood mist with a crack, shattering into pieces.

"Terrifying guy!"

Fighting six people at once, yet being able to severely injure the strongest, Ruyue, and me in one move, at the cost of only a hand, chilled me to the bone.

But the real horror had only just begun. The shattered hand wasn't truly useless; the tissue pulverization was merely a means to neutralize the damage from the Heaven-Shattering Fist and the World-Reversing Fist. Once the damage subsided, the shattered hand tissue automatically rebounded and reassembled at the severed wrist, forming a complete right hand. Everyone was stunned by the sight of the hand fragments reforming. What kind of magical healing was this?!

Ruyue stood up, clutching her right wrist, her face pale. Blood dripped from between her fingers. That "tiny" air compression bomb had not only shattered her powerful fist but also severely injured Ruyue's right hand. Josie rushed forward to treat her.

Little Kerstin couldn't accept what was happening before him, shouting at the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon, "Ancestor, why, why did you do this to us? Why did you kill us!"

Even now, Little Kerstin couldn't believe what was happening, still treating everything as a malicious joke by his elders. In fact, not only him, but every dragon warrior present couldn't accept what they were seeing.

As expected of Ruyue, she remained calm and collected, reminding me,

"Kirsting, calm down, don't panic! Dark, you have Karuz's memories, you should 'recognize' this senior! Use your Silver Moon Eyes to see clearly who he really is!"

Reminded by her, I immediately used my Silver Moon Eyes to carefully examine him, simultaneously extracting the First Azure Sea Dragon from Karuz's memories, comparing the images of "the two." At this moment, everyone except Ruyue was fully prepared for a fierce battle, even Melia had activated her Fallen Angel transformation.

At this moment, the First Generation Canghai Dragon's eyes were fixed on my face, his facial muscles twitching incessantly, his expression a mixture of fear and anger.

The First Generation Canghai Dragon's words and actions were completely unlike the legendary figure, and my "identity check" confirmed it: he was none other than the predecessor who had ascended Mount Sunless. The Silver Moon Eye's renewed probe revealed that the dragon soul within his brain was far more powerful than any Canghai Dragon in history. I had calculated that unless it was the eighth transformation, a Canghai Dragon after the seventh transformation could not possibly possess such power.

However, this immense power was sealed by a strange seal. It was strange because the seal's power didn't originate externally, but rather from within the dragon soul itself, as if the First Generation Canghai Dragon himself had sealed it. As I pondered the reason, he pointed at me and Ruyue, uttering a string of incomprehensible words.

"Ah, yes, that's the power! Yes, and this face!"

After muttering some incomprehensible words, he suddenly raised his right arm, pointed at my nose, and screamed hysterically,

"Yes, it's you, it's you! Dragon Demon Transformation! Yes, it's that face, I'd recognize it even if it were ashes! And another guy, another guy, where is he? Is it her?"

His finger moved to Ruyue, then he shook his head in denial, "No, it's not you! Although the moves are the same, he's a man! He calls himself his son, so he must be your child? Maybe that guy hasn't even been born yet! Killing his mother would be the same! Ugh, damn it, here we go again!"

After saying this, he suddenly pressed his hand to his face, shaking his head violently, his facial muscles contorting violently, his teeth chattering, as if he were enduring some kind of excruciating pain.

Everyone present knew about my relationship with Ruyue, and when he said this, everyone felt a little strange. The opponent's strength was truly unfathomable, and now he was threatening to kill us. Out of self-defense, Ruyue and I instinctively stood shoulder to shoulder at the forefront, directly facing the pressure from the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon. Meanwhile, Brigitte, holding Melia's hand, stood slightly to our left and behind us, shielding Melia and raising her Dragon Power to the peak of the Sixth Transformation. Although she didn't speak, her eyes were fixed on the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon, her mind extremely tense. Although Melia had previously been disrespectful and rude to Brigitte, seeing Brigitte's desperate act of protecting her daughter finally softened her stance.

I told Ruyue what I had seen and my deductions: "That's right, he is the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon, both in terms of power and physique! And his transformation level has definitely reached the Eighth Transformation!"

During the previous battle, I smelled an extremely strong aura of death; the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon's eyes, when looking at us, flashed with intense killing intent from time to time. A strong sense of crisis forced me to temporarily set aside all the grudges between myself and Ruyue and cooperate with her wholeheartedly.

"The Eighth Transformation?"

Upon hearing this, everyone except Little Kristin's expression changed drastically. In the hearts of everyone in the Empire, including the Dragon Warriors, there was a consensus: the Eighth Transformation, ethereal and elusive, the Eighth Transformation that no Dragon Warrior had ever completed, was the boundary between humans and gods! Everyone believed that a Dragon Warrior who had completed the Eighth Transformation was absolutely equivalent to a god.

"However, for some reason, his power has been sealed away, and he is currently only at the early stage of the Fifth Transformation."

My next words made Ruyue breathe a sigh of relief, and she immediately turned to ask Josie for her opinion. Josie and Little Kristin were standing to our right rear, and Yingyue had already drawn his sword; he was also observing the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon with the Silver Moon Eye.

"Josh, have you made any new discoveries?"

"My conclusion is the same as Dark's! But I saw something more. His brain activity is very strange. His mind and body don't seem to be quite in sync!"

I'm better than Josh at detecting objects or people affected by dark attribute power, but in most cases, Josh's genuine Silver Moon Eyes sees things more clearly.

"Mind and body don't sync? That means either the senior is being hypnotized and controlled by someone, or he's possessed by something else! This situation..."

Ruyue's expression changed again, and she suddenly shouted, "Dark, Aunt, Josh, we mustn't repeat the mistakes we made when dealing with the Dragon King!"

The mistake Ruyue was referring to was that during the Dragon Slayer War, the newly emerged Dragon King didn't understand how to control his power. However, when the Emperor and Brigitte attacked him, they didn't use their full strength at first, giving the Dragon King an opportunity to grow and learn, which almost led to disaster. Asuka wanted me to go all out in the battle below, even if the opponent was indeed the First Generation Canghai, I had to defeat him without hesitation before his power reached its peak.

I immediately understood what Asuka meant and nodded in understanding. The opponent was too strong, and to avoid being distracted, Asuka didn't dare to turn around and call to Biji and Josie, so she shouted loudly, "Dark, let's team up! Josie, Auntie, you two support us from the sidelines!"

"Foolish!"

A cold voice interrupted Asuka's words. The First Generation Canghai Dragon's body stopped trembling. He hunched over, as if his neck was broken, his head drooping in front of his chest, his hands hanging unnaturally as if they were useless, almost touching the ground.

"Ridiculous!"

"Truly ridiculous!"

The hunched back slowly straightened, and the drooping head gradually uprighted. When the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon raised its head and opened its eyes, we saw a pair of bloodshot golden eyes, and a piercing voice uttered each word from its lower mouth.

"Kerstin, you wretched insect, did you see that? Insects even worse than you dare to clamor to kill me? Heh heh..."

These words definitively proved that it was not the true First Generation Azure Sea Dragon.

Little Kirsten angrily questioned, "If you're not my ancestor, then who are you? How did you end up in my ancestor's body?"

"Who am I? Good question! Who am I, hehehe,"

he suddenly tilted his head and squeaked at Little Kirsten, "I don't know who I am. I only know that from the day I was born, I've been very hungry, extremely hungry! So, I've been eating non-stop!"

He closed his eyes, revealing an intoxicated expression, chewing and making chewing sounds, then licking around his lips with his tongue, and finally making sucking sounds, as if he were savoring some delicious food.

"The taste of angels is truly exquisite! That day, I ate one after another, white-winged ones, black-winged ones, each with its own flavor and name... Hmm, I remember now! What did that worm call me back then? Ankagus, it was Ankagus!"

Little Kristin murmured to himself, "Ankagus? In ancient language, it means God of Destruction!"

Ankagus raised his hand, lightly wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, glanced at us again, and chuckled, "The angels are all gone. I wonder what the dragon warriors will taste like?"

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Ankagus, a terrifying monster, mysteriously appeared before us after we defeated Dracula, using the remaining power of the Blood Moon. We didn't know what kind of monster he was, only that he might come from the Sunless Mountain and possessed the body of the first generation of the Azure Sea Dragon, Habaror, borrowing his power and martial arts.

When this guy kept shouting that he wanted to kill us, after witnessing his "nothingness" attribute, how easily he broke my and Ruyue's combined attack, and his terrifying recovery ability, I decided to borrow the power of the Dark Artifacts. I released the seal of the Dark Eye on the Reverse Scale, and the Dark Eye, as the energy source, immediately merged with my body. With the help of powerful dark energy, the injuries caused by the previous dragon-demon clash also quickly healed. I

had already decided that once the battle started, I had to get the Cursed Armor no matter what, so that the three Dark Artifacts could be combined into one.

My biggest worry was that the other party would covet the Cursed Armor. The Cursed Armor stood alone by the blood pool, with the Dragon-Sealing Staff and the Demon-Sealing Sword inside, almost at the same distance from me and him. The Cursed Armor only accepts creatures of pure dark nature, but for that monster who completely broke through the attribute limit, this limit did not exist.

If this monster were to also set its sights on him, I wouldn't be confident I could outmaneuver him. Fortunately, Ankagus's mind was entirely focused on us.

"Golden Dragon, Jade Dragon, Azure Sea Dragon, Silver Winged Dragon, or perhaps my most hated Dragon Demon—which one should I eat first?"

Ankagus's laughter echoed through our minds via consciousness transmission. Once the transmission was complete, Ankagus's figure vanished into thin air.

"Instant Teleportation!"

This was the Azure Sea Dragon's favorite technique; the disappearance of his body rendered all previous defenses ineffective.

When he reappeared, he was behind Melia.

The disappearance and reappearance occurred in a mere instant, almost faster than thought. Before Brigitte, who was protecting Melia, could react, his right hand easily pierced through her protective aura and seized Melia's right arm.

Slightly slower, Brigitte turned and threw a punch at Ankagus's face. At the peak of her sixth transformation, this punch, delivered to save her daughter, was incredibly powerful. Ankagus raised his left hand to meet it, fist and palm clashing with a muffled thud.

Using the force of the punch, Ankagus quickly fled.

Forced back by Brigitte's punch, Ankagus had already obtained what he wanted: an invisible ball of elemental energy condensed in his left palm. Brigitte's punch not only failed to harm him but also absorbed all its power. His right hand held a bloodied arm—Melia's arm. Having obtained

what he desired, Ankagus immediately began to enjoy it. With a slight flick of his right hand, the arm, as if struck by a demonic spell, rapidly withered, finally turning into a dry, twig-like bone. With a casual shake, it crumbled into ashes.

Ankagus shook his head dismissively, "So this is what an unfinished, failed product of vampires tastes like? It's awful!"

"Ah! My hand!"

Suddenly attacked, Melia only realized her arm was gone at this moment, clutching her right shoulder and screaming.

"Daughter! Little Kristin, come quick!"

Losing an arm, Melia screamed wildly. Seeing her daughter's severe injury, Brigitte went mad, holding the blood-soaked Melia and screaming.

"Ah, my hand is gone! Ah! It hurts so much!"

"Daughter, don't be afraid, Mommy's here. Mommy won't let anyone hurt you again!"

"Get away, you brainless woman! Get away from me, I hate you!"

"Auntie, hold her tight, don't interfere with my spell! We need to stop the bleeding first!"

"Daughter, don't panic. You've lost your hand, but Mommy can give you another! I'll even give you my own hand!"

With just one move, Ankagus threw us into complete disarray. Brigitte was desperate for her daughter, and Little Kristin was busy saving Melia. Suddenly, only three people remained to fight him.

Ankagus didn't pursue further, but continued to enjoy his spoils, absorbing the elemental orb in his left hand. My Silver Moon Eye saw that after he absorbed the elemental orb, the self-sealed dragon soul in the First Generation Canghai's brain showed signs of loosening, and his power increased slightly.

Ankagus, in the body of the First Generation Canghai, showed a look of relish, sighed softly, and clicked his tongue in admiration: "Indeed, the taste of a dragon warrior is superior!"

At this moment, Ruyue and I rushed to Brigitte's side to protect her. Because of nervousness, our hands unconsciously clasped together. No, not nervousness, but fear! I was terrified, and I believe Ruyue was too. Even facing the Dragon King, we had never been this afraid. Our palms were covered in sweat. As for Josie, his face was also covered in sweat.

"Don't be so scared! This body's memories once told me a story: before harvesting deer blood, herders always like to let the deer run around freely, because that way the blood will be fresher and sweeter! I'll do the same to you!"

Ankagusto stroked his chin, his feet dangling three feet off the ground, looking down at us with an expression like a butcher about to select pigs and sheep for slaughter.

"Let me tell you, I've decided on the order of consumption! First, the Jade Dragon mother and daughter, then the Silver Winged Dragon. As for the Azure Sea Dragon, the Golden Dragon, and the Dragon Demon! I haven't decided which one you three will eat first. You can decide for yourselves, and let me see who can last until the end!"

Saliva dripped from Ankagusto's mouth again, glistening and long.
[Main Story Part 5: Dark's Mental Breakdown, Episode 27: Ankagus] Chapter 2: Reversing Cause and Effect,

Two Extremes Reaching One Cold sweat streamed down my forehead. Ruyue and I stared intently at Ankagus, too tense to even blink. My condition was relatively normal; the negative emotions of tension and fear only stimulated my power, pushing it to its peak. But Ruyue's situation was more troublesome. Facing the immense pressure from Ankagus, her extremely twisted, domineering heart was on the verge of collapse. Her tightly clenched golden fists were already showing signs of iridescence.

Previously, when I merged with the Dragon Demon, my progress and advancement put immense pressure on Ruyue. However, Ruyue lost to me then only because of the difference in our innate factors: my Dragon Demon transformation far surpassed the Three-Headed Golden Dragon transformation. Because of the trump card of the Dragon King, Ruyue could barely forgive her defeat.

What truly shook Ruyue's confidence was Ankagus's attack. The opponent used less than two-thirds of her strength, yet through exquisitely refined power control, they shattered her two most prized techniques in a single move.

Having suffered the greatest defeat of her life, Ruyue's confidence was rapidly crumbling. And confidence is the most crucial element for a practitioner of the Overlord Fist! With a formidable

enemy before them, Little Kristin's treatment of Melia was merely a token effort, using healing magic to temporarily stop the bleeding. Ankagus appeared as the first generation of the Azure Sea Dragon, which threw him into disarray, and it took him a little longer to heal him than usual. However, Little Kristin quickly calmed down and warned us:

"Big brother, princess, you only need to use 70% of your power. You should pay attention to the technique of controlling your power! If I'm not mistaken, that guy's control over magic is even higher than my ancestor's! Without precise control, you can't hurt him at all!"

These words were like a wake-up call. Ruyue and I immediately remembered that in the previous battle, we and Aunt Brigitte had all made the same mistake. Because the opponent was too strong and the pressure was too great, we unconsciously used our power to the limit in the battle, leaving ourselves no room for maneuver.

Little Kristin continued to encourage us using telepathy, saying, "Don't be discouraged, everyone. Nothing in this world is perfect. Even the mighty Dragon King had weaknesses back then. I can feel it; our ancestor's consciousness is still within him. He hasn't truly died! Influenced by his will, that guy can only use the martial arts my ancestor knew, and he can't use many advanced spells!"

For Ruyue, whose confidence was on the verge of collapse, Little Kristin's words were like a timely rain. Her almost broken heart of a conqueror got a breather, and the light on her hands began to return to normal.

"Big brother, the only way to deal with someone like my ancestor is to unify the two extremes. Your power of reversing the world combined with the princess's power of creation, as long as both sides' strength, consciousness, and actions are synchronized, we can completely suppress this kind of fighting style that relies purely on magic! Big brother, princess, you two join forces to attack! Josie, aunt, we don't need to interfere; we just need to provide auxiliary support from the sidelines!"

In the previous two rounds of fighting, Ankagus showed that one of the biggest characteristics of his fighting style was to use the opponent's strength against them, using skill to overcome strength. Having more people doesn't necessarily give you an advantage. Our best option right now is for our two strongest attackers to support the others. Unbeknownst to us, in the battle against Ankagus, Little Kerstin has become the most crucial and dominant factor, and Ruyue and I are acting according to his commands. If he survives this battle, I believe we can both become Dragon Warriors, breaking through to the eighth transformation, just like the original Azure Sea Dragon.

While Little Kerstin was outlining the tactics, Ankagus's sharp, piercing voice suddenly interrupted.

"Not bad, little bug, you're really smart, but you've forgotten one thing! Even if I can only use some low-level magic, with the complete state of Reversing Cause and Effect, I can still kill you all with ease!"

Little Kerstin was communicating with us telepathically, and the enemy overheard him. Especially after mentioning the phrase "the complete state of Reversing Cause and Effect," Little Kerstin's face turned deathly pale.

"Little bug, to make things more fun, I'll play by your rules now. I'll eat the Dragon Demon and the Golden Dragon first, and save you, my delicious treat, for last! Open your eyes wide and take a good look, bugs, now I'll show you what the ultimate state of reversing cause and effect truly is!"

The telepathic message ended there. Before Little Kristin could react, Ankagustin's third wave of attacks began. His suspended body suddenly split into six illusory clones.

"Afterimage Technique!"

The Afterimage Technique, similar to the Mirror Image Technique, is a low-level spell, commonly used by mages to protect themselves in duels against magic swordsmen and warriors. However, since the First Generation Canghai developed the Mirror Image Technique, the Afterimage Technique has become obsolete, because skilled magic swordsmen and swordsmen can discern the true nature of the clones with their mental perception. Furthermore, the Afterimage Technique can only be used defensively, not offensively, because magical illusions cannot move. However, Ankagustin's Afterimage Technique completely lacks these flaws.

Despite knowing it was an illusion, I still spared no effort to probe it with my Silver Moon Eye, and the result was astonishing.

"How could this be? Every illusory phantom exudes intense dragon power! If it weren't for the Silver Moon Eye, I wouldn't be able to distinguish the real from the fake with my own judgment!"

Then, six phantoms, along with the main body, rose into the air and scattered, launching a high-speed attack on us from seven directions. Their speed was like a ghost, and their target was me and Ruyue, who were standing at the very front.

Blocked by Little Kristin, Brigitte and Josie suppressed their urge to intervene and could only cast support spells that increased attack, defense, and speed on Ruyue and me simultaneously.

"Clever, little bug. The more useless people interfere, the faster you will perish!" Even

during the high-speed attack, Ankagus's thoughts continued to flow into our minds. Facing six fakes and one real, high-speed attacks from seven directions, I relied on my simulated Silver Moon Eye to locate the real opponent. However, Ruyue didn't possess the Silver Moon Eye and couldn't find the real one, making any cooperation impossible.

In this critical moment, my right hand grasped Ruyue's left, and we held hands tightly. With a gentle pull, I unleashed a powerful punch with my left hand, striking the figure coming from the upper right.

My intention was for Ruyue to ignore the opponent's presence and changes, and instead rely on my movements to determine the opponent's location. Given the current situation, explaining this to her was too late; my only hope was that she would understand the implication of the hand-grabbing gesture.

Watching Ankagus rapidly approach, I prayed silently, "Ruyue, you must cooperate! Reversing Cause and Effect is far more terrifying than the Overlord Fist and the Heaven-Shattering Fist! I alone can't handle Reversing Cause and Effect!"

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Reversing Cause and Effect—this wasn't the first time I'd heard of this term. Little Kristin had told me it was one of the three great techniques left behind by the First Generation Canghai, the most difficult to comprehend.

"The so-called Reversing Cause and Effect isn't a martial art or magic, but a kind of understanding."

"Simply put, everything in the world operates according to fixed laws. For example, water freezes when it's cold and vaporizes when it's hot, following its inherent laws. Becoming ice or vapor is the effect, and being cold or hot is the cause. The secret of Reversing Cause and Effect is to destroy the cause before the effect occurs, so the subsequent effect won't happen!"

"If one fully comprehends the realm of Reversed Cause and Effect, one can understand the laws governing the operation of all things in the world and break through all ultimate techniques. A person who fully comprehends the realm of Reversed Cause and Effect is equivalent to a creator god!"

Little Kirsten's grand pronouncements left me speechless. I thought for a moment and asked, "According to you, if a child really comprehends this nonsense about Reversed Cause and Effect, wouldn't he be a god?"

"Of course not. Reversed Cause and Effect is just a kind of comprehension. Without sufficient strength as a backing, if the difference in strength is too great, it will ultimately be useless. Just like the wise sage Danmas understood what magic was better than anyone else, but Axi's physique still prevented him from using any magic at all!"

Little Kirsten told me that when his ancestor ascended Sunset Mountain, he had already comprehended 80% of Reversed Cause and Effect. He had diligently practiced the ultimate techniques left by his ancestor for many years, and now he had a 60% comprehension of Moonbeam and a 30% understanding of the Unity of Heaven and Man, but he had not even reached 50% of the most difficult Reversed Cause and Effect.

"If one of us were to fully comprehend the Reversed Cause and Effect, wouldn't we be invincible!"

"Theoretically speaking, pretty much!"

I immediately asked, "Is there any way to break this move?"

"The only way to break the Reversed Cause and Effect is to unify the two extremes! Because the Reversed Cause and Effect can only break one kind of 'cause' at a time. If you encounter two completely opposite 'causes' at the same time, and two extreme forces at the same time, then it cannot be resolved. For example, the perfect combination of Big Brother and Princess!"

Earlier, Ankagus's light palm strike broke my Heaven-Shaking Fist and Reversed World Fist, and I had personally experienced the terror of the Reversed Cause and Effect. I was simultaneously manipulating the mutually resisting dragon demon power because I had found a balance between these two forces in my body, but the light blow from the opponent cleverly disrupted this balance, causing my hands to lose control and attack each other.

This time I learned my lesson and only used the Heaven-Shaking Fist of my left hand to fight, but with the previous lesson, I was worried about whether I could withstand one of his moves in a one-on-one fight.

My fist drew ever closer to Ankagus's, his right palm shrouded in a cloud of black mist, clearly targeting the dragon demon power within me. I panicked:

"Hurry up, Ruyue! Isn't this an obvious hint?"

Facing Ankagus, who had fully comprehended the realm of reversed cause and effect, our only chance of victory was for Ruyue and me to join forces, and for both of us to act as perfectly as one.

If it weren't for the fact that anxiety is also a negative emotion, my Heaven-Shattering Fist would have collapsed long ago. With a desperate urging, my right hand, which was gripping Ruyue's, tightened, and a golden fist, gleaming with light, appeared on Ankagus's left side, catching up quickly and then slowing slightly. At the same angle and speed as me, it attacked Ankagus simultaneously.

Faced with this unprecedented combination of two extreme forces, the cat-and-mouse smile on Ankagus's face finally vanished the instant his fists struck.

Instant teleportation combined with the Mirror Image Technique allowed Ankagus to retreat instantly; the Heaven-Shattering Fist and the Overlord Fist only struck a fleeting, icy illusion. Seeing Ankagus attempting to escape using instant teleportation, Ruyue once again used the Six Elemental Nullification Space to intercept him midway.

The last time Ruyue used this technique, her opponent easily broke it and stole its power, but this time the situation was different.

"Heavenly Annihilation, Antimatter Space!"

At the same moment, with the power of defying the world, I unleashed another interference magic that was completely opposite to, yet similar in effect to, the Six Elements Invalid Space. The two interference spaces overlapped and merged, once again unifying the two poles. Ankagus retreated less than ten meters before being locked in place and forced to reveal himself.

Seizing the opportunity, Ruyue and I joined hands and charged forward, determined not to give our opponent a chance to breathe. Our opponent was truly terrifying. Even if it meant killing the first generation of the Azure Dragon, we absolutely could not let this terrifying enemy leave this place alive. We had to destroy him when he was at his weakest.

Without reminders or special explanations, the strength of our hands clasped together, a slight physical movement, was enough for Ruyue and me to understand each other's intentions. When our eyes met unintentionally, we both let out knowing smiles.

Locked in a dual-dimensional space, unable to teleport or use magic, Ankagus, relying solely on his dragon wings for acceleration, was no match for me and Ruyue, who were further boosted by the attacks and speed of the other three dragon warriors. We quickly closed the distance to less than three meters.

"Heavenly Fist, go!"

"Overlord Fist, crush him!"

My right hand grasped Ruyue's left, my left hand unleashing the Heavenly Fist in sync with her right, the Overlord Fist, both fists interacting, moving at the same speed, with the same force, and at the same angle, simultaneously striking Ankagus, determined to eliminate this terrifying threat with a single punch. The Six Elements Nullification Space and the Antimatter Space completely overlapped, sealing off any possibility of the opponent using magic.

Fear began to appear on the face of the First Generation Canghai, possessed by Ankagus.

This was the first time Ruyue and I had truly teamed up, and it was a perfect collaboration. As we threw our punches, both Ruyue and I believed that this strike would surely pulverize our opponent.

Just as the impact was about to land, Ankagus, who had been terrified a moment before, suddenly burst out laughing. His squinting, one-eyed grin seemed to mock our ignorance.

"Perfect? Foolish insects, in my eyes, your perfection is a complete joke! The gaps in your coordination are as wide as a river!"

"With magic sealed at this moment, how can he use telepathy?"

Sensing Ankagus's telepathic message, Ruyue and I were both shocked, but our Heaven-Shattering Fist and World-Defying Fist were already unstoppable. The instant the punch landed, our opponent teleported again, moving half a meter back, and our combined attack completely missed.

At the same time, the previously peaceful Six Elemental Nullification Space and Antimatter Space, interfered with by the external force, also intersected and clashed, ultimately annihilating each other.

"Tenfold Gravity Technique!"

"Tenfold Lightness Technique!"

While dodging the Overlord Fist and the Heaven-Shattering Fist, Ankagus formed hand seals, simultaneously casting two completely opposite spells: one slowing, the other accelerating. At such close range, with pinpoint accuracy and speed almost matching the speed of thought, Ruyue and I had no chance to resist and were immediately hit.

Ruyue, struck by the Gravity Technique, felt her body stiffen and immediately lost speed, while I, struck by the Lightness Technique, suddenly accelerated forward. Although Ruyue and I were holding hands, at the moment of impact, my body rushed forward a step ahead, breaking our stance of fighting side by side.

Facing Ankagus's right hand, shrouded in black mist, as it swung towards me, whether I wanted to or not, at this moment, I had no choice but to unleash the Heaven-Shattering Fist.

The fist and palm met solidly, but I wasn't hurt as I'd imagined. I only felt that his palm was like a black hole, swallowing up all the power of my punch like a whale swallowing water, leaving not a trace.

"Da Xiu!"

To save me, Ru Yue pulled me back with all her might, using the momentum to launch a fierce attack. However, because of the lag, her powerful punch was a beat too slow. Ankagus's eyes gleamed with mockery. His left hand, shrouded in a layer of white mist, caught Ru Yue's right fist. The same thing happened to Ru Yue; the power of her punch was also completely absorbed by his left hand.

"Not good!"

I grabbed Ru Yue's hand and retreated rapidly. This was our weakest moment. Ankagus's hands were like two black holes, sucking up all our power in one go. For several seconds, we were temporarily unable to channel our dragon power into our arms, leaving us completely at his mercy. Fortunately, the monster didn't take the opportunity to kill us, instead focusing on digesting our "gifts."

My Silver Moon Eye remained locked on it, and Ankagus channeled the power of creation and the power of reversal borrowed from us into its body, finally converging them in its chest cavity. The collision of these two opposing forces immediately produced a terrifying explosion.

The body of the First Sea Dragon below the neck was completely reduced to dust in the explosion, but its head remained intact.

"Ancestor!"

came Little Kristin's scream from behind. Those watching from behind, except for Josie, thought that Ruyue and I had successfully killed Ankagus.

"Damn it, Lin, his head is still there!"

Although I didn't know what had happened, I knew that the monster's actions were definitely not an attempt to commit suicide. Before the aftershocks of the explosion had subsided, I grabbed Ruyue's hand and rushed forward, hoping to smash the head in time. Ruyue didn't see the "head," but having learned from the lesson of the Dragon King, she understood the situation as soon as I mentioned it.

Ruyue reacted quickly; I pulled her hand, and she followed. However, we were still a step too late. When we found Ankagus, the torso and a left arm had already reassembled from the bottom of that head. The speed of its regeneration was several times faster than that of the Dragon King.

"Do you understand, you insects! In the eyes of the gods, mortals are laughable!"

A mocking voice came from the smoke. Facing the simultaneous attacks of the Heaven-Shattering Fist and the Overlord Fist, the newly regenerated right hand, with only a bare index finger bone, stretched out with lightning speed, striking Ruyue's and my fists twice like a chicken pecking at rice, one after the other, before quickly retracting.

A sharp pain came from my middle finger. My left arm and Ruyue's right arm simultaneously went out of control, their arms going numb and bending, changing direction. The two of us exchanged a fierce punch less than a meter in front of Ankagus.

Amidst another deafening explosion, Ankagus's triumphant laughter rang out: "Didn't expect that, did you, Kirsten? The collision of two extreme forces can break the seal you placed. Your body will soon be unable to restrain me!"

When Ankagus's finger grazed my fist, I already sensed it; he could now wield the power of the First Generation Canghai at the peak of the Six Transformations. Everything he had done before was merely to break the power seal set by the First Generation Canghai.

The Heaven-Shaking Fist clashed with the Overlord Fist, and Ruyue and I were thrown back by the shockwave of the explosion. As we rolled wildly on the ground, my body collided with something.

It was the third Dark Artifact, the Cursed Armor. Without hesitation, I immediately donned the armor.

Normally, I wouldn't want to rely on the Dark Artifacts unless absolutely necessary, because using power that doesn't belong to one's true strength always comes at a price, but at this moment, I had no other choice.

[Main Story Part 5: Dark's Mind Loss - Episode 27: Ankagus] Chapter 3: The Annihilation of the Void

After obtaining the three Dark Artifacts, Dracula's physique was greatly enhanced; his original pair of bat wings transformed into three even stronger pairs of blood-red bat wings. After donning the Cursed Armor and merging the three Dark Artifacts, my body not only expanded but also underwent strange changes.

The dragon wings on my back, too, increased from two pairs to three, still three on each side—one dragon on the left, three demonic on the right. Unlike Dracula, over ten serpentine tentacles sprouted from my right arm, freely extending and contracting at my will, while a demonic eye grew from my left shoulder. It could fire a magic beam with power reaching level nine at an angle approaching 180 degrees.

My muscles were extremely enhanced, my magical resonance ability was amplified, and my sustained combat ability was boosted! After the three Dark Artifacts merged, I felt my body connected to the resentment that filled the heavens and earth. Even the Pantheon Blood Curse, inflicted on the dragon warriors by the gods, its incredibly evil power, now became part of my strength. At only the sixth transformation, I now possessed power even greater than a dragon demon at the peak of the seventh transformation.

How did this power compare to the eighth transformation? Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing what the eighth transformation entailed.

But facing Ankagus, who possessed the peak power of the Sixth Transformation of the Azure Sea Dragon, I still had a sliver of confidence.

The smoke gradually dissipated, and after I perfectly integrated the three Dark Artifacts into my body, Ankagus also completed the reconstruction and repair of his damaged body.

Using the amplifying effect of the black ring, I transmitted a message to everyone:

"Don't interfere! In my understanding, this 'Reversed Cause and Effect' is simply about refining the application of power and magic to its pinnacle, maximizing the principle of overcoming strength with skill. Everything has its limits! Even the most skilled ant is no match for a lion!"

I roared at Ankagus, simultaneously encouraging myself: "Let me see if the complete realm of Reversed Cause and Effect can fill the huge gap between the peak power of the Sixth Transformation and the peak power of the Seventh Transformation, between eighth-level magic and ninth-level magic!"

Reminded by me, Ruyue, Xiaokersting, and the others retreated rapidly, making room for me to fight. When Ankagus broke through my and Ruyue's combined attack, it proved one thing: in a one-on-one fight, no one present, including myself, could withstand a single blow from him! Now that I'm using power to suppress technique, everyone staying here will only hinder my performance.

"Trying to escape, you insects!"

"With me here, get past me first!"

Using teleportation, Ankagus tried to break through my defenses, but I blocked him halfway with antimatter space.

With the power of the Dark Artifact, I used antimatter space with ten times the power of before, breaking Ankagus's spatial teleportation magic. The Black Ring is indeed a good thing; besides being a magic power amplifier, it is also very beneficial for improving the precision of magical power. As soon as Ankagus revealed himself, the Demon Eye on my left shoulder immediately opened, and then shot out a beam of freezing light with the destructive power of a ninth-level magic. Compared to Dracula, who can only use dark magic, I can use high-level magic of other attributes with the help of Heaven's Annihilation.

"Just as I thought! Since you possess artist-like magical skills, and the power level difference is so vast, brute force can still overcome skill!"

My confidence grew a little more. The difference between level nine and level eight magic is only one level, yet the gap is like heaven and earth. Even having fully comprehended the complete realm of reversed cause and effect, Ankagus dared not confront its edge head-on. Relying on the accurate foresight of his complete realm, he used lightness and levitation spells to move his body away before I could attack, narrowly avoiding my freezing beam.

"Trying to escape? Not so easy! Fiftyfold Gravity!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity when the opponent dodged, the snake-like tentacle on my right arm shot out with a whoosh, while my left hand simultaneously used gravity magic to suppress the opponent's movements. However, my gravity magic had no effect as expected. The fifty-fold gravity spell struck my opponent, but he cleverly altered its nature with a mere fraction of his strength, turning it into a fifty-fold lightness spell. My attempt backfired; his speed increased dramatically, his body darting left and right like a fish, escaping the pursuit of the tentacles.

"Such precise use of magic! Eighth-level magic only allows him to borrow power—damn, reversed cause and effect!"

I was once again amazed by this incredible magical technique. I felt somewhat disheartened. My antimatter space spell, using power ten times greater than my opponent's, could only effectively seal off instantaneous teleportation.

"Heh heh, interesting! Want to fight me one-on-one? Dragon Demon, without his help, in my eyes you're nothing more than a troublesome insect!"

"Him? Who is he? Don't be too smug. If you get hit by ninth-level magic, you'll definitely be pulverized!"

As I said this, I carefully examined my own physical condition. The power of that freezing beam was far beyond my current capabilities; after the attack, I already felt a slight discomfort in my body.

"Is that so? Then hit me first before you say that!"

Dodging my attack, Ankagus immediately launched a counterattack. His body moved at high speed in the air, circling around me. Wind Manipulation, Levitation, Lightness of Body—all were ordinary mid-level wind-based acceleration spells.

It wasn't teleportation, pure physical movement, yet his speed was still as fast as a ghost. One moment he was in front of me, the image of his body still lingering in my vision, and the real body had already appeared behind me.

"Acceleration magic? I can do that too!"

Wearing the Dark Artifact, my reaction speed was also enhanced. The moment he moved, I immediately copied his tactical spell, applying it to myself to catch up with his speed.

"I can use level nine magic, that's my advantage! Slow down! Thousandfold Gravity Hell!"

Level nine magic shouldn't belong to humans, yet it appears in the mortal realm. Because every attack causes cataclysmic destruction and severe damage to the natural environment, Ankagus's current speed makes it difficult to hit him with point attacks. Only wide-range, all-encompassing surface attacks are effective.

The ninth-level earth magic, Thousandfold Gravity Hell, distorted the space within a thousand paces of my body the moment it was unleashed. Everything within the magic's influence suddenly subjected to a thousandfold gravity attack began to collapse. The first to be hit was Mount Burial Moon beneath my feet; unable to withstand its own thousandfold gravity, the mountain crumbled with a deafening roar. The vegetation on its surface instantly turned to dust. What was once a majestic, towering Mount Burial Moon was, in the blink of an eye, a massive heap of rubble and dust.

Pulled by gravity, the clouds in the sky gathered frantically, instantly obscuring the moon overhead. Fortunately, Ruyue and the others had retreated a kilometer away; otherwise, the thousandfold gravity from that attack would have crushed their bones.

Relying on my level nine magic, I frantically amplified the surrounding gravity, simulating the Silver Moon Eye to lock onto my opponent and observe his every move.

This monster from the Sunless Mountain was truly terrifying; under the influence of the thousandfold gravity magic, my speed was only reduced by half. I understood that while the power of the thousandfold gravity hell was terrifying, it was a wide-area spell that attacked all surfaces. Compared to point-attack spells, the wasted power on a single object was over 99%. Although my opponent only had level eight magic cultivation, he could still contend with level nine magic through his extremely precise manipulation of magic.

Despite successfully reducing my opponent's speed, the effect of the thousandfold gravity also applied to me; at this moment, I was no faster than Ankagus. But I was already quite satisfied with this result. Even with the enhancement from the Dark Artifact, my current reaction speed isn't suited for this kind of high-speed combat! If I keep increasing my speed and try to outrun Ankagus, I'll be the one who gets overwhelmed first. If we can't both get faster, then let's both slow down!

"Dragon-Sealing Staff, come forth!"

I tried drawing the Dragon-Sealing Staff, unleashing a Dragon-Sealing Purple Light with the power of the Fallen Angel in my right hand, but it had no effect whatsoever. The Dragon-Sealing power was instead absorbed by Ankagus and converted into his own.

"Reversing cause and effect, what a detestable thing! It seems only level nine magic can possibly crush that bastard!"

I sheathed the Dragon-Sealing Staff, using the power of the Black Ring to fully absorb dark elements, and then unleashed a powerful level nine dark magic spell

, Gravity Bullet. However, even though I successfully reduced my opponent's speed, my gamble with the level nine magic spell still missed its target. Because I was focused on casting a level nine spell, the antimatter spatial force suppressing teleportation weakened, and Ankagus dodged it again. He easily dodged while simultaneously giving me the middle finger.

"Little bug, aim carefully! Missed! Missed!"

Regardless of the type of level nine spell, casting it severely interferes with the use of teleportation. Even single-target spells have destructive power that significantly impacts the surrounding space; teleportation isn't a foolproof survival tool. But Ankagus, relying on his complete mastery of reversed cause and effect, judged the direction, angle, and timing of my attack before I even made my move, preparing to move aside a split second before I attacked.

The gravity projectile, having missed its target, flew thousands of meters away and landed in a valley, triggering a massive explosion that illuminated half the night sky. Thanks to the perfect combination of his complete mastery of reversed cause and effect and teleportation, Ankagus is now virtually invincible; spells below level eight cannot harm him, and level nine spells cannot hit him.

The Silver Moon Eye has detected that the self-sealing mechanism in the brain of the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon is gradually collapsing. Soon, his power will break through the peak of the sixth transformation, reaching the seventh transformation. Once he can use level nine magic, it will surely be my death.

"Since you're so good at dodging, then I'll unleash an all-around attack, so what?"

Time is running out. I didn't hesitate to expend my power, frantically drawing strength from the Dark Night Eye and the Black Ring, unleashing the level nine fire magic, Hellfire. As soon as the fire magic was unleashed, the raging black flames, the enormous tongues of fire, swept everything in their path, vaporizing everything within their attack range.

The flames swept across everything, an all-around attack. Ankagus had nowhere to hide, nowhere to dodge. His body was protected by a water elemental sphere, and he used teleportation to dodge left and right, searching for places with lower flame temperatures. His previous elegance was gone, replaced by a somewhat disheveled appearance. Although trapped by my level nine fire magic, defeating him will not be easy. Because the attack was wide-range, the power was dispersed, greatly reducing its effectiveness against a single target. Ankagus, possessing eighth-level magic, could temporarily withstand my attacks within a localized area thanks to his precise magical control; the Hellfire wouldn't kill him quickly.

My mind was locked on him, and with the amplifying effect of the black ring, guided by my consciousness, the black flames seemed to possess a spirit, chasing after Ankagus. Wherever he flashed, the surrounding black flames would automatically attack him from the center.

The difference between ninth-level and eighth-level magic was obvious; after holding out for several seconds, the protective water elemental sphere began to collapse. The fragile wings were the first to suffer; as soon as the protective water elemental sphere disappeared, the surrounding fire elements swarmed in, instantly incinerating them to ashes.

"You insect, how dare you hurt me! I'll make you pay!"

Burning in flames, excruciating pain, Ankagus let out a piercing scream.

"This time I'll burn you to ashes, leaving not a trace of flesh, so you can't possibly regenerate! Just hold on for another ten seconds..."

I dared not relax, continuing to exert force. Only now did I truly understand how exhausting it was to precisely control magic. Simply manipulating a portion of the black flames to launch an attack and pursue my opponent consumed an enormous amount of energy and magic power with each attack, no less than casting a level nine spell. After a dozen seconds of pursuit, my body was gradually failing me. It felt as if I had cast a dozen level nine spells in succession. Even with the aid of the Dark Artifact, my body felt drained.

Just as I was preparing to make a desperate last stand and completely annihilate Ankagus, his flight speed suddenly increased, and then he teleported a long distance, instantly breaking out of the range of the Hellfire's attack and escaping the influence of the antimatter space.

"Damn it, how could I be so careless!"

Only then did I notice that the magical effect of the Thousandfold Gravity Hell had ended, and gravity had returned to normal, giving Ankagus a chance to catch his breath.

"Don't go! Your opponent is me!"

Seeing that the direction he fled was exactly where I and Ruyue had retreated, I was terrified. I desperately activated my wind magic and gave chase.

"Again, a thousand times gravity..."

Just as I was about to use the same trick again, using gravity to block his speed, Ankagus suddenly disappeared.

"Teleportation again! Direction ahead, ah! He's going to attack Ruyue and the others!"

But this time, my Silver Moon Eye completely misjudged the teleportation direction. Just as I was giving it my all to catch up, he didn't appear in the direction I expected. Ankagus's teleportation destination wasn't ahead, but behind me. In the previous battle, after he understood how I tracked his teleportation trajectory, he actually used this to his advantage, setting a trap that caused my Silver Moon Eye to misjudge the situation. I

had only cast half of my level nine spell when he launched a counterattack. The warning had barely crossed my mind before the attack was already upon me.

"Titanic Dragon Body, Cursed Armor, protect me!"

Turning to face the enemy was too late; my only hope lay in the defensive power of the Cursed Armor. The enhanced power of the Titanic Dragon Body, combined with the Cursed Armor, formed a thick, crystalline armor on my back.

A sharp pain shot through my back. Ankagus's attack on my back was using Brigitte's ultimate move, Gale Strike. This strike, unleashed at the peak of the sixth transformation, concentrated all its power in a spot smaller than a pinhead, piercing my heart.

"Crack!"

Despite the opponent's highly concentrated, highly compressed power combined with the penetrating force of high-speed rotation, the seemingly invincible protection formed by the Titanic Dragon Body and the Cursed Armor couldn't withstand it; it was pierced through!

In less than half a second, the spike pierced through my armor and headed straight for my heart. In that life-or-death moment, without thinking, I immediately changed the nature of my body.

"Flame Dragon Battle Body, protect me!"

By simulating my body as a fire element and using the Flame Dragon Battle Body, I temporarily transformed my heart into a substance between solid and liquid, barely avoiding the danger of my heart being shattered.

But the crisis was not over.

The wind-type Gale Strike could not harm the Flame Dragon Battle Body, but if the opponent's power turned into ice, it would be the Flame Dragon Battle Body's greatest nemesis. Relying on the potential that was awakened in the face of death and the help of the black ring, I used my special skill before the opponent could change its power attribute.

"Mind Storm, it's up to you!"

Ankagus, who had been hit by my Mind Storm and suffered a mental attack, let out a muffled groan and immediately withdrew his power and flew back.

"That was close! So close! Luckily, I have the experience from my ancestor Karuz in fighting the First Generation Canghai! To counter the Musou Reincarnation and deal with a mage, the best thing to use is still Mind Storm, my signature move!"

Wiping away a cold sweat, I barely managed to repel Ankagus's counterattack. My heart pounded, and I was drenched in sweat, unable to shake off the fear of death for a long time. Just a hair's breadth away, just a hair's breadth away from embracing death.

The incompatibility between soul and body, the First Generation Canghai's resistance—this was his greatest weakness. Ankagus, hit by my Mind Storm, was forced back relentlessly. This kind of attack targeting the mind and soul was more terrifying to him than anything else.

Having finally gotten a chance to turn the tables and found my opponent's weakness, I wasn't about to let it go. I pursued relentlessly, disregarding whether my spirit could withstand it, unleashing wave after wave of Mind Storm magic's shockwaves upon Ankagus. After the battle, Ankagus's power was about to break through to the sixth transformation; if we didn't defeat him soon, it would be too late.

Having been hit by over a dozen mental storms, Ankagus's movements and reaction speed were severely affected; his body swayed unsteadily in the air, like a drunkard. Because of the continuous use of mental storms, my head was also throbbing. After unleashing the last mental shockwave, I didn't hesitate and unleashed all my trump cards in one go.

"Left Heaven-Shattering, Right World-Defying! Come forth, Annihilation Void!"

A hundred years later, with the power of the Dark Artifact, the Annihilation Void, known as the strongest dark magic, finally reappeared in the world the instant my left and right hands clashed.

The power of the dragon was supreme, repelling all things.

The power of the fallen angel was repelled by all things in the world.

Forcibly fusing these two mutually despised forces, a man-made black hole with a diameter of one meter was immediately born where my fists struck. I pushed hard with both hands, and the artificial black hole shot out towards Ankagus. It expanded rapidly, generating a violent hurricane and immense gravitational pull, drawing in everything around it.

Having been hit by more than a dozen of my mental storms, Ankagus's magical abilities were severely hampered. The immense gravitational pull of the artificial black hole distorted space and severely interfered with teleportation magic. Unable to use his life-saving tricks, and with the power of the Annihilation Void absorbed without question, Ankagus could no longer escape and was instantly sucked into the artificial black hole.

"Monster, die!"

At that moment, I disregarded everything, frantically drawing power from the Dark Artifact and pouring it into the artificial black hole. In the blink of an eye, the black hole, originally only one meter in diameter, expanded thirty times in size.

"Monster, disappear!"

My desperate gamble was perfectly timed. While trapped in the Annihilation Void, Ankagus's power had just broken through the sixth transformation, reaching the seventh transformation. He, capable of wielding ninth-level magic, would be unstoppable if he escaped the black hole of the Void of Annihilation!

Despite being trapped in the black hole, his connection to the external magical elements severed, Ankagus, relying on his complete mastery of reversed cause and effect and unparalleled magical manipulation, forcibly extracted power from the black hole to create a protective shield around his body, resisting the immense pressure generated by the black hole.

"Are you kidding me? He can use magic even in this situation? What kind of monster is this guy?!"

This scene filled me with dread. Continuously using ninth-level magic, constantly borrowing power that wasn't mine, the backlash from the Dark Artifact was now very evident on my body. I felt muscle aches all over, and my Dragon Soul in my brain was showing signs of collapse due to overexertion. If I forcibly extracted more power, I might prematurely trigger the Seventh Transformation.

But at this point, I was in a bind. I was only one step away from defeating Ankagus; giving up now would be suicide! Moreover, the Silver Moon Eye detected that after his power recovered to the seventh transformation, the self-sealing of the First Azure Sea Dragon Soul had been almost completely broken. Although Ankagus, trapped in the black hole, was restricted in his movements, his power was increasing wildly. Before long, he would break through the limit of the seventh transformation, and once the power of the Dragon Warrior's eighth transformation appeared, even the Void of Annihilation would probably not be able to kill him.

I recklessly used the Dark Artifact to increase my power, and the artificial black hole in front of me grew larger and larger, soon exceeding a hundred meters in diameter. The enormous attraction generated by the black hole even distorted light.

"Big brother, stop increasing your power! If this continues, the power of the Void of Annihilation will completely get out of control!"

Little Kristin's voice came from behind me. I had pointed out the location of the Void of Annihilation, which was very close to their location. Seeing that the situation had developed to such an uncontrollable point, everyone, including Ruyue and Aunt Brigitte, rushed towards me without regard for their own safety.

I warned everyone, "Stay back! I'm almost losing control of the black hole's gravitational pull."

The black hole before us was over 150 meters in diameter, its edges constantly flashing with blue lightning. Ankagus was trapped in the very center of the black hole. In such a dangerous and unfavorable situation, this terrifying creature was still holding on. Its body, located in the center of the black hole, was protected by a shimmering light shield, resisting the powerful gravity from all sides, and was slowly moving towards the edge, showing signs of breaking free.

At this moment, the only thing I could do was desperately expand the black hole's diameter and strengthen its gravity. Whether this was a desperate measure or playing with fire and getting burned, I didn't care anymore. All I could think about was defeating this monster at all costs.

"Daxiu, this isn't working! I'll help you!"

Ruyue's voice came from behind, and then I felt the unique fluctuations of the Dragon's Breath. A beam of azure light shot out from the left rear, flying towards Ankagus within the black hole. To defeat this monster, Ruyue once again used Dragon's Breath.

Severely affected by the black hole's gravity, Ruyue's first arrow missed, followed by the second. However, after receiving data corrections from the previous two arrows, the third arrow accurately struck its target.

Under the devastating power of Dragon's Breath, the protective light membrane shattered, and the unprotected Ankagus was instantly pulled into the depths of the black hole, disappearing without a trace.

Before vanishing, Ankagus's intense resentment echoed from within the black hole:

"You wretched insects, I guarantee you will pay the heaviest price for what you have done!"

Defeating Ankagus, however, brought me no joy. Because the matter was not yet over. The artificial black hole had now become a real black hole, with a diameter exceeding two hundred meters, beyond my current control.

"Everyone, get out of here! I can't control him anymore!"

Manipulating the void of annihilation, I redirected that immense gravitational pull in another direction one last time, then shouted and led everyone to retreat at full speed to a safe place.

"Ancestor!"

Little Kristin cried out in anguish for the deceased First Generation Canghai all the way. I understood his feelings, but could only helplessly apologize to him, "I'm sorry, but I had no other choice!"

[Main Story Part 5: Dark's Mind Loss, Episode 27: Ankagus] Chapter 4: Moonblasphemy

"Cough, cough!"

"What a huge loss, a really huge loss!"

Forcibly using power that wasn't mine had severely injured me. After escaping to a safe place, the first thing I did was remove the Cursed Armor, take off the Black Ring, and retrieve the Dark Night Eye before kneeling on the ground, vomiting blood incessantly. The Dark Night Eye, which I threw on the ground, was dull and lifeless, now just an ordinary stone. The

Dark Night Eye was the energy source of the three Dark Artifacts, but its true power could only be unleashed after it absorbed enough energy during the Burial of the Moon. The Burial of the Moon was stopped midway due to Dracula's death, and the Dark Night Eye's energy replenishment was not complete.

In the ensuing battle, I recklessly drew power from the Eye of Night, finally causing it to collapse structurally. The Eye of Night is now useless; it will be at least several thousand years before this dark artifact regains its power.

As for the Black Ring and the Cursed Armor, I had no choice but to remove them. The battle with Ankagus had severely exhausted my body; the dragon soul in my brain had been seriously damaged, and my seventh transformation might have to be accelerated. With my power nearing its limit, it's simply too dangerous for me to wear these two evil artifacts again until I recover my strength.

"Big brother, you'd better not touch those two things again until you recover. They're too evil!"

"Nonsense! If it weren't for dealing with that monster, do you think I'd want to become a monster covered in tentacles?"

"Alright, you're tired now. Talk less and rest more!"

"Auntie is so good to me! That old hag Ruyue..."

While I was panting in Aunt Brigitte's arms, Ruyue was with Josie, pointing at the out-of-control black hole in the distance, asking when it would disappear. Strong women are truly heartless creatures. Her man is vomiting blood here, but she only cares about how much damage the previous battle caused to the Empire.

As for Melia, while I was lying in Brigitte's arms, she hid to the side, glaring fiercely at Brigitte and me. I don't know if she was blaming her mother for favoritism or if she had other thoughts.

"Are you alright?"

After talking with Josie, Ruyue came up and asked about my injuries.

"Look at me, I'm perfectly fine, how could anything be wrong!"

Full of resentment, I naturally wouldn't give her a pleasant answer. Seeing my sour expression, Ruyue pretended not to notice and sighed,

"That black hole is just too big. Judging from its current rate of contraction, it won't disappear for at least three days! And it's very unstable, it will move around. Just in case, everyone within a hundred kilometers should be evacuated!"

"Don't worry about that. After the vampire incident, because they were afraid of the Burial Moon, all the residents in the vicinity of Danting who knew about it have already fled."

While talking to Ruyue, I was thinking about how to protect the Black Ring and the Cursed Armor. Now, I'm severely injured, and I can't control these two dark artifacts until I recover my strength. If Ruyue and Josie take over under the guise of "safekeeping dangerous items," how should I deal with them?

At this moment, Ruyue was also staring blankly at the Dark Cursed Armor and the Black Ring. The Dark Eye was now useless, but the Black Ring and the Cursed Armor were still terrifying. These two evil artifacts are inaccessible to those who are not of the dark element; my troubles are her troubles too.

While Ruyue and I were lost in our own thoughts, Little Kristin stared intently at the black hole, his face full of worry. What had just happened was a nightmare for every dragon warrior present, but the one most affected and devastated was Little Kristin.

The First Generation Sea Dragon, Habalor. What exactly did Senior Kristin encounter on Mount Sunless? How did he become possessed by this monster called Ankagus, and what were all those inexplicable things Ankagus said to Ruyue and me earlier? These were all utterly perplexing.

Meanwhile, Brigitte was only thinking about how to save her daughter's arm, and although Melia was still very unfriendly to her, Brigitte didn't care at all. Josie was also full of worry; how to handle the aftermath of the vampire incident was also a headache for him. We, each lost in our own thoughts, suddenly fell silent, a brief silence descending upon us.

Just then, a bright light suddenly flashed in the distance, illuminating half the night sky, as if the sun had risen early. Everyone looked up in astonishment, only to find that the black hole that had previously ravaged the earth had vanished without a trace in the bright light.

"This, how is this possible? Without the suppression of the Sixfold Curse, the power of the Annihilation Void could not possibly have disappeared so quickly!"

While everyone was still in shock and disbelief, a terrifying voice rang in our ears.

"Before me, the God of Destruction, Ankagus, nothing is impossible!"

"Ankagus!"

we asked, turning around to see the unharmed Ankagus sitting leisurely on a branch of a snow-covered tree, one leg dangling and swinging back and forth.

"Dragon Demon, I was really startled by you, you troublesome insect! If I hadn't used that stupid woman's Dragon-Slaying Arrow to break the final seal on this body at the last moment, getting rid of the black hole you created would have been a real hassle!

Comparing the intensity of the waves of dragon breath emanating from my body to that of the Dragon King at his peak, Ankagus is now able to use the power of the First Generation Azure Sea Dragon after its eighth transformation. At this moment, I am too exhausted to use Heaven's Annihilation.

"You poor insects, you've gone crazy wanting to transform to the eighth time, haven't you? Hehe, Dragon Demon, as a reward for the fun you've given me, I'll now show you the ultimate form of the Azure Sea Dragon after its eighth transformation."

With that, he leaped down from the tree branch and began to transform.

"This body, though far inferior to my true form, surpasses even the six-winged Seraph!"

The first pair of "black" dragon wings suddenly appeared and unfolded on his back, followed by the second and third pairs. The ultimate form of the Azure Sea Dragon after its eighth transformation was like that of a legendary high-ranking angel, possessing six wings.

Despite being mentally prepared for a formidable enemy, the ultimate form of the Azure Sea Dragon after its eighth transformation still made our eyes bulge. The legendary eighth transformation truly existed!

"A Dark Artifact?"

Just as I glanced at the black ring lying on the ground, the space in front of me rippled, and Ankagus's body flashed by. I only saw his afterimage lightly touch the Cursed Armor and the black ring.

With just a light touch, the two Dark Artifacts, like iron statues weathered by centuries of wind and frost, rapidly weathered and decayed within seconds, turning into a pile of ashes with a mere touch. The Dragon-Sealing Staff and the Demon-Sealing Sword hidden within the Cursed Armor were also destroyed.

Having discerned something amiss, Little Kirsten wiped away a cold sweat and said, "It seems to be time magic that manipulates time!"

Possessing the power of the Dragon Warrior's eighth transformation, magical manipulation abilities even more terrifying than the Dragon King, and incredible time manipulation skills, when Ankagus displayed such terrifying strength, my despair, Josie's panic, Kisaragi's shock and envy, Little Kristin's astonishment, Melia's hatred, and Brigitte's anxiety for her daughter's safety—all the emotions in everyone's hearts were truly written on their faces at that moment.

"Ha, ha, ha, just as I guessed, the expressions on your faces, you insects, are really quite amusing!"

After taking in all the expressions on everyone's faces, Ankagus burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. His laughter was truly grating.

"Before I devour you, let's play one more wonderful game! Come on, insects, give me even more fun before you die!"

His hands began to change color, his left hand like jade, his right hand like ink, one hand light, one hand dark, rapidly forming hand seals...

"This move is... Tsukidome!"

When I, Kirsten, and Kisaragi shouted out the name of this move in unison, everyone present, including Brigitte and Melia, was instantly plunged into the mental illusion created by Tsukidome.

※※※ ※※※ ※※※ ※※※ ※※※

"Drip!" The surroundings were a void of alternating light and darkness...

"Drip!" All I could see were black and white images...

"Drip!" Apart from the sound of dripping water, there was only deathly silence...

"It's here again, the mind-attack magic of the first generation of the Azure Sea Dragon. Is this the complete version of Moonbew?"

The statues of the Ten Sages and the seven statues of the first generation of dragon warriors. Looking around, I found myself in the very center of the Divine Dragon Plaza, my body chained to a huge cross, unable to move. In this world with only black and white colors, everything and everyone looked like wax figures.

"Ugh, what, what's going on?"

Bound to the cross, I struggled desperately, only to discover that this chain was the same chain that the Creator God used to bind the Divine Dragon King.

Ankagus's piercing voice rang in my ears:

"This is the world of Moonbeggar, my world! Here, time and space are under my control!"

The voice came from all directions, overlapping and layering, as if countless Ankagus were hiding in the darkness, speaking to me simultaneously.

"What you see and hear is all the reality you fear most, worry about most, and want to escape most. The foundation of this world is the fear in your inner world."

"What does this guy want?"

I tried to struggle, but the dragon-sealing aura emanating from the chains rendered me powerless, leaving

me completely at his mercy. "Dragon Demon, you are truly an interesting insect. Although I have trapped you with Moonbeggar, and despite your imperfections, the things you stubbornly guard make Moonbeggar almost completely ineffective against you! However, your heart still has weaknesses. Taking advantage of your fear, I have specially designed an interesting script for you."

As soon as the voice fell, three familiar figures slowly appeared beside me.

"Anda, Sheila, Aunt Brigitte, what are you doing here? I understand now, it's all a hallucination. Ankagus, what do you want to do!"

Before I could finish speaking, the three women suddenly conjured three swords out of thin air and stabbed at me in a flash. Bound to the cross, I had no way to dodge and was instantly stabbed through the heart. With three swords piercing my body and six holes in my body, the pain was unbearable. I screamed like a pig being slaughtered, but the two women showed no mercy. After pulling out their swords, they didn't stop and stabbed them into my body again.

"Ah!"

The old pain hadn't subsided when new pain came, and I screamed incessantly. The three women who were stabbing me showed no mercy and continued to add holes to my body.

"Time and space here are manipulated by my will! A day here is equivalent to only one second in the outside world. From now until the next twenty-four hours, you will be here, being slowly sliced to pieces by the person you love most, the person you value most, the person you risked your life to protect!"

As I was being sliced, Ankagus's voice remained exceptionally clear in my mind.

"Although this is an illusionary world, the feeling of pain is no different from the real world. I really want to know, after being continuously sliced to pieces by the person you love most, the person you value most, the person you risked your life to protect, after fully experiencing the greatest pain they inflicted on you, will what you are so determined to protect still exist? How long can they protect you?"

※※※ ※※※ ※※※ ※※※ ※※※

"Ugh! Ah! Ya!"

Every second, the surrounding space shifted between darkness and light. Within that "day," sword after sword, bound to the cross, I lost count of how many times the three women slashed me, how many times I writhed in agony, how many times I screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

When I finally survived the longest day of my life, my wounds completely healed, and I, "unharmed," remained bound to the cross, head bowed, barely clinging to life.

But it wasn't over; it was only just beginning.

"Only a second has passed! Can't you hold on any longer? This is just the beginning! For the remaining twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, and fifty-nine seconds, you'll continue to enjoy this!"

I cried out. "Hasn't a day already passed? How can it only be a second?"

They didn't answer. The three women surrounding me continued their mechanical, slashing motions, peeling away at my flesh...

I wasn't the only one trapped in the Moonlit World. While I was enduring excruciating pain, the other five people were facing a similar ordeal.

After four days and four nights, my mind was on the verge of collapse.

"Your willpower is truly tenacious. You still won't give up on those things you're so stubbornly protecting? Heh heh, there are still twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, and fifty-six seconds left. I have plenty of time. Keep enjoying yourself!"

"Ah! You beast, kill me if you want, ah!"

"Killing you too quickly would take away so much of my fun! Sigh, I was so busy playing with you that I almost forgot about the others! Dragon Demon, while you're enjoying the endless pleasure that the Moonlit Blade brings you, share in the joy that the others give me!"

A stream of consciousness entered my mind. Under Ankagus's deliberate guidance, even amidst endless agony, I saw the situation of the others trapped in the Moonlit Blade.

The first person I saw was Josie, but this was Josie in the real world. He was standing on the snow, his body petrified into a stone statue.

"Silverwing Dragon is the most boring person! This guy, obsessed to the extreme, has a weakness in his mind, but everything has its limits. His excessive obsession makes Moonbeam's influence on him negligible, and he brings me very little pleasure. Killing him directly would be too wasteful, so I used the Time Lock to turn him into stone. Although his body is petrified, his soul and consciousness can be preserved forever. I really want to see how long his obsession can withstand Moonbeam in a hundred years, or a thousand years?"

Next was Little Kristin—

trapped in Moonbeam's black and white world, he sat cross-legged, deep in meditation. Although trapped in Moonbeam's illusion, no unusual phenomena occurred around him.

"He is the most perfect person in your hearts, and the Moon's Blade has no effect on him! But no variable is equivalent to having infinite variables. Once his heart is no longer perfect, the pleasure I will experience will be infinitely greater."

Then there was Aunt Brigitte, whom I cared about most.

Under the scorching sun, Brigitte, disheveled, stumbled along the road, asking everyone she met,

"Daughter, daughter, have you seen my daughter?"

At this time, her hair was a mess, her clothes hadn't been washed for months, and they were filthy and smelly. Flies swarmed around her, and passersby covered their noses and avoided her.

"Daughter, my daughter, where are you? Come back to your mother's side, and I'll give you milk!"

Completely mentally broken, she saw a woman carrying a baby girl passing by and immediately rushed over, snatched the baby, and tried to breastfeed her. As a result, she was pinned to the ground and beaten by the baby's parents. In her

mental breakdown, she didn't know how to use the power of the dragon warrior within her, and she didn't even know how to defend herself. She just curled up into a ball, enduring the punches and kicks, her eyes staring blankly ahead. A few ignorant, mischievous children hid nearby, secretly throwing stones at her and constantly calling her "crazy woman, crazy woman."

The power of the Moonbeam returned Brigitte to the darkest moment of her life, forcing her to relive the pain she had deliberately tried to forget. It was like a mirror, clearly reflecting the scars buried deep within the human heart. Even Kisaragi, whose willpower was so strong that she was almost immune to mind magic, could not escape the Moonbeam's mental projection.

When I saw the fragment of consciousness transmitted by Ankagus, I finally understood why Kisaragi, whose magnanimity was far inferior to her ancestor Rez, could learn the Overlord Fist, a martial art so unsuitable for her.

Under the gray sky, in the garden where I and the little princess used to catch butterflies, a little girl in a light-colored dress was picking flowers among the blossoms. From the nearby room, the faint sounds of a man and woman arguing could be heard.

"You pretended to be nice to me to pursue Gina! And you deliberately pursued Leona to get revenge on Keith. What are we women to you? Your wombs to bear your children?"

"You woman...you're insane! I don't want to talk to you anymore!"

"Do you think I don't know? Last time you secretly sent people out to deal with Gina's husband! Do you really think you did it without anyone noticing?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Isn't it true? That day you called Card over..."

From her appearance, the little girl looked no more than six or seven years old, wearing a pretty butterfly hair clip. She couldn't understand the content of the adults' argument at all, still focused on the flowers in front of her, only occasionally glancing up at the room from which the argument was coming. How much of this scene of her parents arguing in her childhood could five or six-year-old Ruyue remember? But the power of Yue Du reflected that scene completely, even though she herself couldn't remember it clearly.

A moment later, the door opened, and a man with a stern face and a buzz cut angrily pushed it open and came out. Seeing his daughter looking at him with a mixture of confusion and fear, the man paused for a few seconds. He took a deep breath, turned around and closed the door. Trying to smooth his expression, he bent down, reached out his hand, and smiled at the little girl:

"Lin, come to Daddy! Will you sleep with Daddy tonight?"

Little Ruyue looked at her father, then at the closed door, hesitated for a moment, put down the flowers in her hand, and slowly walked towards her father. In the black and white world of Yuedu, the lines on the young emperor's face appeared exceptionally clear and distinct.

Picked up by her father, Little Ruyue rested her head on his arm.

"Daddy, what happened between you and Mommy? Were you arguing? Was Lin being disobedient?"

The man strode out of the garden without looking back, gently coaxing his daughter along the way, "Mommy is tired, she needs to rest! Come on, don't bother Mommy, come with Daddy! Tonight Daddy will make your favorite lobster." "

Daddy, Lin wants to sleep with Mommy and Daddy. Lin hasn't slept with Mommy and Daddy in so long."

The man didn't speak, only mumbled something under his breath. Resting her head on her father's shoulder, Xiao Ruyue turned her head and looked at the tightly closed door with a puzzled expression. The door swayed up and down with the rhythm of her father's steps.

In the council hall where the emperor met with his ministers, Xiao Ruyue sat on her father's lap, curiously watching the group of ministers standing respectfully beside her. The scene of her parents arguing earlier had been replaced by the novel scene before her. She jumped off her father's lap and ran to the ministers, tugging at their clothes and pulling at their trousers, creating much laughter among the ministers who were trying hard to maintain a serious demeanor.

Looking at his carefree daughter, the young emperor breathed a sigh of relief and focused on the mountain of state affairs before him, completely unaware that the mischievous little Ruyue had quietly slipped away while he was distracted.

Little Ruyue ran all the way back to her mother, her long hair swaying with each step. Crossing the garden, the closed door came into view. Little Ruyue ran and called out, "Mommy, Mommy, I'm back! I went to court with Daddy. There was an old man there whose beard almost dragged on the ground. I pulled his beard hard, and he cried out in pain! It was so much fun! Mommy, Mommy, did you hear me?"

The door was pushed open with a bang, and the girl's joyful cries abruptly ceased.

The scene slowed down at that moment. In Xiaoruyue's pupils, a corpse suspended in mid-air appeared, its head drooping, long hair flowing, and its dangling legs making small pendulum movements…

“Ah!” the little girl screamed.

“Mommy, Mommy, what’s wrong? Mommy, Mommy, don’t scare Lin!”

The girl clung to her mother’s legs, screaming hysterically. In the black and white world of Yuedu, everything except the woman’s body swaying in the air turned a blinding pale white.

The scene froze at that moment. The Yuedu world manipulated by Ankagus first made the victim recall the most painful moment of their life, then locked their thoughts at that most painful moment, forcing them to repeatedly endure that torment.

Off-screen, Ankagus's voice rang out again: "You humans have a saying, what's it again? Happy people are all alike; every unhappy person is unhappy in their own way! Little insects, I'm truly grateful to you all; you've brought me so much pleasure today!"

"Beast, you monster, you pervert! Ah!"

Enraged to the extreme, I struggled against the chains, but the relentless barrage of three swords and six holes shattered my resistance once more.

"Don't be so hasty. Compared to them, that vampire's failed creation gave me the greatest pleasure!"

More scenes unfolded, and what I had always wanted to know—Meria's, my "sister's" past—was revealed to me in the next moment.

Kisaragi and Brigitte's most painful pasts were just single scenes, but Melia's unfortunate past was composed of countless fragments of memory, each fragment containing content that infuriated me.

"What a beautiful girl! Brother, I wonder who her father is—a dark dragon or a golden dragon?"

"Who knows? Even her mother probably wouldn't know the answer."

"If she inherited the power of the dark dragon, that would be wonderful. I want her to be my backup body."

"I'm afraid we'll only understand when she grows up. Whether she inherits the power of the Golden Dragon, the Dark Dragon, or the Jade Dragon, it will always be of great use to us. But before that day comes, we need to prepare."

Melia, who fell into the hands of Dracula and his sister, suffered greatly from a young age. Dracula's so-called preparation involved soaking her in a huge pool of blood and subjecting her to various human experiments. At that time, Melia was just an infant in swaddling clothes.

"Brother, won't this kill her?"

"It's alright. If she truly inherits the power of the Dragon Warriors, no matter what damage her body suffers, she can eventually recover."

After being taken away, Dracula had long ago attempted to perform the "embrace" ritual to turn Melia into a high-level vampire, but it failed. Although she didn't inherit the power of the Dragon Warriors, she was still a descendant of two Dragon Warriors, and her blood still contained some of the dragon's domineering and all-rejecting bloodline. Dracula couldn't turn her body into a vampire.

Instead of turning Melia into a vampire, the Dracula siblings were even more pleased, using her as the perfect human test subject. It was a miracle that Melia hadn't been tortured to death by forced ingestion of various poisons and black magic experiments involving physical modifications. This confirmed Little Kirsten's earlier deduction: a day earlier, Little Kirsten had secretly told me that Melia's body showed signs of decay, and if she didn't receive the ultimate water magic, Angel's Tears, within five years, she would soon age and die.

Polly, the product of incest, and the castrated vampire king, were both severely twisted monsters; the poisons and black magic experiments were only a small part of their torment of Melia.

In one scene, Melia, appearing to be no more than eleven or twelve years old, is completely naked, chained and suspended in the air, her legs spread wide. The castrated vampire king and the mutated vampire witch, dressed in black leather jacket and shorts, each wearing a huge fake penis, sandwiched her between them, thrusting violently into her vagina and anus. Blood flowed incessantly from her genitals, dripping onto the ground.

"Mommy, Daddy, no! It hurts!"

Melia, unaware of her true parentage, screamed in agony as her "father" and "mother" raped her, tears streaming down her face.

"Idiot, we're not your biological parents! You're just a toy we picked up!"

Dracula fondled the girl's budding breasts with one hand and wiped her thigh with the other, then sucked on his hand, which was stained with the blood of her virginity.

"Virgin blood, truly a delicacy!"

Although he couldn't actually have sex with a woman, destroying a girl's virginity with his own hands satisfied his twisted desires to some extent. Meanwhile, Polia, standing behind Melia, revealed her true vampire form, her sharp fangs piercing Melia's carotid artery.

More scenes followed, all depicting the torment of Melia by the perverted siblings: dripping wax, whipping, enemas—scenes that could only be described as horrific.

"Beasts!"

Although I wasn't a saint myself, having raped women before, the torture of a girl like this filled me with intense rage. I began to regret how gentle I had been when I raped Polia. I desperately shook my head, trying to banish those cruel scenes from my mind, but the transmitted consciousness remained vividly etched into my brain.

Melia's painful childhood flashed through my mind, and in these fragmented memories, Melia grew up little by little. On Melia's eighteenth birthday, the disheartened vampire siblings, after tormenting her mercilessly all night, temporarily forgot about her, discovering she hadn't inherited any of the dragon warriors' powers.

Soon, Melia escaped the clutches of the twisted siblings, her first successful escape. Covered in wounds, she collapsed from exhaustion after only a short distance, only to be rescued by a passing young swordsman.

The story that follows is a clichéd love story: rescued, healed, experiencing the first warmth of humanity, Melia and the man quickly fall in love and marry.

The agonizing pain continues, and I, writhing in agony, still sense something amiss.

"The preceding scenes are all the most painful; why suddenly insert such a heartwarming one?"

My thoughts are immediately noticed by Ankagus, whose voice echoes in the surrounding space: "Keep watching, hehe, the best is yet to come!"

The next scene, however, shows the man Melia loved wielding a sword, attempting to kill the four-month pregnant Melia, all to please his "new lover."

"If you want to marry me, kill your new wife first!"

There's only one woman in the world who could drive a man so mad: my great-great-grandmother, Polia. After finding the escaped Melia, she and Dracula didn't immediately capture her. Instead, Polia, using her stunning beauty, seduced Melia's husband and tricked him into killing his wife.

Melia wasn't a weak woman. Faced with her husband, who was infatuated with the enchantress, she was forced to defend herself. In the battle, she awakened her werewolf transformation. After a tragic and brutal fight, she defeated her husband, but miscarried during the struggle.

Polia, who had been secretly manipulating everything, then calmly appeared, forcibly removing the already formed, miscarried fetus from Melia's lower body, prying open her mouth, and stuffing it back in.

She smiled and asked her, "Melia, my good daughter, how does it feel to eat your own child piece by piece?"

"No!"

In the Moonlit World, Melia's last fragment of memory ended at this moment. Just like Kisaragi and Brigitte, she was forced to recall this most painful, most unforgettable moment of her life, and was forcibly frozen in this instant. The environment around Melia was as dark as her mind at that time. Melia covered her head, her high-pitched screams filling the black space.

"Hehe, this is so interesting! So this is what torturing someone is like! Of the six of you, she's the one who gives me the most fun!"

Ankagus's excited laughter kept echoing in my ears; Melia's painful past excited him immensely.

"Hehe, I've thought of an even better idea! What would it be like if her biological mother, the Jade Dragon, saw this? This is a great idea, let's do it!"

"You bastard, stop!"

The scenes I witnessed were cruelly sent into Brigitte's mind by Ankagus.

Lying like a beggar woman under the scorching sun, barely alive and numb with pain, Brigitte went berserk a second after receiving these fragments of memories.

"Beast, don't hurt my daughter! Stop, beast, stop!"

With a roar, Brigitte began to transform. The woman who was barely alive just moments before instantly transformed into a majestic Valkyrie. Intense anger erupted like a volcano, and the space that trapped her was like a shattered mirror, turning into countless fragments that flew in all directions!

"Daughter, don't cry, Mommy is here to save you!"

An unprecedentedly strong thought, through the gaps in space, was sent back into my mind. The mother's furious roar, driven mad by her daughter, filled every dimension of this black-and-white illusion.

The black and white world of Moonlit Blade, due to the intrusion of this powerful will, caused several parallel spaces to intersect and connect.

"What?"

Brigitte had already rushed into the space where Melia was trapped, and heard Ankagus's incredulous exclamation in her ear. Brigitte's reaction was completely beyond his expectations.

"Daughter, Mother is here, come to Mother's arms!"

Brigitte, who had forcefully entered, hugged Melia, who was screaming and clutching her head. The moment their bodies joined, their clothes turned to ashes and left their bodies. At the same time, a ray of sunlight tore through the deathly darkness, shining on the mother and daughter who were tightly embracing each other. Melia, held in Brigitte's arms, nestled in her mother's arms, sobbing softly.

"Don't be afraid, my good daughter! Mother will always protect you, Mother swears, I will never let you be hurt again!"

Gently holding her daughter tightly, Brigitte patted her back and kept kissing away the tears on her face. The gentle sunlight bathed them, and flowers, green grass, apple orchards, clear springs, rainbows—various sights appeared around them. The space where the mother and daughter were no longer just black and white, but a paradise filled with birdsong, fragrant flowers, and vibrant colors.

Not only Melia, but the Moonlit Space that had trapped the other dragon warriors also began to collapse at this moment.

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible! The world of Moonlit Space is controlled by my will! How did she break through my control, my manipulation?"

Ankagus's consciousness showed obvious panic. Although he tried his best to maintain it and fight back, the shattered space was like a mirror full of cracks, barely able to be pieced back together, but before the cracks could be completely filled, it was shattered again by the strong will from Brigitte.

"This, this is impossible! Don't run away, you insects are just my toys, this is impossible!"

Bound to the cross, my "body" also began to blur. Before leaving the Moonlit Space, Ankagus's incredulous exclamations kept echoing in my mind.

"Don't you understand? The force that shattered the world of Tsukigami is the greatest power in the world—motherly love! Ankagus, fighting against Tsukigami doesn't necessarily require a perfect heart! Torturing your aunt's daughter in front of her is the biggest mistake you've ever made!"

Little Kirsten's voice suddenly interrupted. Just before this illusory space collapsed, he opened his eyes. His hands began to change color, his left hand like jade, his right hand like ink, rapidly forming hand seals.

"The Tsukigami left by my ancestors was not meant to harm people! Ankagus, since you enjoy toying with human emotions so much, then I'll use this Tsukigami technique, which reflects the human heart, to test whether your heart is truly perfect!"

When my consciousness returned to the real world, the moment I opened my eyes, I saw Little Kirsten, having finished forming the hand seals, making a pushing motion towards Ankagus not far away, while Ankagus's hands remained in the position of extended index fingers together. From Ankagus's exit from Tsukigami to Little Kirsten using this technique again, less than a few seconds had passed in the real world.

Back in the real world, I was completely exhausted and collapsed to the ground. Even though I had only been "scraped" for "four days and four nights" in the realm of consciousness, even if it was just a hallucination, it still caused severe damage to my body. Now, apart from my brain being able to think and my neck being able to turn slightly, I have completely lost sensation below my neck.

As for Kisaragi, after emerging from the Moonlight World, she curled up into a ball, burying her head between her knees, completely unresponsive as if she were autistic. Josie stood motionless a short distance away, still in a defensive stance with her knife, her body now like a stone statue.

As for Little Kirsten, after using Moonlight, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground. Having been turned against by Little Kirsten in the same way, Ankagus stood there blankly, motionless, not knowing what effect Little Kirsten's Moonlight had on him.

As for Brigitte and her daughter, when Ankagus used Moonlight earlier, Brigitte instinctively hugged her daughter. I turned my head with difficulty, and what came into view was a huge, snow-white dragon cocoon, emitting a strange light under the black night sky. The powerful dragon energy of the Jade Dragon was emanating from the cocoon in waves.

"This dragon cocoon is... could it be Aunt Brigitte, the eighth transformation?"

Little Kristin, who was lying on the ground coughing up blood, also noticed the dragon cocoon and asked me with his head tilted to the side,

"Big brother, is this the eighth transformation? Aunt Brigitte, she seems, seems to have started the eighth transformation!"

Just then, a muffled groan came, and after standing frozen for a few seconds, Ankagus finally regained consciousness. He covered his face with his hands, shook his head, and took a swaying step forward.

"We're doomed this time!"

I cursed inwardly. Brigitte was undergoing the incredible eighth transformation, Josie had turned to stone, Ruyue had sealed herself off, and Little Kristin and I were unable to move. Now, there was no one who could control Ankagus.

Ankagus slowly walked to Kerstin's side, lowering his hand from his face and placing it on Kerstin's forehead.

"Little brat, what generation of Azure Sea Dragon are you? What time is it now? Impressive indeed, to have fully comprehended the mysteries of the Moonlit Blade at such a young age, far surpassing me back then!"

"Ah!"

The face that was revealed showed no trace of ferocity; the expression was like that of a gentle elder, looking kindly at a junior. He was definitely not the monstrous demon king from before.

Kerstin became excited, his words stuttering as he answered tremblingly, "I am the eighth generation Azure Sea Dragon, Herthy Kerstin. It is now the 14th month of the 307th year of the Empire. Ancestor, senior, is that you?"

"The eighth generation, the eighth generation... almost three hundred years, time really flies..."

A long sigh, as if lamenting the ruthlessness of time, a hundred years passing in the blink of an eye. At this moment, he was no longer the demon who toyed with others, but the first generation of the Azure Sea Dragon, Habaror, who three hundred years ago ascended Mount Everest, challenged the creator god, and left behind a legend in the human world.

A ball of water element enveloped little Kristin; it was the most skillful water-based healing magic—Angel's Tear. While healing little Kristin, his right hand lightly slashed at me from a distance.

"Ah!"

A pain no less intense than the previous thousand cuts shot through me. I cried out and jumped up from the ground. After the excruciating pain subsided, the functions of my limbs had completely returned.

I exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, what kind of healing magic is this? It healed my hands and feet in an instant!"

The voice of the First Generation Canghai drifted into my ears: "You were just overexerted, you weren't actually injured. In the previous world of Yue Du, you suffered a thousand cuts, and your body, in self-protection, completely shut down your senses. I simply released that seal."

In just a few words, Little Kristin, who had been coughing up blood on the ground after forcibly using Yue Du and damaging her vital energy, was completely recovered. After healing Little Kristin, the First Generation Canghai released his grip, walked to Ruyue, looked at her carefully, and then shook his head and sighed, "The self-sealing of the body can be saved by magic, but the self-sealing of the mind can only be overcome by oneself! Little girl, I can't help you!"

At this moment, Ruyue's eyes were blank, staring blankly ahead, her whole body like a stone statue. Even the appearance of the mythical figure, the First Generation Canghai, in front of her could not elicit any reaction from her.

[Main Story Part 5: Dark's Mental Fall - Episode 27: Ankagus] Chapter 5: A Century-Old Secret

Looking closely at Ruyue's face, the First Generation Canghai suddenly frowned and lightly touched her body with his right hand.

"This face, how is this possible? Ah, the power of the Dragon King!"

she exclaimed, turning back to face me, scrutinizing me for a few moments before her expression changed again.

This mythical figure, the First Generation Canghai, actually gasped upon seeing me, just like Ankagus. I was utterly bewildered and asked, "What's wrong, senior? I am a descendant of Karuz, the eighth generation Dark Dragon, named Dark. Xiunaida. She is the eighth generation Golden Dragon, Catherine Fabil, but we usually call her Princess Ruyue."

Upon hearing my introduction, the First Generation Canghai merely grunted and looked up at the starry sky. The previous attack, "Annihilation of the Void," had absorbed all the clouds within a radius of tens of kilometers, leaving the sky above us cloudless and revealing a clear view of the countless stars.

"Has that day finally arrived?"

Gazing at the northern sky, the First Generation Canghai chuckled softly, sat cross-legged, and began drawing a diagram on the ground with his finger. Little Kirsten and I stood respectfully to his side. The First Generation Canghai was drawing a diagram of the starry sky above, seemingly calculating the trajectories of the stars. Only then did I recall that after Reiz's death and before ascending Mount Sunless, the First Generation Canghai had spent a long time immersed in the study of astrology.

Little Kirsten whispered in my ear,

"Only those with perfect hearts can learn Moonbeam, but that monster's heart wasn't perfect. He forcibly used Moonbeam, giving me a chance to retaliate. In the Moonbeam world I created, I've sealed his soul. It's strange, brother, in the monster's inner world reflected by Moonbeam, I actually saw you."

"What?"

Little Kirsten raised his index finger and gently touched my forehead, transmitting what he saw in the Moonbeam world to me.

The scene I saw was a strange space filled with meteorites, where darkness and light intertwined, and even the light itself was distorted. In this strange world, I saw a man who looked remarkably like me. He had six wings on his back, with tentacles on them. Upon closer inspection, they were actually dragon wings covered in black feathers, a mixture of the wings of a fallen angel and a dragon warrior. The man's facial features were extremely similar to mine; the only difference was his full head of white hair. After becoming a Dragon Demon, my eyes also transformed, turning gold on the left and purple on the right, but his eyes were a mixture of gold and purple. His snow-white hair billowed high in the sky due to the surging power, and his gaze, fixed straight ahead, was filled with sorrow; a single glance would break one's heart. To my astonishment, the waves of Dragon Demon power flowing and spreading from the man's body were exactly the same as the Heavenly Destruction's rebellious power.

Standing beside him was another youth with a striking resemblance, possessing the same Dragon Demon power and the same mixed gold and purple eyes. Unlike the white-haired man who exuded a sense of vicissitude, the youth's hair was black, and his eyes were filled with unwavering arrogance and domineering spirit. His piercing gaze reminded me of Reiz, because in terms of demeanor, expression, and aura, he was exactly the same. Although he possessed the same Dragon Demon transformation as the white-haired man, with a pair of golden fists, the martial art he used was clearly the Imperial Dragon Heaven-Shaking Technique.

"Those strange things Ankagus said earlier, were they referring to these two guys? They really look like me, whether they have white hair or black hair. I feel an inexplicable sense of kinship with them. Could they be my relatives?"

Opposite them was a twelve-winged angel, thirty meters tall. Of the twelve wings arranged in a circle, the six on the left were snow-white, jade-like guardian angel wings, while the six on the right were jet-black, charcoal-like fallen angel wings. He was a twelve-winged monster possessing the dual qualities of a guardian angel and a fallen angel. His muscles and armor exuded a metallic sheen, and his enormous, blood-red eyes radiated a ferocious intent to devour and destroy everything.

At that moment, the voice of the First Generation Canghai entered my ears. Little Kristin was communicating with me telepathically, yet he could clearly sense it.

"That's Ankagus's true form! The twelve-winged angel of destruction, the last creature created by the Creator God! I encountered him on Mount Sunless Mountain, and we fought. I used all my martial arts skills, but I was no match for him. Fortunately, his heart wasn't perfect! In the end, I used the Moon's Blade to trap him, separating his soul from his body, and using my own body as a vessel to seal his soul."

The First Generation Canghai explained the fight as if it were quite easy, but based on the hardship of our previous battle with Ankagus, one can imagine how perilous that battle must have been, certainly not as lightly described by the First Generation Canghai.

While the First Generation Canghai was explaining everything to me, the two in the consciousness world had already launched a joint attack on Ankagus.

The white-haired man roared, "Son, help your father one more time! Let's fight side by side!"

The black-haired man merely nodded slightly, giving a soft "hmm" in response.

The two joined forces, the black-haired man's body transforming into a black hole capable of swallowing everything, while the one he called his son became a dazzling shooting star. The two figures, one bright and one dark, intertwined, hurtling towards the twelve-winged angel. Although they used the Heavenly Annihilation and Imperial Dragon Heaven-Shattering Techniques, which I was intimately familiar with, aside from their immense power, their execution of these techniques far surpassed that of Ruyue and me. I always felt an unusual sense of closeness to them.

The moment they fought side-by-side, attacking together, left a deep impression on me—perfect, a perfect combination, a combination so perfect it was like one person, impeccable coordination.

"This is true, seamless teamwork!"

The two, joining forces, fiercely attacked the enormous twelve-winged angel. The instant their forces collided, a blinding flash erupted.

After the flash, there was only emptiness. The message from Little Kristin abruptly stopped at the crucial point, leaving me hanging in the air, feeling incredibly distressed. He hurriedly urged,

"What happened? What happened to the back? What happened to the back?"

"There's nothing behind! Brother, what you're seeing is information I obtained when I sealed that guy with Moonbeard, and it's also his weakness."

The First Generation Canghai's voice interjected, "I don't know what happened either, but I think that twelve-winged angel of destruction, that is, this Ankagus, must have suffered a great loss in that battle, and was severely injured, leaving an indelible fear in his heart. Back then, after I used Moonbeard, I used this weakness to seal him for nearly three hundred years!"

"Then how did he get out?"

"That guy has already comprehended the complete realm of reversing cause and effect, and Moonbeard cannot completely restrain him! Not long ago, he broke the seal and took control of my body, and then used the Blood Moon to teleport my body here over a long distance!"

Ruyue, who was in a daze under Moonbeard, and Josie, who was turned into a stone statue by the Time Lock, were beside him, but the First Generation Canghai did not make a move to rescue them. Aside from speaking to us, his mind was entirely focused on the star map on the ground, as if he were calculating something.

I asked, "This guy named Ankagus, the sixth being of the creator god, what kind of monster is he exactly? Senior, could you explain it more clearly?"

The return of the First Generation Canghai's consciousness resolved many of my questions, but even more questions continued to arise. Everyone knows that the higher beings on the Wind Continent were created by the Creator God. According to the Book of Creation, the first species created by the God was the dragon, the first dragon being the Dragon King, the second being the elves, then the orcs, and finally the demons and humans.

As for the sixth creature created by the Creator God, the prized possession of Canglong Academy, there is no special record of it in the Book of Creation. If there is any, it's only that inexplicable sentence: "Dragon Demons appear in the world, Gods are reborn."

The First Generation Canghai continued speaking as he pondered:

"I've lived with that guy for three hundred years, and all I know is that he was the last being created by the Creator God! At the time of his birth, almost all the angels in this world, including the Creator God, except for the Demon God Lucifer, were devoured and fused with him. My Moonblade is actually a technique taught to me by Lucifer, used to seal him! Before me, Lucifer used this technique to seal him for over four thousand years; I am merely his successor!"

I was shocked: "What? The Great Demon God Lucifer, he is the creator of Moonblade? Senior, how do you know his martial arts?"

The First Generation Canghai smiled slightly, turned his body to the south, and his gaze once again became distant.

"When I was traveling and cultivating, I lived with him in Shenyue Gorge for three years! We... got along very well!"

"Ah!"

I never expected that the First Generation Canghai was also "involved" with the Great Demon God Lucifer, just like me. This shocking secret left me dumbfounded, but Little Kristin did not show any surprise. Obviously, he already knew about it.

Little Kerstin interjected, "Big brother, the Forget-Me-Not Flower I mentioned last time—the seeds were brought back from Shenyue Gorge by our ancestor!"

At this moment, the First Generation Canghai stood up, turned to look at me, a strange smile on his face. He waved his hand to stop Little Kerstin from speaking further, his expression changing, and he said seriously, "The sealing effect of Yue Du on Ankagus is getting weaker and weaker. Lucifer used this technique to seal him for over four thousand years, I could only seal him for less than three hundred years, and now, at most, it will only have an effect for about thirty minutes!"

"Ah!"

Little Kerstin and I were both shocked. Thirty minutes? After thirty minutes, that guy would control the First Generation Canghai's body again. Who could control him then?

"I know you have many questions for me, but there's simply not enough time now. If you survive today, go to Shenyue Gorge if you have the chance. There you'll find everything you want to know!"

More and more secrets, more and more questions, bewildered Little Kerstin and me. When I left Fengdu, I only wanted to deal with the riots in Danding City as soon as possible. I never imagined things would turn out this way. I glanced at Little Kerstin and thought to myself, "You can't judge a book by its cover." I never expected that the least famous Canghai Dragon lineage in the Empire would have such a complicated and inexplicable relationship with the Demon Clan, just like the Xiunaida family!

"Let's put Ankagus's matter aside for now. I have very limited time to control this body. Let's hurry up and do something meaningful!"

At this moment, the First Generation Canghai walked up to me and said, "Your Dragon Demon transformation, the power of the Dragon King remaining in that little girl's body—now I understand. I understand everything."

The First Generation Canghai said "I understand" several times in a row. I knew he had more to say, so I quickly shut my mouth and didn't answer.

He sighed at me, "I'm quite knowledgeable in astrology. I was just using the stars to predict your future, kid. Your future is truly bleak!"

I was taken aback, then chuckled, "I've heard these ominous prophecies too many times. As a dragon warrior, the fate I bear is already quite heavy! If you don't have any constructive advice or help, please don't bring it up!"

"What I can give you is exactly what you want most—constructive help!"

"Ah!"

My adoptive father and Jiu Ning both knew about my future, but neither of them would reveal it until their deaths. I was overjoyed that the First Generation Canghai would be so kind.

He held out his hand to me, "Kid, can I borrow the Reverse Scale for a moment?"

I quickly took the Reverse Scale from my body and handed it over. The First Generation Canghai gently stroked the blade with his palm, flicked the edge with his fingertips, and emitted a buzzing dragon's roar.

"You can't seem to learn the strongest defensive move created by your ancestor Karuz, can you?"

I nodded repeatedly, proclaiming that I had studied it for a long time but still couldn't understand it.

"That's normal. The training method Karuz left in the Soul Stone is incomplete; it's only half a move!"

"Ah! How could that be? How could it be incomplete!"

I was extremely surprised. Over the years, I had spent a lot of effort on the strongest defensive move, Tianque, but to no avail. Who knew that the First Generation Canghai's statement that it was incomplete was tantamount to announcing to me that everything I had done over the years had been in vain.

"That's because of a tail left by my teacher, the Star Sage!"

The First Generation Canghai played with the Reverse Scale. He injected a bit of dragon power into the Soul Stone, exploring the memories left in the stone. At that moment, the dragon power on his body became exactly the same as mine.

"Alas, the memories stored in the Soul Stone don't even include this part! Karuz, that guy really is... Brother, you've got a good brother! He'd do anything for you! But Karuz, don't you think this is too unfair to your descendants?"

The First Generation Canghai's self-reflection left me confused. Just as I was about to ask what was going on, he spoke to me telepathically. Besides the two of us, only Little Kristin could hear this conversation.

"More than three hundred years ago, on the night you transformed from a mortal into a dragon warrior, my teacher, the Star Sage, summoned your ancestor Karuz and spoke to him. Those words troubled him for decades, until after his elder brother Reiz passed away, he finally made his choice at the last moment."

I asked in surprise, "What happened?"

"My teacher, the Star Sage, on the last day of his life, the day the dragon warriors were born, he saw the future!"

"What future?"

"The future of the Golden Dragon and the Dark Dragon!"

"Explain it clearly, senior!"

"One day in the future, the descendants of Reiz and the descendants of Karuz will kill each other! The Golden Dragon lineage will be wiped out forever after that battle! This is what my teacher saw!"

"Ah!"

Even though we were communicating telepathically, this earth-shattering secret still made me cry out.

"This secret, apart from your ancestor, was kept hidden from everyone by the Star Sage. Reiz was the person your ancestor respected most. He kept this enormous secret buried deep inside until a few days before his death, when he finally couldn't hold back any longer and revealed it all to me."

"What did your ancestor do afterward?"

"Your ancestor didn't want to see this happen. He wanted to change something! Later, at his request, I erased half of the secret of the Heavenly Deficiency Technique, and the most important half at that! Because at that time, this Heavenly Deficiency Technique was the only move in the world capable of withstanding the Golden Dragon's strongest ultimate move, the Sixfold Curse Kill."

"Ah, why?"

I cursed my ancestor Karuz inwardly. If he didn't want his descendants to learn it, then he shouldn't have left it in the first place. Why leave it only half intact?

The First Generation Canghai sighed, "Karuz can be quite naive sometimes. He hoped to use this incomplete Heavenly Flaw to lead his descendants astray and prevent that day from coming! However, after witnessing the ultimate technique created by the Fourth Generation Dark Dragon, I think he miscalculated."

"My God! What kind of thinking is this?!"

I almost collapsed to the ground. After all this time, the strongest defensive technique in my family, Heavenly Flaw, was actually an obstacle and trap deliberately set by my ancestor to prevent his descendants from breaking through in martial arts. There really is such an ancestor in the world? It's too exaggerated, too much!

"So, senior, are you telling me all this because you want to teach me the real Heavenly Flaw?"

"That's right!"

The First Generation Canghai's answer surprised and delighted me. He is indeed the strongest dragon warrior in history. He is different from my adoptive father Jiu Ning and those other star-viewers who like to play with vague concepts. He speaks and acts so clearly and decisively. To be honest, after merging with the dragon, although my power has greatly increased, the sense of crisis from Ruyue and her father has deepened. For me, having another defensive technique will never be a burden.

"Listen to me, kid. Karuz's choice may be a little unfair to you, but after all, he created Tianque, and I should respect his choice. Actually, my intention in passing on Tianque to you is the same as his. I hope that when that unstoppable scene occurs, this move Tianque can change something."

"Senior, I don't quite understand what you're saying!"

Of course, I don't understand what the First Generation Canghai is saying. Judging from his tone, it seems that he also thinks I will destroy the Golden Dragon lineage, but passing on Tianque to me will only make me stronger. Isn't that a contradiction?

"Judging from this Soul Stone and the celestial phenomena, the day my teacher foresaw before his death is fast approaching! You've cultivated the martial arts of the Fourth Generation Dark Dragon using a method that balances darkness and light. I can't say it's wrong, but this tightrope-walking method is incredibly dangerous. Once what you're so devoted to protecting is gone, can you still control the demon within your heart?"

I retorted, unconvinced. "Senior, I'm a person without ambition. If I were to truly turn against the Golden Dragons, it would be because they attacked me first! My original intention in cultivating the Fourth Generation Dark Dragon's ultimate techniques was simply to protect my family; I need immense power!"

"The grudges between the previous Dark Dragon and the Golden Dragon, and the matter concerning you, I have only recently regained my senses and know little of them. I cannot say much about who is right and who is wrong, nor am I qualified to draw conclusions. I taught you the Heavenly Deficiency technique only in the hope that when that day comes, it can leave you with a glimmer of hope and change that tragic ending. Just as the creator of Moonbeam's original intention, this strongest defensive move, which is based on defense, is not for killing at all!"

Without saying anything more to me, the First Generation Canghai grasped the Reverse Scale and began to draw a circle. The space in front of the First Generation Canghai was like an oil painting being cut by a mischievous child with a paper cutter. Where the tip of the Reverse Scale passed, an arc-shaped crack appeared, and a dazzling light shone through the crack.

"Ah, Heavenly Deficiency, this is the real Heavenly Deficiency!"

I was so excited that my blood was boiling. Unfortunately, I had suffered so much in the Moonbeam world and was now mentally exhausted, unable to use Heavenly Annihilation for the time being. Otherwise, I would have definitely used the Silver Moon Eye to see it clearly.

It appeared to be just a gesture in the air, but even with the power of the First Generation Canghai after the Eight Transformations, drawing this "circle" was incredibly difficult, as if using a dull knife to cut a hard object. With each inch the Reverse Scale advanced, the blade emitted a grating, unpleasant creaking sound.

"Drawing a circle like this is far too slow!"

I shook my head inwardly. In my memory, when my ancestor Karuz used the Heavenly Strike, the Reverse Scale's circle-drawing movements were incredibly fluid and graceful, completed in an instant.

With a thud, the circle was only half-drawn when the Reverse Scale fell from the First Generation Canghai's hand to the ground, and the crack that had condensed in the air vanished instantly. Little Kristin and I exchanged puzzled glances, completely bewildered.

"I originally intended to demonstrate this move fully before you, relying on my 80% mastery of Reversing Cause and Effect. But Heaven's Deficiency is ultimately a martial art suited only for Karuz; without his kind of sorrow, it can't be executed. I'm sorry, I failed!"

With a long sigh, the First Generation Canghai picked up the Reverse Scale and tossed it back to me. When he turned around, I found his face was streaked with tears.

"Senior, you… Waaah!"

Just as I was about to ask the First Generation Canghai how Heaven's Deficiency was, my hand caught the Reverse Scale. The moment my fingertips touched the hilt, a wave of sorrow flowed into my palm. I felt a pang in my heart, a stinging sensation in my nose, and I suddenly wanted to cry.

My strict, harsh, and unapproachable father, my loving mother, Adachi who died saving me, and my adoptive father—all of them were long gone, all those who loved me and whom I loved. Their voices and smiles, so many had faded from my memory with the passage of time. But this time, the moment my hand received the Reverse Scale, their smiles, their voices, the trials and tribulations we had shared, all surfaced one by one from the depths of my memory. At that moment, I felt as if they were standing right beside me, each gazing at me tenderly.

I began to weep uncontrollably, like a child, tears streaming down my face, as if I had returned to my childhood. It wasn't until the First Generation Canghai slapped my shoulder, waking me from my reverie, that their voices and smiles gradually faded from my mind.

"Although I can't demonstrate it to you, with the help of the remaining information in the Soul Stone, I have restored the complete Heavenly Flaw for you! Your future, your destiny, are still up to you. This is all I can do for you!" The Reverse

Scale, returned to me, flowed with a strange power. After successfully restoring the Heavenly Flaw, the First Generation Canghai didn't say anything more to me, walking straight to the stone statue of Josie, with Little Kristin following closely behind.

"You must be suffering terribly right now, your body turned to stone, unable to see, smell, or speak. I experienced this pain firsthand while trapped on Mount Sunless for three hundred years. As a descendant of Simon, I, as your senior, have a duty to remove the time lock from your body and free you from this torment."

The First Generation Canghai gently stroked the shoulder of the stone-studded Josie, speaking softly, as if addressing the person before him, yet also as if speaking to himself. He turned his head, casting his gaze upon the dragon cocoon beside him.

"Unfortunately, manipulating time is too energy-consuming and physically demanding. Using it would only allow Ankagus to prematurely control my body. Now, I can only give the opportunity to the one most likely to help you escape this perilous situation."

The First Generation Canghai curled his finger and gently touched Josie's forehead.

"Sleep, this is all I can do for you! When others break through to the seventh transformation and comprehend the secret of manipulating time, they will naturally break the seal for you."

The First Generation Canghai sealed Josie's consciousness, plunging her into a long-term sleep. After doing this, the First Generation Canghai turned to face Little Kerstin. Up until now, Little Kerstin had kept his head bowed before his senior, appearing respectful.

Little Kerstin was actually slightly taller than the First Generation Canghai Dragon, but standing together, he seemed shorter. The First Generation Canghai Dragon gazed at the Eighth Generation Canghai Dragon's still somewhat childish face, his gaze sweeping from top to bottom, finally settling on his bare feet, and said softly:

"You respect me very much, I can see that you admire me!"

Little Kerstin nodded.

"That's not good!"

The First Generation Canghai raised his right hand and gently placed it on Little Kerstin's shoulder. Neither of the two Canghai Dragons, seven generations apart, had the habit of wearing shoes.

He continued, "Yuedu, you've basically learned it. How much of the Unity of Heaven and Man have you grasped? And what about Reversing Cause and Effect?"

Little Kerstin replied, "I've grasped thirty percent of the Unity of Heaven and Man. I didn't understand 'Reversing Cause and Effect' at all before, but through today's battle, I've understood ten percent!"

"Very good! Give it to me!"

The First Generation Canghai nodded and extended his palm.

"What is it?"

"The crystal I left behind!"

Little Kerstin quickly took out a magic crystal from his pocket and handed it over. The First Generation Canghai took it without even looking at it, then squeezed it tightly with his five fingers. A flash of light appeared, and the crystal containing the secrets of his life's cultivation was destroyed by his single hand.

He asked Little Kerstin seriously, "Do you understand?"

"I understand!"

"Now, you've begun to grasp the basics of ultimate power. Destroying it is so that you can walk your own path in the future, instead of repeating mine. I hope you can surpass me, instead of becoming a second Habaror. Kerstin!" "

I know I was wrong!"

Little Kerstin raised his head, his eyes shining, his chest straight. He no longer looked up to the backs of those who came before him.

"If you have the chance, you might as well go to Shenyue Gorge. It will be very beneficial to your cultivation!"

After giving these instructions, the First Generation Canghai didn't talk to Little Kerstin any further and went directly to the dragon cocoon beside him. The dragon cocoon was a light-like substance composed entirely of energy, its surface shimmering with light. When Brigitte broke through the seventh transformation and began the eighth transformation, she tightly hugged Melia, and this dragon cocoon tightly wrapped the mother and daughter within it.

"My teacher, Danmas, said that the power of the Pantheon Blood Curse is both the power of nature and the power of resentment! To break the curse, one must utilize the love in the human heart! Years ago, after I reached the pinnacle of

harmony between heaven and man, I used the power of nature to break the curse of nature. At that time, I thought my teacher was wrong, but now it seems I was wrong!" Gently stroking the surface of the dragon cocoon, the First Generation Canghai sighed, "Thank you, little girl! You've finally fulfilled my teacher's vision! You are a great mother!"

The First Generation Canghai slowly reached into the dragon cocoon woven from light. A few seconds later, a body flew out of the cocoon and landed on the ground. Melia, who had gotten up, didn't say a word and slapped the First Generation Canghai hard across the face.

"Get out of here, you bastard! I want to be with my mother! Who told you to separate me from her!"

This slap left me and Little Kristin speechless, but the First Generation Canghai wasn't angry at Melia's actions; instead, she smiled and nodded.

"Under these circumstances, I shouldn't have disrupted the atmosphere between you two, but I don't have much time left to control this body, so I have to separate you. I will use my last bit of power to accelerate the passage of time and help your mother complete her eighth transformation ahead of schedule!"

The telepathic communication between the three of us earlier was also transmitted to Brigitte and her mother. Melia, who was forced to separate from her mother, no longer resented Brigitte and even accepted her as her mother in her heart.

She pointed at my nose and "suggested," "Why go through all that trouble? Just reduce your power to zero, have the dark dragon next to you attack, blow your head off, blast you to smithereens, and you'll be eliminated along with the monster inside your body, right?"

Melia's words and tone were extremely impolite, but the First Generation Canghai remained unperturbed, replying calmly,

"Unfortunately, Ankagus has already mastered the complete realm of reversed cause and effect; destroying him is extremely difficult. The moment I die, he will gain control of this body and immediately reconstruct it to retaliate. Their combined power is too weak; your plan has less than a one-in-a-thousand chance of success."

Melia's rudeness was met with a smile. With a flick of his left hand, he grabbed three gleaming points from the dragon cocoon, and with a gentle flick, the three points flew towards the three of us, one for each of us, embedding themselves on our foreheads. He waved at us and said,

"Before the power of this magic ball disappears, you can see the battle between this little girl and the Angel of Destruction clearly, as if you were there! There's no time left, don't say anything more. While there's still time, take the descendants of the Golden Dragon and the Silver Winged Dragon, and the three of you escape as far as possible!"

Melia was still trying to argue with the First Generation Canghai when Brigitte, inside the dragon cocoon, sent me a telepathic message, instructing me to do as the First Generation Canghai suggested. Following her instructions, I punched Melia in the stomach, subduing her. Then, I carried the unconscious Ruyue and the limp Melia on my shoulders, and fled south as fast as I could. After saying goodbye to the First Generation Canghai and Aunt Brigitte, Little Kristin also took the petrified Josie and retreated with me.

All the way, Melia kept scolding me:

"Dark. Xiunaida, you useless coward, how could you leave your mother alone to deal with that monster? It's a twelve-winged Destroyer Angel! Even if your mother completes her eighth transformation, she's no match for it."

I didn't answer, only silently hating my own incompetence. If it weren't for the huge difference in power levels between the two sides, and the fact that staying would only cause trouble for my aunt, I certainly wouldn't want to leave! I've already lost Anda and my adoptive father, and I really don't want to lose someone who loves me and someone I love!

Watching us leave, the First Generation Canghai and Brigitte exchanged their final words. At this moment, the left half of his face was covered with strange red marks. Ankagus was about to break through the seal of Yue Du and regain control of his body.

"Don't lose faith, little girl! The complete mastery of reversing cause and effect doesn't equate to invincibility! You have now grasped the secrets of the world's strongest power; even the creator god would tremble before you! I believe you will prevail! For your daughter's sake, when you destroy this body of mine, show no mercy!"

The First Generation Canghai was utterly indifferent to death. Having said this, he plunged both hands into the dragon cocoon, his six dragon wings unfurling to their fullest extent, his body blazing like a burning sun.

Even from a thousand meters away, I could see the dazzling white light. Within that light, from top to bottom, bone spurs protruded from his spine, one after another, like a sail suddenly billowing. Like the Dragon King of old, the First Generation Canghai revealed his seventh wing, the Wings of Time!

The First Generation Canghai proclaimed loudly, "Time, move swiftly according to my will! Let this great mother complete her eighth transformation before my personality crumbles!"

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