What Sun Mo was worried about wasn’t that the dragon soul would reject becoming his comrade.
Given the current situation, Sun Mo didn’t harbor any hopes of establishing a contract with the dragon soul. He only wanted to leave this place alive. It was even better if he could save a few students while he was at it.
Of course, he’d be delighted if he could get the Great Desolation Dragon Subduing Scripture.
“The problem now is how am I going to escape after I agree to your proposal?”
Sun Mo wouldn’t dare to dream of being able to escape under the eyes of two secondary saints even if he were to finish an entire cart of strong wine.
“Leave this to me. I’ll try my best to spark internal strife between the two secondary saints. You just try to look for an opportunity to throw out Freedom Proof. Remove the contract on me first before throwing out Air Proof. Remember, you mustn’t forget about Air Proof.”
The dragon soul warned.
Sun Mo suddenly cowered. He had never been lucky in his entire lifetime. When he drank beer, he had never gotten a “one more bottle” on the lid.
There was no free lunch in this world. If there was a free lunch, one would probably die from it.
Thankfully, Sun Mo was a grandmaster spirit controller. Therefore, he thought of a possibility from hearing the dragon soul reminding him repeatedly to use Air Proof.
As a spirit body, it needed to be attached to a host to be able to leave this place.
This host was responsible for providing the dragon soul with spirit qi.
“Is my spirit qi sufficient for an ancient dragon soul?”
Sun Mo thought this and suddenly bit his lips, having a strong urge to slap himself in the face.
What kind of situation was it? He might be losing his life at any moment, so why did he care about this?
The dragon soul also knew that this was a rare opportunity to break free. It pretended to be deep and reserved and then spoke up.
“Secondary saints, your tiers are still a little weak. You aren’t worthy of being my comrade yet!”
The dragon soul said in disdain.
“Saints are a result of secondary saints attaining a breakthrough. To us great teachers, we value a person’s potential more and not the current state.”
Murong Ye said smoothly.
“Then show me your potential!”
The dragon soul spoke up.
Murong Ye and Duanmu Li instantly frowned. Given their intelligence, of course they understood what the dragon soul meant. It wanted them to fight between themselves to decide on a victor.
However, neither of them made a move.
“Why? You’re starting to worry for your life because you’re secondary saints?”
The dragon soul sneered.
“Are there no other methods?”
Duanmu Li asked.
“Only the victor would have the right to become my comrade.”
The dragon soul said arrogantly.
However, everyone felt that this was natural. This was an ancient dragon, an existence that was on the very top of the food chain. The Dragon Subduing Academy’s founder had only become a legendary character and eventually founded the Dragon Subduing Academy after obtaining it.
“Starlord Duanmu, what do you think?”
Murong Ye asked. He had long since expected that they’d have to come to this stage and thus wasn’t surprised.
“I keep having the feeling that this guy is plotting against us!”
Duanmu Li was a great ancestor-level beast tamer, but the dragon soul didn’t show him any reaction at all. This was abnormal.
By right, ferocious beasts would naturally get closer to beast tamers. Moreover, if he were to become the dragon soul’s comrade, he’d be able to unleash its battle prowess better.
However, this was a dragon soul, an unprecedented existence. Therefore, such an unfathomable phenomenon was understandable.
“Dragon soul, you’re our Dragon Subduing Academy’s divine protector, and I’m the headmaster. If we were to join hands, we’d definitely be able to stand at the peak of Nine Provinces.”
Murong Ye’s thoughts were sent into the dragon soul’s mind as if they were material.
When one reached the level of a secondary saint, communication wasn’t a problem even if it was with a different species.
He didn’t say this to make the dragon soul attack Duanmu Li. It was because once the dragon soul agreed to this proposition, it’d become his comrade. Attacking Duanmu Li would then be within reason.
“Don’t be playing tricks. I said that I’ll only respect the victor.”
The dragon soul sneered.
Murong Ye’s countenance changed.
It was a little awkward to be exposed in front of everyone.
“I don’t wish to waste time on talking. If I don’t see any result within five minutes, then you guys can scram!”
The dragon soul bellowed.
Murong Ye’s lips twitched. It was his miscalculation. His original intention was to make use of the dragon soul’s ties with the Dragon Subduing Academy to get it to be loyal to him. But it seemed that from the looks of it, this wasn’t friendly ties.
“Dragon Subduing? I’m so foolish. Why did I only understand it now? How do these two words show any meaning of comradeship? It’s clearly enslavement and subjugation.”
Murong Ye thought about it, while his hand struck out like lightning, slapping toward Duanmu Li.
Boom!
Overwhelming spirit qi erupted.
The spirit qi turned into cavalries that were well-armed and fully prepared for battle, charging out toward Duanmu Li.
Duanmu Li backed off, swinging his arm. As his sleeve waved, spirit qi shot out, turning into countless ferocious beasts. They formed a wave of beasts that pounced out toward the cavalries.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Two torrents clashed. It was like there was an earthquake, causing the entire Dragon Subduing Palace to shake.
“Why? The dragon soul didn’t listen to your suggestion and isn’t planning on killing me?”
Duanmu Li sneered.
How could he not guess what Murong Ye was thinking?
“Hmph, I alone am enough to kill you.”
Murong Ye let out a cold snort. Although he said this, he still gave Murong Mingyue a concealed gaze.
It was time to make a move.
Duanmu Li’s subordinates had been watching the battle. After all, a battle between secondary saints wasn’t often seen. However, a small group of them suddenly started to attack the others.
Even though these black-clothed men were very strong, they were also stunned to be suddenly attacked by their comrades. They suffered a lot of casualties in a short time.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening sounds rang out from outside the palace, followed by lots of enraged bellows and combat sounds. They rapidly got closer.
“You stay here to hold the line!”
A star general dashed out to take charge of the situation, but in less than a minute, his head was held in the hand of a draconic human who came over.
Jiang Ji’s pupils contracted fiercely.
“What’s going on?”
Most of these draconic humans had scales on their skin, while the remaining spots looked pale and colorless, showing signs of rotting. Their eyes were listless as well. They looked like they were dead, but their battle prowess was terrifying.
Whenever their sharp claws swung, there’d be black-clothed men who fell and died.
These draconic humans far surpassed the black-clothed men in terms of strength, agility, and strength eruption. The most terrifying thing was that even though the black-clothed men were equipped with blades and used all their strength to slash the draconic humans’ necks, they still didn’t die despite the blades sinking half an inch into their skin.
These black-clothed men were all Duanmu Li’s close aides. They had been with him to attack cities and plumage lands, having strong martial prowess.
“Haha, Starlord Duanmu, what do you think of my Dragon Subduing Army?”
Murong Ye boasted.
The students who cultivated in the Dragon Subduing Palace would be subject to energy radiation. When exposed to this radiation for a prolonged period, they’d gradually undergo dragonification. If they weren’t given treatment in time, they’d die.
The humans who had been through dragonification had extremely powerful battle prowess. The many generations of headmasters were unwilling to give up on these ‘battle prowess’ and thus for over 100 years, they researched how to make use of some subjects to turn these corpses into draconic battle puppets.
Out of which, puppetry had a great leading effect.
As Murong Mingyue had an extremely high mastery of puppetry, she was naturally selected to join the ‘draconic human army’ in which the headmaster was the leader.
To avoid the puppeteers making draconic puppets that would only listen to their orders, every puppeteer would only be in charge of one part of the modification of the draconic humans.
Of course, as the difficulty of such techniques was very high, even if each puppeteer was only in charge of one portion, it was already very taxing on them physically and mentally.
Murong Mingyue was an exception. Her aptitude was too great. It only took her one year to grasp the entire set of puppet modification techniques.
She then used another year, while providing maintenance for the puppets, to install a mechanism in these puppets. This would make the puppets listen only to her orders in such critical moments.
When Sun Mo encountered Murong Mingyue at that cold mortuary the other time, she had been called to modify draconic humans.
To speak the truth, while these things might make Murong Mingyue sound as if she was very talented, she didn’t want to do such things.
Murong Mingyue aspired to make the perfect supporting puppet that could make human lives become easier and more relaxed. She didn’t want to deal with those corpses all the time.
If it wasn’t because Murong Ye had used the righteous excuse that it was for the good of the country, requesting for her to continue with this, she’d have resigned long ago.
“Excellent!”
Duanmu Li nodded.
Murong Ye felt unhappy. What he hated the most was how Duanmu Li always appeared so calm and composed. It was as if nothing could astonish him.
“Killing a Starlord, then getting the dragon soul’s loyalty, and obtaining the Great Desolation Dragon Subduing Scripture. After doing all these, who would dare to stop me from assuming the headmaster position?”
Murong Ye’s gaze gleamed with the glow of ambition.
“Murong Ye is too much of a schemer.”
Jiang Ji looked dejected. This time around, he felt that things really didn’t bode well.
“They say that barbarians are stubborn, simple-minded, and straightforward. However, why do I feel that this Murong Ye is extremely sly and crafty?”
A Central Plains great teacher who had come to the grassy plains to make a living let out a sigh. (I only want to make a stable living. Why is it so hard?)
The group of hostages backed off to a corner.
In the eyes of the black-clothed men and the draconic humans, they were each other’s great enemies. Therefore, they didn’t try to kill these hostages.
The battle was bloodthirsty and horrible. There’d be people falling with each passing moment.
“You can’t be thinking about killing me with just these things, can you?”
Duanmu Li’s lips twitched.
“You have no idea how many draconic puppets the Dragon Subduing Academy has accumulated over the years. Let me tell you a secret. The Dragon Subduing Academy has been undergoing a secret experiment to lock up those cultivators in the palace’s lowest floor, forcing them to accept the dragon soul’s energy radiation and thereby turning into draconic humans.”
Murong Ye exposed a great secret.
“It’s over!”
Jiang Ji let out an agonizing howl. Having heard a secret like this, they’d definitely be silenced by Murong Ye.
However, Sun Mo felt that this was very normal. Any top-notch famous school would have something they excelled in the most if they wanted to establish a standing for themselves. Moreover, they must also remain vigilant in times of peace.
“Duanmu Li, this is my homeground. If you know what’s good for you, then hand yourself in. I’ll leave you with a complete corpse. Otherwise, my dear niece will turn you into a puppet.”
As Murong Ye said this, he broke out laughing.
(I’m sure to win this. As expected, my plan is perfect.)
(What rubbish Starlord? What Xiao Fulong? Weren’t all of them within my control? After I’ve become the Dragon Subduing Academy’s headmaster, I’ll lead this famous school to the very top in Nine Provinces, sweeping away all the other famous schools in the Central Plains.)
“Isn’t it too early for you to be happy now?”
Duanmu Li let out a stifled laugh then suddenly formed seals quickly with both hands.
Pa pa pa!
Amidst the chaotic hand gestures, the bodies of his battle pets instantly swelled up several times. The majestic eagle flew past very low to the ground, its massive wings looking like a sharp blade, slicing through those draconic humans.
The snake raised its upper body and swung its head, spurting out purple poisonous fog. If one inhaled just a little bit of it, they’d look as if they were painted with a layer of purple dye and then their body movements would turn stiff.
The white tiger bellowed.
Roar!
Everyone’s soul felt as if it was going to be shattered.
The last one was the huge tortoise. It was steady and motionless like a mountain, but mysterious golden runes appeared on its shell. Then, countless beams of golden light splattered out. However, they didn’t disappear. They connected very quickly, weaving into a big net that encompassed everyone under it.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Tortoise shell prints also appeared on the ground, shooting out golden light.
“The universe reverses, life is unpredictable, seeking a wish from Bodhi.”
Duanmu Li looked very dignified, chanting an incantation. His right hand then brushed past his left wrist.
Hua!
A tremendous amount of hot wet blood splattered out. Before they landed on the ground, they turned into blood rain and dyed everything.
“F… F*ck!”
Jiang Ji cursed, his expression changing drastically. “He… He is offering us as a sacrifice!”
Jiang Ji could sense his vitality burning up at an extremely rapid speed, turning into a mysterious power and channeling into the huge tortoise.
The other hostages’ countenances also changed, turning into extreme horror and panic. However, they didn’t try to escape. It was a Four Symbols Life Ignition Great Formation that a secondary saint had carefully prepared for several decades. How could it be something that low level great teachers like them could break?
“F*ck! We’re going to die!”
Sun Mo could be considered to have experienced several tough life-and-death battles since he came to Middle-Earth Nine Provinces. However, none of them was like what he was going through now. He felt as if he was watching himself turning into a candle that had been splashed with kerosene, burning fiercely and heading straight for death.
“This won’t do! I can’t just do nothing and wait for death to come!”
Sun Mo tried everything he could in this desperate situation, using whatever means he had.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wisps of golden spirit qi darted out from Sun Mo’s body, looking like swimming fish from streams. They wagged their tails and gathered rapidly above his head.
In the blink of an eye, a golden crown was formed.
Its shape was very simple. Other than there being various Battlegod Murals engraved on it, there was only an upright big sword where Sun Mo’s forehead should be at.
This was the Battlegod Crown.
Pa!
The crown shattered and golden light spots scattered down like fine snow, falling on the ground around Sun Mo. Then, a golden light halo appeared.
Buzz!
Golden light shot out in all directions.
The fire that was burning away Sun Mo’s life was immediately extinguished.
“This…”
Jiang Ji was stunned.
“Hmmm?”
Duanmu Li turned his head and threw a look of surprise at Sun Mo. (Is this a great teacher halo? But why is it that I, a knowledgeable secondary saint, don’t know about it?)
Hold on!
Duanmu Li suddenly recalled that when Sun Mo was in the Battlegod Canyon, other than comprehending the Battlegod Catalog, he seemed to also have comprehended a brand new great teacher halo.
But right now, Duanmu Li didn’t have any spare effort to pay attention to Sun Mo. After all, Murong Ye was the greater enemy.
“Murong Ye, it’s too early for you to feel proud.”
Duanmu Li sneered. “Your homeground? I’m sorry that I’ll have to disappoint you. I, Duanmu Li, don’t ever have an away-ground in this lifetime. It’s because wherever my feet stand is my homeground.”
This declaration was deafening, filled with the mighty dominance of one in power.
The final duel was officially starting!
