"Who are you? To dare come to our gate and act so arrogantly with such a small group, you better have a good reason!"
After hearing such a question from the five-meter-tall merman, Yasenia's indifferent expression cooled down even more. "Do fish people think that others are lacking intelligence? What kind of asinine question is that? You ask about who I am. You know perfectly well who I am and why I came here."
The merman snorted. "There have been many years since anybody dared come to protest at my doorsteps. If you were assassinated in any way, you should search for who paid us to do so, not us. As the saying goes, don't blame the messenger; blame the one who wrote the message."
Yasenia's lips arched mockingly. "What's the point?"
The merman frowned. "What do you mean?"
Yasenia asked. "What's the point of all this bullshit? Did you expect me to go, 'Ah, sorry, how could I not remember, silly me! I'm going to leave now since everything was a misunderstanding.' Or something similar?"
The dragoness stopped about 1000 meters away from the merman, with plenty of space to maneuver and be heard by him. The width of the chasm reached several thousand meters, so while each group was on one side, both leaders were near the middle, face to face.
Yasenia's bottled anger finally began resurfacing, her pupils thinning to lines as a terrible aura began seeping from her and creating turbulent currents around her. "Do you think I need to interrogate anybody to know that your pitiful group allied with Demons? Or that the Demons are allied with the Ocean Chasm Empire, which you probably thought was a big enough backer to deter me from moving?"
The merman frowned. He could clearly feel that the dragon in front of him was at the peak of the fourth realm, and yet, the pressure and killing intent slowly radiating made his heart feel heavy. 'I'm feeling threatened by a fourth realm junior? How is this possible?'
Yasenia spoke word by word, her tone rising. "Usually, I don't really mind when someone tries to send assassins my way. It is a natural course of action while trying to push forward and take a bite out of someone else's resources. Who would sit aside when a new power appears and said power tries to steal resources? BUT!"
Yasenia growled, her irises slowly being tainted in a shade of bright red for the first time in many years. "You targeted Kaleina!"
Yasenia looked at them frostily, and the anger that she had controlled since the mercenaries tried to kidnap her baby finally erupted with a rumbling dragon roar and killing intent.
ROAR!
"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO TOUCH MY CHILD!?"
Her aura burst outward, rushing toward the merman. To counterattack, because of Yasenia's low level, instead of himself, five high-level Epoch Core seniors from the other side used theirs to counter.
One of them spat. "Disrespectful Junior, if you run rampant in front of your seniors, you will get hurt!"
However, their eyes widened in terror when the five high-level Epoch Core auras clashed against Yasenia's. The five auras were blasted into pieces as Yasenia's presence inundated the chasm, swallowing everything in Yasenia's Empyrean presence.
Her [Monarch Intent], [War Intent], [Celestial Intent], Dragon Aura, and other similar aura-increasing abilities boosted her ability to pressure other cultivators several times over. Then, adding her refined soul strength, her presence magnified like a chemical chain reaction, swelling enough to be considered someone at the top of the continent spiritual-pressure-wise.
The faces of the spirits and everyone on the other side changed as the wrathful dragon enveloped everything and radiated waves of killing intent like a hurricane.
Yasenia, her irises glowing crimson out of pure wrath, roared majestically. "GET HURT!? INSECTS THAT DESERVE NOTHING BUT A PAINFUL AND SLOW DEATH. DID YOU THINK I CAME TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THOSE THAT DARED AIM AT MY CHILD!?"
At that moment, everyone's heart skipped a beat.
Yasenia knew that she could let go of her anger because of the people behind her, so she didn't hold back or act as carefully as she usually would.
A first-rate sect with a few dozen high-level Epoch Cores? With her current military power, alliances, and general situation, she could stomp on them as she wanted.
"[Empyrean Cosmos Dragon Transformation]!"
The Sect Leader of the Assassin Sect felt the water moving as currents of energy traveled toward Yasenia, and the dragoness's body was enveloped in energy and ballooned.
The reason he didn't attack was because he still had confidence in the massive number difference. For him, even when he felt some danger coming from the beast, the dragon in front of him was just a jumping clown.
After just a second, a colossal dragon that could be compared with a small mountain dwarfed everything around her. With her massive size, even the previously tall merman looked nothing but similar to a slightly larger ant.
The dragon's low, otherworldly voice spread like the profoundness of the cosmos and the mystique of the stars.
"Your sect will be the example I'll set for those who try to cross my bottom line!"
Her draconic voice, accompanied by a terrifying low growl, hammered the heads of her enemies, making some of them dizzy.
Then, her [Empyrean Galaxy Domain] spread out, and the underwater sky changed from a beautiful blue reflecting the sunbeams to a dark sky filled with stars.
Besides the enchanting galaxy made out of thousands of white stars that suddenly appeared in the darkened sky, there was a giant Moon and Sun rotating around it.
Soluna's eyes shone with adoration as the Empyrean scenery appeared.
The other spirits naturally realized why Yasenia could touch Soluna. 'She herself is a being with both attributes. No wonder they are compatible with each other.'
The merman looked at the colossal dragon that appeared, surrounded by empyrean lights, and his face became cold as he pointed his spear at the beast. "Arrogant."
The merman used the same technique he used with the elder, wanting to deal with her as soon as possible. "Die. [Merman Scale Oceanic Body], [Water Intent Level Five], [Crushing Ocean]."
A gentle blue aura enveloped his body, increasing his strength, and then the same effect that happened around the elder occurred around Yasenia.
The water, as if it had become the maw of a terrifying monster, swallowed the giant dragon with a massive explosive sound.
BOOM!
The merman sneered as he saw the water swallow the dragon. "So much for-."
But the ethereal voice of the Empyrean Cosmos Dragon interrupted him.
"[Innate Skill: Celestial Dragon Body]."
The Sun, Moon, and Star Dragon Body appeared in her body together with the aura of [Celestial Intent Level Two]. Not long ago, she made a breakthrough when she refined her body with the help of the Body Cultivation Technique.
Simultaneously, her [Celestial Energy Star] began rotating at its maximum speed, feeding Celestial Energy through her meridians.
When the three skills that were about to collide in a chaotic mess were intertwined with the Celestial energy, they melded as one, and all of them spread around Yasenia's enormous dragon body faster than anything else.
While the Ocean around her collapsed, Yasenia's body released a primordial aura that pushed everything outward.
Like a star where the dance between gravity and the star core's strength created a delicate balance, the outward crushing force and inward pushing force came to a standstill just for a few instants.
However, unlike a star, Yasenia's fate was not being crushed by the attack but by her primordial aura blasting the ocean, crushing toward her with immense strength.
A muted explosion occurred that created a kilometric void around the dragon could be seen.
The enormous dragon, glowing with celestial lights and spreading her wings majestically, floated in the void she created while her cold reptilian eyes locked onto the Merman.
The sight of a hole in the ocean was spectacular for those who were strong enough to follow the sequence of events.
Then, utterly unaffected by the Sect Leader's attack, Yasenia flapped her sky-shrouding wings, using her [Pegasus Gallop] and [Draconic Moon Charge], and became a streak of light that pierced into the ocean before the massive void she created closed because of the natural forces pushing on it.
The merman was a High-Level Epoch Core, but he wasn't a very powerful one. Of course, that was relative to Tengliu and similar beings.
Even if he fell into the "average" category, he still was a bona fide High-level Epoch Core.
Therefore, even though Yasenia had gained unimaginable speed for someone at her level and something of her size, she was within the limits of the reaction speed of the merman.
When the massive claw of the dragon clenched in a fist surrounded by silver lights appeared in front of his eyes like a small building, he used his own fist to meet with her.
"[Nascent Moon Burst]!"
"[Oceanic Crushing fist]!"
The void closed behind Yasenia just as their fists collided, creating another large gap in the ocean because of the strength of their fists meeting.
The power behind their attacks pushed both creatures back. However, the fact that Yasenia just exchanged a blow with a high-level Epoch Core and the result was equal strength surprised not only the people behind the merman but also the spirits, and even our girls opened their eyes slightly wider in surprise.
The girls knew that Yasenia's strength was starting to get out of hand for them because of how relatively slow Yasenia was advancing.
Their dragoness was taking each step very carefully, refining her strength to a level of perfection they didn't even realize was possible. Of course, they were doing something similar as well, which meant that the girls were also exceptionally strong, but thanks to all the special talents Yasenia had, her "peak" was higher than theirs at the same level.
After exchanging the first proving strike, Yasenia's body swirled with Sun, Moon, and Star energies as she released a barrage of close-combat skills.
The merman saw a massive claw followed by a phantom claw that dwarfed even the giant dragon, and he blocked it with a spear thrust. His eyes and spiritual sense condensed to see everything and captured the movements of the long tail slashing at him with silver energies.
He knew that the bodily strength of the large creature was not negligible, so he dodged backward, not knowing that [Draconic Crescent Moon] was both a ranged and melee attack.
A silver crescent hit the body cultivator right in the middle, pushing him back like a comet into the cliff at the side.
Yasenia didn't stop attacking for a moment and opened her maw, releasing a powerful [Moon Dragon Breath].
A massive wave of frost froze everything in its path, creating icebergs that floated upward.
The silver beam continuously striking the cliff made many feel horrified at the strength of the dragon's breath.
Yasenia's Galaxy Blue draconic eyes, affected by her Celestial Energy enveloping her entire body, flashed as her spiritual sense caught a signal behind her that appeared from the bottom right.
Using her wings to maneuver in the ocean, her body spun as she used a palm strike. "[Moon Splitting Palm]."
The merman, surrounded by a blue aura and holding the spear toward Yasenia, collided with the attack, piercing through and reaching the dragon's side.
BANG!
This time, it was Yasenia's turn to be sent flying.
The small-mountain-sized dragon flew backward, splitting a few scales on her side and drawing a bit of blood. However, the attack was unable to pierce deep enough to feel relevant, showing incredible sturdiness.
The merman and Yasenia exchanged indifferent glances and rushed at each other again.
Their bodies moved across the water in curved patterns, meeting with each other after overcoming the recoil of their collision and constantly exchanging blows that made the ocean quake.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Their path was strewn with gaps in the ocean that exploded after they left them, creating double the thunderous sounds.
The people observing had their mouths agape. A creature the size of Yasenia was already rare in Distancia, but one with enough agility to perform all the incredible maneuvers she was currently performing was something that Distancia's people had never seen.
Yasenia's body suddenly burst with silver light as [Empyrean Moon Collapse] unfolded, one of her strongest attacks, and the merman was sent flying again, with a few parts of his skin freezing as he spat a mouthful of blood.
Using the time frame she created, Yasenia performed a seven-step movement, leaving behind stars at each step while creating the constellation of Ursa.
Yasenia's voice echoed around like an almighty being who declared judgment.
"[Heavenly Constellation Steps, Second Sky: Ursa's Grasp]."
The image of a mountain dwarfing bear appeared behind Yasenia, and then it entered her body. The dragon's agile and slim body tensed, making the perfectly carved muscles show even through her beautiful blue scales.
Her already profound aura underwent a complete transformation, forcing the indifferent face of the Assassin Sect Leader to change. 'What is this aura?'
Yasenia's draconic mouth arched, revealing her sharp fangs as she used her four limbs to shoot forward like a shooting star.
"Now. Let's start round two."