章 17: XVII
Shew.
Rokas' arrow went straight towards the stone dragon warrior's chest but he stepped to the side just in time to dodge it. Blade in hand, the first stone dragon warrior dashed forwards.
[System: What is that god-awful aim?]
'All my archery "skills" come from an afterschool club which I attended for a few weeks… allow it.'
Shew.
As the first stone dragon warrior got closer, Rokas was able to hit his next shot, grazing its chest. The stone dragon warrior advanced, raising his sword to slash the young man.
'Star God's Broken Shadow.'
Rokas split into two, flashing behind the stone dragon warrior. This next arrow was charged with the flames of the Phoenix…
SHEW.
At point-blank range, he fired into the stone dragon warrior and incinerated it. Meanwhile, the other one advanced, pointing its spear to his side.
CLANG.
Rokas deflected the blow with his bow… and, using his profound energy control, swiftly changed the bow into a sword.
Slash.
He pierced through the stone dragon's chest and completed the first wave.
The second wave began right after… spawning four stone dragon warriors. This time, two used blades, one used a spear while the other was an archer. He returned to his bow, swiftly destroying the archer and then shooting down the other three.
[System: Are you obsessed with bows or something?]
'Maybe. Play me some battle ost…'
[Playing Persona 5 - Last Surprise]
'... I can work with that.' Rokas smiled slightly as he evaded the eight stone dragon warriors, baiting them to stand close to one another. Simultaneously, he was charging up a Blazing Water arrow. Once they were close enough, he blitzed them all using the Star God's Broken Shadow… and fired off the arrow.
BOOOM.
SPLAAASH.
Upon impact, the arrow exploded into a mini tsunami of blazing water, scorching all eight of the stone dragon warriors.
[System: You're having way too much fun, you know.]
'With such a vibe of a song playing in my mind… how could I not?'
The next wave followed as sixteen warriors emerged.
'Alright… I'm going to be a little lazy now.'
Rokas crossed his arms, looking down on all of the stone dragon warriors who flew towards him. An absolutely immense wave of blue profound energy surged out of him… eventually turning scarlet red with the Berserk attribute. From that profound energy, over a dozen hunting rifles formed. From those guns… beams of Phoenix fire began to gather.
'Unlimited Energy Works.'
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth waves were an absolute breeze. Even though the number of stone dragon warriors doubled with each wave, Rokas simply increased the firepower of his rifles to compensate. Even the wave with 1,024 of those stone dragon warriors was no exception. However, with the tenth wave, came the Stone Dragon General.
"This opponent is not so simple," Jasmine warned him, sensing the Stone Dragon General's strength. "It is at the third level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, exactly two greater realms above you. Defeating him… will be difficult."
[Playing Noragami OST - Nora Tan]
Rokas observed the stone dragon general who was three metres tall, covered in thick and heavy golden coloured armour along with a golden-yellow helmet. In its hands, the Stone Dragon General held Dragon Fault, a Sky Profound Realm heavy sword.
Immediately, the stone dragon general flew towards him at breakneck speeds and was within inches of slashing his head off!
'Damn… he's bloody fast!'
Instantly, Rokas utilised Berserk, amplifying his strength by roughly four times as he created a shield to block the swing.
Crack… BOOM!
He was sent flying away from a single swing of the Dragon Fault, crashing against the ground a few hundred metres away. Standing up with a swiftness… Rokas completely ignored his bleeding right shoulder and activated Star God's Broken Shadow before the stone dragon general could get within reach.
'Burning Heaven Phoenix Domain!'
Within an instant, the entire trial ground was covered in surging Phoenix flames. However, instead of burning at random places, all of the flames narrowed in on the stone dragon general, suppressing his movements. It would be a dead zone for anyone below the Sovereign Profound Realm… but, for the stone dragon general, these flames were just a minor inconvenience!
He dashed through the flames, straight towards Rokas.
'Fuck off…!'
Using Star God's Broken Shadow, he managed to break the stone dragon general's ankles and appear further away.
The stone dragon general stopped for a moment, raising his hands.
'Is he praising the sun?'
Within the blink of an eye, half a hundred stone dragon warriors emerged!
Rokas frowned, bolstering his Burning Heaven Phoenix Domain and reducing all of them to ash.
"Keep it a 1v1, would you?"
[Playing Guilty Crown - Bios]
Rokas clasped his hands together, gathering a vast wave of Blazing Water between them. This time, the stone dragon general kept his distance, letting out several slashes which flew toward him. Rokas frowned, splitting his focus to dodge them all.
The stone dragon general did so once more… however, this time, he charged Rokas from above. In response, he utilised Star God's Broken Shadow and dodged the attack by a hair. Landing on the ground, the stone dragon general slowly turned as he saw Rokas charging his attack. At that very instant… it was ready.
"... EVERYTHING!!!"
Letting out one thunderous roar… Rokas unleashed a hellish wave of scarlet red water.
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
"Huff… huff…"
Rokas took several deep breaths, observing the dust settle. From it… the stone dragon general emerged. Its golden armour had been mostly destroyed and even its stone body had cracked to a great extent. It was on its knees, slowly raising itself up.
'Damn it…'
Rokas could lift his arms, however, it caused him indescribable pain. He had amplified his strength by five times earlier… something that previously had led to him barely keeping consciousness. This much was an improvement, certainly.
But… he expected the stone dragon general to be completely destroyed! To think that it was able to tank his most explosive attack…
The stone dragon general grasped Dragon Fault, flashing forwards.
'It's… all or nothing… again.'
Rokas frowned, transforming into his true form.
"ROAAAR!!!"
The stone dragon general frowned, being set aback by the nine resounding dragon roars. The dragon's blue scales were sharp and thick with golden feathers resting on each of its heads. It was absolutely massive, towering over the stone dragon general.
'Berserk…'
Once again, Rokas amplified his strength by five times.
The stone dragon general got over his shock, raising Dragon Fault and flying upwards to chop off a few heads.
However… that was the worst thing to do.
With each of the heads gathering an immense amount of Blazing Water, the stone dragon general had flown straight into its imminent doom.
'Blazing Water Art… Nine Searing Waves!'
HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
"AHHHHHHHH…."
The stone dragon general's entire body cracked under the pressure of such an immense wave, eventually giving away to its scalding nature and deforming. Even Dragon Fault… did not survive the fire.
Once the stone dragon general melted away, Rokas transformed back into his human form. He could barely stand as his eyes grew heavy. The amount of exhaustion that came from amplifying his strength by five times on two separate occasions and in the same fight, no less… was not small in the slightest!
"With the way that you were coasting through the first nine waves, I had to make the stone dragon general a bit more difficult. It seems that I was not wrong to trust in your abilities, after all."
"... Right…" Rokas muttered, feeling the desperate need to rest. "I…"
"Prepare for the second part of this trial, young dragon. I believe that the first few hours will be rather difficult. As for the objective… you must kill ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine profound beasts within a single year!"
"... You're… starting… it now?"
By the time Rokas blinked, he was in an endless plain with countless profound beasts roaming around.
"Cang… Yue…"
As he muttered her name, she left his Inner World and caught his fall.
"Husband… you really shouldn't push your limits so much."
"If I didn't… I wouldn't have… defeated it."
Cang Yue prompted to carry him, keenly observing her surroundings. Everywhere she spread her senses… she sensed profound beasts. That wouldn't be too much of a problem if they were ordinary. However, they were in the middle stages of the Emperor Profound Realm at the very minimum!
'I can't… sleep… what if… something happens to her?' Rokas willed himself to keep his eyes open. "Focus on… escaping…"
Cang Yue nodded, dashing away from the scene. Since she had started dual-cultivating with Rokas alongside her usual meditation in the Inner World, her profound strength had skyrocketed even further. She now boasted the power of a level seven throne… which was good enough to defeat the lowest beasts around.
Cang Yue managed to sneak around, eventually finding a nice spot in a forest for him to rest in. It seemed awfully tranquil compared to the other regions in the endless plain.
"Even though your body can handle such an extreme surge in power, it can't recover from it as swiftly as you'd like…" Jasmine observed, appearing beside him. "This is the second time this has happened to you. Alas, you clearly need a profound art to help with regeneration or else you won't be able to fight at your peak strength for nearly as long as you'd like."
"What… is it called?" Rokas blinked, shaking himself awake.
"The Great Way of the Buddha."
When he heard that name, his golden eyes shined a little. "I see… it sounds… quite impressive."
"When you fully recover, I will pass it down to you," Jasmine stated, returning to his Inner World.
"Roaaaar!!!"
Rokas' eyes widened slightly as he glanced at Cang Yue who was standing ahead of him. The earth rumbled as dozens of profound beasts stormed forwards from a distance. From the skies, several more seemed to appear from the clouds. Within seconds, they were surrounded!
"... Jasmine… protect her…"
"If I do so, more of those profound beasts will come fly down. They rely on their senses… so my profound energy would only attract a far greater horde than this. Never mind my poison's rebound… you must find a way to protect her yourself."
Rokas furrowed his brows as Cang Yue stepped forward, drawing her sword. Phoenix flames gathered at its edge, surging with an oppressing wave of heat.
"Let your wife shelter you for once. No matter how many of them there may be, I will ensure that not a single one touches a single hair on your head!"
The beasts surged forward, attacking Cang Yue from all sides. Within a flash, she utilised the Burning Heaven Phoenix Domain and suppressed all of them with its searing heat. Dancing with her sword in hand, she incinerated two of the weakest beasts within an instant. Using a mixture of the Burning Heaven Secret Arts and Phoenix flames, just as Rokas would, she was able to match up against thrones two levels above!
'Cang Yue… is amazing… but I… feel so pathetic…' Rokas frowned deeply, finding the strength to raise himself against a tree. As time passed, he grew more and more worried.
'She… won't… last… I have to get up…'
Just as Cang Yue cleared most of the profound beasts…
"ROAAAAR!"
From the skies, came a peak Emperor Profound Realm true dragon! It looked down on Cang Yue, unleashing a hail of ice onto her. She didn't have the time to dodge… countering with a ferocious wave of Phoenix flames. However… it was not enough.
BAAANG.
Rokas' eyes widened as he saw Cang Yue tank the ice, suffering severe wounds as a result. Then, the lesser profound beasts stormed forwards, seemingly in an attempt to slay her while she was down. It seemed only inevitable…
'Move… I have to… move… protect… her…'
Grasping at all of the willpower that he had… he moved.
"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!"
A thunderous roar exploded across the entire forest, one that was a hundred times more terrifying than the one that the 'true dragon' had let out. Before Cang Yue could even be touched by another profound beast, she was in a massive circle protected by blue scales.
"You inferior ants… dare to touch my Cang Yue!? I'll fucking consume every last one of you!!!"
SNAG.
Within an instant, the nine-headed flood dragon extended its long heads and took one profound beast each from the horde. Its teeth crushed into their bodies before swallowing them whole, consuming every last drop of their existence.
Suddenly feeling rejuvenated, it unleashed a hail of fire at nine different angles, essentially scorching everything around it. As for the true dragon in the sky… it was dragged down onto the ground and pummelled by the nine-headed flood dragon's horns. Then, it was ripped apart limb by limb… and later consumed whole.
The horde only continued to grow.
And yet… as the horde grew, so did the nine-headed flood dragon's bloodlust.
"Jiufang Ke…"
Cang Yue spoke his true name, observing the nine-headed flood dragon around her with awe and growing concern. He had gone completely berserk and focused on one thing and one thing only… shielding the woman around him. That meant slaughtering every profound beast that presumed to get anywhere near her.
She touched his scales, linking herself to his Inner World and appearing within.
'Consume… consume them all…'
"ROAAAAAAAAR!!!"
The nine-headed flood dragon engaged battle with the seemingly endless horde, scorching and consuming by the hundreds. Even with Cang Yue safe and sound… its bloodlust did not cease. If anything, it only grew more unrestrained.
'Inferior beasts… your only reason for existing… is to fuel my power.'
…
"To think that a man who tries to avoid staining his hands… can become such a ruthless force of nature." Jasmine observed. "This bloodlust of his is hidden deep beneath his reluctance to hurt others. However, when that reluctance no longer exists… it emerges in full force just like this. Truly, a beast…"
"Not only has he recovered from the first portion of the trial, but he is also surpassing his previous peak. Is there no limit to how much he can consume?" Xia Qingyue pondered, being a witness to the slaughter from within his Inner World.
"It seems that there is not," Jasmine replied, speaking in her wise tone. "For someone in the Sky Profound Realm, he consumed an impossible amount of Purple Veined Divine Crystals and all of it led into this Inner World. This current situation isn't that much different…"
"Will he snap out of it? Ke'er… isn't himself at all." Cang Yue inquired with a look of concern as she observed Rokas' frenzied state.
"Why should he snap out of it?" Jasmine scoffed, smiling slightly as she watched her disciple tear shit up. "If anything, this state is aiding in his completion of the trial! To break him out of his bloodlust would be to delay him… don't you understand?"
"Still…"
"A soft wife for a soft husband… hmph, this princess sees why you love each other so much."
…
"... Is it over?"
Rokas wondered as he opened his eyes, looking around the trial ground. He was buck naked… and had a terrible headache to add to that. When he tried to recall what happened, he saw thousands of flashes of beasts being torn apart, burned to ash, decimated and consumed. He saw massive tsunamis taking hundreds of beasts at once, burning forests, endless waves of flame…
He had been subconscious throughout, slaughtering everything that dared approach in a frenzy. It was him… driven by instinct and fury.
After taking more of his nakedness, he Clothes Beamed himself.
"You… are truly terrifying." The residual spirit observed. "You've completed the second stage of my trial within only ten days."
'...!!!'
'Ten days!? That's ten thousand beasts per day…!'
"So… is there another stage?"
"Oh, don't act stupid with me. You know you'd pass it." The divine spirit's azure eyes looked into him. "You… are a worthy successor. A dragon worthy of calling himself king amongst other dragons, even without my legacy. Just as importantly… you know where my daughter is and how to reach her."
"..." Rokas frowned slightly. 'Oh, another god who looks into my memories.'
"Don't look at me like that. I am on your side, young dragon. You truly have nothing to fear from me."
"... I guess." Rokas nodded.
"Give her a better fate… would you? That is my only wish."
"..." Rokas looked into its azure eyes, pausing for a long moment. Having a god plead for something was truly a strange experience for him. Then, after some thought, he solemnly nodded.
"I will."
[System: Taking full inheritance.]
"... That is good…"
In its final moments, the residual spirit seemed to be at ease.
…
----------------
Name: Rokas / Long Ke / Jiufang Ke
Alias: Perverted fiend, Lord Phoenix God, The Foreigner, Blue Wind Empire's Number One Expert (assumed), Cang Yue's Beloved
Race: Demon → Chimera
Identity: The Prince-Consort
Age: 18
Timeline: 2yr, 5 days → 2yr, 25 days
Profound Strength: Emperor Profound Realm III → Emperor Profound Realm IV
----------------
[Stats]
Comprehension: B++ → A-
Strength: C+++ → B++
Endurance: B++ → A++
Agility: B++
Profound Energy Quantity: A-
Profound Energy Control: B++
Luck: F-
----------------
[Confidants]
The System (The World): 5
Jasmine (Fortune X): 6
Cang Yue (Lovers VI): 9
Murong Qianxue (Moon XVIII): 1
Xia Qingyue (Hanged Man XII): 2
----------------
[Abilities]
Secret Ability: Consume
Special Ability: Inner World B++
Unlimited Energy Works F-C
Sigma Male Grindset B
Profound Handle B- (Orange)
Broken Shadow B- (Stage 1)
Heaven Burning Phoenix Arts B-
'EVERYTHING!!!' D+++++
Shared Growth C
Perfectly Balanced Blue Water B+
Blazing Water Arts A-
Shapeshift B
Bloodline: Majestic-Blue Berserk Nine-Headed Flood Dragon A → Nine-Headed Divine Chimera A+
Description: The Nine-Headed flood dragon evolved further, finally breaking out of its flood dragon state and into a true dragon. However, as it became a true dragon, it also learned to alter its appearance from all of the lesser beasts it had consumed. Hence, becoming a chimera.
Laws: Fire, water
Misc: Berserk, Divine Authority
----------------
'Only through diligence may the heavenly procrastinator grow'
Meditation/Comprehension Goal VII: Dedicate ten thousand hours towards cultivation (7,600/10,000).
(Reward: The Goddess)
Dual-Cultivation Goal IV: Dual-cultivate a thousand times (640/1000) (each release counts)
(Reward: Shared Growth B)
----------------
[System: Congratulations on your great evolution, Mr Rocky. With this new shapeshift ability, you can switch up your physical appearance. Not just your true form's appearance… but your human appearance as well!]
'Oh, really? How would I get that to work?'
[System: Just imagine it.]
Rokas closed his eyes for a moment, imagining brown hair. Within a few seconds, his black hair changed colour to honey brown. He also imagined himself a little taller, roughly 6ft. Of course, he got some new clothes after that.
[System: Didn't you always want to be a delinquent blondie…]
'I prefer being myself, honestly.'
For a moment, he wondered what eye colour to go with. In the end, he settled with what he already had. Gold. He thought that it suited him strangely well.
'What does 'divine authority' do for me?'
[System: Well, for one, you can suppress any and all beasts while also being able to command them in certain situations. Regarding members of the dragon race, you can also suppress them and they naturally gravitate towards you. The more your profound strength grows, the more influential your authority becomes.]
'Interesting.'
…
While Rokas was chilling with Cang Yue outside of the trial grounds, Xia Qingyue emerged from his Inner World… veilless. Rokas raised an eyebrow as he observed the sudden change, tilting his head.
"What happened to the veil?"
"Well… it has been some months." Xia Qingyue replied calmly, her tone strangely carrying more warmth behind it. "I thought that it would be rude of me to keep hiding my face from my benefactor."
"It is far too beautiful of a face to hide." Rokas smiled a little. 'This draconic confidence… man, it feels great. Although, maybe I shouldn't be saying things like that aloud.'
"I'd like to try those 'chebureks' you like so much." Xia Qingyue ignored his comment and stepped forward, sitting down rather close to him. "If you would not mind giving me one, of course."
Meanwhile, Cang Yue raised an eyebrow but sat silently.
"I mean… I have a whole mountain of them." Rokas chuckled, taking a hot one from his Inner World and giving it to Xia Qingyue.
'Yooooo… she's moving kinda mad. System, what is Xia Qingyue plotting here? She wasn't acting like this before…if anything, all she did was leech off of my Inner World.'
[System: Kek.]
'Kek…?'
"Mn… I can see why you love them so much. They taste absolutely delicious." Xia Qingyue praised after a few bites. "Despite being within such a close distance to each other for months, we have not spoken much. Wouldn't you agree?"
"That much is true…"
"Regarding that, I wish to exchange pointers with you when you have the time. I'm certain that we could both learn something from each other."
"Sure." Rokas nodded, smiling a little.
"Hmm…" Cang Yue glanced at Xia Qingyue. 'What is she playing at?'
[Xia Qingyue (Hanged Man XII) Confidant Rank: 2 → 3]
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