Chapter 37
The bright red blood was continuously compressed, the biological energy and strange new energy within it layered and condensed. When it reached a critical point, a terrifying crimson shockwave erupted outward.
Covering a range of nearly a hundred meters, every soldier caught in its path immediately felt their heads reel. Vision darkened, fragile blood vessels burst one after another, weapons fell from trembling hands, and bodies staggered before they collapsed to the ground — unconscious.
"Phew… so tiring."
Lin Bai exhaled slowly, a thin sheen of sweat on his brow. He was well aware of his weakness in large-area destructive skills and had been thinking of ways to compensate for it.
At lower levels, the Ruyi Qiankun Spear came with auxiliary status-type soul skills — enhancements that were more efficient than raw damage-type skills and still useful in later stages. But that didn't help in situations like this. So, his only option was to explore the Silkworm Dragon Spirit's potential. This bloody shockwave was something he'd developed himself, using its devouring trait to absorb surrounding energy, then triggering an eruption through the evolutionary trait's energy-storage mechanism.
Its killing power might not be overwhelming, but it was excellent for clearing out swarms of lesser enemies.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, clear applause rang out from the distance, mingling with the remaining soldiers' dying cries. A kobold nearly two meters tall, clad in red human robes and covered in crimson dragon scales, emerged at the far end of the road.
As it appeared, the air grew heavy with the acrid stench of sulfur. Its cold, vertical pupils swept past the fallen soldiers without care, fixing directly onto Lin Bai.
"What kind of dragon bloodline is that? Why don't I recognize it?"
Unexpectedly, the kobold's first words weren't a challenge, but a question about Lin Bai's Silkworm Dragon Spirit.
Lin Bai caught the flicker of envy, greed, and obsession in the kobold's expression — all poorly hidden beneath a cold, indifferent face.
Rather than answer, Lin Bai raised his chin and said indifferently, "You're the Piccolo Blood Caesar? Showing yourself only when you think I'm exhausted… worthy of a kobold."
It wasn't a compliment. The words made Caesar's face twist. Though he now saw himself as a noble dragonkin, humans always insisted on addressing his former, humiliating identity.
But Caesar didn't waste more breath. He reached for the weapon strapped diagonally at his waist — a bone staff etched with powerful flame runes, its surface flickering with fiery light.
Funeral in Flames!
Two fireballs flew out instantly alongside a trail of searing flame two meters wide. Corpses littering the ground were immediately caught within its range.
What Lin Bai hadn't known was that those soldiers carried dwarf-developed gunpowder on them. Caesar had intentionally kept them nearby to act as walking powder kegs. He'd gambled that there'd be no capable craftsman in the town able to build firearms, so soldiers with portable explosives were the next best thing.
Even before the flames reached the bodies, the air temperature spiked beyond the gunpowder's ignition point. Explosions erupted one after another in blinding white flashes, the thick reek of gunpowder smoke billowing out and obscuring everything.
Lin Bai felt a sharp, stinging pain in his legs. The thin layer of dragon scales protecting him couldn't fully shield against the blast wave. He didn't even have a single soul ring attached — if not for his talent at refining martial arts, the martial soul possession he used wouldn't be nearly this strong.
Flames burst through the thick smoke, lunging toward Lin Bai like a crimson serpent, malevolent and greedy.
Clicking his tongue softly, Lin Bai sighed inwardly. This kobold leader was annoyingly cautious. From over a hundred meters away, it kept its distance beyond the reach of his telekinesis — which was the only reason this much nonsense had even happened.
Unwilling to reveal too much, he kept up the exhausted act, refining his soul power to its absolute limit, sustaining a combat strength comparable to a three-ring soul master. His Silkworm Dragon Spirit shone with white light as his dragon transformation deepened, his gaze morphing into a pair of commanding, majestic dragon eyes.
The advantage of potent mental power meant he could control every fiber of his body in detail. What appeared to be a dragon transformation technique of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect was, in fact, Lin Bai using telekinesis to stimulate his draconic bloodline, forcefully triggering the Silkworm Dragon Spirit to erupt into a full-body transformation nearing its true form.
A distant, majestic dragon's roar sounded.
Even from a hundred meters away, Caesar felt the pressure. The greedy light in his eyes intensified, a bead of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.
Lin Bai's right arm was now covered in shimmering platinum dragon scales. He thrust forward with his palm — Dragon Subduing Palm! His soul power surged, forming a three-meter-tall wall of Qi ahead of him, pushing his exhausted reserves to continuously sustain it.
The wall blocked the approaching wave of flames. He couldn't let them reach the countless corpses around him — who knew how much more gunpowder was hidden within them.
Boom! Boom!
The twin fireballs struck the Qi wall. Lin Bai's face turned pale. Maintaining the dragon transformation consumed tremendous energy. The Qi wall was essentially a constant output of Dragon Subduing Palm in soul shield form. He hadn't yet reached the stage where a three-foot Qi wall was easy to summon — this was pure brute-force support, no tricks involved.
But his act wasn't for nothing. As his soul power thinned and the Silkworm Dragon Spirit's power weakened, the hidden exhaustion in his body grew increasingly difficult to mask. Especially against Caesar — another being with dragon blood, whose senses could easily detect it.
Caesar lifted the bone staff again — crafted from a red dragon's rib, capable of reducing the cost of fire spells. While steadily channeling mana, it began closing the distance.
It wasn't that Caesar had extraordinary control over spells. That was simply the nature of the Warlock profession. Instinct alone was enough to cast magic — no understanding required. As long as one knew what the spell did, they could wield it well.
In his other clawed hand, Caesar drew a dragon tooth dagger from his robe. He snapped his wrist and hurled it directly at Lin Bai's face.
Lin Bai instinctively shut his eyes as his dragon scales flared again, barely blocking the strike.
"Hah! Cunning human."
Caesar sneered, pulling out a second dagger. This one was even finer — its surface gleamed with magic light, a genuine enchanted weapon.
Blue light flickered along its blade's edge — clearly poisoned.
Lin Bai's expression darkened. He looked exhausted on the surface, but mentally cursed: This damn mutt is loaded with good stuff.
His left hand remained at the ready, warily watching Caesar's movements.
Caesar didn't waste any more words. The earlier banter had merely been to test Lin Bai's limits. Now, it continued advancing — stopping fifty meters away, still cautious — and resumed casting spells, chipping away at Lin Bai's strength.
"Are you a dog or what!?"
Lin Bai finally snapped. He'd kept up the act long enough — any more, and even a fool would notice he was pretending.
And fifty meters was close enough.
With a thought, Lin Bai's telekinesis shot forth. Instantly, the kobold leader fifty meters away froze, its pupils shrinking in alarm as it lost control of its body.
At the same moment, Lin Bai activated the Tiger Body Strengthening Technique, bolstering his defenses. The crystal dragon wings at his back unfurled and beat heavily, propelling him forward.
In a flash, he crossed the distance, his telekinesis suppressing Caesar entirely. The platinum dragon claw of his right hand shimmered as it slashed through the air, aiming straight for Caesar's heart.
Up close, the mental suppression left Caesar utterly hopeless — but there was no fear in its eyes, only regret and unwillingness. Then, from its chest, a blinding white light burst forth, its brilliance piercing the red robe, ignoring the power of thought completely.
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