Wang Lin looked at the sleeping Dark Gold Terror Bear cub and sighed in relief. He walked on with his four legs toward the lake and drank the waters to quench his thirst. As he was drinking, he sensed the presence of something emitting a powerful aura in the waters, calling to him.

He looked around to see if there was any sign of the Titan Giant Ape. With no sign of it and the Dark Gold Terror Bear cub still sleeping, he dived into the waters. Being a dragon, he could navigate the waters just as easily as he could fly.

He swam as the feeling in his body intensified, the blood in his veins roaring with stimulation from the unknown source. The sensation grew stronger and stronger as he got closer.

After swimming for a while, he could see a multicolored silver light shining in the depths of the lake. Before he could swim any further, something hit him from the side, dragging him out of the water and throwing him into the forest.

The force with which he exited the waters caused the lake's surface to rise into the air and form a small rainbow. Wang Lin looked at the culprit who had attacked him.

With a long body like a snake, azure scales, and a head resembling a deer's, complete with curved horns, the assailant was the Azure Python Bull—the companion of the Titan Giant Ape.

Wang Lin shook off all the debris that had gotten on his scales and looked at the Azure Python Bull. Its attack had considerable force, but surprisingly, even though the collision was head-on, it didn't hurt that much.

"Why did you attack me?" Wang Lin asked again as he flew toward the Azure Python Bull in the lake's waters.

"The lake is forbidden to enter," said the Azure Python Bull. But all Wang Lin heard were different sounds ringing in his head, so he continued.

Seeing Wang Lin ignore the warning and still enter the lake, the Azure Python Bull attacked him again.

Wang Lin dodged the incoming Azure Python Bull, moved behind it, and attacked with a Darkness-attributed ball of energy. Due to the proximity, the Azure Python Bull suffered the full brunt of the attack.

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Just as it absorbed his attack, Wang Lin continued his momentum, grabbing its body and pulling it into the water. He entered the deep areas of the lake. The Azure Python Bull didn't dally; it tried to escape, but all its attempts were to no avail. Wang Lin prepared as he released the poison from his soul core into his mouth. Before he could inject the Azure Python Bull, something with incredible weight hit him from above the water, making him sink and lose his grip on the Azure Python Bull.

He shook his head to clear the disorientation caused by the collision. After regaining focus, he looked at the culprit—it was none other than the Titan Giant Ape, standing beside the Azure Python Bull, glaring at him with anger.

Wang Lin looked at both of them. Even though he didn't want to fight them simultaneously, with each passing moment, his body longed for whatever was in the depths of the waters.

He had no choice but to fight because he wanted to reach the core of the lake. He flew out of the water and hovered above the pair of beasts—the Azure Python Bull and the Titan Giant Ape—attacking them with Darkness Missiles from the air.

His attacks caused the water to blow into the air. He alternated between Darkness and Poison attacks. With each strike, he grew more proficient at targeting both beasts. Realizing the reach of his attacks, the two beasts slipped into the depths of the water. Wang Lin could have easily seen their bodies in these pristine waters if it had been daytime, but being nighttime, they escaped from his grasp.

Wang Lin didn't stop his attacks, though. He struck the surface of the water indiscriminately, drowning the lake with his Darkness and Poison-attributed attacks.

In the lake, both the Azure Python Bull and the Titan Giant Ape looked at each other in worry.

"Daming, if that dragon continues like this, the whole lake will be destroyed. Di Tian tasked us to protect the lake at any cost," said Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape.

"I would have left the dragon alone if it was just swimming in the lake, but Di Tian repeatedly warned me that nothing could approach the core of the lake. We can't do anything while it keeps flying in the air. We need to bring it down so we can attack it," said Daming.

"I know what to do to bring the dragon down," said Er Ming.

Wang Lin looked at the damage he had caused. The pristine, clear waters now had a green hue due to his poison. As he continued his attacks, he felt his body grow heavier, as if gravity were pulling him down.

He fell into the waters and sank. The sudden attack surprised him. As he swam upward, trying to escape the pull of gravity, he was again taken aback when Daming, the Azure Python Bull, wrapped around him, binding his wings.

Er Ming held his head, locking his jaw to prevent him from releasing any Poison or Darkness attacks. The three wrestled—Wang Lin trying to escape, the other two trying to hold him. For a moment, Wang Lin seemed to have the upper hand. Seeing him about to escape, Er Ming tried to sink his jaw into Wang Lin's head. In a split second, Wang Lin realized that before he could escape, he would be dead. So, he did something unexpected.

He released the Tribulation Light stored in his system, which promptly drowned all three of them without discrimination. The attack loosened the grip both Er Ming and Daming had on him.

After escaping their stranglehold, he looked at them and unleashed his most potent attack—a coalescence of Darkness energy emerged from his mouth and moved toward Er Ming and Daming.

Before the attack could reach them, it dissipated into nothingness, surprising all three. Before they could make sense of what had happened, they heard someone speaking in a female voice.

"You are noisy. You woke me from my slumber," said Gu Yuena.

The three looked toward the source of the voice. There, Wang Lin saw a silver dragon, dwarfing him in size, staring at the three of them.

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