After several days of intense training, Brandon finally emerged from the volcanic crater. His internal energy had not only been fully restored but had also made some progress. The magma-like thick energy flowed continuously through his meridians. The golden bell in his dantian rotated slowly, absorbing and releasing massive amounts of energy.
Climbing out of the crater, Brandon now stood twenty meters tall. The stimulation from a higher-level energy had caused his cells to rapidly divide, resulting in his rapid growth over the past few days. He had now reached the strength of the Lesser Heaven level. Over these days, the energy within him had stabilized. In a way, Brandon had just reached maturity.
Only now did he understand why they said the strength difference between a Lesser Heaven level dragon and an Earth level dragon was like night and day. Since reaching the Lesser Heaven level, he felt as if he had connected with the energy of the heavens and the earth. Wherever his mental energy covered seemed like his own domain, and this space felt like an extension of his body.
Within this weak version of a domain, the energy fluctuations and air currents were naturally controlled. In this space, manipulating his energy felt easier and more effortless.
Brandon activated his internal energy, and with a thought, his body began to float upwards. He ascended higher and higher without flapping his wings. His body seemed to be connected to the heavens and the earth, floating naturally without any effort, as if it were his instinct. His body moved flexibly with his thoughts.
This feeling was unlike anything he experienced while flying with his wings. It was a marvelous sensation, as if he had the world under his control. Only now did Brandon truly understand what it meant to be powerful—this was like the ability of a god.
Comparing this to flying with his wings, this method of flying was magical but not as fast. It couldn’t match the speed of his wings.
He hovered in the air, looking around. The world had never been clearer.
It wasn't just that Brandon's vision had become sharper; that was only part of it. It specifically referred to his understanding of the world becoming clearer.
He could now perceive things he couldn’t before. For instance, the energy fluctuations around him, the magnetic fields of living beings, and even the radio waves in the sky. These invisible things were now detectable. Looking at this familiar yet strange world, Brandon found himself inexplicably enchanted.
As his strength improved, his soul's power began to influence Brandon. He could vaguely sense the existence of some rules.
He noticed that something seemed to have changed around his body. A powerful biological magnetic field continuously radiated from his body, and the energy fluctuations in the space seemed to follow a certain pattern around him. It seemed that his ability to fly was closely related to these phenomena.
However, with his current strength, he couldn’t understand these mysteries. After a short while, a massive influx of information rushed into his brain, causing him a severe headache. He decided to stop thinking about these things.
He gently floated down from the sky. His massive body descended as lightly as a feather. Only now did he truly understand what it meant to feel like one was floating on clouds.
Although his dragon essence hadn’t advanced, it seemed to be slowly transforming under the stimulation of the Golden Bell Shield energy. Since one aspect had already advanced, Brandon decided not to worry about his dragon essence and let it evolve naturally.
After a long period of training, he was growing weary of it. He desperately needed a break and some relaxation. He floated up into the sky, spread his wings, and flew towards the crack he had discovered earlier. He needed to uncover the secret of this place to ease his anxiety.
In less than ten minutes, Brandon arrived at the crack from before, even though he had flown at a slower speed. Folding his enormous wings, Brandon landed on the ground.
It had been over half a week since the last battle, but the battle scars were still clearly visible. Brandon slowly crawled over the battlefield and proceeded forward.
As Brandon approached the vicinity of the crack, a green blur flashed by. The green beast appeared before him, and Brandon realized he could now clearly see its figure, no longer just a vague shadow. He was confident that if it came close, he could easily hit it. However, capturing it seemed out of the question due to its incredible agility.
Reflecting on the previous battle, Brandon felt frustrated as he returned to his nest. He had foolishly allowed the beast to attack him. Perhaps if he had used a gravity field technique, the battle might have turned out differently. Throughout both his past and present lives, Brandon had always valued physical strength, often neglecting magic. He trusted his physical prowess more than magic.
However, every action has its consequence. If he had used the gravity field technique, his Golden Bell Shield might not have broken through so quickly.
As Brandon prepared to give the green beast a thorough beating, he noticed that it wasn’t attacking. It looked at Brandon with a tense expression. The overwhelming dragon aura emanating from Brandon made the beast feel oppressed. His now larger and more powerful body clearly indicated his increased strength. Remembering Brandon’s terrifying power, the green beast was filled with dread.
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It let out a sharp cry, baring its teeth at Brandon in a warning.
Seeing that it was only making noise without attacking, Brandon felt a bit frustrated. Suddenly, he thought of the golden bell inside him and decided to test its power.
With a thought, a ball of golden light rose from his head and shot towards the green beast. The golden bell, over a meter tall, streaked through the air like a golden lightning bolt. Before the beast could react, the bell struck its head with a crisp crack. The beast let out a sharp, anguished cry and fell to the ground, its body convulsing violently.
Brandon retracted the bell, which dimmed slightly. However, he paid no mind to this, as he was astounded by the bell’s immense power. This force far exceeded his physical strength and was as fast as lightning. Even the agile green beast couldn’t evade it.
Of course, the element of surprise played a role. The beast was threatening Brandon and hadn’t expected such a swift attack, leaving it unprepared.
As Brandon approached, he saw that the beast’s head was shattered like a broken watermelon, with blood and brain matter oozing out. The beast's vitality was indeed strong, as its body continued to struggle despite the severe injury.
Brandon regretted the beast’s death. He hadn’t intended to kill it, merely to test the bell’s power. He hadn’t expected the bell to be so powerful, nor the beast to be so fragile.
Looking at the beast’s corpse and the crack a hundred meters away, Brandon hesitated.
He then noticed that the beast’s blood occasionally glowed with a golden light. At first glance, it seemed as if the blood was golden. A wave of shock surged in his heart. This beast’s blood bore the hallmark of a legendary creature.
Taking a few quick steps forward, Brandon grabbed the corpse with his paw and brought it closer for inspection. He wasn’t seeing things; he saw faint golden light emanating from the blood. Though very faint, it was definitely there.
According to his memories, once a creature advances to the legendary level, its body undergoes another evolution, and its blood starts to glow with a golden hue. As its strength increases, the golden glow becomes more intense. By the time it reaches the demigod level, its blood will turn a pale gold.
Although the golden glow in the beast’s blood was faint, it indeed indicated a legendary-level physique. It seemed unbelievable that he had killed a creature with a legendary body. But upon reflection, Brandon realized this legendary creature was somewhat lacking. It had the body of a legendary beast but neither the energy nor the cultivation level.
Brandon’s physical strength, though formidable, was supported by immense energy. Without any energy, his physical power would be greatly diminished, perhaps to just about thirty percent of its usual strength. This was a result of his consistent physical training and the reinforcement from the Golden Bell Shield.
What surprised Brandon was that this beast, purely through instinct, had evolved its body to a legendary level. If it hadn't had some extraordinary encounter, he wouldn’t believe it. This mysterious crack must hide some secret that allowed creatures to evolve to such an extent.
Glancing at the canyon, Brandon quickly refocused on the green beast. Though he didn’t know what secrets or treasures lay within the crack, the beast’s corpse was already a treasure—a legendary-level body was a rare find, almost comparable to the fabled Tang Monk’s flesh. While Brandon wasn’t one to give up halfway, leaving such a precious resource would be a waste.
Brandon extended his claw, grasped the still-struggling green beast, and flew back to his nest.
A few minutes later, Brandon returned to his nest, where several humans quickly bowed in greeting. Several other giant beasts gathered around, seeing the creature that had previously caused them trouble. Skyler even flew onto Brandon's back, pecking him curiously.
The beast's skin was tough and smooth. Brandon’s sharp claws slipped on its surface, unable to cut through. This was the resilience of a legendary-level body.
After half an hour of effort, Brandon managed to make a small cut. He lifted the beast, which was seven or eight meters long and compared to Brandon, looked like a small dog. Brandon grasped the beast's skin with both claws, his muscles surging like mercury as he channeled his internal energy. With a forceful roar, he ripped the skin apart as if it were a piece of cloth.
He peeled the skin from the beast’s body, careful not to discard it—this was a treasure. He hadn’t expected the seemingly unremarkable skin to be tougher than his own defenses. The green fur was soft and comfortable, making it an ideal decoration for his nest—a priceless legendary hide, though a bit small to be a proper mattress.
Brandon handed the skinned beast to the humans to process. Cooking was a task humans excelled at.
Once the beast had died, its body rapidly lost vitality, and the meat began to soften. As it roasted over the fire, fat dripped continuously, filling the cave with a tantalizing aroma. This scent attracted all the giant beasts, even the small sub-dragon guarding the entrance peered curiously inside. The sound of swallowing was unmistakable. An hour later, the entire beast was cooked.
Each giant beast received a portion relative to its size, and even the humans each got a share. Despite its formidable defenses, the beast’s meat was tender and melted in the mouth after roasting.
Brandon devoured his portion, savoring the taste. Shortly after, a surge of heat rose from his stomach, spreading throughout his body, making him feel hot. He quickly lay down, closing his eyes to absorb the heat. The legendary-level body contained a vast amount of pure energy, free from impurities. His internal energy circulated rapidly, absorbing this powerful heat wave, causing his energy to thicken visibly.
The golden bell absorbed a large amount of energy, growing over two meters tall before stopping. The intricate patterns on it became clearer.
As the heat wave subsided, most of it had been absorbed by the golden bell. Brandon noticed that the Golden Bell Shield's ability to absorb energy had greatly increased, leaving little energy for his dragon essence. However, he sensed that the dragon essence was close to breaking through to the Lesser Heaven level.
Opening his eyes, Brandon found the surroundings very quiet. All the humans and beasts were meditating, absorbing the heat within them. Not wanting to disturb them, he quietly left the cave. It was already evening, and the sky was darkening.
To Brandon, the dim light outside was as bright as day. He looked up at the sky, his sharp eyes clearly seeing the stars. He recalled the old red dragon’s words:
“On the planet farthest from the sun, the dragon race will leave the coordinates of their migration.”
The farthest planet from the sun—Pluto. But with his current strength, he couldn’t leave Earth. The Great Heaven level... who knows when he would reach it.