As Shadow glanced down at the forest of Lands of Despair, he could see several demonic beasts scouting the region and the amount of demonic beasts got denser and denser as he flew.

'Looks like I'm correct after all. If not for the Spirit ranked demonic beasts, all these demonic beasts wouldn't be here guarding it.' Once Shadow confirmed his thoughts, he quickly increased his pace and with a flash, he was gone.

Finally, Shadow halted to a stop and swiftly landed. In front of him was an incredibly large clearing, which was almost as large as two villages. However, what made him stopped wasn't the clearing but more of what was in the middle of the clearing.

A colossal dragon laid on the soft grass patch, its body quivered from time to time due to its breathing. It had a 10 meter long scaly body that was laced with a shade of black, radiating off the weak sunlight. Suddenly, as if it has sensed an intruder, its eyes immediately opened and at the same, it gave off an oppressing aura.

When the surrounding demonic beasts sensed the dragon-like oppressing aura, they immediately knelt down and dare not make a sound. Even other Spirit ranked beasts that were miles away immediately retreated back into their cave. Despite the fact that they were all Spirit ranked beasts, the Dragon species still reigned supreme over the other lesser species.

However, Shadow was unaffected by the aura and with a sharp gaze, Shadow raised his left hand into the sky. With an imposing manner, Shadow tightened his fists and the once oppressing aura was suppressed by an even more terrifying aura, instantly, causing a few profound ranked demonic beasts to bleed from their orifices.

The dragon hissed and immediately curled up into a ball. Unexpectedly, it spoke with a gruff voice, "What do you want?" As long as a beast achieved the Spirit rank, they would be able to gain intelligence and communicate, and once they have reached the upper stage of Spirit rank, they would gain the ability to turn into human form.

In other words, they could become demons.

Upon seeing that the dragon did not brazenly strike out at him, Shadow retracted his aura and calmly said, "I needed an army, one filled with demonic beast. And a Spirit ranked demonic beast as a mount."

"Ridiculous! Your greediness will the death of you!" With that, the dragon immediately launched at Shadow, its mouth was opened, displaying two rows of impeccably sharp teeth.

Without saying anything, Shadow raised his hands forward and in the next moment, several sharp spikes appeared out of nowhere, piercing into the flesh of the demonic dragon. The impalement caused it to be entangled in the air, rendering it helpless.

"Haha... Go ahead and kill me! This sovereign here is not afraid of death!!" When the demonic dragon saw that it was impossible to injure this intruder, much less kill him, it decided to choose death instead. It would rather be dead than to suffer in humiliation.

Seeing that the demonic dragon had given up all hope, Shadow dismissed the sharp spikes as they fade into nothingness. This skill was evolved from [Hidden Dark Swords] to [Void Swords], granting Shadow the ability to form swords made up of Spirit Qi wherever he prefer.

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Without saying anything, Shadow gently paced towards the fallen demonic dragon. However, in the eyes of the demonic dragon, the figure in front of it was simply a death god, sending shivers down its spine.

When it saw that the figure has stopped in front of him, the demonic dragon closed its eyes, embracing the impending death. However, after a short while, the pain and the torture did not come and instead, it felt an extremely refreshing and familiar sensation circulating in his body.

Astonished, the demonic dragon immediately opened its beautifully colored eyes and the scene in front of it dumbfounded it. But before it could voice out its surprise, it heard the figure's words.

"Heal."

Obediently, the demonic dragon shut its eyes and concentrated on regulating the dense Spirit Qi flowing into its body. It had never felt such a dense Spirit Qi before, even the immortal realm only has Spirit Qi in its gaseous form! To think that this figure standing before it possessed liquefied Spirit Qi. Too terrifying!

However, the demonic dragon immediately frowned as it sensed an excruciating pain coming from its core. Just as it thought it was about to die from the torment of the pain, the flow of Spirit Qi stopped.

The eyes of the demonic dragon opened in fatigue. Its body gave a slight tremble before obediently placing its head on the ground. It opened its mouth and spoke, "Thank you for sparing me! Although I'm extremely grateful to you, I cannot be your mount. I would rather die than suffer humiliation. However, I have no qualms about giving you my entire army of demonic beasts."

Shadow gazed into the eyes of the demonic dragon and seriously contemplated. When the demonic dragon made eye contact with Shadow, it could not help but shiver in fear. That person's eyes was too scary! It felt like it was really stared upon by a terrifying existence.

"Then... Are you okay with being friends?" Shadow asked after much consideration.

The demonic dragon was taken back but immediately replied, "Yes. I have no problem about being friends." A few patrolling demonic beasts heard that and they could not help but cough out a mouthful of blood. 'No problem about being friends?! Did the cold and arrogant dictator just said that? Then why are we still treated as something lower then slaves? F*ck!'

Shadow's gaze lightened after hearing the other party's confirmation. However, what he spoke next thoroughly shocked the demonic dragon.

"When I was giving you my Spirit Qi, I felt that there were several hidden internal injuries caused by poisoning. Let's make a deal. I will cure your injuries and in return, when I need help in the future, you shall come to my aid." Shadow proposed.

The demonic dragon was once again thrown into a world of surprise. 'If this man can really heal my injuries, then I could get my revenge on those old fogeys!'

"I agree!" Without much hesitation, the demonic dragon replied with force.

Shadow nodded his head and sat down on the grass patch before asking the demonic dragon, "Say friend. I'm Shadow. What is your name?"

The demonic dragon's mouth curled upwards attempting to smile, however, it very much looked like a starved beast that has found a prey.

"Huo Long. It means fire dragon."

"Huo Long... Nice name," Shadow softly sighed, the scene that was playing in front of him felt very similar to the past.

A bitter smile formed on Shadow's face as he closed his eyes and laid on the grass patch. Beside him, Huo Long coiled into a circular shape and gazed at Shadow's face.

He could see traces of sadness and regret in that bitter smile, he knew it all too well. In that moment, he felt a deep connection with the person lying on the grass.

Behind them, the setting sun attempted to shine out its last rays of light, giving out the most dazzling rays it has ever given. However, immediately after that, the setting sun was soon engulfed by the night, turning day into night; Hope into despair.