Chapter Text
It had been 40 days since the trial started. Yasenia and Lataria flew around, killing Endless Mud Beasts whenever they encountered them. It was a rather monotonous time, but for someone of their cultivation level, it didn’t pass too slowly. Moreover, thanks to the resilience of these beasts, Yasenia and Lataria could practice their combat skills and martial prowess.
After defeating three of them, Lataria looked up and chuckled. “Oh! We are slowly catching up. We were around one hundred behind around five days ago, and now we are only seventy behind.”
Yasenia grumbled, her fingers passing through her long black hair. “If it weren’t because of the ambush, we wouldn’t need to rush.”
Lataria snickered. “You’ve been quite upset since we were unable to find the mortals, eh?”
Yasenia sighed. “Yes. I won’t deny it. This place is too big to find them. Moreover, whenever you find someone else, you can’t even approach them. Why are people so volatile? I just wanted to ask for directions.”
Lataria laughed even louder. “It was quite the spectacle to see them attack us as if we were about to launch a fatal strike on them. Moreover, as if provoked, they kept chasing us when we left!”
Yasenia resignedly looked at her. “Why are you enjoying it so much?”
Lataria shrugged. “Life is boring. After living a few thousand years, you just get a kick out of these mundane experiences.”
The dragoness looked at Lataria with a strange expression. ‘This is the first time I hear something like this.’ It’s not that she has not encountered people who tried to find motivation and joy throughout their long lives. However, they didn’t define their lives as boring. Such a way of classifying it was very unique.
After thinking a bit, she asked, curious. “Isn’t cultivation fun? The way you move energy in complex patterns to upgrade your strength, the sensation of gaining power, and slowly reaching heights you previously could only imagine… Learning new truths of the world and understanding deep concepts for you to manipulate later. That’s quite fun, isn’t it?”
Lataria hummed in thought, her arms crossing under her modest breasts. “I don’t really like it. I prefer… consuming entertainment?” Lataria looked at Yasenia with a small smile. “It might be a bit of a foreign concept for you, though. You are from far away, right?”
“Well… I am.” Yasenia didn’t deny it. Then, she shook her head. “Either way, we must focus. We only have ten days to reduce the remaining distance between us, and people are starting to use their real strength to hunt.”
Lataria didn’t deny it, so they moved right away and continued hunting. While fighting and hunting as fast as they could, their point-earning speed was exceptional. Their ranking went up little by little, catching up to the person who kept first place during the entire competition. Looking at his stable first place, Yasenia was genuinely impressed. “He is really strong.”
“Yeah.” Lataria sighed, grumbling. “I don’t want to admit it, but that old bastard is really strong. He will probably reach the Seventh Realm in just five to ten thousand years.”
“Oh.” Yasenia blinked, her mind not really grasping the concept of so many years. She was currently approaching 130 years, so it was a very faraway thing to conceptualize.
Lataria grasped the strangeness in Yasenia's tone and chuckled. Nevertheless, she didn’t continue the conversation.
Ten days later, Yasenia and Lataria were fighting using their power as if they were fighting for their lives. The point list in the sky was constantly changing, with the top 10 people fighting within 30 points of each other.
Yasenia's sword flashed, slicing through two Endless Mud Beasts, and then she roared. The soul damage exploded before they could recover completely, crumbling their forms for a fraction of a second.
Not losing the chance, Lataria created a powerful water arrow that exploded in a sphere. The water dragged the mud out, singling out the two orbs in the middle of the water. As the mud that had been blown out rushed back, Yasenia stepped forward and slashed twice in quick succession, dividing the cores.
Nevertheless, once they did that, they didn’t even stop and flew out in different directions. A few seconds later, Yasenia found three Endless Mud Beasts and raised her sword, creating three pillars of light. Lataria’s side created five pillars of light in the distance. ‘Five of them at once? Great!’
With a quick flap of her wings, she rushed over and arrived. However, Lataria was not fighting with the Endless Mud Beasts but a handsome man. Her eyes widened slightly. ‘What are the chances?’
Meanwhile, in the distance, Lataria was using her skills in bulk, creating and modifying oceans to slam against the man’s figure. “You stupid granduncle! I’ll kill you today! Wait until Yasenia arrives, and you are dead meat!”
The man waved his hand with a smile, giant golden claws cleaving through the ocean without much effort. “Oh~. I am so scared. By the way, Astarea asked me to check on you. How have you been doing?”
Lataria’s face contorted. “Don’t speak about my Nainai so carelessly, lecherous lizard! [Sky Collapsing Ocean]!”
The man’s lips twitched as his wine-colored eyes flashed with helplessness. “Hey, little girl. Why are you using your strongest technique against family?”
“What family!? Just die already!”
Then, Yasenia’s mouth opened a bit as the sky transformed into water and rushed down like a blanket of pure water. This blanket didn’t just drop, though. It locked the space around, making it impossible to dodge by strange means. Only direct confrontation would work.
The man’s face turned serious for a moment as his energy gathered. His wine-colored slit eyes burst with red light, as his fist was covered with golden-red scales. Then, he punched the sky. “[Golden Wine Dragon Fist].”
The phantom image of a giant dragon claw rushed upward and clenched into a fist, bursting with enough strength to burst open the blanket of water falling from the sky. Yasenia blinked twice, her heart becoming much more wary than before. ‘He is not a pushover… Also, what’s with that skill name? Wine? As in… the alcoholic beverage?’
Lataria looked up with a stupefied face. “H-How? Aren’t we both in the same realm with the same strength?” She glared at the handsome, wild man and gritted her teeth. “Why are you still so strong!? It’s unfair!”
The man laughed and approached, raising his large hand to pat her blue hair. “There, there. Your attack was quite strong. Didn’t you see that I had to dragonify my fist to block it? It’s really impressive how much you’ve grown over the years, Lataria.”
Before Lataria spoke, he looked sideways and squinted, his easygoing aura disappearing as wariness appeared around him. “So… Who is the spectator looking at us from a distance?”
Lataria looked over, resigned, and noticed Yasenia. Her eyes lit up, and she rudely pointed at the man’s nose. “Yasenia, this is your strongest competitor! Beat him up!”
Yasenia laughed hollowly and flew over. When the male dragon saw Yasenia, his eyes widened.
Our dragoness was wearing her typical blue dress because it was her strongest combat dress. Therefore, her curves and beauty were perfectly enhanced and shown to the world. The large cleavage, ridiculously sensual softness, and alluring face combined with her tail into a beauty that would move even the hearts of monks.
Yasenia sighed softly. “Lataria, you two are clearly close. How can I attack him with the intention to kill?”
Lataria's cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish, and she poked the man’s cheeks with her index finger, as if saying. “Attack him! Attack him! Hit him here!”
Yasenia nodded at the man who had been staring at her since before. “Hello, I am Yasenia Dravory, Lataria’s companion for this test.”
“Hey!” Lataria complained. “At least say friend! Haven’t we fought with our lives on the line! A passionate story of companionship has already been born between us!”
The man ignored his grandniece and tilted his head, his wine-colored eyes scanning Yasenia with confusion. “You… Who are you? I have no memory of your bloodline.”
Yasenia smiled calmly. “Well, there is no way that you would know all bloodlines, am I right?”
“You are wrong.” The man spoke with a squint. “If it is bloodlines of your level, I know them all. However, you feel different. Stop suppressing your presence and reveal your true bloodline.”
Yasenia’s smile turned a notch colder. “Elder, I am being somewhat polite because Lataria seems to like you quite a lot.”
“Wah!? Where are you looking, Yasenia!? Are you being deceived by his handsomeness!? Don’t! He is an old man with over 70,000 years behind his back!”
Yasenia and the man ignored Lataria’s rambles. The man naturally didn’t back down and unfurled his bloodline pressure. “As one of the ancestors of our [Golden Wine Dragon] bloodline, I can’t overlook someone like you who seems to have appeared from nowhere. Young dragon, reveal your bloodline!”
Yasenia’s smile disappeared as she stirred her blood. “As you wish.”
BOOM!!
The air around them stifled as the [Empyrean Cosmos Dragon] bloodline swallowed the surroundings. The sheer level of Yasenia’s Immortal-ranked bloodline was like a giant hand pressing down on them.
Moreover, being a Progenitor Queen, the effects of her bloodline were almost tenfold. The second she unfurled her presence, the man’s face paled and his knees almost buckled. If he weren’t someone with a high-level Ancient Ranked bloodline, his head would’ve been pressed against the ground at this instant.
Even Lataria was feeling the ridiculous pressure from Yasenia’s body and having difficulty breathing. ‘W-What is this!? I didn’t know Yasenia’s bloodline was so monstrous. No wonder her strength is so high…’
Meanwhile, the dragon spoke with gritted teeth, trying with all his soul not to feel defeated by Yasenia’s presence. “L-Lady Yasenia. I apologize for my rudeness. However, could you stop pressuring us? This Ao Jiuyao asks you to have mercy, please.”
Yasenia snorted once and hid her bloodline pressure.
The presence that felt as vast as the outer space disappeared like a mirage, leaving nothing but Yasenia’s calm and seductive figure for them to look at. Yasenia looked at the man and spoke. “I do not wish for any conflict with the dragon clans of the Blue Pearl World.”
“That…” The man smiled wryly. “It’s a bit difficult. Your presence is enough to cause ripples throughout our society.”
“I know,” Yasenia spoke lightly. “So, I am asking you to hide my presence.”
Ao Jiuyao scratched his head. “Sorry. I can’t do that. I made an oath to protect any potential leaders of our race and inform the Seventh Realm ancestors. If I don’t do that, my heart will explode.”
Yasenia and Lataria looked at him, speechless. After rubbing her forehead, Yasenia sighed to herself. ‘I guess… I can use this. Let’s think about how to click all the puzzle pieces together later. For now…’
“Let’s continue hunting. And you, since you consider me your superior, give me first place.”
Ao Jiuyao’s lips twitched. “A-All right.”