The clouds thickened, the air turning into deep darkness that carried with it a suffocating weight. Dragon breaths rolled through the heavens, ancient and oppressive, pressing down on every living being in the vicinity. Long Yi stepped calmly across the air, her figure regal, her every step exuding the dominance of a sovereign. In an instant, she vanished and reappeared before Zhao Hai, her crimson gaze piercing through the veil of fire that surrounded him. The Third Elder's eyes narrowed, his heart quivering as he recognized the terrifying presence of the young Holy Lord.
"TEACHER!!!" Zhen's voice rang out with desperation and relief. His chest swelled with both hope and fear as he saw his teacher standing tall against the enemy.
Long Yi turned slightly, her lips curving into a faint smile that softened her otherwise terrifying aura. "Take your mom and Naer back a little, Zhen. This battlefield is no place for you."
Zhen nodded quickly, determination burning in his eyes as he grasped Naer's hand tightly and pulled Lan Xin away. Their steps faltered under the crushing auras, but they forced themselves to retreat. All three turned back to glance once more, knowing that what was about to happen would shake the heavens themselves.
Zhao Hai clenched his jaw, his fiery aura blazing hotter with each breath. "Why are you here, Holy Lord Long Yi?" His voice trembled slightly, not with fear, but with hatred.
Long Yi smirked, tilting her chin as she raised her hand and pointed toward Zhen. "Are you deaf? Didn't I already make it clear? That boy is my disciple."
Zhao Hai's face twisted, veins bulging across his forehead. "Since when did you take disciples? You are only twenty-four years old!"
From the distance, Lan Xin gasped softly as her heart pounded in disbelief. She whispered, "Mrs. Holy Lord Long Yi… she is only a year younger than me…" Naer and Zhen exchanged glances, their expressions filled with awe and shock.
Long Yi's eyes hardened like sharpened blades. "Zhao Hai, you should already understand why I chose him."
The fire elder's expression froze, realization creeping into his heart. His eyes widened, pupils shrinking. "Don't tell me… that brat… that Lan Zhen's bond is… Dark Dragon?!"
Long Yi's lips curled coldly, her voice carrying a murderous undertone. "Finally, you see it."
Rage flared in Zhao Hai like a volcano. "So what if he carries that bond? I will crush him, and I will crush his family! No one will protect him from me!"
Their auras erupted like colliding storms. The land quaked, stones shattered, and the trees nearby were blown away as torrents of fire and darkness spread. Long Yi's suffocating darkness slammed into Zhao Hai's blazing inferno, turning the mountain peak into a battlefield of annihilation. In a blink, both disappeared from sight, their speeds too great for mortal eyes.
Naer gasped loudly. "Wh-where did they go?!"
A thunderous explosion erupted from above the clouds. The sky itself rumbled as the heavens were torn apart. Lan Xin's face drained of color. "They're fighting above the clouds…"
Zhen clenched his fists, his heart pounding in his chest like war drums. "Teacher… please win."
High above, Zhao Hai's roar echoed like the bellow of a beast. "Fifth Bond Skill: FIRE LION BURNING SUN!!!"
A blazing inferno condensed into a colossal sphere. The fireball swelled endlessly, growing until it seemed to rival the moon itself, casting the entire sky in a crimson glow. The heat scorched the heavens, and the burning radiance crashed toward Long Yi like the wrath of a god.
But Long Yi only sneered, her voice carrying absolute confidence. "Fourth Bond Skill: DARKNESS DRAGON BLOODLUST DOMAIN!!!"
Darkness surged outward, swallowing the sky whole. The fiery sun disintegrated upon contact, breaking apart and twisting into streams of crimson blood that seeped into the abyss. Zhao Hai's eyes widened in disbelief as the flames he commanded were devoured and converted into vile, living blood.
Long Yi appeared before him, her eyes glowing like molten rubies. "No matter how powerful your skills, within my domain they are destroyed, their power energy gets transformed into dark blood, and that blood gets absorbed into my strength. Do you still think you hold the advantage just because your rank is 79, while mine is 73?"
Zhao Hai roared, his voice edged with desperation. "Don't forget, Long Yi—every Holy Lord has a domain of their own!"
He tried to manifest his fiery realm, but within the pure darkness, his flames flickered out like candlelight in a storm. His expression twisted in rage. Long Yi's voice echoed through the void, merciless. "Pure darkness is the incarnation of destruction. Yet you dare struggle against destruction itself."
Zhao Hai's thoughts raced wildly. I cannot last here… I must break free, or I will be devoured… There's no other way…
With a crazed roar, he shouted, "Seventh Bond Skill!!!"
Long Yi's eyes flashed with sudden alarm. "Zhao Hai, are you insane? You would go this far?!"
"FIRE LION POSSESSION!!!" Zhao Hai's bellow shook the heavens.
His entire body ignited into a blazing inferno. His form twisted, expanding until he became a massive, towering fire lion. Flames roared from his mane, scorching the very fabric of the sky. His heat forced back the darkness, splitting apart the domain. Long Yi's abyss cracked, the shadows splintering and collapsing under the overwhelming burning might.
Below, Zhen, Naer, and Lan Xin looked up, horror-struck. The night sky had been swallowed by flames, as though the world itself were on fire.
Above, Long Yi hovered before the monstrous lion, her calm expression unshaken. "So, you finally resorted to this. Zhao Hai, let me remind you why dragons are revered as the ancestors of all bond beasts."
Her voice rang like thunder. "Seventh Bond Skill: DARKNESS DRAGON POSSESSION!!!"
Her body expanded in an instant, black scales of pure shadow covering her as massive wings unfurled. A colossal darkness dragon rose into the heavens, its roar splitting through the air. The sound alone cracked clouds and shook the earth below. The oppressive darkness swept outward, instantly devouring the burning sky.
The fire lion reared back, its roar colliding with the dragon's. The clash of flames and darkness created storms that tore through the heavens, rending clouds apart in an endless spiral of destruction. Fire melted space, darkness swallowed existence. The battlefield became a collision of apocalypse.
From below, Naer clutched Zhen's hand, trembling. "It's… it's like the end of the world…"
Lan Xin wrapped an arm around her son protectively, though she too could barely breathe beneath the pressure. "Stay calm, Zhen… your teacher is not someone who can be defeated so easily."
Zhen's gaze never wavered, his fists tightening as he stared up at the darkened heavens. His voice quivered with both fear and pride. "Teacher… you're really strong…"