The first to stir in the cold, silent cavern was She Long. The Snake Lance Douluo opened his serpentine eyes, a low groan escaping his lips. His head was pounding, and a deep, bone-deep weariness clung to him like a second skin. He felt… hungover, but without the pleasant memory of the wine to accompany it.
He pushed himself into a sitting position, his movements sluggish. He saw Ci Xue, his companion, still slumped against the cavern wall, snoring softly. He stood, his joints protesting, and walked over, nudging the Porcupinefish Douluo with his foot.
"Wake up, you lazy oaf," he hissed.
Ci Xue let out a snort and his eyes fluttered open. "Ugh… my head… Feels like a herd of rhinos trampled over it." He sat up, rubbing his temples. "Gods, I'm tired. The strain of maintaining that shield for so long must have taken more of a toll than I thought."
She Long nodded in agreement. It was the only logical explanation. The thought that their food might have been tampered with never even crossed their minds. They were Titled Douluos. Who in the world would be foolish enough, or powerful enough, to try and poison them?
A short while later, Qian Renxue emerged from her tent. Her usual pristine, divine beauty was marred by a faint, weary shadow under her eyes. She felt a strange lethargy, a mental fog that was completely alien to her.
'It must have been the stress of the past few days,' she reasoned, dismissing the feeling. 'Witnessing such a battle, and the constant tension of being in this dangerous place… it has drained me more than I realized.'
Ning Rongrong was the last to wake, letting out a long, dramatic yawn as she stumbled out of her own tent. "Mmm… I slept like a log," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "But I still feel so… sleepy."
She looked around the cavern, which was now bathed in the dim, grey light of another stormy day. "Hey, where's Zhuqing? And Sister Ah Yin? And that Liu Erlong woman?"
Qian Renxue's gaze sharpened. She scanned the cavern. The three women were indeed gone. And Zhang Tian… he was a silent, unmoving statue in the center of the cavern, seated cross-legged, a faint, powerful aura of spirit power circulating around him. He was deep in a meditative state.
"They must have gone out early," Qian Renxue said, her voice a low, thoughtful murmur, though her eyes were fixed on Zhang Tian, a familiar, possessive light in their violet depths.
The day passed in a strange, quiet limbo. Without Zhang Tian to direct them, and with the three other women gone, the remaining members of the party were left to their own devices. They ate cold, dry rations, their conversation stilted, the air thick with an unspoken, awkward tension.
It was only as the perpetual twilight of the canyon began to deepen into a true, inky darkness that the trio returned. They walked into the cavern, their faces flushed with the exhilaration of combat, their bodies humming with a new, sharp energy.
"There you are!" Ning Rongrong exclaimed, her voice a mixture of relief and accusation. "Where have you been all day?"
Zhu Zhuqing, who was wiping a thin sheen of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, answered, her voice calm and even. "I woke up early. I wanted to test my new abilities. The lightning-attribute beasts in this canyon are incredibly fast. It was a good opportunity to refine my techniques, to push myself."
She gestured to the two powerful women who flanked her. "Sister Ah Yin and Miss Liu Erlong were kind enough to accompany me. They ensured that no beast too powerful for me to handle got close. The training was very safe, and very… valuable."
Qian Renxue listened, a flicker of something, a hint of a deep, professional jealousy, in her eyes. 'She is getting stronger,' she thought, her gaze sweeping over Zhu Zhuqing's powerful, confident form. 'Every day, she is getting stronger. And it is all because of him.'
Her gaze shifted back to Zhang Tian. It was at that moment that his meditation came to an end.
He opened his eyes. The world seemed to snap into a new, sharper focus around him. The faint, reddish tint in his blue eyes seemed to glow a little brighter, a testament to the new, profound power that now resided within him.
He stood, and a wave of pure, consolidated power seemed to wash over the cavern, making the very air hum. He looked at his companions, a calm, satisfied smile on his handsome face.
"Tonight," he announced, his voice a low, final command, "I will absorb the spirit bone."
He saw the look of concern on Ning Rongrong's face. "Do not worry," he added, his voice a gentle, reassuring sound. "The absorption will be a simple matter. It should be finished by morning. And then… then we can finally leave this noisy, depressing place and return home."
The news was met with a collective sigh of relief. Ah Yin, with a quiet, efficient grace, immediately began to prepare their final dinner in the canyon, her movements a silent promise of a delicious, and this time, completely undrugged, meal.
The dinner was a surprisingly lighthearted affair. The tension of the past few days seemed to have melted away, replaced by the shared, triumphant energy of a successful hunt.
Qian Renxue and Ning Rongrong, their earlier rivalry momentarily forgotten, now engaged in a new, far more playful, competition.
"Here, husband," Ning Rongrong chirped, spearing a particularly succulent piece of roasted Volt-Fang Tiger meat with her fork. "You've been meditating all day. You must be starving. Open up."
Before Zhang Tian could even react, another fork, this one bearing a piece of perfectly cooked, fragrant spirit mushroom, was presented to his other side.
"He needs his vegetables as well, Little Sister Rongrong," Qian Renxue said, her voice a sweet, honeyed sound that was a stark, jarring contrast to the cold, competitive fire in her violet eyes. "A balanced diet is crucial for maintaining one's peak physical condition."
Zhang Tian found himself caught in a crossfire of culinary affection. He just chuckled and shook his head, accepting a bite from each of them in turn, their playful, possessive antics a warm, welcome balm to his soul.
After the last plate was scraped clean, the time had come.
He sat cross-legged in the center of the cavern, the pulsing, black spirit bone of the Thunder Hell Prison Vine resting in his lap. The others formed a silent, protective circle around him, their faces a mixture of awe and anticipation.
He took a deep, steadying breath and placed the spirit bone against his left leg. The moment it made contact, it dissolved, turning into a stream of pure, violet-white lightning that flowed into his skin, seeking out his very marrow.
The pain was immediate, and profound. But it was not the raw, tearing agony of Zhu Zhuqing's fusion. This was different. This was an electrical fire, a storm that raged within his very bones. He felt his nerves light up, each one a screaming, white-hot wire.
And then, he felt something else. A new, ancient, and incredibly powerful energy that was hidden deep within the bone. It was not the energy of the vine. It was… a whisper of something more. Something… divine.
A trace of the Thunder God's bloodline.
The divine energy, a single, infinitesimal drop in an ocean of lightning, was a catalyst. It did not just fuse with his body; it remade it.
His nerves, already honed by his own training, were reforged in the divine lightning, their transmission speed becoming almost instantaneous. His reaction time, his reflexes, they were no longer just fast; they were a thought, a flicker of pure, unadulterated instinct.
His blood, the very river of his life, began to change. Tiny, almost invisible sparks of golden lightning began to dance within it, a permanent, beautiful infusion of divine energy. His endurance, his recovery speed, they took another quantum leap forward.
And his bones… his very skeleton seemed to resonate with the distant, rumbling thunder of the heavens, its density increasing, its structure becoming as resilient and as unyielding as the heart of a storm.
The spirit bone also enhanced his spirit. He felt a new, profound connection to his fifth spirit ring, which was the Blood Thunder Hell Cage.
The ability, which had already been so powerful, now felt… different. More potent. He knew, with an instinctual certainty, that he could now maintain the cage for twice as long, that its lightning would be more destructive, and that the final, explosive detonation would be a cataclysm of pure, annihilating power. And the spirit power it consumed… it had been reduced by half.
Finally, the storm within him subsided. The absorption was complete. A new, subtle metallic sheen, like polished obsidian, now covered his left leg, and a series of faint, intricate lightning-like tattoos, visible only in the right light, snaked their way from his ankle to his hip. The Thunder Hell Left Leg Bone was now a part of him.
He focused his will, and a new stream of information, a new, powerful ability, flooded his mind.
Thunder Hell Phantom Step.
It was not just a speed boost. It was a new way of moving, a new way of being. He could now channel the very essence of the thunder, of the lightning, into his movements. He could cover a hundred meters in the blink of an eye, a trail of ghostly, crimson afterimages in his wake.
Each step he took would leave behind a phantom of himself, a fleeting illusion of crimson vines that would lash out, ensnaring any who dared to pursue him.
His agility had not just been enhanced; it had been redefined.
He stood, and his body felt light, powerful, humming with a new, vibrant energy. He looked at his companions, at their awed, expectant faces, and a slow, triumphant smile spread across his lips.
"It is done," he said, his voice a low, confident rumble. "We leave at dawn."
The journey back was a swift, silent affair. They moved through the storm-wracked hellscape of the Dragoncry Thunder Canyon, their shimmering blue bubble a silent, untouchable sanctuary.
They passed the monoliths that marked the border of the Blue Lightning Clan's territory, leaving the land of thunder and dragons behind them.
Two days later, they stood once more before the grand, welcoming gates of Heaven Dou City. Their long, dangerous, and incredibly fruitful expedition was over.
They parted ways at the city gates. Qian Renxue and her two guardians, with a final, lingering, and possessive look at Zhang Tian, returned to the silent, political intrigues of the Imperial Palace.
Liu Erlong, her face a mask of cool, professional indifference, gave a respectful nod to Zhang Tian. "Mister Zhang Tian," she said, her voice a low, formal sound. "If you require my services again in the future, you know how to contact me."
With that, she turned and disappeared into the bustling crowds of the city, a powerful, lonely, and secretly, desperately lovesick dragon returning to her solitary lair.
And the trio, Zhang Tian and his two beautiful, powerful fiancées, made their way back to their own, private paradise. Their home.
The grand elder's hall of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was a cavernous, intimidating space. The walls were forged from black, lightning-scarred rock, and the very air seemed to crackle with a latent, untamed energy.
Two men, titans of their generation, sat opposite each other at a massive stone table, a flagon of strong, fiery liquor between them. The silence was heavy, thick with the weight of their recent, humiliating defeat.
Tang Hao took a long, slow drink, the burning liquid doing little to soothe the cold fire of rage in his gut. His body ached, not from the Roc's attacks, but from the deep, ancient injuries that the battle had reawakened.
Yu Yuanzhen stared into his cup, his handsome, proud face a mask of grim contemplation. His own spirit, the mighty Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, was a sullen, wounded thing within him, still smarting from the casual, overwhelming dominance of the Thunder Roc Sovereign.
"That thing…" Yu Yuanzhen finally broke the silence, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "It was not a simple beast. Its lightning… it was purer than my own. Much stronger."
Tang Hao let out a soft, contemptuous snort. "It was a beast king," he said, his voice a gravelly rasp. "A true king of its domain. It was toying with us. If it had been truly serious from the beginning… we would not have escaped so easily."
"So, what now?" Yu Yuanzhen asked, his golden eyes meeting Tang Hao's burning gaze. "We cannot simply leave it be. It is a hundred-thousand-year-old beast. Its spirit ring, its spirit bone… they are treasures that could change the very foundation of a clan."
"And how do you propose we acquire them?" Tang Hao shot back, his voice laced with a bitter, pragmatic sarcasm. "Did you not feel its power? Its Elemental Body? Our attacks were a nuisance to it. To defeat a creature of that level, in its own domain where it is amplified by the storm… we would need more than just the two of us."
He leaned forward, a fierce, hungry light in his eyes. "When my sect emerges from its exile," he growled, "when I have my brothers, my elders, at my back… then we can return. With a full team of Titled Douluos, we can surround it, overwhelm it. We can grind it into dust and take its spirit bone."
Yu Yuanzhen frowned, a look of thoughtful, almost academic, disagreement on his face. "To kill it for its spirit bone alone would be… a waste," he said, his voice a low, strategic murmur. "A hundred-thousand-year-old spirit ring, from a beast of that power… think of what it could do for one of our quasi-Titled Douluos. It could create a new Super Douluo, an expert whose power would be second only to our own."
Tang Hao just laughed, a harsh, ugly sound that held no humor. "And you think we could afford to be so… delicate?" he sneered. "You felt its power. Do you truly believe we could pull our punches, hold it back without killing it, while one of your elders attempts the absorption? Do you think any of them could even survive it?"
He shook his head, a look of profound, pitying contempt on his face. "You speak of possibilities, Yuanzhen. And I speak of our current realistic situation. To absorb a ring of that magnitude requires more than just a high spirit rank. It requires a body forged in the fires of hell. It requires a full set of high-level spirit bones, each one at least sixty thousand years old, to even have a chance of surviving the physical backlash. Do any of your elders possess such a foundation? Does anyone in my own clan, for that matter?"
He leaned back, his point made. "No. In a battle like that, there is no room for subtlety. We go for the kill. We take the spirit bone. A guaranteed treasure is worth more than a potential, and likely suicidal, gamble. To think otherwise is the logic of a fool."
Yu Yuanzhen fell silent. The brutal, simple logic of Tang Hao's words was undeniable. His own pride, his desire to see his clan produce another Super Douluo, had blinded him to the practical, bloody realities of such a hunt.
"You are right," he admitted finally, his voice a low, reluctant grumble. "The bone is the only prize we can realistically hope to claim." He let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Forget it, then. For now. We must focus on what is achievable."
He looked at Tang Hao, his eyes gleaming with a new, more immediate ambition. "We need more Titled Douluos. The five spirit bones we acquired… they are a start. But it is not enough. We need more. More beasts of eighty thousand years or more for their Spirit Rings now. Where do we hunt next? The Star Dou Great Forest?"
Tang Hao considered this for a moment. "No," he said finally. "The Star Dou Great Forest is too vast. Too unpredictable. To find a specific beast of that age could take months. And the two kings who rule its core… they are not to be trifled with. We are not yet ready to challenge them."
He looked at Yu Yuanzhen, a flicker of something, a hint of a cold, strategic light, in his eyes. "We hunt in the Sunset Forest. It is smaller, more manageable. And your clan… your clan has been monitoring it for centuries. You must have detailed maps, records of the habitats of every powerful beast within its borders. Your information will make the hunt a swift, efficient affair."
A slow, predatory smile spread across Yu Yuanzhen's face. "Indeed," he purred. "We do." He stood, his massive frame seeming to fill the entire hall. "Then it is decided. We will rest for a few days, allow our own wounds to heal. And then… the hunt will continue."
The first order of business, however, was to distribute the spoils of their first, brutal, and ultimately successful, raid.
Yu Yuanzhen summoned his most trusted elders, the four men who had been the pillars of his clan for decades, their loyalty absolute, their power immense, but their progress a source of constant, gnawing frustration.
They gathered in the throne room, their faces a mixture of awe and a deep, profound respect as they looked upon the legendary, sorrowful figure of Tang Hao.
Yu Yuanzhen did not waste time with pleasantries. He laid the five spirit bones they had acquired on the massive stone table. They pulsed with a faint, powerful light, a testament to the ancient, powerful beasts they had once belonged to.
"Brothers," Yu Yuanzhen began, his voice a deep, resonant boom that echoed in the vast hall. "Our alliance with the Clear Sky Sect has borne its first fruit. These… are for you."
The four elders stared, their eyes wide with a mixture of shock and a dawning, brilliant hope.
The first, and most powerful of the bones, the eighty-six-thousand-year-old Skull Bone from the Thunder-Vein Hydra, was presented to his own younger brother, Yu Luomian.
The second-in-command of the clan, a man whose face was a mirror of Yu Yuanzhen's own, though etched with the deeper lines of a lifetime of frustration, took the bone with trembling hands.
"Brother…" he whispered, his voice thick with an emotion that was close to tears.
"Take it," Yu Yuanzhen said, his voice a low, firm command. "You have been trapped at the eighty-ninth rank for too long. This will be the key that unlocks your final door. You will be the first of our new generation of Titled Douluos."
The other four bones, the torso, the arms, the legs, were distributed among the other three elders, their own faces shining with a profound, almost religious, gratitude. They looked at Tang Hao, and they bowed, a deep, respectful gesture that was a testament to the new, unbreakable bond that had been forged between their two great clans.
"Thank you, Clear Sky Douluo," one of the elders said, his voice filled with a deep, unwavering sincerity. "You have given us a way to help us rise. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is in your debt."
Tang Hao just gave a single, curt nod. He did not care for their gratitude. He cared only for their strength. Their loyalty.
The four elders did not linger. They took their priceless gifts and, with a final, respectful bow, they departed, their destination the secluded, high-security cultivation chambers deep within the fortress. They would not emerge until they had broken through, until they were ready to claim their ninth rings, until they were true Titled Douluos.
The alliance had been sealed. The foundation of a new, terrifying power had been laid. And the world… the world was completely, blissfully, and tragically, oblivious.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Douluo Dalu: Time Travel", "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon