Golden Dragon Liu Qian stood beside the monster bird's charred corpse, his chest heaving slightly.
His golden scales were charred in many places, with tiny cracks even appearing in some areas, oozing faint golden blood.
Although his injuries were severe, his heart was still filled with the exhilaration of victory after the battle.
Just then, an unimaginably vast life force surged from the Purple monster bird's charred corpse, instantly engulfing Golden Dragon Liu Qian.
Liu Qian felt an unprecedented sense of power wash over his limbs and bones, and a joyful roar echoed from deep within his bloodline.
He sank his consciousness into his panel:
Dragon Bloodline Purity: 2.03%
Magic: 254 / 20340
This terrifying Purple monster bird actually provided 10,000 Dragon Spirit directly, leading to a full 1% increase in bloodline purity, which was equivalent to him killing 100 Scale Claw monsters.
At the same time, his magic capacity also surged by 10,000 points, reaching an astonishing 20,340 points.
Even more astonishing changes followed.
Golden Dragon Liu Qian's body, as if injected with growth hormones, began to expand and lengthen at a visible rate.
His bones let out 'crackling' sounds, his muscle fibers bulged, and the golden scales covering his entire body became thicker and wider, their edges gleaming with a sharper, colder light.
In just a few breaths, the 'young dragon,' which was originally only three meters long, doubled in size to six meters.
Although still 'petite' compared to an adult giant dragon, it already possessed an initial aura of majesty.
Its streamlined body was full of the beauty of power, and its golden scales gradually regained their luster under the faint light of the sky.
"2% purity already makes me six meters long! So if I reach the legendary 33%... wouldn't I be able to rival 'Black Dread' Bellerion? What about 100%? A three-hundred-meter world-destroying giant dragon?!"
Liu Qian's heart swelled with infinite fantasies.
However, this fantasy was immediately interrupted by a wave of weakness from within his body.
Maintaining his true dragon form required a continuous consumption of magic.
Although the battle just now was short and intense, transforming into a dragon consumed 1,000 points, maintaining the form consumed 1 point per second, plus the mana cost of spitting Dragonflame and passive skills.
He hurriedly checked his magic: 9 / 20340
And the number was still decreasing at a rate of 1 point per second; in a few more seconds, he would be unable to maintain his dragon form.
Liu Qian dared not delay; with a thought, he released 'True Dragon Descent.'
The dazzling golden light instantly converged and retracted, and the massive dragon body rapidly shrank and deformed like a phantom.
In the blink of an eye, only a standing human silhouette remained, which was Liu Qian, having returned to his human form.
However, a breeze carrying the lingering warmth of sulfur blew past, and Liu Qian felt a chill on his body.
He looked down, his heart startled.
"Transforming into a dragon actually burns clothes?!"
He was completely naked at this moment, not a stitch of clothing, his crucial parts exposed to the cool air of the ruins.
Liu Qian's old face instantly flushed red; he used the Purple monster bird's fascia and wings to make a feather skirt, barely covering his important parts.
If he were to transform into a dragon and fight in front of an army of thousands in the future, and then change back after the battle, wouldn't he become a 'strolling artist' on the battlefield?
He had to find a way to solve this problem.
Suppressing the frustration in his heart, he did not pursue in the direction Janice and Jelena had fled, but returned to the ghost grass sea.
His magic was exhausted, like a dried-up riverbed; he had to replenish his magic first before pursuing the Jelena sisters.
He encountered no danger on the way back.
He stepped into the ghost grass sea, which rolled like green waves, greedily grabbing ghost grass with both hands.
The swaying grass blades, as if attracted by a magnet, actively sent energy into his palms until his 20,000 magic points were refilled; only then did he turn and pursue in the direction the Jelena sisters had fled.
The battleground where he had just fought the Purple monster bird was littered with Scale Claw monsters, clearly indicating that someone had fought there.
The most likely person was Jelena.
But even with the giant bow that could shoot flaming arrows, she alone could not have killed hundreds of monsters.
Liu Qian guessed that she must have had companions nearby.
Thinking this, he did not dare to delay his steps for a moment, searching for the two sisters in the withered forest.
Soon, Liu Qian heard the clanging of metal from the thick fog ahead.
Liu Qian's gaze pierced through the mist, seeing Jelena leading a group of bronze-armored soldiers in a circular formation, protecting dozens of wooden carts laden with ghost grass in the center, fighting against the Scale Claw monsters that covered the mountains and plains.
The sound of steel rubbing, monster roars, and human battle cries merged into a single din.
Blood and grass clippings splattered in the air, and the ground was covered with the corpses of humans and monsters.
Liu Qian no longer hid, but walked out of the thick fog openly.
The Dragon Spirit from the Scale Claw monster corpses on the battlefield actively drilled into his body.
Of course, some monster corpses did not yield Dragon Spirit.
His appearance immediately attracted the gaze of the warriors and monsters on the field.
At this moment, Liu Qian was only wearing an ugly purple-haired short skirt, revealing his muscular physique, which was out of place among a group of heavily armed soldiers and ferocious, scaled monsters.
One monster saw Liu Qian's exposed chest, saliva drooled from its gaping maw, and with a push of its legs, it lunged straight at him.
Liu Qian grabbed his steel sword and repelled it, then opened his mouth, and a scorching flame erupted from his throat, instantly enveloping the monster. The monster in the flames let out a piercing scream, and after a few seconds, it fell silent, burned into a charred corpse.
Seeing this, the other monsters' resentful gazes immediately locked onto Liu Qian.
Several monsters abandoned their encirclement in the battle, leaving their current enemies, and all attacked Liu Qian.
In the blink of an eye, a dozen monsters had gathered in front of him.
The monsters looked at each other, then opened their hideous mouths and lunged.
Liu Qian, seeing this, remained calm and instantly activated the skill [Prairie Fire]!
In an instant, the air around him solidified like glue, as if subjected to immense pressure, becoming turbid and heavy.
The temperature rose sharply, and blazing golden flames shot out from the void, forming a one-meter-thick armor that attached to Liu Qian's body.
The monsters halted their steps warily, afraid of touching the bone-piercing flames.
Liu Qian had no intention of stopping.
He aimed forward and spat out a scorching flame, sweeping it across the monsters.
Before the monsters could react, they were all engulfed and carbonized by the flames.
The battlefield instantly fell silent.
Both the armored soldiers and the monsters stared blankly at the figure bathed in fire, who had killed a dozen monsters with a mere wave of his hand, somewhat lost in thought for a moment.
Many soldiers, seeing Liu Qian display his fire sorcery, immediately felt their morale surge, and they all actively attacked the monsters, causing the stalemated battlefield to instantly tilt towards the human side.
Jelena was the first to be affected; she had the most monsters around her.
But she always showed a pair of calm purple eyes, one hand protecting Janice, and the other hand wielding a silver-white broadsword with dull, swirling patterns on its blade, fighting several monsters.
The thick sword blade was like a copper wall, blocking the ferocious monsters in front of her, preventing them from approaching, and the sharp blade made a piercing friction sound as it cut through the air.
Jelena's sword light was as cold as ice, cutting through metal like mud; the monsters' iron-hard scales were like paper, and with a flourish of her sword, a monster would lose its head, and the monster corpses at her feet had already piled into a small mountain.
"This woman's sword skill can be called 'Sister-Protecting Divine Sword'!"
Liu Qian praised in his heart; Jelena's seemingly delicate body actually contained such precise killing techniques, each sword strike accurately targeting the monsters' joints and weaknesses.
Jelena's strength might not be as great as his, but her control over the sword and her skill in using it were far more artistic and ingenious than his brute Dragonflame.
Liu Qian sighed for a moment, then, still bathed in fire, plunged back into the thick of the battle.
With the blessing of the [Prairie Fire] skill, he was like he was covered in an invisible armor; the monsters dared not approach him to harm him, but instead would be poked in the eyes with his steel sword, have their heads mangled, or be burned to death by the flames he spat from his mouth.
Although he did not have to personally kill the monsters to gain Dragon Spirit, accelerating the death of the monster legion was beneficial to him.
Finally, with the fall of the last monster, Liu Qian also deactivated the [Prairie Fire] skill, frantically absorbing the Dragon Spirit that erupted on the battlefield.