At this moment, the enormous azure dragon looked as if it had completely gone mad, its vast body thrashing wildly through the air.
"ROAR—!"
Its dragon cries grew more and more miserable, more and more despairing.
Over twenty crimson kagune spears were embedded throughout its body, each one piercing deep into its flesh.
Far off in the sky, Adrian Vale hovered in silence, his face equally pale.
His eyes remained locked on the dragon the entire time.
If he had not severed more than twenty of his own kagune at the final moment, the one in danger right now would have been him.
Staring at the distant dragon, Adrian's killing intent rose sharply.
The dragon's body was riddled with crimson kagune, and fresh blood was still splashing outward in every direction.
Pat! Pat! Pat!
Its blood fell like a torrential rain, quickly staining the earth below into a broad red flood.
Under those circumstances, the dragon's cries only sounded more tragic.
"No… impossible! How could I die here?!"
"I refuse! I guarded this place for over a thousand years! How could all that waiting amount to nothing?!"
"Why can a mere latecomer defeat me so easily?!"
"I'm Jason! I'm a once-in-an-age genius! How could I possibly lose?!"
"I won't accept this! I won't—!"
Its shrill screams rose endlessly.
Boom!!
Then, with a deafening explosion, the Ancient Azure Dragon's body began to rupture from within.
A storm of blood rained down from the sky, and before long, a crimson river had formed across the ground.
At the same time, the Will of Blue Star rang out at last:
[Ding! Congratulations! Dragon Nation contestants Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw have successfully passed the Dreamlike Forest's final trial. Reward: ownership of the Dreamlike Forest.]
The next instant, the boundless wasteland vanished completely.
Adrian and Raven were returned once more to the ancient forest.
Towering trees stretched in every direction, each one suffused with a soft green glow.
Whoosh!
Then countless streams of green light rushed toward Adrian and Raven, pouring into their bodies from all sides.
The dazzling radiance wrapped around them completely.
In that instant, both Adrian and Raven's eyes widened in shock.
That brilliance seeped deep into their bodies.
A powerful life force spread through every organ, every vein, every inch of flesh.
"Wh-what is this?" Raven couldn't help exclaiming. Her eyes narrowed slightly as an indescribable sense of comfort washed through all her senses.
Adrian wore the same look of deep satisfaction.
"It looks like this light can heal every hidden injury inside our bodies."
All along the way, although the two of them had seemed unstoppable from the outside—even SS-rank creatures had been no match for them—and although all their visible wounds had long since healed…
the strain of wielding such tremendous power had still left countless unseen injuries buried within them.
And now, under the nourishment of that dense life force, every one of those hidden injuries was being erased.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
All at once, a series of bone-popping sounds rang out from Adrian's body.
Then, before everyone's eyes, Adrian's frame visibly lengthened once again. He had grown another full centimeter.
At the same time, Adrian slowly opened his eyes.
Two sharp beams of light seemed to flash outward from them.
Even though he was not in a combat state, his entire body radiated a fierce, dangerous presence.
At that moment, the black-clad grim reaper aura around him had subtly changed once more.
His white hair, his black short coat, the cold edges in his gaze—
all of it made him even more arresting than before.
Dragon Nation's livestream instantly devolved into shameless fangirl chaos.
"Wait, I need a screenshot! I'm preserving Eat-Stream Adrian Vale's beauty forever!"
"My eight-core desktop is already screaming. Every frame of my husband has been recorded!"
"I'm done for! Lord Adrian is mine! Mine for this entire lifetime!"
"To all the pretty girls above, calm down. Eat-Stream Adrian Vale only loves food. He has zero interest in beauty."
"My family owns a chain of restaurants. If Adrian gets with me, the best food in every city will be at his fingertips."
"Rich lady, what a legend!"
On the other side, Raven's body slowly rose about twenty centimeters off the ground, the rich life force continuously refining her body.
Her skin became even fairer than before, and a faint pale glow shimmered along its surface.
It was like moonlight had settled over her body.
Even the Tang blade in her hand appeared to be changing.
The dazzling light flowed into the blade itself.
Its surface began pulsing with a bright shimmer, flashing like a living thing.
Its rhythm changed from moment to moment, as though it had developed a heartbeat of its own.
At that moment, Raven lowered her gaze, her eyes glowing with astonishment.
Then, in the very next second, she clearly sensed it—
a faint life had awakened inside the Tang blade.
And from the depths of her consciousness came a tiny, childish sound.
At the same time, the Tang blade trembled slightly in her grip, letting out a series of soft hums.
That tiny voice, however, was something only Raven herself could hear.
Watching Raven stand there looking utterly dazed, Adrian's eyes immediately filled with obvious disdain.
That expression nearly made Dragon Nation's viewers laugh themselves senseless.
"Hahaha! I swear Adrian is finding new ways to嫌弃 Boss Raven every second!"
"But honestly, the two of them look ridiculously compatible…"
"Watch your mouth! My husband only belongs to me! He has no interest in other women!"
"The Eat-Stream Adrian Vale hardcore support club will keep him inside our club forever! No random hussies allowed!"
Of course, there were also many viewers whose attention had shifted entirely onto Raven.
If Raven had already been stunning before, now her beauty had risen to a level that genuinely made people lose their minds.
"Holy hell. She's not a woman anymore. She's a goddess. No, she's a fairy!"
"At this point even Chang'e from ancient myth wouldn't necessarily outshine her!"
"If I could say one sentence to Boss Raven, I'd willingly lose ten years of my life—no, fifteen!"
"What do I do? I suddenly have zero interest in tomorrow's wedding. Boss Raven, give me back my bride!"
"Brother above, my surname is Wang. If you don't mind, I can help tomorrow."
Just when everyone thought the Divine Tree's reward had already ended—
the brilliant radiance before the tree flared once more.
And in that instant, Adrian's expression changed completely as he let out a violent roar.
Bang! Bang!
Heavy sounds echoed one after another.
Then Adrian transformed again.
Crimson kagune erupted all around him.
And those kagune kept spreading. Kept lengthening. Kept multiplying.
Before long, the entire sky was covered in writhing crimson appendages.
The blood-red kagune moved as though alive, twisting and swaying through the air.
Adrian floated motionless at the center of them all, his eyes filled with a chilling indifference.
At that moment, he looked less like a human and more like a supreme god of slaughter.
The countless kagune moved with his will alone, as if they could pierce the very heavens.
Even if the Ancient Azure Dragon returned to life now, it would no longer stand a chance.
The endless crimson mass hanging over the sky made it seem as though the heavens themselves could be torn apart at any moment.
Dragon Nation's viewers were utterly stunned.
"A demon god! A real demon god! I knew from the start Adrian was walking the road of the demonic path!"
"I said it before—this guy's whole fighting style has always looked like straight-up demon arts!"
"Is Adrian still Adrian now? Will he still fight for Dragon Nation?"
A portion of the audience began to feel genuine unease.
After all, Adrian had become far too powerful.
So powerful that it already exceeded their understanding.
Inside the Dragon Nation studio, Bingbing immediately spoke in a firm voice:
"Everyone, please don't panic or overthink this. I believe Adrian will absolutely remain on Dragon Nation's side."
"There is nothing to explain here."
"The blood flowing through Adrian's veins and the blood flowing through ours all come from the same origin."
Ryan Cole slapped the table in excitement.
"Well said, Bingbing!"
"That's exactly right."
"We are all descendants of Yan and Huang. I believe Adrian will make the correct choice."
Professor Luo nodded emphatically as well.
"That's right."
"Adrian's strength becoming greater is something we should celebrate—not fear."
"He will absolutely remain on Dragon Nation's side."
Meanwhile, after seeing Adrian standing in midair like a true demon god, many foreign viewers immediately began shouting for him to defect to their countries.
"Adrian! You've awakened now! Miracle Nation is your true home!"
"That's right! If you're willing, we can arrange permanent Miracle Nation residency for you immediately!"
"Come to Eastern Isles, Adrian! Sword Saint-sama would definitely welcome you!"
After witnessing Adrian's overwhelming strength, many foreign viewers abruptly changed their attitude.
Gone were the sneers and mockery.
Now all they wanted was for Adrian to stand with them instead.
At this point, they had realized something very clearly—
they no longer had the qualifications to ridicule him.
In truth, Adrian was frozen in place not because of anything external, but because he himself was in shock.
The moment his body finished evolving, a flood of information about the Dreamlike Forest poured directly into his mind.
[Dreamlike Forest Authority]
1. Full command over the power of every Divine Tree within the domain, including the defensive powers surrounding the Divine Trees.
Just seeing the first line made Adrian's heart pound.
Because along the way, every Divine Tree had been guarded by powerful Divine Domain creatures.
Now all of those guardians were under his control—
including S-rank and even SS-rank creatures.
This meant the forces now in Adrian and Raven's hands had risen by several full levels.
They might be able to kill those creatures themselves—
but wielding them as obedient weapons was something else entirely.
2. Free entry and exit rights for the Dreamlike Forest.
The instant he understood that, Adrian realized something incredible.
As long as he and Raven were still inside the Divine Domain, they could enter and leave the Dreamlike Forest at will with a single thought.
Even certain creatures, if they chose to permit it, could be brought into the Dreamlike Forest with them.
At his side, Raven's eyes lit up with excitement.
"If that's true, then doesn't that mean…"
"As long as we're still in the Divine Domain, we now have an absolutely safe base?"
Adrian's lips slowly curled upward.
Then he nodded heavily.
All of this, however, was completely hidden by the Will of Blue Star.
To the outside world, all viewers could see was the two of them standing motionless.
Meanwhile, the livestream comments were exploding so fast they nearly blurred together.
"Lord Wuxian! Fahai is over by the sandstorm—go meet up with him!"
"Lord Wuxian, stop watching! Fahai is already in danger!"
"Lord Wuxian, go save Fahai! You're all Dragon Nation contestants!"
"Lord Wuxian can definitely save him!"
After noticing the information in the comments, Wuxian's expression turned instantly serious.
Whoosh!
The next moment, he became a white streak and shot straight toward the sandstorm ahead.
At the same time, on another side of the Divine Domain, Magneto, Venom / Eddie Brock, and Joker had already successfully met up.
Aside from Deadpool, all of Miracle Nation's contestants had now gathered together.
The strength of their three-man team had risen sharply.
And at that very moment, they too were heading straight toward the black sandstorm in the distance.
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