"Crack!" Just before the girl, slightly shorter than him, could land a punch on his face, the Yinhuang youth Heijin raised his left arm to block the blow. However, this defense only shifted the location of his injury.
As Xue Li's fist connected with his left arm, a crisp sound of bone cracking echoed. His arm bent unnaturally, breaking under the force.
Despite the intense pain, Heijin didn't cry out but merely grunted in discomfort. The pain distracted him briefly, leaving him vulnerable to another attack.
As Heijin staggered back from the pain, the dragonborn girl Xue Li didn't hesitate to kick him in the abdomen, forcing him to retreat several more steps.
The group of Yinhuang people accompanying Heijin made no move to help him. Instead, they all stepped back. Even in different worlds, some basic rules remain the same.
When Xue Li attacked Heijin, it was immediately understood as a battle, one initiated by Xue Li openly and fairly. The Yinhuang people considered it a fair duel between the two, so they cooperatively gave them space to fight. Even though some were displeased at seeing Heijin being beaten, none stepped in to assist.
This behavior from the Yinhuang people prompted some dragonborn on the surrounding towers, as well as patrolling giants, to stop and watch the fight between Xue Li and Heijin without interfering.
"With such weak skills, you still dare to mock others?" Xue Li laughed boldly after forcing Heijin back with just a punch and a kick, looking at the muscular youth with undisguised pride.
"You're strong. I admit I underestimated you before, and I apologize for my earlier behavior." Heijin touched his broken arm and the deep, foot-shaped dent in his stomach, his face becoming serious.
The winged serpent tattoo coiled around Heijin's left arm and shoulder began to emit a faint glow. Radiant light spread over the youth's two obvious injuries, and then a surge of intense life energy poured out.
Before long, the two gruesome wounds on Heijin's body healed at a visible speed, leaving no trace of injury. Additionally, a large, spectral feathered serpent emerged from his arm, hovering behind him menacingly as it glared at the golden-armored giantess.
"Now, this is my true power," Heijin said seriously to Xue Li. "Although I made the mistake of underestimating you, I don't want you to look down on my people because of me."
"Then show me your strength to the fullest!" Despite the bone armor generated from her dragon blood, Xue Li's feminine features remained apparent, but her demeanor was anything but delicate. She acted more like a battle-hardened warrior.
"Let me see just how powerful you've become with that little snake on your back!" With that, the golden-armored giantess pushed off with her foot, her body shooting forward as a golden blur toward the Yinhuang giant, who was slightly larger than her.
"As you wish. I won't disappoint you." Heijin charged at the armored giantess without holding back, not letting her gender soften his blows. In this vast, primal land, when men lose their strength, women must also fight.
Boom! Under one of the tall towers, the two clashed violently, a powerful shockwave radiating from the impact. Yet no one around them retreated, as the difference in strength wasn't so great. Anyone standing here was no ordinary person.
...
"Your Highness, are we just going to let them fight? Shouldn't we send someone to stop it?" On the high platform, the Flame Dragon Princess and former pirate queen Sephilia softly asked.
"No need, let them fight. The more they fight, the better they'll understand each other, and the less conflict they'll have later," Muria replied with a smile, watching the battling youths below.
"Isn't it bad for future integration if conflicts start as soon as they arrive?" Sephilia asked, concerned, drawing on her experience as a former leader.
"As long as the conflicts are within a controllable range, it's fine. It's actually good that they get to know each other through their fists at first," Muria explained. He predicted that these kinds of fights would help build mutual respect.
As expected, the fight ended in a draw. Neither the Yinhuang youth Heijin nor the dragonborn girl Xue Li had much combat experience. Heijin had only just gained his totemic power, while Xue Li, despite undergoing the dragon blood ritual six years ago, had primarily studied theoretical knowledge without much training in practical combat. However, after entering this world, they both immediately received specialized meditation and breathing techniques tailored by Muria.
As Muria had anticipated, this fight didn't cause any significant issues. The Yinhuang people developed a sense of awe for everyone in the Void City, realizing that even the seemingly small and unimposing dragonborn could transform into massive armored giants capable of fighting them.
Meanwhile, the dragonborn and giants from higher-tier worlds in the Void City also began to show some respect for the locals, especially since a mere young Yinhuang giant could fight evenly with one of their strongest dragonborn. They couldn't help but wonder what the warriors from more advanced regions of Yinhuang were capable of. However, the dragons still looked down on the Yinhuang giants, as they generally held a condescending attitude toward all non-draconic beings and those of lower rank.
Thus, under Muria's deliberate guidance, the giants and dragonborn of the Void City and the Yinhuang giants he had conquered began to interact more, sending teams to observe and exchange experiences, gradually developing a tendency to coexist.
This shift pleased Muria greatly, as the Yinhuang giants were destined to play a significant role under his command, potentially even replacing the cloud giants. After all, their sheer numbers made them a force to be reckoned with.
...
"Mother, you're back!" After nearly a month of absence, the Golden Dragoness finally reappeared before Muria. When she returned to where she had last parted from Muria, she found the once shattered land transformed into a rapidly expanding city.
"Hmm, what's going on here?" The Golden Dragoness asked in surprise as Muria led her through the swiftly developing Void City. Almost all the giants and dragons, aside from those on patrol, were engaged in constructing the city. With so many beings possessing extraordinary power involved, the city seemed to change with every passing moment.
For a hill giant of merely gold rank, manipulating earth to construct a building was a simple task that took only minutes. And for the more numerous cloud giants, engraving runes on the structures didn't take much time either.
"I'm having them build a city," Muria said, rubbing his nose and smiling somewhat sheepishly. "When you left, I discovered an enormous amount of mineral resources in this area. I figured it would be a waste to leave them underground, so I decided to extract them and convert them into combat power."
"Really?" The Golden Dragoness looked toward the city's central area, where a grand building was under construction, only its foundation laid so far. It appeared to be a twin-tower structure. "A Stargate!"
"You've already started building something like this?" The Golden Dragoness was astonished, looking at her son in disbelief. "Just how many resources did you find underground here?"
Normally, a Stargate would only be built after a conqueror had subdued a medium-sized world, requiring the combined manpower and resources of the entire world. As for a small world, it wouldn't even be possible to construct one.
Yet Muria, less than half a year after arriving in this world, had already begun constructing such a resource-intensive structure. It was almost unbelievable.
"Hehe." Muria chuckled, saying nothing more. He led his mother into the castle built for him by the cloud giants and laid out a resource map that had been compiled and gathered in front of her.
"This is the resource distribution map beneath our feet." The Golden Dragoness couldn't help but gasp in amazement as she examined the map. She had expected something impressive upon seeing the Stargate under construction, but she was still stunned by the sheer volume of resources contained within the land.
"This must be the concentration of the entire Yinhuang world's resources, where all the world's essence has gathered." The Golden Dragoness's eyes sparkled as she looked at the map. With these resources, she could accomplish so much more, knowing that the strength of an array is closely tied to the materials used and the geographical location.
Of course, as the one setting up the arrays, it was perfectly reasonable for her to take a portion of the materials as her payment. After all, no mother works for her son for free.
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