"Roar! The dragon emerges from the deep valley, its might shaking the eight wildernesses!"
At dawn, a clear, resonant dragon roar, like thunder, echoed through the back mountains of Jia Nan Academy, reverberating across the vast forest.
The magical beasts in the area sensed an overwhelming, unfamiliar pressure. Their panicked roars hushed, and their eyes filled with terror.
"A… dragon? There's actually a legendary dragon in Jia Nan Academy's back mountains?!" A group of students, busy handling a magical beast corpse, turned toward the sound.
In the distant sky, a massive golden creature appeared, its sleek, powerful body adorned with sturdy claws and gleaming talons. Golden scales, tightly packed, extended from large to small toward its tail, where golden lightning arcs danced like a colossal whip of thunder.
As it moved, it stirred fierce winds, dispersing the surrounding clouds and faintly distorting space, exuding an aura of majesty and mystery.
"Jia Nan Academy does have a golden dragon, raised by the Lord of Purple Sky, but I heard it's only about a foot long, not this massive!"
"Look! There's someone… no, a corpse on the dragon's head!"
As the words fell, a pair of red-black eyes on the dragon's head glanced faintly toward them.
Instantly, the students felt enveloped by an alternating chill and heat, bone-piercing cold clashing with scorching discomfort.
Frozen in silence, the sensation vanished as quickly as it came. They exhaled in relief, then shot glares at the student who'd spoken.
"My lord, some dare disrespect you. Shall this dragon teach them a lesson?" The little golden dragon, sensing Xiao Bai's movement, fawned with a grin.
Recalling the five-colored lights in the valley earlier, it shuddered. This guy's too terrifying now. One brush with those lights, and my origin nearly flew out of me.
"No nonsense!" Xiao Bai glanced down, shaking his head. "Hurry to the Snow Demon Sky Ape's valley!"
"Got it!" With a flick of its tail, the dragon shot hundreds of meters forward.
___
Unnamed Small Valley
A tiny figure sat atop a boulder, clutching a fist-sized golden fruit, nibbling away. Golden juice smeared her lips, and her short legs dangled, swinging idly in the air, exuding a carefree air.
"What're you staring at, big guy? Wanna fight?"
Her large, dark eyes flicked toward the white giant ape glaring at her from the cave entrance. She shook her delicate fist defiantly.
"Roar!"
The Snow Demon Sky Ape roared, its massive face twisted in fury. This pest had been guarding the spot, preventing it from moving an inch from the cave.
Though it had the upper hand in their clashes, her elusive movements left it helpless. It couldn't defeat her, nor could it drive her away.
"So loud!" The small figure grumbled, taking another bite of the fruit. Swallowing the juicy pulp whole, she frowned and muttered, "Tastes awful!"
As the two—one large, one small—locked eyes in a standoff, a sudden aura approached at breakneck speed, instantly alerting both.
They turned toward the same direction, spotting a golden speck in the distance. In a blink, a massive figure loomed over the valley.
"My lord, we're here!" The little golden dragon surveyed the valley below, its gaze landing on the white giant ape—a fifth-tier magical beast they'd seen en route to Thunderfall Valley.
"Hm? Someone else is here? No… that's not human!"
As its eyes shifted to the tiny figure clutching half a fruit, the dragon's pupils froze, then widened in shock. "This aura… why does it feel so familiar?"
Its face twisted in frustration, the sensation nagging yet elusive, leaving it vexed.
Xiao Bai, too, stared at the small girl below, surprised. Dressed in tattered white clothes, she looked about eleven or twelve. Her light purple hair cascaded to her waist, and her large, dark, watery eyes blinked up at the sky. Her fair cheeks, like carved jade, were smudged with golden juice from the half-eaten fruit in her hands, giving her an adorably dazed look.
Zi Yan, huh? Xiao Bai hadn't expected to encounter her here. Seeing the fruit, his lips twitched. What a bite!
The fruit was a fifth-tier Golden Bodhi Fruit, sour, bitter, and notoriously tough. Even a fifth-tier alchemist would struggle to process it, yet this girl was chomping it raw!
Poor kid. She's got a father standing at the continent's peak, her status no less than Xun Er's, yet she's living like this.
Shaking his head, Xiao Bai stomped lightly. "If you can't remember, stop trying. Let's head down."
Noticing the dragon's conflicted expression, he had a hunch. The dragon's form suggested a connection to the Taixu Ancient Dragon, which wasn't surprising.
"Fine!" The dragon dropped its puzzling thoughts, its body twisting as it descended into the valley.
"Roar!"
The Snow Demon Sky Ape tensed, sensing grave danger from the dragon and the skeletal human.
"Move!"
Xiao Bai could feel the dense earth energy within the cave behind the ape. His Wu Earth Nether Thunder stirred, emitting faint thunderclaps, and excitement surged within him. This place could definitely resolve his current predicament.
"Roar!"
The ape's fur bristled, its red eyes locked on the approaching human. It roared threateningly, refusing to budge.
"Hm, you want what's inside too?"
A crisp, childish voice rang out. Xiao Bai turned to the dirty white-clad girl on the boulder.
Her fruit was gone, her cheeks puffed like a sneaky hamster chewing. Her dark eyes stared straight at him.
"You know what's in there?" Xiao Bai's sunken eyes, flickering with red-black light, seemed to smile.
"Nope!" The girl shook her head, her legs swinging. "But my nose is great. I can smell the huge energy inside!"
"You want it!"
"Yup, yup! To grow big, I need to eat lots of stuff like that!" She nodded, her small hands tracing a large circle in the air.
"I need what's inside," Xiao Bai said, shaking his head.
"That big guy's tough as nails, not easy to deal with. If you share just a tiny bit of what's inside, I'll help you fight it. Deal?"
She pinched her thumb and forefinger to show "a tiny bit," her bright eyes hopeful, as if worried he'd doubt her strength due to her size. Patting her chest proudly, she declared, "Don't worry! I'm super strong. With me, that big guy's toast!"
"Haha, tempting offer. Seems I've no reason to refuse." Xiao Bai chuckled at her earnest, adorable attempt to convince him.
Just as the girl's face lit up, thinking he'd agreed, his next words deflated her.
"But I refuse."
___
The girl clenched her tiny fists, her fair cheeks puffing angrily. Her dark eyes glared at Xiao Bai, itching to pounce, though a trace of wariness lingered.
"You wanna hit me but scared you can't win?"
Xiao Bai teased, unable to resist poking fun at the fuming little pufferfish.
The little golden dragon watched its master—urgent moments ago, now leisurely teasing this oddly familiar girl—with exasperation, its massive eyes rolling upward.
Ugh, so annoying! I wanna swallow this pesky skeleton! Zi Yan's face darkened, her eyes boring into Xiao Bai as she ground her teeth.
"Heh, alright, little Zi Yan, no more teasing. If it were something else, I'd share, but I need this thing," Xiao Bai said, waving a hand with a soft laugh.
"How do you—"
"Roar!"
The Snow Demon Sky Ape, though unable to speak, was no fool. Sensing Xiao Bai's determination to claim its treasure, it unleashed a earth-shaking roar, trembling the valley and cutting off Zi Yan's words.
"I meant to spare you, but you can't see the situation clearly."
Xiao Bai's tone grew grave as he eyed the ape guarding the cave. His eyes flashed, and he extended his right arm, shouting, "Form spear!"
To Zi Yan's wide-eyed astonishment, the massive dragon beside him, its aura faintly familiar, shimmered. Golden lightning twisted, and a golden spear materialized in Xiao Bai's hand.
Xiao Bai tested the spear with a few swings, nodding slightly.
In his current weakened state, this was the fastest way to deal with the ape. The Thunder Dragon Sky-Splitting Spear wasn't fully mastered and felt rough, but with the little golden dragon's aid, handling this fifth-tier Snow Demon Sky Ape—comparable to a five-star Dou Wang—was no issue.
"Let's fight!"
Xiao Bai bellowed, the spear's gleaming tip aimed at the ape.
"Roar! (You dare bully this beast!)"
The white ape howled, its killing intent echoing skyward. Its claws frosted over, and like twin mountains, they tore through the air, smashing toward Xiao Bai.
Unfazed by the ferocious aura, Xiao Bai gripped the spear single-handedly. With a flick, golden lightning arcs sparked at the tip, splitting into two chilling stars that shot toward the descending claws.
As the golden gleams struck, they morphed into two ferocious golden dragon heads, biting savagely at the ape's claws.
Bang!
Hiss… hiss…
"Roar!"
A valley-shaking crash rang out, laced with the sound of something being pierced. The ape let out an agonized, furious roar, its massive body staggering back.
"So… so strong!" Zi Yan gaped at the wailing ape, her mouth agape.
She'd clashed with those claws yesterday, her fists pounding them to no avail. Yet this golden dragon-turned-spear had effortlessly pierced gaping, bloody wounds.
Through the holes, the ape's twisted, pained face was visible.
Xiao Bai glanced at the now-clear cave entrance, shaking the spear clean of blood. Its surface gleamed pristine.
Stepping forward, he headed toward the dark cave.
"Roar!"
"Watch out! It's going berserk!"
A furious beastly roar and a crisp, childish cry sounded in unison.
Xiao Bai spun around as a blurry red streak hurtled toward him.
To think the ape, instead of fleeing, would keep fighting. His eyes blazed.
"Courting death!"
Yellowish-gray thunder light surged across his body, pouring into the golden spear. Instantly, the spear glowed brilliantly, its tip trembling, faintly warping space.
"Go!"
With a sharp cry, the spear shot forth as a golden streak, aimed at the blurry figure.
Boom!
Xiao Bai glanced at the dust-choked valley wall, then turned and entered the cave.
"Guard the entrance. No one enters!"
"Got it!"
"It's… over?!"
Zi Yan, clutching a cyan fruit with two shallow bite marks, blinked at the settling dust.
Two ten-meter-long trenches scarred the valley floor, likely from the ape's feet dragging. On the stone wall, a four-to-five-zhang-tall, blood-furred ape hung, its face contorted. A golden spear pinned it through the brow, its red eyes dimming, a trace of disbelief lingering.
The old man was right. The outside… is terrifying! Zi Yan had once scoffed at the elder's rule against leaving the inner academy. She'd survived outside before, hadn't she? But now…
This Snow Demon Sky Ape, which she couldn't defeat, was nailed dead with one thrust. Imagining herself facing that spear, with its faintly familiar energy, she shivered. Even her trusty talent wouldn't save her.
Whoosh!
A golden flash, and the ape's brow bore only a sparking blood hole. The spear vanished, reforming as the massive dragon.
"What… what do you want?" Zi Yan flinched as the dragon's head loomed close, nearly dropping her fruit. Swallowing hard, she stammered, "Don't mess around! I'll… I'll call the old man!"
"Old man? Who?" The dragon, probing her aura, asked casually. Few in Jia Nan Academy could make it wary.
"Su Qian!"
"Holy—!" The dragon nearly leaped, guiltily scanning the surroundings. It had swallowed the nameless black thunder orb in Thunderfall Valley. If that old man found out, who knew what'd happen?
"Haha, why didn't you say so? We're family! No need to trouble the Great Elder!" Seeing no one around, the dragon relaxed, scratching its head with a sheepish grin.