“Brother Bi Fan, you will need to be a little careful of Wu San in the future, he’s a very petty man, and is well-known for holding a grudge. I beat him in the past once, and he’s been trying to get his revenge on me ever since, I barely managed to escape the last few times.” w.a.n.g Zhong cautioned.
Lone Leaf nodded in agreement: “Indeed, don’t fall for his gentle and cultured appearance; Wu San is a deviously cunning man.”
Since Lone Leaf and w.a.n.g Zhong were both cautioning him, Bi Fan thought that it’s best to make note of it and take preemptive measures, by keeping an eye out for him.
He didn’t fear his enemies, but he did fear enemies disguised as friends.
Caution is always better than cure.
Bi Fan’s party started moving forward in search of more beasts.
The Devil’s Abyss was a vast and boundless territory, and one could make unimaginable fortunes inside this Abyss, given they had the ability.
And who doesn’t want more wealth. So whenever the four of them came across any beasts, they would naturally take a swing.
Along the way, they also encountered several human beings, mostly engaged in combat with beasts. But their group was always on alert, and so, they didn’t bother to stop for a chat.
Bi Fan was relentlessly searching for strong demons to train on, but unfortunately, that greatly depended on luck, which, at the moment, wasn’t tipping to his side.
Bi Fan wanted to get his hands on an ‘emerging from the Womb’ layer demon, but that encounter, was still, nothing more than a spec of his imagination at the moment.
The Four of them were young, and fearless, and so naturally, the thought of fighting against the layer’s king, crossed their minds.
“Regardless of how powerful the first layer’s king is, we must seek him out and give it a shot. It will definitely help us enhance our strength, and add to our knowledge as well.” Blue Dragon was as enthusiastic as ever.
w.a.n.g Zhong said: “I have no experience in that matter, I have tried searching for him in the past as well, but I have never been able to find him.”
“I also want to see what he’s made off, because most people, who come across the layer boss, don’t usually live to tell the tale. In fact, a lot of my brothers at Bei Ming have died at the hands of the Layer King, so I don’t have much knowledge on that subject either.” Lone Leaf added.
Bi Fan smiled: “So what, lets continue to look for it.”
Youthful, permeating with fervor, and devoid of fear of anything under the sun, the four of them set out.
“Run Ah! There’s Dark Drake (A black Dragon) up ahead. He killed my mates!” A youngster, covered in blood, making for a very sorry figure, rushed towards them from the front, and sped past them, away from the direction he was coming from.
His warning hadn’t gone in vain, and Bi Fan made a note that there might be danger ahead.
Subsequently, they came across several other people, fleeing from the same direction, in a state of complete disarray. Some of these youngsters were almost as strong as the ‘enormous strength’ layer.
“Brother Bi Fan, what should we do now? Some of these people were into the ‘enormous strength’ layer, should we wait a while and lay low till the danger has pa.s.sed?” Lone Leaf looked worried.
Bi Fan had been looking to test himself out to the limit for a while now, and was always on the lookout of a strong opponent, so naturally he didn’t want to run away from this opportunity.
Bi Fan glanced at his companions, Lone Leaf, Blue Dragon and w.a.n.g Zhong. Lone Leaf looked ready to abandon the ship and retreat, Blue Dragon seemed eager and excited, as always, and even though w.a.n.g Zhong’s face was devoid of any expressions, his eyes were flaming with a desire to fight.
“A Dark Drake! Just imagine, if we can somehow kill it, we might be able to get our hands on a Dragon nucleus. We simply can’t lose this opportunity.” Bi Fan smiled.
Nuclei were a rare and precious commodity. But a Dragon Nucleus, that was far too rare, and far too valuable.
The possibility of obtaining a Dragon Nucleus was obviously very low, but nevertheless, there was still a chance.
Bi Fan’s words were enough to ignite a fire inside everyone’s soul, and it appeared as if the whole lot was just waiting to get their hands on the Dragon, so they could slaughter it. Even Lone Leaf wasn’t afraid of the Dragon anymore.
Moreover, a nucleus wasn’t the only valuable thing that could be procured from a Dragon. A Dragon’s carca.s.s was a nothing short of a gold mine; every part had a use and, obviously, an a.s.sociated value. The Dragon’s skin, Dragon’s flesh, blood, tendons, and even his teeth could be sold for a very high price.
A Dragon’s blood could be used to amplify and refine physical strength. His hide could be used to manufacture top quality leather, tendons could be used to make bow strings, and his teeth could be used to make weapons such as daggers.
If they managed to kill a Dark Drake, they would certainly end up making a whole lot of money.
Just imagining the rewards, was enough to make them toss the fear of fighting an actual Dragon, aside.
“Let’s go and see how powerful this Dragon really is. I’d reckon that there would be an awful lot of people around it as well.” Bi Fan discussed the course of action.
Humans are an avaricious breed, and sometimes, this greed can grow so big, that one might even fling aside the fear of death to sate it.
At the moment, Bi Fan and his comrades had no idea about this Dragon’s prowess, and in case, he turned out to be an ‘emerging from the Womb’ layer Dragon, then it would be awfully difficult to deal with it.
So, at the moment, Bi Fan hadn’t set any concreate thought structure in his mind, as he wanted to take a look at situation first. If the Drake was too strong, then maybe it was best to retreat.
Bi Fan’s four man group, along with the Chimera, which was following them, concealed in the shadows, made their way forward, completely ignoring all the beasts that they encountered on the route.
Along the way, they b.u.mped into humans every now and then, fleeing from the scene of the battle, and it looked that they had given it their fair share of a shot, but had been unsuccessful. Most looked like they had been injured pretty badly, and almost all of them were stained with blood.
w.a.n.g Zhong caught hold of one of the youngsters who was fleeing away from the scene, and asked: “Which way, and how far?”
“The Dark Drake is three kilometers up ahead and to the right. He’s already killed a lot of people and I’ll urge you to give up the idea of fighting it, and run as far away from it as possible.” He looked directly in the eyes of Bi Fan’s group as he cautioned them, and they could clearly see the fear and resentment, which dwelled in his eyes.
w.a.n.g Zhong released the youngster, and he ran away.
“Everyone, be very careful. We have no idea how strong the Dragon is, so let’s first go and get some insight into the matter.” Bi Fan stated.
The four of them sped up, and covered the three kilometers that separated them from the Dragon in no time at all.
“Zhumm….” The noise from the fighting was so intense, that it could shatter ears.
The Dragon’s body was covered with Dark colored Scales, which were gleaming, magnificently. He stood almost ten meters in height; and his tail was at least twenty meters in length.
“RRRGHHHH!” The Dark Drake issued a deafening roar, and Bi Fan’s ears buzzed from the sound.
The Dark Drake was surrounded by several strong fighters, at least a dozen or so of them. The weakest of the men, who were laying siege to it, was probably around the ‘spiritual intelligence’ layer, while there was absolutely no shortage of the ‘transformation’ layer martial artists here.
Most of these people belonged to different schools, and weren’t exactly collaborating with each other. Their attacks weren’t organized in any manner whatsoever.
The weapons they were using were simply incapable of hurting the Dragon, so much so, that even low-grade magical weapons were ineffective against the Dark Drake’s scales.
In contrast to the humans, whenever the Drake swept his tail, someone or the other was forced to withdraw, owing to injuries, that is, if they survived the attack in the first place.
Fortunately, this Dragon was still a youngling, and wasn’t capable of breaking Dragon Fire just yet. Otherwise, he would have wreaked havoc, and the number of causalities would have been beyond count.
But even then, using just his body parts; his claws, his teeth, and his tail, the Dragon was able to impose his will in every direction; he was nothing short of invincible at the moment.
w.a.n.g Zhong was carefully studying the Dark Drake, as he tried to ascertain its true strength.
“You guys be careful. The Dark Drake is at least as strong as the ‘transformation’ layer, and is insanely powerful, physically. I’d reckon that he’s at least around the ‘spiritual intelligence’ layer, in terms of sheer physical force, which effectively makes him as strong as an ‘emerging from the Womb’ layer demon.”
After w.a.n.g Zhong’s a.s.sessment, Bi Fan, Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf, became even more cautious than before.
Lone Leaf, especially, after seeing so many of the Big School students being beaten to a pulp, was beginning to change his decision, as his cowardice crept into his heart.
“Zi Xuan School’s Zi Hou is also here, and he too, is being thrashed around!” Lone Leaf was completely astounded.
Lone Leaf’s eyes were following a man, a lone man, dressed in purple colored robes. His robes had been torn in many places, and his face was barely visible, as it covered in blood.
This man, it appeared, was reaching the pinnacle of the ‘transformation’ layer, and simply wasn’t willing to back down, and as result, was engaged in an altruistic battle with the Dragon.
“That man is really strong; he might be able to kill the Dark Drake if someone supported him. But it appears that several of companions have let him down already.” w.a.n.g Zhong’s pa.s.sed his judgement, while his tone remained devoid of any kind of emotions.
Lone Leaf added: “Zi Hou is Zi Xuan Sect’s most powerful young talent. He is really strong, and exceptionally skilled; I never thought I’d ever see him being belittled so easily.”
“There are so many strong fighters here, but they simply don’t know how to co-operate with each other. What a complete waste.” Bi Fan remarked: “And then, there are so many spectators here as well. If someone does manage to kill the Dragon, then, this place will turn into a blood bath over the Dragon’s remains.”
“Brother Bi Fan, what’s the plan?” Blue Dragon asked.
Bi Fan sneered: “The idea is, of course, to retreat.”
His remark, left Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf, scratching their heads, as they simply couldn’t understand why, but they decided that this wasn’t the place to ask such questions.
They figured that Bi Fan had decided to retreat due to the Dragon’s strength and ferocity.
The four of them receded their footsteps, quickly, without the slightest of delays.
With the four of them gone, all the eyeb.a.l.l.s returned to the battle.
Had the four of them gone ahead and joined the fray, then it would have definitely given rise to another, completely different battle.