Flying through the air, Evan Chu gazed out at the endless yellow sands, feeling more than a little lost. He had absolutely no sense of direction—and as for where to find the Wind Spirit Pearl, he hadn’t the faintest clue.
"Evan Chu, the Wind Spirit Pearl is definitely going to be in a place where the wind is insanely fierce—like those Skywind or Obsidian Wind zones the Demon Lord mentioned. Getting it is guaranteed to be dangerous, so you’d better be mentally prepared. If I’m not mistaken, you’ll probably have to break through to the Sixth Layer of the Starforge Body here." Luna, the Sword Spirit, spoke up.
"You’re kidding, right? Breaking through the sixth layer of the Starforge Body in a place like this—are you trying to kill me?" Evan blurted out, startled. He knew all too well how agonizing it was to break through the layers of the Starforge Body; the higher the realm, the harder it got, and the pain just got worse.
"It’s not like I’m asking you to break through to the ninth layer, so what are you afraid of? If you really had the Ninth Layer of the Starforge Body, the Skywind and Obsidian Wind in Skywind Valley wouldn’t be able to hurt you at all. Even Thunder Pool would be nothing." Luna replied.
The defensive power of the Ninth Layer of the Starforge Body was so terrifying that Evan didn’t even dare imagine it. He had no idea if he’d ever get there anyway. For now, it was better to just focus on slowly searching for the Wind Spirit Pearl, so he activated his teleportation ability and instantly vanished again.
It didn’t take long for Evan to land on top of a tall sand dune. From up there, he could see tons of giant footprints stamped into the sand—these must have been left by monster beasts roaming Skywind Valley.
Evan spread out his divine sense and carefully scanned the surroundings, but after half a day he still hadn’t found any clues. His face showed a hint of disappointment. If he could actually run into a monster beast that could speak human words, that would be a huge help in tracking down news about the Wind Spirit Pearl.
"Why not just follow these footprints and hunt down the monster beast myself? With my flying speed, I should be able to catch up to it." Evan muttered to himself.
Once he figured that out, he shot up into the sky and started flying slowly along the trail of footprints. Every so often, he’d see the endless yellow sand whipped up into the air. Each time, Evan used Earthshift to burrow his body into the sand and hide.
This time, after diving into the sand, he suddenly discovered a Flame Serpent several meters long wriggling through the yellow grains. The serpent hadn’t noticed him at all, and Evan was genuinely delighted to spot it.
This was the first monster beast he’d run into since entering Skywind Valley. If there were Flame Serpents, there had to be a Flame Serpent King—and maybe the Flame Serpent King could actually speak. If he could subdue it, his biggest problem would be solved.
Evan knew that if he wanted the Flame Serpent King to show up, he’d have to use this Flame Serpent to lure it out. He slowly closed in, and when he got near, he threw a punch—deliberately holding back, afraid he might kill the thing with a single blow.
But when his fist landed on the Flame Serpent’s body, it felt like he’d punched a wall of solid bronze—his arm went numb from the impact.
"No way—a regular Flame Serpent’s body is this tough? That’s just freaky," Evan exclaimed in shock.
The Flame Serpent instantly sensed Evan’s attack and shot up from the sand, letting out a raspy, furious roar.
Evan popped out of the sand and studied the Flame Serpent, only to realize it looked different from the ones he’d seen before. It didn’t have scales on its belly, and there were two half-meter-long legs sticking out underneath, making it look bizarre and mismatched.
"Is this thing a dragon or a snake? What a weird-looking creature—this world really is full of surprises," Evan laughed.
Just then, the Flame Serpent spotted Evan and instantly spat out a ball of black fire. The temperature was so intense it made the surrounding air hiss and crackle.
Evan’s heart skipped a beat. A small Flame Serpent spitting black fire? That was anything but normal—maybe this thing was actually a seriously powerful monster beast.
He dodged aside in a flash, narrowly avoiding the black fireball, then swung his Frostbane Sword in a heavy slash—using Tyrant Cleave. Given how tough this thing seemed, it should be able to take at least one of his serious hits.
The sword qi slammed into the Flame Serpent’s body, and a harsh metallic clang rang out. The Frostbane Sword shook violently in Evan’s grip, making his heart tremble in sync. He couldn’t believe this thing’s defense was so insane—it was almost unimaginable.
Maybe that slash had pissed the Flame Serpent off, because it started roaring even louder. Its body, originally red, turned cyan and began to swell rapidly. Evan Chu should have realized by now that his casual move had provoked the real deal.
In no time at all, the Flame Serpent had grown to the size of an Azure Spirit Drake—what was even stranger, a pair of massive, dragon-like horns had sprouted from its head, glowing with eerie light.
Evan was so stunned he could barely speak. This thing was way tougher than he’d expected, and it looked like he’d accidentally provoked the real boss. Clearly, this was a ferocious beast.
To run into a ferocious beast just by randomly burrowing into the sand—his luck was so off-the-charts that it was almost enough to make him cough up blood from frustration, if only he could.
"Evan Chu, that’s no Flame Serpent—it’s a Savage Earth Dragon, technically a member of your Dragon Clan. It’s the lowest tier of dragonkind, but even this lowest level is stronger than most dragons in the Dragon Shrine." Luna, the Sword Spirit, explained.
"Its strength is probably at the peak of the seventh layer or even the eighth layer of the Saint Martial Realm, and it can use the Dragon Clan’s signature technique, Dragonflame. You need to be careful," Luna added.
"A member of the Dragon Clan? Then why does it sound like a snake? Is it some kind of dragon-snake hybrid? Maybe I can get the whereabouts of the Wind Spirit Pearl out of it," Evan mused.
At that moment, the Savage Earth Dragon suddenly spoke: "Human, why did you attack me? Challenging the dignity of the Dragon Clan is asking for death—don’t you know that?"
"You call yourself a dragon? With just two claws? You’re a disgrace to the Dragon Clan," Evan shot back, making the Savage Earth Dragon howl in fury, its massive body kicking up clouds of yellow sand.
The dragon’s huge tail whipped toward Evan in a brutal attack—if it landed, he’d be sent flying dozens of meters.
"Evan Chu, this thing’s a member of the Dragon Clan and so are you. Taking it down should be a breeze—just transform into your dragon form and make it submit," Luna urged.
"I’m not even sure I can transform—my bloodline isn’t fully awakened yet. The only times I’ve turned into a dragon were totally involuntary," Evan replied.
Just then, the Savage Earth Dragon spat another blast of black fire at Evan—this one was way bigger than before, flooding the area with searing heat. If Evan hadn’t dodged in time, he’d have been swallowed up by the flames...