The Divine and the Fallen

The Sacred Light Dragon’s incantations wove through the air, exploding in scattered radiance, while its wings carved vast arcs like twin divine blades, cleaving and slashing against the Fallen Angel.

The primal energy roiled violently. Those below could clearly sense that this was a battle of terrifying scale.

Under Yizhen’s quiet explanations, Xiao Chen began to understand the nature of the Fallen Angel race.

The Fallen Angels were an ancient race, near-divine beings. Though as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, their combat prowess was unmatched—the strongest among them were true gods.

Many lesser races in the World of Immortality worshipped them as deities, which had drawn the ire of certain otherworldly gods. Rumor had it that the Fallen Angels had been hunted to the brink of extinction, and none had appeared on the mainland for over a century.

An ancient race of gods.

The more Xiao Chen learned, the more the World of Immortality seemed shrouded in unfathomable mystery.

“Two demigod-level beings, locked in such a ferocious battle,” Yizhen said with a sigh.

“The Sacred Light Dragon is clearly losing ground,” exclaimed Arold, the forest tribe’s young expert. “The Fallen Angel fights mercilessly—she drove it here, intending to force it down onto Dragon Island!”

Kaeo, the towering three-meter barbarian youth, nodded. “That’s likely it. Even unsealed winged dragons, once they fall onto Dragon Island, will lose their divine powers forever.”

The Sacred Light Dragon roared in fury, finally taking human form. It wreathed itself in a mist of rainbow light, clashing savagely with the Fallen Angel. The terrible shockwaves spread in all directions, sensed by the dragons of the island—distant roars answered from the island’s depths.

At last, the Sacred Light Dragon was beaten back into its colossal true body. With a roar of pure rage, it plummeted toward Dragon Island. Its wings had been wounded by the Fallen Angel’s energy greatsword, and a stream of netherworld light struck its body.

Thus the battle ended. The onlookers knew that once the Sacred Light Dragon entered Dragon Island, it would forever lose its former divine powers, its divine nature subsumed by bestial instinct.

The Fallen Angel dared not approach the island either. After her victory, she vanished into the sky like a streak of black light.

For a long time, the coconut grove remained silent. The sight of such demigod combat had left everyone awestruck.

“A demigod is a demigod,” said Kaeo, the steel-cast barbarian youth, breaking the silence. Then, facing Yan Qingcheng, Rand, and Yizhen, he added, “Since we’ve all reached Dragon Island safely, let us part ways. Arold and I will go ahead.”

Arold nodded to Yan Qingcheng’s party, then strode off alongside Kaeo into the island’s depths. One stood three meters tall, strong as a great ape; the other was slight and slender as a willow—a strange but complementary pair. Barbarians and Forest tribes had been allies for generations, their abilities blending well together.

Xiao Chen smiled bitterly at himself. The two departing had seemed to overlook him entirely.

Rand, the golden-haired Western spellmaster whose aura burned like a sun, smiled at Yizhen. “Venerable Yizhen, the Celestial Maiden Qingcheng and I have decided to join forces. Will you join us?”

Yan Qingcheng, as beautiful and peerless as a celestial maiden, also offered a captivating smile. “If Senior Brother Yizhen joins us, the three of us will surely achieve great gains.”

Yizhen was a disciple of the Dharma lineage. After great figures like Laozi and the Buddha had vanished, Dharma had become one of the highest traditions in the East. Even the immortal evil tyrant Shi Zhixuan dared not lightly challenge them. Naturally, the Dharma lineage commanded respect.

“Heh, no thank you. I have a senior brother who may also come to Dragon Island. I’ll wait for him by the shore for a few days.”

“In that case, we’ll go ahead.” Rand and Yan Qingcheng took their leave of Yizhen and disappeared into the coconut forest, seeming to have forgotten Xiao Chen’s existence.

Xiao Chen smiled wryly to himself again, but said nothing. In this world, power was everything. If he were a renowned expert, no one would dare slight him. Still, he would not despise himself. The waves would sift the sand; time would prove who was true gold.

After gathering enough sea salt, Xiao Chen bade farewell to Yizhen and set off. He needed to deal with Guluo and Zhao Lin’er quickly, before any more complications arose. Fallen Angels and Sacred Light Dragons—demigods like these had already appeared. Dragon Island was bound to become a storm of conflict. In a few days, a flood of experts would arrive, all vying for the Ancestral Dragon and the Companion Dragon Lord. This place would become a hornet’s nest of strife.

When he returned to the vicinity of the Death Swamp, King Qin Guang, King Yan Luo, and King Samsara emerged silently from the dense forest. These three undead beings had truly come to regard Xiao Chen as a companion.

To his surprise, the skeletons seemed to be trying to convey some information to him. Their jaws clacked, their bone claws gestured, and finally they grabbed him and sped off in a certain direction at incredible speed.

Had they found Zhao Lin’er and Guluo? Xiao Chen guessed as much.

After crossing several ridges, the three skeletons led him to the mouth of a valley he had never seen before. The outer perimeter was thick with lush forest, but few beasts frequented the area. He had a sense that some terrible monster might be lurking nearby. Looking closer, he noticed massive claw prints—dragons’ claws.

Inside the valley lay a forest of stone pillars, completely bare of vegetation. Aside from the entrance, the other sides were sheer cliffs. Xiao Chen keenly sensed a powerful draconic aura.

King Samsara gestured for him to look ahead. In the wide stone forest, a massive silver creature lay coiled—a dragon!

Though he could not see its full body, there was something familiar about it. Xiao Chen immediately guessed: this must be the Sacred Light Dragon that had fought the Fallen Angel. Faint, intermittent snoring reached his ears. The silver dragon appeared to be sleeping.