Rage of the Returned

Keke scurried over, blinking her large, luminous eyes as if she understood something. She picked up a giant branch—comically oversized compared to her tiny body—and began chasing King Qin Guang and the others, striking at them relentlessly.

“Hey, Keke, stop that!” Xiao Chen quickly intervened.

Keke dropped the branch, plucked her ‘treasure-tree hat’ from her head, and extended a small paw to point at the three skeletons, silently accusing them of their crime. The skeletons had once stolen her precious tree, leaving her hungry for several days.

The three skeletons clacked their jaws—click-clack, click-clack—never expecting that today’s theft of dragon eggs would stir Keke’s bitter memories. In the end, they unanimously pointed their bony fingers at Xiao Chen.

“Enough. If you want to vent your anger at them, do it later. Right now, we have to get out of here fast.” Xiao Chen had no desire to bring trouble down on himself. He hoisted the golden dragon egg and departed first.

Through the dense primeval forest, Xiao Chen and his companions crossed ridges and valleys, carefully evading every kind of ferocious beast. Their speed was pushed to the absolute limit.

Xiao Chen knew it would not be long before chaos erupted near the Sacred Mountain. The four apex dragons would surely go berserk; dozens of li around would likely be thrown into turmoil.

In their desperate flight, Keke was the most relaxed. She hopped back and forth across the four crystalline dragon eggs, their dazzling divine radiance reflecting off her fur and making her glow.

They dared not pause for even a moment. They kept running westward for several dozen li, crossing into the Dead-Silent Forest, and only stopped to rest when they neared the Bone Sea.

In the silent forest, the four dragon eggs shimmered with colorful light. Only Keke remained spirited, bouncing and playing atop the eggs.

“Ooooh—”

A faint dragon roar drifted over, followed by a series of howls and bellows from the direction of the Sacred Mountain. Though separated by a great distance, the sounds were still faintly audible. One could imagine the chaos near the mountain—the earth quaking, the sky overturning.

“We can’t stay here!” Xiao Chen was afraid both of the berserk dragons pursuing them and of cultivators roaming near the Bone Sea. He decided to keep heading west.

As they passed the grim, murderous Bone Sea, Xiao Chen and his group did not stop. They skirted its edge through the Dead-Silent Forest and hurried westward. Ahead, a range of snow-capped mountains rose clearly into view.

On this sweltering Dragon Island, it was nothing short of a miracle! Xiao Chen seized the chance to investigate.

“Quickly, into those mysterious snowy mountains—they’ll be the safest.”

The snowy peaks lay to the west, the Bone Sea in the center, and the enigmatic Sacred Mountain to the east. The three regions formed a straight line, separated by the Dead-Silent Forest.

After traversing the soundless primeval woods and then several stretches of vibrant, living forest, Xiao Chen and his companions finally arrived at the foot of the snowy mountains.

It was no illusion. Before them stretched a genuine range of snow-clad peaks. Pristine white snowflakes danced on the wind, and the chill, crisp air rushed to meet them.

Keke was fascinated by the snowy mountains. Gazing at that pure white world, she gave a joyful cry and dashed into the snow, rolling around in delight. Her fluffy white body almost blended into the drifts, making her nearly invisible.

Xiao Chen and the others carried the dragon eggs as they strode into the snow. The temperature plummeted sharply; every exhaled breath turned to white mist. The snow-laden wind whipped against their faces. Looking back at the lush green world just a few hundred meters behind them felt like a scene from another life. The climate defied all reason—this seemed no act of natural heaven-and-earth power!

At the outskirts of the Dead-Silent Forest, many alliances had gathered.

Among the spirit-saturated peaks and beside the ancient caves beneath cascading waterfalls suffused with the essence of heaven and earth, young experts were cultivating. On this savage Dragon Island, strength was the only currency; only by being powerful enough could one survive.

Today, Yan Qingcheng, Kailuo, and Wang Tong returned after many days’ absence, shattering the prolonged stillness. The many experts they had taken with them had all vanished—only the three of them came back. A wave of commotion spread.

Had they been locked in fierce battle with Xiao Chen?

At that moment, Yan Qingcheng was in a flower-filled valley. Multitudes of unknown flowering trees covered the valley floor, their tender, glistening green leaves setting off the rainbow blossoms in radiant splendor. Every bud exuded an intoxicating fragrance.

Yan Qingcheng was dressed in purple, her figure ethereal and graceful among the flowering trees. She seemed hazy and illusory, like a banished immortal descending into the mortal world, her entire being brimming with spiritual energy. Her breathtaking beauty dimmed the vivid flowers around her.

Not far away, the spellmaster Rand sat on a green rock. His golden hair was somewhat disheveled. Once a radiantly handsome man, he no longer bore the arrogance of the past. His crushing defeat at Xiao Chen’s hands had dealt him a heavy blow. Yet he did not wallow in despair; during his recovery, he trained diligently, seeking every means to refine his divine consciousness and grow stronger.

He slowly recounted the events of the past several days—how Xiao Chen had annihilated three alliances with thunderous efficiency in a single night.

“What?!” Yan Qingcheng’s jade-like body erupted with beams of divine light, shattering the surrounding flowering trees. Her exquisite face was contorted with fury, her soft, proud chest heaving violently.

“Xiao Chen wiped out everyone left behind in three alliances in one night?”

Rand nodded bitterly. “Yes. Aside from me, who escaped the calamity by convalescing in this flower valley, every last one of them was eliminated.”

It was a long while before Yan Qingcheng suppressed her fury and sighed helplessly. “This time… Kailuo, Wang Tong, and I encountered the Purple Dragon King again. Unfortunately, our losses were catastrophic, and we still could not capture it.”

Their expeditionary force was nearly wiped out, and the members they had left behind in the alliance were all slain by Xiao Chen. It was enough to drive anyone mad.

“Is it the same Purple Dragon King that resembles a qilin?” Rand stirred. When the Purple Dragon King first appeared, it had caused an uproar, but soon after, the great upheaval on Dragon Island—the divine light sealing the island—had diverted everyone’s attention.

“Yes.”

“But it’s only a juvenile dragon king. Three top experts like you couldn’t subdue it…” Rand was astonished. His handsome but pale face slowly regained a trace of color, his emotions stirring. “The legends are true. When they mature, even gods tremble before them. If we could tame one…”

“If Kailuo, Wang Tong, and I each advanced another two heavenly tiers, together we might be able to subdue it,” Yan Qingcheng said, full of regret.

“There will be another chance!” Rand said, his voice filled with hope.

When Kailuo and Wang Tong returned and found no trace of their own alliances, they learned the truth from others. Both were nearly driven mad. Xiao Chen had been far too domineering—to so cleanly wipe out the forces they had left behind. So decisive and ruthless!

On that day, every expert in the alliances gathered in that region heard the furious roars—the howls of men driven to the edge of madness by rage.