Reverse Dragon Seven Steps

The Lion King Dragon stood as silent and terrible as an ancient mountain, its golden gaze fixed coldly upon the Little Defiant Dragon.

The Little Defiant Dragon returned its stare without a flicker.

They had each recognized the other. That aura, that fighting intent, could not be mistaken—it was unique to every Dragon King.

No draconic speech passed between them. No earth-shaking roar. They were as composed as peerless sword immortals, silently sizing each other up.

There was no doubt: the Lion King Dragon, who had been as calm as still water, now showed a ripple in its eyes upon recognizing the Little Defiant Dragon. The weakling whelp that had once been weaker than ordinary young dragons had been reborn and transformed, its growth rate surpassing even its own.

Whoosh.

The Little Defiant Dragon moved, seizing on that momentary fluctuation in its opponent. Its silver body traced a graceful arc through the air, charging at the Lion King Dragon. A single silvery beam split into dozens of afterimages across the beast-fighting stage.

The Lion King Dragon remained as cold as an iceberg. In an instant, it leaped forward, not retreating but advancing, barreling straight toward the Little Defiant Dragon. Golden divine light blazed, illuminating the entire stage.

Swoosh.

The Little Defiant Dragon’s body twisted impossibly in midair, changing direction at a sharp angle. Then its Ancestral Dragon tail lashed backward.

Crack.

A sharp sound rang through the arena. The Little Defiant Dragon landed steadily on the ground. The Golden Divine Dragon’s head had been dealt a heavy blow; its body tumbled through the air, rolling over before touching down.

A terrible wound appeared on the Lion King Dragon's cheek—flesh split open. More than a dozen golden dragon scales had been knocked loose from its neck. Blood flowed, bright red tinged with threads of gold.

A hush fell over the watching crowd. The older experts analyzed the movements of the two Dragon Kings in minute detail. They understood the extraordinary nature of this race; although the Dragon Kings were young, they surely inherited secret arts unknown to outsiders.

As for the younger generation, everyone was calculating: could they have dodged that tail sweep just now? The answer was no. Without a Spirit-Treasury level of cultivation, that speed seemed impossible to evade.

The beast-fighting stage was utterly silent. The Golden Lion King Dragon seemed unaware of its horrific injury. It still stared at the Little Defiant Dragon with icy detachment, but the golden light radiating from it grew ever more intense—it was gathering power for a devastating strike.

The Little Defiant Dragon remained calm, its emotions flat. It watched the Lion King Dragon without a trace of feeling.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Both Dragon Kings moved at once. The Golden Dragon lunged forward, its right claw driving viciously toward the Little Defiant Dragon’s chest, while its left claw curled slightly, held back either as a guard or ready to unleash a thunderous blow. It was both offense and defense.

At the same time, it opened its jaws, revealing rows of razor-sharp dragon teeth, and bit savagely at the Little Defiant Dragon’s neck. The Ancestral Dragon horn on its head also flickered with golden light, as if preparing an attack or assuming a defensive posture.

One had to admit, the Golden Lion King Dragon was supremely seasoned in combat, attacking and defending like a battle-hardened grandmaster. It was a sight to behold.

The Little Defiant Dragon charged forward. Instead of meeting the assault, it twisted its body aside, darted past, then slammed its torso against the Golden Dragon. Its tactic was also correct: avoid all the sharp points and strike at the enemy’s weakness.

Smack.

The two Dragon Kings collided with tremendous force, then tumbled apart. Almost in the same instant, they both leaped up and squared off again.

“ROAR—”

For the first time, both Dragon Kings roared. The sound was deafening, shattering the light barrier sustained by the fifty ability-revealing spiritists. The dragon cries pierced the nine heavens, exploding like thunderclaps beside the audience. Nearly half the crowd was knocked unconscious on the spot.

Experts hurried onto the scene, resealing the arena with spiritual arts and re-erecting the light screen.

By then, the two Dragon Kings had already clashed in furious battle.

Their speed was too great for most to follow. All the spectators saw was a tangle of golden and silver light, the two dragons locked in combat, roaring without cease.

Blood spattered—the blood of Dragon Kings!

Xiao Chen’s heart rose and fell with the tumbling bodies of the two dragons. At his level of cultivation, he could clearly see the fierce struggle. The Little Defiant Dragon had already taken a heavy blow: a gaping wound torn open by the Golden Dragon’s Ancestral Dragon horn, the bone beneath nearly visible. The injury was severe.

But the Little Defiant Dragon’s fighting spirit had not diminished. Its attacks grew fiercer, silver light wrapping around it. It employed ancient combat skills with consummate skill, relying on technique to overcome the Golden Dragon’s superior strength.

The Golden Dragon also knew some ancient dragon combat arts, but they were clearly incomplete. However, its brute force was something the Little Defiant Dragon could not match—after all, the Golden Dragon was already a meter and a half long, while the Little Defiant Dragon was barely a meter, starting at a disadvantage.

“ROAR—”

The Golden Lion King Dragon grew savage. Two blinding beams of golden light shot from its Ancestral Dragon horn, flooding the Little Defiant Dragon in an instant.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The Little Defiant Dragon took several steps that defied belief. At the very moment of life and death, it escaped from the rolling tide of golden death-light. Then its footwork became even more profound and elusive, each step accompanied by gusts of wind and thunder. Silver light shone beneath its feet.

Ancient patterns flickered into visibility, as if breaking through the barriers of ages, revealing primeval wonders. Ripples of draconic markings appeared around the Little Defiant Dragon’s four paws. Each step gave forth a sound of shattering. Then a miracle unfolded, like the turning of the stars—a sea of starlight appeared beneath its feet.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Its movement became utterly unfathomable, faster than imagination.

Pfft.

In an instant, it reached the left side of the Golden Lion King Dragon. Its silver Ancestral Dragon horn stabbed deep into the Golden Dragon’s flank. Blood sprayed forth.

Then the Little Defiant Dragon retreated swiftly.

The Golden Lion King Dragon bellowed in rage, twisting its body. Twin beams of golden light shot from its eyes. Then a dazzling radiance enveloped it, and it soared into the air—it could fly!

With speed like light, the Lion King Dragon’s combat power surged to a new level. It left trails of afterimages in the sky as it dove at the Little Defiant Dragon on the ground. Its Ancestral Dragon horn launched gilded beams without pause.

Blinding golden light flooded the entire arena. The Little Defiant Dragon could not fly; though its footwork was miraculous, it could not leave the ground.

The Golden Lion King Dragon went berserk. With overwhelming power, it hammered down relentlessly, swooping again and again to strike the silvery figure below.

Xiao Chen’s heart sank. Brute force could overcome a hundred subtleties. The Golden Dragon was powerful enough to suppress the Little Defiant Dragon by raw might alone, and it also knew partial dragon combat arts and the most fearsome draconic divine abilities.

Boom!

A torrent of violent energy surged. The brilliant golden light was blinding. The light barrier held by the spiritists trembled violently, nearly shattering. The experts standing by hurriedly reinforced it.

The golden light engulfed the Little Defiant Dragon once more, hurling it backward. The Little Defiant Dragon was drenched in blood, its silver light dimmed. Its skin and flesh were torn, scales scattered, and the stage was stained red with gore.

Outside the arena, the crowd held its breath.

In the private box, Xiao Chen’s heart ached, a tightness in his chest.

The Golden Lion King Dragon’s ice-cold eyes shot forth two terrible beams. Its killing intent was undisguised. It transformed into a golden flash and charged.

But at that moment, the Little Defiant Dragon, which had been hurled into the air, suddenly moved. It shifted sideways a few feet, barely dodging the Golden Dragon’s lethal strike. Then, like a silver bolt, it leaped and pounced onto the Lion King Dragon’s back.

Its razor-sharp claws tore four bloody holes in the Golden Dragon’s body. At the same time, its head pressed sideways against the Lion King Dragon’s body, gouging open its neck—nearly severing it!

It had been a feint all along!

The Little Defiant Dragon had succeeded. It had courted death and emerged alive.

“ROAR—”

The Golden Lion King Dragon suffered unimaginable trauma. It let out a wretched, anguished cry. Golden light blazed from its entire body as if a sun were hovering above the stage. A tremendous force exploded outward.

Boom!

The Golden Dragon shook itself violently, flinging the Little Defiant Dragon away. Its body swaying weakly, it flew into the high sky.

The Little Defiant Dragon slammed into the ground, blood streaming like rivers. It staggered to its feet, soaked in gore from head to tail, yet its fighting spirit burned higher than ever. It stared at the Golden Dragon in the sky with cold, proud defiance.

The ice in the Lion King Dragon’s eyes slowly changed, giving way to a blazing fury. The worthless whelp that had once been far beneath it had today dealt it such grievous wounds—this was an utter humiliation!

Its neck was nearly severed, only a step away from death. The Golden Lion King Dragon knew it could no longer kill this spirited opponent with its physical body alone. Only the most fearsome divine abilities of the dragon race could slay him.

It hovered silently in the void, no longer swooping down. After a brief moment to regulate its breath, its horns began to flow with dazzling golden light.

Shiiiing, shiiiing.

Golden beams rained down like a curtain, more terrifying than the sharpest blade-light. Each beam contained a fearsome power—this was a divine ability unique to the dragon race!

Anyone could see that the reeling, staggering Little Defiant Dragon could never withstand such an onslaught. Its death was upon it!

But the unyielding, unbowed Little Defiant Dragon showed no trace of fear. Dragging its grievously wounded body, it moved with astonishing speed—not much slower than before at all.

And this time, its footwork was even stranger. Silver light flickered beneath its paws as ripples of dragon markings spread outward. A sea of stars appeared beneath its feet, glittering with points of light, dazzling and brilliant.

And throughout this process, the Little Defiant Dragon was paying an unimaginable price. Every three steps, it coughed up half a mouthful of blood!

Then something miraculous happened. The Little Defiant Dragon took a step that seemed to defy gods and demons—and began to climb into the sky!

The star chart spread beneath its feet, and it walked upward as if ascending to heaven.

“Reverse Dragon Seven Steps!”

Exclamations of shock came from some of the elder experts in the private boxes.

“The legendary earth-shaking ancient combat technique!”

“A skill that can trample even gods underfoot!”

The Little Defiant Dragon took one step for each cardinal direction, as if crossing through space itself, leaping from one impossible position to another. In four steps, it soared into the sky.

On the fifth step, it stamped down hard on the Golden Lion King Dragon’s back.

The clear sound of cracking bones rang out. The Golden Dragon’s body split open.

When the sixth step fell, a dazzling golden light exploded, mixed with a fountain of crimson blood. The Golden Lion King Dragon’s body shattered completely.

Only its head remained intact, falling from the sky and landing on the high platform.

The Little Defiant Dragon’s whole body pulsed with silver light. It descended to the platform and stood there, aloof and solitary, like a lonely master sweeping a cold gaze over the stunned crowd outside.

Its injuries were ghastly. Many scales had been shed, and in several places even the bone was exposed, a sight that sent chills down the spine. The Little Defiant Dragon walked up to the Lion King Dragon’s head, lowered its own, and seemed to murmur softly. A beam of golden light shot from the shattered head, then dissolved in the air, turning into scattered motes of brilliance. Finally, it merged into the Little Defiant Dragon’s body.

That was pure Ancestral Dragon Qi!

Not power. Not a soul. Only the simple “Qi” that symbolized the identity of an Ancestral Dragon.

The crowd outside erupted into chaos. A Dragon King had died!

A legendary Dragon King had shattered before their very eyes—a being that, once fully grown, would make even gods tremble!

Thousands upon thousands were already in an uproar. This duel between Dragon Kings had been far too brutal, far too tragic. People shouted and cried out.

In that moment, the Little Defiant Dragon had become the most dazzling star without dispute. It was the true king of kings, and its victory owed nothing to luck—it had won purely by strength.