"I…"
For a rather prolonged period of time, An Fei found herself unable to speak.
The young girl realized herself incapable of anything else than stare at the large dragon towering over her existence, a completely blank gaze shrouding her countenance.
After all, the jiaolong before her… was a little too large.
Each scale on its body was equivalent to her arm's length if not her entire arm span, and the entire armor revealed a dull but imposing lustre that seared her eyes.
The scales of cobalt and black blotted out a portion of the sun's rays that struck the earth, the massive shadow trailing behind sufficient to squash An Fei to pieces without remorse.
And when it spoke, the entire Wu Ji Forest trembled with fear and reverence.
The molecules in the air vibrated as they sang an eulogy to the target of the forest protector's ire, the atmosphere adopting a queer resonance with the deafening bellow that permeated the sea of trees to its farthest reaches.
The swaying of the grass intensified at the hum of the dragon, the fragile strands and stems abruptly adopting a violent and vicious aura as they unceasingly swatted at An Fei's legs.
When the delicate but sharp tip of a nearby strand grazed against the back of her knee, the young girl regained her consciousness.
Her scarlet irises tinged with a visible sheen of unease and apprehension, she took multiple steps backward, her hands tightly gripping the cool hilts of the butterfly swords.
"Oh please, human."
The jiaolong rumbled with a bored voice, its eyes revealing a hint of disdain towards the actions of the young girl underneath its gaze.
The protector of the Wu Ji Forest displayed a visible scoff, the scales on its body rippling with an obvious, satirical mirth.
"Human, do you think that with your puny cultivation of a Foundation Establishment can unleash harm onto this protector's body? Nevertheless, be it your two cutting knives or that illegitimate child behind your back, what harm can they serve?"
An Fei merely gulped at the arrogant but domineering statement of the flood dragon, her hands inadvertently loosening their grip on the butterfly swords.
The coalesced mass of spiritual essence in her heart vibrated with an urgent and fearful roar, quickly convincing the young girl to adopt a possible means of escape.
The handle-less sword, on the other hand, did not seem to adopt the same attitude as its wielder. The instant the jiaolong questioned the steel blade's origins, the incomplete sword seethed with fury, the inscriptions along its blade erupting with a scarlet radiance that enveloped the entirety of the lake's surroundings.
"Mh?"
Roar!
"-Hey!"
The handle-less sword completely ignored the young girl's surprised shout as it soared towards the head of the jiaolong, the deadly tip of the sword aimed directly at the base of the dragon's inverse scale.
As it surged upwards in the air, the tangible radiance of bloodthirst and malice converged into a dense stream of light behind the sword, as though forming a makeshift pommel.
"A mere spiritual tool dares to harm this protector?"
The flood dragon released a snort of disdain, a cobalt-scaled claw rising to accept the steel blade's challenge.
The claw that was larger than An Fei's body by at least twice her height lazily traversed the air to firmly collide against the steel edge of the handle-less sword, accompanied by a bored eyeroll from the jiaolong.
Ping!
Much to An Fei's expectation and hidden disappointment, the handle-less sword's trajectory was fully impeded and reversed by the nonchalant flick from the dragon.
The steel blade screamed with fury and rage as it was hurled back towards the ground with a velocity thrice its initial speed, and the soft earth groaned with masochistic torment as it embraced the piercing sensation of a sword embedding itself with reluctance soaring to the ninth heaven.
The flood dragon leaned downwards until all the young girl could see was the black pillar amongst a sea of yellow glaring at her existence, a rumbling snort of disdain booming in a form not unfamiliar with thunder.
"Hmph!" The jiaolong sneered, a whisker slashing in a large arc to sweep past the young girl's body to whip the ground.
"What an interesting toothpick you have, human. Alas, whilst it may contest with a creature of the Nascent Soul Realm, albeit with some difficulty, it cannot pierce my scales, much less leave a single scratch!"
An Fei's already pale countenance adopted a fiercer sheen of white, and her knees quivered and lost their strength.
As much as she deeply desired to topple onto the ground and call it quits, the young girl nibbled on her bottom lip and unsteadily faced the large dragon eye with much hesitation evident in her gaze.
"Er…" the young girl mumbled, the scarlet irises numbed with a fearful and exasperated daze.
"It wasn't my fault the sword did that?"
For a brief instant, An Fei swore to her heart that she spectated the large flood dragon's golden eye contract with disbelief, the golden sea restraining a throbbing current of depraved praise and applause.
Before she could obtain a second glance, a fierce shutter of the flood dragon's eyelids extinguished the frozen atmosphere at once, a tsunami of scorn washing over the young girl's soul in the next moment.
"Hahaha!"
The protector of the forest broke into a distorted laugh, the entire forest from the earth to the tips of the tallest trees reverberating with its mirth.
As An Fei's body sought refuge in the tiny cracks between each shattering wave of sheer force exuding from the dragon's body, a glorious tirade soared over her head.
"You didn't command your sword to strike; then who did, ah? Attempting to deceive the protector of this forest, your shamelessness must exceed no bounds. If not for that thin stream of spiritual essence connecting that toothpick to your body, you, human, would become an excellent trickster."
"You don't even know the basics of cultivation yet you step into the Wu Ji Forest instead of drinking your mother's milk," the flood dragon scathed with a tinge of sardonic righteousness.
"Perhaps my assessment was wrong, you do not lack shame as I once accused. No, you must be a complete imbecile, for you saunter into my forest and slaughter my people, and you launch an excuse of an autonomous spiritual treasure without even studying the basics of cultivation – that, that is the epitome of stupidity, and you, human girl, are a prime example!"
The flood dragon's claws raked across the lake's surface, retrieving and hurling large globules of water towards the young girl. Her mind reeling from the incomprehensible and self-righteous words of the flood dragon,
An Fei did not even realize that her body had automatically evaded the incoming projectiles, or the dragon had even thrown water at her face.
…what was an autonomous spiritual treasure?
From the dragon's words, the continent did not seem to possess one? Other than the sword requiring her spiritual essence to manifest and repair its phantom appearance, it was fully independent in its secondary actions… was that not autonomous?
"Tch, you won't even let this protector splash water on you."
The dragon's cobalt and black scales rippled with a tinge of dissatisfaction, the golden whiskers wreaking havoc onto the soft earth to vent its anger.
The jiaolong merely glared at the young girl with a single golden, baleful eye, releasing a series of frustrated breaths as though its favorite toy had been stolen from its claws.
"…you really are unpleasant, do you know that?"
The young girl finally recovered her mentality after witnessing the flood dragon's abnormal behaviors and moods, her countenance easily displaying the bemused expression the protector of the Wu Ji Forest had failed to emulate.
The dragon visibly recoiled at An Fei's abrupt statement, before quivering with laughter.
"I say, little human, your courage truly knows no bounds, ah!" the dragon chortled amidst the young girl, the soft earth, and the atmosphere's shared groan of discomfort.
"You slaughter my people without mercy, and stand before my presence without a single care of your expression. Tell me, where does a little human doll like you obtain such courage and strength as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
"Huh?"
An Fei froze, her astonishingly beautiful countenance scrunched in bewilderment.
The young girl tilted her head towards the right as she craned her head upward towards the dragon's golden eyes, before her delicate lips parted to speak after a long moment's contemplation.
"I… just walked through the forest; I really do need to be somewhere, after all. As for those fierce creatures…" the young girl paused.
The flood dragon's long-lived age and accumulation of experiences detected a hint of an interesting secret within An Fei's words, and couldn't help but draw closer as though to firmly capture the young human girl's mosquito-like voice that was pleasing to the ear and heart, but fleeting to the soul.
"I just stood back and watched my sword do the work for me. Sorry… if that dampened your mood…?"
Pu!
A violent and invincible strike to the core, without allowing the construction of any defense whatsoever!