Bruce didn't expect his opponent to say anything because after all, they are just copies of the people who defeated the Dragon God. It must be impossible for the Dragon God to also copy their personalities, right?
"What are you talking about?" The man replied.
'Dam, here I thought that this guy is just an NPC'
"Forget about it, let's fight" Bruce didn't want to waste time talking about food with his opponent. He was here to obtain the legacy of the Dragon God.
The man nodded and erupted the volcano. Magma flew from the bottom of the volcano and everything in the vicinity turned into ashes.
"Holy shit… Is this even possible for an Early Stage Divine Emperor?" Bruce quickly got out of the volcano before the magma hit him. He couldn't believe that the person in front of him managed to wreak havoc across the land like he was a Great Emperor.
"Not bad…" The man landed on the burning ground. His feet were sucked into the magma, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Let's play a bit more"
The man summoned his fire domain and countless fiery arrows flew toward Bruce.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT" Bruce yelled out as he dodged the man's attacks.
The battle was absolutely insane for Bruce because he knew that he finally met his match. The handsome young man in front of him was someone who was capable of defeating opponents above one cultivation realm.
Being at Peak Stage Divine King, Bruce was at a massive disadvantage because he had no access to domain.
"Soul Extinction!"
Bruce used his strongest soul attack on the man. A giant dragon appeared behind Bruce and obliterated the young man's soul.
"ARGGHHHH"
The young man screamed in pain and spurted out blood. Bruce was also exhausted because using Soul Extinction took a heavy toll on his soul as well.
Bruce saw the opportunity and landed in front of the young man to finish the battle.
"Stars Annihilation"
Bruce threw out the attack toward the young man's head. However, the unthinkable happened. The young man subconsciously defended against the attack even though his soul was greatly injured.
A powerful flame barrier spawned between the young man and Bruce, protecting the young man from Bruce's strongest attack.
Bruce gritted his teeth and threw out a powerful ice strike to nullify the flame barrier. The flame barrier completely melted the ice when the attack reached the barrier.
'This guy is a monster' Bruce thought to himself. His soul was injured, and he was clearly unconscious. Yet, he was able to defend himself in this scenario just by subconsciously carrying out a defense tactic.
This was a true prodigy. Bruce couldn't help but greatly admired the person in front of him. Bruce smiled and summoned countless runes around him.
"You're stronger than me right now, but I refuse to lose"
"I just have to become stronger than you to defeat you"
The battle lasted for months as Bruce desperately tried to break through the powerful flame barrier. Bruce never thought that fire could be so terrifying. Throughout his entire journey, he had mostly relied on his lightning powers for offensive attacks.
Lightning was known to be the most destructive element in the world, and yet, it was useless against the flames of the person in front of him.
Bruce then began to analyze his opponent's techniques. He wanted to know how to make his flames as powerful as those of his adversary.
One day, Bruce's worst nightmare became real. The man fully healed his soul and became conscious again.
"That's one powerful soul you have there, kid" The man smiled at Bruce.
Bruce narrowed his eyes after hearing the man speak again after many months.
"Don't be so disappointed that you didn't break through my shield"
"There exists a protection mechanism on my body that would create a barrier using all my powers when I am in danger"
"You see, my flames can burn anything in the universe. Even the gods!"
All of a sudden, the man's red flames turned blue. An oppressive heat came out of his body that made Bruce struggle to breathe.
"Though you have all elemental affinities, your control over them is poor"
"Even without my flame spirit, I can still defeat you"
"Oh? Why don't you remove your flame spirit then?" Bruce retorted. He refused to believe that the man would be stronger than him without his overpowered flame spirit.
"Looks like you don't believe me. So be it" The man summoned his flame spirit and then it flew away.
"Allow me to show you why I am called the Flame Conqueror"
The man clapped his hands together and the entire domain changed for the worse. Instead of a fiery storm in the sky, the entire world was burning.
"Though my flame spirit is among the strongest in the universe, it only amplifies the power of my flames"
"Even if you were to control my flame spirit, you would still lose"
"Burn for me!"
The man raised his hands in the air and the entire world came down on Bruce. All the flames merged toward his location ready to turn him into ashes.
Bruce noticed that the flames were no longer terrifying like before, but they were still extremely powerful. Bruce placed protective runes around his body and even used Tortoise Stance.
Though he managed to hold off the burning flames, the situation was not good for him at all. His stamina was rapidly depleting as he tried his best to defend himself against the flames.
The flames kept pouring in at great velocity causing Bruce to sweat immensely. The water in his body began to disappear and soon, he would be defeated.
"If you can control flames to this extent, why can't I?" Bruce's eyes turned bloodshot as his primal instincts began to kick in.
He removed all the protective runes and turned off Tortoise Stance. The flames finally got to him and consumed him.
"I expected a little bit more" The Flame Conqueror was disappointed. He turned his back just to hear an explosion behind him.
When he turned around, he saw Bruce was covered in flames, but the flames were not damaging him in the slightest.
"Alright, Flame Conqueror. Let's play!" Bruce smiled with his teeth showing. He truly looked like a demon with his bloodshot eyes.
Bruce pushed his hand forward and all the flames began to attack the Flame Conqueror.
"Magnificent!" The Flame Conqueror laughed.
"Let's see who lasts the longest!"
The two began to clash in a brutal elemental battle. At the moment when all the flames touched Bruce's body, he began to understand more about the laws of fire. Subsequently, he was able to control fire even better than before.
His understanding of the law of fire was still not at the same level as that of the Flame Conqueror, but it gave him a fighting chance. A chance to learn from the Flame Conqueror and surpass this version of him.
Bruce even started to use his other elements to advance his understanding of them even further. Instead of trying to defeat the Flame Conqueror at all costs, he wanted to learn from the Flame Conqueror!
This change in mindset has advanced his growth in understanding elemental laws. Bruce had been relying too much on his talents and only focused on cultivation. He was lacking in every other aspect as The Monarch stated initially. If he wanted to accomplish the impossible, he needed to surpass his current self.
"Looks like you're faring better than before"
"Let's see what would happen if my flame spirit joined the fight" The Flame Conqueror smiled deviously.
"No, please!" Bruce began to cry.