Mia! . . .
Individuals clad in the same white garments as the old man began to converge around him, their faces etched with despair. Over half of them belonged to Green Moon Palace, renowned for their skills in beast training. Unfortunately, they were poised to suffer the most significant losses in this perilous hunt.
Despite the inevitable doom that awaited them, people unconsciously huddled together, preparing for the impending battle of life and death. They were fully aware of their impending demise but refused to surrender before the final moment.
The old man's voice rang out, rallying the beleaguered group. "Everyone, gather together! Unite our strength and heed my command. This is our last fight, our final battle cry in this world. We must not entrust our fate to chance. We must give it our all!"
"We won't be catching the fish now. Instead, we will attempt to kill it before the last second arrives. It's in its weakest moment. If any of us can successfully strike it, it will die! All we need to do is..." The old man's voice trailed off, and he admitted, even to himself, that what he was suggesting was impossible. But they knew they had to try.
With sorrowful expressions, those gathered around him shouted in response, "Yes!"
Turning to Cha Eun Xiao, the old man said with a glint in his eyes, "Young man, I should have inquired more about your background, but today is a unique day. We are all going to meet our end together. I suppose I should set aside any other concerns."
He paused before continuing, "You... You are truly an unfortunate soul. You will meet your end on your very first day in this world. Fate can be quite cruel."
He sighed, and as he spoke, the more than two hundred people in his vicinity turned to Cha Eun Xiao, casting him strange glances.
"This newcomer has only just arrived here? How did he end up in this place?" they wondered. "I can't believe there's such a tragic tale in the world. His life is even more wretched than mine. It's worse than any of ours."
Cha Eun Xiao could only remain silent. His thoughts revolved around his extraordinary stroke of bad luck. The irony was that he had landed in the center of the hunting area just as the rainbow gate was taking form.
"Why do you keep mentioning my bad luck?" he lamented internally. "I'm experiencing the worst luck I've ever had! I'm about to meet my end because of it. Fantastic! Once that foolish fish transforms into a dragon, even if I were as powerful as I once was, a Dao Origin Stage master, I still wouldn't be able to defeat it. And look at my current state. Is this truly my destiny? Isn't it just... too tragic?"
At that moment, the rainbow gate suddenly descended like a colossal mountain falling from the sky. In response, the people on the ice dared not make a single move. Under the weight of its suppression, they couldn't even twitch a finger, let alone attempt to catch the fish. Despair was etched across their faces as they stared up at the suspended gate.
The fish's transformation into a dragon was inevitable, and the world seemed to recognize it. Everything was proceeding as expected.
Then, a shrill cry pierced the air. "Erhuo!"
As Cha Eun Xiao uttered the name, he felt a powerful blow to his chest, and Erhuo leaped from his clothing like a bolt of lightning. The force of Erhuo's ejection nearly shattered Cha Eun Xiao's ribs.
A swift white figure streaked through the air at a speed that surpassed even lightning itself. It was none other than Erhuo, who had ignited into a burst of unrelenting energy. Erhuo's inner monologue echoed with determination as it beheld the golden-scaled fish before it, recognizing the delectable prey.
"No, I won't let it escape before my eyes," Erhuo thought, locking onto the fish with its predatory instincts.
And with an instinctive shout of "Mia!" Erhuo executed a lightning-fast turn, zipping back from the precipice of the rainbow gate towards the fish. The Golden Scale Dragon Fish, swift though it was, met its match. Erhuo, not to be outdone, caught the fish in its mouth just as the fish was about to breach the rainbow gate. With a bite on the tail, Erhuo promptly reversed the fish's trajectory and seized it.
The method was simple, relying solely on speed. As the fish was about to touch the gate, Erhuo clamped onto its tail and tugged it away.
Precision was the key. With the fish now ensnared in its mouth, Erhuo darted back towards the ground. But the rainbow gate was no ordinary obstacle. It refused to allow any creature to touch it without consequence. Even the exceptional Erhuo, gifted and spirited though it was, felt the heat of the gate as its hind feet were singed. In pain, Erhuo dashed to the ground with the fish clenched firmly in its mouth. An amalgamation of white and red, it moved even faster than before.
Erhuo was frantic.
The fish was already notorious for its incredible speed in the Qing-Yun Realm, yet Erhuo somehow caught up to it and snatched it into its mouth. But the damage to its feet intensified its haste as it scuttled back to the earth, a frenetic blend of white and red. It raced faster than anyone could discern.
Meanwhile, Cha Eun Xiao was dumbfounded by the events unfolding before him. He sat on the ground with his mouth agape, completely bewildered. He couldn't fathom how remarkably swift Erhuo had become.
In the blink of an eye, he sensed something peculiar in his mouth, and his reflexes kicked in. Unintentionally, he bit down.
"Mia!!!!" Erhuo roared with indignation.
To Cha Eun Xiao's shock and horror, he had unwittingly bitten off the head of the Golden Scale Dragon Fish.