For a moment, two saintly auras enveloped the fifty-zhang radius around Ye Han.
"No one can enslave the noble dragon race," Autrus and the Black Dragon exchanged glances and launched an attack towards Ye Han.
Watching the one man and one beast charging at him, Ye Han quickly stimulated the essence blood within their bodies.
Soul Burning
Suddenly, a burning pain from the depths of their souls caused Autrus and Black Dragon Niraseck to scream in agony, tumbling to the ground.
Ye Han watched with a slight smile as the man and beast writhed on the ground. Autrus was managing better, but the Black Dragon's struggles were causing great upheaval, creating numerous deep pits in the ground in just moments.
Ye Han was surprised by the strength of their saintly souls. Even the soul of a ninth-order peak magician would only last a few minutes under such soul-burning torture.
Yet Autrus and the Black Dragon had endured for nearly twenty minutes, underscoring the formidable nature of the saintly order.
The essence blood Ye Han left within them was less a mark and more a brand—a soul brand embedded deeply, impossible to eradicate as long as Ye Han lived.
The strong killing intent lingering in the air presented an irresistible temptation to Ye Han, stirring a bloodlust within his soul, causing the Corpse Pill to rotate rapidly. His grey eyes emitted bursts of grey light.
"Roar," a deep beast-like roar emanated from Ye Han's throat as his body transformed autonomously, instantly taking on a zombie form. His wings unfurled behind him, purple fire danced around him, and his white sharp fangs were exposed.
Feeling the transformation, Ye Han finally understood the nature of a zombie—merciless and bloodthirsty, devoid of compassion, acting entirely on impulse.
"Ha ha," Ye Han laughed maniacally, in stark contrast to Autrus and Niraseck, who were still rolling on the ground. Ye Han stood aloft in the void, like a demonic god.
"You've helped me find my true nature, so I'll let you enjoy the slaughter of a zombie," Ye Han laughed as he dashed towards the two saintly beings. In less than a blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the Black Dragon.
"Do you know what 'body art' is?" Ye Han toyed with his short sword, dodging the rolling giant dragon.
"Let me show you," Yin energy surged into the short sword, enveloped by the purple fire. Ye Han circled the Black Dragon, his short sword carving deep gashes that were immediately cauterized by the purple fire, leaving behind purple lines that emitted a burnt smell.
Despite the dragon race's nearly perfect defense, the Black Dragon was vulnerable in Ye Han's hands, all due to the purple fire on the sword—a zombie's Corpse Fire emanating from the Corpse Pill.
"Lowly human. The dragon race will not forgive you," the Black Dragon roared in anger, more so over being humiliated than the pain.
"Did you know, you didn't have to endure this humiliation."
"Hmph, the proud dragon race will never submit to lowly humans."
"I didn't expect you to still talk at this time. Your dragon race truly is the pinnacle of the continent."
"Do you know? In my homeland, there is a technique called 'death by a thousand cuts.' " Ye Han continued his work on the Black Dragon.
Ignoring the Black Dragon's roars and struggles, Ye Han's eyes shone with grey light. His movements became faster, his figure blurring to the point where only afterimages remained.
Soon, the rolling giant dragon's flesh dwindled, some parts exposing bones. Vast amounts of dragon blood sprayed onto the ground, and chunks of dragon flesh scattered everywhere. The scene resembled hell, filled with blood and screams.
Gradually, Ye Han sobered from that frenzied state. He stopped the soul burning on Autrus and Niraseck.
Looking at the two saintly tier powerhouses lying on the ground like dead dogs, Ye Han smiled slightly.
He stopped in front of the Black Dragon's huge head, "I've just realized something—I don't need slaves." He thrust his short sword fiercely into the Black Dragon's heart. The powerful impact, with the bewitching purple fire, buried the sword deep into the Black Dragon's heart.
"Roar"
"Lowly human. The dragon race will not forgive you," the Black Dragon roared resentfully. The soul burning had ravaged a great part of its soul, leaving no chance for resistance.
With reluctance and intense killing intent, the Black Dragon collapsed to the ground, motionless. Autrus, witnessing the death of a dragon of his own tier, looked at Ye Han with fear.
"I've said it before, I don't need slaves," Ye Han said coldly to the aged-looking Autrus. The soul burning had taken
seven-tenths of Autrus's soul, reducing his lifespan and making it impossible to maintain his youthful appearance.
Ye Han reached out with his purple-scaled right hand and pressed it against the heart of the dead Black Dragon. A mass of golden blood hovered above Ye Han's hand. Looking at the dragon's essence blood, Ye Han smirked and swallowed it.
"You should be on your way too." Before Autrus could react, Ye Han suddenly appeared behind him, his short sword gently sliding across Autrus's throat.
Autrus never understood why Ye Han, clearly in front of him, suddenly appeared behind. As he fell, the last thing he saw in this world was the figure of Ye Han fading away.
One could imagine Ye Han's speed was so fast that his afterimages hadn't even dissipated before he appeared ten zhang behind Autrus.
At this moment, Ye Han didn't have the strength to kill a saintly tier, but after the soul burning, Autrus and the Black Dragon's soul strength had greatly diminished, leaving them unable to sense their surroundings or even mobilize energy within their bodies. Coupled with Ye Han's ghost-like speed, he could kill them. However, in a direct confrontation, Ye Han wouldn't stand a chance against even a sixth-tier powerhouse.
Afterward, Ye Han retrieved the Black Dragon's saintly tier magic core and the long sword embedded in its back, a sword that had pierced through the Black Dragon's defenses at its peak, clearly a fine blade.
The sword was entirely black, three chi three inches long, with faint death energy emanating from it, having likely drunk the blood of countless foes. With a flick of Ye Han's finger, the sword vibrated, emitting a clear and resonant sword cry.
"Good sword," Ye Han remarked, having some understanding of swords from the memories of the Sovereign.
Ye Han walked to Autrus's body, removed the ring from his hand, the spirit imprint vanishing with his death. However, Ye Han was surprised at Autrus's wealth contained within the ring.
Mostly magic cores, with the lowest being seventh-tier, and there were seven saintly tier cores. There was also a large amount of purple crystal coins and some weapons. Most importantly, the ring's space was five or six times larger than the one he had been wearing. Han didn't understand the principle behind such a space ring, but he knew the larger the internal space, the higher its value.
Ye Han removed his own ring, transferred everything into Autrus's ring, and put it on. Looking up at the sky, after all the commotion, it was nearly noon.
"I can't stay here any longer. The noise just now must have attracted attention," Ye Han thought. Then he noticed the Black Dragon's corpse.
"I almost forgot about you." Ye Han walked to the badly mangled Black Dragon corpse and stowed it in the ring, which occupied most of the space.
"Why grow such a large body? I wonder how much you had to eat. What a waste of food," Ye Han shook his head and gradually disappeared.
Not long after Ye Han left, several figures surrounded by white light rushed towards the location.
"This is the aura of the dragon race," someone among the newcomers said.
"Yes, that is—" The group flew to the front and saw Autrus's body.
"It's Lord Autrus; he's been killed," they exclaimed in shock.
"How could this be? Lord Autrus was one of the few with great strength among the saintly tiers. Who could have..." They couldn't believe their eyes as they saw dragon scales and blood scattered on the ground, implying the demise of the dragon too.
"Let's go, we can't stay here long. With the dragon killed, the dragon race will be furious. Their retribution is not something we can bear," they looked at each other and transformed into beams of white light, swiftly leaving the place.