Facing the charging Winged Dragon King, Ye Han kept retreating. He found himself in a dilemma, as the dragon, too, possessed the pride of its draconic lineage, making it difficult for Ye Han to decide how to subdue it without killing.
To tame a fully-grown magical beast, one must capture its soul, making it a truly subservient combat partner that can unleash its full potential in battle.
As the Winged Dragon King lunged at him, Ye Han stopped dodging. Emitting a gray aura, he prepared to confront the dragon head-on. Unfazed by Ye Han's transformation, the massive dragon continued its assault with its formidable wings.
Ye Han's fists, brimming with power, met the oncoming black wings with full force. The collision was fierce, and both Ye Han and the dragon were pushed back.
"Strong indeed," Ye Han realized after their first clash. The dragon had managed to repel him despite his full-strength attack.
The dragon's wings, tough as steel and wrapped in black flames, swooped down again. The Winged Dragon King, incapable of speech, roared continuously, its eyes fiercely fixed on Ye Han, determined to tear him apart.
The Winged Dragon King, as the ruler of its kind, was not to be underestimated. In the gray void, a small figure and a massive beast engaged in intense combat, the sounds of their struggle echoing continuously.
As time passed, the dragon fought more fiercely, while Ye Han found it impossible to penetrate its defenses, his attacks feeling like they were striking iron.
With no other viable option and unwilling to kill the dragon, Ye Han transformed. His large purple wings flared, contrasting sharply with the dragon's black form. His gray eyes stared intently at the Winged Dragon King.
However, upon Ye Han's transformation, the dragon ceased its attacks and began retreating until it lay prostrate five meters away from Ye Han, trembling and staring fearfully at him.
Realizing why the dragon reacted this way, Ye Han remembered his awakening through the bloodline of a Black Dragon. The dragon's essence naturally exuded from him, especially after his transformation.
Being a pseudo-dragon species, the Winged Dragon King was highly sensitive to the true dragon's essence and feared Ye Han.
Ye Han's powerful purple wings fluttered as he slowly flew towards the dragon. As he approached, the dragon trembled even more.
Knowing further combat was unnecessary, Ye Han summoned a drop of his essence blood, which floated in the void. He trusted not the continent's so-called contracts but his essence blood, believing in the indelible mark it would leave on the soul. No matter the creature's power, it could never erase this soul bond.
With a commanding aura, Ye Han ordered, "Consume it."
Without further words, he stated his intention. The Winged Dragon King, gazing at the dark red essence blood, struggled to decide. Reaching the eighth order, magical beasts could understand human language and were not intellectually inferior to humans.
After a moment, under Ye Han's icy stare, the dragon reluctantly consumed the essence blood. Ye Han immediately activated the blood, implanting his mark within the dragon's soul.
"You've reached the peak of the ninth order; I'll help you. Whether you break through depends on you." Ye Han released the energy contained within the essence blood. The blood, condensed from his life essence, could grant immense power to the consumer or turn them into mindless zombies.
The powerful energy from the essence blood circulated rapidly within the Winged Dragon King, eventually surging into its ninth-order magic core. The core absorbed the energy voraciously, like a bottomless pit.
The transformation of the magic core, combined with the influx of immense energy, caused the dragon to cease its trembling. Instead, it leapt and roared within the gray void, enveloped in a mix of black and blood-red energy, its body almost completely obscured by the dense power. The sight was both mesmerizing and eerie.
The Winged Dragon King, blessed with draconic blood and talent, had reached the ninth order in mere decades. However, breaking into the saint level was significantly more challenging due to its incomplete draconic heritage.
Confronted with the onrushing Winged Dragon King, Ye Han continuously retreated. The dragon's draconic pride made it difficult for him to subdue without resorting to killing. To truly tame an adult magical beast, one must capture its soul so it becomes an absolutely subservient combat partner, unleashing greater power in battle.
Facing the charging Winged Dragon King, Ye Han ceased dodging and prepared for a direct confrontation. The dragon, unfazed by Ye Han's aura, continued its fierce attack.
Ye Han's fists, filled with power, collided with the black wings, resulting in a fierce clash that pushed both back. The dragon's wings, as tough as steel and enveloped in black flames, swooped down again, its roars unceasing.
Being the king of its species, the dragon's strength was formidable. In the gray void, a fierce battle ensued between the small figure of Ye Han and the massive beast.
As time passed, the dragon became more ferocious, and Ye Han couldn't break through its defenses.
Ye Han transformed, revealing his immense power. His purple wings spread out, contrasting with the dragon's black form. His gray eyes fixated on the Winged Dragon King.
Upon Ye Han's transformation, the dragon ceased its attacks and retreated, eventually prostrating itself before him, trembling and staring fearfully.
Realizing the dragon reacted to his dragon essence, Ye Han understood its submission. As a pseudo-dragon species, the Winged Dragon King was sensitive to the true dragon's essence and feared Ye Han.
Ye Han's powerful purple wings fluttered as he ascended into the air, approaching the dragon. As he drew nearer, the dragon trembled even more.
Knowing further combat was unnecessary, Ye Han summoned a drop of his essence blood, floating in the void. He trusted in the indelible mark it would leave on the dragon's soul.
With a commanding presence, Ye Han ordered the dragon to consume the essence blood. The Winged Dragon King hesitated, but under Ye Han's icy stare, it consumed the blood. Ye Han then activated the blood, planting his mark within the dragon's soul.
"You've reached the peak of the ninth order; I'll help you break through," Ye Han said, releasing the energy within the essence blood. The blood, condensed from his life essence, could grant immense power or turn beings into mindless zombies.
The energy from the essence blood circulated rapidly within the Winged Dragon King, eventually surging into its ninth-order magic core. The core absorbed the energy voraciously.
As the dragon absorbed more of the purple energy, its body began to tremble and elongate, starting to transform into a true dragon.
Ye Han, feeling a bit anxious, monitored the dragon's transformation through their soul connection. The process of evolving into a dragon was a complete and painful transformation, fraught with soul-breaking agony and rebirth.
The dragon's own black energy burst forth, intertwining with the external purple energy, creating a visually intense conflict. The powerful energy eruption caused Ye Han's formation to shake violently. Ye Han quickly increased his energy output to stabilize the formation.
The Winged Dragon King's body underwent a series of ethereal and intense tremors, signaling the final moment of transformation.
A more majestic and authoritative dragon roar resounded, which, had it not been for the formation, Ye Han believed could have echoed across the entire Hengduan Mountain Range. Ye Han barely comprehended what transpired, but the dragon emerged from the purple energy cocoon, reborn.
"Dragon," Ye Han exclaimed in astonishment. A creature resembling a true dragon more than the Black Dragon, Nilasek, appeared before his eyes.
With a massive body nearing twenty meters in length, the dragon exuded might and grandeur. Its tail swished powerfully, the head raised high, and the wings beat with formidable strength. Its four claws floated in the air.
"Perfect," was the only word Ye Han could find to describe the creature before him.
Ye Han also ascended into the air, his snow-white hair flowing upward, his body covered in purple scales emitting an aura that could shake one's soul. A rich scent of blood permeated the space.
"Master," a deep voice resonated within Ye Han's soul, the Winged Dragon King's alluring purple eyes respectfully gazing at Ye Han floating in the air.
"It's done," Ye Han communicated directly with the dragon through their soul connection, without speaking aloud.
"Yes, thank you, Master," the Winged Dragon King, now named Abyssal Dragon King Baeris, responded and gently landed on the ground, lowering its massive head.
Ye Han flew onto the back of the dragon, now resting on its enormous body. The energy emanating from Baeris felt similar to the Black Dragon Nilasek, but mixed with a dense scent of blood and a shift in color from black to purple.
"Master, I have not evolved into a Dark Abyssal Dragon but a higher order of dragon lineage – the Abyssal Dragon King Baeris," the dragon communicated.
Ye Han realized the dragon claimed to be of a higher lineage than regular dragon species. "Are there magical beasts higher than the dragon lineage on this continent?"
"Of course, there are many magical beasts on this continent with a higher order than our dragon lineage," Baeris replied, indicating a vast and complex hierarchy of magical creatures beyond what Ye Han had known.