With Ye Han's assistance through his essence blood, the Winged Dragon King Baeris successfully broke free from the constraints of a ninth-order beast and evolved into a true dragon of the saint level. Gaining more heritage and knowledge about the continent, Baeris became aware of many things. However, Ye Han had no time to delve into these matters.
Ye Han quickly formed hand signs, and the hundreds of Winged Dragons that had been separated reappeared in front of him and Baeris. The dragons, initially enraged by the environmental changes, instantly bowed and trembled upon sensing Baeris's immense draconic aura and saint-level beast presence.
"Master, Baeris has a request," Baeris's voice entered Ye Han's soul.
"Speak."
"Please spare my kin."
"It is granted," Ye Han responded indifferently. At Baeris's roar, its formidable dragon might burst forth anew.
"I need them as mounts for my undead knights," Ye Han transmitted his voice into Baeris's mind. About five hundred Winged Dragons could turn as many undead into Dragon Knights, significantly enhancing their strength and ensuring Xiaoya's safety.
"Agreed," Baeris responded promptly and conveyed Ye Han's intentions in the dragon tongue. A series of roars followed, and Baeris swiftly eliminated a Winged Dragon that challenged its decision. The strict hierarchy among magical beasts demanded death for defiance unless one could overthrow their king.
The sudden attack caused the other Winged Dragons to tremble more violently, and none dared make another sound. "Good, tell them to stay still."
Baeris roared again, and Ye Han released his psychic power, covering about five hundred Winged Dragons. After a moment of ethereal fluctuation, all the dragons vanished, along with Ye Han and Baeris.
Of the thirty thousand people Ye Han had acquired, after his ruthless and brutal selection, only about two thousand five hundred survived. Thanks to the essence blood given by Ye Han, they quickly recovered their strength.
The zombies, inherently possessing abnormal self-healing abilities, benefited from the essence blood, which made their bodies tougher and increased their speed and strength several times over.
Under the guidance of three god-level powerhouses, their cultivation in fighting spirit progressed smoothly. Many broke through their original levels within days, with some even advancing two ranks. The lowest among these survivors were now sixth-order swordsmen, and the strongest reached the eighth order. Their actual combat abilities far exceeded their ranks due to their prolonged exposure to life-and-death battles.
Ye Han and Baeris appeared before them, opting not to materialize in the Blood Mist Blood Pool due to Baeris's presence. Behind Ye Han were nearly five hundred Winged Dragons.
"Master," the two thousand men stood erect and respectfully greeted Ye Han, their voices echoing throughout the Doomsday Prison. Their strength and souls were not formidable, but the blood mark had completely altered their souls in just a few days.
Ye Han observed the two thousand men before him, his eyes devoid of emotion. Their aura, thick with the scent of blood from constant battle, spoke of coldness, ruthlessness, and bloodlust.
Curtis and two others approached Ye Han, standing respectfully before him.
With a wave of his hand, Ye Han divided another five hundred drops of essence blood from the pool, directing them towards the Winged Dragons. He instructed Baeris to convey his intentions to them. After witnessing Baeris's power, none of the Winged Dragons dared to defy the command. They quickly swallowed the essence blood, but Ye Han didn't release the energy within it yet.
"Let them choose their mounts in turns and conquer them with their strength. You know why this must be done." After instructing them, Ye Han vanished from the Doomsday Prison and returned to the Hengduan Mountains. The next day was the day of his battle with the mid-stage saint-level warrior, and he needed to prepare.
Finding a secluded spot, Ye Han set up a Spirit Gathering Formation and began to cultivate. Since his bloodline awakening, he no longer deliberately absorbed the energy of Tai Yin for cultivation. Instead, all energy he absorbed was refined by his death essence into Tai Yin energy, albeit only a fraction of what he gathered.
In just a few days of shuttling between the Doomsday Prison and Qingming Continent, Ye Han's soul power had been reduced to less than half. He planned to spend the day recovering the depleted soul power.
The Fan Shi Jue technique circulated rapidly, filling his body with powerful energy. The once ocean-like energy, after refinement by the death essence, now felt like a tranquil stream.
As the sun set, Ye Han emerged from his cultivation, his body cracking and popping as he moved. A slight smile crossed his face.
Looking up at the sky, he knew that tomorrow's battle would be the most formidable he had faced in years, directly under the watchful eyes of all powers.
In the eastern forest of Myatt City, as dusk fell and the magical beasts began their nightly hunt, a black figure rose from the ground, his snow-white hair fluttering in the wind.
Ye Han didn't believe in true fairness. This world was built on strength and power.
Time passed quickly, and as the sun rose amid the anticipation of all powers, Myatt City was abuzz. The life-and-death battle between Ye Han and the mid-stage saint-level warrior was set for today.
The morning glow spread across the sky, awakening the sleeping forest and bringing new light and life to the continent. In the eastern forest outside Myatt City, the area was packed with people from major families and powers. The saint-level warrior who would battle Ye Han floated in the air, quietly waiting.
Without a doubt, every swordsman and mage in Myatt City was focused on this battle. An individual below the saint level daring to challenge a mid-stage saint-level warrior had captured everyone's attention.
"Look there," someone in the forest exclaimed, pointing towards the sky.
A black dot rapidly approached the forest. Those on the ground, lacking the strength of a saint-level being, couldn't make out what it was, but the floating saint-level powerhouses saw it clearly and frowned slightly.
Moments later, the true nature of the black dot became apparent to all. A huge dragon was rapidly flying towards them.
"Dragon," the people on the ground exclaimed in surprise.
A loud dragon roar broke the silence of the sky, and the dragon's massive wings beat fiercely, bringing a fierce wind as it approached.
Under the gaze of tens of thousands, a twenty-meter-long black dragon landed heavily about fifty meters away. A powerful dragon aura and saint-level presence enveloped the area.
When everyone looked at the dragon's back, their minds struggled to comprehend the sight. Standing atop the dragon were two figures - one in a black robe with snow-white hair, his handsome face with eyes fixed intently on the crowd. Beside him stood a delicate-looking young girl.
"That's Ye Han," someone recognized the person atop the dragon. It was Ye Han, the protagonist of today's life-and-death battle.
Ye Han and a saint-level dragon - the audience was incredulous. A true Dragon Knight, with a saint-level dragon as a mount.
Facing the crowd and the twenty-odd floating saint-level powerhouses, Ye Han turned to Xiaoya, "Xiaoya, you shouldn't have come out."
Xiaoya, however, shook her head resolutely, "No, today is Brother Ye Han's battle with the saint-level warrior. I want to be by your side."
Hearing her words, Ye Han sighed and decided not to argue. He lightly tapped Baeris, the dragon, and it took flight, moving twenty meters to the left of the forest. Ye Han then leapt down from Baeris, helping Xiaoya down as well.
Ye Han guided Xiaoya to a spot and instructed her to stay inside a one-meter-wide circle he drew on the ground. Xiaoya obediently nodded her understanding.
After receiving Xiaoya's affirmation, Ye Han took out a ninth-order magic core and infused it with energy before embedding it into the ground. A faint energy barrier appeared around them.
This was a defensive formation Ye Han had prepared the previous night for Xiaoya's safety. He had used all the ninth-order magic cores from his ring to power it. Based on a vast amount of energy, this seemingly small formation was impervious to anyone below the god-level from the outside, but those inside could leave. Thus, Ye Han repeatedly emphasized to Xiaoya to stay within the circle regardless of what she saw or heard. After completing these arrangements, Ye Han leapt onto Baeris's back, and the dragon, flapping its massive wings, slowly ascended to the same height as the twenty-odd saint-level beings.
Ye Han's action angered all the saint-level powerhouses. A ninth-order being daring to stand at the same height as them was a blatant insult. However, they could not act against Ye Han today, as they were not the protagonists of this event.
The mid-stage saint-level warrior, the true protagonist, stared intensely at Ye Han.
"Be prepared to die," he said, setting the stage for the impending battle.