"Hey, you snake! Come out here!" shouted Wukong into the water.
The water bubbled, and the dragon emerged, glaring at Wukong.
"Hehe, I'm back and I'm settling the score with you! Prepare to die!" Wukong took a fighting stance and twirled her staff with great agility.
"Pfft," the dragon looked at Wukong with disdain, as if it were watching a circus monkey.
"Go ahead, be arrogant! I'll show you what absolute power looks like!" She leaped towards the dragon, striking swiftly.
Seeing this, the dragon exhaled a cold gust of wind, intending to blow her away.
She used his staff like a fan, creating a gust of wind equivalent to the dragon's.
"Hmph! Is that all you've got?" She landed on the dragon's nose, tightly gripping its whiskers and pulling hard.
"RAGHHHHHH!!!!" In agony, the dragon immediately thrashed around, making it difficult for her to stand firm, so she jumped out.
Then, the enraged dragon glared at Wukong, beginning to emanate even stronger energy than the previous clash.
"So, you're getting serious now, too bad a snake is still just a snake!" She laughed mockingly, also emitting powerful and fiery energy.
The dragon swung its tail at her, who managed to use her staff to block the attack but was sent flying into a nearby cave, causing it to collapse.
"Jingu Bang, EXPAND!!!" Suddenly, the staff grew larger, knocking away all the rocks blocking Wukong's path.
Then she swung it at the dragon.
The blow was very powerful, sending the dragon flying and crashing into many caves, completely blocking the way.
"Seems like calling you a snake was too much of a compliment, you should be a sea worm instead!" She taunted the dragon as she advanced towards it.
The dragon had never felt so insulted, being mocked and humiliated by this audacious monkey, and being defeated so painfully. Anger consumed it, driving it to reach new heights of power. The purple energy began to emanate more strongly.
Wukong sensed something was amiss and inspected the dragon with its blood-red eyes.
"Level 5... no, Level 6?" She squinted at the dragon, then burst into laughter.
"Kikihahahaha!! No matter if it's Level 6 or whatever, a worm is still a worm! FOR I AM THE STRONGEST!" She grinned like a beast, raising her right hand.
Energy gradually gathered right on her palm, forming a sphere resembling the sun. It grew larger and hotter, truly terrifying.
"Die." She spoke with a chilling tone, her eyes glowing with malice and arrogance.
The dragon didn't back down either; it began absorbing the surrounding energy at a rapid pace, emitting a chilling gust of wind.
Energy accumulated in its mouth, radiating a mesmerizing light. Water evaporated, leaving the area dry and barren.
The dragon unleashed a blast of pure white-blue energy directly at her.
But...
Wukong released the sphere, absorbing all of the dragon's attack and growing even larger than before. As the sphere approached closer and closer, its instincts drove it to fly higher into the sky.
"Don't even think about escaping, filth" She wielded her staff, striking the fireball and causing it to fly closer to the dragon.
It seemed like no matter what the dragon did, it couldn't escape.
*BOOM!
The loud explosion echoed, reaching animals as far as 10 km away from the battlefield. Wukong landed and approached the severely burned dragon.
The dragon was gasping for breath, almost unable to breathe.
"Any last words of denial? I hope you have some" she pointed his weapon at the dragon, speaking with a malicious grin.
The dragon looked at her with eyes full of hatred.
"Is that all? Tch, whatever, I still enjoyed this battle" she raised her staff, preparing to kill the dragon.
"WAIT!!" A familiar voice rang in Wukong's ears, causing the attack to halt right near the dragon's head.
Turning to look, she saw Tang Sanzang sweating and exhausted, with a significant amount of energy emanating from his left hand.
'...that energy is really dangerous' her instincts whispered, causing her to take a few steps back.
"Wukong! Don't kill it!"
"Huh? Why?" She looked puzzled at Tang Sanzang.
"Just listen to me!" Tang Sanzang's gaze was firm as she looked at him.
"What if I say no? I've told you before, it's kill or be killed, so don't get in my way" she replied sternly.
"Wukong, you've never been wrong, but that doesn't mean you're always right."
"What do you mean?" She asked, puzzled.
"If the world were as you say, kill or be killed, then the concept of hidden motives wouldn't exist from the start."
"And... I won't set you free if I'm not certain that your existence will definitely save me from death."
She looked into his determined eyes and sighed.
"Do whatever you want." She shrunk the Jingu Bang and tucked it into her ear.
Then, he looked at the dragon and approached it. The dragon glared at Tang Sanzang, but he didn't hesitate, even getting closer.
Seeing this, the dragon emitted a bit of energy to create pressure, causing him to pause, but he didn't stop.
'Huh? Enduring Level 6 pressure without fainting is quite unusual, especially for someone at Level 1' Wukong thought to herself.
The dragon began to feel confused, unsure of what this human was planning.
The sound of footsteps stopped, and Tang Sanzang stood in front of the dragon, both of them locking eyes.
'What's going on? Why are they staring at each other so intently?'
Tang Sanzang then also emitted a small amount of energy, but for some reason, this energy was very gentle.
At this moment, Tang Sanzang's face was full of compassion, devoid of any pretense, surprising her.
Even the dragon trembled, looking at him with confusion.
He raised his left hand and...
Petted the dragon's head.
Golden light radiated throughout the dragon's body, giving it a warmth it had never experienced before, along with the human's compassion as he stroked its head.
The light dazzled Wukong, causing her to shield her eyes.
And when the light faded, what remained left her speechless.
No longer was there a dragon suffering from burns and gasping for breath; all that remained was a young girl with long white hair and two horn-like protrusions that looked like crystal.
'...what in the world is happening?' Wukong wondered to herself.