Ziji was a pure-blooded dragon, and though her cultivation hadn't reached 300,000 years, her potent draconic lineage made her formidable. It would take at least a Level 98 Super Douluo to defeat her—assuming no use of battle armor.
Xia Yi frowned. Ziji engaging in a fight here, regardless of the outcome, wouldn't end well for her.
Let's not forget, this was near Heaven Dou City.
If the fight continued, it could attract human powerhouses and lead to a siege.
"What's going on?" Mu Xi asked Xia Yi, her face pale with fright.
Although Ziji's battle was high above, concealed within the clouds, the powerful aura still made it hard for Mu Xi to breathe.
"I don't know. Let's go." Without hesitation, Xia Yi started the soul-powered car and sped off.
Though he didn't understand the situation or know who was fighting Ziji, one thing was clear: Ziji was an unintended target.
That meant the attacker likely had another goal, and that goal was likely Xia Yi.
Staying close to Xia Yi was how they discovered Ziji.
With his current strength, Xia Yi couldn't help Ziji. But if the enemy was targeting him, escaping might force them to split their attention. If Ziji got even a moment's distraction, she would have a chance to turn the tide.
As Xia Yi predicted, the attacker's target was indeed him.
Just as his soul-powered car started, a whoosh of black flames shot down from the clouds, forming a fiery wall several meters high to block his path.
"So I am the target!" Xia Yi muttered, quickly turning the car to escape in the opposite direction.
Whoosh, whoosh! Two more flames descended, blocking his path again.
Suddenly, a thunderous dragon roar echoed. A purple vortex materialized beneath Xia Yi's car.
Before he could react, an overwhelming suction force pulled Xia Yi, Mu Xi, and the entire vehicle into the vortex.
"You can't escape. My Battle Armor Domain covers this entire area. No one can teleport out," an icy voice called from the sky.
As expected, the black flames burned fiercely deep within the purple vortex, emitting terrifying heat. Ziji frowned, realizing that forcing a teleport would incinerate Xia Yi and Mu Xi to ashes.
"Break!" Ziji roared. Terrifying purple energy condensed into a dark purple miniature dragon, about a meter long, which hurtled toward the black flames.
The mere overflow of energy from the clash knocked Xia Yi and Mu Xi unconscious.
Boom! The explosion was deafening. As the purple dragon dissipated, the black flames were extinguished in an instant.
The moment the black flames vanished, the purple vortex erupted with a suction force far stronger than before, swallowing Xia Yi, Mu Xi, and the vehicle in a flash. They disappeared without a trace.
After completing this, Ziji's complexion paled, but before she could recover, a black flame struck her, sending her plummeting from the sky.
"I'm curious. Who could be so important that the mighty Hell Demon Dragon King would risk her life to protect?" A tall figure clad in dark battle armor descended slowly from above.
Despite the black flames surrounding her, it was clear the figure was a woman with an exceptional figure.
Though the fight with Ziji hadn't lasted long, the woman understood that Ziji would have been impossible to defeat if she hadn't prioritized saving Xia Yi.
If Ziji had wanted to escape, she wouldn't have been able to stop her.
The woman hadn't expected Ziji to sacrifice her chance of escape for Xia Yi.
She was baffled as to why a fearsome beast would go to such lengths to protect a mere boy.
"Since you know who I am, you should realize that if something happens to me today, you won't survive either," Ziji said coldly, staring at the woman.
"I'm well aware. With Beast God Ditian's capabilities, even the slightest clue would lead him to me. But today, I won't leave any traces behind," the woman said with a laugh. With a wave of her hand, a gust of fiery wind swept through the area, bringing Xia Yi and Mu Xi—whom Ziji had teleported away—back before her.
"You did it on purpose—to drain my strength," Ziji said, her eyes widening in disbelief.
The woman's smile grew cold. "Did you really think I'd let you send them away?"
"You'd better let him go, or you'll regret it," Ziji said, her beautiful eyes flashing with determination.
"Regret? I have too many regrets to count—what's one more?" The woman sneered, her icy gaze fixed on Xia Yi and Mu Xi. "Originally, I planned to use them to threaten Zhen Hua into upgrading my battle armor. But now, I think it's better to eliminate all potential traces. After all, Ditian is not someone I can afford to provoke."
The temptation of a four-word battle armor was immense, but the woman wouldn't risk exposing herself by killing Ziji.
She reached for Xia Yi, grabbing him by the neck. But just as she twisted her hand, a snap echoed—not from Xia Yi's neck but from her armored thumb, which broke.
"What?! Impossible!" The woman was stunned. With her strength, she could easily snap the neck of an ordinary Title Douluo. Yet, not only had Xia Yi's neck remained intact, her own thumb had broken instead.
Determined, she switched hands, this time gathering soul power. But before she could act, an eerie dark-green light erupted from Xia Yi's body, enveloping her completely.
"No!" she screamed, realizing she was being pulled toward Xia Yi.
Her left arm was drawn into Xia Yi's body, as though his form had turned into an intangible void, trapping her.
"What is this?" she cried, looking at Ziji for answers.
But Ziji was equally shocked, unable to comprehend the situation.
The woman's desperate attempts to attack Xia Yi were futile. The green light absorbed her energy, rendering her powerless.
"This... this is a divine artifact!" Ziji gasped, wide-eyed, as the woman summoned a crimson dagger in her free hand—a one-use divine weapon.
In her desperation, the woman aimed the dagger at Xia Yi's heart, unwilling to believe she couldn't kill a mere Soul Scholar.
But as the dagger pierced his chest, it passed through effortlessly, doing no harm to Xia Yi. Instead, the woman's right arm was drawn into his body.
Now defenseless, she was fully consumed by the green light and disappeared into Xia Yi's form.
When it was over, a black phoenix tattoo emerged on Xia Yi's right arm, stretching from his hand to his shoulder.
"What... just happened?" Ziji whispered, still in shock.
Even as the green light faded, she hesitated to approach Xia Yi.
Suddenly, Ziji glanced upward and vanished instantly.
"Evil Soul Masters? How dare you!" Zhen Hua's voice roared from the heavens.
From the black flames and traces left behind, he could sense the presence of Evil Soul Masters.
Xia Yi and Mu Xi had been targeted because of him.
Enraged, Zhen Hua vowed to respond, knowing the Evil Soul Masters would otherwise continue threatening those around him.
(End of Chapter)