Chapter 131: Battle Against the Flood Dragon

Chapter 131: Battle with the Flood Dragon

The flood dragon never expected that the young man before it would so readily agree to its request. Li Hao himself did not know where the flood dragon had come from or why it had made such a proposition.

Hearing Li Hao’s swift agreement, the flood dragon was somewhat taken aback.

Once Li Hao accepted the dragon’s terms, the flood dragon withdrew three hundred zhang.

Li Hao watched as the flood dragon closed its eyes, perplexed. What he did not realize was that in the water, the dragon’s sensitivity was unaffected by whether its eyes were open or shut.

Because of its massive dragon body, keeping its eyes open actually hindered its senses. Closing its eyes was neither a sign of provocation nor disdain towards Li Hao, but rather a sign of profound respect for him as an opponent.

Li Hao, seeing this unexpected behavior, did not assume arrogance on the dragon’s part. Instead, he thought quietly to himself,

“This creature has shielded its vision for a reason. I must be cautious and not let my guard down.”

After closing its eyes, the flood dragon’s breathing grew weaker. Its scales began to emit a faint, pure light, and the turbulent water around it calmed under the influence of the shimmering law light emanating from its body. The water within several hundred zhang around the dragon became perfectly still.

Witnessing this, Li Hao thought,

“Why has the water around this strange being become so motionless? There must be some hidden truth here. What could it be?”

At that moment, Li Hao was well within the flood dragon’s perception range. Just as he prepared to wield the water law to strike, the dragon’s tail, like a colossal whip, swept horizontally towards him.

Seeing the sweeping tail, Li Hao immediately activated the Phantom Step and sank downward. As he descended, the massive tail swept just over his head.

“Too close!” Li Hao thought.

Without hesitation, Li Hao used the Phantom Step to swiftly approach the dragon’s tail, gathering the water law on his fist and delivering a powerful punch.

The moment his fist neared the dragon’s tail, the struck scales instantly burst with golden light. Li Hao’s fist struck directly upon this glowing point.

Although he struck the golden light, the force reverberated painfully through Li Hao’s fist, nearly causing him to lose consciousness. He thought,

“That hurts! Such a formidable defense.”

Using his physical body to clash head-on with the flood dragon, Li Hao shattered the golden glow where his fist landed, damaging the flesh beneath the scales. The dragon winced in pain, thinking,

“What a powerful physical strength! This young man’s body is incredibly robust, truly unprecedented.”

The golden glow emitted by the scales was not because the dragon had foreseen where Li Hao would strike, but because it had sensed the direction of the attack through its natural aquatic instincts.

This was an instinctive natural response.

The clash between Li Hao and the flood dragon was a tacit acknowledgment of each other’s strength, both secretly alarmed.

After the punch, Li Hao’s fist throbbed with pain, and he ceased using his body to directly clash with the dragon. Instead, he instantly mobilized the laws of Heaven and Earth to control the surrounding water, rapidly condensing a law body hundreds of zhang in size.

As Li Hao summoned his law body, the flood dragon sensed his movement and pinpointed his location. The dragon’s tail did not retract but continued its sweeping motion, drawing its head closer to Li Hao.

As the dragon’s head approached the law body, Li Hao felt danger and thought,

“This is bad!”

Before he could react further, the dragon’s head collided with Li Hao’s law body.

Boom!

After the heavy collision, Li Hao was shocked by the immense power. The flood dragon was similarly awed by the formidable strength of the law body.

The impact sent Li Hao flying backward several hundred zhang, while the dragon’s head was also forced back the same distance. Their strength appeared evenly matched.

The battle between Li Hao and the flood dragon unfolded in a mere instant.

Meanwhile, sensing an abnormal fluctuation through Li Hao’s soul, Xiao Jiu immediately detected something amiss. Without telling Lin Xueyou or the others nearby, he plunged into the vast ocean below and, guided by sensing, headed straight towards Li Hao.

Within a few breaths, Xiao Jiu found Li Hao. From afar, he saw Li Hao confronting the flood dragon and hastened his pace, quickly reaching Li Hao’s side.

“Young master, what’s going on?”

Li Hao asked,

“Brother Xiao Jiu, why did you come down?”

Xiao Jiu replied,

“I sensed your power surging abnormally and worried you might be in trouble, so I came to check. Why is this brute fighting you?”

Li Hao couldn’t help but smile wryly at Xiao Jiu’s words. The flood dragon, hearing Xiao Jiu’s voice, felt displeased but was secretly shaken by the innate kingly aura emanating from Xiao Jiu. It thought,

“What strong power! What overwhelming bloodline pressure! This seemingly human form must be a special dragon race, or else it wouldn’t suppress me so completely.”

As Xiao Jiu questioned, and the flood dragon’s thoughts swirled, Li Hao answered,

“Brother Xiao Jiu, don’t worry. It means no hostility, only wants to spar with me.”

Hearing this, Xiao Jiu’s heart eased. He said to Li Hao,

“Let me handle this one.”

Li Hao considered for a moment, realizing his own strength was still strained against a top-tier Outbound Realm practitioner. After evaluating his power, he agreed,

“Alright.”

Pointing at Xiao Jiu, Li Hao said to the massive creature,

“If he wants to fight you, do you have any objections?”

Though sensing the overwhelming bloodline pressure from Xiao Jiu and unable to gauge his true strength, the flood dragon’s pride would not allow refusal. It replied,

“Fine.”

Xiao Jiu turned to Li Hao and said,

“Young master, please step aside and watch.”

Li Hao did not insist, immediately withdrawing three thousand zhang to give the two titans room to maneuver.

Lin Xueyou and the others were baffled to see Xiao Jiu suddenly dive into the ocean below.

Lu Yao anxiously asked,

“Sister Xueyou, Xiao Jiu left so hurriedly—could it mean Brother Li Hao is in trouble?”

Lin Xueyou considered the possibility and replied,

“Yao’er, don’t worry. I’ll go check.”

Though deeply concerned, Lu Yao understood her own limitations. If Li Hao couldn’t handle the situation, her interference would be futile at best, and more likely a hindrance.

Though young in years, Lu Yao had matured quickly and resembled a girl of fifteen or sixteen, with a temperament more mature than most girls her age. Hearing Lin Xueyou’s words, she did not cry or protest but simply nodded in agreement,

“All right.”

“I’ll go too!”

Those words stirred the others.

Kui Hu and a few others also wanted to join.

At this moment, Lin Xueyou displayed a big sister’s demeanor, decisively refusing,

“I think Zhen Ba and I should go. You three are too weak. If even Li Hao, Xiao Jiu, and Zhen Ba can’t resolve this, you won’t make much difference. The Middle Realm is fraught with danger. You three should stay behind and protect Lu Yao and the others. Your task is important—don’t take it lightly. Oh, and Ling Da Ge, you stay too, and help Kui Hu and the others protect the two girls, alright?”

Ling Guanghan knew his own strength and was pleased to be entrusted with such responsibility, though he concealed his joy completely.

Kui Hu and the others suddenly realized how weak they truly were. Their former pride as peerless prodigies diminished completely in the presence of these young talents.

Though disappointed, none opposed Lin Xueyou’s plan. Even Qin Zhen, no longer as wild as before, obediently agreed,

“Alright, we’ll follow Sister Xueyou’s arrangement. If we fail to protect the two girls, I’ll have no face to walk with you.”

Kui Hu and Li Zhan echoed,

“Same here.”

The three exchanged glances and nodded in silent agreement.

Ling Guanghan and Miss Qing’er, witnessing their reactions, felt an overwhelming sense of inferiority. They realized the gulf between themselves and these youths was vast, and their former glories paled in comparison.

Lin Xueyou paid no mind to their thoughts. Taking her newly acquainted younger brother Zhen Ba, she summoned the laws of Heaven and Earth to erect a barrier and plunged into the deep sea below.

The surrounding youths, seeing their unusual actions, harbored all manner of speculation.

Some said,

“We should go see too!”

Others said,

“Wait a little longer!”

Still others said,

“Let’s find out the truth first!”

Below, in the depths of the sea, Li Hao and Xiao Jiu prepared for battle. Just as Xiao Jiu was about to engage the flood dragon, they sensed Lin Xueyou and Zhen Ba’s arrival and paused their confrontation temporarily.

The flood dragon, seeing two more young humans approaching, each with considerable cultivation, was secretly astonished,

“How can these few human youths all possess such monstrous talents? They are truly among the world’s finest prodigies.”

Through spiritual sensing, Lin Xueyou and Zhen Ba soon located Li Hao and approached with concern.

“Sister Lin Xueyou, what’s happening?” Li Hao looked at their arrival with gratitude.

“Nothing much, just sparring with that big guy. Didn’t expect to trouble you all.”

Lin Xueyou and Zhen Ba exchanged surprised looks,

“Sparring?”