Chapter 36: Who is the Azure Dragon? Qualification Assessment
The cyan giant dragon coiled in the sky, its golden vertical pupils sweeping over the remaining Flying Wing Beasts.
"Wind Scythe!" Chen Yu gave a low shout. The dragon tail whipped violently, sending overwhelming blades of wind sweeping out.
Swaths of Flying Wing Beasts were instantly sliced, tendons snapped and bones broken, plummeting into the dense forest.
"Blast Breath!"
Chen Yu opened his mouth. Scorching flame poured out like a waterfall, turning the last small pocket of resisting beasts into flying ash.
But just then, the Azure Dragon's massive body trembled slightly. The luster of the emerald scales covering his whole body dimmed a few shades, and the lightning and wind momentum surrounding him weakened.
Chen Yu thought to himself, 'Sure enough, having just mastered the fruit ability, the consumption of maintaining a hundred-meter giant dragon form far exceeds expectations.'
The majestic power in his body was draining at a speed visible to the naked eye, and waves of soreness came from his limbs and bones.
He looked down.
The aerial interception team below had recovered from their shock and was busy treating the wounded and cleaning up the battlefield.
The wretched state of being suppressed by the beast swarm was gone.
"The crisis is mostly resolved," Chen Yu realized.
Originally, he just wanted to test his power and help out along the way. Now that the crisis was paused, there was no need for Chen Yu to stay here.
He turned around and flew toward Ling Yue and the others.
The Azure Dragon's massive body began to shrink. The golden light gradually faded, and the crackling sound of bones rang out again.
In just a moment, the near-hundred-meter Azure Dragon turned back into the roughly 1.8-meter-tall Chen Yu.
A wisp of faint Flame Cloud condensed under his feet, supporting him as he slowly descended, returning to the side of the helicopter.
Inside the helicopter, Zhou Mingxuan, Wei Tianyi, and Ling Yue had already recovered from their shock.
Seeing Chen Yu land, Zhou Mingxuan was the first to rush out, his face written with fanaticism.
"Bro! Was that a dragon? That was a dragon, right?!"
"You really deserve to die, dammit! That was way too handsome just now! That dragon form was simply explosive!"
Wei Tianyi also stepped forward, respect in his eyes. "Chen Yu, your fruit ability is probably the most top-tier Zoan in the history of the Alliance."
"Don't praise me yet." Chen Yu waved his hand. There was a trace of exhaustion on his face, but a smile hung on the corners of his mouth.
"Using skills emptied my stamina bar. The consumption was a bit high."
After speaking, his footsteps staggered slightly; his stamina was failing.
Chen Yu scratched his head. Transforming into the Azure Dragon wasn't effortless, but using elemental attacks consumed stamina.
But a Zoan was a Zoan; Chen Yu could clearly feel his stamina recovering continuously.
In just a few minutes, Chen Yu perked up again.
Ling Yue acutely noticed his state and frowned.
"Let's go back and rest first."
"Leave the remaining clean-up work to the interception team."
Chen Yu nodded. He didn't try to be brave and leaned back in the helicopter seat, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.
In the distance.
The Awakeners of the interception team looked in Chen Yu's direction, their eyes full of gratitude and awe.
The captain's communication device rang. "Hello, hello, hello!"
"Aerial Interception Team, do you copy?"
"Hold on, support is arriving!"
"No." The captain replied, his voice trembling slightly.
"We don't need reinforcements anymore."
Hearing this, the other end of the communicator went abruptly silent, the voice choking up.
"Has... has the whole army been wiped out?"
"Huh?" The captain froze, then quickly explained, "No, the Flying Wing Beast swarm has been dealt with."
Now it was the other side's turn to freeze. "Dealt with?"
"You guys only have ten or so people in total, with an average realm of Apprentice . A temporarily assembled interception team solved a Trainee Flying Wing Beast swarm?"
"You guys didn't get overrun?"
"Uh..." The captain was a bit speechless. Does this guy know how to talk or not?
"We almost got overrun, but a dragon suddenly appeared and one-shotted the beast swarm. I thought it was the reinforcement."
"..."
This time, the other side was silent for quite a while. "Dragon?"
"Yeah, a real dragon," the captain said with certainty. "The kind that rides clouds and mist."
"You've seen a dragon?"
"I really saw a dragon. An Azure Dragon."
"..."
In the following two days, news of a dragon appearing in Lanjiang City spread like wildfire.
At first, people didn't believe it, but then pictures and videos came out.
A giant dragon coiling in the sky, its body length stretching out endlessly!
The videos and pictures of the Azure Dragon appearing in Lanjiang City were like sparks thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire Alliance's public opinion field.
Big screens on the streets of major cities, online forums, and social platforms were almost dominated by the word "Dragon." All kinds of speculations emerged endlessly, creating a noisy uproar.
Under the pinned post on the official Alliance forum, hundreds of thousands of comments accumulated in just one day.
They were mainly divided into three factions.
"Look at that size! A hundred-meter-long body and the pressure brought by Dragon Might—it's definitely a High-Order fierce beast!"
"Previously, there was movement in the Sector 7 beast tide. Maybe this is the 'King' of the beast swarm. I just don't know why it suddenly turned traitor and slaughtered the Flying Wing Beasts. It might want to monopolize the territory of Lanjiang City for itself. We must be vigilant!"
"Not necessarily. In the past half-year, spatial fluctuations have occurred in several Secret Realms in the East. I heard ancient creatures have spilled out from the rifts."
"This dragon glows with spiritual light and can control wind, fire, thunder, and clouds. It's obviously not an ordinary thing. There's a high probability it's a guardian creature from some ancient Secret Realm that accidentally stumbled into the real world. Maybe it was just passing by, and solving the beast swarm was a coincidence!"
"Stop guessing blindly! Where would a fierce beast or Secret Realm creature come from that helps humans? It must be a top-tier powerhouse hidden by the Alliance!"
"Think about it. To be able to transform into a dragon and possess elemental control... maybe it's some old monster who has lived for hundreds of years, usually in seclusion, who only took action seeing Lanjiang City in crisis."
"If the dragon were a fierce beast, it would have flattened Lanjiang City long ago."
"Secret Realm creatures don't have such high intelligence. It must be a powerhouse in disguise."
The Alliance's higher-ups were also paying close attention to this matter and had already sent an investigation team to the site.
_____________
Unlike the clamor of the outside world.
Inside the Tianyi Sword Dojo, it was so quiet that only the whoosh whoosh sound of sword edges cutting through the air could be heard.
Chen Yu wore simple training clothes, holding a wooden sword, practicing basic sword moves over and over again.
In these two days, his realm had also stabilized at the peak of the Beginner, ready to charge towards the Apprentice.
He turned a deaf ear to the discussions outside. During these days of seclusion, aside from recovering stamina, he was furiously grinding proficiency for various skills.
At the same time, the development of the Azure Dragon fruit was put on the agenda, along with teaching Ling Yue and the others how to use Haki.
"That's it for today. Haki cultivation cannot be rushed." Chen Yu wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead.
Today, Ling Wenhe was also present. "I didn't expect the Azure Dragon everyone is buzzing about outside to be you!"
He was full of shock. "Is your current strength... comparable to the ?!"
Chen Yu knew he had misunderstood and smiled to explain, "It's not that exaggerated."
"Transforming into the Azure Dragon gives a large boost, but the consumption is also large." Chen Yu cupped his chin.
"In a normal state, I should be at the low-end of the Trainee , approaching Trainee Mid-stage strength."
Zhou Mingxuan rolled his eyes at the side. He couldn't stand Chen Yu's humble-bragging.
He had known Chen Yu for less than half a month. In their usual sparring, it went from him winning easily to now being crushed instantly...
Zhou Mingxuan's expression froze. Forget it, I won't say it.
"Ling, why are you here again?" Wei Tianyi also finished his cultivation and stood up to ask.
"Oh," Ling Wenhe said. "I transferred Ling Yue's student status to Lanjiang. Afterward, her military training will take place here in Lanjiang."
Just then, Chen Yu's communication Den Den Mushi suddenly rang. The screen displayed the name "Lin Mo."
"Is this Teacher Chen?"
"Teacher Lin, I've said it so many times, don't call me Teacher." Chen Yu said helplessly.
"Hahaha, let's just call each other whatever."
"I'm just here to notify you, Teacher Chen: please go to the Eastern Awakener's Association Headquarters in three days to participate in the Military Training Qualification Assessment. Only by passing the assessment can you enter the academy for military training."
"Military Training Qualification Assessment?" Chen Yu paused for a moment, then reacted.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you."
Hanging up the communicator, Chen Yu looked at Ling Yue. "Uncle Ling, Ling Yue is also participating in Lanjiang's military training, right?"
"Does she also have to participate in the Qualification Assessment?"
Ling Wenhe nodded. "Yes. I came today mainly for this matter. I'm worried her state will be unstable during the assessment, so I'll trouble you to watch over her then."
"My pleasure." Chen Yu made an OK sign. "Then let's go together."
Ling Yue nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "Okay."
"But, what is this Qualification Assessment?" Chen Yu asked, puzzled.
(To be Continued)