The cowardly child burned within the raging flames.
The blazing fire washed away the leaden dross of his past. Thus, the cocoon broke, and the dragon was born!
The Fire Demon Chi coursed through his entire body. A crushing pressure instantly blanketed the underground, but it was fundamentally different from the Yanling: King's Blaze.
When Lu Mingfei roared that name, what erupted was not merely the high-temperature field of a typical Yanling. The raiment of feathers made of fire acted like a baptism, fading away in an instant.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, fine scales rose like a tide, covering his exposed skin. Cheeks, soles, arms, everything began to undergo Dragonization. That fire had finally ignited in earnest, tempering the young man into something unyielding.
From his high vantage point, Zoran witnessed it all.
In psychology, there is an intriguing concept called "learned helplessness," and Lu Mingfei was clearly mired in it. But it only takes once. After drinking the wine of true power, even a "loser" begins to grow.
As the complete King of Earth and Mountains, the Yanling brewed by Hela was the Shiva's Dance. Its power was peerless, but it was also a technique that could not be actively interrupted. It projected an indestructible domain, gathering the power of the Nibelungen beneath its dancing form to ensure the incantation's completion.
When the "casting bar" for this Yanling finished, everyone would die.
However, beneath its feet, Lu Mingfei had completed his evolution.
The Fire Demon Chi originating from Shendu had reconstructed his body. This was indeed a form of Dragonization, but it far surpassed the traits of the Hybrid in this world.
Chu Zihang turned his head silently. He saw a monster walking up behind him.
The monster reached out and, with effortless ease, pulled the seventh blade, Wrath, from the sword case. The giant Zhanmadao was as light as a toy in his grip. The dark dragon scales on the hilt twisted and writhed, fusing perfectly with the scales on Lu Mingfei's palm.
"Lu Mingfei," Chu Zihang said.
"Senior Brother, I'm back."
The next second, Lu Mingfei shot forward like a bullet. Dragging Wrath behind him, his newfound strength allowed him to leap into the air without restraint, descending like a falling star. The long-dormant alchemical weapon physically tore through the domain of the King of Earth and Mountains.
He stepped inside.
The sleepers, coal cinders, and even the shattered stone walls within the tracks formed a violent hurricane of pure energy under the impetus of the Shiva's Dance, lunging at him. Lu Mingfei remained motionless as firelight flickered across his skin.
The hurricane, which could have easily ended the lives of everyone else present, tore through his already tattered jacket and slammed into his scales. Beyond that, there was no other sound.
In his transformed state, his defense was nothing short of terrifying. The domain released by Hela could not harm him at all. From the moment he called out that name, he had occupied the invincible high ground.
Lu Mingfei lowered his center of gravity. The image of that green monarch surfaced in his mind. Staring at the dragon whose size dwarfed his own, he unhinged his jaw, now replaced by powerful, jagged tissues that looked like mountain ridges.
Gargantuan, searing energy gathered in his mouth.
In the next blink, it poured out in a total deluge.
Watching this, Chu Zihang was frozen. He clenched his empty palm. Even with King's Blaze, to unleash full power, one had to concentrate energy into an extremely small radius. But Lu Mingfei's performance shattered all such logic.
The pillar of fire erupting from his mouth was pure violence, possessing a range and destructive force that transcended the common sense of Hybrids. The pillar of light struck Hela directly.
At the first point of contact, that mysterious, unstoppable dance faltered. The light melted through the dragon's scales, skin, and flesh, instantly cauterizing a black hole. With a slight twist of Lu Mingfei's head, the massive enemy was cleaved into two.
The Dragon King wailed, collapsing toward the ground.
Caesar and NoNo stared blankly at the scene. The "dead kid" had said he possessed power. He hadn't lied. This power exceeded everyone's comprehension. Cutting through the body of a Dragon King was as effortless as a hot knife through butter.
Everyone could feel it: the loser who only knew how to crack jokes had changed in this moment.
The pillar of light broke through flesh and blood, but it did not stop. Lu Mingfei drove Wrath into the ground and roared at the ceiling. The pillar of fire rampaged through the Nibelungen. His hiss carried a faint, indiscernible sense of tragedy, as if he were releasing all the pain of the first eighteen years of his life.
The Kamaitachi fleeing through the air were incinerated by the thermal fluctuations, falling with shrieks. As inferior dragon-kin, to touch the light was to die.
The pillar of fire pierced through the haze of the land of the dead. Heavy rain began to pour in from the breach, adding a touch of cruel reality. This domain of the Dragon King had been physically torn open by Lu Mingfei.
Power pulverized everything in its path. The severed half of Hela's body crawled painfully across the ground. Death was fermenting.
Lu Mingfei pulled Wrath from the earth and, carrying his infinite might, leapt onto the creature's body. He dragged the massive blade, plunging it into the dragon's belly, and sprinted along Hela's gargantuan form. The splashing blood sprayed out like a scarlet cape; he was wild and frenzied.
People often say that a boy hides a lion in his eyes. But when that lion truly leaps out, those same people can only watch in silence.
Everything returned to an eerie quiet. Lu Mingfei knelt on the dragon's corpse, staring at the faint, purple-black Demon Chi on his palm. It was tainted with Zoran's aura.
"The final step. Bring this play to its conclusion," Zoran's voice echoed in his ear.
Lu Mingfei nodded silently. He glanced at the dazed spectators, then looked past the darkness above to lock eyes with Zoran across the void.
"Thank you, Professor," Lu Mingfei whispered. "I know you have your reasons, but it doesn't matter. I reached a point long ago where I could even throw my life away. I just needed someone to push me."
His heart hammered in his chest. He could already feel it, the aura of that Monarch. It was as if a gaze were falling upon him from an infinite distance.
But his faith had already become a bargaining chip in a deal with a demon. No longer hesitating, he gritted his teeth and swung the blade down, now infused with Tso Lan's Moon Demon Chi.
The moment Wrath cut through skin and bone...
A terrifying magical power, not belonging to this world, scattered in all directions.
Heaven-shaking Demon Chi shrouded the world. In the midst of a soundless silence, a crimson portal quietly opened. The portal was nearly a hundred meters high, connecting heaven and earth. From within the gateway came a rhythmic, primordial, and magnificent aura.
It did not belong to this era, and it certainly did not belong to this world.
"What are you doing?!" On the other side of the ocean, Hilbert Jean Angers roared at the video feed in horror.
Zoran hovered in the air, looking at the portal and smiling silently.
"I told you long ago, you would see a real Dragon," he said.
"That should be Lu Mingfei! Is his current form not dragon enough for you?" Angers' voice trembled.
"Indeed. But I don't recall saying you would only see one."
Zoran's low laughter broke through the dark curtain of rain. He slowly descended in front of the crimson portal.
"From Cocoon to Dragon: The Final Chapter!" he proclaimed.
The portal rippled violently. A monstrous, green dragon claw reached out from within, gripping the edge of the gateway with an iron hold.
"The King's arrival requires witnesses."
Zoran repeated the phrase once more. Only now did the words reveal their true meaning.
"I HAVE RETURNED!"
The voice of Shendu thundered across the world.
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