NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1020: Debt (3/3)
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Tou Lan completely realized the consequences of offending Zhou Heng, and moreover, understood that repaying debts was imperative, especially a debt to Zhou Heng!
He lay on the ground, covered in bruises, with at least half of his dragon scales stripped off, looking pitiful like a young girl who had been assaulted countless times.
Under the Tyrant Dragon Fist, his proud defense was completely useless, toyed with by Zhou Heng.
Yet until his ultimate defeat, he never used his transformation!
Under Zhou Heng's questioning, the reasons were revealed.
After the Ancestral Pond baptism, a martial arts competition is held, where the winner can advance further, competing with victors from other places to ultimately become the strongest Baptist on the planet.
Winning first place isn't extremely beneficial, but Tou Lan cherished the honor!
Many others shared this view, so many people postponed their Ancestral Pond baptism from youth to adulthood—of course, this wasn't their decision, but that of their elders and parents.
Besides honor, the longer the baptism is delayed, the more benefits can be gained!
This is because, ultimately, the Ancestral Pond baptism is about absorbing benefits. The deeper the bloodline and stronger the power, the more advantages they can gain, hence families with a bit of power always postpone the baptism until much later to maximize benefits.
This leads to the martial arts competition, otherwise, having infants compete would be absurd, wouldn't it?
Though everyone knows it's better to delay, under the pressure of reality, ordinary families cannot delay for too long. Without sufficient power, they cannot acquire cultivation resources or have a long lifespan, forcing them to conduct the baptism earlier.
Thus, powerful families everywhere only grow stronger, while those at the bottom have a hard time rising.
Tou Lan comes from a small family, not very powerful, but capable of providing considerable cultivation resources, like various pills and high-tier demon beast meat, allowing Tou Lan to keep up with progress in spiritual power and physique.
Of course, they are just a small family, and many dragon clan youths stronger than Tou Lan exist. Quite a number will participate in this year's Ancestral Pond baptism. Fortunately, this is Gold Seventy-Four Stars, and the geniuses wouldn't come here for baptism, so Tou Lan doesn't have to face them.
In fact, many are deliberately exiled here because there aren't many competitors, making it easier to achieve first place.
Tou Lan had confidence in securing the top spot in Qingyang City's region, but Zhou Heng's sudden appearance made him uncertain, hence the challenge to try to force Zhou Heng's dragon transformation.
Zhou Heng was initially puzzled; even if he transformed, he could recover within just three days and transform again.
Until Tou Lan mentioned that usually, it takes more than a month for a Milky Way Realm Dragon Clan member to fully recover after transforming. If Zhou Heng transformed this time and depleted all his Bloodline Power, he wouldn't recover for the baptism competition, allowing Tou Lan to easily defeat him and focus on his major rivals.
But in the Comet Realm, this recovery time shortens to ten days, and in the Black Cave Realm, there isn't this problem with a fully stable dragon form.
More than a month!
Zhou Heng was surprised; even if he used all his Bloodline Power, he could fully recover in just three days!
Comparatively, his dragon bloodline seemed unusually strong!
Even Comet Realm requires ten days!
Tou Lan emptied his pockets to repay the debt, yet still owed Zhou Heng over seventeen thousand Dragon Coins, a debt that would leave him humiliated for the next century whenever he met Zhou Heng.
After sending Tou Lan away, Zhou Heng decided to go hunting. His dragon form hadn't reached its limit and had great growth potential.
No choice, his stomach was too hungry!
Tyrant Dragon Fist has two functions: attack the enemy and promote physical growth!
This growth is expressed through increased hunger; Zhou Heng had cultivated the Tyrant Dragon Fist to the Great Achievement level, leading to intense hunger after each use.
This hunger didn't affect his Battle Power but was quite uncomfortable, a signal from his body to consume a large amount of food.
Zhou Heng didn't bring along the Black Donkey or Little Fire, and crossed hundreds of miles of wasteland alone, entering a towering mountain range filled with an abundance of demon beasts... and bandits.
The adults of Lidong Village hunt here, but even when they work together, they only dare to stay in the outskirts, capturing Demon Beasts of Creation Realm level, while Zhou Heng delves directly into the depths.
Over the course of three days, he has hunted and slain three Demon Beasts of Milky Way Realm, one of which was equivalent to a Peak Milky Way Emperor. After roasting them to perfection, he consumed them entirely!
It's worth mentioning that Demon Beasts of Milky Way Realm should be several hundred feet in size, yet are only sufficient for his daily intake, showcasing just how terrifying his appetite has become!
"It's the prime time for growth!" Zhou Heng exclaimed. Though only three days have passed, he can feel a significant enhancement in his physical strength. This potent body strength becomes most evident in his Dragon Form, but even in human form, his strength and defensive power have improved, albeit not as considerably as when in Dragon Form.
"Keep eating, until the ancestral ritual baptism begins!" Zhou Heng continued his hunting spree.
Half a month later, Zhou Heng's physical prowess advanced a notch; the speed of this progression was due to the substantial disparity between his current Realm and physique, allowing ample room for physical growth.
Once the physique catches up with the Realm, although it won't be hindered by Realm restrictions, the speed of progress will never again be this rapid.
Upon returning to Lidong Village, Zhou Heng's physical condition had reached the peak of Milky Way Realm.
Meaning, when he transforms into Dragon Form, even without a shred of defense, not a single attack from a Milky Way Emperor could harm him – just as Tou Lan is protected by dragon scales, Zhou Heng surpasses this level by far, resembling Little Fire, as even the Comet King would be incapable of hurting him.
In his human form, the defensive capability is much lesser, but still reaches the level of dragon scale protection standard!
Yet, remember, Zhou Heng doesn't possess dragon scales; this is purely his body's defensive power!
Transitioning from Milky Way Realm to Comet Realm involves a leap both in Spiritual Power and physique; experiencing the Realm requires comprehension, while physique requires an abundance of high-quality food to achieve a breakthrough.
Such food, ideally, should be Demon Beasts from the Comet Realm.
However, capturing Demon Beasts from the Comet level is still quite challenging, especially since Zhou Heng no longer has the Black Sword, lacking a means for a deadly blow, while in terms of speed...he remains a Milky Way Emperor, unable to catch a Comet-level Demon Beast intent on fleeing.
Furthermore, the Ancestral Pond baptism is about to begin soon, leaving him little time to pursue a Comet-level Demon Beast. Besides, as Hongyue mentioned, the benefits of the Ancestral Pond baptism are immense, possibly causing his physique to directly elevate to the Comet Realm.
Returning to Lidong Village, Zhou Heng unexpectedly discovered that his house, which had turned into ruins, had been rebuilt and renovated. Upon inquiry, he learned that it was a collaborative effort by the villagers.
Though this was merely a gesture of goodwill, Zhou Heng, being a character who reciprocates generously for a small favor, immediately gave each household ten Dragon Coins as a token of appreciation, leading the villagers to sigh that kind deeds indeed reap rewards.
On this day, it was the Ancestral Pond baptism day.
Zhou Heng received the notification and made his way to Qingyang City, which also hosts a massive Dragon Temple. The Ancestral Ponds are not solitary; they are dispersed across over three hundred stars in the Dragon Domain.
For those undergoing their second baptism, there are only five locations available, which are on the prime stars of the Five-Colored Dragon Domain.
Legend says the third baptism can only occur on the Eternal Dragon Star, where the old dragon resides, a privilege experienced by only the Second Ancestor throughout history.
Zhou Heng stood on the spacious plaza of the temple, observing the surrounding people, with Tou Lan by his side, appearing downcast. It's inevitable, as his debtor stood before him, and whenever he contemplated the century of servitude he owed Zhou Heng, Tou Lan couldn't help but feel sorrowful.
On this day, most attendees of the baptism were recently born infants, held in their fathers' or mothers' arms, with a minority comprising six or seven, ten-year-old children and adolescents, clearly hoping to delay the baptism.
The remaining few were adults like Zhou Heng, numbering just over ten, but they were strong, with thick Bloodline Power, some even showing dragon claws or dragon tails!
Notably, there was a tall and well-proportioned woman, with her entire body clad in only a few strips to cover crucial areas, her bronzed skin smooth and seemingly reflective, resembling a female leopard.
On closer inspection, those strips were actually made of dragon scales, signifying her defensive power must be remarkably formidable!
But the focus wasn't on this; the crux was this woman possessing a dragon head!
If not for her chest protrusion and slender waist exuding intense femininity, Zhou Heng would never ascertain her gender from a dragon head alone, as in his view, all dragon heads looked alike.
Yet, Tou Lan beside him showed an intense look of awe, murmuring, "Why has Shui Yuqi come too? Didn't she say she wouldn't undergo baptism within ten years? But truly, she's stunning, those dragon whiskers are so fine and graceful, and that dragon nose is so delicate and exquisite!"
Zhou Heng stood there shivering, indeed, the Dragon Clan has its own aesthetic standards; after looking again and again, he felt that without considering her head, the woman's figure could rate as a nine, but including her face... zero, absolutely no more!
This woman was strong, the sole Comet King in the field, the aura emanating from her indicated that her breakthrough was recent, evidently aiming to enhance her Bloodline directly to Black Cave level during the Ancestral Pond baptism! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)