Ye Chen was far too powerful. Even after awakening the trace of True Dragon bloodline within its body, the demonic flood dragon was no match for him and was completely suppressed.
A golden divine mountain spanned across the earth, thoroughly pinning the demonic flood dragon's massive, monstrous body to the ground, rendering it immobile.
Ye Chen stood aloft, poised atop the peak of the golden mountain. His tall, heroic figure radiated an imposing aura, his black hair fluttering in the wind, his expression cold as frost.
He stomped his foot heavily on the mountain peak. Immediately, a terrifying, rumbling force transmitted from top to bottom, causing the entire earth to seem on the verge of collapse. The demonic flood dragon let out a long, mournful howl. Countless of its flood dragon scales shattered, blood gushing forth like a torrent—a truly pitiful sight.
After its True Dragon bloodline was shattered, the demonic flood dragon stood even less chance against Ye Chen. Now, it was completely suppressed, utterly powerless to fight back.
"I ask you one more time: choose submission or death?"
Ye Chen's icy voice descended, as if a supreme deity were passing judgment upon the demonic flood dragon.
Either choose submission, or choose death. One of two choices!
The demonic flood dragon roared. At this moment, its choice was resistance. Its body flowed with True Dragon bloodline, representing the potential for continuous evolution along this path. Perhaps one day in the future, it could become a supreme True Dragon, soaring through the myriad heavens, reigning supreme above the Nine Heavens. The dignity of the True Dragon bloodline could not allow for such humiliation; it would rather die than submit.
"Still trying to resist at this point? While admirable, why not choose submission?" Ye Chen stomped his foot once more, causing another large number of the demonic flood dragon's scales to shatter, even cracking some of its divine bones, blood flowing freely.
He naturally understood the dignity of the dragon race, but he did not wish to give up. Although this demonic flood dragon possessed only a trace of True Dragon bloodline, it was very pure, not muddled, and had great potential for growth.
Perhaps, accompanying his eventual full return, this demonic flood dragon might not be able to follow him completely, but guarding the Ye family in Luo Feng City on the Tian Du Continent would be more than sufficient.
Therefore, he valued it and wished to take it for his own use.
"Brat, either kill me. I will never submit to you," the demonic flood dragon roared, its True Dragon bloodline awakening once more. It had no choice but to expend its limited True Dragon bloodline to resist.
But Ye Chen sat cross-legged atop the golden mountain, as if weighing billions of catties, completely immovable. No matter how the demonic flood dragon struggled, it was all in vain.
It wasn't that the demonic flood dragon was weak. On the contrary, as a demonic beast of this level, it was far stronger than an ordinary Martial God, let alone a demonic flood dragon possessing True Dragon bloodline—its power was astonishing. It was simply that Ye Chen was even stronger.
His five months of seclusion were not merely about achieving mastery in the Human Yuan Body Art. Otherwise, he wouldn't have secluded himself for a full five months.
At this moment, Ye Chen suddenly sent a mental transmission: "Do you wish to evolve towards a True Dragon?"
The demonic flood dragon was taken aback, then its eyes burned with fervor. The True Dragon was the ultimate dream of evolution for all demonic beasts possessing dragon bloodline. Even other demonic beasts hoped to eventually evolve to this stage along this path—it was the eternal endpoint.
But it was too difficult, nearly impossible. Even with True Dragon bloodline flowing within its body, it was as difficult as climbing to the heavens. The process required continuously generating dragon blood, then undergoing constant metamorphosis and transformation.
Across the world, many dragon-blooded demonic beasts sought to continuously break through along this path, but ultimately, very few succeeded. More often, they met with calamity and self-destruction.
Ye Chen transmitted again: "Follow me, and I can enable your continuous evolution. At the very least, I can point out a path for you, or perhaps provide a method for generating dragon blood. What do you say?"
But the demonic flood dragon sneered: "Brat, what are you? How could you possibly possess such a secret method? Trying to fool me? Your cultivation isn't even—"
However, before it could finish, a supremely lofty figure suddenly appeared in its mind. This figure was bathed in endless golden radiance, like a supreme sovereign, standing high above. Even the deities of this world paled in comparison, causing the flood dragon's heart to tremble with fear.
Facing this figure, it felt as weak and insignificant as an ant, utterly incapable of resistance.
Looking again at this figure, its face was handsome yet stern, with a faint Moon Mark flickering between its brows, adding an aura of mysterious charm. But this figure was clearly identical to the youth currently suppressing it, only appearing more mature.
"This... this is..." The demonic flood dragon was deeply shocked.
Then, this sovereign figure spoke, its voice rumbling like thunder: "Submit to me, and I shall grant you the qualification to transform into a dragon."
Turning its palm, a small golden serpent coiled within. It had deer antlers, an ox head, a donkey's mouth, shrimp eyes, elephant ears, fish scales, human-like whiskers, a snake's belly, and phoenix feet—clearly a True Dragon. Its dragon might spread across heaven and earth, far more terrifying than the dragon might emanating from the demonic flood dragon itself, causing it to tremble uncontrollably. It dared not speak recklessly now.
If it had previously believed Ye Chen was deceiving it, at this moment, the demonic flood dragon was utterly convinced. Because this dragon might was incredibly dense and pure, completely incomparable to the mere trace of dragon blood within its own body.
Thus, it became certain that Ye Chen truly possessed such qualifications and now chose to submit.
The sovereign figure gave a slight nod, then vanished into thin air. That overwhelming, supreme pressure dissipated along with it.
Atop the golden mountain, Ye Chen let out a soft breath, a trace of fatigue on his face. Using his Primordial Spirit will to enter another's consciousness was somewhat taxing, let alone performing such actions—it brought a level of exhaustion difficult for ordinary people to imagine.
Fortunately, in his previous life, he had encountered a True Dragon, allowing him to simulate its dragon might and thus successfully deceive this demonic flood dragon.
In this world, while True Dragons existed, there were also several variant True Dragons. Born with dragon form and containing pure dragon blood, they were not the commonly known True Dragon form.
The Corpse-Devouring Insect Emperor and Dragon Sturgeon were both variant True Dragons. Ye Chen had encountered them, and even a genuine, flawless True Dragon juvenile. Therefore, he was also familiar with dragon might and could now simulate a portion of it, deceiving the demonic flood dragon.
With a loud boom, the golden mountain shattered, transforming into a sky full of golden radiance that then flowed back into Ye Chen's body.
Then, Ye Chen shot out streams of brilliant golden light into the demonic flood dragon's body. These contained a mysterious power that rapidly healed the demonic flood dragon's injuries, though it also consumed a significant amount of Ye Chen's vital energy.
Afterwards, Ye Chen sat cross-legged in meditation, circulating the Human Yuan Body Art. Above his crown, a mysterious black hole manifested, devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from dozens of miles around. Streams of spiritual energy transformed into radiant ribbons, pouring into his body.
This meditation lasted a full two hours.
During this time, the Twelfth Checkpoint Master had been observing from a distance, not disturbing Ye Chen. Moreover, the demonic flood dragon coiled around, adopting a defensive posture, so no one dared to act rashly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sounds of breaking wind came as, during this period, the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Checkpoint Masters all appeared, descending upon this area. Further away, many trial-takers watched from a distance, not daring to approach.
The several checkpoint masters couldn't help but marvel upon seeing the demonic flood dragon. A demonic flood dragon with True Dragon bloodline flowing within its body had truly appeared on the Trial Path.
This was an extraordinary, rare beast. Reaching the Heavenly God realm was inevitable, and even attaining the Divine Spirit realm was not impossible. If it could submit to Tian Du Academy, it would undoubtedly become a guardian divine beast for generations, protecting the academy's safety.
"Esteemed Elders, since the demonic flood dragon is here, why don't we join forces to subdue it and claim it for Tian Du Academy's use?"
The Thirteenth Checkpoint Master spoke. He was a middle-aged man with a certain mature charm. Although his cultivation wasn't exceptionally profound, being able to become a checkpoint master on the Trial Path meant he possessed Martial God realm cultivation. Seeing such an ancient, rare beast with True Dragon bloodline, his eyes burned with fervor as he made this suggestion.
"Indeed, the demonic flood dragon is an ancient rare beast with True Dragon bloodline. In the future, it can continuously grow along this path, possessing immense potential that cannot be underestimated. If we can subdue it for Tian Du Academy's use, it will undoubtedly become a guardian divine beast for generations. In the future, who would dare attack our Tian Du Academy?" Another checkpoint master also spoke.
Such a dragon-blooded rare beast as the demonic flood dragon was too precious, truly rare.
The other checkpoint masters spoke in turn, expressing agreement with this decision, as they too wished to claim such a rare beast for Tian Du Academy's use. Moreover, they believed the academy's higher-ups would agree and might even bestow generous rewards for their actions.
However, the Twelfth Checkpoint Master gently shook her head: "I advise you not to. Because this demonic flood dragon has already been subdued and has a new master."
"Who?" The checkpoint masters were stunned, even more surprised. Such a demonic flood dragon was typically unruly and proud. They had only planned to join forces to suppress it, then send it to a Heavenly God realm Supreme Elder to subdue and claim it.
The Twelfth Checkpoint Master's gaze fell to where the demonic flood dragon was coiled: "It's that youth."
All the checkpoint masters looked over, then were quite astonished, for it was indeed a youth—a youth far too young.
But as this youth sat cross-legged in meditation, his entire body overflowed with surging golden radiance, golden light shimmering. Moreover, they could hear the deafening sound of blood energy flowing within the youth's body, rumbling incessantly. They were all greatly shocked.
Because this blood energy was truly too turbulent and vigorous, causing even them to show expressions of astonishment.
"Could he be that young Martial God?"
The checkpoint masters' faces showed shock. Such a young Martial God—in the current world, this was the first time they had seen one.
"Such a young Martial God—he could probably be considered a young king, right?" One checkpoint master exclaimed repeatedly.
But the Thirteenth Checkpoint Master shook his head and sneered: "He is indeed a remarkable youth. Reaching Martial God at such a young age is extraordinary. Given time, he might compare to those young kings, but for now, he still falls short. Moreover, this demonic flood dragon was discovered on our Trial Path and rightfully belongs to Tian Du Academy. Young man, I must ask you to hand it over."
The other checkpoint masters couldn't help but frown. Wasn't this making things difficult? But the demonic flood dragon was a matter of great importance; likely, the academy's higher-ups would intervene.
"My apologies. The demonic flood dragon is mine. I cannot give it to anyone."
At this moment, Ye Chen slightly opened his eyes, looking at the Thirteenth Checkpoint Master as he calmly refused.