The whale was just inches away from the Behemoth. The beast let out a fierce roar as it opened its mouth. The runes on its body glowed intensely, and a wave of pure white lightning shot toward Alm and Bruno.
At that moment, the whale’s eyes flashed, and its tattoos began to pulse, activating the Taiji. The entire Law of Origin flowed through the array straight into their meridians. They took a deep breath and faced the white lightning head-on.
That lightning wasn’t destructive; it only carried the Yang side of the lightning’s life force. As part of a natural law, it held both essences. The Chaos Dragon had removed the deadly Yin part, leaving only the purest essence of life for the Behemoth. Although the dragon’s intention was to destroy his opponent completely, he accidentally gave Alm and Bruno a chance to survive.
Alm noticed the Dragon’s complete disbelief and hatred. And provoking an arrogant fool had always been a pleasure they indulged in throughout their lives.
With their tattoos at the peak of their power, they didn’t bother defending themselves. Instead, they opened up their bodies, allowing the energy to enter freely. All their meridians were filled with the Yang lightning.
Bruno, alert, started manipulating that energy, searching for something hidden…
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But he found nothing.
’Lower, you idiot! Where do you think we generate life?’ Alm mocked, and Bruno quickly shifted focus, feeling like a fool.
Concentrating on the area between his legs, he gathered all that life energy there. Then, something hidden emerged, like a mystical gate opening.
’It’s the Gate of Life!’ Bruno exclaimed, feeling that gate pouring out something unknown, wrapping around his entire being.
This was the second stage of the fourth level of Physical Cultivation. The first was the Gate of Death, followed by the Gate of Life, and the last would be the Threshold Between Life and Death.
They already knew that, at this point, Qi and resources no longer mattered; what they needed to advance was a specific energy or condition.
They had been stuck, not knowing how to find a life force pure enough to open the Gate, but thanks to the help that came from the heavens, literally, they found an unexpected solution.
Their physical cultivation meridians expanded and transformed. If it hadn’t been for the dragon removing the destructive Yin part of the lightning, they would never have had this opportunity.
In just two seconds, all of the Behemoth’s power was absorbed, and their physical cultivation advanced completely.
The whale then turned to the Chaos Dragon, now just a few meters away, and gave a wicked grin. "Your contribution was valuable till the very end. I’ll make every piece of your body worth it."
The dragon roared in response, its claw coming down with a devastating strike. ’DIE!’
*BOOM!*
"For a bastard like you? Hahahah."
A cold voice echoed amidst the boom. Filled with an indomitable will, it made both the dragon and the Behemoth tremble. The dragon’s claw was blocked, starting to shake as the whale, bloodied, moved. He was surrounded by the power of faith, which was restoring his body.
"What?!"
From afar, Mistie and the elders watched, their faces pale with terror. They had clearly seen the attack from the two beasts, and now they couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. That young man actually survived such a terrifying blow?
Though blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, he didn’t seem gravely injured. In fact, he was fighting back!
The space around them vibrated and cracked under the impact of the battle. The whale was forcing the dragon made of runes to retreat, step by step.
"How is this possible?!" Mistie exclaimed, frightened. The scene was unbelievable to everyone who witnessed it. The whale, a mere ant compared to the primordial dragon, was pushing the monster back.
"That’s it? I’ve already killed you once, and it seems you didn’t learn anything, even after death. I don’t even know how to discipline you anymore…"
The dragon’s response was a furious roar and an even fiercer attack. But this time, the whale blocked the strike. Vorion appeared, unleashing a beam of black light that sliced through the dragon’s claw.
Now they had taken the initiative. With another move, the whale’s saber slashed again.
*BOOM!*
The dragon blocked the attack, but from a distance, everyone watched in disbelief. The whale seemed crazed, fighting with wild ferocity against the dragon. After several exchanges of blows, he was coughing up blood, but with each strike, the dragon broke apart into runes, losing its strength.
Beyond their senses, a spatial rune glowed on the whale’s forehead. They wouldn’t waste these runes; they had too many mouths to feed and were saving everything.
Alm and Bruno gritted their teeth and continued fighting like madmen. They advanced, but though they could still fight on the surface, their bodies were at their limit, even after their advancement.
This only proved that physical cultivation couldn’t be their main salvation in the future. They managed to turn the tide this time purely by luck.
The dragon’s massive runic body kept shrinking steadily, but the whale’s aura grew weaker and weaker.
The dragon’s power had far surpassed what the whale could handle. His aura was fading, and the Qi needed to sustain his physical cultivation was running out fast. Without it, his bones would be crushed.
Now, with the battle reaching this point, the only thing the whale had left was his will to suppress the opponent. If his will got overpowered, death would be inevitable. This was his greatest weapon amidst the tribulation.
"Hahaha! Die!"
The dragon attacked with a triumphant grin, convinced that the whale’s resistance was at its limit. But at that moment, the whale’s eyes flashed with an earthy hue, and a power of the earth, pushed to the limit, wrapped around his body, reinforcing his defenses.
"What? Maybe I can’t defeat you directly, but you won’t take me down either. You could’ve been the divine emperor of beasts, but a beast that reigns among mortals still has claws. Screw your status, screw the heavens for favoring you. This mortal killed you. And I’ll slit that bitch’s throat soon too!"
The whale spat out the words with disdain, while the shadow of the Behemoth behind him watched, visibly moved by the situation.
The Behemoth had always preferred living among mortals, since it couldn’t compare in power to the primordial beasts. Its laws were simple and straightforward, not flexible or magical like those of the other beasts. Who would value a beast specialized in defense? Everyone loved supreme destructive power.
But now, the whale stood firm as the dragon attacked with all its might, unable to cause any injury. In a battle of endurance, without being able to take down the opponent with a single blow, victory became impossible.
After a few minutes of intense exchanges, Vorion moved quickly and severed the dragon’s head. The creature’s body exploded into lightning runes, which were promptly absorbed into the inventory.
"It’s over... we almost got wrecked."
Bruno sighed with relief, then turned to the Behemoth, which was slowly fading away. The cloud-shaped runes of annihilation had already begun to disappear, and the Behemoth’s form was dispersing too.
"Thanks again. Your true soul is still alive for now, and I owe you too much already. I’ve got no way to repay you," Bruno said calmly.
The Behemoth’s figure responded lightly, "Debt? Don’t worry about it. If you managed to free me, that’s enough. I’m the primordial beast of life, and that’s what I was born for, a worthy purpose given to me by the heavens. Just spread life wherever you go. If you have many children with my bloodline, that’ll be great."
"That’ll be tricky... but I’ll try to think of another solution," Bruno replied. And at that moment, the rune-shaped shadow completely dispersed.
The whale took a deep breath, exhausted, even though there was no air in the vacuum of space, making the gesture a useless and frustrating reflex. He looked far off and saw Mistie and several High Elders approaching.