Chapter 204: The Unbeatable Xueheng, Sensational Headlines, Guardian of the City - The Black Dragon

Chapter 204: The Unbeatable Xueheng, Sensational Headlines, Guardian of the City - The Black Dragon Rider (4K)



With one strike, the battle ended in an instant.

The power of this Lightning Fireblade far exceeded Xueheng's expectations.

The Level 7 Shadowflame, enhanced by Level 5 Dragon Thunder, was already incredibly potent.

Although neither was ordinary fire nor lightning, they synergized perfectly with the concept of 'Thunderfire Cauldron', tapping into the metaphysical realm and the theory of mental interference with self-reality.

Combined with Yan Liancai's extreme speed and the slicing power inherent to the sword technique, it resulted in a move of astonishing lethality.

This was likely his most powerful single-target combination of martial arts and divine skills thus far.

"Jiao Hongyuan is dead!"

"That move was so cool, and the special effects..."

"An instant kill! Is this our ace card?"

"I can't believe the government had such a powerful trump card up their sleeve and didn't tell us! We've been worried sick!"

"He's too strong. I've never seen anyone like this before. What is he using? Old martial arts? New ones? Or does he have a xenograft?"

"And that strange and powerful dragon... What is his true identity?"

"He must be a member of some powerful secret organization within the country!"

"The cockroach monster doesn't seem to be reappearing. We've won!"

"A single entrance and the battle is turned around... Now that's a true ace!"

The scene of Xueheng's one-hit kill against Jiao Hongyuan was incredibly shocking, awe-inspiring everyone who witnessed it. Cheers erupted all around.

Without the Green Cube to continuously reinforce the Cockroach Monster, the crowd, their morale boosted to the max by Xueheng, completely overwhelmed the monster, steadily reducing its numbers.

Chen Fugang scratched his head and gazed at the dark figure, marveling inwardly.

Who could have imagined that this 'Black Dragon Rider', powerful beyond words, was just an ordinary person who had not practiced martial arts at all three months ago...

Although he knew that his junior disciple's talent would eventually surpass his own and that of his senior disciples, he never expected it to happen so quickly.

"However, I need to ask my junior disciple about these black flames, white lightning, and such. They're so cool..."

Jiao Hongyuan's head, which had flown dozens of meters into the air, fell to the ground and bounced off the concrete twice, emitting a 'clang clang' sound like metal hitting an anvil.

Meng Boshang released the corpse of Jiao Hongyuan, took two steps back, and fell to the ground.

His robust body was covered in deep cuts that reached the bone. In the brief moment he had restrained Jiao Hongyuan, he had endured countless Jin Feng sword auras, and he was now severely injured.

The dark golden irises returned to normal, and the flames of anger in his eyes faded.

Confronting a Limit-Breaking Master, even one who was not fully actualized, Meng Boshang was forced to resort to the "Dragon's Reversal" technique, one of the three paramount secrets of the Dragon Hiding Style, in a desperate bid to counterattack. Even with this powerful technique, he could only manage to hold his ground for a prolonged period.

This technique was similar to the Great Demon-Disintegrating Technique, temporarily enhancing his power. Although it had minimal side effects, it drained his mental energy terribly.

"Senior Brother, are you alright?" Xueheng walked up to him, crouched down, and asked with concern.

Meng Boshang nodded silently and patted his shoulder, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on the edges of his lips.

Meng Qingjiao leaped over and helped Meng Boshang up.

"Meng Qingjiao, take Senior Brother to my Cherry Dragon," Xueheng instructed.

At that moment, the Cherry Dragon was continuously extending countless stems under Xueheng's dual-focused control, destroying the cockroach monsters.

Its unique ability to absorb and replenish vitality had been previously tested by Xueheng, and he could now use it on others.

The Cherry Dragon had already absorbed enough life force from the cockroach monsters, and it should be more than enough to treat Senior Brother's injuries.

"... " Meng Qingjiao nodded and supported Meng Boshang's arm, which was larger than her torso, as they made their way towards the Cherry Dragon.

"Next..." Xueheng looked around, preparing to hunt down the remaining cockroach monsters.

However, his heart suddenly stirred, and he instinctively turned back to look at Jiao Hongyuan's headless corpse.

Even though there was no other support, Jiao Hongyuan's corpse still stood upright.

This wasn't unusual; a martial artist's body was inherently more robust than an ordinary person's, and even without brain control, the body would instinctively continue to function, maintaining its vitality for a while until life force completely drained away.

Although this was normal, Xueheng suddenly remembered something his master, Li Qi, had once told him.

"The human body is like a computer, with the brain serving as the CPU. Our 'consciousness', 'spirit', and 'id' are like the operators of the computer, distinct from the machine itself."

"As for the so-called Limit-Breaking Masters, they transcend the inefficient method of relying on the brain to send neural commands to the body. They harness their spiritual consciousness to envelop their physical form, directly controlling their bodies."

Xueheng narrowed his eyes.

He raised his right hand, and shadow flames condensed into a black longsword. With a diagonal slash, he struck towards Jiao Hongyuan's corpse.

"Clang—"

Jiao Hongyuan's headless corpse lifted its right arm, blocking Xueheng's attack.

"It seems you're not quite dead yet, Jiao Hongyuan," Xueheng remarked.

"You still have your consciousness, I presume... Before your life force completely drains away and your spiritual consciousness loses its anchor to the physical world, you cannot be said to be truly 'dead'."

"Are you planning to play dead and wait for an opportunity to strike?"

Xueheng's expression remained unperturbed as he spoke.

"..." Deprived of his head, Jiao Hongyuan couldn't speak, but realizing his cover was blown, he lunged forward, extending his right hand to strike at Xueheng.

However, he suddenly froze in place.

Xueheng had vanished from his perception.

"Without a head and deprived of sight, sound, smell, and taste—the four major senses—your perception ability has been weakened to the extreme. Now you're left with only 'touch'."

With his Level 7 [Concealment] skill active and his qi signature shrouded, Xueheng stood to Jiao Hongyuan's left.

"You don't even know where I am, and you dare to fight me?"

A brilliant flash of light appeared.

Xueheng unleashed another 'Yan Liancai—Leili Heat Blade', slicing Jiao Hongyuan in half at the waist. The upper half of his body was sent flying, and Xueheng, pulling on the trail of flame and lightning, reappeared on the other side, his entire right arm covered in skill effects.

Paying no further heed to Jiao Hongyuan, whose life force had been drastically reduced once more, Xueheng turned and rushed towards the cockroach monsters.

He left behind a corpse that had been divided into three sections, slowly dying as its life force ebbed away.

With Xueheng, the strongest new combatant, joining the battle, the number of cockroach monsters began to decrease at a rapid pace.

He pulled on the colorful flames, commanding the black flames and white lightning. Regardless of the cockroach monsters' size, they were no match for his attacks. Each strike was a killing blow, showcasing an overwhelming display of power.

Countless eyes watched his valiant figure, countless lives were saved by his casual actions, and countless hearts were drawn to his silhouette.

Gradually, an emotion that Xueheng was currently unaware of began to brew in the hearts of the crowd—a fervent enthusiasm akin to the 'faith' that ancient soldiers on the battlefield would develop for an invincible, peerless general.

...

After reducing the number of cockroach monsters to a negligible amount, Xueheng's figure flickered, and he infiltrated Chief Councilor Chi Liangyun's residence, making his way straight to the basement.

Previously, while hiding in the residence, he had encountered not only the bear-like burly man but also an entity that seemed to have taken over Chi Liangyun's body through 'soul-snatching' means.

Xueheng wasn't sure if that entity had fled, but he decided to search for it nonetheless.

Upon entering the basement, Xueheng searched the area and found a corpse.

It was Chief Councilor Chi Liangyun.

It seemed the entity that had occupied Chi Liangyun's body had indeed escaped.

Xueheng didn't touch anything at the scene but turned to leave.

When he exited the residence, he found that all the cockroach monsters had been eliminated.

The ground was littered with countless corpses and severed limbs, both human and cockroach monster alike.

As soon as Xueheng emerged, the entire crowd erupted in thunderous cheers that threatened to drown out the entire Western District.

"We won! We did it!"

"We saved the city! We are heroes!"

"Long live Qingcheng! Long live the Black Dragon Rider!"

"Black Dragon Rider! Black Dragon Rider!"

The initial chaotic shouts gradually turned rhythmic as the entire crowd began to chant in unison: "Black Dragon Rider! Black Dragon Rider!"

Xueheng froze in place, embarrassed by the scene before him. He felt his scalp tingle and was rooted to the spot.

"What the hell is this embarrassing public execution-style adoration? This is so cringey..."

Xueheng shuddered and quickly controlled the Sakura Dragon to fly in front of him. He then leaped onto its head.

Silver-white lightning coiled around the Sakura Dragon as its massive wings flapped, carrying Xueheng into the sky and away from the area.

The crowd assumed he was the type of silent, modest hero who preferred actions over flashy displays, and they continued their enthusiastic celebrations.

After leaving the scene, Xueheng transformed the Sakura Dragon back into a Sakura Dragon Seed and pocketed it as he flew back home. He took out the Green Cube from his pocket.

[Divinity Absorption Complete]



[Divinity Held: 3672]



Like all the other Divine Relics he had encountered, the Green Cube provided him with a little over five hundred units of Divinity.

As soon as the panel was opened, a long string of prompts popped up.

[...]



[Concealment Experience +2310]



[...]



[Observation·True upgraded to Lv.8 (277/11,000)]



[Blitz upgraded to Lv.10 (1211/ ?)]



[Riding upgraded to Lv.7 (789/4500)]



[Acting upgraded to Lv.8 (377/6000)]



[Concealment upgraded to Lv.8 (169/6000)]



This intense battle had earned him a substantial amount of experience points for his conventional skills, and several skills had leveled up, including Blitz, which had finally reached the maximum level of Lv.10, becoming his sixth fully upgraded skill.

Without taking the time to experience the changes brought about by the skill upgrades, Xueheng closed the panel and looked at the green-glowing cube in his hand.

[GOD-1779·Green Cube].

He had basically memorized all the information he could find about the Divine Relics, including the Green Cube.

In simple terms, this item was similar to the 'storage magical treasure' often found in fantasy novels.

However, unlike the typical setting of such treasures, this cube could only store living beings and not inanimate objects.

When Xueheng had obtained the Green Cube from the green light vortex channel, he had casually twisted it a couple of times before closing the channel.

As long as he twisted the cube back to the position it was in when the channel was last closed, the channel could be reopened.

If he twisted it incorrectly, even by a little, the Green Cube would immediately trigger the 'transferability' of Divine Relics and teleport to a random location.

`{"storage item": "pocket dimension"}`

"Come to think of it, what were the Cockroaches eating inside? Oh, right, they must have been feeding on each other."

Xueheng tossed the Green Cube in his hand, stretched lazily in the air, and looked towards the east, where the sky was beginning to brighten with the coming dawn.

"Hmm, I'm tired. Time to go home, take a shower, pet my cat, and sleep."

...

The next day, when Xueheng woke up, Ning Fengwan, in her human form, was lying next to him, playing with his phone. Her white, tender legs were kicking back and forth, and her fluffy cat tail swayed in the air.

She wore a loose white t-shirt that covered her thighs, and nothing else. Due to the way the shirt hung, it revealed a hint of her cleavage.

"You made quite a ruckus last night," Ning Fengwan said, her phoenix eyes narrowing as she looked at the now-awake Xueheng.

Xueheng sat up, his right hand reaching out to stroke the soft cat ears on her head, and he smiled.

"What do you mean?"

Ning Fengwan took the phone and turned the screen towards him.

"Wall-to-wall news reports, oh mighty Black Dragon Rider." She said with a smile in her eyes.

"A lone hero who turned the tide of battle and eliminated the threat to all of Qingcheng, the people's champion, the guardian of the city—the Black Dragon Rider!"

Xueheng's jaw twitched.

"Don't call me that..." he said, his face twisting in embarrassment.

Ning Fengwan twirled a lock of hair with her finger, playing with Xueheng's face, and teased, "You gave yourself that name, didn't you? Didn't you call yourself the Black Dragon Knight when you were in Fengcheng before? Or was it the Black Dragon Knight of Darkness?"

"You seemed pretty into it back then. What happened to cure your cringey middle-schooler phase overnight?"

Xueheng reached out, brushing aside her hair, and took the phone from her hand.

He glanced at the Qingcheng News interface and saw that eight out of the top ten trending topics were related to the events of the previous night, and five of those topics included the words 'Black Dragon Rider'.

Xueheng furrowed his brows in thought.

Given that it involved the safety of the entire city, such intense media coverage wasn't surprising. However, the fact that most of the attention was focused on him did seem a little odd.

It felt like there was a deliberate effort behind it.

As he was thinking about this, his phone started ringing.

He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Pei Xiaoen calling.

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end