Chapter 396: The Entrapped Dragon

Chapter 396: The Entrapped Dragon

December 20th.

Nearly a month had passed since the disruption of Feng Xiu's ceremony.

During this time, Li Wu had been relatively busy.

Every day, he woke up to a flurry of tasks and worked tirelessly until he closed his eyes at night.

He could only afford a brief rest of one or two hours each day.

Fortunately, Li Wu's strength had already reached the pinnacle of the Archmage level, allowing his body to endure the constant strain. Otherwise, with this level of exhaustion, he might have succumbed to a sudden death even without anyone targeting him.

However, after nearly a month of hard work, Li Wu's efforts had paid off.

The Shadow Organization had grown to a considerable size.

The organization's base was established, and Li Wu had also set up a portal for the higher-ups to access it.

Li Wu had taken care of all the necessary tasks, and now he could temporarily step back from the Shadow Organization and leave the management to Seventy-Second.

Seventy-Second's performance over the past month had been impressive, and Li Wu felt reassured by his meticulousness.

He observed a deep-rooted caution in Seventy-Second, ensuring that the organization was in safe hands.

Seventy-Second's cautious nature far exceeded Li Wu's, and he could rest assured that there would be no risk of exposure.

With the organization running smoothly, Li Wu could now shift his focus back to himself and his own strength.

To be precise, he aimed to enhance his personal capabilities.

In the past month, while busy with organizational matters, Li Wu had not neglected his personal growth.

Although he couldn't fully dedicate himself due to organizational duties, he had spent the month collecting skills in large quantities.

This was not a challenging task for Li Wu at his current level.

He had implemented a screening process during the recruitment for the Shadow Organization, where he activated Ten Thousand Phenomena and asked the new members to demonstrate their skills.

Through this process, Li Wu had replicated the skills of almost every member who joined the organization.

Li Wu took a moment to tally the skills he had yet to assimilate, and there were still hundreds remaining.

If he could absorb all these skills, it was not impossible to push his control over the Ten Thousand Phenomena domain to a perfect 100%.

"Hmm, from now on, I'll focus on absorbing these skills," Li Wu said, patting his face.

He reorganized his thoughts and began to immerse himself in the process of skill absorption.

This was not a difficult task for Li Wu.

Since he had already gained a certain level of proficiency in the skills replicated by Ten Thousand Phenomena, the assimilation process was swift.

Advanced Level skills only took a few minutes to transform into sword techniques of the Li Family Sword Art.

Fatal Level skills required just over ten minutes.

Ultimate Level skills took a bit longer, but still only one or two hours.

Furthermore, if Li Wu pushed himself harder, perhaps by striking himself a few times to activate the Unyielding skill, his efficiency would improve even further.

Sometimes, enduring pain could become addictive.

Moreover, the benefits of enhancing his strength and accelerating skill absorption far outweighed the discomfort of a few blows.

In just seven days, Li Wu, with the help of his self-inflicted strikes, managed to assimilate hundreds of skills, successfully pushing his control over the Ten Thousand Phenomena domain to a perfect 100%.

The fully mastered Ten Thousand Phenomena domain further bolstered Li Wu's strength, elevating him to the pinnacle of the 3-star Archmage level.

He now shared the same realm as the Ninth Apostle, considered a pseudo-Epic Rank.

However, despite both being at the pseudo-Epic Rank, the power gap between Li Wu and the Ninth Apostle was like night and day.

Not only the Ninth Apostle but even the Third Apostle would pale in comparison to Li Wu's might.

If Li Wu were to face the Third Apostle again at this moment, he was confident that he could swiftly defeat him, relying solely on his personal strength.

Even if the Third Apostle utilized Fusion, Li Wu was certain he could easily overpower him.

Li Wu's confidence extended to facing a 1-star Epic Rank opponent, believing he could exchange a few moves with them.

This was the extent of Li Wu's strength at this moment, making him an absolute powerhouse within the entire Alliance.

However, Li Wu had essentially reached the peak of his personal growth for the time being.

It wasn't a matter of his personal limitations but rather the constraints of his Summoner class.

As Li Wu's strength grew, he often forgot that he was a Summoner who relied on his Summon Beast for combat prowess.

But this was the reality he couldn't escape.

Despite Li Wu's formidable combat power, capable of facing his own Summon Beasts head-on, he remained a Summoner at his core.

This resulted in a rather unfortunate situation.

His strength couldn't advance further unless his Summon Beast's power increased as well.

In simpler terms, if he wanted to reach the Epic rank, he'd first need to cultivate a Summon Beast to the Epic level.

Li Wu surveyed his own Summon Beasts.

Huan Huan's growth was indeed quite rapid.

Although it had long served as Li Wu's accessory, it had endured countless beatings alongside him and consumed a substantial amount of nourishing items.

As Li Wu's strength grew, Huan Huan's power steadily rose in tandem, making it the only Summon Beast currently keeping pace with Li Wu's progress.

With Li Wu at the Archmage 3-star level, Huan Huan had also attained the same rank.

It was the closest to the Epic rank among Li Wu's current subordinates.

But that final step was the most challenging.

Even if Huan Huan could grow stronger through beatings, it still required an immense amount of resources.

A conservative estimate suggested that at least one or two Epic-tier materials with ice attributes were necessary.

If even Huan Huan faced such challenges, there was no need to mention the others.

Celestial Cloud Sword hadn't received nourishment for a while, and its strength had plateaued at the Archmage 2-star level.

Little Skull had gained some strength recently due to acquiring more subordinates, but it was still only at the Archmage 2-star level.

The distance to the Epic rank was vast for both, and it would likely take a year or two to bridge the gap.

"After much contemplation, it seems I can only rely on Huan Huan. I'll have to find a way to obtain one or two Epic-tier ice attribute materials for it and then endure a severe beating together."

"Wait, did I forget something? Oh, right! I have another Summon Beast!"

Indeed, after half a year, Li Wu finally remembered the little stray dragon he had contracted while taking stock of his subordinates.

Reflecting on this, he realized that Little Skull had been with him for a month or two, and he felt a bit guilty for neglecting the little dragon for so long.

"Does it have some innate ability to disappear without a trace? How could I, with my impeccable memory, forget about it so completely?"

Li Wu made excuses for himself as he searched for and found the contract between him and the little dragon, renewing the bond that had been severed for half a year.

At the moment Li Wu and the little dragon's contract was reestablished,

A heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching cry echoed through the contract.

Along with the cry, a force from the contract surged forth.

This force was unprecedentedly powerful, beyond Li Wu's imagination. When it infused Li Wu, it nearly propelled him directly to the Epic rank.

However, as this force arrived, Li Wu's contract with the little dragon was severed by a mysterious power.

Li Wu's opportunity to advance to the Epic rank was thus cut short.

At this moment, Li Wu's eyes widened in shock.

Yes, he suddenly longed for his little dragon.

He yearned for it intensely.

How could he allow the little dragon to wander alone? Li Wu was determined to bring the little dragon home.

Meanwhile, beneath the mysterious sea.

In a 6-9-1-book-bar-look-no-mistake version!

On a massive pillar, the little dragon was pitifully bound.

It had been tied up here for some time.

When Little Skull and it had parted ways, it was swept into this sea area.

Despite its majestic appearance, the little dragon was the most timid among Li Wu's Summon Beasts, especially afraid of pain, contrasting sharply with Huan Huan's bravery.

After being swept into this sea area, it hid in a corner, shivering for a while.

It yearned for Li Wu to descend from the heavens and rescue it from this pitch-black place.

But after waiting for several days, Li Wu never appeared.

Thus, it mustered its courage and ventured out of the corner, a lone dragon seeking a way out.

As soon as it emerged from the corner, it was terrified.

For it discovered itself beneath the darkest depths of the sea.

This sea floor was filled with countless stone pillars, and on each pillar was bound a massive dragon.

When the little dragon stepped into this region, all the dragons on the pillars awoke, their eyes fixed on it, their collective roars forming a single command.

Leave!

Leave quickly!

The little dragon had never encountered such a scene before. Its mind went blank, and it instinctively ran backward, only to collide with a massive pillar after just a few steps, resulting in it being bound to the pillar.

For two whole months, the little dragon was bound, enduring the constant wails of anguish from all the dragons in the region. These desperate cries tormented the little dragon's mind, leaving it in a constant state of agony. Despite growing stronger during this ordeal, the little dragon couldn't find joy in its newfound strength, as it was unable to break free from its restraints.

There was an unspoken understanding that the more it struggled, the tighter the bonds became. This realization filled the little dragon with utter despair. It feared it would never escape this place.

In its desperation, the little dragon pinned its hopes on renewing its bond with Li Wu. It worked tirelessly to reestablish the bond, hoping Li Wu would come to its rescue. However, as Li Wu's power grew, the bond between them became unbreakable, and no amount of effort from the little dragon could sever it.

Anger towards Li Wu grew within the little dragon. In just two months, its skill, "Tail Whip Li Wu," advanced from a fatal level to an ultimate level, with its proficiency reaching the master level. At this level, if Li Wu dared to show his face, the little dragon was confident it could knock his head sideways with a single swing of its tail.

But what good was that? It couldn't reach Li Wu, and it feared it might never be able to use its skill on him again. The thought of this made the little dragon wail in sorrow.

Just as it was about to succumb to despair, it suddenly felt its bond with Li Wu reconnect. In that moment, overwhelming joy pierced the little dragon's heart, and it burst into uncontrollable tears, sobbing with all its might. It believed it was finally saved, and Li Wu was coming to its rescue.

However, before it could finish crying, and before it could even rejoice, the bond with Li Wu was abruptly severed again, leaving the little dragon in shock.

The sudden shift from joy to despair left the little dragon bewildered. What was happening? Did Li Wu not want it anymore? The little dragon considered this possibility.

In an instant, its skill, "Tail Whip Li Wu," surged again, reaching the divine art level. The little dragon vowed to escape this place, find Li Wu, and whip him mercilessly.

...

Li Wu, sensing the little dragon's situation, sprang into action. Using the Gate of the Dead as a transit point, he arrived at the place where the little skull and the little dragon had been separated.

(It was here that the little skull had called out to a particularly large fish. The fish surged forward, creating a huge splash, and the little dragon disappeared.)



The little skull led Li Wu to the group of sharks that had scattered them earlier. It pointed at the largest shark in the group and began to complain to Li Wu.

As it complained, the little skull charged into the midst of the shark group, grabbing the leader shark and giving it a thorough beating.

(Bring out the shark that ate my friend! I'm going to cook it today!)



With its increased strength and Li Wu's backing, the little skull had become more assertive. It grabbed the lord-rank shark leader and beat it mercilessly.

The lord-rank shark leader, though beaten, didn't back down. Instead, it boasted about its powerful grandfather, threatening to teach the little skull a lesson. It swung its tail, attempting to whip the little skull and Li Wu away.

Li Wu found the shark leader's bravado amusing, given its lack of experience.

How powerful could the grandfather of a lord-rank shark be? At most, it might be a 2 or 3-star archmage. Li Wu could easily suppress it with one hand.

"A mere lord-rank shark can't possibly have an epic-level grandfather..."

Before Li Wu could finish his sentence, a massive wave surged, and a colossal shadow emerged from the depths. Seeing this figure, Li Wu's words caught in his throat, and cold sweat broke out.

In the next moment, a terrifying wave of power struck, sending Li Wu and the little skull flying...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end