Chapter 462: The Scramble

Chapter 462: The Scramble

The Ice Soul Dragon flew at full speed, approaching the turbulent waters.

Ji Xinghuo could clearly see the battlefield, where four people were engaged in combat. They were all Dragon Masters, including the familiar Cang Beiming, while the other three were strangers to him.

Cang Beiming fought against the other three alone.

The four battled in the sky while their dragons wreaked havoc in the sea, creating towering waves. The ocean seemed to be boiling, as tsunamis swept through the sky and countless collisions of water occurred. Enormous dragon shadows loomed beneath the surface.

Cang Beiming was exceptionally strong, but his opponents were no weaklings either.

The three opponents, two men and one woman, were all top-notch Sixth Rank Dragon Masters, each with their own unique strengths. Together, they pushed Cang Beiming to his limits, yet he showed no signs of being overwhelmed, indicating that he hadn't even used his full strength yet.

"Qing Qin, Qing Hansakura, and Silver Snapper Jianping," Cang Ya recognized the identities of the three.

"So it's them," Ji Xinghuo muttered.

His gaze fell on a male Dragon Master who stood over two meters tall, with a horizontally robust build and a chest as sturdy as a wall.

His skin was dark, and his muscular frame was barely contained by the scaled battle attire he wore. He wielded a black trident, each strike imbued with terrifying power as he took the lead in the assault, clashing head-on with Cang Beiming.

This man was none other than Qing Qin, from the Chao Song Clan's Whale Dragon family, whom they had encountered earlier.

Whale Dragons were renowned for their strength and defense.

And the Dragon Masters who possessed Whale Dragons were known for their formidable physical prowess, excelling in close-quarters combat, with water manipulation abilities serving as a means of recovery and assistance.

In addition to his Whale Dragon, Qing Qin also had a Storm Dragon lurking at the edge of the battlefield, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Ji Xinghuo looked towards the sea.

Among the four dragons engaged in a frenzied battle, two of them were Whale Dragons.

They were bluish-gray in color, with a massive, sturdy black horn on their foreheads. Although their overall length was slightly shorter than Cang Beiming's Azure Dragon at around 150 meters, their bodies were much more massive and robust, with greater weight.

These two Whale Dragons belonged to Qing Qin and another Dragon Master from a different Whale Dragon family.

"Qing Hansakura is from the Luo Sha Clan's Whale Dragon family," Cang Ya introduced.

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

Among the Seven Dragon Lords of East Imperial Sea, two of the lords were ruled by Whale Dragon Kings—one from the Chao Song Clan and the other from the Luo Sha Clan.

Ji Xinghuo had heard Cang Ya mention Qing Hansakura not long ago. She was also a Star Lister, whose name had risen to the third sequence of the Ascending Star Sequence, just like Cang Ya. However, she had gained fame earlier and was currently at the third level of the Sixth Rank.

The last Dragon Master was named Silver Snapper Jianping.

Just from his name, it was evident that he was a member of the Silver Snapper family. Cang Ya quickly introduced him, confirming that he was indeed a renowned figure in the Azure Wave Dragon Domain.

Ji Xinghuo spotted a Silver Snapper Dragon in the sea.

Its body was covered in shimmering silver scales.

The Silver Snapper Dragon bore some resemblance to the Fanwing Snapper, with a somewhat sickle-like shape. A single silver fin extended from its head to its tail, but it was much larger, measuring nearly 80 meters in length. Having undergone metamorphosis to the meteorite level, it possessed three pairs of transparent dragon wings. Not only was it incredibly fast underwater, but it also moved with lightning speed in the air.

The two Whale Dragons and the Silver Snapper Dragon ganged up on the two-hundred-meter-long Azure Dragon, which clearly had the upper hand in terms of strength.

All four dragons were adept at water manipulation, resulting in a stalemate.

In fact, neither the dragons nor the Dragon Masters were giving it their all, holding back their full strength.

The onlookers outside the battlefield showed no signs of intervening.

After all, the Cloud Sea Dragon was not present.

Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic sensing scanned the area, but he couldn't detect the Cloud Sea Dragon's presence.

"How did they end up in a conflict?" Cang Ya frowned, also unable to locate the Cloud Sea Dragon. "If it's not here, why are Qing Qin and the others ganging up on Cang Beiming?"

"They're fighting over something," Ji Xinghuo replied, pointing.

Amidst the raging storm and waves, a deep blue scale measuring about half a meter in diameter floated up and down. One edge of the scale was tinged with blood, indicating that it had been freshly struck off a dragon. However, it didn't belong to any of the dragons present.

Cang Beiming manipulated the seawater to draw the scale closer to him, but each time he was about to succeed, Qing Qin's attacks interrupted him.

Qing Hansakura and Silver Snapper Jianping seized the opportunity to make their move.

However, whenever one of them got close to claiming the scale, the other two would switch sides, allowing Cang Beiming to regain control.

"The Cloud Sea Dragon's scale!"

Cang Ya immediately recognized the origin of the scale.

She had faced the Cloud Sea Dragon before.

The deep blue scale, reminiscent of the vast ocean, was marked with white streaks that resembled the reflection of clouds in the sky—a unique feature of the Cloud Sea Dragon.

Boom!

Cang Beiming's fingertip lightly tapped, and a compressed water mine instantly took form, blasting Qing Qin away.

At the same time, his Azure Dragon let out a mighty roar, causing the tsunami to roll back. The surrounding three dragons were pulled into the depths, temporarily restrained. A water tornado shot up into the sky, blocking Qing Hansakura and Silver Snapper Jianping while the Azure Dragon pulled the scale back.

"This is my scale that I knocked off! How dare you try to steal it!" Cang Beiming's patience had worn thin, and he shouted angrily, his voice filled with rage. "If anyone dares to interfere again, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

"It's not like you were the only one who acted alone," Qing Qin countered, steadying himself in mid-air.

Silver Snapper Jianping raged, "I was the first one to discover the Cloud Sea Dragon!"

"So what?"

Cang Beiming glanced at him coldly. "With your strength, even if I hadn't interfered, you wouldn't have been able to tame the Cloud Sea Dragon."

"Nonsense!" Silver Snapper Jianping cursed. "If you hadn't meddled, how could the Cloud Sea Dragon have escaped?"

Qing Hansakura nodded in agreement.

From this brief exchange, Ji Xinghuo and Cang Ya, who had just arrived, could guess what had transpired.

Silver Snapper Jianping had been the first to discover the Cloud Sea Dragon in this area and was attempting to tame it when Cang Beiming arrived. The other Dragon Masters had also sensed the commotion and rushed over, leading to the Cloud Sea Dragon's escape.

However, Cang Beiming had managed to strike off a dragon scale during the encounter.

"What use is a dragon scale?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

Cang Ya, with her eyes fixed on the dragon scale suspended in the air by the seawater, whispered, "A freshly shed dragon scale can be used to track and more precisely locate the Cloud Sea Dragon. Its effectiveness diminishes after four stars, though."

Only then did Ji Xinghuo understand. "No wonder everyone's scrambling for it."

Being able to track the Cloud Sea Dragon with the scale meant that speed was of the essence. Even if he couldn't obtain the scale himself, he had to prevent others from doing so.

"I'm taking it!" Ji Xinghuo declared.

"Huh?" Cang Ya's face showed her confusion. Of course, she knew they had to get their hands on the dragon scale, but none of the four Dragon Masters currently battling were to be trifled with, and their strengths surpassed her own. Shouldn't they at least consider a strategy first?

Before she could finish her thought, Ji Xinghuo had already rushed out.

Boom!

Ji Xinghuo leaped into the air from the back of the Ice Soul Dragon, wielding the Skyfire Dragonfang Spear. In an instant, he entered "accelerated flight" and shot into the battlefield.

He didn't use electric coils or display any electromagnetic abilities; he relied purely on shockwaves, turbulent flow, and invisible magnetic poles, yet he still achieved star-level supersonic speed in the blink of an eye!

A sonic boom echoed through the sky.

The tip of the Skyfire Dragonfang Spear glowed red, carving a trail of fiery red through the air as it streaked toward the dragon scale at the center of the battlefield.

At that moment, Cang Beiming and the other three Dragon Masters made their moves to seize the scale.

Ji Xinghuo's sudden appearance caught their attention. Cang Beiming let out a cold laugh. "Another foolish mortal who doesn't know his place."

He casually pointed at Ji Xinghuo.

Boom!

Though they were several kilometers apart, the air around Ji Xinghuo froze, forming ice walls that blocked his path. Below, the sea churned, and a towering wave rose to smash into him, leaving him nowhere to escape.

Water-type Dragon Masters were "Water Masters," and their attacks were often straightforward, relying on massive amounts of water to deliver physical strikes.

In waters and oceans, their power increased tenfold or even a hundredfold.

Simple and brutal, but powerful.

Cang Beiming had also cultivated the art of kinetic strings, allowing him to manipulate larger volumes of seawater with greater precision and unleash more potent abilities. He could also freeze countless ice spears and blades in the seawater, enhancing their lethality.

The towering wave he casually summoned was enough to kill most ordinary Sixth Rank experts.

Bang!

Ji Xinghuo suddenly accelerated, and the ice wall blocking his path was pierced by his spear. He burst through the shattering ice and abruptly changed direction, flying straight up at a ninety-degree angle. In the blink of an eye, he climbed a thousand meters into the sky, barely avoiding the massive wave.

Then he turned downward and dived toward the dragon scale.

Ji Xinghuo's speed continued to increase, the spear tip growing hotter, and his body ignited with flames from air friction, resembling a meteor crashing down.

The four combatants in the midst of the battle sensed the impending danger and looked up.

Silver Snapper Jianping was the closest.

"Hmph..."

He wouldn't allow anyone to approach the dragon scale. His figure flickered as he temporarily disengaged from the fight with the other three Dragon Masters. He swung his sword at the incoming Ji Xinghuo, and the longsword erupted with several majestic sword auras, slicing through the air toward Ji Xinghuo.

Each sword aura was incredibly sharp and could cut through the sea and sever bridges.

When he swung his sword, he had already calculated the lead time.

However, Ji Xinghuo, in the midst of high-speed flight, suddenly changed direction in a bizarre fashion. Each shift was beyond Silver Snapper Jianping's expectations, veering left and right, and in the blink of an eye, he dodged all the sword auras and rushed forward.

Silver Snapper Jianping was about to raise his sword to meet him when he suddenly felt an extreme sense of danger. His figure transformed into a silver light and retreated hundreds of meters, yielding the path.

Ji Xinghuo didn't pursue him and continued his charge toward the dragon scale.

"Trash!"

Qing Qin roared in anger.

Taking advantage of the moment when Cang Beiming was entangled with Qing Hansakura, he nearly succeeded in grabbing the dragon scale. But when he saw Ji Xinghuo rushing forward, he bellowed in fury, his muscles bulging as he swung his trident horizontally at Ji Xinghuo.

Ji Xinghuo showed no sign of dodging or yielding, and the Skyfire Dragonfang Spear clashed head-on with the trident.

Clang!

A loud, explosive clang reverberated, and the trident shattered, flying out of Qing Qin's hands. His arm bones broke into countless pieces, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, crashing into the sea.

Ji Xinghuo's flight speed only slowed slightly, and he continued forward with his spear, aiming straight for the dragon scale.

"Scram!"

Cang Beiming fired a water mine with a flick of his finger.

However, just before the "burst water mine" hit Ji Xinghuo, his body was enveloped in a burst of prepared white light, and he entered a star-level leap, appearing precisely next to the dragon scale, a few hundred meters away.

The water mine exploded behind him without causing any damage, and Ji Xinghuo's spear thrust forward, piercing through layers of water curtains, spiritual energy fields, and ice layers to strike the dragon scale.

Boom!

The Cloud Sea Dragon's scale shattered into several dozen pieces, scattering in all directions.

Ji Xinghuo reached out and grabbed one of the fragments, and the white light enveloped his body once more, disappearing just before an attack could land.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end