Chapter 00024: The Dragon (Thanks to Lord Buqi Shixian)
# The Dragon (Thanks to Lord Buqi Shixian)
Chapter 24
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 24: The Dragon (Thanks to Lord Buqi Shixian)
The first to crawl out was a battered electric cart, its broken plastic shell revealing wheels that twisted as if weeping blood, sparks flying everywhere.
Twinges of spasms ran through the twisted metal, and from its depths emerged two finger-like spokes, one long and one short, lifting themselves to crawl on the ground like a dog.
A distorted face formed from a half-broken screen was filled with a menacing red and madness.
It opened its mouth and let out a cloud of smoke, roaring fiercely.
Then it lunged forward!
Following closely was a second and a third electric cart.
One by one, they transformed in the tremors and smoke into bizarre creatures with twisted bodies, recklessly leaping onto Lawrence, biting with gaping mouths, pulling with their arms, releasing sparks of electricity!
Next came the roar of cars as their shattered shells were tossed aside.
Massive bodies charged like wild buffalo or elephants, crashing into the writhing monstrosities, crushing them underfoot, engines roaring, spewing thick smoke!
Like gigantic spiders or strange giant birds, those rage-fueled creatures of gears and metal screeched, forming a tide that trampled over each other, climbing, nearly covering the aberrated Lawrence entirely.
“What the hell is this!” The distorted monster roared, sweeping its limbs with ease, shredding the machines clinging to its body.
A bizarre blade, forged by divine craftsmanship, slashed down like a hot knife through wax, cleaving through the might of its foes.
But it was only a minor irritation!
Under the massive tree, Ji Jue merely raised his hands, slowly bringing them together, issuing the first command to his creations: 【Converge】!
Instantly, the sound of countless metal scraping against each other erupted again.
Hundreds and thousands of complex machines gathered at one place, whether shards or complete structures, suddenly fitting together like living creatures, riveting and combining, forming an unprecedented colossal mass.
Ji Jue's vision darkened.
He reached out again, clenching his fist!
In an instant, from the torn machines, a brand new structure grew again.
The body formed by the electric cart, motorcycles, computers, phones, and lawn mowers twisted and shrank, binding together.
Then came the second and third limbs, continuously changing with faces full of resentment and pain, roaring loudly amidst rolling smoke.
In that moment, they managed to pin Lawrence beneath them.
They opened their mouths and bit down!
Crimson splattered everywhere as they feasted on flesh, tasting innards, crunching bones.
This grand spectacle of gluttony resembled a monster even more than the creature itself.
Lawrence roared, struggling, but for some reason, amidst the gaze from that face, he felt an unprecedented intensity.
A feeling named... fear!
“Get away!”
The bizarre creature swept again but suddenly came to a halt.
Was it gripped tightly?!
It was Minerva!
Allowing the blade to slice through her palm, her fingers slowly closed.
With the crisp sound of crystal proliferating, the blade shrieked in agony as it fractured right in the middle! The divine craft had shattered!
Then came the stomp!
“Is this what they call a dragon?”
Wen Wen stepped on his head, shaking it disdainfully: “This is just too weak!”
“Damn...”
Struggling in the muddy pit where he was gnawed at, Lawrence spitting at her, roared, “You’re so hypocritical, Minerva, so ridiculous. The path you pursue, built upon the ruins, is simply the trail left by the dragon! Aren’t you chasing the same things I do? So why this pretense?”
“You are obsessed with illusions, placing all your hope on something you’ve never seen, unaware that...”
Wen Wen looked down, her expression icy, “—that something which isn’t even human would never respond to your prayers!”
From the silence rose a high-pitched voice.
Just behind her.
Crystal grinding, proliferating, growing, transforming into stone wings reaching up to the sky, shrouding everything in a dream-like cold light.
Lawrence felt struck by lightning.
Terrified eyes opened wide from the mangled flesh, blinking repeatedly, struggling to discern whether this was yet another malicious illusion or his own nightmare—but regardless, he found it hard to believe.
“Y-you... you!”
The voice grew sharper, more piercing, like being consumed by a nightmare.
He witnessed everything that happened to Wen Wen—this was not blood, nor just blood; it was not merely a body, nor just a body.
Even the soul was entirely laid bare.
Cold, solemn, brutal, and colossal...
That was a transformation into a dragon more complete than his own!!!
“What’s wrong? Haven’t you been chasing the dragon all this time, Lawrence?”
Wen Wen’s voice rang out, turning cold, echoing like thunder across the skies within the circle: “Consider this my final mercy... let you die by the very thing you’ve been pursuing! In a sense, it’s a death well-deserved!”
Boom!!!
As she stretched out her arm again, reaching for the sky, what fell was a thousand-foot lightning bolt.
All the world’s radiance gathered in her palm turned into a dazzling crystalline spear shining so bright it was blinding.
This was the breath of the dragon!
Manifesting in material form was 【Destruction】!
In that final moment, Lawrence opened his mouth, as if trying to scream, curse, or plead, but it no longer mattered; no one paid any attention.
Parasites, blood, bacteria, monsters, and remnants of resentment and despair—all of this, along with unrealistic dreams of transforming into a dragon, were drowned in the dragon’s breath.
Silent.
Only the scorching light that burned everything flash-faded.
A storm erupted; ashes rose to the horizon, countless writhing scarlet substances evaporating and disappearing, the colossal tree collapsing into a mirage.
Other than a pit so deep even the charred remains had vanished, no trace was left behind—no debris from the explosion or the shattering could be found.
Some fraction of matter had eternally vanished from the earthly realm—not even a single particle remained.
Such was the power of the dragon.
In the long silence, Wen Wen stood at the edge of the deep pit, the great wings behind her vanished without a trace.
“Phew, that’s why I didn’t want them to help,” she murmured softly, sighing, turning back to look.
She smiled wide: “Hey, Ji Jue, remember to keep...”
Her words abruptly halted, her smile freezing on her face.
Perhaps she need not worry about anyone leaking this secret.
In the ruins and the blood-soaked mud, Ji Jue sat on the ground, gasping for breath, looking thoroughly miserable.
And upon him, the remnants of dragon blood still slowly spread, morphing flesh, twisting his body, growing a layer of bizarre scales and gradually stealing the human luster from his eyes.
Corruption.
The aberration that should fill the chosen with dread was spreading, leaving him gasping.
Yet he seemed unconcerned, even having reached his limit.
“What’s up, Wen Jie?”
Ji Jue raised his head, a dirty, muddy face struggling to smile: “Did I manage to accomplish something today...?”
“...”
Wen Wen fell silent, suddenly recalling the words exchanged during their farewell yesterday.
The boy’s smile was etched in her mind, so determined and calm compared to now.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
She reached out, solemnly wiping the dust from Ji Jue’s face, telling him: “It’s my honor to know you.”
“Ah?”
Ji Jue was taken aback, looking confused, fearing that Wen Wen’s next words would be, ‘You still seem charming.’
But then, he saw Wen Wen stand up with a serious demeanor, taking a step back, raising her hand again, gripping the crystalline spear of thunder descending from the sky, pointing it at her own face.
“Don’t worry; you won’t feel any pain.”
Her eyes seemed a little red as she softly asked, “Any last wishes?”
“Don’t, please!”
Ji Jue’s face went pale with fear, screaming in horror: “I think I can still be saved!”
Big sister, what are you playing at? I thought you were just after my body, but now you want my life!
“It’s no longer necessary to deceive me, Ji Jue. Once corruption begins, both the soul and body will collapse in agony.” Wen Wen took a deep breath, her trembling hand stabilizing: “Rest assured, I will preserve your dignity as a human.”
“I can be dignified while alive too, big sister! I’m just low on blood; please don’t scare me!”
Ji Jue abandoned his act of playing dead, his thoughts rapidly clicking away on the watch prompting him: 【Detected internal active corruption essence; should it be extracted?】
YES! YES! YES!!!
Quick! Extract it, extract it, extract it!!!!
Then came a crisp shattering sound.
All the spreading corruption and scales growing from Ji Jue’s body burst apart, turning to dust and disappearing without a trace.
The irreversible corruption vanished in an instant.
“...”
In the silence, Wen Wen stood rigid, dazed by the events happening in front of her.
For a long while, she almost forgot she was still clutching the breath of the dragon.
Only awkwardness multiplied every second.
“Ah?”
After a long time, she emitted a dreamy voice, disoriented.
Who am I? Where am I? What happened?
Did I just seem to see signs of someone’s corruption retreating? This kind of news would be enough to shatter the worldviews of those hospital lunatics! I absolutely have never heard of this before!
Then what was I just doing?
She suddenly felt a strong urge to look in the mirror to check if there was a red dot on her nose.
Damn it, give me back the tears that were about to drop from my eyes!
And...
Is it too late to silence him now?
Her gaze gradually turned dangerous.
“Wen Jie, don't do this, I have family!” Ji Jue felt tears welling up, “Spare me, I’m not clingy and I’m good at serving; it would be a pity to just throw me away!”
Bang!
In a fit of rage, the breath of the dragon grazed Ji Jue's neck and struck into the nearby wall, leaving a shocking crack.
“...”
Wen Wen grabbed his collar, warning each word carefully: “If you want to see tomorrow’s sun, then keep all of this—about me and how you can reverse the corruption—buried deep in your heart. Don’t tell a soul, not even in your sleep; do you understand?!”
“Ah? Ah?! I’m not scheming to take your body... cough cough, alright, no problem.” Ji Jue nodded frantically, almost shaking his brain out: “I bumped into something and fainted; I remember nothing!”
“Very good.”
Wen Wen nodded, her smile softening as she helped him straighten his collar and gently patted his shoulder, “Did you bump into anywhere in particular? Is your head alright?”
“Ah?”
Ji Jue was left dumbfounded, instinctively wanting to reply, but what he finally saw was Wen Wen’s raised fist, small and delicate, looking like it could take many lives.
Then...
Bang!
After experiencing the plant fusion technique, essence erosion, despairing nightmares, the chosen ceremony, perilous counterattacks, and hard-earned survival, Ji Jue’s vision blackened, and he completely shut down.
The cause of death: teammate’s violent strike.
Even friendly fire didn’t matter; reality was truly a lousy game.
Ah, it finally rained in Haikou... and then my house got flooded... how tragic; I opened my eyes and was busy until four-thirty before remembering to set the timer.
I’ll probably be working on it until the evening... boo hoo…
(End of Chapter)