Chapter 299: Plum Blossom's Fiery Advancement
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 299: Plum Blossom's Fiery Advancement
The Ice Dragon heaved a ragged breath.
The Thunder Bird's intervention had saved her from the brink of death.
Though she disliked his words and actions, in this moment, she couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude.
The Aura of Earthly Slaughter that lizard had just displayed…
She knew with certainty that if she had been struck by that Black Slaughter Demonic Palm, her life would have been extinguished.
"...How can a mere lizard possess such power?"
An ominous thought crossed her mind.
Why had she just thought of her own death?
Now that Gomodo was gone and his descendants annihilated, death was something that rarely visited a high-tier spirit beast like herself.
Who would dare kill a high-tier dragon?
And yet, what was that feeling she had just experienced?
A terror that made her entire body tremble.
She had smelled the distinct scent of death.
"Truly... truly Gomodo's power..."
If the Thunder Bird hadn't intervened, she would have been defeated.
And that creature would have used her as nourishment to be reborn as true death.
The thought sent a shiver down her spine, but it no longer mattered.
The Thunder Bird had joined the fray.
The lizard's fate was sealed.
The only reason the Ice Dragon had been pushed back by the Red Dragon and the lizard was because of their coordination.
In terms of total power, the Ice Dragon's own was greater.
The lizard had continuously tied her down, blocking her major techniques, while the Red Dragon supported him from a distance, disrupting her with fire. That was how the battle had unfolded.
So now that the lizard had been pulled away by the Thunder Bird, the outcome was obvious.
It might have been a different story if the Black Slaughter Demonic Palm had hit, but thanks to the Thunder Bird's intervention just before impact, it hadn't.
Of course, the Red Dragon had the elemental advantage, and the Ice Dragon wasn't in peak condition, but the gap in their total power was immense.
The difference between a mid-tier dragon and a high-tier dragon was like the difference between the Transformation Realm and the Profound Realm.
"Yes, you pitiful child. You've come back to me."
The Ice Dragon stared placidly at the Red Dragon flying toward her.
No matter how much beings like her struggled, fate could not be changed.
She had felt the fear of death, but it was, quite literally, just for a moment.
Now, there was nothing left that could lead her to her demise.
The exhausted lizard would be crushed by the Thunder Bird, and she just needed to tie up the loose ends of this unfinished connection.
"...I will be the one to end you."
Fwoosh.
The Red Dragon's crimson scales heated up.
Crack-crack!
A chill emanated from the Ice Dragon's blue and white scales.
"How admirable. I thought you would go to save that lizard, yet you've returned to me."
"What, were you hoping I'd go for the Thunder Bird so you could recover in the meantime?"
Her words hit the mark.
Truthfully, the best-case scenario for the Ice Dragon was for the Red Dragon to fly toward the Thunder Bird like a moth to a flame.
Unlike herself, who was at a disadvantage, the Thunder Bird could continuously overwhelm them. Uninjured, he could deal with them without much effort.
But the Red Dragon chose not to go to the Thunder Bird, opting instead to finish off the Ice Dragon.
"It seems you're blinded by revenge, about to repeat the same mistake. Well, I suppose that too is fate."
"Getting nervous, are we? I didn't realize Ice Dragons were so long-winded."
The Ice Dragon's brow twitched.
To provoke her in this situation.
But she was a dragon who had lived for eons, a being who could truly be called an ancient dragon.
She was not foolish enough to fall for a young dragon's taunts.
Swoooosh.
The Ice Dragon's eyes fell upon the Red Dragon's chest.
The way it was expanding with tremendous force meant only one thing.
"You bitch..."
Dragon's Breath.
KRRRRRRRACK!
A breath of flame shot toward the Ice Dragon.
KWAAAAAAAANG!
Not to be outdone, the Ice Dragon unleashed a breath of cold.
The breath of flame and the breath of ice clashed.
A battle between the dragon of fire and the dragon of ice.
FWOOOOSH!
The sky was stained by the Red Dragon's flames, glowing crimson.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
The earth was consumed by the Ice Dragon's power, covered in a blanket of white.
The fierce battle continued, intense enough to change the very terrain.
It was a situation that could truly be called a stalemate.
But that was only on the surface.
The Red Dragon's expression was grim.
She knew she was being pushed back as time went on.
The only reason it looked like an even match now was due to the Ice Dragon's injuries and the elemental advantage.
Crack.
The Red Dragon's movements gradually slowed.
Even while launching her assault, the Ice Dragon was controlling the entire area.
It was a power that could be called the authority of a dragon—controlling the weather and creating a domain.
As the surroundings were consumed by the Ice Dragon's chill, the Red Dragon's power inevitably weakened.
"Give up. You cannot defeat me."
Fwoooosh!
The Red Dragon pretended not to hear the Ice Dragon's words and continued to hurl fireballs.
"Young, foolish child. I know why you act with such haste. You intend to deal with me somehow and then save that lizard."
Crack-crack-crack!
An enormous ice barrier rose from the earth.
The Red Dragon's fireballs failed to pierce the wall of ice and were easily extinguished.
"The Thunder Bird is my equal in strength. How long do you think that lizard can last in his condition?"
Grind.
The Red Dragon gritted her teeth.
Just as the Ice Dragon said, she had to defeat her, no matter what.
But it was far from easy.
If this was her strength even while injured, how in the world had Hui managed to hold a monster like this at bay?
Swoooosh.
KRRRRRRRACK!
She unleashed her breath of flame once more.
Thwump!
As time passed, her fire weakened, and the Ice Dragon dispelled her breath without any grand movements.
SWIIIIISH!
Simultaneously, weapons of ice rained down from the sky like falling icicles.
The Red Dragon moved quickly, trying to evade the attack, but the Ice Dragon's chill caught her by the ankle.
Pshuk!
A long gash appeared on her right wing.
The sudden impact caused the Red Dragon to lose her balance and plummet to the ground.
KWAAAAANG!
"Child, do you finally understand the difference in our power?"
The Ice Dragon walked slowly toward the fallen Red Dragon.
The Red Dragon's hands trembled.
A past she thought she had forgotten resurfaced.
The Thunder Bird, who had murdered her parents.
The Ice Dragon, who had devoured her younger sister.
Her sworn enemies had appeared before her as if to mock her.
She had sworn to kill them, no matter what.
But what was she doing now?
Why couldn't she do anything?
Drip.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
The world was cruel.
After trying so hard, was she still unable to reach them?
She slowly pushed her staggering body upright.
Why was the world freezing her heart once again?
The memories of the past and her current situation were preventing her from fighting at her full potential.
The memories of those she had sent off first.
The fact that if she couldn't subdue the Ice Dragon, Hui too would die—this truth continued to suffocate her.
Having forgotten spring, she was an eternal winter.
The only one who had ever melted such a winter was Hui.
If he were to leave, spring would never come again.
Fwoosh.
The Red Dragon's body ignited once more.
Her lifelong nemesis was right before her eyes.
Her other nemesis was trying to kill her benefactor.
Saving her benefactor and killing her enemy.
What could be more worthy?
It was something she had to do, even if it meant burning away her own life.
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
The flames grew fiercer.
Even the composed Ice Dragon couldn't help but be startled.
The Red Dragon was preparing a strike that disregarded the consequences, drawing on every last bit of her Innate True Qi.
"...You will die first."
She would rather close her eyes in a warm spring than live in a winter with no end in sight.
Just as she was about to unleash the life-sacrificing blow...
Dooooong—
The sound of a temple bell echoed through the world.
The Ice Dragon's face stiffened, and a smile crept onto the Red Dragon's lips.
She knew what that sound meant.
The 'beom' in 'beomjong' [temple bell] signifies all things in the universe.
The sound of such a bell is one that erases worldly afflictions.
The Red Dragon's mind became infinitely clear.
"Our Divine Beast is so kind."
Hui had defeated the Thunder Bird.
And he wasn't stopping there; he was trying to help her.
He was stopping her from using up all her Innate True Qi.
The spring that would melt this winter was coming.
But the Red Dragon shook her head.
She was a dragon who wielded fire.
Such a dragon could not rely on spring forever.
To be of help to him, she had to defeat the enemy before her with her own strength.
FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The sound of the temple bell had given her an enlightenment.
No, that sound wasn't just a simple temple bell.
The temple bell represents all things in the universe, and its sound erases the afflictions of those who hear it.
A bell, by its nature, cannot make a sound on its own.
Someone must strike the bell for its sound to ring out.
The temple bell is the truth of the world.
Hui is the one who preaches that truth.
Then who was she?
Was she merely a mortal being, freed from her afflictions by hearing the bell's chime?
No.
No matter how strong Hui was, it would be difficult for him to strike the bell alone.
A temple bell is so massive that it cannot be held by hand.
That is why it is hung from the ceiling.
The loop connecting the bell to the ceiling is decorated in the shape of a dragon, and it is called a Yongnyu, a Dragon Knob.
The temple bell is Gaegaek, and the bell-striker is Hui.
No matter how strong Hui is, he cannot protect Gaegaek alone.
Therefore, she resolved to become the Yongnyu herself.
To become the strongest sword of the Gaegaek Cult and lessen Hui's burden.
So that Hui could practice Gaegaek even better.
Dooooong—
His actions demonstrated the principle itself.
If the Divine Beast of Gaegaek acted so, how could a disciple of Gaegaek remain still?
Fwoosh.
Crimson flames enveloped her body.
Her flames until now were not enough to incinerate the Ice Dragon.
And burning away her own life was meaningless.
She intended to live and become Hui's Yongnyu.
Plum Blossom Ten Thousand Li Fragrance.
The scent of plum blossoms filled the air.
Not to be outdone, the Ice Dragon displayed her power without restraint.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
KRRRRR-CRUNCH!
The earth froze over, and chunks of ice larger than the Red Dragon herself fell indiscriminately.
It was the signature technique of the Ice Dragon, the very symbol of winter.
A wave of incomparably cold energy.
The Wave of Absolute Cold.
The Red Dragon watched the winter approach her.
A biting, piercing winter.
An eternal winter was like an eternal punishment.
But not every winter in the world would be like the one she had experienced.
She hoped that for her beloved Hui, and for the disciples of Gaegaek he loved, it would be remembered differently.
Her massive body slowly began to change.
Plum Blossom in Snow.
A plum blossom is all the more beautiful because it is a flower that endures the cold winter to bloom.
FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The crimson flames turned to blue.
The blue flames burned even hotter, finally becoming white.
For Lizamone, winter was no longer a horrifying memory, but a signal arrow for her to move forward.
A flame that advanced as beautifully as a plum blossom.
It was, without a doubt, a Plum Blossom's Fiery Advancement.