Chapter 958: Imperial Lightning Dragon! Qiao Lin

BOOM—!!

The sky was torn apart by violent lightning plasma, millions of black lightning bolts writhing like furious dragons through ink-black clouds!

On the charred wasteland, lit black by lightning, the earth cracked continuously under high-voltage currents.

Behind Xu Jingming, a towering, humanoid tyrannosaur figure over three meters tall, a black light wheel two meters in diameter spun wildly.

CRACKLE—

Like the eye of a storm, countless lightning bolts surged within the ring, condensing into liquid lightning plasma!

Xu Jingming’s violent dragon eyes became boiling lightning pools; every inch of his skin erupted with black electric arcs.

A peerlessly formidable aura slammed toward them, causing even Qiao Lin and her companions, flying at high speed, to stagger!

“What… what kind of aura is this?”

Xina’s face paled; she felt that the figure standing hundreds of meters away was no human—but a god!

“Young Lady Qiao, Xu Jingming is strange! Should we retreat first?”

Her earlier bold words were instantly abandoned; Xina couldn’t help urging again.

“Strange my ass!”

Qiao Lin sneered, “This is the Lightning Realm; Xu Jingming possesses a Lightning SSS-class ability.

This is merely an anomaly caused by surrounding lightning resonating with his ability release—his actual combat power cannot be this strong!

Get ready to move!”

WHOOSH—

Qiao Lin’s body surged upward, transforming from a petite girl under 1.6 meters into a 1.75-meter-tall commanding woman!

A long, slender tail emerged from behind her, and a pair of fluffy cat ears sprouted atop her head.

Her once-clear eyes became feline pupils, each a different color.

One emerald green, one violet—strikingly eerie.

Heterochromatic Sky Cat!!

Enhancement-type S-class ability!

After activation, her agility and mobility double; it’s a Tiansheng assassin ability!

She once used this ability to slay three Nine-Stage Beast Emperors in succession!

Seeing this, Xina could only grit her teeth and follow.

But before her ability fully manifested, it was abruptly cut off.

ROAR—!!

A terrifying roar echoed from afar, flattening every tree within a ten-kilometer radius.

These hardened, mutated trees, which had withstood lightning strikes, exploded and shattered under the roar alone!

Then, the source appeared!

It was a dragon over a hundred meters long, wings spread, soaring through the sky!

Purple lightning encircled the dragon; terrifying lightning surged outward with its roar, its power still palpable nearly five to six kilometers away.

“That’s the Nine-Stage Beast Emperor!”

Qiao Lin’s face darkened instantly. “Escape! We must not let it catch us!”

Unlike the seventh and eighth layers of the Breakthrough Tower, the beasts in the ninth layer are far more terrifying!

This lightning dragon is one of the predators that frequently hunts in this area.

Although this beast isn’t recorded in the Blue Star Beast Codex, our tests revealed:

Its rating reached Emperor-class—equivalent to a human SSS-class ability!

Thus, despite being only low-rank Nine-Stage, it still possesses the power to annihilate us.

In this period, we’ve only encountered this beast twice—yet it appears now?

Xina and the other three nearby also turned pale instantly and fled.

“Xu Jingming! We’ll settle our business later—run first! This is a Nine-Stage Beast Emperor with Emperor-class potential!”

Though Xu Jingming was hateful, Qiao Lin didn’t wish him dead.

After all, they had no deep grudge; the beasts were their common enemy.

Thus, even as she fled, she turned back to warn him.

“Emperor-class potential?” Xu Jingming’s brows lifted.

Beasts are categorized by potential: King-class beasts equal human S-class abilities; Emperor-class beasts equal human awakened SSS-class abilities!

This was his first encounter with an Emperor-class beast.

“Jingming, let’s flee first—this lightning dragon is too powerful,” Su Qingli said grimly.

“No rush. I want to test it first.”

Xu Jingming’s voice was firm; his stance didn’t waver.

His body cultivation technique, Divine Thunder Blood Fury Body, requires absorbing the blood of Lightning-type dragon beasts.

Previously, he absorbed the blood of the Thunder Tyrant Dragon, which was Nine-Stage peak—but only King-class potential.

If he slays this Emperor-class lightning dragon and absorbs its blood, his physique may undergo a new transformation.

Also, fleeing now would mean losing the chance to obtain the Crimson Cloud Fruit from Qiao Lin.

Thinking this, Xu Jingming no longer hesitated—he activated his domain and unleashed Thunder God Descends.

“Lightning Dash Technique!”

ZAP—

A flash of lightning; Xu Jingming shot forward like a black streak toward the dragon.

His initial acceleration exceeded seven times the speed of sound; the sharp tip of his spear hissed against the air.

Flames from friction carved a bright trail across the sky.

“Xu Jingming… actually dares to attack the dragon?”

Far away, fleeing Qiao Lin stared in shock at the scene.

“Overestimating himself—even an SSS-class ability can’t win against absolute rank disparity.”

Beside her, Xina sneered, “This is what an Aurora-level is like? Pathetic intellect.”

Though still fleeing, all their mental senses focused on Xu Jingming.

As an Aurora-level, Xu Jingming must have a hidden card—he wouldn’t be instantly killed by the lightning dragon.

But he’d surely exhaust his card, possibly suffer grave injury or near-death.

Yet the next moment—

A thick black lightning bolt surged skyward; Xu Jingming’s spear pierced the dragon like a coiling dragon!

Amid a horrific roar, it drove straight through the dragon’s skull!!

“The dragon’s skull… was pierced through?”

Qiao Lin’s pupils contracted; she stared, stunned.

Xina swallowed hard, then quickly recovered:

“It’s a Nine-Stage Beast Emperor—it possesses indestructible matter; hard to kill.”

As Xina said, even with its skull pierced, the lightning dragon’s head quickly regenerated.

Then, it was pierced again!

BOOM—!!

Thunder roared; Thunder Art, Dragon Thunder Art, Thunder God Finger…

One after another, combat techniques erupted; around Xu Jingming, a vast black sea of lightning rose.

And he was the master of lightning!

“This lightning dragon is strong, but it can’t inflict serious damage on me.

Conversely, every attack of mine drains its indestructible matter significantly.

As long as I keep dragging it out, I will win.”

Xu Jingming flapped his wings, his black dragon eyes filled with unprecedented calm.

His base blood qi was 150,000; his base mental energy was 170,000!

Thunderstorm State, Second Layer of Lightning Domain, Thunder God Descends, plus the top-tier elemental weapon, Ultimate Lightning Ring.

Four layers of amplification stacked together—his power surged tenfold!

And SSS-class Chaos Divine Thunder exerts extreme suppression over other lightning abilities.

Even Emperor-class beasts are not exempt.

Multiple factors combined caused this battle outcome.

But Qiao Lin and the others far away didn’t know this.

Watching Xu Jingming overpower the lightning dragon, Qiao Lin and her companions exchanged glances, all seeing shock in each other’s eyes.

Xu Jingming, a mid-rank Eight-Stage, could be this strong?