Chapter 379: My Potential Surpasses Your Imagination

Black Domain Continent, Ashen Earth Canyon.

The great battle had ended; the shadowy black mist slowly dispersed over the scorched earth, while the wind, mixed with the aura of death, howled through the canyon, sweeping up a ground full of fine bone fragments.

The corpses of the Devouring Clan, once piled like mountains, had also vanished without a trace.

The Devouring Clan warriors who were slain had turned into players' Shou Shou Jili and evolution points, and the Devouring Clan remains left behind during the battle with the Dragon-Winged Clan were also taken away when the player legion withdrew.

Those with utilitarian value were listed in bulk on the trading market, while those temporarily lacking use were sacrificed to Beneath Di Zhao.

In this battle, the three allied warbands that crossed the realm gained a great harvest.

Besides the yields from kills, they also obtained a large amount of spoils of war.

For example, weapons, equipment, war props, and so on.

The battlefield after the great battle was a mess, covered with gullies of varying depths, and cracks crawled across the earth like earthworms.

The cliff walls on both sides of the canyon had been sheared off halfway by the energy shockwave, leaving the exposed rock layers scorched black.

The stone bridge built by the Dragon-Winged Clan, which spanned the canyon, had collapsed and shattered; the broken bridge body was slanted in the turbid bloodwater, its planks covered with cracks and traces left by the corrosion of shadow energy.

Beyond the canyon lay the direction of the Dragon Court City.

The city walls, once shielded by dragon scales and founded on dragon crystals, now revealed gruesome wounds.

On the eastern side, a gap nearly a hundred meters wide had been torn open in the city wall; shattered dragon scales and the fresh blood of Dragon-Winged warriors were mixed together, scattered across the open ground outside the city.

On the city tower, the dragon flag remained only as a half-charred flagpole, slanted and stuck in the ruins, wailing and swaying as the wind blew.

Most of the buildings inside the city near the city walls had collapsed; crystal tiles were crushed into powder, and several unextinguished dragon-breath flames were still licking the broken walls and ruined structures.

The rising black smoke merged with the dark clouds gathering in the sky, shrouding the entire city in a oppressive gray gloom.

Occasionally, wounded Dragon-Winged warriors emerged from the ruins, dragging broken wings and stumbling toward the city.

At the edge of the meteor crater in the center of the battlefield, the elemental energy released by Yan Zun's Dharma Image gradually dissipated.

At the bottom of the crater remained earth blocks that had been extremely compressed; the dissipating scorching heat made even the wind passing by carry a burning temperature.

In this war, aside from the participating players, there were no victors.

The ruined city walls, shattered weapons, the flattened canyon, the remains of Dragon-Winged warriors... all these traces proclaimed the ferocity of this great battle.

The surviving members of the Dragon-Winged Clan stood outside the city wall, silently lined up.

Their scale armor was still stained with wet blood, yet their spines stood straight.

A Dragon-kin, holding a pile of shattered dragon scales and bones, walked slowly across the broken ground, with Ji Chen following behind.

In its hands it held the remains of the Great Dragon Lord.

The skull was shattered into three pieces, the left wing bone broken into several segments, and even the hardest reverse scale was cracked into a spiderweb pattern; only the golden embers lingering in the eye sockets still revealed a trace of the majesty it possessed in life.

The Dragon-kin arrived at the gap in the city wall, where the foundation stone had been corroded by shadow energy into Kong Dong in a honeycomb pattern.

It lowered its head, squeezing a suppressed growl from its throat.

Then, it slowly raised its forepaw, lifting the remains above its head.

Golden dragon breath overflowed from between its teeth, and flames wrapped around the broken bones and scale armor.

This process lasted for a long time; the bones and flesh turned into flowing golden liquid, dripping from the Dragon-kin's claw tips into the Kong Dong of the foundation stone, filling every crack.

The scale armor unfolded within the dragon breath, transforming into semi-transparent thin sheets that, supported by telekinetic force, layered upon layer to cover the fractured surface of the gap, seamlessly merging at the edges with the remaining city wall.

The most core fragment of the reverse scale was gently lifted by the Dragon-kin's claw tip and embedded in the very center of the gap.

It lowered its head, pressing its forehead against that scale, and the dragon breath power within its body flowed through its forehead into the scale, causing the cracks on the scale to slowly heal, finally radiating a brilliant luster.

"With your bones, forge the clan's wall."

The Dragon-kin's voice was low and deep, echoing above the ruins:

"Henceforth, when the wind comes, you shall be the barrier; when the enemy arrives, you shall be the war cry."

As the last drop of golden liquid seeped into the foundation stone, the Dragon-kin slowly withdrew its claw tips.

Where the gap had once been broken, a new wall surface now rose; the gold-red bone paste had solidified into a hard wall body, the semi-transparent scale armor shimmered with flowing light under the sunlight, and the reverse scale in the center resembled an eye, quietly gazing into the distance.

This was the "Wall-Melting Ritual" passed down by the Dragon-Winged Clan to the present, a destination heavier than any tombstone.

For the Dragon-Winged Clan, flesh and blood will rot, and titles will fade; only merging with the land they guard is true eternity.

The fallen clan members become the sinews and bones of the city wall, continuing their guardianship in another form.

Their scale armor will emit war cries in the wind, reminding future generations not to forget the glory of their ancestors.

Their bone and blood will seep into the bricks and stones, making the city wall increasingly resilient through the years, becoming the clan's most solid shield.

Just as recorded in history, the First King who entered the Monster World in the first generation turned his own body into the first foundation stone of the Dragon Court City; henceforth, with every baptism by war, the city wall would absorb the power of the fallen, becoming even more unshakable.

Now that the remains of the Great Dragon Lord have merged into the gap, it is both filling the wound and injecting its lifelong achievements into the city wall, allowing this barrier to integrate the will of the previous king and resist future storms.

For the surviving Dragon-Winged Clan, this newly built wall surface is also a historical totem.

Whenever clan members pass by here, they can feel the lingering battle will of their ancestors and recall this history of war.

The fallen have never truly departed; they have merely become part of the city wall.

This is the survival philosophy of the Dragon-Winged Clan.

Pain is never deliberately recorded, but forged into armor for moving forward.

Death is not an end, but, in a heavier way, lifting the clan toward higher skies.

The post-war ritual continued.

The remains collected by Dragon-Winged warriors from the battlefield were continuously repaired into the city wall.

There was no sorrow throughout; in the eyes of every Dragon-Winged warrior, a soaring battle will sparkled.

When the last scale was embedded into the wall, the Dragon-kin raised the Dragon-Breath Rule in its hand high, looked up at the sky, and emitted a low chant from its throat.

The melodious sound was like an ancient war song.

The other Dragon-Winged Clan members followed, chanting one after another; their voices merged together, echoing through the canyon.

As the howl gradually subsided, the Dragon-kin bent down, picked up a handful of dust, and scattered it onto the city wall.

The clansmen bent down in turn, scooping up the scorched earth and scattering it across the city wall.

Their movements were slow and solemn, paying respect and bidding farewell to these fallen warriors.

The ceremony ended here.

Led by the Dragon Descendant, the members of the Dragon Wing Clan turned and walked toward the ruined city. Their silhouettes stretched long beneath the gloomy sky, each step planted firm and steady.

Because the scorched earth beneath their feet was mingled with the blood and bone of their kin.

Just like their fathers and forefathers before them, they would all eventually become the dust beneath the city wall, nourishing the strength for the next soaring flight.

Generation after generation of relay, every inch of this canyon was soaked in the fresh blood of their ancestors.

And the road to the peak still continues.

……

Back inside the city, the Dragon Descendant, who had taken over the position of Great Dragon Lord, began arranging the clansmen to repair the damaged Dragon Court City.

During this time, Ji Chen remained by his side.

The player army had already departed, but his reunion with the Dragon Descendant had only just begun.

After arranging post-war matters, the Dragon Descendant and Ji Chen sat atop the city wall.

The golden glow of the setting sun swept over the broken battlements, stretching the Dragon Descendant's form and Ji Chen's figure into silhouettes, overlapping on the cracked earth below.

The evening wind, carrying the scent of scorched earth from afar, swept past. Ji Chen shook the wine bottle in his hand and casually tossed it to the Dragon Descendant.

Inside, the amber liquid glimmered faintly beneath the sunset.

The Dragon Descendant caught the bottle, bit off the cap in one bite, drained the spirit wine in one gulp, and turned to look at Ji Chen:

"Now you can tell me, right?"

As he spoke, his claw-tip pointed at the spot on Ji Chen's chest where he had once suffered a fatal wound—a place that now radiated vigorous vitality.

Though nothing was said outright, Ji Chen understood what the Dragon Descendant meant.

He was probably asking: how did this corpse of yours, which should have been sleeping forever, come back to life?

Ji Chen stared at the distant setting sun. The dying light gilded his pale hair with a layer of gold and crimson. The wine bottle in his hand swayed gently with his wrist, the amber wine stirring up tiny ripples:

"Back then, I did follow the spatial coordinates you preset and returned to my homeland world."

"I had already made up my mind to spend my remaining years in peace in my homeland world—to use what little lifespan I had left to take one last look at the homeland I had been away from so long, to see how my homeland world had changed during the years I was gone, to kowtow a few times at my parents' graves… and also, to go back to my old home and see if the locust blossoms were still blooming outside the door."

Ji Chen tilted his head back and took a swig of wine:

"Actually, I knew very well that 200 years had passed, and my homeland world had changed greatly. The old acquaintances I wanted to see, the scenery I wanted to view—all had long been worn beyond recognition by time."

Hearing these words, the Dragon Descendant's golden slit-pupils reflected the trajectory of the setting sun sinking into the distant mountains:

"Your kind's lifespan is truly short."

"Yes, as short as the last sip left in the bottle." Ji Chen shook the nearly empty wine bottle:

"Before I could even taste the flavor, all that's left is an empty mouth… The things I cherished became memories in Bai Yao Shi Jie, and memories again upon returning home."

"But the changes in my homeland world still exceeded my expectations and made me feel like a stranger. The environment there was also far harsher than I had imagined."

"The air was filled with exhaust fumes, making it hard to absorb spiritual energy. Every breath stung my lungs. Even the most basic clean air became a luxury. Only later did I learn that during the years I was away, my homeland world had launched multiple Descent Wars."

At this point, Ji Chen paused and explained:

"The wars I'm talking about aren't the kind of tribal slaughter you understand. They're other worlds' civilizations treating my homeland world as an arena. Each war brought severe pollution, and during them, large numbers of creatures from other worlds joined the alliance formed by my homeland world. It felt to me like… I had transmigrated to another world, not the homeland in my memory."

"That feeling was terrible. It made me feel out of place in my homeland world, and the harsh environment gradually worsened my already nearly depleted vitality."

"Right after I descended, my own clansmen even mistook me for a cross-world invading enemy—I was nearly dissected for study."

"Fortunately, these were just interludes. Soon I obtained a new identity and confirmed the fact that I came from two hundred years ago…………."

As Ji Chen spoke, the Dragon Descendant listened quietly.

"After accepting the inevitable ending of death, I instead gained an unprecedented peace. I truly accepted it back then—accepted the decay of this body, accepted the strangeness of my homeland, accepted that every meeting has an end."

"During the days I was imprisoned by my clansmen, I passed on the knowledge you taught me to the clansmen of my homeland world. I planned to live quietly after getting out, find a place with beautiful scenery to spend my remaining years, then revisit the long memories of Bai Yao Shi Jie once more, until my last breath dispersed and I fell into eternal sleep in my homeland."

Ji Chen gazed at the distant mountains, as if lost in memory.

The Dragon Descendant waited a long time, but still didn't get the answer he wanted, and couldn't help glaring:

"So, what does this have to do with you coming to Monster World? What happened next?"

"The story below involves secrets that cannot be told, so it ends here." Ji Chen turned his head toward the Dragon Descendant with a solemn expression and nodded:

"This is the full story of my twists and turns after returning to my homeland world. The end."

The air froze for a moment.

The Dragon Descendant's sharp claws clenched tightly.

The next second, a fist tore through the air and slammed hard into Ji Chen's shoulder.

"You brat, you're messing with me."

Ji Chen, already over two hundred years old, now laughed like a mischievous boy who had pulled off a prank.

"Old Yi, show me some respect. The me now is different from the me back then. Beating you would be child's play. Don't force me to show my strength." He rubbed his numb shoulder, but a smile played on his face:

"Don't keep pressing me on what I actually went through. Just know that after all this, I had a fortuitous encounter and joined a special organization. But the specifics—I was warned by a certain friend that I can't reveal anything to outsiders, so I can't tell you in detail. In short… I'm terrifyingly strong now."

Hearing this, the Dragon Descendant still glared, but did not continue pressing Ji Chen about his subsequent experiences:

"So, how strong are you exactly?"

Faced with the question, a brilliant smile bloomed on Ji Chen's face.

Finally, his moment to show off had arrived.

"Ahem." Ji Chen deliberately cleared his throat:

"Do you remember when you once introduced me to rule-level power?"

Hearing this, the Dragon Descendant immediately recalled the past.

Back then, when teaching Ji Chen various combat techniques, it had once, on a whim, introduced that "rules" were the top-tier power.

Jì Chéng had once curiously asked him what the Rules were.

His answer was: a power that breaks through the laws of reality and forms its own absolute logic.

The strongest aspect of the Rules was not destructive force, but the ability to redefine the logic of everything within the power's area of effect.

During that time, he also gave a detailed introduction to the Rule possessed by their Dragon Wing race: Dragon Breath.

The effect of this Rule was that, under the domain of the Dragon Breath Rule, the power gained by clansmen through cultivation and the consumption of spiritual substances would receive a tenfold amplification.

Logically, it completely modified the laws of reality.

The prerequisite was that energy had to be generated according to the Rule's logic — this was the power source that activated the Rule.

And for a race, possessing a Rule was only the first step toward becoming powerful.

Based on the characteristics of the Rules, one could develop many kinds of growth-system Xiliu Sect, giving a race limitless possibilities.

At the Dragon Descendant's expression of disbelief, Jì Chéng put on a calm front and said:

"Right now I have already mastered twelve kinds of Rule-level power (PS: besides the Painful Painful Minghun in the Star Vein Slot, there are also group-amplification types, such as Flesh and Blood Weight, Gathering, Divine Shift, etc.)."

"Twelve kinds?!"

The Dragon Descendant's golden vertical pupils contracted sharply. It instinctively leaned forward, its head almost pressing against Jì Chéng's face, the hot breath from its nostrils carrying Dragon Breath starfire, blowing the white hair on Jì Chéng's head into a wild dance.

"How is that possible?!"

Jì Chéng's answer had truly startled it.

Although possessing a Rule did not necessarily mean great strength.

Monster World had many forces that had not mastered Rules, yet still possessed powerful war potential.

But without a Rule, it meant there was no growth potential.

The entire Dragon Wing race, passed down to this day, had only condensed one Rule — "Dragon Breath." Generations of Great Dragon Lords had exhausted their hearts' blood to deduce the amplification multiplier of the Dragon Breath Rule from the original threefold to tenfold.

Yet Jì Chéng, this former good brother who had once followed him, now said he had mastered twelve kinds of Rules.

The feeling it gave him was like that poor kid back then who couldn't even get enough to eat suddenly slapping twelve Jin Shan down in front of it.

Thinking back to those days, even Jì Chéng's most basic spiritual energy sensing cultivation had been stumbling and halting.

But now, the figure who once needed to grope for growth little by little under its protective wings had just casually uttered a number enough to overturn its entire understanding.

Rule-level power was the origin essence of a world, and not every world could give birth to Rules.

Every world that possessed Rules necessarily held the potential to nurture a powerful civilization.