The One King

Azrael slowly approached the place where the Emperor Ape had fallen.

The ground had been completely devastated. The surrounding mountains had been reduced to ruins, while remnants of destructive energy still lingered in the air.

Azrael lowered his head and extended one of his enormous claws toward the remains of the corpse.

“Let’s see what you left behind.”

His claw pierced through the shattered body, and moments later, he extracted an enormous golden core.

The core was roughly the size of an adult man’s fist and pulsed with incredibly dense energy.

Yet within Azrael’s enormous claw...

it looked like nothing more than a tiny pebble.

He examined it for a moment.

“The core of a Beast Emperor from the Divine Ascension Realm...”

Then he said to the System:

“Convert it into System Coins.”

The System’s voice rang within his mind.

“Command acknowledged.”

“Obtained: One billion System Coins.”

A smile appeared on Azrael’s face.

“One billion?”

But the System continued in its usual emotionless tone:

“One billion System Coins have been deducted in full to repay a portion of the debt incurred for the Ancestral Calamity Dragon Bloodline.”

Azrael froze.

“...”

Silence.

Then he said:

“Repeat that.”

“One billion System Coins have been deducted to repay the debt.”

Azrael remained silent for several seconds.

Then he spoke in a dark tone:

“So I gained nothing.”

“Correct.”

Azrael closed his eyes for a moment.

“This System...”

He did not finish his sentence.

Instead, he looked at the remains of the Emperor Ape.

“At least I can make use of its body.”

He opened his mouth and activated the Demonic Devouring Technique.

The remains of the Emperor Ape began transforming into an enormous stream of energy, which was drawn into Azrael’s body.

The energy surged through him like a raging river.

The black-purple scales covering his body began glowing faintly.

His aura trembled.

Then...

BOOM!

His aura suddenly erupted.

The bottleneck shattered.

Immortal King Realm — Seventh Stage!

Azrael opened his eyes.

He could feel the newly acquired power flowing through his body.

“Not bad.”

He rarely used the Demonic Devouring Technique.

Most of his previous opponents had been far weaker than him, making the technique hardly worth using.

But the essence and body of a creature from the Divine Ascension Realm were an entirely different matter.

“Looks like I’ll have to use it more often in the future.”

Suddenly...

Azrael’s eyes changed.

The calmness disappeared.

A cold, ruthless light emerged within them.

He slowly turned his head toward a certain direction.

He had sensed something.

A divine sense.

Someone was watching him from afar.

Azrael stared into the empty space.

Then he spoke in a low voice, carrying an unmistakable killing intent:

“Do you want to die?”

The surrounding space trembled.

The divine sense vanished the very next moment.

Azrael continued staring in that direction for several seconds.

But he did not pursue its owner.

His body was exhausted.

And his mind was even more fatigued.

He had just fought a fierce battle, undergone an unprecedented transformation, and then recovered his strength.

He had no intention of wasting more energy chasing someone who had merely been observing him from afar.

“Not now.”

He raised his head toward the sky.

There was another problem.

Far too many creatures had witnessed him.

They had heard his roar.

They had felt his aura.

The appearance of a mysterious dragon of such terrifying power in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountains would not remain a secret.

Within a few days, the news would spread throughout the surrounding regions.

Eventually, it would reach the ears of some ancient beings that had been dormant deep within the mountains.

And perhaps...

some of them would come personally to investigate.

Azrael was not afraid of them.

Quite the opposite.

If they came now, he would not mind testing his newfound strength.

But he had greater objectives.

And he did not want to reveal his cards too early.

“Not now.”

He spread his enormous wings.

WHOOSH!

With a single powerful flap, a storm of dust and shattered rocks erupted around him.

His gigantic body rose into the sky.

His destination was clear.

Gaya.

After several minutes of flight, the mountain where Gaya had been training appeared below him.

Azrael slowed down.

Then descended.

BOOOOOOM!

The entire mountain trembled.

Dust cascaded down its slopes.

Several rocks cracked beneath the weight of his enormous body.

Azrael lowered his head until it was almost level with the small cabin.

He then tried to soften his voice as much as possible.

But his dragon voice remained deep and terrifying.

“Gaya.”

He paused for a moment.

“Prepare yourself.”

Then he added:

“We’re leaving.”

Inside the cabin...

Gaya was cultivating.

Suddenly, she felt the mountain shake.

Her eyes snapped open.

“What was that?”

Then she sensed a terrifying aura pressing down upon the area.

Her eyes widened.

“A beast?”

Gaya quickly stood.

Over the past period, she had become accustomed to fighting beasts within the mountains, but she had never felt an aura this powerful before.

She reached for her weapon and prepared to leave.

“Has some powerful beast come here?”

But she stopped when she heard a strange voice outside.

“Gaya.”

She froze.

That voice...

It was incredibly monstrous.

Yet its owner had called her by name.

She slowly approached the cabin door.

Then opened it cautiously.

The moment she raised her head...

she froze completely.

A gigantic black dragon’s head was right before her.

Its scales were as dark as the night, their edges glowing faintly purple, while its eyes carried a terrifying brilliance.

Gaya swallowed nervously.

She took a step backward.

“You...”

She stared at the dragon.

“Who are you?”

The dragon remained silent for a moment.

Then its enormous head moved slightly closer.

Gaya trembled, but forced herself to remain composed.

“How do you know my name?”

The dragon gazed at her with deep purple eyes.

Then it spoke.

“Gaya.”

Her tension increased.

“Tell me who you are!”

A brief silence followed.

Then came the answer she had never expected.

“It’s me.”

Gaya froze.

“...What?”

The dragon moved its head slightly closer and said:

“Azrael.”

Gaya’s eyes widened to their limit.

She stared at him for several seconds without saying a word.

Then she looked at his enormous body.

His wings.

His claws.

His horns.

Then she looked back into his eyes.

“Azrael...?”

The dragon answered:

“Yes.”

A long silence followed.

Then Gaya asked, her face filled with disbelief:

“What in the heavens happened to you?”

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