Chapter 1180: The Mighty Power of the Fire Dragon King

Bai Xiuxiu shot Lan Xuanyu a glance, but the smile on her face was impossible to hide. By now, Qi Tianlong’s opponent had already entered the arena. His opponent was also a young man, stocky and muscular, with a powerful sense of strength radiating from his entire body. However, his expression at the moment was far from pleased. He knew who Qi Tianlong was! To draw such an opponent right from the start was simply bad luck. This was a knock-out match; lose, and it was over. Facing an opponent like Qi Tianlong, he could only give it his all and fight with everything he had. Win or lose, at least he had to leave a good impression on the Dragon Knight lords.

“Second match, Qi Tianlong versus Wu Chenjie. Begin!” As the referee announced the start, the second elimination match officially commenced. Wu Chenjie let out a loud shout, his muscles swelling rapidly. A fierce bloody aura burst forth from his body, and veins surfaced across his skin. His Divine Dragon Armor was highly unusual—it was actually propped up by those blood vessels, suspended at a distance from his body. His expanding frame reached seven meters in height in an instant, and he charged at Qi Tianlong with giant strides like a colossal being. Wu Chenjie had placed third in the fourth warzone, making him one of the weaker competitors among the thirty finalists, whereas his opponent, Qi Tianlong, was a favorite to win the championship. The gap between them was already evident from their standings in the round-robin stage.

Once they truly clashed, the match ended even faster than anyone had expected. Qi Tianlong simply stood there, his entire body like a sharp blade. Just as his opponent was about to reach him, towering flames erupted in an instant. A crimson blaze surged upward, and a dazzling red flash vanished in the blink of an eye. Even Lan Xuanyu, who had activated his Purple Extreme Demon Eyes, felt his vision blur—it seemed as though a streak of red light energy had flickered past. In the next instant, Qi Tianlong and Wu Chenjie passed each other. A red line appeared across Wu Chenjie’s body, and then his Divine Dragon Armor shattered piece by piece. A long blade had appeared in Qi Tianlong’s hand, and the crimson flames around him quietly faded, as if nothing had happened.

“Boom—” The next moment, a blazing crimson flame erupted from Wu Chenjie’s body, as if a bomb had detonated instantly. The referee descended from above, releasing a vast amount of Dragon Force to extinguish the crimson flames. “Qi Tianlong, wins!” The pupils of the other contestants all contracted. This match had ended far too quickly. Although Wu Chenjie was ranked near the bottom, he was still one of the top thirty competitors! In the previous match, Xu Yanmo had fought a grueling battle against Zheng Shude, nearly exhausting his energy before securing victory. Yet in this match, Qi Tianlong had defeated his opponent in an instant—almost beyond belief. How could it be so fast?

Lan Xuanyu’s expression also turned grave. To reach the Dragon Realm, he had to win the championship of the Rising Dragon Competition. According to the information Huang Yuanlang had brought him, among the contestants this time, there were five worth noting as rivals, including Xu Yanmo and Qi Tianlong. He had fought Xu Yanmo and won, and that battle had effectively unlocked his Dragon God Transformation. If he faced Xu Yanmo again, he was fairly confident of victory. But he had not expected Qi Tianlong to be this strong. From this brief fight alone, it was clear that Qi Tianlong and Xu Yanmo were not on the same level. Though it was only a single slash, the power contained within it was far more than just a simple strike!

Lan Xuanyu took a deep breath, knowing that Qi Tianlong would be the toughest mountain to climb on his path to the championship. Qi Tianlong walked back slowly to Lan Xuanyu’s side and sat down again, his expression no different from before the fight, as if he had merely done something trivial.

“Congratulations,” Lan Xuanyu said with a nod.

Qi Tianlong smiled slightly. “My opponent was relatively weak; otherwise, I wouldn’t have had such an easy time. If I were up against you, I wouldn’t be so confident.”

“You’re too modest,” Lan Xuanyu replied with a slight frown.

If it had been himself facing Qi Tianlong’s attack just now, how should he have defended against it? Qi Tianlong closed his eyes, silently sensing the aura emanating from Lan Xuanyu beside him, and suddenly felt an unusual sense of peace. Qi Tianlong possessed the Fire Dragon King bloodline—one of the most powerful bloodlines currently held by the dragon race, passed down from the same lineage as the head of the Celestial Dragon Clan. This was precisely why he was regarded as a strong contender for the next head of the Celestial Dragon Clan and a future Dragon Knight without question. When he had delivered that slash just now, Qi Tianlong had been surprised to find that he had, for once, felt a rare urge to show off. To show off to Lan? To display his power? Yes, if anyone in the younger generation truly deserved to be matched with Lan, it was surely only himself. After the Rising Dragon Competition ended, he would ask his teacher to bring a marriage proposal. Surely Lan would not refuse. If they both became Dragon Knights, with Lan’s support, a thousand years from now, he would have a very good chance of ascending to the position of head.

Little did Qi Tianlong know what Lan Xuanyu was thinking. Lan Xuanyu had been shaken by the formidable strength Qi Tianlong had just displayed. Though it was only one slash, from that single strike, he could sense the immense power and the qualitative gap between them. Yes, it was a gap in level. He himself was at the peak of six-ring, on the verge of breaking through, while Qi Tianlong was already very close to the god rank. That slash had carried a momentum that seemed to awe the world. Clearly, the other had cultivated his bloodline, techniques, attributes, and dragon body to a state of complete unity, ready to step into a higher realm at any moment. Without a doubt, Qi Tianlong was the most formidable opponent he would face in this Rising Dragon Competition.

In the following matches, the draws were mostly similar to Qi Tianlong’s bout—there was no evenly matched contest like the first one. But every contestant did their utmost to display their strength, maximizing their combat effectiveness to the very limit. Even those who lost did so fiercely, fighting until the last drop of Dragon Force was spent.

“Contestants number thirteen and fourteen, enter the arena.” At the referee’s voice, Lan Xuanyu and Bai Xiuxiu slowly rose to their feet. Seeing “them” stand up, the gazes of the other contestants turned toward them. Then, everyone noticed a contestant not far away, with a rather pale expression, also rising. Seeing this person, Lan Xuanyu and Bai Xiuxiu paused briefly. It was not because they recognized this opponent, but because this was one of the two who had previously stepped forward alongside them as contestants possessing a Dragon Mount. Looking at Lan Xuanyu and Bai Xiuxiu, this opponent nearly wept on the spot. He was no weakling—he had qualified in second place in his round-robin group, and he had seen Lan Xuanyu’s displayed strength firsthand. Having a Dragon Mount was something everyone would keep hidden, and even more so for the finalists.

He had been full of ambition, believing that with the advantage of his Dragon Mount, he could go far—even if winning the championship was out of reach, at least he could secure a high rank. But who could have guessed that in the very first round of elimination, he would run into another contestant with a Dragon Mount, and moreover, the Golden Dragon Princess who had performed so powerfully in the round-robin stage? This was simply the worst luck imaginable! Lan Xuanyu and Bai Xiuxiu had already walked into the arena. “They” still held hands, their bearing unchanged. Yet even the seven Dragon Knights seated high above on the pillars of Dragon Force could not help but fix their gazes on “them.”