Chapter 221: Single Spark

Ancient Cosmic Dragon. Power 150.

On the ground, an enormous vertical pupil flashed within one of the fissures. A gigantic black tail burst out from beneath. Its tip spun like a drill and rapidly shot up in the sky toward Yu Xian.

Under the sunlight, the tail's black dragon scales shimmered with brilliant iridescent colors. Every single scale was breathtakingly beautiful.

How did that saying go? Give capitalists a certain amount of profit, and they'll do this and that. Give them enough profit, and they'll dare to take any risk.[1]

For the Ancient Cosmic Dragon, the benefits of defeating Yu Xian were simply too great, great enough for it to risk everything. It could have let the opportunity pass if its Star Divine Artifact had not obtained the Sharpness trait. But now, there was no reason to give up such an excellent chance.

When an ordinary person consumed a Forbidden Fruit, they could probably make use of only around one ten-thousandth of its power. But a stronger lifeform could draw a greater effect from the fruit. Although the Ancient Cosmic Dragon's Power was lower than Yu Xian's, the Sharpness trait was more than enough to compensate for the difference.

From the moment the Ancient Cosmic Dragon attacked, only about a second had passed. Seeing the tail rushing toward him, Yu Xian condensed a spiraling spear in his right hand and hurled it from a distance.

The Ancient Cosmic Dragon's tail collided with the spear in the air. The spear instantly shattered, bursting apart like a firework. Amid the flames, the tail pierced straight through the explosion and continued charging toward Yu Xian.

Yu Xian's sharp eyes immediately noticed that the scales on the Ancient Cosmic Dragon's tail were far too hard and sharp. Something's wrong with those scales!

With a flicker of his thought, he plucked a Vajra Feather from the tip of his wing. The feather passed through a bubble at his fingertip and expanded to a meter in length, resembling a golden saber covered in silver patterns. White flames spread from his hand onto the Vajra Feather, strengthening it even further.

Gripping the Vajra Feather, Yu Xian swung it down at the approaching dragon tail with all his strength. The Vajra Feather collided with the dragon tail, causing the air to tremble violently. Lightning flashed, and thunder roared at the point of impact, while the white flames and the scales covering the tail shook wildly.

The white flames enveloping Yu Xian were a fusion of his True Crimson Energy, True Will, and positive thoughts after they had been purified by the Six Dings' Divine Fire. Yu Xian named this new energy Single Spark.

This flame represented the trust that countless people placed in him, as well as their affirmation of kindness and justice. Therefore, nothing could have been more fitting than naming it after the Single Spark in the saying "A single spark can start a prairie fire."[2]

Single Spark possessed extraordinarily powerful defensive capabilities. It was far stronger than merely combining the True Crimson Energy with True Will.

That was why Yu Xian was shocked to discover that the Ancient Cosmic Dragon's tail was slowly cutting through the Single Spark. It was unnaturally sharp. "Is it really that powerful?"

Yu Xian had already guessed the answer moments earlier. He suspected that the Ancient Cosmic Dragon had refined its scales into a Star Divine Artifact. But that was no different from a supernatural being peeling off its skin and refining it into an artifact. It was utterly insane.

However, the outcome of the clash between the Vajra Feather and the dragon scales forced him to accept reality. There really were people in this world crazy enough to do such things, and dragons just as crazy.

The act itself was undoubtedly deranged, but the benefits were enormous. Single Spark was finally torn open, and the moment the dragon scales struck the Vajra Feather, a notch appeared in it. Yu Xian decisively teleported away, no longer willing to clash head-on with the Ancient Cosmic Dragon.

He did not go far, however. Just as the Ancient Cosmic Dragon coveted his power, he had his eyes on its scales.

Since the Ancient Cosmic Dragon had refined all the scales on its body into a Star Divine Artifact, all Yu Xian had to do was kill it and collect those scales. They would make excellent ready-made materials, greatly reducing the difficulty of reforging the Dragon Shield.

Little Nora's head emerged from Yu Xian's shoulder. "Big Bro, should we make a run for it?"

Although he was furious and deeply upset that the Ancient Cosmic Dragon had knocked over the meat, growing up in the wild had made him extremely practical. If they could not win, then no matter how angry he was, they had to run. Only by staying alive could he continue sulking over the humiliation.

On Yu Xian's other shoulder, Single Spark took the form of Little Huang Quan. She worriedly asked, "Big Bro, is the enemy strong?"

Yu Xian shrank the Vajra Feather and returned it to his wing as he stared at the Ancient Cosmic Dragon's tail. "Run? The one who should be running now is him!"

He raised his right hand, and an enormous white fireball materialized above his palm. Since the Ancient Cosmic Dragon was hiding underground and refusing to come out, he would force it to.

"Go!" Yu Xian hurled the enormous white fireball toward the ground.

The Ancient Cosmic Dragon's tail stabbed toward the fireball, attempting to stop it from falling. However, Yu Xian appeared in front of the tail and unleashed a rapid barrage of punches, both fists cloaked in Single Spark.

Single Spark was indeed neither as hard as the dragon scales nor capable of withstanding their cutting power. But as long as Yu Xian withdrew the instant they made contact, the scales would not be able to slice through it.

It was like wetting your fingers before touching an egg in boiling water. As long as the contact was brief enough, the egg would not burn you.

With Yu Xian blocking the tail, the white fireball descended without obstruction. The ground began burning before the fireball even landed. By the time everything combustible was reduced to ash, the ground had turned completely black.

When the fireball came within ten meters of it, the ground rapidly melted into magma to meet its thunderous impact. It was as though it were the end of the world. Countless bird-dragons frantically flapped their wings as they fled the forest, while innumerable dinosaurs stampeded across the ground. The area where Yu Xian and the Ancient Cosmic Dragon were fighting had long since been emptied of life. The creatures now fleeing were several kilometers away from the battlefield.

The next moment, the land split apart, and countless streams of white flame erupted into the sky, forming pillars of fire that seemed capable of exterminating all life. Many teams searching for the Forbidden Fruit immediately realized that Star-rank powerhouses were fighting. Without another word, they turned and fled. Some even took out spacecraft and left the world fragment entirely.

Hundreds of kilometers away, a pillar of fire soared into the sky, and the members of the Carman Hunting Party scattered. Chun Mu looked back toward the sky. Even from hundreds of kilometers away, she could still lock on to Yu Xian in midair. Although Yu Xian was wearing a mask, his clothes had not changed, and the patterns on the wings behind him were identical to those on Little Nora. Chun Mu therefore recognized him with ease.

Shocked, she said, "Mr. Salted Fish is actually a Star-rank powerhouse."

The other members of the group were stunned at first, but the steadily rising temperature around them quickly became unbearable. "Chun Mu, forget about that for now. Let's get out of here first."

"Understood." Chun Mu suppressed her shock, turned around, and followed the group away from the battlefield.

Yu Xian's attack affected an enormous area. Large numbers of animals were incinerated instantly, and the ground turned into magma, forcing the Ancient Cosmic Dragon to emerge from underground.

It shot straight into the sky. Once it had risen above Yu Xian, it abruptly dove back down. It was moving so fast that it resembled an arrowhead streaking through the air.

Tornado Tempest!

As the Ancient Cosmic Dragon approached Yu Xian, it suddenly began spinning at tremendous speed. Countless scales turned their sharpened edges outward, forming a black tornado with terrifying cutting power.

1. This alludes to a passage by English trade unionist Thomas Joseph Dunning, quoted by Karl Marx in Capital, Volume I, Chapter 31. Dunning argues that the greater the profit, the more reckless capital becomes: at 50 percent profit, it grows audacious, while at 300 percent, it will commit any crime and run any risk, even at the possibility of its owner being hanged. ☜

2. A single spark can start a prairie fire translates the Chinese saying 星星之火,可以燎原 (xīngxīng zhī huǒ, kěyǐ liáoyuán). It means that something small or seemingly insignificant can grow, spread, and eventually become a powerful or unstoppable force. ☜