However, the fully unleashed Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear was not something that could be stopped so easily.
Its lava shield was pierced as though it were made of paper.
A moment later, its chest was impaled, and the Star Breath Wind instantly shredded a large portion of its internal organs.
When Bai Qiu raised his hand and recalled the spear, the dragon’s life force immediately began to fade.
It fell into the lava pool within the volcano’s crater and gradually sank beneath the molten rock.
After suffering such devastating injuries, it was clearly doomed.
But just as Bai Qiu expected it to die and be dismantled by the system, its unfocused eyes suddenly regained clarity and locked firmly onto him once more.
“Not good!”
Realizing something was wrong, Bai Qiu immediately raised his spear, preparing to throw it again and pierce the dragon’s head, ending its life for good.
But at that moment, the entire mountain shook violently.
With a deafening rumble, the six overflowing craters throughout the volcanic range simultaneously erupted, shooting six colossal pillars of lava into the sky!
Seeing the situation turn dangerous, Bai Qiu immediately recalled the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, condensed a layer of magical protection beneath his feet, and kicked off, launching himself straight upward.
At the same time, he used Wind Manipulation to accelerate while parting the air resistance, instantly breaking the sound barrier and leaping over six hundred meters into the air.
Without stopping, he repeated the process—creating another foothold in midair, dispersing air resistance while increasing his propulsion and speed, sending himself even higher.
After several consecutive leaps, he finally reached an altitude of four thousand meters before looking down at the volcanic lava erupting below like enormous fountains, lingering fear still in his heart.
The lava itself had erupted to a height of nearly 2,500 meters, with some fiery debris reaching as high as 3,500 meters.
Feeling the scorching heat radiating even from beneath his feet, Bai Qiu’s expression darkened.
In the end, it had still managed to unleash that move.
“Ding! Lava Dragon killed. Experience gained ×. Obtained Lava Dragon Scale ×7. Obtained Dragon Heart ×1.”
As expected, the injuries it had suffered had indeed been fatal.
But with its dying breath, it had launched one final desperate counterattack by using the skill Mountainfire Meteor.
“I really got careless.”
Bai Qiu reflected on his mistake.
Ever since the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear had unlocked its Star Breath state, even an opponent with B-rank Strength would find it nearly impossible to survive a direct hit.
The Lava Dragon, however, possessed only C+ Strength.
That difference had lulled Bai Qiu into believing he could finish it with a single strike.
“Looks like from now on, whenever I kill monsters like these, even if they don’t have a Last Stand-type skill, I should destroy their heads first…”
Bai Qiu muttered to himself as he waited for the volcanic eruption below to subside.
Half an hour later, the volcano finally returned to silence.
Wrapping himself in Wind Manipulation, Bai Qiu quickly descended.
After erupting, the lava level inside the volcano had dropped considerably, exposing numerous Fire Element Crystals embedded in the crater walls, each of C+ quality.
This time, however, Bai Qiu wasn’t in a hurry to collect them.
Instead, he intended to find the Lava Dragon’s nest.
He refused to believe that such a powerful Dragon had made this place its home without there being transcendent materials hidden within.
The interior of the volcano twisted and branched like a maze, but Bai Qiu quickly locked onto an area with an exceptionally dense concentration of energy through its aura and flew toward it.
Even after the eruption, the temperature inside the volcano still exceeded a thousand degrees.
Despite being protected by both Wind Manipulation and magical barriers, Bai Qiu could still feel waves of oppressive heat washing over him.
Fortunately, it remained within tolerable limits.
Before long, he found a cave formed from crimson stone walls, located roughly 1,600 meters beneath the volcanic crater.
The temperature here was so extreme that even Bai Qiu doubted he could remain inside for several hours.
Still, it was more than enough time to explore the Lava Dragon’s nest.
The tunnel leading into the nest was piled high with high-grade Fire Crystals.
Every single crystal was C++ quality.
The smallest were about the size of a fist, while the largest were nearly half of Bai Qiu’s height.
These had all formed naturally before being gathered by the Dragon to build its nest.
As Bai Qiu walked, he casually stored every Fire Crystal into his storage card.
This was far more efficient than painstakingly collecting them one by one outside.
Upon reaching the deepest part of the nest, Bai Qiu was completely stunned by the sight before him.
Countless crimson crystals filled the cavern, each radiating an extraordinary aura rich with fire elements, forming what was essentially a warm, nurturing bed.
Resting quietly atop several of the highest-quality Lava Crystals was a single dragon egg.
Bai Qiu raised an eyebrow.
Then, as though suddenly remembering something, he immediately sped up.
Without even taking a closer look, he swept every single item in the nest into his storage card.
Among the loot were even two chests labeled [Lava Treasure Chest].
Moments later, the once-filled nest contained only a single dragon egg lying quietly upon the uneven ground.
It truly lived up to the saying:
“I’ll leave you with nothing but an egg.”
“…On second thought, I won’t even leave you the egg.”
Bai Qiu immediately changed his mind midway through, turned around, stuffed the dragon egg into his storage card as well, and then sprinted out of the Lava Dragon’s nest at top speed, flying toward the volcano’s exit.
Just as he was nearing the crater, a familiar roar echoed from the distance.
Bai Qiu knew…
What was meant to come had finally arrived.
The moment he saw the dragon egg, he had already realized there had to be two Lava dragons living here.
Not even dragons could reproduce asexually.
Now…
The other dragon had returned.
Bai Qiu flew out of the volcanic crater.
Without the slightest hesitation, he drew the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear and hurled it viciously at the Lava Dragon not far away, which was letting out mournful cries.
This Lava Dragon was even larger than the previous one.
Its scales looked thicker and sturdier, and its Strength was indeed one rank higher, at C++.
The moment it saw Bai Qiu, it immediately understood everything.
Its entire body burst into flames as it activated its Lava Shield to block the incoming Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, then charged straight at Bai Qiu with bloodshot eyes.
It chose to engage Bai Qiu in close combat without the slightest intention of keeping its distance, leaving him genuinely surprised.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
Its massive claws slammed into Bai Qiu repeatedly, while Bai Qiu carved several deep gashes across its abdomen.
The dragon then spun around violently, smashing Bai Qiu away with a powerful sweep of its tail.
Crack!
Bai Qiu was driven into the rocky wall of the volcano.
But the Lava Dragon had no intention of stopping.
Flames erupted across its body once more, and the massive wound on its abdomen—which Bai Qiu had nearly ripped open—instantly stopped bleeding.
Beating its wings, it charged directly toward Bai Qiu again.
Another explosion of fiery energy erupted as it rammed forward with tremendous force, so violently that the abdominal wound it had only just managed to seal burst open once again.
“Not bad.”
Holding his spear horizontally across his chest, Bai Qiu offered a sincere compliment.
Even as nothing more than a beast, it had already proven itself worthy of being called a husband.
Boom!
The next instant, Bai Qiu sent the Lava Dragon flying with a single punch.
Immediately afterward, the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear pierced straight into its still-bleeding abdomen.
The Star Breath Wind shredded its internal organs in an instant.
ROAR!!
The Lava Dragon’s eyes widened until they nearly split apart.
There was no fear of death in its gaze.
Only endless rage and grief.
By this point, it understood that even after giving it everything it had, it still could not defeat the one who had killed its mate.
…
“Haa…”
Bai Qiu let out a long breath.
Aside from a few scorch marks on his body, he was virtually unharmed.
The enraged Lava Dragon, meanwhile, had already had its skull shattered, its chest cavity and internal organs completely destroyed, and was now being rapidly dismantled by the system.
While it had still retained its reason, it had been capable of putting up a genuine fight against Bai Qiu.
But once it completely lost its sanity, it became nothing more than a slightly fiercer wild beast.
In the end, it could only perish in hatred, becoming yet another soul slain by Bai Qiu’s spear.
“Ding! Lava Dragon killed!
Experience gained ×!
Obtained Lava Dragon Scale ×12!
Obtained Dragon Heart ×1!
Obtained Dragon-Rearing Stone ×5!”
After this battle, Bai Qiu was no longer in the mood to stay behind collecting Fire Crystals.
He crossed the volcanic region, passed the rivers of hot springs, and arrived in a cool, refreshing forest.
— The end of the Chapter–
TL note : Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 50 chapters of the release :
https://www.patreon.com/DeCakraWnloverz
