Chapter 384: Quasi-Mythical Creature, Innate Awakening (I)

A colossal beast stood menacingly at the edge of the volcano, its body erupting with scorching golden flames that radiated endless light and heat, while black and blue thunderbolts crackled across its form.

The oppressive aura of the level 9 colossal emperor-level beast filled the entire micro-world, causing an atmospheric quake that sent rippling shockwaves hundreds of meters outward and made everything tremble.

The volcanic rocks within hundreds of meters around it melted once more, turning into rivers of molten lava that flowed like burning streams of fire. Such a terrifying presence made even the distant Single-Horned Kun and other colossal beasts instinctively hold their breath.

However, when a mutated creature broke through from level 8 to level 9, the primary change was the fusion of its strength and domain with its body, making it even more complete and powerful.

As a result, the Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor’s overall form didn’t change much, only growing from 120 meters to 143. It remained covered in black and red scales, and still exuded a fierce and violent aura.

Boom!

A burning, heavy footstep landed in the void, leaving a massive, flaming footprint in mid-air.

At level 9, the Thunder Emperor no longer needed to unfurl its thunderbolt wings to stand in the air. An invisible force field surrounded its body, faintly touching the power of space.

However, whether it was a cultivator or a mutated creature, they needed to reach the peak of level 9 and touch the laws of the universe before they could truly engage with spatial power.

As the Thunder Emperor walked over the magma lake, the purple dragon egg below suddenly emitted a vibrating hum.

The life force within the egg was much stronger than before. A faint, slender shadow could be seen writhing inside, already beginning to take on a life form.

The Thunder Emperor lowered its massive head slightly and suddenly extended a giant claw. An invisible force lifted the egg from below, bringing it into the grip of its black and red claws. Being only half a meter in size, it seemed like a minuscule pellet in the Thunder Emperor’s grasp.

The black and red colossal beast carefully pinched the egg between two clawed fingers, placing it snugly between the two spiked horns on its head and securing it there.

Under the burning Golden Flames, imbued with the Thunder Emperor's power, the egg emitted an aura of comfort and joy, seemingly very pleased with its new position.

Roar! Come out soon, or I might just get impatient and roast you for a snack.

Immediately, a wave of fear emanated from within the egg.

The Thunder Emperor’s lips curled slightly, giving it a particularly sinister look.

When it arrived at the ice crystal square, the golden flames and thunderbolts on the Thunder Emperor's body had already been retracted. The Silver Colossal Dragon and other colossal beasts all exhaled long breaths of relief.

Whoosh!

The Silver Dragon spread its wings, whipping up a gust of wind as it flew over. Nearly a hundred meters long, it circled around the Thunder Emperor, letting out a low growl of excitement.

Roar! Batian, you look so strong now. It feels like even a quasi-mythical creature would be crushed by you.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The Thunder Emperor snorted out a hot wave of air, its voice deep and resonant.

Roar! Quasi-mythical is still a bit of a stretch, but once I break through with another innate ability, I should be close.

As it spoke, the Thunder Emperor landed on an ice platform not far away, a hint of surprise flashing in its eyes. It hadn’t expected that these creatures would gather so many Life Crystals for it during its slumber. A rough estimate suggested they exceeded ten thousand attribute points.

It was well worth the effort it had put into establishing its dominance.

“Quasi-mythical creatures” referred to those at the peak of level 9, who had already touched the laws of the universe and could cross the final threshold into mythology at any moment.

Creatures at this level actually belonged to a different category, existing between level 9 colossal beasts and mythical beings.

Based on the Thunder Emperor's assessment of its own combat strength, it was confident it could suppress and kill late-stage level 9 colossal beasts, but it would struggle against those at the peak which had touched the laws.

Mutated creatures that reached late-stage level 9 were no longer ordinary. The weakest among them had awakened king-level bloodlines, with exceptionally powerful innate abilities even among the lord-level creatures.

On top of that, the power of laws was a force that transcended ordinary strength, a power that stood above the transcendent.

Unless the Thunder Emperor could also enhance its Golden Flames to the top level, and fuse them with its top-level Thunderbolts to form the ultimate destructive thunderbolt flames, it wouldn’t be able to directly confront the power of laws.

As for its top-level Strength, Defense, and Agility abilities, they belonged to the physical aspect of its being, fundamentally different from the essence of Thunderbolts and Golden Flames and making them impossible to fuse.

Of course, they were still equally formidable. The fusion of Strength and Defense allowed the Thunder Emperor to unleash explosive power without worrying about backlash, while the combination of Agility and Strength was enough to obliterate anything in its path.

This was the source of the Thunder Emperor's confidence in crushing late-stage level 9 colossal beasts—using absolute power to shatter their domains and bodies. Even in close combat, it didn’t fear the peak level 9 beasts.

If the Thunder Emperor managed to enhance its Golden Flames to the top level and fuse them with Thunderbolts, that combined with its three physical abilities would make it invincible beneath the mythical level, even at the beginning stage of level 9.

However, it still wouldn't be able to challenge mythical beings just yet. Only by growing to the middle stage of level 9 or enhancing one of its abilities beyond the top level could it truly contend with mythical creatures.

The mythical level was a chasm, much like the Ninth Heavenly Realm and a king, distinguishing the divine from the mortal. At this level, even the most extraordinary beings found it nearly impossible to transcend ranks and battle across tiers.

Any being capable of challenging a mythical king from the Ninth Heavenly Realm possessed unparalleled strength.

For example, the demon god’s descendent that Heavenly King Xuanwu had slayed—even though it had only possessed the Ninth Demonic Mark, with late-stage cultivation comparable to just an ordinary demon king, its talents had been so exceptional that it had to be eradicated even with the risk of exposing Heavenly King Xuanwu's identity.

The Kun excitedly slapped its fins in the water, stirring up massive waves.

Squeak, squeak, squeak! Thunder Fiery, you're so powerful now, you look amazing! Come on, let's go fight! I'm super strong, too.

With fins that could slash through anything, combined with the tenfold amplification of its White Domain and its Defense ability, the Kun's combat power had soared, nearing the king level.

As a result, it had grown bolder and somewhat belligerent recently, even daring to talk back to the Silver Dragon at times.

Roar! I want to go wild. too. This time I will take on ten at once!

The Deep Sea Dragon Turtle roared with anticipation. Now that their leader had awakened stronger than ever, they could follow it into glorious battles once more.

Squeak, squeak, squeak! Uncle, you're so strong.

Squeak, squeak, squeak! King, you're a beast, so powerful.

Squeak, squeak! Amazing, amazing.

The three little orcas kept leaping out of the water, splashing down with thunderous crashes that completely drenched the Kun with towering waves.

Gurgle! Your Majesty, you're so mighty, you're the best, no one can match your power! Seeing your strong form makes my six legs go weak.

The Blue Giant Crab was so excited that it spat out a string of bubbles from the water’s surface, its six legs trembling with excitement.

Hearing its words, the Thunder Emperor felt a vein throb on its forehead.

Roar! You, shut up! If you don't know how to describe it, don't speak nonsense.

It let out a roar, and a shockwave exploded outward, creating a powerful gust of wind that caused the sea's surface to sink suddenly within a hundred-meter radius. The Blue Crab was sent flying into the depths of the sea with just one roar.

Boom!

The splashing water scattered everywhere, making the Dragon Turtle and Kun instinctively shrink their necks.

Thunder Fiery was too fierce after reaching level 9; even its roar was overwhelming.

Fortunately, compared to these unruly creatures, the female orca, Horn Hime, was much quieter, swimming beside the Kun and nodding respectfully at the Thunder Emperor.