Chapter 438: The Three-Thousand-Meter Long Colossal Beast, Invincible Form (II)

The seabed trembled slightly.

Heavy footsteps crushed the ground as the 250-meter-long, red-lightning-clad, menacing beast slowly approached, radiating an aura of ferocity so intense that it pushed the surrounding water away, creating a vacuum several hundred meters wide.

The Thunder Emperor’s cold golden eyes stared at the exhausted Red Beast, and flames spewed from its mouth and nose as it let out a low growl.

Roar! I am the Thunder Fiery Dragon King of the Dragon Palace colossal beast empire, Ao Tian, Ao Batian.

Roar! In our battle, you have earned my recognition with your strength. Now you have two choices: join the Dragon Palace, or be destroyed by me.

This Red Beast was exceptionally powerful, at the late stage of level 9. With two top-tier abilities, its combat strength had reached the quasi-mythical level, no less than that of the Sword Dragon Colossal Beast; at least, when the Sword Dragon hadn’t been using the power of laws.

Even so, it was incredibly strong, almost transcending its level, especially with that bizarre black-and-white domain ability, which was even stronger than the alternating black-and-white powers of the Single-Horned Kun.

Daylight emerged as it opened its eyes, transforming it into a white flame elemental that was immune to most physical damage. Night appeared as it closed its eyes, and its size expanded tenfold, making its physical body extraordinarily powerful.

In addition to these abilities, it also possessed a time-slowing power that activated during the alternation of day and night.

These two powerful innate abilities made the Thunder Emperor somewhat tempted.

Its evolution points had already accumulated over 28,000, nearing its fifth evolution. However, it hadn’t yet decided what ability to absorb.

The Red Beast’s unique and formidable abilities intrigued it, so the Thunder Emperor decided to keep it around for now. If no better target appeared...

While the Thunder Emperor pondered, the Red Beast, awaiting the arrival of death, suddenly had a moment of confusion. It wasn’t quite sure how to react.

I... don’t have to die? It seemed like... it invited me... to join something... the Dragon Palace.

What... is the Dragon Palace? And... what is this colossal beast empire? Why... did it beat me up?

For a moment, the Red Beast was dazed.

Seeing the Red Beast laying there unresponsive for so long, the Thunder Emperor’s gaze grew cold.

Does this guy want to die? Or was what I said not clear enough?

Or... is there something wrong with its head? Does it prefer death over submitting and joining the Dragon Palace?

As this thought crossed its mind, a terrifying killing intent radiated from the Thunder Emperor. Just as it was about to strike the Red Beast’s head with a claw, the other beast let out a slow growl.

Roar... I... am willing... to join.

Of course, the Red Beast didn’t want to die if it could avoid it. Besides, submitting to this black-and-red beast didn’t seem too disgraceful.

This guy was too monstrous; despite being at the beginning stage of level 9, with such a wide gap in power, it was still able to dominate their fight. It was even more of a freak than the Red Beast itself.

After finally getting a response, the Thunder Emperor’s gaze turned strange.

Why does this guy seem a little slow-witted? But since it chose to join, I'll keep it around for now.

Lost in thought, the red lightning around the Thunder Emperor gradually faded, and its massive body shrank as if deflating, returning to a more manageable size of just over 160 meters in the blink of an eye.

Now that it had subdued a level 9 colossal beast, and one that had reached the late stage of level 9 with quasi-mythical-level combat power, the Thunder Emperor followed tradition and let out a low growl.

Roar! Welcome to the Dragon Palace family. From now on, we’re brothers. We’ll fight together, and feast together. By the way, do you have a name?

Faced with the Thunder Emperor’s series of questions, the Red Beast stared at him blankly for a while before finally responding with a slow growl.

Roar... I... don’t... have... a name.

Why is this guy so slow to respond? Could he be... a bit dull? Even mutated creatures can produce idiots?

The Thunder Emperor was a little dumbfounded.

No, wait. If he were really an idiot, how could he have grown to the late stage of level 9?

Snapping out of its thoughts, the Thunder Emperor let out a deep growl.

Roar! In that case, I’ll give you a name.

When it came to naming, the Thunder Emperor was quite confident. After all, it had come up with the imposing names for creatures like the Single-Horned Kun and the Deep Sea Dragon Turtle.

The Thunder Emperor glanced at the Red Beast, whose massive body resembled the legendary Eastern dragon, and noted its special abilities: the power to bring day with open eyes and night with closed eyes. It let out a low growl.

Roar! From today onward, your name shall be Zhulong[1], the one who governs the alternation of day and night.

Satisfied with its own choice of name, the Thunder Emperor nodded in approval, feeling quite pleased with itself.

Roar! Alright, I might have been a bit rough on you earlier. You should heal up, and I’ll take a break as well.

After being in its colossal form for about ten minutes, even the Thunder Emperor’s monstrous physique had felt some strain, leaving it a bit weakened—like the feeling of exhaustion after exerting too much effort. It needed to rest for a while.

Zhulong’s abilities were strange and powerful. Even after being blasted more than a dozen times, its elemental form had made it extremely difficult for the Thunder Emperor to deplete its abilities' power source.

As the Thunder Emperor turned around and lay down on a hundred-meter-tall boulder to rest, the Red Beast suddenly let out an excited roar from afar.

Roar! I, Zhulong, now... have... a name!

Seeing that the Red Beast took a few minutes to react, the Thunder Emperor couldn’t help but be lost in thought.

This creature definitely has some issues. Is it because of its unique abilities?

About half an hour later, the red colossal beast, having recovered some of its strength, closed and reopened its eyes. Instantly, the black and white alternation of time reappeared within a ten-kilometer radius beneath the sea, summoning that strange temporal power once again.

Under this peculiar force, the blood flowing from the Red Beast reversed its course, and the grave wounds on its body began healing rapidly, the speed increasing with each passing moment.

Such was the nature of a level 9 colossal beast—their life force was extraordinary. Unless the injury was fatal, even a severed limb would regenerate in no time, much like that of Ghidorah, the Nine-Headed Serpent.

Though the Red Beast’s external wounds disappeared, the damage from the fight remained. It would take at least ten days to half a month to fully recover its vitality.

As the Red Beast regained its mobility, the Thunder Emperor stood up from a distance.

Roar! Zhulong, do you know if there are any other level 9 colossal beasts nearby?

After nearly a minute of silence, the Red Beast finally responded with a low, heavy growl.

Roar... Yes... there is... one, but... it's a bit far.

Is this creature always enveloped in that strange temporal force when not in battle?

Noticing Zhulong’s unusual behavior, the Thunder Emperor pondered for a moment before letting out a low growl.

Roar! Lead the way. Let’s go devour it.

Roar... Alright.

With Zhulong leading the way, the two colossal beasts vanished into the dark depths of the sea, leaving behind a shattered mountain range and countless dead marine creatures, victims of the battle’s shockwaves.

1. Zhulong, also known in English as the Torch Dragon, was a giant red solar dragon and god in Chinese mythology. It had a human's face and snake's body, created day and night by opening and closing its eyes, and created seasonal winds by breathing. ☜