From the Commander level to the Monarch level, the gap for demon beasts was enormous—far greater than the previous two thresholds.
The principle was the same as for mages: advancing from the Advanced Level to the Super Level, even with a Star Sea or Heavenly Vein, often wasn't enough. One required tremendous fortune and destiny, only by drawing upon nature's purest and most vast energies could the barrier be broken through.
For demon beasts, it was even harder. The Night Thunder Dream Beast's bloodline was already considered noble—one of the top among all beneath the Monarch rank—yet even so, few of its kin had ever found the heavenly treasures necessary to ascend to Monarch. Most perished, trapped eternally at the Commander level.
Why were there so many Evolving Servants and Evolving Warriors, but so few Evolving Commander?
Because those who succeeded usually transcended straight to Monarch. Those who failed, even after consuming heavenly treasures, could only remain as Evolving Commander, and such an opportunity would never come twice.
Boom—!
The Night Thunder Dream Beast stepped deeper into a sea of dazzling yellow thunder, silently bathing in the lightning. Its black-and-white fur was scorched pitch-black by countless bolts, bloodlines surfacing along its body.
It remained unmoved by pain. Whether or not fate would bless it with Monarch ascension, it had to be fully prepared before that moment came.
In the distance, Asharuiya's eyes lit up upon seeing this scene. She said, "Soul Seeds and Spirit Seeds possess their own consciousness. They're not easily contained within specialized vessels. Your summoned beast refining its Lightning Element like this will gradually tame the Tyrant's Wild Thunder. When that time comes, it'll be easier to collect."
Lu Jun smiled and nodded. He knew that in the original record, Mo Fan had endured immense hardship to subdue the Tyrant Wild Thunder, even resorting to the Demon Element.
At the same time, watching the Night Thunder Dream Beast, Lu Jun recalled the Cursed Abyss beneath the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum that he had inherited. It was a place brimming with ancient dark energy and millennia of human aura—perfect for the Dream Beast. A stay there could easily allow it to ascend to Monarch rank.
Several days later, the beast's dark-violet lightning had transformed into a restrained black-yellow hue, carrying a violent destructive aura—the sign of an upgraded Lightning Seed.
As for the Tyrant's Wild Thunder, its once-raging power had now settled, condensed into a miniature sun of lightning floating above the mountain peak.
Lu Jun stepped forward and stored it away, then summoned the Night Thunder Dream Beast back into the Dimensional World.
Unlike mages, demon beasts possessed inherently powerful physiques. Through extreme tempering, they could naturally comprehend Spirit Seeds and Soul Seeds. As for Monarch-level beings—they were born with Heaven Seeds.
"I've taken my reward. Now, tell me—what is it you want?"
Lu Jun asked calmly, though he had already anticipated trouble. Within his spatial dimension, the Triangular Dimensional Mirror was ready to be activated, his Space Element Magic prepared, and his anchor point had already been set a hundred kilometers away.
"Follow me!"
Asharuiya didn't waste words. After collecting the Tyrant's Wild Thunder, she led him forward along the mountain ridge.
Their movements were swift. They arrived at the end of a long corridor, at the very edge of a towering cliff, as though a heavenly stair suspended in the sky itself. Looking down, a dense sea of white mist obscured everything below.
Even so, Lu Jun could still see an astonishing sight—through a break in the clouds, an expanse of black, ridge-like rooftops appeared, overlapping endlessly, stretching far into the distance. They pulsed faintly, like the breathing of some colossal living being.
Boom—!
Suddenly, the vast sea of clouds began to sink, air currents tearing open from all directions. The rift grew wider, and that "black rooftop" rose closer—revealing waves of crushing air pressure as the entire Tyrant Mountain Range quaked.
Thick, glossy black scales gleamed like obsidian; jagged spines lined its ridge. A dragon's back, even greater and more magnificent than the Totem Black Serpent, emerged from beneath the clouds.
Asharuiya's breath quickened. She hastily traced her Space Constellation, long abandoning any notion of trapping Lu Jun—her only thought now was to escape with him.
But just as the silver radiance of her spatial spell flickered to life, the man beside her let out a quiet chuckle. Reaching into his robe, he produced a peculiar magic artifact—and in an instant, his figure vanished. He was gone.
"He ran? He ran!!"
Asharuiya's head nearly exploded as she cursed aloud, "A Spatial Treasure?! Lu Jun, you shameless bastard!!"
The next instant, her figure vanished as well, scattering a shower of silver fragments across the cliff.
Just before leaving, Lu Jun had caught a glimpse—an immense black claw breaking through the sea of clouds, vast enough to blot out the sky. Like a true dragon reaching through the heavens, its dominance was absolute.
Boom—!
Where the dragon's claw passed, space shattered inch by inch. Within a hundred kilometers above the Tyrant Mountain Range, the clear blue sky fractured like a pane of glass. The main peak itself was sliced apart, avalanches and torrents of rock cascading down its grand slopes.
In that instant, Lu Jun's figure reappeared a hundred kilometers away. His head spun violently, his vision swirling into chaos.
He steadied his breath for a moment before recovering, muttering to himself, "So this is the might of a true dragon... Luckily, it was only an orthodox emperor."
Then, Lu Jun shook his head. The Black Dragon Emperor was the only true dragon still alive in the world today, and he was known to be a close, lifelong friend of Wentai, the Saint Son of Parthenon Temple.
Unfortunately, in the future, Su Lu of Asia would intervene, turning this Black Dragon into an idiot and forcibly contracting it.
With the Tyrant Wild Thunder secured, Lu Jun looked around at the surrounding terrain, then followed the path back on his own. As for Asharuiya, he never once worried about her safety.
After all, given the friendship between the Black Dragon Emperor and Wentai, there was no danger. In fact, when Asharuiya was a child, she used to play on the Black Dragon Emperor's back.
After several hours of travel, Lu Jun finally returned to Venice. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. He murmured to himself, "Right... that incident should've happened by now."
But it had nothing to do with him, so he didn't bother getting involved. Besides, this time Mo Fan hadn't gone off with Asharuiya to the Tyrant Mountain Range. He had stayed behind in Venice, so there shouldn't be any trouble.
Meanwhile, on one of the bridges in Venice
Mu Ningxue's silver hair flowed down her shoulders, her beautiful face covered in frost. A freezing aura radiated from her, as if capable of freezing the entire world.
She stared coldly at the three people standing opposite her—Elder Mu of the Mu Family, Nanrong Ni, and Mu Tingying—watching their twisted faces and listening to their disgusting accusations.
At that most desperate moment, a thunderous shout echoed from afar:
"Xuexue, are you okay!?"
Upon hearing that voice, Mu Ningxue felt a wave of warmth and emotion rise in her heart.
Mo Fan's figure appeared, rushing onto the bridge. He landed beside Mu Ningxue, standing shoulder to shoulder with her, glaring angrily at the three in front of them.
He cursed furiously, "Old bastard! You filthy b*tch! How dare you conspire together to frame a national team member—you should all be executed!"
Upon hearing this, Nanrong Ni's face twisted with rage as she shrieked, "Heh! Mo Fan, don't meddle in this! Otherwise, the Mu Family will kill you too!"
The two sides clashed fiercely, and a chaotic battle broke out.
The cause was simple: Mu Ningxue possessed a Life-Bound Magic Tool, the Contracted Ice Bow, a powerful artifact that would one day have the potential to slay an Emperor-level creature.
The bow originally belonged to the Mu Family, but because it was too powerful to control, they appointed a Bow Keeper—someone to nurture and attune the weapon over time.
Both Mu Ningxue and her mother had served as the bow's keepers, and their immense Ice Element talent and cultivation originated from this bow.
Now that the bow had been fully nurtured, the Mu Family intended to reclaim it and hand it over to Nanrong Ni of the Nanrong Family.
Those who had their Life-Bound Magic Tools forcibly removed either lost all their cultivation or died outright. Such an act was an unforgivable obstruction of one's path—something that could never be compromised.
Enraged beyond reason, Mo Fan unleashed his power and struck mercilessly, defeating all three of them.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123