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"—!" Hearing Riku's words, Zhuyue's dragon eyes suddenly widened, filled with shock and disbelief.
"What an interesting expression. Looks like I was right," Riku sneered coldly, ignoring Zhuyue. "To be more specific, your Dragon Spirit race is a multi-dimensional life form spanning past and future, centered on the 'present' moment in time!"
"That's why you call it infinite energy—because you actually exist across multiple points on the timeline, not just as a single point but as a whole 'surface' across time."
"No matter how badly you get hurt at this moment, you can pull strength from your past and future selves, instantly healing yourself by converging those time points."
"Infinite amplification in reality, granting infinite power. Your physical body is just a vessel fixed at the point where your time folds together."
By merging multiple versions of yourself from different times, you multiply your strength many times over. This 'infinite' energy the Dragon Spirits talk about actually comes from this unlimited time-based existence. You're essentially multi-dimensional time-space beings.
"You're unbeatable on the same time layer. So no matter how bad your wounds, you just 'replace' the injured present you with an uninjured past self, making it seem like you instantly recover with unlimited power and regeneration."
After saying this, Riku mocked Zhuyue, watching the shock and disbelief flicker across his face, then declared, "So, stop with the tricks. Beating you is simple—just continuously strike you hard in the same time frame, leaving you no chance to fold time and heal. That's why multiple Winged Beings can kill you by sacrificing some injuries, while a single Winged Being would definitely die trying!"
"Hahaha, interesting. So interesting. I never thought a secret no race had uncovered for thousands, even tens of thousands of years would be figured out by a human like you." Staring fiercely at Riku, Zhuyue's shock turned into admiration and then laughter.
The shattered land and space trembled like thunder again.
"You're exactly right, but with your current power, beating me is impossible. Even if you know our secret, your strength is only a bit above the Winged Beings—you can't keep hitting me hard repeatedly," Zhuyue said, suddenly wearing a playful, confident expression.
"Weak ones study wisdom; the strong sharpen their claws. Sorry, you already lost the moment you acted all high and mighty!" Riku said dismissively, calm as a breeze.
"What?!" Zhuyue's face changed instantly, instincts warning her something was wrong. Without hesitation, she unleashed a dragon breath that cut through the sky, engulfing Riku's figure.
Still, her unease only grew stronger.
"Day Tiger!!!"
Suddenly, Riku appeared at Zhuyue's neck, his punch like a mountain crashing down. A terrifying blue aura formed into a roaring blue tiger charging at Zhuyue!
"What—!" Zhuyue only realized what was happening now, but it was too late. His huge body packed tremendous power but wasn't very agile.
"Boom—!"
In an instant, Zhuyue screamed as the Day Tiger tore into him. Blood and dragon scales flew everywhere—a gruesome sight.
"Bloom, Hanawa." Meanwhile, the spirit sword in Riku's left hand suddenly chilled. A terrifying spiritual reaction radiated across the sky.
This spirit reaction caused Zhuyue, already badly hurt and in pain, to feel her heart churn wildly, her pupils full of disbelief.
Because—this was her power's fluctuation!
"Boom—!"
At the next moment, a towering beam of fiery orange light shot out from the spirit sword, blasting Zhuyue's body at close range, exploding violently in the air.
The massive energy surge destabilized the surrounding space, sending shockwaves sweeping everything away.
After several seconds, the dust settled. The white dragon's battered figure plummeted from the sky, barely clinging to life. Riku descended alongside, locking eyes with Zhuyue's weakened gaze.
"Heh, impressive human. Didn't expect to die here," Zhuyue said weakly.
It took some time to converge all the time points, but that window was more than enough for Riku to kill him multiple times over. No doubt, Zhuyue lost.
"I won't kill you," Riku said, staring at Zhuyue, pausing for a moment before speaking.
"Why?" Zhuyue blinked in surprise, then asked suspiciously.
"Are the Dragon Spirits interested in teaming up with our alliance to bring down the War God from his throne?" Riku said seriously.
Killing Zhuyue would make him enemies with the Dragon Spirits. Though he wasn't afraid, it was still trouble. If he could pull such a powerful race onto his side, his chances of defeating the War God would increase greatly.
"Heh, are you joking?" Riku's words made Zhuyue's pupils shrink, then he spoke oddly.
"..."