Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 898: Barbecue Under the Black Sky

Ethan heard the Infernal Hound’s shout and moved instantly. He flashed behind one of the frozen angels, seized a wing, and pulled.

It snapped with a brittle crack.

Powder burst outward in a pale spray. He had barely applied force. The wing simply disintegrated in his grasp, crumbling like dried plaster.

"Ahh... wasted!" the big black dog groaned, voice thick with heartbreak. "Only two wings left now. Should I braise them? Or steam? Maybe slow-roast..."

Even as he lamented the loss, his mind had already shifted entirely to cooking strategy. The wings clamped in his jaws were his priority. Nothing else seemed to matter.

Ethan could not help staring at the remaining angels. All four had gone rigid, their eyes that same sickly yellow-white he had seen before. He had assumed underwater that once an angel lost the ability to fight, it triggered some kind of self-destruction. But this was different. These four had not been defeated yet. They had simply... stopped.

Were they all fanatics? So devoted to whatever cause drove them that they would choose death over retreat?

Then Ethan recalled the hound’s earlier warning. The Infernal Hound had recognized the change instantly. It had known what was coming before Ethan did, and shouted for him to tear off the wings.

Which meant it knew something.

Ethan did not linger to test the theory. He arced through the air and headed straight toward the purple barrier.

The moment he approached, the shield flickered violently. It dimmed, then flared bright, as if struggling to maintain form. Then it began shrinking at alarming speed.

Ethan hovered just outside, tense and ready. He did not know whether to interfere or let it complete whatever process it had begun.

The barrier compressed into a tight sphere of concentrated purple light. It pulsed once. Then the sphere trembled and split cleanly into two separate orbs, one purple, one gold.

They shot outward and began to fall.

Ethan dove and caught them in both hands. Two tiny figures lay limp in his palms; the Dragon of Consumption and the Fortune Dragon.

He was no longer shocked by the sight. The Fortune Dragon, whose life force had earlier vanished completely, now carried a faint but steady pulse. The Dragon of Consumption did as well. More curious still, their life frequencies were identical, perfectly synchronized, as if beating from the same heart.

"Huh. Life Share," the Infernal Hound remarked, leaning in with wide interest. "The Dragon of Consumption sharing its life with the Fortune Dragon. Your world is interesting. Very interesting."

Ethan frowned. "Your world has this too?"

The dog shot him a sideways look, almost offended. "What, you looking down on the Demon Realm? What major world doesn’t have those two weirdos? But..."

His tone shifted, casual humor giving way to something sharper.

"In ours, there’s only one left. The Dragon of Consumption. Hiding somewhere. If he ever shows his face, I’m eating him."

He stared at the two dragons in Ethan’s hands and drooled slightly.

Ethan responded with a glare sharp enough to cut stone. With a thought, he opened his Mindscape. The two dragons vanished from his palms and slipped safely inside.

The Infernal Hound coughed awkwardly and looked away, pretending not to have been considering a bite.

The children said their goodbyes quickly. One by one, they dissolved into streaks of light and returned to the Gate of Ascension. The battlefield grew quieter.

Ethan’s gaze shifted toward the distant chaos at the black lake.

From afar, it looked like fireworks erupting nonstop across a night sky. Color after color flared and clashed. Blackie’s trial was still raging.

Ethan found that strange. His own trial had ended after eighty-one direct clashes with the white Qilin. Brutal, but straightforward. Why was Blackie’s taking so long?

Different trials, different rules, he supposed.

"Come on," Ethan said. "Let’s check it out."

There were no ’small fry’ left here. Just him and the gluttonous hound, who still carried two massive angel wings in his mouth.

Ethan had grown rather fond of flying. He shot through the air in a streak and reached the black lake in seconds.

Up close, the battle was even more spectacular. Fire consumed half the lake’s surface in roaring waves. Violent winds tore across the water, sending spirals of spray skyward. Sections of the lake froze midair into glittering shards of ice, while lightning coiled through everything like living serpents.

The crackling and thunder blended into a chaotic symphony.

Beautiful, in a destructive way.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. The black Qilin battling Blackie was using four elements as well. So Blackie’s trial had been tailored specifically to him.

Watching closely, Ethan saw the problem.

Blackie’s lightning was on par with the Qilin’s, sharp and devastating. But his other elements, wind, fire, and water, were noticeably weaker. The Qilin, on the other hand, could seamlessly merge all four.

Blackie could only combine three at a time.

His lightning always stood apart.

Ethan guessed the reason. Blackie’s lightning was too dominant, too volatile to merge with the others without destabilizing them. Even so, Blackie had clearly progressed. Before this, he had struggled to merge even two elements. Water and fire together had been impossible. Now he could weave wind, fire, and water into a single attack.

That was real growth.

As Ethan and the hound watched, the black Qilin suddenly surged with power. The four elements twisted together into a massive dragon-shaped construct that roared across the lake.

Blackie reacted instantly, raising his defenses, but he could not fully stop it.

The elemental dragon slammed into him.

He was hurled backward, streaking across the air before crashing down near the lake’s edge.

"Damn," Ethan muttered under his breath.

He sensed it immediately. That attack had been the final test. If Blackie had blocked it cleanly, the trial would have ended in victory.

Blackie landed hard and sat upright. He had clearly noticed Ethan’s arrival, but he said nothing. Instead, he closed his eyes.

Ethan could feel it. Blackie was completely drained, every drop of energy wrung from him. It would take time to recover.

Ethan did not disturb him. The Infernal Hound, however, had different concerns.

"Hey kid," it called, wings still in its mouth. "Roast these for me? I’ve gotta head back after I eat. You remember that barbecue thing you made last time? Still thinking about it."

Even now, food was its only priority.

Ethan glanced at Blackie, who showed no signs of waking soon. His own stomach gave a low, inconvenient growl.

He sighed. "Fine."

With a faint smile, he reached into his Mindscape and pulled out the grill and cooking gear that had been sitting unused for ages.

He had to admit, he was curious. Angel wings. What would they taste like? Better than chicken?

He set to work, plucking loose feathers, cleaning and preparing the meat with practiced efficiency. Before long, smoke rose into the air of this so-called forbidden land, carrying a rich, savory aroma.

The two enormous wings sizzled over the fire. Golden oil dripped and flared against the heat.

Ethan felt a faint sense of strangeness as he worked. These were wings torn from beings that looked almost human. Even if they were feathered freaks, the resemblance lingered in the back of his mind.

The Infernal Hound had no such reservations. It sat with its tongue hanging out, drool pooling beneath its jaw, eyes fixed on the grill like a pilgrim before an altar.

Time passed, eventually, Blackie’s eyes opened. He inhaled, then his gaze shifted. And when he saw Ethan calmly grilling by the lakeside, his eyes lit up.