As Lin Xiao Tian spoke, everyone rose at once, their earlier stillness breaking as intent settled across the field. Tianhe stepped forward without pause, his body shifting into his beast form as a heavy pressure spread outward.

There was no one left around to witness what followed, and the quiet only deepened the tension. Yan Feng drew the swords he had scavenged, their quality lacking, yet his grip remained steady as he prepared to fight.

Xiaoshan rolled his shoulders slowly, his muscles tightening as he stood, his posture settling with natural ease. His gaze shifted toward Miao Han, and the battle intent rising from him felt sharper and heavier than the others.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao Tian smiled faintly as he watched them take their positions without hesitation. Give it a few more years... then I can sit back properly and let them handle everything I will be a true Sect master indeed.

With that thought, he casually sat down again and placed Miao-Miao beside him, showing no intention of stepping in. The disciples spread out cleanly, each one already prepared as the dragon surged forward.

The beast was already irritated and completely berserk as it swooped down with violent force. It exhaled a wave of black miasma, yet none of them reacted, enduring it as if it held no real threat.

Its claw tore through the air in the next instant, but the group split apart instantly and left the strike to crash into empty ground. At the same time, Xiaoshan appeared behind it and brought his halberd down toward its back with full force.

The strike landed solidly, yet the force rebounded sharply and pushed him back several steps. Shock flashed across his face for a brief moment before he steadied himself, already understanding brute force would not break through.

The others saw this and adjusted without hesitation, their attacks shifting toward weaker points instead of wasting effort. Lin Xiao Tian directed his swords toward its eyes, the blades cutting forward with precision.

The moment they neared, they were pushed away as if striking an unseen barrier, leaving his gaze to narrow slightly.

No wonder that bastard ran... fighting it is easy, ending it is the real problem.

Before he could think further, Tianhe appeared on the dragon’s head in an instant, his movement too fast to follow. In the next moment, he grabbed one of its horns and tore it apart with raw strength.

For a brief moment, the battlefield went still as everyone registered what they had just seen. The dragon roared in pain and slammed its head into the ground, trying to crush him under sheer force.

Tianhe had already leapt away by then, landing lightly as if nothing had happened. Seeing their expressions, he let out a small chuckle without any tension.

"It’s just a half-breed, I suppress it completely," he said casually, as if the matter was trivial.

Hearing this, the pressure in the group eased slightly as the dragon rose again, its head now covered in blood. Its rage surged further as it charged forward at full speed and swung its tail toward them.

Before it could land, Miao Han stepped in and intercepted it cleanly, his spear deflecting the strike without losing balance. The force spread outward, yet his footing remained steady.

As the dragon struck again, Xiaoshan followed immediately, his halberd crashing forward and forcing it back once more. The rhythm between them tightened as each move flowed into the next.

Tianhe remained at the front, dominating it directly while the others supported without breaking formation. Their coordination grew sharper with every exchange, steadily pushing the dragon into a disadvantage.

The dragon lunged again, its movements still violent, but no longer as clean as before as its balance began to falter. Tianhe met it head-on, his strikes no longer probing but landing with deliberate force that shook its entire frame.

Xiaoshan followed closely, his halberd crashing into the same spot again and again, forcing the dragon to absorb repeated impacts. Each strike drew a deeper reaction, the resistance weakening just enough to show that its defense was no longer absolute.

Yan Feng’s swords moved in sharp arcs, no longer testing but cutting at joints and exposed gaps whenever they appeared. Fine lines of blood began to spread across the dragon’s scales, small at first, yet steadily increasing with every exchange.

Miao Han kept his distance under control, intercepting every counterattack while creating openings for the others to exploit. His spear struck with precision, targeting the same weakened areas and preventing the dragon from regaining rhythm.

The dragon roared and twisted its body violently, trying to shake them off, yet its movements had grown slower by a fraction. One of its limbs faltered for a brief moment, and Xiaoshan’s next strike landed deeper than before.

Blood splattered across the ground as the wound finally opened, no longer closing as quickly as earlier. The pressure around it began to fluctuate, its earlier dominance slipping with each passing moment.

Lin Xiao Tian watched quietly from behind, his expression calm as his fingers tapped lightly against his knee. It’s holding, but not for long... at this rate, they will grind it down without much trouble.

Just as that thought settled, the dragon suddenly pulled back, its retreat sharp and unnatural as if something had shifted within. Its eyes turned completely white, and the aura around it changed in an instant, losing all earlier instability. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Before anyone could react, the wounds across its body began to close at a visible pace, torn flesh knitting together as if time itself had reversed. The blood vanished, the cracks in its scales sealed, and within a breath it stood as if it had never been injured.

The disciples paused for a fraction of a moment, their rhythm breaking as they took in the sudden change.

The dragon lowered its body briefly, its frame tensing as if gathering something far deeper than before. Then it let out a tremendous screech, the sound tearing through the air as black flames erupted across its body.

The fire spread instantly, clinging to its scales without consuming them, twisting and rising with a violent intensity. The pressure around it surged again, heavier and far more dangerous than before.

In the next moment, it opened its mouth wide as purple fire gathered within, compressing rapidly into a single point. Without hesitation, a beam of flame burst forward, tearing through the space ahead as it rushed toward the disciples, intent on consuming everything in its path.