Having penetrated over a million zhang deep into the Dragon Pool, Yang Kai finally encountered Old Third Ji.
The enormous dragon body, nearly five thousand zhang in length, coiled in the pool waters, ravenously devouring the profound mystical power of the Dragon Pool. The surrounding waters churned violently in turbulent currents.
The moment Yang Kai's figure came into view, Old Third Ji's expression twisted with fury. A dragon roar thundered from his maw: "Ignorant human, how dare you be so brazen!"
He had explicitly ordered the man to remain no more than a thousand zhang above the Dragon Pool — that was already the greatest grace the Dragon Clan could show — and yet this human had dared to venture this deep. Did he truly think the Dragon Clan wouldn't dare kill him?
Old Third Ji had already harbored resentment toward Yang Kai, and now, seeing his enemy before him, he could restrain himself no longer. His dragon body blurred as he lunged at Yang Kai.
It wasn't that he underestimated his opponent. Having suffered inexplicable setbacks against Yang Kai before, he knew this human was no easy mark.
Out in the open, before he had fully grasped what abilities Yang Kai truly possessed, he genuinely wouldn't have dared act so rashly.
But this was the Dragon Pool.
Once inside this place, all external forces were rendered useless. The only thing one could rely on was the Dragon Clan's own innate power.
He was a being on the verge of breaking through to the Ancient Dragon stage — why would he fear Yang Kai's three-thousand-five-hundred-zhang dragon form?
Since the man refused to heed his warning, he would teach him a proper lesson this time. It would serve as revenge for what happened before. As for whether to kill him or not, that would depend on how the human behaved going forward. If the man begged for mercy, sparing his life was not out of the question.
These thoughts raced through his mind as Old Third Ji opened his dragon jaws.
"ROAR!"
The dragon roar erupted, and dragon might surged outward in every direction.
But Old Third Ji's massive body froze in place, the thunderous roar he had been building to its peak lodged uselessly in his throat, the sensation utterly suffocating.
That roar had not come from Old Third Ji. It had come from Yang Kai.
Dragon might was simply unmatched in this place, and Yang Kai would naturally show no restraint. Seeing Old Third Ji blocking his path, he immediately opened his own enormous maw and unleashed a roar, channeling his own primordial essence as dragon might blanketed outward.
In the next instant, Old Third Ji watched helplessly as Yang Kai's claw slammed into his face. The violent force erupted outward, sending his five-thousand-zhang dragon body spinning through the water and hurtling into the distance.
The searing pain forced a howl from his throat. Dragon blood blurred his vision. Old Third Ji felt certain his nose had been crushed flat.
This bastard really didn't hold back!
After a desperate effort to stabilize himself, Old Third Ji focused his gaze ahead. But Yang Kai was already gone — the three-thousand-five-hundred-zhang golden dragon had already shot deeper into the Dragon Pool, with only a faint glimmer of golden light flickering in the distance.
That faint golden glow quickly vanished as well, clearly already far away.
With no thought or inclination to give chase, Old Third Ji remained frozen in place, his expression a mixture of shock and disbelief.
He — a pure-blooded dragon on the verge of advancing to Ancient Dragon — had just been slapped aside by a guy whose dragon form was only three thousand five hundred zhang long and who was, in essence, a human!
If word of this ever got out, not a single clansman would believe it. But the facts were undeniable.
If Old Third Ji had been unable to understand the reasons behind his previous losses to Yang Kai, this time the cause was painfully obvious.
That man's dragon might… was stronger than his own. His dragon vein had formed a bloodline suppression over him. Had it not been for that, with a gap of fifteen hundred zhang in body size, there was no way Old Third Ji would have been powerless to resist.
The realization sent a jolt of shock through him.
He was on the verge of becoming an Ancient Dragon! The only beings who could exert bloodline suppression over him were the true Ancient Dragons within the clan.
But what was Yang Kai? He was born human. Even if some fluke of fortune had allowed him to refine a portion of Dragon Clan primordial essence, that didn't change his fundamental nature.
And he could exert bloodline suppression over Old Third Ji?
There could be only one explanation.
The primordial essence he had refined… must be of extremely high rank within the Dragon Clan's hierarchy. In other words, the dragon who had originally possessed that essence must have been incredibly powerful, so even in death, the essence's strength had barely diminished. Yang Kai, this mere human, was merely basking in the afterglow of a Dragon Clan ancestor!
An Ancient Dragon's primordial essence? Not that powerful.
Could it be… a Sacred Dragon's primordial essence?
A chill ran down Old Third Ji's spine. Could it be that the primordial essence this human had refined was the very one passed down through whispered legend within the clan — that particular being's essence?
If that was truly the case, then his inability to match Yang Kai was entirely understandable. It also explained why the man could penetrate this deep into the Dragon Pool while none of the other great dragons could stop him.
If he himself couldn't hold the line, how could any of those lesser dragons possibly do so?
Ninety-eight percent certain that was the case — that being's primordial essence was also of the golden attribute, and the primordial power Yang Kai displayed was identical to it. Golden dragons had always been exceedingly rare among the Dragon Clan, and there were only two or three fragments of golden dragon primordial essence that had been lost to the outside world.
Something monumental had happened. Old Third Ji's heart hammered wildly.
Even though he was merely a great dragon, he knew full well just how much effort the Dragon Clan had expended over the ages to locate that lost essence. Unfortunately, they had missed the optimal window for the search, and after countless years of finding nothing, they had ultimately been forced to give up.