Chapter 450: Spirit Of The Dragon Of Destruction

Caelus left the Spaceship and moved toward the dragon’s enormous body. As he reached one of its broken ribs, another system panel appeared.

[Would you like to extract?]

He glanced at Sylvia and she nodded from beside the artifact. Then he accepted the offer as destructive power gathered around him.

[Talent Activated: Endless Extraction.]

[Ding! You have obtained the Authority of Destruction.]

Caelus broke into a grin when he read the reward. He had come for something useful from the corpse and received an authority on top of the Mystic Code.

However, the bones vanished from his sight as a memory pulled him in. An egg floated ahead of him with an enormous figure standing above it.

Stars shone beneath the being’s skin and slowly moved through its body. Caelus couldn’t tell how large it was because there was nothing nearby that he could compare it to.

The being smiled as it gently lifted the egg. Then it tossed the egg toward a tiny speck of light in the distance.

Caelus watched the egg shrink as it approached that light. For a moment he could see beyond the speck’s edge, where countless galaxies filled the darkness.

His excitement faded as he understood what he was seeing. That tiny light was an entire universe.

The egg disappeared inside it while the being turned toward another nearby speck. A moment later the figure vanished and the dragon’s remains returned to Caelus’s sight.

"That body..." He mumbled as he tried to hold on to the memory.

He had seen something like it when he watched the First Ender of Origin break through the barrier of time. An enormous arm had reached after him from the other side.

The arm hadn’t looked exactly the same, but those stars moving beneath the surface were far too familiar. He couldn’t say it was the same being without seeing more.

"Just what was that thing?"

The Dragon of Destruction had arrived in this universe as an egg thrown by that being. Something powerful enough to almost destroy this whole place had once rested in its hand.

"It was definitely stronger than a Chaos God."

Caelus was certain of that much even though he had no idea what rank came afterward. The thought made the authority he had just obtained feel much less reassuring.

Each answer brought him closer to the truth and showed him how much he still didn’t know. He had barely learned that other universes existed and now he had seen something that stood above them.

Why did he keep finding things he wasn’t strong enough to deal with?

He took a breath and checked the two authorities within him. With Multiverse Traversal and Destruction in his possession, he was sure he had met the authority requirement for Chaos God.

He still needed the higher-dimensional baptism Edran had mentioned. First he had to reach Mage God and there were only five Demigod levels left to clear.

Thinking about the stellar being wouldn’t help him do that. Growing stronger might at least give him a chance if he ever met it.

Right then a faint flash escaped from the dragon’s body. Caelus barely saw it cross the gap as it shot into him.

[Ding! The spirit of the Dragon of Destruction now resides within you.]

He immediately searched his Divine Body and found a presence that hadn’t been there a moment ago. It remained still even when he tried to reach it.

Its spirit had survived all this time?

Caelus tried again without getting any response. He had no idea what he could do with it and the notification offered no explanation.

For now he would leave it alone and focus on something he understood. Once he became a Mage God, he intended to find out what he could extract from the strongest beings in this universe.

They had to possess some useful talents after reaching that level. He wanted more ways to protect himself than hoping the next terrifying being felt generous.

He returned to the Star Whistle and spoke to Edran.

"I’d like to find more Progression Power clusters. Could you take us to them?"

"Of course, there are plenty around the dragon’s remains. We won’t have to travel far."

Edran sent the artifact past the broken ribs toward another patch of light. Caelus watched it grow closer and reached for the new power inside him again.

While they traveled between the dragon’s bones, a disturbance reached the Hollow King’s throne.

He felt something push into his realm without his permission. Then he rose from his seat and crossed the distance in a single step.

A man with long black hair stood above a dark plain. His red and blue eyes passed over the distant towers as though he had come to inspect them.

"You’ve created an impressive universe, Hollow King."

The Hollow King recognized him immediately and closed the space behind himself.

"Why are you here? Do you have a death wish?"

The Heavenly Lord laughed at the question.

"You think I came here to die? I only want a little talk."

He drifted closer while the Hollow King kept his power ready.

"The one who sealed the path to the Tier 2 World was the Ender of Origin, wasn’t it?"

"I’m not obliged to tell a god anything. Go kill yourself if you have nothing better to do."

The Heavenly Lord’s smile widened instead of fading.

"Are you sure you want to speak to me like that? Don’t you want to know who planned your dear lover’s assassination?"

The Hollow King’s power stirred as the man continued.

"The Zither Girl, Meng Ziyi. Your beloved Ender of Life."

Hearing her name from that mouth made the Hollow King want to tear it apart. Power burst from him and split the plain below into a deep trench.

"You are going to die here."

He thrust his hand forward while the Heavenly Lord was still chuckling. A wave of black fire rushed across the gap and swallowed him.

[Mystic Code Activated: Hollow Flames.]

BOOM!

Red and blue light burst through the flames as the Heavenly Lord raised a round shield. The fire clung to its surface and spread until the light beneath it began to flicker.

The Hollow King drove more flames into that weakening point. However, the shield split down the middle and its two halves swept around him like curved blades.

He opened a gap in space beneath the red blade and sent it into the blue one. Their collision tore through the sky with a deafening BANG!

"Our king is fighting someone!"

The cry reached him from a nearby tower as figures rushed onto its roof. He closed a barrier around the settlement and pushed the spreading blast upward.

The Heavenly Lord came through the smoke with both hands burning. He struck the barrier hard enough to crack it and drove his other palm toward the Hollow King’s chest.

Instead of retreating, the Hollow King caught his wrist and forced Hollow Flames into his arm. Then he dragged him away from the settlement and slammed him into the broken plain.

BOOM!

Black fire filled the crater while the ground sank beneath the impact. The Hollow King tightened his grip as the trapped arm began twisting in his hand.

Bones cracked and a second elbow pushed through the flesh. The Heavenly Lord’s face split from his mouth to his ears as something much larger forced its way out of his human shape.