Chapter 10: The Fainting Witness and the Disgusting Dragon King

The recollection concluded, and time reverted to the moment a certain Zhang opened the door.

Despite sensing an intrusion, Lin Ling, still focused on tracking the giant lizard, had no energy to spare for the newcomer. After all, this police officer posed no threat to her.

It was only after she deactivated her wide-area perception field that Lin Ling slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.

Her golden eyes held a hint of internal conflict as she gazed at Zhang Jietao, who stood at the doorway, seemingly dumbfounded by her (perhaps overly self-congratulatory to say) devastating beauty.

‘Witnesses are a bit troublesome,’ she mused. ‘What should I do with him?’

Lin Ling’s mind raced, contemplating whether to silence him permanently or simply erase his memory.

However, she had no safe or rational method for memory erasure, and a physical deletion would undoubtedly mean the end of this veteran officer.

Suddenly!

Lin Ling realized a crucial point.

‘Why am I even worrying about this? He doesn’t know who I am, and there’s no way he could trace me!’

‘Can’t I just ignore him?’

Just as Lin Ling experienced this sudden epiphany, Zhang Jietao, who had been locked in a staring contest with her, inexplicably fainted under her bewildered gaze.

“??”

“Huh? What just happened? Did my beauty truly shock him into unconsciousness?” (⊙_☉)

Utterly bewildered by the turn of events, Lin Ling stared in astonishment at the twitching police officer on the floor.

Unbeknownst to Lin Ling, the release of a Battle Sovereign’s spiritual power generates immense pressure, a force beyond the endurance of ordinary humans.

At best, it causes shock; at worst, it can crush the soul.

Fortunately, Lin Ling’s spiritual power had yet to fully recover, and she hadn’t exerted much strength. Otherwise, Zhang Jietao’s soul would likely have been obliterated.

****

Unaware that she was the true culprit, Lin Ling simply shrugged helplessly.

‘Well, that saves me trouble. I’ll just leave him be.’

‘Even if he were to speak of this, no one would believe him anyway.’

‘As for Xi Yue’s body, I’ll leave it here for now. Her family can come and take her for burial.’

“???”

“Wait? Family???!!!”

It was then that Lin Ling suddenly grasped a serious, almost unbelievable truth.

She hadn’t accessed any memories concerning Xi Yue’s family, nor, for that matter, anyone who knew Xi Yue.

It was an alarmingly small number.

This realization caught her off guard, and Lin Ling found herself sinking into deep contemplation.

Indeed, in her own memories, she had never once met Xi Yue’s family or heard her speak of them. Xi Yue rarely even discussed her own affairs.

‘Could Xi Yue’s family be abroad, or is she an orphan?’

‘Surely she isn’t an alien?’

‘Never mind, I’ll have Little White hack the internet to find out. A super-intelligent assistant should be capable of that.’

Lin Ling was genuinely curious about Xi Yue’s origins. After so many years of companionship and interaction, she still didn’t know where Xi Yue was from, making her feel like a truly incompetent boyfriend.

She wasn’t even certain if Xi Yue was Chinese.

‘Such a failure…’

However, the most pressing matter at hand was to apprehend that suspect (the lizard) and subject it to a round of intense interrogation!

Since reading its memories was impossible, this less-than-ideal approach was her only option.

After withdrawing the spiritual power that had inadvertently leaked in the morgue when she activated her wide-area perception, Lin Ling swiftly departed the Cangyang Public Security Bureau.

She flew towards the location where she sensed the giant lizard, ensuring no public facilities were damaged in her wake.

‘Seriously, why is it there again?!’

In less than a moment, Lin Ling returned to Ruohua Mountain, gazing at its dilapidated peak.

The young woman scratched her head, a hint of shame in her expression. Fortunately, there were no signs of fatalities, indicating that those who had almost discovered her on the mountain that day had not perished due to her oversight. This allowed Lin Ling to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, her expression quickly shifted.

‘Catching a lizard, huh?’

‘Hmm, but I really dislike reptiles.’

With that thought, Lin Ling slowly channeled spiritual power to coat her body. She had no desire for physical contact with the lizard.

Furthermore, she needed to avoid causing a commotion. Disturbing residents in the dead of night would be utterly inconsiderate.

****

At the same moment, deep underground, not far from Ruohua Mountain, a colossal lizard, over fifty meters long, was steadily making its way towards the mountain.

Thanks to its unique epidermal material, this behemoth moved rapidly underground without creating any noticeable disturbance.

As an ancient beast that had awakened from the depths a mere year ago, this creature, calling itself the Fiery Dragon King, urgently needed to replenish its spiritual power to regain its former peak strength. For over a year, it had incessantly roamed the underground, searching for and preying on various creatures with strong spiritual energy.

However, due to the depletion of spiritual energy on Blue Star, a year of relentless effort had only restored seventy percent of its power. Yet, in recent days, it had suddenly sensed a massive surge of spiritual energy emanating from Ruohua Mountain. Its instincts told it that by absorbing this energy, it could not only recover its full power but even ascend to a higher level.

Driven by this prospect, it had traveled day and night towards Ruohua Mountain, finally arriving at this very moment—ahead of all other ancient creatures!

It was the first to arrive!

Feeling the boundless spiritual energy swirling above, the Fiery Dragon King was overcome with excitement. It eagerly extended its tongue towards the surface, preparing to absorb this potent energy.

Why didn’t it simply climb out and slowly consume it? Because it feared a surprise attack from other ancient beasts that might suddenly appear.

While it was true that only a handful of creatures from its era remained on Blue Star, an old saying held true: ‘Better safe than sorry.’

Moreover, it could only unleash its full power underground. Being enveloped by the earth provided it with a greater sense of security.

But just as it comfortably began to absorb the spiritual energy, an abrupt change occurred!

“???”

“What’s happening!!!”

Suddenly!

The Fiery Dragon King felt something seize its tongue, followed by a powerful, destructive pull that dragged it directly from the earth.

The speed was so astonishing that it didn’t even have time to react before it landed on the surface with a resounding thud.

“??? How did I just??? End up on the surface???”

After a moment of stunned disorientation, the Fiery Dragon King quickly adopted a vigilant stance, scanning its surroundings for the unseen enemy.

In the next instant, the Fiery Dragon King was astonished to discover that what had pulled it from the depths was not a roc or any other natural predator, but a tiny ape-like being—a weak human, one of the species that now dominated the land.

“H-human??? How is this possible!!”

After triple-checking for any other adversaries, the Fiery Dragon King’s gaze turned savage, its body glowed crimson, and its temperature instantly soared to tens of thousands of degrees Celsius!

‘A mere ant dares to strike at me!!’

‘This human must pay an agonizing price!!!’

“Awoooooooh!”

With that thought, the Fiery Dragon King roared and charged at the human before it, intending to crush the opponent into ashes with its scorching, fiery body!

However, in the very next moment, a sudden, inexplicable ripple swept across its massive form.

“??”

“Huh?”

Before it could comprehend what had happened, the Fiery Dragon King merely registered with surprise that its body had inexplicably become much lighter. Simultaneously, waves of unbearable pain relentlessly flooded its mind.

Sensing the bizarre situation, the Fiery Dragon King immediately halted its charge, staring in utter bewilderment at its own severed forelimbs, which had somehow flown hundreds of meters away.

‘What happened???”

The Dragon King’s brain capacity seemed incapable of processing the current situation; it was a phenomenon it had never encountered in tens of thousands of years.

In a single instant, without seeing anything, both its arms were… just gone?!!

‘What a joke!!’

As the Fiery Dragon King reeled in utter astonishment, a melodious yet chilling voice reached the ears of the bewildered beast.

“Hmm, this lizard doesn’t seem all that impressive.”

****

Lin Ling gazed at the enormous lizard before her, genuinely feeling a growing sense of revulsion.

Its body, covered in grayish-red scales, was caked with all manner of grime. Its protruding eyeballs and teeth, still clinging with food residue, assaulted Lin Ling’s visual senses.

The very existence of the Fiery Dragon King was utterly intolerable to a young woman like Lin Ling, who suffered from a “slight” obsession with cleanliness.

However, before eliminating this walking filth, she needed to attempt communication. Some questions simply had to be asked.

Regardless, it was best to exercise mercy and avoid accidental killings.

Thus, Lin Ling began to attempt communication using the consciousness-voice transmission technique taught by Little White—a form of mental communion that allowed for interaction even across different languages or species.

She had to be careful, though, not to accidentally detonate the other party’s brain.

But as Lin Ling transmitted her spiritual power, she suddenly discovered a problem…

Her spiritual power couldn’t penetrate it.

‘Alas, my spiritual power still can’t enter this massive creature’s body.’

‘Alright, then.’

‘In that case, I’ll just search its soul after I kill it.’

Having made her decision, Lin Ling’s eyes instantly sharpened with a ruthless glint.

‘Fortunately, this lizard is not only ugly but also disgusting! That means I don’t need to hold back. I’ll just consider this a cleanup operation.’

As a golden light flickered in her eyes, the spiritual power within Lin Ling began to rapidly converge towards her right index finger.

Based on the results of their previous brief encounter, this Fiery Dragon King was essentially a “glass cannon”; its claws could be easily severed with externally projected spiritual power. Dealing with it would be effortless.

However, to destroy the evidence (though she primarily wanted to test a new skill), Lin Ling decided to employ her dwindling spiritual power.

She would test its might at the same time.