The battle between both sides came to a brief halt as Shu Bao transformed. After sizing each other up with vigilance, they began another round of probing.
Shu Bao gripped the modified mechanical weapon in one hand and the magic wand in the other. As the steel giant snake charged toward him, he instantly swung a powerful lightning-energy attack.
The second prince was immediately surrounded by electric sparks. However, the lightning only temporarily halted his charge. After the lightning subsided, his body was scorched black, but as he coiled into a strange shape, his body rapidly began to recover.
The third prince, meanwhile, used the advantage of his wings to continuously create toxic mist, trying to spread the poison onto Shu Bao.
However, Shu Bao moved with great agility, and Lan Qing fiercely protected him. Even when injured, Lan Qing made sure Shu Bao remained out of danger.
Shu Bao sent several light orbs flying toward the third prince, but they were skillfully dodged. Just as the third prince was about to mock the accuracy of Shu Bao’s attacks, he turned to see that the area hit by the light orbs had actually caused the toxic mist to evolve.
Shu Bao waved the mechanical weapon, releasing a purification agent, specifically designed for fighting in large toxic mist areas, especially with highly corrosive toxins.
After a brief moment of surprise, the third prince remained unflustered. More toxic mist began to form around him, quickly patching up the gaps in the mist. “This little bit of purification energy is nothing more than a drop in the bucket.”
Shu Bao, however, didn’t continue the purification but instead took out his magic wand. “That may not be the case. After all, the people of Xia Wang City love to watch the show.”
Before the third prince could understand the meaning behind this remark, a barrage of light orbs shot toward him from all directions. One by one, the light orbs pounded the toxic mist, leaving it full of holes. The third prince turned in shock, only to find that the people who had been hypnotized were now almost entirely restored to their senses, and they were all holding weapons, ready to fight. “This is impossible!”
The third prince, who had always been confident in his mental abilities, couldn’t accept it. Large-scale hypnosis was his main method of manipulating people and plundering interstellar ships, something he had mastered long ago. How could it fail now?
Shu Bao waved his magic wand, sending a fire serpent charging toward the steel giant snake. The intense flames were clearly even more damaging to the second prince than the lightning. The second prince began rolling on the ground, letting out hissing screams. Meanwhile, the kind and passionate mouse didn’t forget to offer some clarification to the third prince. “Did you know that Xia Wang City has another name, Magic City? It’s the birthplace of magic on Fu Xia Star. Anyone who dares to watch the show is either a powerful knight or a magician. Breaking free from a mental control isn’t a difficult task.”
“Wasn’t this supposed to be a two-on-two? You’re ganging up on us. This isn’t fair!” The third prince continued to dodge attacks as he moved through the remaining toxic mist, shouting in frustration.
Shu Bao scratched his chin. “It’s okay. History is written by the victors. We’ll just say it was a two-on-two victory!”
The third prince: “…” Is this a mouse? Why is it more shameless than a snake?
The sight of the burning second prince and the evasive third prince seemed to signal the end of the battle. However, soon both princes’ eyes turned blood-red, and to everyone’s surprise, the third prince charged toward the second prince, who was enveloped in flames.
With the clash of toxic mist and flames, a dense purple smoke rose in the air. Lan Qing quickly retreated and Shu Bao threw several purification orbs into the mist, but due to the thickness of the toxic mist, the effects were short-lived before being overwhelmed.
Moments later, a massive figure covered in flames slowly emerged from the mist. As the view became clearer, it revealed a giant two-headed snake—one head was made of bright metallic material, while the other was a dangerous dark purple.
The second prince and the third prince had fused!
Lan Qing blinked. “I hadn’t gathered any information on this. It seems to be a recently acquired or rarely used ability!”
Shu Bao’s fur stood on end, turning into a true fluffy ball. As a mouse, it was in his nature to fear snakes, and now, facing such a bizarre one, he could hardly handle it.
Soon, the two-headed giant snake proved with its strength that it was not just powerful in appearance, but in ability as well. After the fusion, the two-headed snake possessed all the abilities of both princes, as well as double the thinking capacity, reaction speed, and observation skills.
Lan Qing found it difficult to pinpoint the opponent’s weaknesses during the battle. Instead, he found himself being attacked at several of his own vulnerable points.
The searing flames no longer had any effect. The strange poison either compressed the air or cut it off completely, preventing the flames from burning. Even more terrifying was that the dark purple half of the two-headed snake, though seemingly solid, was actually intangible when attacking. This meant that physical attacks were ineffective against that half.
Combined with the second prince’s ability to grow stronger when facing stronger opponents, Lan Qing and Shu Bao gradually began to fall into a disadvantage.
The people of Xia Wang City around them were anxious. They tried to replicate their earlier actions to cast some auxiliary magic for their deity, but they were shocked to find that magic was also restricted by space. It was clear that the third prince had made adjustments after noticing the loophole.
Lan Qing was slowly cornered, surrounded by toxic mist, with almost no escape. Despite continuous attempts, Shu Bao could not find an effective attack method in such a short time.
The eerie two-headed snake closed in, and Shu Bao, with no time to think, quickly put away his magic wand and drew out his spiritual sword. He stepped on Lan Qing’s head and leaped toward the two-headed snake, aiming for the point where the two snake heads met. After several observations, Shu Bao believed that this was the snake’s weak spot.
Sure enough, the two-headed snake, enraged by Shu Bao’s intentions, was about to strike when a massive cyan body suddenly lunged at it. It bit down hard on the steel giant snake’s neck and extended across its body, blocking the purple snake’s head.
That brief moment was enough for Shu Bao to reach the junction. Just as he swung his sword, the two-headed snake vanished. At the same time, the surrounding anxious residents were shocked to find that they were no longer restricted by the space.
However, the next second, the two-headed snake reappeared behind Lan Qing, clearly the third prince was once again using his spatial abilities. At this moment, the location they appeared at was the area Lan Qing had no time to defend.
For some unknown reason, Lan Qing seemed to freeze at that moment. His attention was no longer on the danger behind him but instead, his gaze was directed upward, as if there was something more urgent in the sky than the current duel.
As the two giant snake heads bit down heavily on Lan Qing, Shu Bao barely managed to turn around in time. What he saw was Lan Qing being viciously bitten. Stunned, Shu Bao stood frozen. After traveling through so many worlds, this seemed to be the first time he couldn’t protect his friend!
Lan Qing crashed heavily to the ground and the sky suddenly grew dark. Cold winds began to swirl around.
Shu Bao stood there, his expression grim, his gaze fixed on the two-headed snake that had just won and was arrogantly looking upward, feeling an unprecedented desire to become stronger.
The sky grew darker and darker, soon blocking out the sunlight. But strangely, the black clouds in the sky were as thick as ink, yet no rain fell. It seemed like the heavens were simply in a tantrum.
The victorious two-headed snake, still looking up in triumph, also noticed the strange change in the sky. It stared at the increasingly ominous black clouds for a moment, wondering if this was a weather phenomenon unique to Fu Xia Star. However, when it turned around, it saw the surrounding onlookers with faces full of shock, as if they had never seen such weather before.
A bright light suddenly tore through the black sky, and for a brief moment, the light returned to the earth. Then, more lightning began to roll within the dark clouds, like thick serpents soaring through the air.
Shu Bao snapped back to reality amidst the continuous lightning. When he looked up, he was stunned. It seemed like a lightning tribulation!
At the same time, his spiritual energy was running wildly inside him, as if it were gathering power for the incoming tribulation. But even a treasure-seeking mouse like him found the sky’s tribulation terrifying! And how had he suddenly entered a tribulation? The mouse wasn’t ready!
However, Shu Bao quickly realized that the overwhelmingly powerful lightning tribulation wasn’t for him—it was for Lan Qing! He had only instinctively sensed the danger.
Lan Qing was about to undergo his formal dragon transformation! Contrary to what Shu Bao had initially thought, this was indeed a tribulation. It seemed much more significant than he had imagined. But since Lan Qing’s evolution was natural, why was he facing a lightning tribulation?
There was no time to ponder this question. Shu Bao quickly turned to look at Lan Qing, who had already gotten back on his feet. The surprise attack from the two-headed snake hadn’t caused fatal harm. Now, he was looking up at the terrifying sky with shock.
Seeing this, Shu Bao immediately approached Lan Qing, calling his attention back. He briefly explained the situation about the lightning tribulation and told him to prepare. Once he survived the tribulation, he would become the ancestral dragon of this world and his strength would undergo a qualitative change.
After that, Shu Bao retrieved a large number of items from his space, giving no regard to the specifics, and quickly stuffed them into Lan Qing’s storage ring. They might be needed later.
Lan Qing, hearing that he was going to be struck by lightning, was somewhat confused. But with Shu Bao’s encouragement, he quickly pulled himself together. He even bit into a few of the mountain-like piles of magic potions, with Shu Bao continuously throwing various magic and technological items onto him. His injuries began to heal and his strength was noticeably enhanced.
Once all was done, Shu Bao left. The lightning tribulation was no joke—it couldn’t be dealt with through sheer loyalty. Only if the Heavenly Dao truly recognized Lan Qing would he be able to successfully pass the tribulation.
The two-headed snake also sensed something was off. Especially after the mouse voluntarily withdrew from the battlefield, it began to feel that something wasn’t right. But it couldn’t back off now—it was unwilling to leave.
In just thirty years, Lan Qing had gone from having almost no ability to resist to fighting two opponents at once. If this continued, the dominance of the King Serpent over the battle would be uncertain.
After merging, the two snakes shared a common consciousness and they didn’t need to communicate. Once their thoughts aligned, they prepared to attack again.
However, Lan Qing ignored them, keeping his focus on the sky. The two snakes, seeing this, felt it was the perfect opportunity and swiftly pounced.
But a bolt of lightning fell from the sky with incredible speed, striking them hard. With a tremendous boom, a large crater was blasted into the ground. As the smoke cleared, the onlookers saw that the two-headed snake had been forced apart, both serpents emitting a burnt smell and lying in a near-death state.
Lan Qing nervously circled the crater twice, beginning to worry about the lightning tribulation he was about to face.
From a distant edge, Shu Bao called out, “It’s okay! Your tribulation isn’t the same as a punishment tribulation. You can do it!”
Hearing this, Lan Qing gathered his spirits again. He trusted Shu Bao more than he trusted the lightning, and besides, he had many treasures. He felt confident that he could make it through.
