Everyone stared speechlessly at the serene night sky. If not for the dilapidated buildings around them, they would have believed that everything that happened earlier was merely a nightmare.

The huge dragon that was about to destroy the whole Beltran City was nowhere to be seen. Everyone only saw the starry sky and the bright moon that gave off a pale white light.

"His Majesty defeated the dragon!"

No one knew who started shouting, but everyone immediately erupted into joyous cheers and chants as they loudly praised the emperor's victory.

"His Majesty is invincible!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

The citizens' cry resonated throughout Beltran City and anyone could tell the relief in their voices.

Emperor Elyk who was flying towards the imperial palace heard their praises and he could only sigh ruefully. In the end, Jiu Shen still chose to remain anonymous despite having done a great deed for the Silver Wing Empire, but why did he choose to stay away from the limelight? Even the emperor didn't know his reason, but the former would never forget this huge favor.

In not less than a few minutes, Emperor Elyk arrived at the imperial palace. Just right outside the palace, he saw the four guardians circling the fourth prince and the fifth princess with resolute gazes. They had just come out from the imperial palace, so they were unaware of what had happened. Of course, they have heard the violent rumbling in the sky, but they still had no idea what had transpired.

The three eldest princes had their own manors, so they were not inside the imperial palace, and only the fourth prince and fifth princess were there among the emperor's children.

"Huh? Where's the dragon?" One of the guardians spoke in a confused voice. His old face was painted with bewilderment.

Defender Duanmu and the others knitted their eyebrows into a frown when they saw the peaceful evening sky.

"Where's imperial father?!" The fifth princess balled her fists as she stared at the sky with a sorrowful look. Her cheeks had long since been drenched by her own tears as she sobbed forlornly.

Everyone was affected by her emotion and they could not help but well up in tears. Even the fourth prince who was usually a cheerful fellow was now covering his eyes with the sleeve of his robes.

Step. Step. Step.

They heard a familiar sound of footsteps making them unconsciously turn their heads in a certain direction. There, they saw a middle-aged man with graying hair. His imperial robes was now a tattered mess and his exposed skin even had some burnt marks, but the stern expression on his face remained unchanged.

"Father!"

"Your Majesty!"

The fourth prince and the others cried out pleasantly after seeing the bedraggled figure of the emperor. Although his appearance was now a ramshackled mess, the regality in his presence was still evident.

Emperor Elyk sighed in relief and let out a warm smile after seeing their worried looks.

The fifth princess dived on her father's figure and tightly embraced him as she continued to sob. "Huhu, it's good that you're safe, father."

Emperor Elyk's eyes turned gentle and he could not help but rub his daughter's hair gently. "Mn, father's back now. Everything is over."

The fourth prince heaved a huge sigh of relief after seeing that the emperor was safe. Although his cultivation was only at the early stage of the 5th-rank Spirit, he was still able to vaguely see his father's valiant figure when he faced off against the huge dragon. "Imperial father, that dragon..." He muttered with a frown.

The emperor glanced at him and turned his gaze at the clear sky. He looked like he had a million words to say, but in the end, he shook his head after letting out a sigh.

The fourth prince and the others were confused, but they no longer asked since the emperor refused to divulge the truth.

* * *

Above the centermost part of the Endless Forest, a huge rift suddenly opened. Behind the rift, one can see a completely dark void that gave off an otherworldly and profound atmosphere.

Suddenly, a dragon head emerged from the rift, and moments after, it was forcefully ejected out of the rift, causing the dragon to emit a baleful draconic cry.

Roaaarrr!!

Before the rift in space vanished, the figure of a man came out from it. His expression cold and filled with blazing killing intent that made the surrounding beasts immediately scurry away from the scene.

"Human, why did you stop this Saint Dragon from destroying that crappy empire?!" The dragon spoke in a beastly voice filled with extreme fury. Although it revealed a wrathful look, it was also looking at Jiu Shen intently. This human was actually able to control the element of space! From the knowledge that the dragon gained from its bloodline inheritance, only experts at the Nascent God Realm were capable of wielding the element of space! That was why it remained cautious in front of Jiu Shen.

Jiu Shen ignored it and disappeared from his previous spot before reappearing on top of the dragon's head. He then lifted his fist and released an ordinary-looking punch that produced circles of ripples in its path!

Swoosh!

The dragon was caught unprepared and it didn't even realize that Jiu Shen was already standing on its head.

Jiu Shen's fist struck the sturdy scales of the dragon and it was easily penetrated by his punch, causing it to frantically swing its head in pain.

Roaaarr!!

Roaaarr!!

Jiu Shen pulled his fist leaving a trail of blood in the air. He then teleported several hundred meters away from the dragon that was still violently swinging its head. Dozens of large trees were toppled after being stomped by the distressed giant monstrosity.

In Jiu Shen's right hand was the bloodied flesh of the dragon. He gave it a sniff as he slowly burned it in his hand. "I haven't tasted a dragon's meat for millions of years..." He muttered with a nostalgic voice.

Although his voice wasn't that loud, with the dragon's sensitive hearing, it was still able to hear his words clearly.

Jiu Shen was actually cooking its flesh right in front of it! How humiliating!

A dense meaty aroma wafted in the air, causing the dragon's nose to twitch in anger.

How hateful! This human actually cooked this Saint Dragon's flesh!

The dragon cried out in its heart, but it could only stare at Jiu Shen with an enraged look as the latter consumed the cooked dragon meat in his hand. "Not bad! Although your dragon bloodline is impure to the point that it can be considered as trash, your flesh is still a bit tasty..."

The dragon's eyes emitted a murderous flicker and its nose puffed clouds of gray smoke, but it didn't dare attack Jiu Shen after seeing his inestimable power.