Curling bolts of bright lightening flickered from Ban Tai's fist as it plummeted towards Kai's head, the faint boom of thunder causing the air to distort in an unnatural way yet, against all expectations, at the last moment the seemingly impossible to dodge attack missed.

Kai's body had tilted to the side, before spinning on the spot and falling back a couple of meters, his bare feet leaving two, long furrows in the snow as if he had been pushed back with great force.

"As expected of Ancestor. Even with your weak cultivation, in the early stages of the Monster Realm, you can dodge one of my attacks," whistled Ban Tai, seemingly in surprise, as he flexed his hand and grinned. "I always wanted to fight one of your kind but I value my life a little too much to face that old monster. Bound or not, he has killed more humans and draconians, even his descendants, than I have had hot meals."

Kai barely registered Ban Tai's words as his eyes locked onto his opponents, his rapid heartbeat thundered in his ears as a faint sheen of sweat, something unique to his humanoid appearance, appeared on his brow.

Just now, Ban Tai had moved so fast that even though it looked like it, he hadn't been able to dodge.

Not only that, it was clear that the power invested in the fist would have caused severe damage, even if Kai was in his natural form. The young dragon was certain if it had landed, he would be out of the fight and, in all likelihood, fighting for his life.

Yet, instead of delivering the attack, the fist's trajectory changed slightly as a hidden force fell on his body and caused Kai to spin out of the way.

Kai frowned as his muscles tensed, ready to react should Ban Tai attack again.

He knew that if he had noticed this strange force, then it was impossible to say that Ban Tai, with the ability to think and move at a much faster rate, would miss it.

Seeing the confusion dancing on Kai's humanoid features Ban Tai smiled.

"The old monster told me to give you a message if I was the one lucky enough in my team to be chosen to confront you," Ban Tai's face was composed yet now Kai looked closely, he could tell that Ban Tai's facial expressions did not match the look in his eyes.

His eyes were filled with concern and anxiety. Not only that but when Ban Tai noticed Kai looking into his eyes, they would flicker in a seemingly meaningful manner in certain directions.

The movements were so fast, Kai wasn't sure he had seen them but then again, they happened so often they were hard to dismiss.

"Do not let the one who gave everything for your survival be in vain. The times may have changed but the nature of the mortal races has not. You hold the bloodlines of two of the greatest draconic clan's to have existed and it's your duty not only to survive and fulfil her dying wish but to rebuild the clan, no matter the cost."

Ban Tai struck a thoughtful pose. "I think that was it. Oh, wait. the old monster said that your secondary bloodline would awaken when you experience the element but it won't be until you have reached the next realm that you will be able to truly wield it. I guess you can ask him more about that when you meet him."

'My mothers dying wish?' The sudden mention of his mother startled Kai but not nearly as much as the meaning behind the words.

Actually, now Kai thought about it, this stranger had been telling him lots of information that, while helpful to Kai, was beyond meaningless if he was captured.

Initially, he thought that Ban Tai was trying to buy time or was one of those arrogant creatures that liked to hear the sound of his own voice but, with more information available, Kai now realised there was more to Ban Tai's words.

Behind each sentence, there was a hidden meaning.

The first crucial bit of information was telling Kai that his father was still alive and, maybe more importantly, in the vastness that was the thirteen worlds, that he was imprisoned by the Shattered Sky Sect which seemed to be based in the same world he was currently in.

The next, which was much more subtle, was that Ban Tai was part of a team. This bit of information suddenly made Ban Tai's eye gestures make sense and finally, he mentioned his mother and hinted at her aims, something that no one should know.

Everyone had died in that cave, his mother had made certain of it. The only one who would know something, his mother having fled the clan, would have been his father.

Kai's eyes narrowed as he glared at Ban Tai. Why would his father, even if he was bound, give out information that personal and sensitive to a mortal.

Even if Ban Tai was a descendant, he was one of his captors?

Ban Tai tilted his head, seemingly curious to why Kai had gone silent. Yet, his head kept tilting until it was almost impossible to say the movement was natural and Kai spotted a metal band around his neck, normally hidden by the high collared robe. "Why so silent? Have you given up already?"

Kai yawned in exhaustion, not needing to act as his eyes scanned the surroundings, thinking about Ban Tai's comments.

To anyone that had been listening, it would sound like Ban Tai was telling Kai that he needed to surrender and keep his life, however, Kai knew that his mother had wanted much more than survival. If not, she could have surrendered with him to the humans.

They would have been no more than slaves but, they would have survived.

As an immortal species, dragons held a somewhat unique perspective that, as long as one remained alive, time would solve all problems. However, becoming enslaved was well below a black dragon's bottom line and so, even though it went against their instincts, they fought to the bitter end.

His mother, even though she wanted nothing more than for him to survive, still refused to submit. She had even abandoned her clan at their last stand in hopes of achieving her goal.

To surrender now, to submit to another would make her sacrifice meaningless.

Kai's golden eyes started to turn red as the pupils narrowed into slits.

Kai never had any intention to surrender but now, even if he was threatened with pain or death, his resolve hardened.

He looked at the strange, silver robbed man and realised that, against all odds and first appearances, he wasn't facing an enemy.

Kai growled, realising that Ban Tai was putting on an act. An act that wasn't for Ban Tai or Kai but those around him. Those that held the man's freedom in their hands, more than likely with that weird collar.

Noticing Kai's eyes flick over to the Woad, Ban Tai nodded. "She told us everything. I brought her along so she could return the Dryad's core. I wouldn't want you having any regrets or holding something so trivial against me when we take you back to the Scarlet continent."

'The scarlet continent!' If Kai wasn't so on edge, using all of his senses to scan the surroundings, he might have smiled.

Ban Tai was indicating where the Shattered Sky Sect was or, maybe, where the entrance to the pocket dimension his father was imprisoned was located.

Noticing Kai's reducing wariness of him, Ban Tai attacked again, with a similar result to the first. "Are you really so arrogant that you can blatantly dismiss me? So much so that I am not even a threat in your eyes?"

Ban Tai roared in apparent anger. "You are nothing by Third or Fourth Monster Realm, at least four stages weaker than even the human's in my group."

Kai had never needed to act before and it wasn't something that came naturally to him. He knew Ban Tai was giving him a warning, yet he couldn't think about how he should act.

It wasn't in his nature.

"Never mind, its time to end this before the other teams get here." Ban Tai shook his head as if lamenting the through of allowing others to capture Kai, though Kai got the distinct impression that he should escape from Ban Tai's eyes.

Ban Tai raised his hand as thunder rumbled above as lightening seemed to gather. "Don't worry, as a thunder dragon half-blood, this won't kill you, only paralyze you for a bit."

His smile widened. "And look at the bright side, that old monster did say you needed to experience the raw element to help awaken your bloodline."

With a chuckle, Ban Tai dropped his hand, causing a huge bolt of lightning, almost a meter thick, to fall.

The light was so bright that everyone watching, excluding Kai, was forced to close their eyes.

When the lightning had travelled around half the distance, in the area surrounding Kia, the snow still pristine and untrampled, eleven shadows faintly appeared. The humanoid shapes released neither sounds or smell as if they sat outside the natural laws of the world.

Kai's instincts screamed at him to dodge, yet the lightning was too fast and he could only helplessly watch as it passed by his head, inches from his shoulder and slam into the ground behind him.

It was at that moment, when the world was filled with a terrifying boom, that he felt a suction force pull him towards Ban Tai, who was still blinded by his own attack.

Fearing the worst, Kai attempted to struggle but it was useless, within a heartbeat, he was already in Ban Tai's hands.

A moment later, not even giving him time to register what was happening, Kai was soaring into the sky, having been thrown by Ban Tai like a javelin.

As he entered the first, ominous, electrified clouds, Kai released his natural form, feeling relief that he was no longer in his human body and roared in defiance while speeding away.

The young dragon, who had never flown before, innately used the turbulent winds and momentum provided by Ban Tai to reach an impressive speed and shot through the sky like a black arrow, his size rapidly diminishing as the distance increased.

Within two beats of his wings, Kai slammed into

the Frozen Forest barrier, and against what most considered common sense, shattered it as he passed through without any reduction in speed.

"Fuck, he escaped in the opposite direction of the sky battleship," shouted a female voice, one of the first to recover from her blindness as she released her invisibility spell."

"Ban Tai, why the hell would you use the Binding Titan attack?" screamed an old man, also appearing. "When we get back to the Clan, you will suffer for your stupidity."

Ban Tai ignored the complaints and voices as he walked over to the dryad's core and, with a flick of his wrist, sent it towards the Woad. "Make sure to get the core back and protect the Dryad from now on."

The others, who were extremely annoyed with Ban Tai, nodded their heads in agreement. While the dragon they hunted was pretty weak, at least compared to them, the fear ingrained into their bones from the one they called the old monster ensured that none of them harboured any ill intention towards a being that a dragon was willing to kill for."

"The sky battleship will remain here, as the dragon will return for the dryad eventually. The rest of us will continue the pursuit," said the old man before fixing the Woad with a death stare. "You mention anything you have witnessed today, and your entire tribe will be erased from the face of this pathetic world. If it wasn't because we weren't sure if the dragon allowed you to live, you would already be dead."

The female who had complained earlier laughed. "Gramps, we spent all this time covering up their existence and here you are telling anyone within earshot what that creature is."

The old man snorted, but if one was looking closely, fear could be seen in his eyes. "Idiot, we don't care if other mortals know about them, it's those two species that must never know. One would intervene to curry favour and the other... if they knew that the bloodline survived..."

The old man shuddered. "If we can't contain the information, we must purge the dragon and all that have encountered it. This is the order form the Clan master."