Myths of the celestial beast, the Five-clawed Golden Dragon has been accompanying Saint Empire’s history for as long as it stood.

Rulers of nature that could raze an empire to the ground by summoning great hurricanes, deathly tremors, and an all-consuming fire from the heart of the world.

They are symbols of kingship, and legends say that those who are chosen by the dragon will become the leader of all men.

When Calculus received his contract beast, he was confident that it is his destiny to one day become the Emperor.

Kairos who faced the two noticed a tremendous pressure, the majestic aura of the dragon's race that flowed through them, and felt there could be some truth to the legend.

He could see that the Devilheart family had taken good care of the golden dragon, and it has become far larger than any of his dragonlings.

Against the battle-mode dragon, the Swallow in Kairos’ hands began to tremble, resonating with it and in response, the dragon on Calculus’ arm started to hum.

Aisa, knowing that Kairos could not understand dragon speech explained.

Kairos~ They are scolding Goldie

Kairos glimpsed at the apologetic look on the golden dragon and had to snub a bubbling laughter, then he said, “Tell them not to worry. I wish for this fight.”

Instantly the twin dragonlings within the Swallow calmed down, and the golden dragon started pulsating with power.

If their creator says so, they will surely do their utmost not to disappoint him.

Calculus, also noticing that his dragon is ready to battle, launched himself forward.

Kairos smiled. He looked forward to the fight, in anticipation of both the challenge and the experience.

When it comes to fighting alongside combat beasts, he considers himself a newbie, and he carefully watched his opponent who grew up, well-groomed, in a powerful noble house.

Unfortunately, there weren't any display of stupendous techniques, and he was instantly disappointed. The golden dragon merely flew upwards then dove at Kairos from behind, as Calculus attacked with a sealing stone in hand.

“This is just a regular two-pronged attack, isn’t it?”

In response to the attacks Kairos chanted, “Formless Style, offensive stance: Dance of the Raindrops,” and along with his words, he allowed his Ki to flow through himself and gathered them into many pools within himself.

When his opponent come into his attack range, he unleashed the energy, one pocket after another. Wave after wave of Ki thumped through his meridian channels, and with each pulse, he unleashed a small concentration of Ki along with a thrust.

Though each blow is no stronger than Kairos’ current cultivation level, he managed to attack fifteen times in a single breath by segmenting his Ki.

A flurry of piercing thrusts fell like raindrops, and he easily pinned down Calculus.

With this short respite he earned, he turned his focus onto the dragon approaching rapidly from mid-air.

Using his free hand, Kairos unleashed his devastating Immolation Finger without fearing for the dragon. Against such a beast, there wasn’t need to hold back.

The pocket of Ki he fired, accurately struck its golden scales. Immediately, the celestial beast reacted, instinctively knowing that even a moment of delay would destroy a juvenile Ancestor Dragon like it.

It quickly identified the weakness of the technique used and counteracted by covering the pocket of Ki with its celestial energy, then isolated the attack away from its body.

The Immolation Finger absorbed the energy around it as fuel and caused a mighty implosion that sucked in the air near the dragon, before rapidly disappearing into cinders.

Kairos' attack did not stop there.

Without giving it time to rest, he fired a series of Immolation Finger, but each attack ultimately resulted in the same way as before.

However, it was not as easy for the dragon to deal with the barrage as it looked, its own energy powered every implosion in the air.

Without Soul Perception, Kairos had to split his attention on both the young noble and his contract beast, fighting each with only one arm.

“Calculus, I’m using my Formless style, Breaking the swaying cherry blossom, and Formless style, Piercing the Nine Heavens!” Kairos explained as though a teacher to his disciple. He grinned inwardly when he saw the vein that bulged on Calculus' forehead.

Kairos is certain that his opponent had studied him closely, and all the moves he had used in the past. By naming the skills he is about to use, he attacked his opponent's psyche mercilessly.

Unfortunately, even with the warning, the young heir found himself incapable of handling the attacks.

He quickly jumped back to dodge the B ranker’s swift strike, but before he can get to safety, the long reach of the Swallow caught him and broke his elbow.

The skill, ‘Breaking the swaying cherry blossom’ is made for chasing down a fleeing opponent and perfect for striking at a person’s weakness.

In a way, it is a martial art rather similar to the ability that Lord Yue is born with, albeit a much weaker version, only breaking a joint instead of cleanly severing the arm.

Using this technique, Kairos could vaguely sense where is the weak point he should attack to deal extensive damage. Whereas Lord Yue’s innate ability, The Absolution, allowed him to sever nearly anything he attacks.

Even though this damage wasn’t decisive for victory, it caused a slight pause and allowed Kairos to follow up with his second move, ‘Piercing the Nine Heavens’.

When Calculus landed in pain, he saw from afar the Swallow flying towards his solar plexus at blinding speed, enveloped with penetrative Metal-Ki.

It would be a range impossible for Kairos to reach if he didn't throw his weapon at Calculus with the martial technique. While the act of letting go of one’s weapon is a taboo in the martial world, he wasn’t concerned with doing so.

After Kairos' physique had reached Titan ranked, every part of his body can already be considered as a weapon.

“Tch, you’re strong indeed. It looks like I cannot look down on a lowborn who lucked out,” Calculus gritted his teeth, and with his remaining arm, he switched the seal stone he was holding and activated a powerful Sealing Barrier.

A flat, circular, shield of light, glowing in yellow, appeared before him.

The Swallow infused with Kairos' Metal Elemental Ki crashed against the barrier which could seal all forms of energy.

The two forces met in midair, draining each other of their strength.

But in the end, Kairos’ cultivation provided an edge, and his Swallow tore through the defence and flew towards Calculus.

The attack speed reduced substantially after breaking through the barrier, and it gave Calculus an opportunity to dodge. Unfortunately, though he successfully avoids being impaled, he was still struck by the weapon at his side and rendered immobile by the pain.

*Fuffff…*

The agony that wracked through his body made him unable to scream, reducing his cry to a muffle.

At the same time, Kairos struck the golden dragon with uncanny precision. Though it is flying at extremely high speeds, its movements are amateurish and simple for Kairos to predict.

However, except for draining its energy, the Immolation Finger is incapable of defeating an Ancestor Dragon.

After some persistence, the Five-clawed Golden Dragon eventually endured all the attacks, then it bridged the distance to Kairos in a flash and lashed out with its long, sharp claws.

Noticing the fearsome blow coming from his back, Kairos activated the Lightning Flicker Body to get away quickly.

The Celestial-Class movement technique had to be coupled with the instant acceleration from the Eternal Empyrean: Burst, for an explosion of alacrity Only then, did he barely dodged the dagger-like nails that tore through the air.

His defensive technique, the Eternal Empyrean, is formed by compressing his physical strength into certain parts of his body to guard against blows. But making use of the technique, he could do more than simply defend himself.

Unfortunately, the dragonling's speed is truly unfathomable, and it chased down Kairos in an instant to strike again.

He thought grimly, “It’s faster than anything I’ve faced before.”

Of course~ the dragons are a sovereign race among celestial beasts! We have speed, we have endurance, and we have the greatest energy capacity. Oh, and we are very wise too! Hehe.

“Aisa are you praising your own kind?”

Of course~ Hehe!

Their conversation abruptly ended, as Kairos activated his Mirage Steps and created large amounts of illusions to befuddle his opponent.

The Five-clawed Golden Dragon, though a powerful beast born for combat, did not see through the mirages instantly even with its natural fighting talent.

Its target disappeared, but instead of being frustrated, it felt a sense of relief.

However, when Kairos reappeared a short distance away, it noticed with wide, teary eyes three long claws marks across his shoulder.

*Wuuuu!!*

Kairos was shocked by the sudden cry of the dragon. It seemed that hurting him was more painful for the attacker than the receiver, and he had to calm it down through Aisa quickly.

“I... it’s okay! Look, I’m fine. Aisa, tell it that it did really well. Even Syriong in devil mode could not break through my Eternal Empyrean.”

After assuring his opponent that his injury will heal quickly, the dragon calmed itself down.

Calculus, still trembling from pain, glared at his contract beast in anger. He did not understand why his loyal beast is rebelling for his hated rival.

The golden dragon has grown beyond its infancy with all the resources provided by his noble house, and with its power, it ought to be able to take down his foe quickly. He does not understand why it is struggling so much against Kairos.

Kairos himself, are in agreement of this judgement. If he had not used everything he had to get away, the claws could easily rend him in two, even though, the dragon is apparently already holding back.

Judging from the force behind its claws, Kairos know that the dragon is definitely strong enough to send him hurling out of the competition barrier with a simple bump, and easily ending the fight as Calculus’ victory.

He reasoned that the reason it had not done so, is because the dragon is obediently following his wish to fight.

“Seems like I could not hold back my trump cards when fighting against you. Time and again, you had humiliated me. Today I shall return in fold,” Calculus said gratingly, then his eyes began to glow dangerously.

The Five-clawed Golden Dragon lifted its head and looked at its contract master, then flew over almost in a trance.

It disappeared the moment it touched Calculus, and almost at once, the young noble’s body began to alter.

Golden scales start appearing on his skin, and elongated claws grew out of his fingers. Then a pair of draconic wings ripped out of his back, enshrouding him with a great flap. Calculus’ eyes turn into slits as unearthly flames could be seen burning within.

His broken elbow regenerated almost immediately, and the blood that was pouring out of his side, healed.

“Round two,” He said gleefully.