Chapter 823: Sacrificing Oneself to Save Others

Just then, a slight change occurred on the battlefield.

Zu An was seen to completely drop his ice elemental shield, allowing countless water arrows to shoot towards him. Bi Linglong gasped in alarm, but was surprised to find that Zu An remained perfectly still, and the water arrows did not hit him; instead, they grazed his sides and flew past.

What was going on?

Not only Bi Linglong, but even the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon was confused, seeing its attacks merely outline Zu An’s figure. It felt a little doubtful, wondering if its aim had been slightly off due to its anger.

So it summoned water arrows again, shooting them at Zu An from all directions and angles. But although its aim had been quite precise at first, once they were within three feet of the opponent, the water arrows would mysteriously shift a couple of inches to the side. While the shift was tiny, it was enough for the opponent to dodge them.

Meanwhile, many on the other side also noticed the strange phenomenon and began to cheer:“Lord Zu is truly a divine being!”“With Lord Zu, life is so easy!”“Lord Zu, I want to bear your children!”

Bi Linglong’s eyebrow twitched slightly. These young family members were all so unrestrained with their words. "You want to bear Zu An's children? Do you even have the ability? Among everyone here, only I could perhaps…”

Ugh, ugh, ugh, what am I thinking?

But seeing Zu An stroll leisurely through the countless water arrows, effortlessly dodging various lethal attacks, she couldn’t help but think to herself, “This guy is quite handsome when he's serious.” She quickly composed herself and directly joined the battle. By now, everything that needed to be commanded had been, and everyone was cooperating in an orderly fashion. Those several seventh-rank puppets were, after all, already dead, their strength not comparable to when they were alive; they were now at the end of their tether. Her joining the fight was to end it as quickly as possible and then lead everyone to help Zu An.

“Insignificant human, what kind of sorcery are you using?” The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon widened its eyes, looking incredulous.

“Ugly loach, who are you talking to?” Zu An was speechless for a moment. “You haven't even transformed into a dragon yet; how did you catch the dragon race's arrogant habit? Speaking of which, it's not like I haven't killed a true dragon before. What are you, a mere flood dragon, strutting about for?”

“Ugly loach?” The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon was stunned for a moment, then trembled with rage upon realizing what had been said. “I will flay you alive and tear out your tendons, making you realize the consequences of offending me.”

Rage value from the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon: 888,888,888…

Seeing that water arrows couldn't harm him, it simply gave up on summoning more and instead spat out a bubble. The bubble floated gently towards him, moving slowly. Zu An lightly tapped his foot and dodged it.

“This thing might be useful against low-level cultivators, but it's trying to deal with high-level cultivators?” Zu An was a little confused. “This flood dragon shouldn't be that foolish.”

Unfortunately, the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon didn't give him a chance to think. With a flick of its tail, a massive tail swept towards him.

Zu An's heart stirred. This fellow was relying on its thick hide and tough flesh; he would let it taste the poison hidden in his dagger.

Just then, Mi Li's voice sounded in his ear: “Don't always think of taking shortcuts with your dagger. That will limit your improvement. One day you'll encounter enemies who are prepared for your dagger; what will you do then? Your cultivation has advanced too quickly, and your foundation isn't solid. It's rare to have such a good opportunity for you to practice. Fight it honorably!”

Feeling the fierce wind pressure bearing down on him, Zu An dared not take the blow head-on. He immediately used his Sunflower Phantom to dodge. The tail precisely struck a massive boulder by the pond, and the hard rock, as large as a small house, was instantly shattered by the impact. Such was the terrifying power of a single blow.

The young masters of the various noble families in the distance were terrified and grew even more impressed with Zu An, that he could actually contend with such a monster.

Zu An, meanwhile, secretly communicated with Mi Li in his mind: “But if I fight it honorably, it will take a lot of time, and many of the family disciples might die.”

“When did you become so saintly?” Mi Li said coldly. “The path of cultivation ultimately relies on oneself. This is an understanding every cultivator must have. If they need others to rescue them every time, what's the point of their arduous cultivation? You can save them this once, but can you save them countless times?”

Zu An, however, disagreed: “I can't control what happens later, but at least I can handle this time.”

Mi Li's tone held a hint of approval: “I didn't expect you, boy, to have such a firm resolve. But you don't need to worry. Those water elemental puppets were just injured by my soul attack, and your Crown Princess is commanding effectively. Victory is already assured. Those people will at most suffer some injuries; their lives are not at risk. So you can fight with peace of mind.”

Zu An finally let out a breath of relief. Just then, the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon's massive claw slammed towards him again. Although it hadn't yet transformed into a dragon, it already possessed the formidable physical abilities characteristic of dragons. Its entire body could be used as a weapon.

Zu An dodged while looking for an opening. Since he couldn't use the 'death-certain dagger', simply injuring it elsewhere would be meaningless. If he didn't strike, so be it. But if he did, he would attack its vital point.

A snake has its 'seven inches', a dragon has its inverse scale, and a flood dragon naturally has something similar. He quickly noticed that a scale on the back of its neck was slightly lighter in color than the surrounding ones.

Just then, another attack from the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon came. He easily dodged it. He was about to seize the opportunity to move, when a sudden warning flared in his mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shimmering object appear beside him: the bubble the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon had just spat out!

But it was too late. He was completely trapped inside the bubble. The strength of this bubble was many times greater than the one that had just trapped the warriors. He tried to struggle, but felt as if his entire body was in a swamp, unable to find any footing. Breathing also became difficult.

At this moment, he finally understood: the fierce physical attacks of the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon were a feint. It had been continuously spitting out these bubbles to lay a trap around him; luring him into stepping into it was the real intention. He had just laughed at how slow the bubble was, wondering how it could trap anyone. But he hadn't imagined these bubbles would continuously bounce and change direction on the ground.

As if knowing his vexation, Mi Li's mocking voice came: “Now you know the cost of casually underestimating your enemy, don't you?”

Zu An's face burned with embarrassment. He didn't answer. He immediately activated the Snow Flurry Divine Sword, and the surrounding bubbles gradually solidified into frost flowers, losing their original elasticity. He then broke out of the ice. Almost instantly, a massive water arrow shot through the spot where the bubble had been. It turned out the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon had seized the chance while he was trapped to launch another fierce attack, but it hadn't expected him to dodge at the last possible moment.

The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon was greatly annoyed. “Insignificant human, can you only dodge?”

“Ugly loach, haven't you also been dodging all this time? If you're so capable, stand still and let me hit you once?” Zu An sneered.

Although the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon was a water-element fierce beast, at this moment, its eyes were practically spitting fire from rage. “Despicable human, you have completely enraged me. You can dodge, but I'll see if your companions can dodge like you.”

Rage value from the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon: 999,999,999…

After speaking, it slightly opened its mouth towards the direction of Bi Linglong and the main group. Inside, a water sphere continuously pulsed and grew larger, and an aura of destruction filled every inch of the air.

“Everyone, be careful, it's going to use its breath attack!” Bi Linglong's face paled. She quickly warned everyone, and everyone hastily pulled out a small shield, then formed a peculiar formation.

According to intelligence, the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon could unleash a sphere of violent water elemental energy, destroying all living beings in its vicinity. For this, they had prepared special shields. Additionally, they had trained a new formation in recent days to disperse and mitigate such attacks. Unfortunately, all these preparations were based on the assumption that the opponent was seventh-rank. Even if it were eighth-rank, they might have been able to withstand it by combining their formation's power. But alas, the opponent was a ninth-rank fierce beast, its power utterly overwhelming them. They simply couldn't withstand it.

A hint of despair flashed in everyone's eyes. Bi Linglong's hand once again touched the crimson floral pattern on her forehead.

Just then, a figure blocked her path. Looking up at the massive flood dragon in the sky, his figure was so tiny compared to the immense body of the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon. Yet, in that instant, she felt his presence was extraordinarily grand and towering.

Zu An sighed, his tone full of mockery: “Ugly loach, even true dragons wouldn't dare open their mouths in front of me. Yet you dare to attempt a breath attack?”

At this moment, the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon was feeling triumphant. The intelligence of such high-level fierce beasts was no less than that of humans, and even smarter than many people. It keenly realized that Zu An was difficult to catch, but his companions couldn't escape. So it decided to take them hostage and see if he would save them. If he saved them, he would have to face its breath attack directly. The violent water element could tear him to shreds. If he didn't save them, the breath attack would directly eliminate his companions, saving its own puppets from further damage, and simultaneously leaving him without any support. Either way, it was a guaranteed win for it.

Just as it was feeling triumphant, it heard the other party's mocking words. Its heart was filled with anger. 'Despicable human, trying to deliberately trick me into speaking and canceling this breath attack.'

Rage value from the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon: 379,379,379…

'Hmph, would a high-quality flood dragon like me fall for such a clumsy trick? Once I've unleashed my breath attack, I'll watch you struggle and wail in pain, then slowly mock you!'

It was fully prepared. Just as it was about to unleash its breath attack, it suddenly heard a mesmerizing voice: “Staring with such wide eyes, what are you looking at?”

The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon froze. It knew it shouldn't respond at this moment, but an uncontrollable impulse surged through its entire body: “And what about it?!”

Because it spoke, the destructive water sphere wasn't unleashed, but exploded directly inside its mouth. Despite its physical strength and the fact that it was a water-element fierce beast itself, it was still rattled so badly that its head buzzed, blood seeped from its ears and eyes, and several teeth shattered in its mouth.

Not only was the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon bewildered, everyone present was stunned. They truly hadn't expected it to make such a basic mistake, speaking at such a crucial moment and suffering a backlash.

“Fierce beasts are indeed fierce beasts; their intelligence is just low.”“If we had known this, we should have provoked it first, instead of fighting it head-on from the start.”“Are you foolish? Do you think you're Lord Zu? Our power gap is too large; provoking it would only lead to faster deaths.”

Only Bi Linglong fell into deep thought. 'I recall that enemies Zu An faced before also seemed to experience similar situations. Could this be a skill akin to a Dragon Language spell?'

At this moment, the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon, writhing in pain, roared as it tumbled through the air: “Gah!”

Zu An didn't know if it was the flood dragon's language, and he couldn't make it out clearly, but that didn't prevent him from understanding the gist. The continuous rage values appearing in his system indicated they were likely something akin to national curses.

Rage value from the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon: 999,999,999…

He did not waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He immediately used Great Wind Teleportation to appear on its back. The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon seemed to sense the danger, and frantically twisted its body, trying to shake him off. Unfortunately, Zu An clung tightly to its scales, impossible to shake off.

The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon grew desperate. It plunged headfirst into the pond, attempting to dislodge him with the immense impact. However, it hadn't realized that Zu An's body, tempered by the Primordial Chaos Sutra, was in no way inferior to its own.

The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon itself grew dizzy from the impact. Seeing that it still couldn't shake him off, the opponent instead seized the opportunity to shift closer to its inverse scale, getting ever nearer! Now it was truly panicking. It hastily plunged deeper into the pond, trying to drown the hateful human, and at the bottom, there was also immense water pressure!

As if sensing their master's fear, the puppet beasts all changed direction and rushed into the pond, apparently to help in the fight.

“Oh no!” Bi Linglong tried to stop them, but unfortunately, those puppets were formed from water elements, formless and intangible. They couldn't be stopped if they wished to leave. She quickly ran to the edge of the pond, but could only see the churning pond water. She couldn't see what was happening inside at all.

“Crown Princess, let's retreat quickly, otherwise it'll be too late to leave,” Meng Pan said urgently as he approached her. The external energy shield had just dispersed along with the puppet beasts. It seemed the flood dragon didn't want to waste a single bit of its energy, so they were now free and could leave.

Zhao Xi wiped the blood from his face. “Pah! Meng, you really are something else. If Lord Zu hadn't intervened, you and I would have long been buried in that flood dragon's belly. Yet now, while Lord Zu is still fighting for his life, you want to run?”

Meng Pan grew anxious. “I'm not heartless, but that Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon plunged into the water at such a speed just now. You saw the immense splash, didn't you? The sheer force that scattered was enough to crush any of us to pieces. Lord Zu was at the center of the impact; he must have already…”

Hearing his words, Bi Linglong's face paled slightly. “Lord Zu's cultivation is profound. While we might not be able to withstand it, he might.” She didn't know if she was saying this to refute Meng Pan or to comfort herself.

Meng Pan continued: “Even if Lord Zu can endure it, he has now been dragged into the deep pond by the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon. That's its home ground. We humans can't even breathe in such an environment, let alone fight a ninth-rank fierce beast.”

Bi Linglong bit her lip. She knew he was speaking the truth. While high-level cultivators could maintain some air with elemental shields and even breathe using vital energy for a short period, that was limited to swimming or stealth underwater. If it were such high-intensity combat, they would likely feel suffocated in a very short time.

Seeing her silence, Meng Pan grew more anxious. “Crown Princess, if we don't leave now, once the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon reappears, we won't be able to. We can't let Lord Zu sacrifice himself in vain. Moreover, the Crown Prince's whereabouts are unknown. This mountain is now fraught with danger. We must find him as soon as possible.” As for completing the mission to hunt the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon, he didn't even dare to think about it. However, since the opponent was ninth-rank, their return would provide an explanation to both the Emperor and Prince Qi, so it wouldn't necessarily count as a failure of the grand examination.

Zhao Xi originally wanted to say something, but hearing Meng Pan bring up the Crown Prince's safety, he swallowed his words. This matter was simply too significant. If he were to suggest staying to help Zu An, and something were to happen to the Crown Prince as a result, the Prince Liang's Manor couldn't bear that responsibility.

Bi Linglong bit her crimson lips until they were almost bleeding. “You all take the others and go find the Crown Prince. I'm going down to check the situation!”

Meng Pan and Zhao Xi exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes. The Crown Princess seemed to be excessively good to Zu An. Considering the rumors that had circulated about them recently, could that matter actually be true? A chill ran down their spines. They dared not think too deeply about such matters. They quickly came to their senses and urged her: “Crown Princess, please reconsider. It's no use for you to stay.”“Yes, let's leave here first and regroup with the Crown Prince to plan our next move.” Losing the Crown Prince was a capital offense, and losing the Crown Princess was equally a capital offense.

“Who said it's no use for me to stay?” Bi Linglong touched the floral pattern on her forehead, revealing a hint of tragic beauty in her smile, then resolutely jumped into the pond. Meng Pan and Zhao Xi had thought she was just putting on a show. They never expected her to actually jump. She was also a sixth-rank cultivator, and her movement was unexpected. It was too late for the two of them to stop her, and they could only watch as she leaped into the pond.

However, the very next second, the bottomless pond suddenly churned violently. Immediately after, a splash of dazzling blood spread out, gradually dyeing the pond water red. The warriors from the various noble families near the cold pond were all greatly alarmed. Had the Crown Princess met with disaster as soon as she went down?

“The Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon is coming out! Everyone, retreat quickly!” Meng Pan cried out in a panic and hastily ran outwards. Human emotions are contagious. The same group of people, who had just been led by the calm Bi Linglong, had been able to fight the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon fearlessly. Now, with the terrified Meng Pan leading, everyone instinctively rushed outwards as well.

The very next second, the pond water parted, and a massive body flew out. Seeing that it was indeed the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon, everyone's hearts filled with despair.

Just then, a strange voice sounded in their ears: “Why are you running?”“L-Lord Zu, is that you?” Zhao Xi turned his head to look, his voice full of uncertainty.“If not me, then who else?” Zu An chuckled.

Only then did Zhao Xi clearly see that the terrifying eyes of the once-arrogant Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon were now dull and lifeless. Moreover, its massive body hung limply, and there was a huge wound on the back of its neck, with blood continuously gushing out. And Zu An was right beneath the flood dragon's head. He was carrying the corpse of the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon as he flew out!

Everyone had been so scared out of their wits that they hadn't looked closely, thinking it was the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon emerging.

“It's Lord Zu! Lord Zu killed the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon!” Zhao Xi shouted, filled with both surprise and joy.

Meng Pan cursed. “Zhao, what time is it and you're still spouting nonsense? Do you want to get everyone killed?” However, he suddenly noticed that the others around him had all stopped, and cheers were gradually rising. He turned his head back, filled with doubt and surprise. He saw Zu An toss the corpse of the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon onto the ground, where it heavily slammed into the earth, creating a large crater.

“He actually killed a ninth-rank Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon?” Meng Pan was utterly stunned. His feet unconsciously followed, running back.

“Lord Zu is invincible!”“Long live Lord Zu!”

Some even shouted disrespectful words, but at this moment, no one found anything amiss, as if only such words could fully express their excitement.

Zu An, however, looked around. “Huh, where's the Crown Princess?”

Only then did Zhao Xi and Meng Pan come back to their senses. “Lord Zu, didn't you see the Crown Princess? She just said she was going to save you and jumped into the pond.”

Zu An's expression changed. This pond was not a calm, harmless ordinary pond. The enormous waterfall cascading down kept the pond constantly filled with various whirlpools and undercurrents. Not to mention his recent battle with the Heaven-Measuring Azure-Moon Flood Dragon, which had utterly churned up the pond, making the currents inside comparable to a raging sea. Without the slightest hesitation, he hastily jumped in.