Chapter 60: The Great Dragon

"Brother, you were so cool just now!" Xiao Wu hugged Ling Xiao and said.

Seeing how Ling Xiao had stepped through the air step by step earlier looked simply too cool, filling her with envy.

"It's nothing. Once you reach the Title Douluo realm, you'll be able to do it too," Ling Xiao said with a smile.

"But I am still a long way from being a Title Douluo; I'm only a Spirit Elder," Xiao Wu pouted.

"Reaching the Title Douluo realm won't take much time," Ling Xiao replied. With the Water of Life, it would only take a few years.

"You big bad guy, do you think everyone is like you, ridiculously strong from such a young age!" Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes.

"If we want to fly, we either have to rely on special spirit abilities or possess unique martial souls."

"Since you both yearn for flight, I'll just lend a hand."

As soon as Ling Xiao finished speaking, countless black chains emerged from the spatial fabric all around his body.

"Big bad guy, what are you trying to do?"

Ning Rongrong watched the dense web of chains with curiosity, and Xiao Wu did the same.

"Didn't you want to fly? I'll just give you a flying mount!" Ling Xiao said.

At that moment, the chains filling the sky gradually shifted in form, looking somewhat like a dragon to the onlookers.

The chains kept intertwining until they finally took the shape of a giant dragon.

However, it was neither as slender as a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, nor as bulky and winged as other dragon-type martial souls.

Once the dragon shape solidified, black flames ignited along the chains. Wherever the flames burned, the chains transformed, turning into something resembling scales.

Then, to the utter astonishment of everyone present, the giant dragon formed from chains morphed into a true flesh-and-blood black dragon.

"Roar!"

The instant the black dragon opened its eyes, it let out a furious roar, exuding an unmatched pressure that terrified everyone except Ling Xiao into collapsing to the ground.

Under this overwhelming pressure, the winds and clouds shifted, the sky darkened, space shattered, and lightning flashed across the void.

After a moment, the black dragon's roar ceased, and it docilely lowered itself to the ground.

"Brother..."

Terrified to the point of collapsing by the dragon before her, Xiao Wu grabbed Ling Xiao's arm and managed to pull herself up with great effort.

Sword Douluo fared slightly better and rose quickly, but Ning Rongrong remained unable to get up for a long time.

As for the others, Ma Hongjun and Oscar had already passed out from fright, while Tang San, Flender, and Zhao Wuji were slumped on the ground with dazed expressions.

"Xiao Wu, don't be afraid. This is something I created, and it won't hurt you," Ling Xiao comforted gently.

Xiao Wu steadied her mind, thinking to herself that she had already seen deities, so this was nothing.

After calming herself for a good while, Xiao Wu finally looked at the colossal entity before her.

The black dragon in front of them was about one hundred meters long from head to tail, with massive wings that spanned roughly one hundred and thirty meters when fully spread.

Its body was robust yet not bulky, appearing sleek instead. Its slender and powerful limbs stood firmly on the ground, massive claws leaving deep prints in the earth, and its long neck and entire body were covered in incredibly tough scales.

The dragon's entire body was pitch black, yet adorned with patterns that emitted a faint red glow. Its maw was slightly open, as if scorching red flames were about to burst forth, and the terrifying temperature radiating from around its jaws seemed to warp the very space around it.

"Big bad guy, what is this..."

Helped up by Sword Douluo, Ning Rongrong looked at the gargantuan beast, her throat feeling somewhat parched.

"Didn't you want to fly? The two of you can sit on the dragon's back. It will protect you well, so you don't need to worry about falling off!" Ling Xiao said.

"Really?"

Ning Rongrong stared at the dragon. The formidable presence it radiated far surpassed even Sword Douluo, making her too intimidated to approach.

"It's fine, don't worry!" With a flash, Ling Xiao brought Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu onto the dragon's back.

The dragon braced its body and spread its massive wings. With a gentle sweep, it carried the three of them into the air, kicking up a massive cloud of dust from the ground.

A huge crater was left right where the dragon had been resting.

Without waiting for the dust to settle, everyone looked up into the sky. The giant dragon soared a thousand meters high, circled around once, and then shot off rapidly into the distance.

Its speed was unimaginably fast.

When the dragon first took off, Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu had screamed for a moment while clinging tightly to Ling Xiao, but realizing nothing untoward happened, they slowly opened their eyes.

To their surprise, the dragon's back was extraordinarily stable. Despite traveling at high speed, it felt no different from standing on solid ground.

Emboldened, the two girls walked to the edge of the dragon's body and looked down. All the scenery below flashed past at lightning speed and appeared minuscule.

Carefully pressing against the edge of the dragon's back, the fear in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by curiosity and excitement.

"How is it? Have you adjusted to it?" Ling Xiao asked, walking up behind them.

"Big bad guy, we're flying so high and so fast!" Ning Rongrong stood up and said excitedly, looking at the shrunk scenery below.

"Fast? It can go even faster. Right now, our flying speed is only about four hundred meters per second," Ling Xiao remarked. The dragon's top speed was one thousand meters per second, so it was still holding back.

"This is simply magical!" Xiao Wu stood up, marveling endlessly.

At that moment, the two felt the dragon shift its direction slightly before coming to a complete stop.

Looking down, the two faintly caught sight of a village.

"We are currently one thousand meters above Shrek Academy. Let's go down!" Ling Xiao said.

The giant dragon began its slow descent. If it were too fast, the windstorm generated merely by its fall would be enough to devastate a radius of several thousand meters.

Soon, the giant dragon landed gently and smoothly on the ground, though its terrifying weight instantly carved out four massive craters.

The three of them stepped down from the dragon, Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu looking thoroughly exhilarated.

"Sword Grandpa, I just flew up into the sky!" Ning Rongrong ran over to Sword Douluo, shouting excitedly.

"Y-Yes, indeed!"

Sword Douluo swallowed hard, gently patted Ning Rongrong's little head, and looked at the giant dragon with eyes full of shock.

Flender and the others huddled closely together, sweat pouring endlessly from their bodies.

Everything they had witnessed today had shattered their worldview. First, they met a Title Douluo, and then they encountered a being far beyond their wildest imagination.

Flender adjusted his glasses with trembling hands, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief that he had never done anything to anger Ning Rongrong and the other girl, otherwise today would have been the death anniversary of everyone present.

"If the two of you want to go anywhere, just ride this dragon. It will take you wherever you wish!" Ling Xiao said.

"Brother, this—it's too big! Taking it out will scare people to death!" Xiao Wu twitched the corner of her mouth and said.

"Didn't I give you spatial rings? It can just stay inside one!" With that, Ling Xiao turned his attention to the spatial ring meant for Ning Rongrong.

A massive circular black hole appeared, revealing a vast expanse of space within, and the giant dragon's body began to shrink continuously.

After a mere five breaths, the dragon, which had been a hundred meters long, turned into a little fellow less than five meters in length.

The dragon trotted into the spatial realm, found a spot, curled up, and closed its eyes, awaiting its next summons.

"Alright, whenever you need anything, you can just summon it. Its strength is quite decent, and it can protect you if you ever encounter danger in the future!" Ling Xiao closed the spatial portal and said.

Ning Rongrong looked at the spatial ring inlaid with a cyan gemstone, her eyes filled with joy and shyness as she reached out to take it and slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand.

Hearing Ling Xiao's words, Sword Douluo clicked his tongue inwardly. Just what kind of danger would one have to encounter to actually require this terrifying dragon?

Although the dragon hadn't shown any hostile intent earlier, the mere pressure it inadvertently leaked had caused cold sweat to stream down his back, proving its strength to be utterly unfathomable.

Seeing Ning Rongrong's delighted expression, Ling Xiao smiled faintly as well.

The next moment, Ling Xiao's gaze flickered slightly. He split off a soul avatar draped in a black cloak and sent it outside a room within the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.