Chapter Sixty-Four: The Name of the Divine Clan (Part One)

Roar! Roar!
Two thunderous dragon cries erupted nearly simultaneously—one dignified and grand, the other fierce and domineering.
A colossal thunder dragon, wreathed in endless violet lightning, descended from the heavens like divine retribution—unstoppable, majestic, and overwhelming.
The water-fire dragon, cloaked in radiant fire and water, surged upward, breaking through the clouds as if to defy the very heavens, refusing to rest until the firmament itself was shattered.
The thunder dragon plunged down from above; the water-fire dragon soared up into the highest skies.
The distance between them narrowed, as though heaven and earth themselves were on the verge of collision.
Roar! Roar!
Their cries mingled—dignity and fury, icy calm and boiling madness, intertwining and clashing.
Crackle, crackle...
Violet lightning and the glow of water and fire collided, pressed and canceled each other out.
Bang!
The thunder domain, spanning ten thousand miles around the thunder dragon, and the water-fire domain enveloping the water-fire dragon, collided and compressed relentlessly, tearing open a spatial black hole that spanned ten thousand miles.
Yet even this vast black hole could not halt the fateful duel between thunder and water-fire dragons.
The thunder dragon, sustaining its thunder domain, charged into the spatial void toward its foe.
The water-fire dragon, unleashing its own domain, plunged in kind, rushing towards the thunder dragon.
Both dragons, eyes glinting with murderous intent, charged relentlessly at each other, unwilling to cease until one fell.
Bang!
At the instant of their clash, violet-blue and red light merged in a sudden, explosive burst of blinding white.
The overwhelming white light turned the world into a sea of brilliance.
As the twin dragons collided, even heaven and earth paled.
So fierce was the light that all below the rank of Divine Lord were left dazzled and dazed.
Even Candle Dragon, a being of half-divine lord stature, had to shield his eyes with divine light, unable to see anything.
At this moment, the only being able to clearly witness the battle was the Southern Descent Divine Lord atop the Water-Fire Mountain.
Seated upon his frozen throne, he opened his golden eyes, taking in every detail of the twin dragons’ struggle.
This was a contest of pure strength—no other divine powers or treasures intervened.

The strong would prevail; the weak would perish.
By rights, the thunder dragon, born of the thunder sea, should have been able to overcome the water-fire dragon.
However, the thunder sea was not yet complete, and the thunder dragon had not drawn enough power to reach the rank of Divine Lord.
The water-fire dragon, though merely a pseudo-Dragon Lord formed by a joint battle technique, possessed the might of an ordinary Dragon Lord.
Thus, the thunder dragon stood high but lacked strength, while the water-fire dragon, though of lower standing, possessed greater power.
For now, they were evenly matched, locked in a delicate balance.
But this equilibrium was fragile and would soon shatter.
The dazzling brilliance of the white light lasted but an instant.
As it faded, the gods and major factions could once more clearly see the state of the battle.
Within the ten-thousand-mile black hole, the thunder dragon’s violet sphere and the water-fire dragon’s radiant sphere collided and compressed in a frenzied struggle.
After that great clash, one of the thunder dragon’s mighty violet horns was shattered, one of its noble eyes pierced, and its lightning aura dimmed.
Though the thunder dragon remained in spirit form, the corporeal water-fire dragon fared even worse—one of its sturdy blue horns was broken, its scales torn, golden blood flowing, and its fire-water radiance greatly diminished.
It appeared both dragons had suffered grievous wounds.

Standing within the thunder sea, Lei Xing gazed coldly at the battered dragons, a chill light flashing in his eyes as he prepared to intensify his assault.
Suddenly, the ten-thousand-mile thunder sea began to boil, lightning flickering and coursing in all directions, accompanied by peals of thunder.
Rumble...
The thunder’s roar grew ever louder, spreading across the heavens, shaking the earth, and startling the gods and factions watching the twin dragons’ duel.

“Does Prince Lei Xing still have strength to spare?!”
Fang Yan’s eyes gleamed as he gazed at the churning thunder sea, his voice tinged with doubt and awe.

The Devourer God King beamed at the assembly. “Though Prince Lei Xing may be proud and domineering, his strength is easily among the top five of all the gods.”

Top five?!
Every god’s eyes flashed with sharp light, their hearts filled with astonishment. Lei Xing’s strength was plain to see—he was already comparable to an ordinary Divine Lord. To think that among the gods, there were four even stronger than him!

Wu Po Tian, Fang Yan, Bai Hua, Hei An, and other God Kings suddenly realized how little they truly knew of the Pantheon Alliance’s inner workings or the gods’ real power. Inwardly, they resolved, “It seems we must learn more about the gods and this Pantheon Alliance! The storm is rising—this god must ride the winds to the highest heavens!”

In the past, the gods had joined the Pantheon Alliance merely for protection, paying little heed to its workings or to one another.
Now, they understood the Alliance was far from a simple mutual-aid society. It harbored ambitions, waiting for the right moment to emerge as a dominant force in the wilderness, perhaps even to unify it all.
The Southern Descent and the Divine Clan were likely the opportunity the Alliance had been waiting for.
Reflecting on the Alliance’s past conduct—such as accepting only Primordial Gods and Demons—its ambitions became apparent.
Only Primordial Gods and Demons could become Primordial Divine Lords, rulers of the wilderness.
Yet, without a Primordial Divine Lord at its helm, even the greatest ambitions had to lie dormant, waiting for the opportune moment.
Now, with the rise of Southern Descent as a Primordial Divine Lord and the Divine Clan as destiny’s chosen, the foundation for the Alliance’s grand unification was laid.

Seeing through the Alliance’s ambitions, the gods’ hearts were stirred.
Great crises bring great opportunities.
Primordial Gods and Demons, fearless of heaven and earth, feared only the absence of opportunity.
To unify the wilderness—was this not a peerless opportunity?

On Lion Mountain, Lion King gazed at the roiling thunder sea above and sneered, “The Dragon Clan is in for a bitter lesson! Hahaha!”
The great powers had long harbored concerns about the mighty Dragon Clan. Witnessing their setback, many rejoiced inwardly.
While the gods marveled and the powers rejoiced, the dragons themselves were thrown into chaos.

In the Dragon Palace, Candle Dragon stared with mixed emotions at the seething thunder sea above, sensing the overwhelming power within. He was forced to consider how to bring an end to this conflict between the Dragon Clan and the gods.
If the battle continued, Ao Run, Ao Yan, and the other fifteen Dragon Kings might well fall to the Thunder God King.
But a hasty retreat would only invite scorn and weaken the Dragon Clan’s prestige.
Just as Candle Dragon wrestled with this dilemma, a command from the East Sea Dragon Palace offered him a way out.

“Report! Urgent order from the Dragon Lord!”
A dragon general clad in crimson armor hurried to Candle Dragon’s side, respectfully presenting a golden Nine-Clawed Dragon Lord’s token.