C67 Horned Dinosaur

"Well, I'll be! It's just one substance in three different states, yet somehow it's managed to split into three distinct factions—the Water God Sect, the Ice God Sect, and the Snow God Sect."

Wang Yan couldn't help but marvel inwardly. These followers might be out of their minds, or perhaps it was all just a straightforward political power struggle.

Invoking the name of the divine, they resorted to all sorts of tactics to vie for influence and gain.

According to the trio, the Fire God's devotees were nearly wiped out, with the majority of the Mystic Ice Realm's indigenous population worshipping the Water God, Ice God, and Snow God.

These three sects weren't particularly hostile to outsiders; showing respect for their deities could earn you a measure of friendship.

They were also considerate of others' customs and traditions, a stark contrast to a certain cult from Wang Yan's past life.

All in all, the Mystic Ice Realm's dynamics weren't too complex. Avoiding trouble usually meant avoiding danger.

Wang Yan's mission was to hunt down a dragon species. Once slain, he planned to feed it to Green to aid its ascension to royalty.

To locate his quarry, he had no choice but to consult with the locals.

Only those who had inhabited these lands for generations knew the precise whereabouts of the dragon species and the ferocious beasts.

Fortune was smiling on Wang Yan; the three locals he had encountered earlier were aware of the general vicinity where the dragon species roamed.

The six sled dogs dashed through the snow, while Wang Yan and Rice Bucket sat back, taking it easy.

Time seemed to blur, and just as Wang Yan was on the verge of dozing off, the sled dogs ground to a halt.

They shivered, tails tucked, eyes wide with terror.

Looking ahead, Wang Yan was met with the sight of a formidable snowy peak—towering, proud, and steep.

"Awoo!"

Rice Bucket let out a howl, urging the hesitant canines to press on.

But the dogs were petrified, unmoved by Rice Bucket's calls, refusing to advance another inch.

"They must have picked up on the dragon species' scent."

Wang Yan gave Rice Bucket a reassuring pat on the head and said, "Stay put. I'll come back for you once I've taken care of business."

"Awoo!"

As Wang Yan prepared to leave, Rice Bucket clamped onto his pants with a determined bite.

His eyes, brimming with wisdom, conveyed a sense of unwillingness to part, as if pleading not to be abandoned.

"Ah."

Wang Yan exhaled a heavy sigh, feeling an unexpected pang of discomfort.

This creature might be dim-witted, but it wasn't beyond hope.

At least it had feelings, enough to struggle with separation.

While Wang Yan wavered over whether to take it with him, Goldie fished a pork knuckle from a ring-shaped storage device and flung it into the distance.

Rice Bucket vanished in a blink, reappearing moments later with the pork knuckle clenched in its jaws.

Wang Yan: "..."

So much for being attached to me!

The fool was just starving!

Wang Yan was drained. Why did he harbor any illusions about this mindless beast?

"Time to go, boss."

Goldie unfurled its wings, wearing a look that said, "I saw this coming."

"Yeah, let's move on."

Casting a glance at Rice Bucket, who was now feasting and ignoring him, Wang Yan felt a twinge of sadness and, not for the first time, contemplated the prospect of dog stew.

The snow mountain loomed over a kilometer high, a daunting climb for the average person.

But Wang Yan was no ordinary man. He was the kind who faced outward even in the most private of moments.

With spiked shoes and cat claw gloves, he traversed the icy rocks with ease, as though strolling on level ground.

"Boss, I've got a bad feeling about this."

Goldie, tucked away in the hat behind Wang Yan's head, kept a vigilant watch over their surroundings.

Snow monsters, not being living beings, had no fear of a dragon's presence.

Each step forward invited a swarm of these pests, a tiresome nuisance.

Goldie was firing so much it was nearly spent, and Wang Yan had barely ascended two hundred meters.

"We can't keep this up!"

He had Osmanthus Flower Brew for energy and five-nut mooncakes for strength, but how long would they be in the Mystic Ice Realm?

It was best to conserve such supplies for emergencies.

After retreating to the mountain's base, Wang Yan and Jin Zi conferred and decided Jin Zi would make the ascent alone.

Its speed was impressive; even if it couldn't win a fight, escaping was never an issue.

Moreover, Jin's talent for drawing aggro was second to none.

The Tyrant Horse had nearly blown a gasket because of it before, and this time would surely be no different.

After a seemingly endless wait, nearly half an hour later, a thunderous roar echoed through the air.

"Roar!"

It was resonant, piercing, filled with unspeakable rage and a thirst for vengeance.

A snow-white dragon, blanketed in a whirlwind of snow, swooped down from the mountain summit.

It stretched a hundred meters long with a diameter surpassing two meters, its horns branched and symmetrical, exuding a formidable presence.

"Fortune smiles upon me—it's a horned dinosaur!"

Wang Yan could barely contain his excitement at the sight of this formidable dragon species and ferocious beast.

As the 'Explanation Records' goes: A venomous snake becomes a flood dragon in five hundred years, a flood dragon becomes a dragon in a thousand years, and a dragon becomes a horned dinosaur in another five hundred years.

The horned dinosaur was a venerable elder among dragons, destined to evolve into a Responding Dragon in another five hundred years.

Of course, 'Strange Records' was more or less a novel from the Nan Bei Chao period, to be taken with a grain of salt.

The Responding Dragon was a deity, an embodiment of good fortune, an ancient war god who, during his reign, had bested many a Divine Beast, ferocious beast, strange creature, and mighty warrior.

If a dragon could simply evolve into a Responding Dragon after a millennium, then such a war god would hardly be of any value.

Green's ascent from Lord to King required the bloodlines of both the horned dinosaur and the Coiling Dragon.

With the horned dinosaur now secured, only the Coiling Dragon remained.

"Boss, save me—this dragon's lost its mind!"

Goldie yelled as it fled, pursued by the horned dinosaur launching volleys of ice cones.

Seeing Goldie's relentless fury, one could only wonder what atrocity it had committed to provoke such divine wrath.

"Did you insult it again?"

Wang Yan didn't wait for an answer; he took off running, questioning as he went.

"I didn't curse! I just broke its egg."

Wang Yan was at a loss for words.

Broke its egg?

Damn, I'd be chasing like a madman too if I were in their shoes!

Wang Yan simply couldn't muster the energy to complain. Between a bird and a dog, neither gave him any peace of mind.

"Green!"

At Wang Yan's call, Green, who had been nestled in his clothes, zipped out with the speed of lightning.

The horned dinosaur was a formidable opponent!

A Rank 6 dragon species, lord-tier, and fighting on its own turf no less.

Barring any surprises, the battle was shaping up to be a brutal one.

Armed with armor and weapons crafted from molten ore, Wang Yan felt ready to take on a Rank 5 leader head-on. But against the horned dinosaur, he doubted he could survive even one hit.

The best way to help Gold and Green, then, was to avoid causing them any additional problems.

Two Rank 4 Lords were about to clash with a Rank 6 Lord.

The battle broke out in an instant!

The sky was filled with snow, and ice cones whirled wildly.

Blazing white sword qi crisscrossed the air, while scorching flames shrouded everything in their path.

The clash of a lord-level ferocious beast was truly fearsome; the mere shockwaves turned the surrounding area into a hellish landscape, shredding any snow monsters that dared come near.

Amidst the chaos of ice and fire, sword qi battled against the falling snow.

To everyone's shock, the enraged horned dinosaur was pushing Gold and Green into a tight corner!

"Is this the raw power of a dragon species? Absolutely terrifying!"

The blizzard raged on, the wind and snow swirling chaotically.

Green stood firm, while Gold was tossed helplessly about.