Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

"Rely on this altar." The Lion King raised his right arm, his petrified fingertips pointing to the swirling magic circle beneath his feet.

"This altar was built three hundred years ago, not to suppress the earth's veins, nor to protect the Lion Clan, but to wait for today, when the four emblems resonate and the power of the ancient spirits of the deep earth returns to its place, so that I can regain my strength and life."

The wolf king's lips curled slightly, a hint of mockery flashing in his icy blue eyes. "In the end, I won't say those pretty words anymore."

The Lion King never denied it.

"I'm not lying, but you just don't want to listen. Protecting the Lion Clan? It's just a side effect. What does the survival of the Lion Clan have to do with me? I've protected them for three hundred years, that's enough. Three hundred years is enough to repay all the debts of gratitude."

Auduin crouched at the edge of the square, his vertical pupils completely unmoved.

From beginning to end, he did not believe the Lion King's so-called "mission".

An old lion trapped on the altar, waiting to die, suddenly came back to life, suddenly wanted to activate the fusion of the four symbols, and suddenly opened its mouth to protect—all of this was a lie.

The Lion King only wants to live, which is not wrong in itself, but if he uses others as stepping stones, he can't blame others for not cooperating.

"Isn't all you want to do to survive?" Alduin sneered.

"I want to live."

The lion king did not flinch; the murky light in his right eye flickered even more intensely.

"Three hundred years ago, I was chosen by the Cracked Rock Emblem and transformed from an ordinary lion into a half-petrified monster."

I am trapped in this altar, watching the wind and snow outside, watching the lion clan reproduce, grow old, and die generation after generation.

I watched Leon being born, watched him grow up, watched him learn spatial magic, and watched him gradually become who he is today.

What do you take me for? A benevolent elder? A great king? No, I am just a trapped man who wants to get out, wants to get out alive.

No one spoke; they just stared at him coldly.

The Lion King chuckled self-deprecatingly, shifting his murky gaze from Alduin to Leon, and said in a deep voice, "Hand over the Rock Emblem and the Crystal Emblem."

Leon sneered, said nothing, but clenched his fists, always on guard.

The wolf king watched from the side, narrowing his eyes. Clearly, he was very interested in this drama of father and son turning against each other.

Seeing this, the Lion King no longer hesitated, took a step forward, and the magic circle beneath his feet lit up again. "If you don't hand it over, then don't blame me for being impolite."

He raised his right arm, his five fingers suddenly spreading wide.

The rock fragment glowed in the center of his chest, and the gray-red light spread along the magic circle. The four stone pillars trembled simultaneously, and gray-white light veins rose from the ground, wrapping around Leon's legs.

Leon abruptly stepped back, and the rock emblem on his right hand shone with a brilliant earthy yellow light, instantly enveloping his entire body and easily deflecting the incoming light pulse.

He gripped the crystal emblem tightly in his left hand, an icy blue halo rapidly flowing between his fingertips, and a chill suddenly rose around him.

"You can't stop me at all."

The Lion King took another step forward, and the power surging from the magic array grew even stronger.

Countless beams of light surged from the ground. Leon's expression changed, and he felt the Rock Emblem and Crystal Emblem in his hands begin to tremble violently, like iron blocks attracted by a powerful magnet, almost slipping out of his grasp.

This extremely strong pulling force caught him off guard.

Leon gritted his teeth and gripped the two badges tightly with both hands.

However, his strength was insufficient. He had just recovered from a serious injury, and his wounds were not yet healed. His magic power was mostly depleted, and the Rock Emblem slipped halfway out from between his right fingers, only to be pushed back by his will.

"It's all in vain," the Lion King shook his head, his voice calm.

Leon glanced at Alduin, then at the Rock Emblem in his hand, and simply released his right hand.

The Rock Emblem flew out of his hand, but instead of heading towards the Lion King, it went straight for Alduin. The earthen-yellow light drew an arc in the air and landed steadily in Alduin's right claw.

"Here you go," Leon said breathlessly.

Auduin raised an eyebrow, took the Rock Emblem, and put it directly into the spatial rift without saying a word.

The Lion King did not stop him, but merely glanced at Alduin before raising his right arm and grabbing at Leon with his five fingers.

The light of the magic circle instantly wrapped around Leon's hands, forcefully pulling the crystal emblem from his left hand. The ice-blue emblem flew straight towards the Lion King and landed in his palm.

The Lion King could clearly sense the pure icy power within the Crystal Rock Emblem.

He turned and walked to the third stone pillar, embedded the emblem into the groove, and a beam of ice-blue light shot straight into the sky.

Then, he tore a fragment of rock from his chest and pressed it into the first stone pillar, and a gray-red beam of light shot into the sky.

Two stone pillars and two emblems are now in place.

He turned to Alduin and commanded, "The Rock Emblem, the Barren Mound Emblem, bring them forth."

Auduin stood still, motionless.

If you don't pay, then I'll take it myself.

The Lion King raised his right arm, his five fingers pointing directly at Alduin, and the light veins of the magic circle surged from the ground, wrapping around Alduin.

Alduin flapped his dragon wings, his body suddenly rising higher, but the light veins followed closely behind like living creatures, relentlessly pursuing him.

Blue burst out from the corner, his stone body blocking Alduin's path. Light veins wrapped around Blue's legs, but a yellowish-brown pattern immediately lit up on Blue's chest, severing the light veins.

The Lion King frowned, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The Lion King said no more.

He raised his right arm, and the power of the rock fragments and the crystal emblem surged into his body at the same time. His petrified body began to swell, and cracks spread from his chest to his limbs.

He planned to forcefully activate the magic array and pull the remaining two emblems over.

The magic circle activated, radiating brilliant light. Auduin frowned. Even facing the legendary Lion King, he could not stop it. He glanced at the Wolf King and found that he had no reaction at all, still standing still to the side.

Auduin's heart stirred, and he stopped acting, merely watching the Lion King's movements without intervening...

At that moment, Leon, standing beside the magic circle, looked at the scene before him and suddenly smiled.

The next moment, he pulled out an ice-blue emblem from his pocket; it was another crystal emblem.

The lion king's pupils suddenly contracted.

Leon held the crystal emblem high above his head.

The magic circle began to crack instantly.

The two crystal emblems on the stone pillars, one real and one fake, simultaneously lit up with an icy blue light, violently repelling each other. The fake emblem couldn't hold on any longer, cracking fine lines from the center before shattering completely, scattering fragments everywhere.

The ceremony completely fell apart.

The primordial power flowed back along the magic array, surging violently into the cracked rock fragments on the first stone pillar.

The fragments were already bound to the Lion King's life, and the backlash surged directly into the Lion King's body through the connection.

He shuddered violently, and his petrified body was instantly covered with dense cracks, from which grayish-white light continuously emanated.

His aura plummeted, falling directly from the peak of the legendary realm to the bottom.

"You—!" The Lion King's voice was filled with a roar, and his right eye turned crimson.

Three hundred years of planning, all ruined.

Leon, using some unknown means, disguised the crystal emblem, causing the ritual to go wrong and ultimately fail.