I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Its dragon chanting suddenly accelerated, and more runes poured from its mouth, merging into the star.

The stars trembled again, and the flames surged, as if trying to break free of their restraints.

Ji Tian glanced at it.

That glance was indifferent, so indifferent that it showed no emotion whatsoever.

But the red dragon felt as if he was being watched by a higher-level being at that moment.

It's not humans who are looking at dragons.

It's more like... a god looking at ants.

Ji Tian clenched his five fingers.

The stars shattered.

Broken.

It was as if an egg was being gently crushed, the shell cracked open, and magma-like internal material gushed out from the cracks, then solidified, cooled, and turned into countless tiny black pebbles in mid-air, falling like rain.

The rubble fell to the ground, creating countless craters, and the dust it kicked up blotted out the sky.

But not a single piece of gravel fell on Ji Tian.

He stood in the void, dressed in white as snow, spotless.

For the first time, a look of horror appeared in the red dragon's golden-red vertical pupils.

In Ji Tian's words, it was a shattering of his Dao heart.

Ji Tian's calm voice came from above, "Your dragon language magic is rooted in your bloodline, not in the Dao. The power of bloodline will eventually run out, but the power of the Dao is inexhaustible. You have cultivated for two thousand years, yet you don't even understand this principle. Your inferior cultivation mindset has greatly harmed dragons!"

He stepped down from the void.

Each step is taken on invisible steps, unhurried and composed.

"Your cultivation over a thousand years is no small feat; it would be a pity to kill you. But if you are not convinced—"

He landed in front of the red dragon and looked up at its huge vertical pupils.

"I will beat you until you submit."

The red dragon fell silent.

Its body was trembling slightly, but not from fear; it was a mixture of anger and humiliation that made it burn with rage.

It wants to fight again.

But just then, it remembered what the previous red dragon had said to it on its deathbed—

"If you encounter someone in this world who is beyond your power, do not provoke them; simply avoid their sharp edge, for they will not outlive you."

Back then, it was young and arrogant, blurting out, "Why should I avoid his sharp edge?!" The old dragon just smiled and didn't reply, as if it saw its younger self in him.

Now it understands.

The red dragon slowly lowered its head.

It's definitely not submission! At most, it's just acknowledgment.

It is acknowledged that there are indeed things in this world that it cannot understand or resist.

The red dragon spoke, its voice hoarse, "Your dragon egg isn't on you, is it?"

Ji Tian nodded slightly: "At the sect."

A knowing glint flashed in the red dragon's golden-red vertical pupils. "That's right. After a dragon egg develops consciousness, it will only hatch when it feels there is no threat around it. Your egg has remained unhatched for three years, following your so-called 'Dao,' most likely because it knows—there are powerful alien races outside."

It paused, then added:

"Perhaps it sees you as a big threat, and it will hatch once it is sure you have left."

Ji Tian remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Unexpectedly, after three years of his teachings, his fifth disciple still hadn't realized what a good person Ji Tian was, and even wanted to pretend that the hatching couldn't be completed so he could trick him.

As for whether the sect would be destroyed by his newly hatched fifth disciple after he left, Ji Tian wasn't too worried.

With Xue Li in charge of the sect, the other side won't be able to cause any trouble.

"Regarding the guardian spirit beast—"

"Don't mention it again," the red dragon interrupted him, its voice deep. "Dragons will never be slaves!"

Ji Tian glanced at it but didn't insist.

"Then you can become a guest retainer. I will not restrict your freedom, but if the sect is in trouble, you will need to lend a helping hand."

In this way, we don't have to pay for the dragon's food or modify the sect's protective formation, and we can still enjoy the dragon's help at crucial moments. It's like having a free mid-stage Golden Core fighter.

Simply perfect!

As Ji Tian thought this to himself, he couldn't help but admire his own extraordinary wisdom.

The red dragon remained silent for a long time.

It remembered the last words of the previous generation of red dragons.

This human in front of me is definitely not someone to be trifled with.

Guest ministers... are not considered slaves.

"Can."

A single word carries immense weight.

Ji Tian turned around, thinking, "This red dragon is really a loyal dragon," as he walked towards the edge of the ridge, casually retrieving the Emperor's Banner stuck in the rock and storing it in his Purple Mansion space.

His white robes fluttered gently in the night breeze, and the moonlight shone down again, illuminating him and giving him a silvery-white glow.

In the distance, Lilith stared, mouth agape, at the figure descending from the void, speechless for a long time.

"Master... are you a god or a human?"

Ji Tian did not answer this disciple who was demanding a title in return.

He walked past her and chuckled softly to the still conscious scarred demon, "Whatever your purpose, your final act of kindness saved you and your companions. It will be safe here for the next three days. Sleep now, and when you wake up, your injuries will be healed, and you will forget everything about us."

Then, without stopping, he simply said to Lilith:

"I'm gone."

"Where to?"

"Aren't you tired? Let's go back to Kolde City."

"...And what about the dragon?"

"Dragons always keep their promises. Since it made a promise, it naturally won't go back on its word." The main reason is that Ji Tian has already marked it, so if it runs away, he can just catch it and bring it back.

Lilith glanced back at the enormous red dragon on the ridge.

It was licking its nose, which had been injured by Ji Tian's foot, occasionally glancing up at this side with a complex expression, like an unreadable ancient book.

Lilith suddenly realized that the world seemed much bigger than she had imagined.

Her master was far more powerful than she had imagined.

She jogged after him, her steps light and quick.

"Master, have you forgotten to ask about the origin of magic, the relationship between demons and humans, and... the essence of the Heavenly Dao?"

Ji Tian paused, and it took him a long time to reply, "It is already a guest elder of the sect. There will be many more opportunities to ask in the future, so there is no need to rush."

"Oh dear," Lilith chuckled, covering her mouth, "Has Master forgotten?"

"...I haven't forgotten."

"Really? I don't believe it."

"Shut up, and ask yourself again as you walk back to Kolde."

"Hmph, Master is petty and narrow-minded."

"Um?"

"Master is handsome, dashing, and elegant. That move, 'Plucking Stars with Bare Hands,' was truly divine!"

"Um."

Lilith suddenly realized that apart from being a bit aloof, her master's personality was actually no different from that of a normal person.

For some reason, she felt that her master was more humane than before.

……

Behind them, the moonlight once again illuminated the entire mountain range.

The red dragon stood on the mountain ridge, watching the white figure gradually disappear into the distance, and let out a deep dragon roar.

There was no anger or resentment in that voice. Losing was losing, and there was nothing to argue about. At this moment, Old Long only felt a kind of indescribable emotion.

It's been two thousand years.

It finally met a human who could make it bow its head.

It finally understood the dying words of the previous generation of Red Dragon today.

A mountain breeze blew by, and the dragon's roar dissipated into the night sky.