Chapter 153: A First Glimpse of the Power of a Domain 1

“You bastard! You’re courting death!”

The human Grand Elder had been left completely dumbfounded by what had just happened.

It took him several moments to recover.

Then rage exploded across his face, and he roared at the top of his lungs.

“You were given a chance and still refused to take it! Fine—beat the hell out of them!”

Kent, meanwhile, had already bounded back onto the Dragon Turtle’s back in just a few leaps.

There was no trace whatsoever of the frail appearance he had shown when descending earlier.

The dark elf Grand Elder nearly tore out his own beard when he saw it.

That was a height of several dozen meters!

Even he couldn’t jump that high without using battle aura.

Kent’s speed and agility left everyone present staring in disbelief.

Was this really a mage?

Those movements were damned near more agile than a rogue’s.

Once Kent reached the Dragon Turtle’s back, he immediately noticed Daphne’s shocked expression.

Faint tear tracks still glistened on her cheeks.

Kent’s heart softened.

She must have been terrified when she saw what he had done just now.

He reached out and gently wiped the tears from her face.

Only then did the human Grand Elder’s furious roar reach him.

Kent turned around at once and cursed back without hesitation.

“I gave you people face, and you threw it away! I already apologized, didn’t I? What more do you want?”

He glared down at the human Grand Elder.

“What? Still not satisfied?”

At this moment, Kent looked as arrogant as anyone possibly could.

The only thing missing was for him to jump down and challenge the human Grand Elder to a one-on-one duel.

“Bastard!”

The human Grand Elder was nearly beside himself with rage.

“If you’ve got the ability, then show it!”

“Hm?”

Kent blinked.

Then he slapped the Dragon Turtle on the head.

“He’s talking to you, big guy. Didn’t you hear him?”

Kent was now sitting directly atop the Dragon Turtle’s enormous head.

One hand gripped one of its horns, while the other rested around Daphne’s slender waist.

Kent had always been afraid of heights, and at this altitude his legs felt unpleasantly light beneath him.

“He said if you’ve got the ability, then show it.”

Kent patted the Dragon Turtle again.

“Forbidden spells, whatever you’ve got—just throw them out.”

“You... you bastard...!”

The human Grand Elder was so furious that he could barely form a complete sentence.

Kent, however, had no intention of wasting even the smallest opportunity to strike at his enemy.

He immediately sneered.

“You’ve lived this long, yet you can’t even speak properly. And you still have the nerve to show your face in public?”

“If I were you, I’d find some deserted corner and smash my own head against a wall.”

He continued mercilessly.

“And after cultivating for several hundred years, you’re still weaker than my mount.”

Kent shook his head dramatically.

“Embarrassing. Absolutely embarrassing.”

“You little—”

The human Grand Elder’s blood surged violently through his body.

At last, he could no longer suppress it.

“Pfft!”

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.

In the next instant, a terrifying aura erupted from him as he charged straight toward Kent and the Dragon Turtle.

“Hahaha! Old ghost, your opponent is me!”

The dark elf Grand Elder burst into laughter and shot forward to intercept him.

Even then, he didn’t forget to add another insult.

“No wonder these youngsters mock you. Just look at your composure.”

He clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk. You do realize this little fellow isn’t even of age yet, don’t you?”

The dark elf Grand Elder was in an excellent mood.

He had never imagined that his old rival would one day be humiliated so thoroughly by a mere youngster.

Granted, this youngster was frighteningly capable.

But a youngster was still a youngster.

“Are you dark elves truly going to interfere in a conflict between humans?”

The human Grand Elder’s expression darkened the moment he saw the dark elf Grand Elder block his path.

He abruptly stopped and shouted,

“You know perfectly well that the major races have an agreement!”

At the same time, Kent was fumbling around frantically, apparently searching for something.

“Heh. You’re right about that, old ghost.”

The dark elf Grand Elder also came to a stop.

“The agreement clearly states that the various races are not to interfere in one another’s internal affairs.”

The human Grand Elder’s eyes immediately lit up.

But a moment later, doubt appeared on his face.

His old rival was still smiling.

Far too happily.

The human Grand Elder couldn’t help demanding,

“If you know the agreement exists, then what exactly do you think you’re doing now?”

“I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood something.”

The dark elf Grand Elder answered at an unhurried pace.

“This young fellow is an Honorary Elder of the dark elf race. I believe your Human Council of Elders should already have received our formal notice.”

He smiled faintly.

“So this can hardly be called an internal human matter.”

As he spoke, the corner of his eye happened to catch Kent hurriedly pinning on the badge that identified him as a dark elf Honorary Elder.

The corner of the Grand Elder’s mouth twitched.

Sure enough, Kent immediately seized the opportunity.

The moment he heard the dark elf Grand Elder’s words, he quickly dug out the badge and raised his voice.

“Exactly! I was clearly carrying a badge that proved my identity, yet your people still tried to arrest me and even kill me to silence the matter!”

Kent pointed accusingly toward the humans.

“If this is how you treat an Honorary Elder of the dark elves, then what happens to ordinary dark elves?”

He immediately turned toward the dark elf Grand Elder.

“Grand Elder, I strongly suggest carrying out a thorough investigation of Salt City.”

His expression turned cold.

“Maybe some of the dark elves who disappeared in the past are still hidden somewhere inside this city.”

“And if they aren’t...”

Kent gave a chilling smile.

“Then perhaps they were killed afterward to eliminate the evidence.”

“You... you!”

The human Grand Elder nearly choked with rage.

His blood surged even more violently through his body.

Kent’s words were another public slap across his face.

Worse, if people actually accepted Kent’s accusation, then Salt City itself would be branded as little more than a den of bandits and slave traders.

Salt City represented the work of the human Grand Elder’s entire life.

A portion of it had already been destroyed by the Dragon Turtle.

Was he now supposed to stand by and watch the entire city fall into someone else’s hands as well?

“What are you stammering about?”

Kent snapped.

“If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear from ghosts knocking at your door.”

He sneered.

“You don’t dare let us investigate, do you? Then that only proves there are things inside this city that can’t withstand scrutiny.”

Kent turned toward the dark elf Grand Elder.

“Grand Elder, I’ll go take a look myself. You keep this old fellow occupied.”

With that, Kent leaned down and whispered a few words into the Dragon Turtle’s ear.

The Dragon Turtle nodded.

Its enormous body rapidly shrank, and in the next moment it carried Kent and Daphne straight toward the inner city.

Kent had never liked privileged classes very much.

Back on Earth, there had been little he could do about such things. At most, he could complain on internet forums and vent some of the frustration in his heart.

But this world was different.

Here, Kent possessed enough strength to smash through those relationships of privilege instead of merely complaining about them.

And more importantly—

this was Salt City.

A city that had existed for ten thousand years.

The amount of wealth accumulated here was almost unimaginable.

Rare materials, magical resources, treasures, family vaults...

Any clan capable of surviving in such a city for thousands of years would possess wealth beyond ordinary imagination.

“Bastard! You dare?!”

The human Grand Elder roared.

In the next instant, an overwhelming force erupted from his body and swept outward like a tidal wave.

Kent suddenly felt the entire world around him change.

The air transformed into flame.

Yet the flames looked strangely unreal, almost as though they were only half real and half illusion.

Kent stared in shock as the skin on his arms began to dry and crack beneath the heat.

But what truly terrified him was something else.

He couldn’t move.

Not even a finger.

“A Domain...”

Kent whispered the words in alarm.

His breathing had become difficult.

The temperature of the surrounding flames was steadily rising.

Daphne was gone.

The Dragon Turtle was gone as well.

Kent immediately understood what had happened.

This was the power of a Domain—

the power cultivated by those who had stepped into the Legendary realm.

A Domain was the manifestation of the laws comprehended by a Legendary expert.

Even two experts of the same elemental affinity would not necessarily develop identical Domains.

Within one’s own Domain, the caster was effectively a god.

Of course, Domains themselves differed enormously in strength.

At the highest level, a Domain could become indistinguishable from a true world.

And within such a world, its creator would possess absolute authority—

a god who controlled everything.

Kent couldn’t help cursing himself for being reckless.

The Domain surrounding him was obviously still immature. It lacked solidity and carried a faintly illusory quality.

But no matter how incomplete it might be—

it was still a Domain.

Fortunately, Kent soon discovered one small piece of good news.

Although his body was completely immobilized, he could still circulate both his magical power and battle aura.

Under the circumstances, that was at least something worth being grateful for.

As time dragged on, Kent’s condition worsened rapidly.

His skin had already been roasted bright red. The fine hairs on his body had curled and burned away, while even his hair had begun to turn yellow from the relentless heat.

Time inside a Domain did not flow in quite the same way as it did outside.

That realization only made Kent more anxious.

He had no idea whether the people outside had found any way to break through this embryonic Domain.

The instant the human Grand Elder released his Domain, the Dragon Turtle had immediately returned to its true form at astonishing speed.

The dark elf Grand Elder was startled as well.

By then, Kent had already vanished from sight.

For a brief moment, the Dragon Turtle hesitated.

If Kent died here, the contract binding them would disappear.

It would be free again.

That thought was undeniably tempting.

Yet at the same time, the Dragon Turtle found itself strangely reluctant to let Kent die.

The brat clearly still had plenty of valuable things hidden away.

Dragon blood was only one example.

As long as it continued following Kent, there would almost certainly be more benefits waiting in the future.

And so the Dragon Turtle remained there, caught between freedom and profit, unable to make up its mind.

Inside the Domain, Kent’s consciousness was already beginning to blur.

Dehydration.

He recognized the symptoms immediately.

Only then did another thought strike him.

If he died, the Dragon Turtle would regain its freedom.

Kent cursed himself inwardly.

At the same time, one truth became clearer than ever.

No matter how powerful one’s companions were, the most reliable strength would always be the strength one possessed personally.

His thoughts raced desperately.

His body couldn’t move.

Not even slightly.

So what could he possibly do?