The cool winds of the Endless Snow Mountain whipped through the air as the White Dragon King leisurely sped up the mountainside.
Well, it might have been leisurely to him, but to Ruyue, it was nightmarish. This kind of speed was something she would barely be able to touch even if she was exerting all her effort and mana, but it was achieved by the White Dragon King like it was nothing.
As they ascended the mountain, the winds became increasingly fierce, and while Ruyue was being protected by the White Dragon King's mana, Damien was being hit by them directly.
"Ngh…"
The harsh cold and impact that continued to harass his face slowly roused Damien's consciousness. At that moment, his eyes began to flutter open.
"Ah!"
And they were shut just as soon as that happened. After all, the speed coupled with the ferocious wind was enough to almost injure his eyes in that slight instant.
'What the hell is going on?'
His memory was incredibly foggy after the fight with the Turbulent Blizzard Leopard tribe leader. Did he get captured? Was he being tortured? A myriad of questions swirled through his mind as he tried to understand the situation.
When he attempted to move, he only became more confused. 'What the hell? Am I being pinned down by a log or something?'
He could feel something like a tree trunk bearing down on his waist. The only problem was, there didn't seem to be ground underneath him.
Wanting to get to the bottom of the situation, Damien finally spread his awareness. And the first thing he saw was a massive face grinning at him from directly next to him.
"FUCK!"
A slightly girlish scream inadvertently left his mouth.
"Pfffft!" From the side, the faint sounds of a woman's giggles also filled the air, accompanied by the uproarious laughter of the man whose face Damien had just seen.
It didn't take an expert to realize it was Ruyue, though the identity of the man was still a mystery. Damien sighed in exasperation. Although he didn't understand the situation they were currently in, if Ruyue had the free time to laugh at his pathetic situation, then they shouldn't be in any danger.
Once he confidently spread his awareness once more, he was able to properly see his embarrassing posture, being carried like a sack of rice, but obviously he couldn't do anything about it.
Besides the fact that they were in the air and his mana was nearly drained, he couldn't escape the iron grip of that mysterious man.
With the knowledge that there was no immediate threat, Damien sunk into his consciousness and tried to sort out his blurred memories.
'Damn…I got curbstomped by that guy.'
The first thing that came back was the memory of getting ragdolled by the Incarnate Snow Beast King, and slowly but surely the rest came back to him.
The utter humiliation and rage he felt, the sudden transformation his body went through, the way he barraged the Beast King and achieved no results, and how he had been suppressed by the man who was currently holding him with only a bit of pressure.
Although the humiliation he felt was still present as he recalled these memories, the embarrassment and depression eclipsed it.
'I'm still so weak.'
He had fought a few 4th classes before and even bore Tian Yang's pressure, but he knew very well that in none of those instances did those beings ever take the situation seriously.
The first time was with Malcolm, and similarly to the situation now, he had blacked out. Only, he still didn't know what had happened at that time. As for the second time, it was a small bout with Rose's father, James. That one was even less serious, as besides testing his capabilities, the Adelaire Emperor barely lifted a finger.
Not once had he been in a situation where the 4th class being was antagonistic towards him, at least, not until today.
For the first time, he truly understood the gap between the two ranks. Sure, he had previously got a grasp of it through Tian Yang's aura suppression, but it was different today. He thought that at least he'd have a chance to escape, at least he'd get a few moves in or cause even the smallest scratch, but no.
He had been manhandled, and even when his opponent stood still and allowed him to attack, he couldn't inflict even the slightest of damage. He had even been kicked away like a little kid.
He couldn't help but sigh at his predicament, but it wasn't like it was his fault. How long had he been training? 4 years? 5 years? It was foolish to compare himself to these old monsters and expect to easily match them.
But that didn't mean he would never reach their level. People like him Ruyue and Long Chen were all considered as heavenly geniuses for having reached their current level at their age.
And while the main roadblock for those attempting to ascend to 4th class was comprehension and connection with the elements, comprehension had always been a forte of his.
Otherwise, there was no way his skills would rise in level so fast and evolve. It would be utterly inconceivable to other people if they ever found out about his rate of progression.
'That's right. Their main advantage is time. And time is something I have plenty of.'
In the coming years, the universe would likely be enveloped in the flames of war, and before that, he needed to become much stronger than he was now. If not, he'd just end up cannon fodder.
But that was years away. If he could ascend so much in a few years' time, he didn't feel he'd have a problem continuing with this speed as long as he truly worked for it.
He just needed that drive if he wanted to gain that power.
Flames of determination sparked within Damien's eyes. 'One day, I'll go back to that guy and beat him senseless. Let's see how he cries at that time.'
When Damien came out of his thoughts, he realized that the ferocious winds had relatively calmed down. The speed at which they were moving had also slowed.
Thinking it was safe, he finally decided to open his eyes once more.
"…Eh?"
Only to find himself flying forward. Landing on the snowy ground once more, he realized that he had been thrown. And no matter how much he wanted to voice his dissatisfaction, in front of a man who could suppress him so easily, he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.
This was another thing that Damien hadn't thought about paying attention to until this moment.
Bloodline suppression.
Previously, his bloodline was too mixed and muddled for any single species to suppress him. Their species would just never have the domination within his bloodline for suppression to even take effect.
But now, it was different. From his transformation alone, he realized that the dominance of his dragon bloodline had far exceeded his expectations. And now, it was completely possible for him to be turned into nothing by higher dragons with purer bloodlines.
A booming voice that seemed loud even though it was spoken at normal volume snapped him out of his thoughts.
"We've arrived. Welcome to my White Dragon Grotto."
