There is a heartbeat now.

After listening to Bad’s words, everyone present felt a bit disappointed, especially Long Xiaotian and his wife. Among those gathered, the ones most eager to eradicate the Chi Dragons were not Amy and the other women, but Long Xiaotian and his wife. Although Earth was once rich in resources, it lacked many materials needed to restore a Heavenly Dragon’s body. When Long Xiaotian saw Long Xuan’s core, his first thought was to help him recover, but it was impossible on Earth—they would have to return to the Heavenly Dragon Star. That’s why they so dearly wished to destroy all those cursed Chi Dragons outside.

The mass casualties among the Chi Dragons stunned Chi Huo and surprised Angus as well. He was the one who had revealed the Chi Dragons’ weakness to Ye Feng, but he hadn’t expected the Chinese to have developed so well while hiding in the depths of the sea these past five years.

After his initial shock, Chi Huo became furious. However, he wasn’t foolish enough to send more Chi Dragons to their deaths. Though the Chi Dragons’ ability to reproduce was not as difficult as the Heavenly Dragons’, it wasn’t much better either, so Chi Huo dared not let too many of his own die.

Angus’s army was sent up again, and this time the Chinese defenders showed no mercy, slaughtering a batch of Angus’s men.

After Angus’s forces suffered a crushing defeat, Chi Huo sent a small number of Chi Dragons to attack. The result was the same as the first wave: virtually all Chi Dragons entering the attack range were wiped out.

The assault lasted a day and a night. Seeing no results, Chi Huo finally ordered a retreat.

Angus dispatched a large number of men to monitor the area, then returned to land with Chi Huo.

“Is there only this one entrance?” Chi Huo asked angrily.

“So far, we’ve only found this one. My people are investigating,” Angus replied quickly.

“Hurry up and find another!” Chi Huo kicked Angus out.

Angus left in haste, his curiosity about Ye Feng’s location growing.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. During this month, though Angus sent many geologists to investigate the cave Ye Feng mentioned, they found nothing useful. After all, Ye Feng’s cave was once deep beneath the sea, and there was no historical record of it.

Angus also tried to use machines to bore a tunnel directly from above, but millions of years of sediment and compression had made the cave walls extremely hard. He tried every method, knocking at the cave from all sides, but achieved nothing, and finally had to give up in frustration. This failure infuriated Chi Huo yet again, though he refrained from killing Earthlings. Too many Chi Dragons had died in the last attack on the cave, and until he figured out what was happening, Chi Huo was unwilling to send more Chi Dragons to their deaths.

The Chi Dragons’ casualties dwindled, but the number of Angus’s men killed soared. Although Angus didn’t care much about their lives, at this rate he would soon be a commander without an army, so he began to search for solutions.

In these days, much of the cave’s energy had been consumed, but there were no casualties, which helped calm the unease that had marked the beginning of the conflict.

“It seems things have stabilized now. I never thought the Chi Dragons would be so timid—I was hoping to kill a few more,” Bad said with a laugh.

“Don’t get too cocky. How much energy have we consumed these days?” Hua Nengying retorted irritably.

“In this week, the cave entrance’s energy consumption was ten percent, but we replenish one percent of energy every day. So aside from the first day, when the expenditure was greater, the rest of the days have seen energy replenishment exceed consumption,” Bad replied with a smile.

“What if Chi Huo orders a full-scale assault? The combined force of all Chi Dragons is nothing like Angus’s useless subordinates,” Ye Shihan countered.

“Hmph, what’s there to fear? Unless they find a second entrance, they won’t get in here even in a hundred years! Our reserve energy from the past five years will be enough to break the Chi Dragons,” Bad declared confidently.

“I hope Ye Feng wakes up soon,” Amy said softly.

Bad lost his sense of triumph, and the atmosphere among the women turned somber; all began to miss Ye Feng deeply.

Meanwhile, Ye Feng’s mind had undergone a change. For reasons unknown, it reverted to its former state, only now it was even vaster.

While everyone was longing for Ye Feng, Bad’s voice suddenly rang out, “Look! Ye Feng’s heartbeat!”

All the women immediately looked up at the heart monitor beside the bed, and indeed saw powerful fluctuations in Ye Feng’s heartbeat.

“Bad! Is Ye Feng about to wake up?” Amy asked anxiously.

Bad gave another disappointing answer, “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know?” Amy questioned, bewildered. Bad suddenly signaled Ye Feng might wake, but then gave an uncertain reply, leaving Amy feeling out of control.

“Ye Feng has a heartbeat now, but he’s still not breathing,” Bad replied dejectedly.

“How is that possible? How can someone have a heartbeat but no breathing…” Ouyang Lanlan asked instinctively. But as soon as she finished, she remembered Ye Feng had survived even without a heartbeat or breathing—so what was impossible?

Ye Feng’s condition quickly drew Long Xiaotian’s attention. Gently pushing aside the women, he stepped forward to Ye Feng’s bedside and silently examined him.

Namgong Jing wanted to ask if he’d discovered anything, but Amy stopped her, noticing a change in Long Xiaotian’s expression—he’d apparently found something.

Sure enough, after a minute, Long Xiaotian turned to Amy and the others with a smile and said, “You can rest easy now. Ye Feng will definitely wake up within ten years—he’s passed through the most dangerous phase of self-sealing, and his body is almost fully recovered. However…”

Long Xiaotian’s pause made Amy and the others tense up again. “However what?” Namgong Jing asked urgently.

Seeing their nervous faces, Long Xiaotian smiled and said, “However, Ye Feng shouldn’t be considered human anymore. The energy in his meridians has begun to liquefy and is gathering in his dantian. I believe he’ll soon condense a solid core, which means he’s about to become a Heavenly Dragon.”

The women waited for Long Xiaotian to say more, but when he didn’t, Amy asked, “And then?”

“And then? There’s nothing more,” Long Xiaotian shrugged.

“Will there be any difference after he becomes a Heavenly Dragon?” Ye Shihan asked.

“There shouldn’t be any real difference. He’ll still be Ye Feng—only the way he uses his power will change,” Long Xiaotian replied with a smile.

Hearing this, the women finally breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of comfort filling their hearts. At last, they received definite news that Ye Feng would awaken, and their excitement was only natural.

[End of chapter]