My Crazy Upgrade System

While everyone was still lost in a torrent of explanations, Yi Tianyun had already attacked. His overwhelming assault instantly killed two Core Transformation Stage experts, the sheer power of the blow snapping many people back to their senses.

On second thought, he was right. The enemy was right before them; words were useless. With the Netherworld Empire’s National Preceptor standing right there, was he really just going to have a cup of tea and leave? Of course not. They were here to conquer the Celestial Dragon Empire.

The defenders were unwilling to give up, and the invaders were even more unwilling to leave. So, enough with the pointless talk. It was time to fight!

"Who is this kid?" the National Preceptor frowned, a sense of unease rising within him. ’Since when did the Celestial Dragon Empire have such a powerful expert?’

The banners he had deployed were unharmed, and his men were safe, but their defenses had clearly wavered. If the attack had been even a fraction stronger, it would have shattered them. Even after the initial impact was blocked, a secondary shockwave had radiated outward, instantly killing two Core Transformation Stage experts, to say nothing of the remaining Spirit Pill Stage cultivators. The power was truly staggering; he couldn’t fathom when the Celestial Dragon Empire had produced such a formidable warrior.

"I don’t know, but this kid doesn’t look simple! If we can take him out, we take him out first!" the Dragon Chancellor said, his face turning vicious. "So, ’invaders will die,’ is it? We’ll see if you can withstand our assault! Everyone, charge!"

"RAAAGH!"

With a great roar, the army charged toward the Celestial Dragon Imperial City. Despite Ren Long’s words, their resolve to conquer the Celestial Dragon Empire had not wavered in the slightest. The men from the Netherworld Empire, especially, would show no mercy.

To them, this was new territory to be claimed. The time to earn merits had come, and whether they could seize the opportunity depended on their own performance.

With Yi Tianyun’s single Sharp Arrow, the great battle erupted, ending the standoff. Inside the city, the many generals were already brimming with fighting spirit, their eyes burning with fury at the sight of the men from the Netherworld Empire.

"I never wanted to waste words on them, but I had to offer a rebuttal when they tried to shake our army’s morale," Ren Long sneered. "If I weren’t afraid of unsettling our own troops, I would have charged out there long ago! A bunch of traitors, a bunch of enemies!"

"Prepare for battle! Ready yourselves to repel their assault! We don’t need to rush out to meet them!" Ren Long commanded in a deep voice. "Archers, prepare! I want you to rain hell down on them!"

"Yes, sir!"

Squads of archers immediately took their positions on the city walls, wielding longbows forged from Low-Grade Soul Artifacts. They took aim at the charging army, drew their bowstrings taut, and prepared to attack.

"Fire!"

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Tens of thousands of Sharp Arrows shot forth, forming a dense, unavoidable rain of death in the sky. The Grand Generals leading the charge quickly launched fierce counterattacks to block the volley. Although they deflected a great many arrows, a significant number still rained down, piercing the charging soldiers through.

The ground was instantly stained red with blood, and its metallic stench quickly filled the air. Yet, this did not deter the attackers; on the contrary, it only stoked the fires of their battle lust!

"Sister, we go first!"

A glint flashed in Ren Long’s eyes as he clenched his fist. The power of the entire Celestial Dragon Empire began to thrum. A terrifying energy surged up from the ground, erupting as a massive pillar of light. From within it, a twenty- to thirty-meter-long Celestial Dragon coalesced and, without hesitation, pounced toward the charging army.

This was the effect of the Celestial Dragon Treasure—the ability to summon a massive Celestial Dragon to fight one’s enemies. Though formed from pure Spiritual Power, its pale-yellow Dragon Scales looked incredibly lifelike. With a roar, it charged through the air toward a Core Transformation Stage expert.

This Celestial Dragon was incredibly powerful, possessing a cultivation level equivalent to the seventh layer of the Core Transformation Stage. Though it couldn’t defeat a Void Spirit Stage expert, its key feature was its immortality! As long as the Celestial Dragon Treasure was not drained of energy and the grand defensive array remained intact, this Celestial Dragon could never truly die and feared no attack.

This was the terrifying aspect of the Celestial Dragon Treasure. It could exist indefinitely, rendering all attacks useless. How could that not inspire fear?

ROAR!

Immediately after, another Celestial Dragon burst from a pillar of light. This one was clearly smaller, only a little over twenty meters long, a fair bit smaller than the first. It was not summoned by Ren Long, but by Ren Zhirou. The cultivation level and size of the summoned Celestial Dragon depended on the strength of the summoner.

Each person could only summon one Celestial Dragon, which was why the more people capable of controlling the Celestial Dragon Treasure, the better.

The two Giant Dragons plunged into the enemy ranks, swinging their massive Dragon Claws down viciously. Entire squads of soldiers, unable to evade the attacks, were swatted to death. These two Celestial Dragons alone were enough to hold back a large portion of the invading army.

"Gods, a Celestial Dragon... Quick, run!"

"Our attacks have no effect! They pass right through its body without doing any damage..."

"H-help me!"

The soldiers screamed in terror, throwing down their weapons and armor in a panic. They no longer dared to advance. In an instant, the troops in those two sectors of the battlefield fell back in disarray, not daring to approach the dragons.

"Mere worms, and you dare to act so insolently!"

The National Preceptor sneered. The banners circling his body shot out, forming rings of light that instantly enveloped and trapped one of the Celestial Dragons. No matter how the dragon struggled, it could not break out of the luminous cage. The rings of light only tightened, constricting its movements until all it could do was roar from within its prison.

Then, another two banners flew out and trapped the second Celestial Dragon, leaving it completely unable to break free.

In the blink of an eye, both Celestial Dragons were trapped. They were immortal, true, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be restrained. And as long as a summoned dragon had not completely dissipated, its summoner could not call forth another.

The two Celestial Dragons were completely suppressed and unable to fight. Many people within the Imperial City watched in stunned silence.

The supposedly immortal Celestial Dragons had been captured just like that. If this continued, all the enemy had to do was break through the city’s defensive shield. Once that was done, a full-scale invasion would be unstoppable!

"You two little brats, did you really think we were a bunch of reckless fools who would charge in here blindly?" the Dragon Chancellor sneered. "Don’t worry, I’ll take ’good care’ of you. This power will no longer belong to you. It will belong to me!"

"Those are Dragon-Slaying Banners, specifically crafted to subdue dragons. The National Preceptor really came prepared!" Ren Long’s face fell. Their summoned Celestial Dragons had been instantly suppressed. The surge of morale their side had just gained was snuffed out in a heartbeat.

"So those Dragon-Slaying Banners he keeps around him are that effective. I think I get the gist of it now..." Yi Tianyun said with a faint smile. "In that case, I’d like to see just how many dragons he can actually subdue!"

A glint flashed in his eyes. The entire Celestial Dragon Imperial City began to tremble violently as a pillar of light shot toward the heavens. A moment later, a fifty- to sixty-meter-long Celestial Dragon came roaring out of the light, its overwhelming Celestial Dragon Power pressing down on everything in the vicinity—the might of a first-layer Void Spirit Stage cultivator!

In that instant, everyone stared, utterly dumbfounded. ’Another Celestial Dragon?’