Chapter 198
Chapter 198: Stepping on a Dragon’s Back, Riding a Dragon, Too Cool to Handle
Chong Ming said: “That Fireball is not your Phoenix clan’s Flame Sphere. You saw wrong.”
He dropped those words, then used teleportation to flash forward and head toward his room.
Zhong Li He pointed at his own eyes: “Chong Ming, you can doubt my character, but you cannot doubt my eyes.
“The Fireball that just flew out of that door is exactly my Phoenix clan’s Flame Sphere. Oh, I get it, you kidnapped a female bird from my Phoenix clan and do not want to admit it… hey, hey, where did he go?”
Kong Que reminded him from the side: “He went to that room over there…”
With a loud bang, Kong Que had not even finished speaking when Chong Ming, who was trying to use teleportation to enter the room, was bounced away at the doorway by a huge, invisible barrier. He slammed into the warship wall, making a deafening noise that cut off Kong Que’s words.
Kong Que moved in a flash to stand in front of Zhong Li He, blocking him behind his own body. He called up his supernatural abilities and stared warily at the Commander in Chief Chong Ming’s room where Chong Ming had just been thrown back from.
Chong Ming hit the warship wall so hard that a large dent appeared. He quickly got up, ready to rush in again.
Suddenly, the round metal door was blasted off from inside by a wave of heat.
The door floated in midair, then vaporized in an instant, corroded away and turning to ashes. Only scattered sparks drifted in the air.
Inside the room, red flames shot up to the ceiling. The warship’s alarm monitoring system blared: “Warning, warning, the warship is being eroded by a large fire and is burning. Attention, everyone, please leave the warship within three minutes…”
“Warning, warning, the warship is being eroded by a large fire and is burning. Attention, everyone, please leave the warship within three minutes…”
Zhong Li He grabbed Kong Que’s arm, excited and angry: “Flame Light, Flame Light, this is exactly the glow of a Flame Sphere. The proof is solid, and Chong Ming still says he did not kidnap a female from my Phoenix clan. That is going too far!”
“Do not get so worked up. Watch a bit longer first.” Kong Que turned his hand and held Zhong Li He’s, afraid he would rush in without caring about anything and get hurt by the blast.
Chong Ming rushed toward the room again and was blocked at the doorway once more by that huge wall of flame and barrier. No matter how many supernatural abilities he used to pound at it, he could not break through. The alarm blaring by his ear meant he could not ignore the lives of everyone on board.
He kept channeling his supernatural abilities to hammer that invisible barrier while shouting an order: “Everyone on the ship, listen up, evacuate the warship within two minutes…”
“Chong Ming, you do not need to worry. The flames only cover a small area. The fire will not burn down the whole warship.” Jiang Tea Tea’s voice came from inside the room, drowning out his words: “Tell them to keep piloting the warship normally and find a wide open area to land in.”
Chong Ming’s evacuation command turned in an instant: “Everyone does not need to evacuate. Captain, set a course and fly into the uninhabited zone over the Monke Great Grasslands.”
The captain at the controls replied at once: “Yes, Commander in Chief.”
At first, everyone on the warship felt nervous because of the alarm from the monitoring system. Hearing only half of the Commander in Chief’s first order made them even more nervous. But once they heard him say they did not have to evacuate, they relaxed. They all stayed at their posts and carried on calmly as usual.
Inside the room, the red Flame Light burned higher and hotter, growing larger and larger. Even the warship’s alarm siren was turning shrill from the heat.
Chong Ming trusted Jiang Tea Tea. He forcefully shut off the warship’s alarm monitoring system, then called toward her: “Jiang Tea Tea, are you hurt?”
Jiang Tea Tea answered: “I am not hurt. It is just that the room is too small and a bit too hot, but I can bear it.”
“Do not try to force your way in. You cannot get through.”
To keep the Phoenix clan’s nirvana rebirth Divine Fire from burning the entire warship to ashes, she had activated her Life-Bound Defensive Barrier to trap the fire inside this small room so it would not spread out.
Right now she regretted it so much she felt her guts turning green. If she had known that refining the Divine Fire together with her own spiritual power would be this strong and this fast, she would never have done it in such a tiny room. She would have looked for a huge open space and taken her time.
Chong Ming finally relaxed a little: “Alright, I will not force my way in. If anything happens, remember to call me.”
Jiang Tea Tea replied: “I know.”
Zhong Li He was completely stunned.
[What is going on? The one inside is Jiang Tea Tea?]
Zhenlin Empire’s Level S variant plant-type healing master Jiang Tea Tea?
How could her room be burning with the Flame Light of their race? Could it be that…
Zhong Li He’s sapphire blue eyes were full of shock.
Chong Ming stayed outside the room. Supernatural power danced in his palm, thunder and lightning crackling non-stop.
Inside the room, Jiang Tea Tea was being roasted by the red Flame Light, almost dried out like a tree trunk. The cubs in her belly were starting to get restless.
She called out toward Chong Ming outside: “Chong Ming, have we reached an open area yet? How far?”
Chong Ming turned his head to ask the captain. After he got the answer, he called back: “At most three minutes and we will arrive. You…”
Jiang Tea Tea cut him off: “Three minutes is fine. I can endure it.”
Chong Ming asked again: “Do you need water to put out the fire a bit?”
Jiang Tea Tea said: “No need. Just make the warship fly faster.”
Chong Ming answered: “Alright.”
The captain had already pushed the warship to its top speed. His display showed that the whole ship was in a high temperature blast zone and could explode at any time.
But the Commander in Chief Chong Ming’s orders were above everything. If he said the warship was fine, then it was fine. If he said people on board did not need to evacuate, then they did not evacuate.
Three minutes could be long or short, depending on who you were. For Chong Ming and Jiang Tea Tea, three minutes felt very long. For Zhong Li He, it felt very short.
Soon, Chong Ming called toward Jiang Tea Tea in the room: “Jiang Tea Tea, the warship is already over the Komon Great Prairie No Man’s Land. Do you want to come out?”
Jiang Tea Tea replied: “Open the hatch. I want to go out.”
Chong Ming said: “Alright. Come out, the hatch is open.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of heat rushed out at him. Then he saw Jiang Tea Tea wrapped in red flames sprint out of the room and run toward the warship’s hatch.
He lifted his foot and followed right behind her, but he could not get close. The red flames around her were too blinding and too scorching.
Zhong Li He’s eyes almost popped out of his head. He was beyond shocked: “Kong Que, Kong Que, I am not seeing things, right? Jiang Tea Tea is wrapped in a Flame Sphere and she is completely fine and still running?”
“She, she, she…”
Kong Que picked up his stuttering and asked: “Chief executive commander, do you want to go over and take a look?”
Zhong Li He snapped back to himself: “Yes, yes, go, go, hurry and follow them, hurry!”
He bolted after Chong Ming. Kong Que was afraid he would get hurt, so he did not stay even half a step behind him. He ran at his side, ready to protect him at any time.
Wherever Jiang Tea Tea ran, wrapped in red flames, the guards standing watch on the warship felt like they were being baked in a furnace. Those wearing hats were a bit better off. Those without hats had their hair catch fire.
Sparks popped out of the red flames and fell onto the floor, the walls, and people’s clothes. They either burned a hole or started small fires.
The guards and the guards on duty had to slap out the sparks on their own bodies while also putting out fires around them. The people from the repair department all rushed out when they got the call.
The warship was about two kilometers above the Monke Great Grasslands. From the warship looking down, they could still see clusters of white clouds.
Jiang Tea Tea ran to the mouth of the hatch. The strong wind blew apart her high ponytail. She was about to jump off the warship into the wind when a dragon roar sounded from behind her.
She shivered and turned her head inside the flames. She saw Chong Ming transforming into his Beast Form, a giant golden dragon flying up behind her.
The corners of her lips curled up. She twisted her body to the side. The huge golden dragon shot past behind her into the open air. She jumped off the warship and landed right on the dragon’s back.
The great golden dragon carried her and plunged downward.
Behind them, Zhong Li He was shocked again and again. He stood at the hatch, facing the wind, staring down for a long time before he finally found his voice: “Kong Que, if I remember right, our beastmen have a rule. Unless we have no other choice, our backs can only be ridden by a partner, parents, or a youngling, right, right?”
Kong Que let out a soft cough: “Yes, Chief executive commander. But Jiang Tea Tea’s status is special. If she were from the Western Kingdom and, at a life and death moment, she needed to step on your back, would you let her?”
Zhong Li He did not hesitate at all: “If she were a healer of my Western Kingdom, not to mention stepping on my back, she could even ride on my head.”
She was the only Level S variant plant-type ability healing master in all of interstellar space. She could teleport, she could fight, and she was adorable.
Any one of her good points hit him right in the heart. If such a little darling were in the Western Kingdom, they would have to hold her in their hands, hug her in their arms, and keep her in their mouths like a treasure so no one else could covet her.
Kong Que summed it up: “Commander in Chief Chong Ming thinks the same way you do. That is why Miss Jiang Tea Tea is allowed to step on his Beast Form back.”
Zhong Li He asked: “Do you want to go down with me and take a look?”
Kong Que nodded: “Of course.”
As soon as he said it, he took the initiative to transform into his Beast Form, a huge flying peacock. Green, bronze, black, blue, and light blue feathers interwove, extremely beautiful.
He flew out of the warship, flapped his wings, stopped in midair, and called out, urging Zhong Li He.
A moment ago Zhong Li He had still been talking about how a beastman’s back could only be stepped on by parents, a partner, or a youngling. Now he forgot all about that. He jumped directly onto Kong Que’s back, stepped on him, and let Kong Que carry him in a dive toward the ground.
That dragon roar from Chong Ming had been so loud it shook the ears. It was full of majesty and dominance. With his huge body leaping off the warship and Jiang Tea Tea standing on his back, it was a sight.
Everyone who was free on the warship crowded to the windows to look out. The Commander in Chief’s Beast Form was more than 200 meters long, close to 300.
He slipped down through the blue sky and white clouds. Just seeing his Beast Form made their blood and souls feel washed and shaken. If not for the walls of the warship between them, they would all have been forced into their own Beast Forms by his majestic presence and submitted to him.
Jiang Tea Tea did her best to control the flames, only letting them burn around her own body and not letting them scorch the flowing hair on Chong Ming’s back.
He was handsome in human form. In Beast Form he was even more overwhelmingly cool. Under the sunlight, his golden scales shone so brightly it was hard to put into words how amazing he looked.
If she did not have to focus on controlling and refining the flames, Jiang Tea Tea really wanted to ride on his back and have him take her for a long, fun flight.
Such a pity. This great chance had to be spoiled by these flames, getting in the way so she could not properly ride the mighty dragon and show off.
When they were only about ten meters from the ground, Jiang Tea Tea jumped straight off the golden dragon’s back and dove headfirst toward the earth.
With a deafening boom, the ground was smashed into a huge crater. Grass and dirt flew into the air, dust billowed, and the red flames burned wildly and hot. You could not see what was going on inside the fire at all.
Chong Ming landed on the rim of the crater and changed back into human form. The scorching firelight made his golden hair fly up. He tried hard to look into the flames to see Jiang Tea Tea, but he could not see anything.
The red flames swirled like a vortex, layer after layer coiling upward as they burned. It felt like they were burning Jiang Tea Tea and burning Mother Earth herself.
Zhong Li He jumped off Kong Que’s back and landed next to Chong Ming. He almost got cooked alive and quickly called up his supernatural abilities to use the Fire-against-Fire Technique. At the same time he still had the strength to scold Chong Ming: “Chong Ming, are you trying to die? Could you move back a bit? The flames of my Phoenix clan have powerful burning force. They can burn right through dragon scales.”
Chong Ming stared at the huge burning crater without moving a step, without even blinking: “The one burning in that fire is my person. Even if my dragon scales get burned through, I have to stay here with her.”