Chapter 249 – Shackles of the Flesh, Water Mirror in a Daze

Although Dragon Strength Warrior Uta was a special individual blessed with gifts from his past life and possessed fragmented memories of it, his understanding of this world and various concepts remained shallow.

His past life had also been that of a martial fanatic solely devoted to cultivation and combat.

He cared nothing for rarity, excellence, or epic grades—in his eyes, there were only two concepts: strong or weak—those he could defeat and those he couldn’t.

His lifelong pursuit was to grow stronger, continuously stronger, surpassing his limits time and again.

And Epic Evolution seemed to be a blessing bestowed upon them by the Great Lord, capable of significantly enhancing their combat power and potential.

Naturally, Uta also yearned for evolution.

Epic Evolution required prior application along with payment of a massive sum of Contribution Points.

By escorting merchant caravans to and from Stone Ridge Town, assisting hunting corps in eliminating troublesome monsters, helping transport teams move goods, and even tasks like felling trees or moving boulders as large as small hills, he could earn varying amounts of Contribution Points.

Additionally, according to the Lord’s words, he could also receive an ‘initial fund’ and a ‘base salary’.

Both of these were determined by an individual’s grade and Rank.

But even with his decent base salary and taking on four or five side jobs a day, his Contribution Points fell far short of what was needed for Epic Evolution.

He currently only met the minimum application requirement of a ‘30% down payment’.

Uta expressed that it didn’t matter to him.

Contribution Points could be exchanged for Soul Sand or used to purchase leisure and entertainment items, as well as delicious feasts, but Uta had no need for such things. With the Lord providing food, shelter, and cultivation resources, what more could he want?

Oh, there was one use for Contribution Points that Uta did find somewhat enticing.

He could use Contribution Points to ‘commission’ other senior brothers and sisters to serve as his sparring partners—in other words, for combat.

The Red-Clad Lady from the Next-door Burial Mound and the esteemed Senior Dolai, reputedly second only to Tianyuan, were undoubtedly powerful, but their willingness to fight was low.

However, currently, he could spar daily with Brother Sario and occasionally engage in passionate hand-to-hand combat with Brother Rakshasa, so his need for combat commissions wasn’t urgent.

Let’s focus on evolution then.

It was said that after evolution, one could gain new powers? The thought was rather exciting.

In the afternoon, Dragon Strength Warrior Uta returned to the territory carrying a giant beast the size of a small hill on his shoulder, thumping it down in the hunting corps’ storage area.

He waved goodbye to the brothers at the outpost and hurried to the City Lord’s Mansion.

The front hall of the City Lord’s Mansion served as the main administrative area.

An incarnation of Isloria was usually stationed here to oversee operations, but it wasn’t a 24-hour job; often, she would finish work by 10 or 11 p.m.

Since Uta arrived in the afternoon, well before dinner time, Isloria was naturally present.

“Are you applying for Epic Evolution?Isloria leaned over the desk, swiftly processing documents with swish swish swish sounds. Under the Lord’s trust and heavy responsibilities, her professional skills had become increasingly refined, and her work efficiency had steadily improved.

While working, she released a Starlight Orb.

The orb flew to Warrior Uta, emitting an AI-synthesized voice about seventy to eighty percent similar to Isloria’s, “Warrior Uta, please follow me.”

Then it rolled forward, leading the way to the side of the front hall.Here, there was a room spanning thirty to forty square meters, with three walls adorned with massive crystal screens and an operation console in the center.

This was a simplified system created by Isloria using her Starlight Orb, combined with some of Taixuan’s alchemical techniques.

The system was still in its trial phase, with very limited functions—it could only query and record the personal contributions of various commanders and elites.

There were still many areas that needed refinement.

Mu Yuan’s plan was to build a true Starlight Network, but this project was still in the “new folder” stage.

Uta, of course, would not use this system himself. Instead, he watched as a tentacle extended from the Starlight Orb and tapped rapidly on the operation console.

“Deduct 3000 Contribution Points as the down payment for the Epic Evolution?”

“After this deduction, One-Star Commander Uta will have 2.6 Contribution Points remaining.”

“Note: After applying, you will incur a debt of 7000 Contribution Points. This loan is interest-free but has a repayment deadline.”

“Apply?”

Uta directly pressed his handprint.

Meanwhile, Isloria was communicating with Mu Yuan.

“Hmm, the schedule is set for tonight? Alright then.”

“My own evolution isn’t really urgent. I’d rather have more funds allocated for procurement… Ah, I was just saying that casually. I know how tight the territory’s finances are.”

Although Isloria claimed she wasn’t in a hurry, Mu Yuan knew she still yearned for evolution.

No one didn’t crave evolution.

Nowadays, Sophia was increasingly extravagant in purchasing various Remnant Souls for him, and the growth of Evolution Points across several major systems was quite rapid. In his daily routine, Mu Yuan had rarely been evolving Epic units, instead focusing on evolving some rare Three-Star and outstanding One-Star units.

He was waiting for the commanders to apply on their own.

He intended to gradually implement the Contribution Points system.

Isloria’s rate of earning Contribution Points was second only to Tianyuan, even slightly surpassing a certain “Dodo.” However, she also spent her Contribution Points lavishly, often conducting strange experiments.

If she wanted to apply for an Epic Two-Star evolution, her Contribution Points were still a bit short—referring to a full payment application.

Isloria didn’t want to take out a loan.

She sat in the office every day, with the Contribution Points system right beside her. The thought of opening her eyes to see herself drowning in debt was too miserable.

At night,

Mu Yuan stood on the top floor of the Intermediate Mage Tower, gazing toward the western part of the territory.

The evolution site was still arranged in this area. However, since Uta was not an undead, the ritual altar set up outside the Graveyard was activated.

Through the Lord’s vision, he could see Isloria already leading Sickle Moon and other cameramen, preparing to observe and collect firsthand data.

Lu Liu, Sario, Rakshasa, and others, along with a group of self-aware elites, had come to cheer and offer support.

“Compared to the breakthrough site in Boulder City, ours is still too rudimentary.”

No, it couldn’t just be called rudimentary—it was almost devoid of anything.

If there were a high-level breakthrough ground, it would naturally aid the evolution and epiphanies of the commanders.

Mu Yuan did not go to the Evolution Grounds. Instead, he stayed atop the Mage Tower and pointed into the distance at the fully prepared Uta.

The heavenly light of evolution descended.Ulish transformed into light, a pillar soaring to the heavens. To be honest, it somewhat resembled the energy pillar during a Legendary Rank breakthrough, but the light of evolution was purer and warmer. Even undead creatures expressed that bathing in this radiance was extremely comfortable.

Within the evolutionary light, Ulish’s figure still hadn’t grown taller.

By human standards, he appeared robust and powerful, but among the Dragon Strength Swordsmen who could run horses on their arms, he was considered a ‘skinny lad’. The female Dragon Strength Swordsmen around him were all more muscular than he was.

Speaking of which, Xiliu appeared quite slender even among the dragonkin.

That is, unless she underwent dragon transformation.

Around the evolution site, people maintained silence, eagerly watching with anticipation.

The frost dragon Sario stared intently at the figure within the light with his massive eyes, feeling inexplicably nervous.

After a while,

Mu Yuan heard the system notification in his ear.

“Ding!”

“Notification: Your unit ‘Dragon Strength Warrior Uta’ has bathed in the evolutionary radiance, evolved into an Epic One-Star lifeform, and awakened the Epic Skill ‘Flesh Shackles’.”

“Notification: Dragon Strength Warrior Uta’s talent ‘Heaven Rewards Diligence (Incomplete)’ has received some enhancement.”

And that was it.

Uta’s status panel remained straightforward even after evolution.

But perhaps he truly didn’t need flashy skills – when the physical body is tempered to its extreme, every punch and kick becomes a lethal technique.

As for physical tempering…

After Uta’s Rank improved, initially he couldn’t withstand even a single Dragon Claw from Sario. But now, he could shatter one of Sario’s scales even when the dragon went all out.

The progress was quite remarkable – especially considering Sario was also making progress.

“The greatest strength of Heaven Rewards Diligence seems to be its ability to repeatedly break through limits – as long as one trains diligently, improvement is guaranteed.”

“However, it cannot make Warrior Uta’s combat power surge rapidly in a short time.”

The newly awakened Epic Skill could accomplish this.

“Flesh Shackles”

“Description: Unseals the shackles of the physical body, allowing it to enter an overloaded state for a short period, while dramatically enhancing combat intuition and recovery capabilities.”

“Note ①: Unlocking the Flesh Shackles places significant strain on the body. Maintaining this state beyond the load limit for extended periods will damage one’s life Origin.”

“Note ②: This skill can also apply a layer of shackles to oneself. In the ‘Shackled’ state, strength, speed, and energy are restricted, but training efficiency is higher. Training in the ‘Shackled’ state can also improve the body’s load-bearing capacity and extend the duration of complete unsealing.”

On the ritual Altar, Warrior Uta clenched his fist.

“Amazing, truly amazing.”

“I’ve become stronger.”

Much stronger!

And this skill…

Uta quickly understood. He restrained his energy and reversely applied the Shackles skill. Crimson chains materialized from the Void Realm, clattering as they enveloped his entire body.

They contracted inward.

Faded and disappeared.

Uta immediately felt his body grow heavy.

He threw a punch, his entire being as if submerged in a swamp – every movement required overcoming tremendous resistance, and energy circulation became sluggish.

Moreover, he needed to constantly expend effort to resist the shackles, otherwise they would tighten progressively until even breathing became difficult.

This feeling…

“Absolutely fantastic!”

Uta had previously attempted weighted training, but Master Li had clearly stated that the weight he required would be too massive, and the forged training equipment would be extremely cumbersome and impractical.

In daily life, Uta could only train using mountain rocks.So he often took on odd jobs with the transport team, going out into the wilderness to dig up one small hill after another, carrying entire hills back. This way, he could both complete his work and train himself.

But mountain rock training was far inferior to the Flesh Shackles.

The shackles brought about an all-encompassing suppression.

From now on, he would carry the small hills while bound by the shackles.

…

Even after evolving, Uta still failed to achieve dragon transformation, with not even the slightest dragon-like characteristic visible on him.

But he was still a dragon.

He got along quite well with Sario, who was also a dragon.

Mainly because one was willing to fight, and the other was willing to take it.

Therefore, Sario didn’t bother with formalities and directly asked Uta about his evolutionary gains.

“Gains?”

Uta scratched his head, “Didn’t we all awaken one skill?”

Sario asked, “And then?”

Uta: “What do you mean ‘and then’?”

Sario fell silent.

He had been somewhat worried that after Uta’s evolution, his authority as the big brother might be challenged, but…

Now he actually felt a bit sorry for Uta.

Indeed, Uta had fewer skills than even some of the territory’s elites. This guy just couldn’t learn skills no matter what.

Previously, the Lord had brought back a stone tablet inscribed with the ‘Sprint’ skill.

His Frost Dragon nature made it unsuitable for him to learn, so that’s beside the point. Many elites in the territory had mastered it to some extent, but Uta simply couldn’t understand or learn it no matter how hard he tried.

For such an Uta to only obtain the basic guaranteed skill during his epic evolution seemed almost expected.

Sario raised his dragon claw and patted Uta, deciding not to mention his own evolutionary effects to avoid hurting little brother Uta’s feelings.

But Uta never felt sorrowful; he simply challenged Brother Sa to a fight.

“Fine, let this dragon see how much you’ve improved after evolution.”

…

After all, Uta had evolved, and the shockwaves from their clashes at similar power levels would be much stronger than before. Continuing to fight within the Skull Graveyard now felt somewhat restrictive.

They went to the northwest area of the territory, outside the City Walls, adjacent to the Gloomy Forest.

Originally, going further from the territory, say several kilometers or even over ten kilometers away, would have allowed them to fight with even fewer worries, without the risk of accidentally hitting the City Walls.

But currently, it was the Crimson Mist disaster month, and there were no safe environments in the wilderness.

Outside the territorial boundaries, the Crimson Mist drifted in wisps, causing erosion damage to anyone entering.

Even Uta didn’t want to idly soak under the Crimson Mist.

In the northwest area, inside the City Walls.

There was an exquisitely crafted, magnificent Dragon’s Nest constructed from ice.

The slender and elegant Water Mirror Dragon, known as the beauty among dragons, was resting here.

It was a proud dragon.

Having said it wouldn’t speak a word to the Lord for a month, it absolutely wouldn’t speak a word. It even spent most of its time holed up in its own Dragon Nest, aside from absorbing Soul Sand for cultivation, it either created water sources for the neighboring snow women or imprinted marks on blank Spell Scrolls.

It wouldn’t go on strike; a proud dragon disdained eating and living for free.

But if the Lord wanted to ask it to come out and fight, hmph, it definitely wouldn’t agree.

It was the Water Mirror Dragon! In its memory fragments, many great dragons wanted to be its admirers, yet the Lord actually paid it no mind.

How was it inferior to that so-called Uta?

Dragons had always been this noble, after all.Tiff, the Water Mirror Dragon, sensing the dragon’s aura beyond the city walls, could no longer suppress her curiosity and gathered water to form a mirror of liquid.

On the water mirror, the white mist gradually receded to both sides, revealing a human and a dragon confronting each other two thousand meters away.

“Uta and Sar… something?”

“These two are fighting again. How boring.”

Tiff had only interacted with Dolai, Isloria, Lu Liu, Xiliu, and the Snow Maidens, but she had some knowledge of the main personnel in the territory.

Especially that frost dragon, Sar… something.

After all, it was a noble dragon like her.

Even if it was an undead dragon, which she somewhat despised, it was still a dragon.

“How could Uta, a mere human with a bit of dragon bloodline, possibly fight a frost dragon?”

She snorted lightly.

A few days or perhaps over ten days ago, she had witnessed Uta battling Sar… something. Without a doubt, Uta had been utterly defeated in that fight.

This Uta never learns. She couldn’t understand what the Lord saw in him.

Outside the city walls.

Sario and Uta had fought many times before, so there was no need for pleasantries.

“Brother Sario, I’m coming at you.”

Uta shed the training restraints on his body, returning to his “normal state.” Although he would have preferred to fight a strong opponent while still under “restraints,” facing Brother Sario demanded his full strength as a sign of respect.

With a low shout, surging energy erupted from him, and a faint white aura visibly emanated from his body.

The ground cracked open with countless fissures as Uta, the warrior, vanished from Sario’s sight with sheer, incredible speed.

Only a faint afterimage remained in his original spot.

Sario was well-acquainted with Uta’s offensive methods.

He began with Dragon’s Might to intimidate.

Dragon’s Might was an innate ability, activated at will, and did not interfere with his simultaneous use of other skills.

The second skill Sario chose was the Extreme Cold Tide, which indiscriminately covered the surrounding area.

Starting with two control skills and then attacking based on the situation—this was Sario’s combat strategy. After all, Uta had reached the Epic rank, sharing the same tier as him.

Sario was confident but not careless.

The cold tide erupted, frost tinged with a faint blue rapidly spreading in all directions, covering an extensive area as if intending to freeze and solidify the entire world.

Sario did not hesitate to expend energy lavishly. As a dragon, his energy reserves far surpassed others, giving him the capital to be extravagant.

“Left side!”

The frost outlined a robust figure.

The encroaching ice shattered under the impact of surging energy, but it still significantly slowed Uta’s speed.

“Dragon Claw!”

Sario’s massive claw glowed with a blue-black light as he simultaneously controlled the Extreme Cold Tide, contracting it from both ends toward the center, forcing Uta into an inescapable position.

The dragon claw slammed down.

He smashed Uta into the ground, but when he tried to retract his claw, it was stuck. The next moment, immense force transmitted through, lifting his massive dragon body and hurling it to the other side.

Boom—

Dust billowed.

Amid the dust, two large, eerie blue flames appeared, followed by the vague form of a massive dragon gradually becoming clearer.

Sario emerged from the dust, completely unharmed.

“As expected of Brother Sario.”

But Sario was also surprised—Uta’s strength had surpassed his by a considerable margin.

Truly worthy of a brute who had fully tempered his physical body.

Of course,

“With just this, it’s still far from enough to defeat the great Sario…”Before he could finish speaking, he saw Uta the Strongman’s expression turn serious, adopting a horse stance as if charging up.

From within Uta’s body, one, two, three pale red chains materialized, clattering loudly before shattering completely in the next moment.

He had previously been in his normal state without shackles.

Now, he had truly entered his explosive state after breaking through the Flesh Shackles.

He no longer had limits!

It was as if a spring had appeared within his body, surging with boundless energy, continuously gushing forth.

So much that Uta couldn’t control it all.

The excess energy continuously dissipated, forming a pale red aura around his body that blazed like flames, stirring up a violent storm of wind and dust.

It seemed to form a violent tornado centered around him.

“Brother Sario, here I come”

In the storm, Uta’s lingering voice stretched infinitely, his face gradually contorting under the violent energy aura, leaving only the most surging, most powerful momentum.

Unstoppable.

A momentum that could kill with a single punch.

Sario: “???”

Wait, it wasn’t ready yet.

But intuitively, a terrifying pressure was already surging from straight ahead. Sario didn’t dare hesitate in the slightest—it didn’t want to, nor dared to test the destructive power of Uta’s punch in this state.

It would kill a dragon!

“Bone Spike, Multiple Bone Gates!”

It slammed its claws onto the ground, causing the earth to surge like waves. Countless pale white bone spikes emerged from the ground, instantly forming one after another massive bone gates over ten meters tall directly in front of it.

Three sturdy bone gates stood firmly on the earth.

Bang bang bang—

All three bone gates shattered completely.

The pale red figure paused briefly, retracting his clenched fist to his waist, focusing intently as he shouted low.

“Dragon God Fist.”

The energy aura erupted once more as he dragged a long trail of energy, charging straight toward Sario.

Sario’s eyes widened.

Extreme Cold Tide? Frost Dragon Breath? Bite?

No, none would work.

They would be torn apart.

It would kill a dragon, kill a dragon!

Sario’s eyes reflected the red figure. Under the great crisis and terror, it too became completely focused.

It desperately output energy, swinging down its solid dragon claw.

At this moment, Sario’s dragon claw and dragon might resonated under some opportunity.

Faintly, a giant dragon shadow appeared in midair.

「Prompt: Your unit ‘Sario’ has achieved a breakthrough in Concept, simultaneously advancing to the high-level ‘Dragon Concept’.」

Such a prompt sounded in Mu Yuan’s ears.

Boom—!

Behind Uta, the earth shattered and erupted with pillars of mud and sand like fountains.

Behind Sario, the penetrating fist force tore through the earth, leaving a massive fissure that gradually widened on both sides.

Half a second later,

Thud—

Uta fell backward, “As expected of Brother Sario.”

Sario panted, most of its scales shattered, with numerous bones fractured.

Its soul fire was still thumping intensely.

Just a little more, just a little more.

No, if it hadn’t broken through at the critical moment, it would have been defeated by Uta, little brother.

However,

No matter what, victory was victory.

Being able to break through in battle was also a skill, wasn’t it?

“Uta, little brother, you’re quite impressive, but of course, the great Sario is still superior.”

Sario pulled Uta up.Just hearing the notification sound and switching his view over, Mu Yuan really wanted to say to the naive Sario: Uta has just made his epic breakthrough, and this is the first time he’s using the “Flesh Shackles” skill.

“For Uta, all flashy tricks are meaningless—he breaks through with pure strength.”

Of course, Uta isn’t without his flaws.

He can’t fly.

Let’s see when he’ll develop the technique of stepping on his own left foot to soar into the sky.

Inside the city walls,

a certain slender and elegant Water Mirror Dragon trembled in fear.

“I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die.”

“If that punch lands, I’ll definitely die!”

Even a Frost Dragon with considerable defensive strength could barely withstand Uta’s punch, let alone a delicate Water Mirror Dragon like itself.

How terrifying.

No wonder the Lord values Uta so much.

It seems Uta’s strength is also inseparable from the Lord’s cultivation.

Hmm, is it too late for it to go lick the Lord now?

6K combined chapter…

(End of Chapter)