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A dragon. 

A golden dragon, the kind one only hears about in legends. 

The dragon’s appearance had an equal impact on everyone. Not only were the players watching the livestream stunned, but those on the battlefield were also frozen in shock. 

Everyone watched as this golden dragon—clearly not yet fully grown—flapped its wings and circled the sky, as if surveying its territory. 

Then—it locked onto its target.

A deep-sea giant squid—a sea monster—countless times larger than itself! 

“Roar—”

It threw its head back and let out a long roar, as brilliant golden flames poured from its mouth.

The golden dragon struck the sea’s surface but was not swallowed by the water; instead, it ignited the seawater and spread to engulf the sea monster. In agony, the sea monster began to thrash, its furious tentacles flailing wildly and churning up massive waves. 

This jolted the players watching the spectacle back to their senses.

“Holy crap, holy crap!”

“What the hell? Weren’t we supposed to be matched with players of similar skill levels? Why do I feel like some random extra in a cheesy action manga?”

“Survival game—your ‘No. 1’ and my ‘No. 1’ seem to be different.”

“A dragon! That’s a dragon! I’d love to touch it, rub up against it—and of course, if it’d let me ride it, hehehe…”

The Sea Monster player let out a pained groan.

His teammate, a player from Server 108, snapped out of it and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

His expression was a bit odd; he really wanted to say: “Dude, with all that build-up, I thought you were going to equip a big item, but it turns out you just pulled a big one.” 

Is that it? A young dragon just breathed a little fire, and your giant squid couldn’t handle it? 

Are you here to serve up a buffet?

The sea monster player didn’t miss his expression and snorted in frustration.

He explained on behalf of the sea monster: “It’s not Lamors’ fault—it’s mine. It was originally slumbering in the deep sea; I forcibly awakened its body using the power of my Yang bloodline so I could command it.” 

His plan had seemed perfect—such a massive deep-sea monster, even if it was just an unconscious body, would be more than enough to secure his victory in this maritime challenge.

Who would have thought that someone could actually summon a giant dragon!

His gaze drifted involuntarily toward the giant dragon circling the sea monster, and he couldn’t hide his envy. That was a dragon, after all—who could resist the allure of a giant dragon?

Suddenly, his face went pale, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth: “Oh no!”

He shouted at Dan Xingyu, “Quick, recall your dragon! Lamor has been stirred by the dragon’s presence—its consciousness is awakening, and it’s trying to break free from my control!”

“Once its true self fully awakens, your little dragon is still a juvenile—no one here will be able to stop him.” 

Everyone—including himself—would have to go home. He paused for a moment, then said bitterly,

“I concede defeat in this battle.”

Upon hearing this, Dan Xingyu didn’t respond immediately; instead, he looked at Qiyu. 

Qiyu nodded. “There are indeed two consciousnesses battling it out within this giant’s mental sea.”

Dan Xingyu immediately raised his voice and called out to the little dragon, “The Eye of the Wind is almost here. You’ve terrified that big guy—he’s so scared he’s about to go crazy. Hurry back!” 

Qiyu:? Is that how you call it back?

The little dragon, which had been arrogantly taunting them, heard this. Though it snorted discontentedly through its nostrils, it still obediently flew toward them, hovering around the two of them.

Dan Xingyu asked Qiyu, “Should we give it a pat?”

He saw it all! The moment this guy laid eyes on the dragon, nothing else existed in his world. Qiyu reached out toward the little dragon.

The little dragon stared at him curiously with its big golden eyes.

Since it was born, it had seen Dan Xingyu as the only human. Today, it had seen so many all at once.

However, none of those people were as captivating to it as Qiyu’s pure natural aura and magical power. 

It made a gurgling sound in its throat, extended a paw, and gently tapped Qiyu’s palm. Then, in full view of everyone, it transformed into a golden streak of light and vanished beside Dan Xingyu.

The dragon’s presence vanished.

The sea monster player immediately closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on controlling the deep-sea beast.

With the perceived threat gone, the giant’s struggles gradually subsided, and its wildly flailing tentacles slowly calmed down. Its agitated consciousness once again fell into slumber.

The Sea Demon player, true to his word, guided the sea monsters down into the deep sea and said coldly, “I won’t be participating in this competition. Do as you please.” 

However, at this point, no one’s attention was on the competition anymore.

The player from Zone 108 showed no sign of annoyance at his teammates making decisions for him; instead, he waved enthusiastically at Dan Xingyu: “Hey, buddy, your dragon is so cool! Now that the sea monster has gone back, could you let it out to play for a bit longer?” 

As soon as he said this, the crowd around him chimed in:

“Yeah, yeah, it’s still young—it’s no good to keep it cooped up.” 

“Big shot, you’ve got four different payment plans—could you spare 10 Beast Crystals so I can give it a try?” 

Dan Xingyu: “……”

【Ah! I want to touch it too! Let me touch the dragon too!】

【So, is that kid Er Shen a dragon rider?】

【I can’t even imagine how majestic this dragon will be once it grows up.】

Server 01 is also buzzing with excitement:

【Didn’t a player just say, “Your No. 1 on the leaderboard seems different from mine”? So, is this arena really the arena for top players?】

【Is the guy in the cape the gaming pro?】

【I heard a dragon showed up in this livestream, so I rushed over here. Where’s the dragon? Where’s the dragon?】

【You’re too late—the dragon’s gone. By the way, there’s more than just the dragon here, and it’s pretty much a given that the guy in the cloak is the gaming pro.】

【Ahhh, what a huge mistake!】

【Breaking news! “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” failed and got eliminated instead!】

【Oh no, restart.】

Dan Xingyu clasped his hands together and coldly rejected the requests of the players present. 

Perhaps because the commotion earlier—with the tsunami, the sea monster, and the dragon—had been so intense, the latter half of the event seemed calm and peaceful. The sea monster player said he was dropping out, and he really didn’t cause any trouble; he rode on the back of a sea beast, leisurely trailing behind the group.

According to his philosophy, he no longer intended to compete for victory in this event. The only reason he didn’t forfeit outright was to see what new surprises these two “cheaters”—“Game Gods”—might pull out of their sleeves in the next round.

Seeing this, the players in his regional channel were practically moved to tears:

【Exactly, exactly, that’s it. Boss, you absolutely can’t drop out of the tournament—if you leave, we won’t have anything to watch.】

【If even just four players from this region get eliminated in this match, this livestream loses viewing access. This tournament format is really underhanded.】 Qiyu finally understood what the point was behind the setting that the Sea Beasts are “alive.” 

After covering about a quarter of the distance, the players all breathed a sigh of relief: At this rate, they should have no trouble reaching the finish line.

Just as they were thinking this, a problem arose.

The Sea Beasts, which had been moving steadily at a constant pace, suddenly went haywire. 

Some suddenly stopped in their tracks, others began careening wildly in all directions, and still others turned rebellious, determined to shake off the players on their backs.

Qiyu sensed that the sea beasts beneath him had previously been under some kind of “restriction,” forcing them to obediently serve as sea vessels. 

Now that they’d reached this point, the restriction was lifted.

The sea beasts, having been cooped up for so long, naturally began to run wild with all their might.

Since Qiyu had personally fed him treats and exuded a particularly soothing aura, the sea beast they were riding remained relatively well-behaved. Aside from that, only the group of the sea monster players’ mounts stayed out of trouble.

Seeing this chaotic scene, the Sea Demon player once again taunted the entire map: “You guys don’t even have a chance to win. At this rate, even if I don’t try, you’ll all end up sending me to second place.” 

But he was a man of his word; once he said he wouldn’t act up, he wouldn’t.

He said coldly, “These sea beasts have been carrying you around for over two hours, and they’ve been thoroughly scared by the sea monsters and dragons. Now they’re thirsty, hungry, and unhappy—don’t you know how to calm them down?” 

【Bro, are you the legendary tsundere?】

【You have to throw in a snide remark before even helping someone—you really won’t say a single kind word.】

【I’m new here—is the atmosphere in this arena really this harmonious? I’ve seen other livestreams where people are fighting tooth and nail.】

【Maybe everyone’s goal isn’t to take first place anymore.】

【Top-ranked players: Let me stick around and see what kind of shenanigans this bunch of players can pull off.】

“So that’s how it is. Thanks, thanks.”

Some players offered food, some offered items, and others even offered toys… In short, they pulled out all the stops to appease the beasts.

【They’re coming up with counter-strategies really fast over here. I just checked out other arenas, and no one could figure out why the sea beasts suddenly went berserk.】 

After calming the sea beasts, they pressed on.

Maybe everyone’s mindset had shifted—no one was scrambling to compete anymore, so they started chatting and exchanging intel about different zones. Some people even saw there was still time left on the countdown and decided to stop near the finish line to trade with players behind them. 

【I’m impressed—no wonder you guys can top the leaderboard. You don’t let even the smallest opportunity slip by.】

【But I’m really envious of the trade. My kid’s been eating mutated creature meat for a month—he’s practically crying from hunger.】

【Looking at it this way, it almost seems like the “Game Gods” team got the short end of the stick—they secured first place early and headed to the rest area.】

【What’s there to lose? It’s obvious everyone has different goals. The “Game Gods” team is going for first place, while the other teams basically don’t stand a chance—of course, it makes sense to grab some perks while they can.】

These guys are probably so relaxed they can’t even bear to watch a survival game anymore.

Host Hakimi’s voice rang out once more: “Congratulations to the ‘Game Gods’ team for taking first place in this round of ‘Deep Sea Riding the Waves’! Additionally, we have observed some players engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct! We ask that teams that have reached the finish line refrain from engaging in activities unrelated to the competition. Repeated violations after a warning will result in immediate disqualification from the event.” 

“Come on, they’re so stingy—they won’t even let us trade for some resources.” 

“Players, please don’t lose heart! Although the ‘Game Gods’ team has taken first place in two rounds, if you can knock them out in this round, you still have a chance to compete for first place!” 

Players: “……”

Who?

Us? 

Host, are you telling us to take out the Supermodel Mage and the Supermodel Dragon Knight? 

【Hahahahahaha, everyone’s expressions are so hilarious.】

【I used to have a really rosy view of the No. 1 server, but now it’s come down to earth. But when you think about it, most people were just ordinary mortals, too.】

【It feels like they’ve completely let their guard down—just like the viewers in our livestream—they’re purely here to see

what kind of antics those two will pull next.】

【The Imagined No. 1 Arena: Swords and blades flashing, fighting to the bitter end. The Actual No. 1 Arena: Running into a player using a cheat, giving it your all but still unable to defeat them, so you just give up and quit.】

【Not giving it my all.】