I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

"Because the dragon species themselves will attack each other when the 'dragon tide' occurs, they will consume a lot of their own resources. Therefore, the disaster is not as huge as imagined. But the most crucial wave is when the 'dragon mother' begins to give birth to a large number of offspring."

"Usually, one or two months after the dragons enter a frenzied state, the dragon mother will begin to give birth. At that time, the number of dragons will surge dramatically in a short period of time, lasting for about ten days, after which it will return to normal."

"As long as we can prevent that wave, the 'Dragon Tide' crisis will be over."

Xue Jing nodded and said, "I see... So what's the deal with the national organization of dragon hunting teams?"

Ning Yuantai continued, "This is a special policy. About twenty years ago, when the Dragon Tide occurred for the third time, Cangting issued the 'Dragon Hunting Order' in order to deal with the crisis."

"Anyone who kills dragon species within the country during the Dragon Tide will receive a corresponding reward based on the quantity, quality, and harm of the dragon species killed, according to a comprehensive evaluation of their performance."

"Thanks to the 'Dragon Hunting Order,' although it consumes a huge amount of resources each time, it also greatly mobilizes the enthusiasm of the strong people in the countryside, so the various regions of China have not suffered major damage during each dragon tide."

"Other powerful countries also have their own different response policies."

Xue Jing's expression shifted: "There are rewards for killing dragon species... what kind of rewards are they?"

Ning Yuantai scratched his head and said, "I haven't participated, so I don't know much about it. But I think I heard from Zhige's senior that there will be a detailed list of rewards."

"It is said that if you make a particularly great contribution, you can directly ask the Cangting for what you want."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jing thoughtfully rubbed his chin.

"Hah... I understand."

……

Chapter 316 Burning Tumor Heavenly Ice, Arrival at the Seventh Urban Circle, Extreme Martial Arts Ascend to the Heavenly Palace (4K)

Waking up in the middle of the night and having experienced being blocked by the dragons, Xue Jing did not go back to his room to sleep. Instead, he chatted with Ning Yuantai about random things while keeping a close eye on the commotion outside.

Despite Ning Yuantai's repeated assurances that the route was secretive and safe, and that the dragon blockade was just an accident, Xue Jing felt that, given his current situation, it was better to believe in metaphysics than science.

It's better to be careful. What if the whole plane suddenly gets blown up by something? He can't go to the Seventh Metropolitan Area by himself.

Anyway, given his boundless energy, it wouldn't be a big deal for him to go without sleep for ten days or half a month.

Fortunately, no further incidents occurred, and the plane flew smoothly along the planned route for the entire day.

"Brother Xue, look over there!"

Ning Yuantai suddenly pointed to the distant view outside the right porthole.

Xue Jing followed his finger and saw a huge pillar of fire shooting into the sky in the far distance. He roughly estimated that it was at least 10,000 meters high, constantly spewing out countless sparks and molten lava.

This spectacle left Xue Jing somewhat shocked, much like the feeling he had when he first saw the SkyCenter.

"what is that?"

Xue Jing asked.

Ning Yuantai explained, "That is a special border area, serial number F457, named 'Burning Garden', which is a rare A+ grade super-large border area."

"The vast majority of the Flame-Dwelling species come from this border region, including the 'Forge Noble' you encountered before."

“Most borders in the world are ‘regional’, but Burning Gardens is different; it is a ‘connected border’.”

"That pillar of fire actually acts like a portal. Once we step into it, we will be taken to the Burning Garden. There are many such portals all over the world, all of which lead to the same 'Burning Garden'."

Ning Yuantai introduced the topic with great enthusiasm.

"In fact, places like the 'Burning Garden' feel more like another world than a borderland attached to the present world... But we haven't found any evidence that it's another world yet, so we can only treat it as a borderland for the time being."

"The environment inside is said to be quite interesting; it's a world where flames burn everywhere, and the lowest temperature is over 300 degrees Celsius."

"But can you believe it actually rains in this kind of environment? Although it's molten iron rain, a single drop could pierce a person's head..."

"To stay in the Burning Garden for long, even top-tier experts must wear protective suits made from the skin of 'Sky Jellyfish'..."

Xue Jing stared at the pillar of fire and nodded, saying, "Interesting. I'd really like to go in and try it out if I have the chance in the future."

Ning Yuantai laughed and said, "What's even more interesting is the origin of the Burning Garden, which is related to a 'super creature'."

Xue Jing asked curiously, "Oh? What do you mean?"

A super creature with a danger level of 10 or higher, possessing the ability to destroy the world.

No one would be uninterested in such anecdotes.

Ning Yuantai considered his words carefully before saying slowly, "That happened more than fifty years ago."

"At that time, our Zhuxia had just experienced a 'major event' not long ago. Although we were greatly weakened, we were able to rebuild ourselves and were showing signs of prosperity."

"Just then, a great disaster suddenly struck."

"This is a catastrophe that will endanger not only the Chinese people, but also the countries in the entire northwestern Pacific region and even the whole world."

Ning Yuantai drew a huge circle in the air with his hands.

"It was a giant sphere with a diameter of over two thousand meters, which looked like an ugly tumor and was burning with flames."

"Our official code name for it is now 'Tumor Burning'."

"Without a doubt, it is a super creature with a danger level of over ten."

"It appeared extremely abruptly, descending upon the sea surface of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, instantly evaporating a huge amount of seawater. The rising steam caused continuous torrential rains to fall all over the world."

Ning Yuantai extended one hand, raised three fingers, and said with a deep expression:

"Three days. The 'tumor' only exists in the world for three days."

"In just three days, global sea levels rose by 2.47 meters and the global average temperature rose permanently by 1.06 degrees Celsius."

"According to later experts' speculation, as long as the tumor continues to exist on this planet, even if it does nothing, it can wipe out most of humanity in just three months."

"It will recreate the Great Flood legend from Genesis, submerging the vast majority of the land."

Global temperatures are rising, polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising rapidly and inundating land, and massive amounts of water vapor will cause continuous and terrifying torrential rains worldwide…

This is the terrifying threat that super-creatures pose to humanity.

"So it only survived for three days? How was that resolved?" Xue Jing asked curiously.

Ning Yuantai scratched his head: "This is top secret information, not something I can know."

"All we know is that at the time, it was led by the Chinese, who joined forces with several powerful countries in East Asia and the Second Arctic Federation, and paid a huge price to defeat them."

"However, I have heard some rumors that the key to the success of the campaign was that the 'Extreme Martial King' made a move."

"I don't know if the news is accurate, but in the distribution of spoils after the successful campaign, the Xia people did take the lion's share and obtained the core organ of the 'Burning Tumor'. From this point of view, the news is very likely true."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jing nodded and sighed, "If it's true, to be able to play a crucial role in the battle against super creatures single-handedly, the strength of an Extreme Martial King is truly unimaginable."

Ning Yuantai said, "Of course."

He pointed to the towering column of flames, still visible over 10,000 meters high, outside the porthole.

"The power of 'tumor burning' can be seen from that. Just a few sparks it threw out burned many holes in the present world. That was one of those 'sparks'."

"Many people in academia now believe that the Burning Garden is not a boundary, but an otherworldly place where the 'Burning Tumor' was born."

"However, the Burning Garden is not an isolated case of this kind of 'connected boundary,' so there is no conclusive evidence to prove that it is another world. Based on a rigorous attitude, the academic community can only classify it as a 'super-large boundary.'"

Time passed slowly as we chatted.

Xue Jing's worries did not come true. It was as if the heavens were playing a trick on him. While he was on high alert, the journey was extremely peaceful, and he passed through safely and secretly.

after one day.

"Brother Xue, we're almost at the Seventh Metropolitan Area."

Xue Jing, who was resting with his eyes closed in his seat, opened his eyes after hearing Ning Yuantai's voice.

"We can already see the outer city defense line. There's still a long time before the martial arts exam starts. Shall we go for a stroll?"

Ning Yuantai suggested.

"The Seventh Metropolitan Area has a strong martial arts atmosphere. Many of the hunters in the border cities are martial artists, and they are very fierce. In order to cater to the interests of these people, many interesting things have appeared in the cities..."

Xue Jing remained unmoved, shook his head and said, "No, let's go directly to Silver City."

He was certain that if he went to such a chaotic place, he would definitely run into trouble.

It's best not to waste time; he doesn't want to arrive at the right time every time to show off...

Although he had put on a lot of act before, it was all out of necessity and not his intention.

"okay."

Ning Yuantai naturally had no objection to Xue Jing's opinion.

Soon, the plane roared across the sky, crossed the outer city defense line, and entered the Seventh Metropolitan Area.

Unbeknownst to Xue Jing and the others, in the 461st peripheral city of the 7th metropolitan area on the ground, on a dilapidated, stinking street, someone was looking up, staring at the rapidly departing plane.

He was a bald man wearing only a denim jacket on his upper body, revealing his thick arms and muscles.

He wore sunglasses, was over 1.9 meters tall, and his exposed skin was covered with all sorts of horrific scars, telling the story of countless brutal battles he had experienced. A veteran's indomitable spirit radiated from him, making people's hearts tremble at the sight of him.

The man pulled out an almost antique-looking flip phone from his pocket, gently opened it, awkwardly pressed a few number keys, and then dialed a number.

"Hey... I saw it. I recognize the plane. It's the Commander's."

"..."

"He didn't stop, he went straight inside."

"..."

"No rush, he'll get what's coming to him this time... Have all the little ones arrived yet?"

"..."

"I'll be there right away... but you should also know that I'm the last resort. If it's my turn to take action, it means that things have mostly failed."

"..."

After chatting on the phone for a while, the bald man slowly closed the flip phone, then placed it in his palm, held it firmly in his large hand, and gently squeezed it.

When I opened my palm again, the flip phone had been compressed into a small, round black ball the size of a lollipop, its surface so smooth it looked as if it had been polished by countless machines, reflecting a sliver of black light.

The bald man casually tossed the small black ball aside and strode forward. Opposite him, a muscular man who looked very strong was walking towards him, and their eyes met unintentionally.

"Hmm?" The bald man took off his sunglasses with one hand, revealing a pair of strange, menacing eyes like a lion.