The appearance of the scorched pits intrigued the crowd. They wondered why these old soldiers went beneath the ground.

“There’s something down there?” One youth murmured.

“A great vein, but this is the very foundation of the fortress…” A big shot with ample knowledge regarding the fortress nodded.

“Boom!” A loud blast came from beneath and took the contemplating crowd by surprise.

Steam and heat emanated from the large pits. 

“What’s going on?” The young ones wondered.

Next came springs of lava gushing out of the pits. The crowd didn’t know what Hu Ben was up to.

“The foundation.” A big shot stared at the surging lava waves and sighed.

They knew that there was no other choice. He was betting everything on this last move.

Lava rampaged on the ground beneath the fortress, enough to form a thick layer.

“Rumble!” More explosions came from below along with cracking noises. Sure enough, cracks emerged on the surface and continued to spread in size.

“Is the fortress collapsing?” The spectators found this astonishing.

Lava started gushing from the large cracks as well. It wouldn’t be long until it drowns the area.

“Boom!” Even mountains surrounding the fortress started spewing out lava. The scene resembled an active volcano.

“!!!” Many were spooked out of their mind.

The experts nearby withdrew with haste. A few cultivators were too slow and screamed from being burnt by the heat.

They took a deep breath - this region has turned into an inferno in no time at all.

“This will destroy the fortress and the region…” A terrible youth trembled.

“There’s a volcanic vein right beneath all this time, it’s just that the sages of the holy ground refined it into habitable land. This is turning it back to its original form.” An ancestor explained.

The first-timers here didn’t expect this answer at all.

“Boom!” Finally, what’s left behind looked like a bottomless chasm with surging lava within.

There seemed to be a terrible beast in there as well, ready to devour everyone at a moment’s notice.

“Raa!” A dragon roar could be heard as a pillar of lava rushed to the sky. A lava dragon appeared within, as large as a mountain range. The area near it immediately turned into scorched earth.

The temperature in the air increased to an unbearable level. It also had access to true dragon flame, enough to refine anything.

“Boom!” It landed and stood on its massive and long claws.

“A real lava dragon?” Some spectators felt insignificant when compared to the great beast.

“No. It might be the manifestation of the vein. The sages must have turned the vein into this dragon back then. It has been gestating and growing beneath, waiting for the right day.” One ancestor said.

The heat wasn’t the only thing frightening about the dragon. It had an impressive draconic aura as well.

Everyone thought that just one claw from this dragon would turn them into mincemeat.

“So this is the real ace card of your fortress. Very well, let’s take a look at how strong it is.” The scion remained undeterred, still as confident as ever.

The geniuses from the holy ground thought that they wouldn’t be able to stay calm like him when facing this powerful dragon. Of course, this confidence stemmed from his mighty abilities.

“Kill him!” Hu Ben ordered, having resorted to everything the fortress had.

“Raa!” The dragon soared to the clouds before looking down.

“Whoosh!” It opened its mouth and unleashed a fiery torrent.

This draconic flame started burning space and time along its trajectory. It became a great pulse aiming for the scion’s chest.

The spectator found this discomforting as if the pulse was aiming at their own chest. Some screamed due to the pain.

“Go!” The scion thrust his lance upward and released a White Tiger. The beast lunged straight towards the incoming draconic pulse.

“Boom!” Everything turned dark for the spectators as if the world had been destroyed.

The White Tiger had the character, King, engraved on its forehead. This character became dazzling and created a shield to stop the pulse.

“Rumble!” They seemed evenly matched. The real victim was the area around them.

“Raa!” The lava dragon roared and continued to fire its pulse straight at the tiger. At the same time, it slashed with its claws without showing any mercy.

The claws contained both immense sharpness and temperature, resulting in incredible destruction.

Suddenly, a new phenomenon occurred. Everyone felt the world tightening, seemingly turning into a fire bow with its string drawn to the limit.

They looked back and saw Hu Ben holding a gigantic bow made of fire. As he drew the string back, they thought that he was holding the entire vein, not a regular bow.

Where the arrow should be was an accumulation of flames. The flames turned into a divine arrow, ready to pierce through its target.

Who else could the target be but Righteous Scion?