The only reason a new tree dragon would appear was if the previous one was killed. If it wasn’t killed, there was no reason for another to appear.

Kent failed to realise this early, and so by the time he did, the dragon he was facing had jumped to the rank of a Pseudo-God.

Trapping this one, rather than killing it, would be extremely hard.

After all, if he were to kill this tree dragon, there is a high chance the next one would be at the God Ascension stage. He most certainly cannot allow that to happen.

So Kent stops and assesses his options.

Since he can’t use any of his trump cards, or else he risks injuring his soul, Kent opts for the next best option, and that is to defeat it in a controlled battle.

So he summoned his dragon wings and took off, his claws already active and gleaming with dragon intent.

ROAR

The tree dragon roared and lunged at Kent with deadly speed. A few seconds later, they collided in a deadly impact that sent shockwaves everywhere.

Kent was pushed back, to his absolute shock.

’That shouldn’t be possible,’ Kent said inwardly as he ducked low, evading a dragon tail attack.

[The master should be aware that this is merely his consciousness manifested as a soul body. Until the master forms a true soul body, he cannot utilise all of his abilities to their fullest potential.]

’I see.’

Kent moved and slashed his claws, aiming for the tree dragon’s neck. However, it moved back and used its long tail to retaliate.

Kent moved back, his annoyed expression showing.

’Ah, I forget how annoying the wingless are with those ridiculously long tails,’ he said inwardly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

He had always hated the dragons that had no wings.

While they look majestic, their lack of wings makes them seem incomplete. Today, he was reminded of why he hates them and even started a war with them during the primordial era.

Dodging another tail attack, Kent smirked. "Damn it, halfbreed, you had better listen to this monarch and drop down."

[I am afraid the master cannot use the Chaos Monarch’s Sovereignty here.]

"Figured." Kent clicked his tongue and managed to get close to the dragon. With a quick swing, he managed to leave a cut on its body.

However, to his horror, just when the cut appeared on it, a green energy passed over the wound, and it closed. It was as if there hadn’t been a cut just now.

"What kind of healing ability is that?" Kent was mesmerised. Unfortunately for him, he had no time to mess around, since a deadly attack came at him the next second, forcing him to dodge.

He was pushed back, but he managed to recover and pushed the wingless dragon back a few meters.

The fact that the attack he knew could have killed a True Immortal instantly was healed so easily made him wonder just what the hell the dragon was made of.

Suddenly, Kent’s eyes widened.

"Wait a moment. If I am not at full strength here and this dragon can heal this fast, then shouldn’t I use my trumps in a more controlled way?"

For a moment, Kent felt like he had cracked the code and found a loophole. However, he soon found himself stuck behind two questions.

First, how much strength would he need to put the dragon down long enough to break the remaining 300,000 km distance between him and the tree?

Second, if he succeeds in putting it down, how long would the dragon remain down? Its healing ability was surprisingly good, so he must calculate well.

These two questions made him realise that he needed to be able to gauge his strength, and that involves realising his full potential. This way, when he is restricted, he can gauge his strength.

Kent sighed and clenched his fist. "Let’s start small."

He tapped into the [Universe Breaking Fist] and unleashed a blow, making sure he used just 1% of everything. Even the Blood Life and Death Seals he used were at 3 each.

His fist landed on the side of the dragon, sending it crashing down with a powerful thud. "What?"

Kent’s eyes widened when he saw the dragon wince and try to stand, but it couldn’t.

"Don’t tell me that was all it required to put this bastard down," Kent was stunned. He deliberately lowered the power of his attack, yet the results were plain as day.

For a moment, the urge to wait for the dragon to rise back up so he could test his strength again flashed through his mind.

However, he ignored that stupid thought and instead took flight, his speed surging as the dragon roared and winced, probably in pain.

As Kent expected, as he drew closer, no new dragon or plantkin appeared to stop him. This meant that unless the dragon rose again and gave chase, victory was assured.

A few minutes later, Kent landed on the hill. By then, the dragon was back up and had already started chasing him. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

However, he only smiled and walked toward the lady seated on the throne under the tree. Looking closely, it appeared that the throne was attached to the tree.

She looked exactly like Lady Kenzie, the same lady he saw inside the Realm of Life.

She sat with her eyes closed and a crown resting on her head.

[The master should put a drop of his blood essence on the gem on the crown.]

Kent nodded and retrieved a drop of his monarch-grade blood essence. He moved forward, and with the wingless dragon 3,000 km out, he smiled and dropped the blood essence.

The effect was immediate.

Kent felt a connection form between him and the entity sitting on the throne.

But that wasn’t all. The moment the connection formed, he felt his body grow stronger and, more importantly, his soul grow safer, despite having soul immunity.

There was no release of overwhelming energy, just a connection that strangely made him feel like even with his head chopped off, he would not die.

"This feeling..." His words vanished when the lady seated on the throne opened her green eyes and finally released a powerful healing energy.

Kent froze in place, his eyes widening as the lady rose to her feet, and while he never expected it, she walked toward him and embraced him.

"Thank you very much, Lord Kent." Kent felt something drop on his chest. He knew it was a tear because, given the height difference, the lady’s face was on his chest.

"Are you Lady Kenzie?"

There was no reply for a minute. When she finally did, Kent paid close attention.

"Yes and no." She said and then elaborated, "I am Lady Kenzie in the sense that I have her memories and, surprisingly, her Dao Seed, which I had no idea how that was possible. However, the me you are seeing now is a new form of life, the first of my kind, belonging only to you."

She paused and smiled, showing how happy she was.

"The current me is what you call a Soul Guardian. My existence is to protect your soul from all forms of threat while also aiding you to the best of my abilities."

Kent furrowed his brow, his mind scanning his memories to see if he had heard of Soul Guardians before. He found nothing.

The only thing that came close was Soul Warriors, which, from what he knew, were also the first of their kind. This made him see the lady in a new light...

"Looks like we have some things to talk about."