The black sandstorm was about to swallow both the old Celestial Master and Lord Wuxian.
Even though the two of them had the strength to keep themselves from being dragged into it, neither had any way to save Fahai, who was still trapped at the center with every second counting.
"Zzzzt…!"
Zhang Zhiwei's brows twitched slightly.
"That sound…?"
"That's the lizard," Wuxian said, his tone tinged with frustration. "The one causing the black storm."
Under these circumstances, killing the Golden Desert Lizard rashly would only trigger an even greater storm.
At that point, a faint dread began spreading through the studio and the livestream alike.
In the Dragon Nation studio, Bingbing forced herself to steady her voice.
"Captain Ryan Cole… do you think Fahai can still get out of danger?"
Before Captain Ryan Cole could answer, even Professor Luo seemed to have lost some of his usual composure.
"We have to trust Dragon Nation's contestants," he said. "Each of them has already overcome hardships that would have crushed ordinary people."
"At a time like this, when everyone is desperately trying to find a solution, we should believe even more firmly that they can bring down this Golden Desert Lizard."
As expected of Professor Luo. In just a few sentences, he managed to reignite the confidence of Dragon Nation's viewers.
"Hold on, Fahai! Just hold on until Eat-Stream Adrian Vale gets there!"
"That's right! Adrian is almost there!"
Thanks to the overlay Raven Shaw had opened earlier, Adrian and Raven had already learned Fahai's location from the viewers.
And for Adrian and Raven—especially after the latest surge in their strength—it took only a few minutes to reach the scene.
"We're saved! Fahai's saved! Eat-Stream Adrian Vale is here!"
To Adrian, the strange scent of the Golden Desert Lizard carried on the storm was nothing more than an especially fragrant appetizer.
Raven took one look at the hungry gleam in his eyes and said helplessly,
"Could you not stare at it like a starving ghost reborn?"
This lunatic really would eat anything.
Then Raven's gaze shifted.
"It's Lord Wuxian. And Old Heavenly Master Zhang."
Even through the wall of yellow sand, she recognized the two hovering figures immediately.
Adrian, however, paid no attention at all.
He shot straight toward the center of the storm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Adrian moved as if he weighed ten thousand pounds. The raging black storm couldn't shake his steps in the slightest.
There he was—a seemingly slight young man, walking straight through a disaster that should have torn any human being apart.
"What…?"
Even Zhang Zhiwei couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.
That young man didn't look old enough to have finished university—
yet his will and steadiness were terrifying.
"Adrian! Fahai's still inside! Save him first!"
Raven shouted after him, worried that he might ignore everyone else and go straight for the Golden Desert Lizard as if it were dinner.
"They've finally gathered!"
Back in the studio, Bingbing's voice turned bright with excitement.
"Now it's time for Dragon Nation's contestants to show their strength!"
Captain Ryan Cole had already relaxed, as though Adrian's victory was a foregone conclusion.
"Professor Luo, what do you think? Will Adrian rescue Fahai first?"
Professor Luo adjusted his glasses and spoke slowly.
"Adrian's strength is beyond question."
"But strength and temperament are two different things."
"The key issue now is whether he chooses to save Fahai first… or kill the Golden Desert Lizard first."
That one sentence struck the exact doubt in everyone's hearts.
No one questioned Adrian's power anymore.
What they questioned was his temperament.
Because anyone who could calmly devour Divine Domain creatures on-screen had already surpassed normal human logic.
Zzzzt—!
Shriek!
The Golden Desert Lizard's cries roared across the storm.
Inside the Divine Domain, most people couldn't see what was happening at the storm's center.
But outside the Divine Domain, the viewers saw it all clearly.
Roar—!
Adrian advanced expressionlessly, blood-red kagune blooming behind him.
Bathed in scarlet light, with that chilling crimson glow burning in his eye, he looked less like a person and more like a nightmare given flesh.
The Golden Desert Lizard's hide—the same fortress-like defense even Fahai couldn't break through—
was pierced cleanly by Adrian's kagune in a single strike.
Its shrill scream almost ruptured the eardrums of everyone watching.
The lizard instantly flew into a frenzy, turning red-eyed and charging madly at Adrian without caring about anything else.
At that exact moment, Fahai lunged forward and tried to pull Adrian away, clearly intending to dodge.
Adrian didn't even look back.
He casually grabbed Fahai and flung him behind him.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, Fahai flew out of the very center of the storm like a projectile.
"!"
Raven gave a startled cry. A man fell out of the sky and nearly smashed straight into her face.
Thankfully, it was only a near miss.
"Fahai! How did you get out?"
Zhang Zhiwei immediately stepped forward to help him up, asking what had happened inside.
"That kid! That kid's still in there! He—he threw me out!"
Even in the middle of such a dangerous situation, Dragon Nation's viewers burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! I'm crying—Fahai got thrown out by Adrian!"
"So did Eat-Stream Adrian Vale save him… or just toss away something he didn't feel like eating?"
"Maybe Fahai wasn't on the menu!"
But beneath the jokes, everyone was still locked onto the battlefield.
After all, this was a Golden Desert Lizard that had trapped Fahai and forced even Wuxian and Zhang Zhiwei to hold back.
And Adrian—
Adrian had already slain an Ancient Azure Dragon.
How could he possibly care about one mere S-rank creature now?
"Looks like Eat-Stream Adrian Vale showed up this fast because he was hungry!"
"What are you talking about? That just makes him even more adorable!"
"I'm done for. He's too attractive!"
At the scene itself, Raven was far calmer than either Wuxian or Zhang Zhiwei.
After all, she knew Adrian's strength better than any of them.
To be honest, the fact that he hadn't decided to eat all of them too was already a blessing.
Then—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After only a handful of deafening impacts, the black sandstorm began to break apart.
The raging winds collapsed. The black sand was blown away.
The entire storm rapidly faded until nothing remained.
"Gone! The black storm's gone!"
And as the last of the sand cleared, everyone finally saw what had happened.
Far in the distance, Adrian was crouched atop the Golden Desert Lizard's enormous corpse, ripping through flesh with brutal efficiency.
He looked like he was calmly dismantling a meal.
Even Wuxian's usually unshakable expression seemed to falter for a moment.
"Is he…?"
For once, even Wuxian spoke with hesitation.
Raven casually dusted the sand from her clothes.
Then, with utter calm, she said,
"Don't worry."
"He doesn't eat us."
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