DipNovel Chapter 104 The Golden Horned Beast
Chapter 104 The Golden Horned Beast
December 13, 2060, late at night.
In the cultivation room of Mingyue Residential Area, Lin Yun sat cross-legged, suspended in mid-air. The six elemental domains around his body intertwined and flowed, forming a layer of colorful halo. Over the past year, his cultivation had steadily improved. His martial arts cultivation and mental power had both reached the peak of the first level of the Hengxing stage, only one step away from the second level. All six elemental domains were consolidated at the ninth level, and his understanding of the fundamental law of lightning had also deepened considerably.
But tonight, he had a feeling that something big was about to happen.
The communication watch suddenly vibrated.
Lin Yun glanced at the caller ID—the museum owner, Hong.
He was slightly taken aback. Hong rarely contacted him first, let alone called late at night. Lin Yun answered the phone.
"Lin Yun, hurry up and enter the War God Palace! It's a matter concerning the life and death of all humanity!" Hong's voice was somewhat solemn. After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Lin Yun's heart sank.
Of course he knew what had happened.
The golden-horned behemoth has finally appeared.
"It's finally here!" Lin Yun took a deep breath, picked up the consciousness-sensing helmet, and put it on.
War God Palace, a virtual space.
Hundreds of people had already gathered in the enormous hall. All the councilors from around the world, and most of the War God-level powerhouses, had received the urgent notification and rushed here immediately. The atmosphere in the hall was so tense it was suffocating; no one whispered, and everyone waited with solemn expressions.
Lin Yun's gaze swept across the crowd, spotting Hong, Lei Shen, representatives from the five major powers, high-ranking members of the HR Alliance, and—Luo Feng.
Luo Feng stood in the crowd, his expression somewhat solemn. Seeing Lin Yun enter, he nodded slightly but said nothing more.
"Everyone's here." Hong's voice echoed in the hall. "Let's begin."
The President of the United States stepped forward and turned on a video.
A giant beast appeared on the enormous virtual screen.
The behemoth was breathtakingly large—over 180 meters long, with an astonishing wingspan. Its body was covered in black scales, each marked with golden patterns that shimmered with a cold light in the sunlight. It possessed powerful limbs, a pair of enormous wings, and a mighty tail. A single horn pierced the sky from its raised head.
What is most terrifying are its eyes—dark gold vertical pupils, cold and ruthless, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if looking at a group of ants.
The hall was deathly silent. Everyone was awestruck by the size and imposing presence of the colossal beast.
"What...what kind of monster is this?" a councilor murmured, his voice trembling.
"Its size is enormous, dozens of times larger than any king-level monster we've ever seen."
"Its scales...look even harder than alloy."
No one can answer these questions.
The video continues playing.
The colossal beast was flying over the Pacific Ocean at an incredible speed, faster than any known aircraft on Earth. Below, countless sea monsters followed closely behind, densely packed and blotting out the sky.
Screen switch.
A coastal city. A colossal beast swept across the city, its jaws wide open, unleashing a scorching beam of light that struck the city's center. The explosion was deafening, flames soared into the sky, and skyscrapers were reduced to ruins in an instant. Tens of thousands perished in that single blow; cries, screams, and pleas for help mingled together, creating a sea of despair.
The scene changes again.
The military deployed its most powerful laser cannons. These were among humanity's most powerful weapons, said to be capable of destroying everything. Several thick beams simultaneously struck the behemoth, hitting its body.
The smoke and dust cleared.
The behemoth was completely unharmed. Not even a scratch remained on its scales. It turned its head, its dark golden eyes fixed on the laser cannon, then opened its massive maw, unleashing a beam of light that leveled the military base to the ground.
The hall was deathly silent.
Everyone's face turned deathly pale. Even the most powerful laser cannons couldn't harm it in the slightest—the behemoth's defenses far exceeded their expectations.
"What about a nuclear bomb? Could a nuclear bomb damage it?"
"While nuclear weapons are incredibly powerful, they are too fast for a nuclear bomb to catch up with. Moreover, even if a nuclear bomb were to hit, it might not necessarily cause any damage."
The crowd discussed the matter at length, but no one could come up with a feasible solution.
"Quiet." Hong's voice echoed in the hall.
The crowd fell silent.
"Does anyone recognize this giant beast?" Hong asked.
After a moment of silence, an elderly man in a white coat raised his hand. He was an ancient ruins researcher from the HR Alliance, specializing in studying materials left behind by ancient civilizations.
"In the records of ancient civilizations, there is a description of a creature that is very similar to it." The old man's voice trembled slightly. "It is a terrifying creature from outer space, called... the Starry Sky Beast."
"A cosmic behemoth?" All eyes turned to it.
"Yes." The old man took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "According to the records, the Starry Sky Beasts are the pinnacle of the universe, and their strength is terrifying. An adult Starry Sky Beast can easily destroy a planet. But we don't know what level this one is, nor do we know its weaknesses."
The hall fell into a deathly silence once again.
The ability to easily destroy a planet—a power that humanity wouldn't even dare to dream of.
"Then... what level are we facing now?" someone asked.
The old man shook his head: "Judging from its size, it must have just been born. But even a cub is at least a Star-level being. Moreover, the Star Beast possesses extremely strong regenerative abilities; we... we may not be able to deal with it."
"Is there no other way? Are we just supposed to wait to die?" a member of parliament shouted excitedly.
No one answered him.
The meeting lasted all night.
In the end, everyone reached a consensus—to destroy this cosmic behemoth at all costs.
Nuclear bombs, laser cannons, fighter jets, warships... all kinds of weapons will be deployed. At the same time, all martial artists of War God level or above worldwide will participate in the war.
Lin Yun sat in the corner, remaining silent.
He watched the giant monster images playing repeatedly on the screen, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.
"Golden Horned Beast..." he murmured the name to himself.
He knew the beast's origins, its strength, its weaknesses, and its ultimate fate. But at this moment, he faced a difficult choice.
If he were to make a move, with his peak first-tier cultivation at the Hengxing level, coupled with the enhancement of the lightning-elemental source law, he would have an over 80% chance of defeating this newly born golden-horned behemoth that had not yet cultivated any inherited secret techniques. However, in doing so, Luo Feng would lose a tremendous opportunity—the tempering of his will from that life-or-death battle would be lost.
If he hadn't intervened, everything would have unfolded according to the original story. Countless people would have died, Hong and Lei Shen would have been severely injured, and Luo Feng would have faced death countless times before finally possessing the Golden Horned Beast. That life-or-death battle would have greatly tempered Luo Feng's will, laying a solid foundation for his future path to becoming a powerful figure.
"What should I do?" Lin Yun asked himself.
He recalled every moment he and Luo Feng had shared growing up together—the laughter and joy in their low-rent apartment, their side-by-side cultivation in Mingyue Community, their shared life and death experiences in the wilderness. Luo Feng was his brother, and one of the most important people in his life.
He also thought of those who were about to lose their lives in the disaster—ordinary people who lost their homes, soldiers who died in the war, and children who lost their parents. Their faces appeared in his mind, and their cries echoed in his ears.
"If I don't take action, how many people will die? Tens of millions? Hundreds of millions?" Lin Yun's heart clenched.
He thought he could stand by and watch, that he could sacrifice innocent people for the "greater good," but when disaster truly struck, he realized he couldn't.
"But if I make a move, Luo Feng will lose this opportunity to hone his skills..." Lin Yun was struggling intensely with his inner turmoil.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.
"Luo Feng's path doesn't necessarily have to follow the original story," he told himself. "He is the chosen one of the world, but his future is not predetermined; it is created by himself. Even without this life-or-death battle, with his talent and perseverance, he could still become a strongman."
The meeting at the Palace of War has ended.
As the crowd dispersed, only a handful of people remained in the hall. Lin Yun stood in a corner, his gaze fixed on the empty virtual screen, a complex mix of emotions churning within him.
He closed his eyes, the images replaying in his mind—the city collapsing in flames, countless people dying in despair, and the army's weapons being utterly ineffective against the behemoth.
"Golden Horned Beast." Lin Yun murmured the name to himself.
He knew its origins, its power, and that it would eventually be possessed by Luo Feng. But that was the trajectory of the original story—tens of millions died, Hong and Lei Shen were seriously injured, and Luo Feng narrowly escaped death.
"How many people will die if I don't intervene?" Lin Yun asked himself.
He opened his eyes, his gaze hardening.
"I can't watch those people die."
He made a decision.
Lin Yun left the War God Palace, his consciousness returning to the cultivation room. He stood up and walked to the window. Moonlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating his face.
He took out his communicator and sent a message to Luo Feng: "Feng, leave the Golden Horned Beast matter to me. I'll send you a message later, come over immediately."
A few seconds later, Luo Feng replied: "Lin Yun, you're going to deal with it alone? Babata said it's a star level, you..."
"I'm confident," Lin Yun replied. "Trust me."
After a moment of silence, Luo Feng replied with a single word: "Okay."
Lin Yun put away his communication watch, took out his combat suit and sword from his spatial ring, and dressed himself. Then, he opened the window, transformed into a streak of purple lightning, and flew towards the Pacific Ocean.
The night sky over the Pacific Ocean was as dark as ink.
Lin Yun unleashed his full mental power, covering an area of hundreds of kilometers. Soon, he detected an extremely powerful life force—violent, cold, and filled with a destructive desire.
"There."
Lin Yun accelerated and flew in that direction.
A few minutes later, he saw the golden-horned behemoth.
The colossal beast hovered above the Pacific Ocean, its length exceeding 180 meters. Its body was covered in black scales, each scale adorned with golden markings that shimmered with a cold light under the moonlight. Its wings, when spread, blotted out the sky, and with each flap, towering waves were unleashed.
His dark golden vertical pupils swept across the sea, cold and ruthless.
Lin Yun hovered several hundred meters in front of it, his body crackling with purple lightning, releasing the aura of the fundamental laws of lightning without reservation. The oppressive aura of a peak first-tier Hengxing level beast drew the golden-horned behemoth's gaze.
Two pairs of eyes met in mid-air.
A flicker of wariness flashed in the golden-horned behemoth's eyes. It could sense that this tiny human was different from the ants it had encountered before. There was an aura about him that instinctively made it feel dangerous.
"Roar—" The golden-horned behemoth opened its huge mouth, and a blazing beam of light shot towards Lin Yun.
Lin Yun did not dodge. He raised his right hand, and a purple lightning spear condensed in his palm, shooting out towards the beam of light.
The lightning spear collided with the beam of light, producing a deafening roar. Purple lightning intertwined with the golden beam of light, distorting the surrounding air. A few seconds later, the beam of light was shattered by the lightning spear, which continued its trajectory towards the golden-horned behemoth.
The golden-horned behemoth's pupils contracted, and it abruptly turned to the side. The lightning spear grazed its wing, leaving a deep wound. Golden blood gushed out, and the wound healed at a visible speed, but noticeably slower than before.
"The fundamental laws of lightning have a restraining effect on its recovery ability," Lin Yun thought to himself.
Without further hesitation, he swung his hands repeatedly, unleashing a barrage of lightning spears that rained down upon the golden-horned behemoth. Simultaneously, nine layers of lightning domains expanded around him, purple lightning enveloping a space hundreds of meters in radius. The golden-horned behemoth's speed was suppressed, its movements becoming sluggish.
The golden-horned behemoth roared angrily, desperately trying to dodge the attacks of the lightning spears. But Lin Yun's attacks were too fast and too dense; it simply couldn't avoid them all. One lightning spear after another pierced its body, leaving charred wounds on its scales. Golden blood gushed out like a spring, staining a large area of the sea red.
Lin Yun silently assessed the battle situation in his mind.
"Its defense is strong, but my lightning-based laws perfectly counter its regenerative abilities. It's fast, but within my lightning domain, its speed is suppressed by more than 30%. Its attack power is strong, but I'm faster than it."
"The odds of winning are at least 80%."