As mentioned before, this was an expansive grassland, offering no cover whatsoever beyond the endless fields of grass. Though they weren't moving slowly, the dragon horde chasing them was flying much faster. If they continued at this pace, the dragons would spot them in mere minutes, resulting in either being incinerated by dragon fire or becoming a mere snack.

Fortunately, after running a short distance, Lin Luo quickly spotted a patch of dense undergrowth tens of meters to his right—grasses and weeds, green and colorful, standing as tall as an adult man.

Without hesitation, Lin Luo immediately bolted toward the thicket. In less than five seconds, he swished into the tall grass, followed immediately by Mugino burrowing in right after him.

Before they could even fully collapse to the ground, the group hastily gathered the unfamiliar flowers and plants beside them, piling them over their bodies. At this moment, these weeds were their only lifeline to conceal their forms. And then...

Swish-swish-swish

Like a fierce wind scattering fallen leaves, all the surrounding flora was thrashed violently sideways. The sheer force of the dragon wings beating overhead stung their faces, feeling akin to a violent storm battering them.

This group of dragons was flying quite low; the lowest were no more than a hundred meters above the ground, meaning they could clearly see the creatures as they passed overhead.

The dragons were a motley crew of every imaginable type: red fire dragons, blue water dragons, purple lightning dragons, gray earth dragons, black dark dragons, the three-headed golden dragons of gold, ice dragons emanating chilling frost, and even the four-clawed white dragons that appeared only in myth and legend, and the supreme five-clawed golden dragons... In short, whether one could imagine it or not, whether seen in books or not, whether Western or Eastern in origin, every type of dragon seemed to be present in this horde.

Realizing this, a chill ran through everyone. Lin Luo was extremely thankful for how correct his recent decision had been.

Had they not luckily leaped into this patch of grass and covered themselves with the surrounding foliage to shield themselves from the dragons' sight, who knew what would have happened.

Though the dragons didn't seem to be hunting, there was no guarantee that some aberrant dragon wouldn't notice the few people scurrying on the ground and simply sneeze—and that would truly be the end of them.

"These dragons... are strong," Even for the fearless Mugino, watching the endless stream of dragons overhead, his face had turned pale with fright.

"More than strong, many of them are Rule-level," Lin Luo stated gravely. Although these dragons were merely flying and not deploying any power, with Lin Luo's current abilities, a brief glance was enough to estimate their strength, provided their power didn't vastly exceed his own peak capacity.

Of the dragons soaring above, without mentioning the others, at least the Dark Dragon, the Three-Headed Golden Dragon, the Four-Clawed White Dragon, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, and the Shadow Dragon that flickered like an elusive phantom—these were all Rule-level.

Forget their current state; even at their absolute peak, fully healthy, perhaps even with Avalon's protection layered on top, Lin Luo would absolutely not dare to confront this dragon horde head-on. He was certain it would be suicide.

Thus, once this realization set in, for a full half hour, Lin Luo and the others lay motionless on the ground, silently waiting for the dragon horde to pass. Of course, the spectacle itself was grand for them; witnessing over a thousand massive dragons fly overhead was truly a shocking sight.

Finally, the wind subsided, and the terrifyingly oppressive dragon horde vanished without a trace. Only then did Lin Luo and the others truly breathe a sigh of relief, but...

Ignoring the strange looks from the three companions beside him, Lin Luo suddenly shot up from the ground and roared out loud, "What in the hell is going on with this blasted world? I've been here less than an hour, and I've already witnessed a grand parade of dragons, and they all have Rules? Are you kidding me?!"

Lin Luo was utterly speechless. With his strength, even in a dangerous place like the Moon World, few entities—excluding the two Inhibitors—could claim a solid victory over him. What was happening now?

Dragons flying everywhere, Rules as common as dirt—how were they supposed to survive here? If he could use his Rule power, fine, but currently... Sigh?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Lin Luo suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?" Leí asked worriedly, watching him swing between anger and vacant staring, looking like a madman.

"Hmm, something strange has appeared. Look..." Lin Luo scratched his head, then made a gentle motion in front of him, and instantly, a ball of white mist materialized.

"What is this..." Leí tilted her head, completely puzzled, but Shokuhou and Mugino froze. They understood perfectly what this signified. In unison, they exclaimed, "You can use Rule power already?"

It wasn't surprising they were shocked; it had taken Lin Luo a full eight months last time just to analyze the world's rules and deploy less than fifty percent of his Rule power. But now, right upon arrival...

"How much Rule power can you use right now?" Shokuhou quickly inquired.

"Hmm, about five percent," Lin Luo estimated after sensing it. While five percent wasn't much, a Rule was a Rule, enough for him to contend with most existences. "With this level of strength against that dragon horde just now, I suppose I could rank in the top five hundred."

"Only the top five hundred?" Shokuhou frowned; this ranking was quite discouraging.

"Being in the top five hundred is already quite good," Lin Luo shook his head, explaining, "Putting aside the others, even with one hundred percent of my Rule power, I wouldn't claim a guaranteed win against that Five-Clawed Golden Dragon or the Three-Headed Golden Dragon."

"They are that strong?" Mugino's expression shifted; she found it hard to believe. Among them, she probably knew best how strong Lin Luo's Rule power was, yet this level of strength still lagged behind those two golden dragons... That was too exaggerated.

"How to put it... hmm." Lin Luo stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then asked the two, "Do you remember the Nine Nether Bone Dragon we fought before?"

"Of course." Both nodded immediately; that event was impossible to forget. Shokuhou had witnessed the Bone Dragon's terrifying power firsthand, and though Mugino hadn't fought it, having inherited fragments of the Fallen Angel's legacy, she understood the Bone Dragon's might better than anyone.

Lin Luo then explained, "That Nine Nether Bone Dragon had one foot already stepped into the Rule level, whereas those two Golden Dragons just now—the Five-Clawed and Three-Headed—are fully Rule-level. Furthermore, that Bone Dragon was merely a skeleton after death, possessing less than a third of its living strength. You can imagine how powerful it was in life."

Both sucked in a sharp breath. Calculating based on that standard, the group of dragons that had just flown over their heads... Thinking of this, they exchanged glances, feeling a lingering fear.

"If this is the case for this world, then we are in quite a dangerous situation, aren't we?" Shokuhou said gravely.

Hearing her, Lin Luo also frowned. "Dangerous is an understatement. It was our luck that the dragon horde didn't notice us, or rather, they paid no mind to insects like us. Otherwise, a single breath of dragon fire would have ended us."

"Indeed, it seems those dragons didn't target us," Mugino recalled the situation earlier and added.

"Those dragons were probably migrating," Leí suddenly remarked, tapping her chin. "Since they didn't treat us as enemies, we shouldn't be in danger, right?"

"Uh..." At her words, the other three were momentarily stunned. It made sense; no matter how powerful the dragons were, as long as they didn't provoke them, there was no chance of conflict. What just happened was purely an accident.

"You're right. But speaking of which, why are they migrating?" Shokuhou asked doubtfully.

"Who knows," Lin Luo replied noncommittally. He had zero interest in the biological activities of a massive swarm of scorpions. What concerned him most now was: "I just want to know... what world is this exactly?"

Lin Luo frowned. In his memory, no world he knew featured such an abundance of dragons.

"Ah, right!" Lin Luo suddenly remembered. Over a month ago, Loreleia had given him a jade pendant and warned him to be extremely careful in this world.

After all, Loreleia was backed by the Gui Qulai Xi organization. The longer he knew her, the more unfathomable that woman seemed. Her words absolutely could not be casually dismissed; they must hold significant meaning. Therefore, Lin Luo had kept the jade pendant close to his body ever since.

With that thought, Lin Luo immediately took out the jade pendant.

It looked like an ordinary piece of white jade, bearing no strange insignia, nor did it emanate any discernible power fluctuation. "Strange, what use could something like this have? Take a look, everyone?"

Lin Luo handed the pendant to Mugino and the others, but after examining it, they too shook their heads, sensing nothing unusual.

"Could it be that woman is playing tricks on me again..."

Lin Luo hadn't finished speaking before he stopped short because he heard the icy voice of the Contract Book once more: "Contract Book internal update complete. Second revision finalized. All data for current Contractor and Contracted have been refreshed. Please review."

Update? Revision? Lin Luo was completely dumbfounded. This wasn't an online game!

Despite his thoughts, in the current situation, he could only place his hopes on the Contract Book. He submerged his consciousness into it and began flipping through the pages one by one...

Contractor: Lin Luo (Human) Status: Normal Physical Strength (Overall Physical Quality): B Mental Strength (Overall Mental Quality): B Vitality: 1500 Current Contracted: Misaka Mikoto, Tohsaka Rin, Mugino Shizuri Current Awaiting Contract: Shokuhou Misaki, LeifangMezerans Current Special Contracted: Little Ber, Red Ber, Black Ber Overall Strength: Spirit Rank Initial Current Contract Book LV2. Can advance to LV3 after signing three more Contractors. ... Contracted: Misaka Mikoto (Human) Status: Slumbering Physical Strength: C Mental Strength: B Heart of the World: Heart of Kindness (No. 7, Dynamic Form) Heart of the World Level: Novice Overall Strength Level: Human Rank Peak ... Contracted: Tohsaka Rin (Human) Status: Slumbering Physical Strength: C Mental Strength: C Heart of the World: Heart of Charm (No. 11, Illusory Form) Heart of the World Level: Sealed Overall Strength Level: Human Rank Peak ... Contracted: Mugino Shizuri (Human) Status: Normal Physical Strength: C Mental Strength: B Heart of the World: Heart of Corruption (No. 14, Sinking Form) Overall Strength Level: Human Rank Peak ... Awaiting Contract: Shokuhou Misaki (Human) Status: Normal Physical Strength: D Mental Strength: A Heart of the World: Heart of Spirit (No. 24, Conceptual Form) Heart of the World Level: Sealed Overall Strength Level: Human Rank High ... Awaiting Contract: LeifangMezerans (Weapon Race) Status: Normal Physical Strength: D Mental Strength: B Heart of the World: Azure Heart (No. 20, Still Form) Heart of the World Level: Sealed Combined Strength Level: Spirit Rank Initial ... Special Contracted: Little Ber (Heroic Spirit) Status: Cursed (Summonable) Physical Strength: A Mental Strength: D Overall Strength: Human Rank Initial ... Special Contracted: Red Ber (Heroic Spirit) Status: Cursed (Not Summonable) Physical Strength: A Mental Strength: A Overall Strength: Spirit Rank Middle ... Special Contracted: Black Ber (Heroic Spirit) Status: Cursed (Not Summonable) Physical Strength: A Mental Strength: A Overall Strength: Spirit Rank Middle ... Contracted Subordinate: White Ber (Heroic Spirit) Status: Cursed (Contractor Unsummonable) Physical Strength: A Mental Strength: A Overall Strength: Spirit Rank Middle ...

"This is the revised content. Although much simplified, it looks much cleaner," Lin Luo clicked his tongue, offering no further comment. What concerned him more was that the hierarchy of strength now finally had a formal division. There were four major tiers, from highest to lowest: Heaven Rank, Earth Rank, Spirit Rank, and Human Rank. Each major rank was subdivided into minor levels, from weakest to strongest: Initial—Middle—High—Peak.

Currently, only Lin Luo and a few of the Ber units had reached Spirit Rank, while the other Contractors were all at the Human Rank. Interpreted literally, this meant they hadn't yet broken free of the "human" category.

However, Lin Luo didn't quite understand why the Contract Book needed such a revision.

As if answering the question in Lin Luo's mind, the Contract Book's cold voice sounded again: "Current world is Stage One God War World. Contract Book has been revised to God War Mode. In the current world, there are eight Walkers possessing the Core Sutra and eight hosts of the World Heart. Eliminate the other seven Walkers, or force them out of this world. The sole remaining Walker will be the final victor of Stage One. The victor shall claim this world."

"Sigh," Upon hearing this, Lin Luo's expression changed drastically.

This was truly the worst possible development.

P: This chapter was a real struggle to write; I felt no inspiration, making it sound like a simple narrative rundown. Whenever I enter a new world, I always experience writer's block for a while. Please bear with me; I will adjust as quickly as possible. A