Half a day later, Yang Kai and Li Jiao sat opposite each other in a teahouse. The fragrance of the tea tickled their noses, but both of them remained silent.
Half a day of observation had given them a lot of time to see many things. Half-Dragon City was extremely strange. Putting aside how odd it was to see so many Dragonborn in one place, just the number of Masters here was staggering. At least 1 out of 1,000 people in the street were in the Emperor Realm. To put it into perspective, the population of this city was approximately 500,000. In other words, there were 500 to 600 Emperors living in this Half-Dragon City!
[What is this!? There are simply too many of them!]
There were countless cities across the entire Star Boundary, both large and small; however, no other city would ever have enough Emperor Realm Masters to compare with Half-Dragon City. Oftentimes, just a dozen Emperors living in one city was an astonishing sight. And, even those numbers had taken the Emperor Realm Masters that were simply passing by into account. 100 was impossible let alone 500!
Even if the World Energy here was extremely pure and helped the cultivators break through quickly, the ratio was still too frightening to think about. To put it into perspective, even the Top Sects such as Azure Sun Temple had no more than a dozen Emperor Realm Masters among their ranks. That wasn’t even a fraction of the numbers in Half-Dragon City.
In addition, Dragonborn with the Dragon Clan’s bloodline seemed to have a generally higher status in Half-Dragon City. Of those in the same cultivation realm, a Dragonborn was often the leader among their peers.
Yang Kai made a conjecture that if all the Masters in this city were to take up arms, they would have enough strength to take over any city and any top Sect in the Star Boundary. Only the Great Emperor Sects would be able to put up some resistance against Half-Dragon City. This entire city was like an invincible army!
However, both Yang Kai and Li Jiao also discovered something else that was strange. The Dragonborn, especially those with slightly purer bloodlines, seemed to suffer from unstable auras. No matter how high or low their cultivation, they seemed unsteady on their feet and looked as if they were suffering from hidden injuries. Moreover, the higher the cultivation among those in the Emperor Realm, the fewer the Dragonborn among them.
[What’s with this situation?] Yang Kai and Li Jiao had even more trouble understanding.
Logically speaking, the Dragonborn had a unique advantage in cultivating due to the Dragon Clan’s blood in them. Take Li Jiao for example. If he had not been a Dragonborn, his cultivation journey would have ended when he was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm. It was because of his Dragon Clan bloodline that he was able to break through to the Third-Order Emperor Realm.
Strangely enough; the situation seemed to be reversed in Half-Dragon City. The purer the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, the harder it was for their cultivation to advance, and they reached the end of their cultivation in the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Thus, most Dragonborn cultivators were only First-Order Emperors. Contrarily, there were Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters among those that did not have the Dragon Clan’s bloodline in them, such as the Humans and Monsters.
After staying in the teahouse for a long time and listening to the conversations around them, Yang Kai and Li Jiao did not hear anything that stood out too much. The only thing that caught their attention was when one person accidentally mentioned the words ‘Dragon Palace’. Unfortunately, that person immediately realized that he had said something that was not supposed to be said and quickly changed the subject. It had left Yang Kai and Li Jiao feeling frustrated.
Half-Dragon City, Dragon Palace, Dragonborn… There were all indications that this place was none other than Dragon Island itself. However, Yang Kai found that hard to believe in the face of a population of several hundreds of thousands. [How can there be so many people on Dragon Island?]
Li Jiao was also confused. The difference between this place and what he had imagined was so vast that he could not accept reality.
While the two of them were immersed in their silence, a loud commotion sounded from the opposite shop. It sounded like a quarrel and immediately following that, Emperor Qi surged and Principles churned. The sound of something hitting the ground rang out, followed by a shocked exclamation. At the same time, a figure flew out from the shop and landed heavily on the ground.
The figure turned out to be a woman dressed in a light yellow dress. She had a head of black hair that fell to her shoulders like a waterfall while the shape of her back was slender and graceful. It was too bad that her face remained out of sight. The aura coming from her body was also not weak; she was a First-Order Emperor Realm Master.
Nobody knew who she had gotten into a conflict with inside that shop for her to be beaten up and thrown out but it seemed as though the injuries she suffered were not light. When the pedestrians on the street saw the commotion, they hurriedly evaded the area. Without knowing the cause and effect, no one was willing to stick their nose into another’s affairs, lest they bring trouble upon themselves.
“Mother!” A child’s voice cried out with a trace of sobbing. The woman lying on the ground got up with some difficulty, wiped the fresh blood from the corner of her mouth, and glared in front of her with a livid gaze. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, whether from anger or fear remained unknown to the people.
“Hmph!” A cold snort rang out and a man walked out of the shop with a sullen expression. His movements were neither fast nor slow. His hand was slightly lifted, grabbing a girl by her hair and dragging her outside with him. Caught in that manner, the girl could only walk after him with her body half-arched backwards.
The girl was beautiful. She looked fairly young, and her body wasn’t very well-developed. With two small bulges on her chest, she looked extremely petite and exquisite. All in all, she looked no more than 15 or 16 years old. Her eyes were reddened, and tears slid down her cheeks. She seemed to be frightened, and her expression was filled with panic. Looking ahead of her, she cried out again, “Mother, please save me!”
Listening to her cries for help, this girl seemed to be the daughter of the woman that had been thrown out of the shop before.
“Let her go!” That woman growled through gritted teeth. The Emperor Qi in her body churned violently while her posture indicated that she was desperate to rush forward and fight; however, her daughter had been captured which made her hesitant to act, lest she cause her daughter to be harmed. She didn’t dare to act hastily regardless of how furious she was.
Besides, the cultivation of that sinister and vicious-looking man wasn’t just higher than hers; he was also a Dragonborn. Even if she fought with her life on the line, she would still be no match for him.
“Let her go?” The sinister and vicious-looking man looked at the woman and laughed coldly, “Why should I let her go just because you asked me to? What thing are you?”
Disdain was dripping from his words and it was obvious that he did not put the woman in front of him in his eyes. While he was speaking, he lowered his head and took a sniff at the girl’s hair. Then, he suddenly showed an expression of ecstasy, “How fragrant. I just love little girls like her.”
The girl had never gone through such experiences before and feeling the burning aura coming from behind, she stiffened and wept even harder, crying out pitifully, “Mother…”
“Don’t you dare!” The woman was enraged by the sight. Gnashing her teeth, she yelled, “Do you know whose daughter she is? How dare you act so frivolously toward her?!”
The sinister and vicious-looking man sneered, “Of course I know whose daughter she is!”
The woman seemed stunned by those words. She clearly had not expected the other party to reply in such a manner. At first, she assumed that the other party was abusing his authority and harassing them; thus, she only needed to bring out the name of her daughter’s father to make the other party back off in fear, leaving the mother-daughter pair unharmed. Who could have expected that it would have no effect at all?
She couldn’t help but feel her heart sinking, knowing that the situation was against her. The other party had been targeting her all along. He must have investigated them beforehand so threatening him with the father’s identity was no longer of any use.
The sinister and vicious-looking man said, “Did you think that person would care about a Human like you? If he cared, he wouldn’t have driven the two of you out!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, not only did that woman’s expression darken, but the expressions of the onlookers also became dejected. They looked as if they had gone through the same experience that woman did.
“Believe me; even if I strip her naked right here and right now, nobody will care about what happens to you!” The sinister and vicious-looking man said, placing his hand on the girl’s shoulder.
The girl’s body stiffened abruptly. Her tears slid down her cheeks uncontrollably like a broken string of pearls.
The woman standing opposite him was incredibly shocked by those words and shrieked, “No!”
If he really stripped her daughter naked here, then her daughter would never be able to hold her head high in public again. In the worst case, her daughter might even commit suicide. Her daughter was the only thing that made living bearable so how could she just watch this travesty happen?
The words of that sinister and vicious-looking man made many of the onlookers frown in response. They felt that he was going too far and somebody immediately piped up, “Hey, Friend. It’s not necessary to drive them into a corner. Even if they provoked you in some way, there’s no need to humiliate them in this manner, right?”
The moment that person spoke up, the expression of his companion next to him immediately changed drastically. His companion hurriedly tugged at him and whispered something in his ear. Following that, his expression changed too and his face became rather sickly and ashen.
The sinister and vicious-looking man turned to look in that person’s direction and sneered, “What did you say just now? I didn’t hear you clearly. Why don’t you repeat that?”
That person’s complexion paled further as he cupped his fists and bowed, responding in a low voice, “Sir, please forgive me. I failed to choose my words carefully. Please forgive me if I have offended you, Sir.”
The sinister and vicious-looking man stared at him coldly and a long while passed before he suddenly shouted, “Scram!”
When that person heard that word, he reacted as if he was granted a pardon by the Heavens. He hurriedly turned around and fled. Although he was willing to stand up against injustice if it was within his capabilities, he did not have the courage to do so when his life was at risk.
The rest of the onlookers saw the scene unfolding before them and understood that the Dragonborn in the Second-Order Emperor Realm was very influential. He might have a powerful backer supporting him, otherwise, his threat alone could not have been such a great deterrent.
Some of the others could recognize that sinister and vicious-looking man. Thus, they knew just where his confidence was coming from. Sighing, they thought to themselves, [Both of them are done for. They could have offended anybody in the world, but they just had to offend this bastard. Their futures will not be easy.]
After throwing his weight around, the sinister man turned his head to look at the girl’s mother and said with a smug expression, “Do you know what to do now?”
How could the woman not know what he was talking about? She clenched her fists so hard that her nails cut into her palms. Even so, she did not feel the pain. Lifting her eyes to look at her daughter, she smiled sadly and slowly got down on her knees. Prostrating herself, she pressed her forehead against the backs of her palms and aggrievedly said, “I… am willing to serve you, Sir. Please let my daughter go!”
The corners of his mouth lifted into a jeering sneer. The woman’s lowly posture satisfied him greatly and his gaze lingered on her round and tight bottom for a while before he leisurely swaggered over. All of a sudden, he lashed out and kicked the woman to the ground. The force of his kick was not small and caused the woman to roll across the ground several times before she stopped.
“Mother!” The girl cried out sorrowfully when she saw that.
“Shut up!” The sinister and vicious-looking man slapped his palm across the girl’s cheeks, causing her face to swell up greatly.
It could be that she had been scared senseless and did not dare to say anything else again after that. The pupils of her bright eyes dilated with fear.
Meanwhile, the sinister and vicious-looking man kicked the woman again. It was clear that he was not done with her. Stepping forward, he stomped one foot down on her chest, causing her voluptuous peaks to deform from the pressure.
The woman’s expression was twisted in pain, but even so, she called out to her daughter, “Close your eyes!”
She did not want her child to see the state she was in right now.
As a mother, how could that woman let her daughter witness herself being tortured?
Unfortunately, the girl was completely stupefied. Her eyes were open wide and staring. At the same time, her tears flowed freely down her face. It could be seen that she had been frightened senseless.
“Wouldn’t it have been better if you had agreed earlier?” The sinister and vicious-looking man coldly snorted. He ground his foot into her chest several times. The sound of bone being dislocated rang out, but he acted as if he did not hear anything. Lowering his body, he snorted, “If you agreed sooner, you wouldn’t have to suffer like this.”
The woman’s expression was filled with pain. Even so, she gritted her teeth and refused to utter a single sound. She simply looked at her daughter and squeezed out a smile. It was too bad that that smile was uglier than if she had cried instead.
“You rotten wretch! You should be honoured that you caught my interest! How dare you refuse me?!” It seemed as though he had not tortured her enough and still wanted to vent his rage. More than that, he clearly enjoyed the feeling of trampling on this woman, his eyes filled with bliss.
Inside the teahouse, Yang Kai’s gaze cooled slightly. He and Li Jiao had watched the entire scene unfolding before them, so they knew exactly what had happened.
Although it was his first time in Half-Dragon City and he was not very familiar with the situation here, he couldn’t bear to continue watching the mother-daughter pair being tormented so badly under their noses anymore. Just as he was about to make a move though, Li Jiao stood up abruptly. Li Jiao was watching the woman being stepped on the ground with a shocked expression. There was a look of disbelief in his eyes and in the next moment, fury burned in him.
“It’s too late to beg for mercy now!” The sinister and vicious-looking man was still trampling that woman underfoot, “Neither you nor your daughter can escape. You will both come with me!”
While speaking, he grabbed the girl with one hand and reached out to grab the girl’s mother with the other.
At that moment, without warning, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. An imposing Emperor Pressure descended from the sky, enveloping the sinister and vicious-looking man.
The sinister and vicious-looking man was utterly shocked. Kicking out with his feet, he flew backwards and yelled, “Who!?”
Li Jiao stretched out his hand to form a fist, slamming it straight into that man’s face.
The sinister and vicious-looking man was horrified and hurriedly circulated his Emperor Qi to defend against the attack; however, the fist pressure became infinitely magnified in the next moment and smashed into his nose. Then, he was sent flying by that punch with a loud crack, sounding as if something had split apart. Concurrently, he lost his grip and the girl he had captured broke free from him.
A loud crash subsequently rang out as the man slammed into the shop behind him, breaking who knows how many things as he fell. Climbing up with some difficulty, he felt extremely dizzy and his mouth was filled with the smell of blood. He reached out to wipe at his nose, smearing blood all over his hand. It would seem as though his nose had been broken.
He was enraged as a result. Immediately rushing out of the shop, he fixed a cold gaze on Li Jiao and his murderous intent rose like a tide as he shouted through gritted teeth, “Impudence!”
Meanwhile, Li Jiao ignored him and instead he was focused on the girl he had rescued before turning to look at the woman who was still lying on the ground, saying in a low voice, “Go and help your mother up.”
The girl remained motionless. She had probably been overwhelmed with fear.
On the other hand, the woman stared at Li Jiao in astonishment. She had not expected anybody to help them at this point; after all, that sinister and vicious-looking man was not somebody they could afford to provoke. That man’s cultivation could not be counted among the best in Half-Dragon City and many others were stronger than him. Even so, he was not somebody that just anybody could afford to offend. Anybody who offended him would meet a terrible end and it had nothing to do with their cultivation.
When that woman saw Li Jiao’s face clearly though, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes and let out a soft exclamation in response. Their gazes met, and a look of pity and nostalgia flashed in Li Jiao’s eyes; however, that woman immediately looked away and avoided his gaze.
Seeing her reaction, Li Jiao sighed softly and gave the girl a soft push. Only then did the girl return to her senses and step forward to help her mother while bawling her eyes out.
Li Jiao’s arrogant attitude undoubtedly angered the sinister and vicious-looking man. It was strange to say that even though he noticed that Li Jiao’s cultivation was higher than his by a whole Minor Realm, he was not the slightest bit scared. Rather, he glared at Li Jiao hatefully and snapped, “How dare you injure me?! I don’t care who you are; you’re dead!”
“You took those words right out of my mouth.” Li Jiao turned back to look at the sinister and vicious-looking man, his expression completely indifferent, but the suppressed rage in his voice clear to all.
Inside the teahouse, Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, picked up a cup of tea, and took a sip. He gazed at the woman before shifting his gaze to Li Jiao. A moment later, his expression changed as if he had understood something.
On the other side, the sinister and vicious-looking man was stunned for a moment before he burst into laughter and said grimly, “You are pretty courageous. No one has ever dared to speak to me in that manner in Half-Dragon City.”
“There’s one now!” Li Jiao took a shallow breath and calmed the anger in his heart. He had never been so angry before. The rage burning in his chest threatened to explode right out and he could barely restrain himself from venting his anger and smashing this sinister and vicious-looking man into powder.
“You court death!” Similarly, the sinister and vicious-looking man was incredibly furious. His aura intensified, and the colour of the Dragon Scales under his neck deepened considerably. Simultaneously, a faint Dragon Pressure spread in the air.
Many of the Dragonborn within the crowd suddenly looked uncomfortable. It couldn’t be helped as this was a form of bloodline suppression. The Dragon Clan bloodline of that sinister and vicious-looking man was purer than theirs; moreover, his cultivation was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm. If he used his full strength, not many Dragonborn within Half-Dragon City could stand against him. Even the Humans and Monsters who were not Dragonborn looked extremely uncomfortable and began to back away.
Meanwhile, Li Jiao’s expression remained unchanged as he stood there as immovable as the mountain. He simply stared at the sinister and vicious-looking man coldly.
The expression of the sinister and vicious-looking man twisted slightly when he saw Li Jiao’s calm and indifferent demeanour. He couldn’t help thinking that something was wrong. Knowing that Li Jiao also had the Dragon Clan’s blood flowing in him, that man dared to be so reckless because he was certain that Li Jiao’s bloodline was not as pure as his.
Contrary to his expectations, Li Jiao’s reaction to the overwhelming Dragon Pressure gave him a shock. [How is he unaffected?! How can this be?! Is the bloodline suppression not working?! That’s impossible! There’s only one possible reason for his indifference… His bloodline is not inferior to mine!]
At that thought, his expression changed drastically. His cultivation was incomparable to Li Jiao’s in the first place, and if his bloodline gave him no advantages, then he was no match for Li Jiao whatsoever!
Upon taking a closer look at Li Jiao, a suspicious look flashed through his eyes. He realized that Li Jiao did not look even a little bit familiar, so much so that he had no recollection of ever meeting Li Jiao before.
Dragonborn might be common in Half-Dragon City, enough to number several tens of thousands, but not many Dragonborn were Emperors. There were only a few hundred in Half-Dragon City that were in the Emperor Realm in total, of which Humans and Monsters accounted for roughly eighty percent.
Totalling up all the Dragonborn in the Emperor Realm amounted to less than a hundred, so this man essentially had some recollection of all of them. Even if he was not close with them, he would have met them several times before. That was inevitable; they were all living in Half-Dragon City after all. The city might be big, but they would still run into each other over the years. In contrast, Li Jiao was a face he had never seen before. [Where did this guy pop out from? His cultivation is in the Third-Order Emperor Realm, and his bloodline is not inferior to mine… I’ve never heard of a guy like this before!]
At this point, he was utterly stunned! The woman was shocked too! Similarly, the surrounding onlookers were absolutely astonished! Everybody stared blankly at Li Jiao as though he had flowers on his face.
After a while, the sinister and vicious-looking man felt cold sweat beading on his forehead. He had the feeling that he had chosen a bad match.
“Disgraceful!” Li Jiao snorted coldly and activated his power too. In the next moment, a trace of Dragon Pressure that was obviously stronger than that of the sinister and vicious-looking man’s covered the entire surrounding area. Following that, the man’s Dragon Pressure disintegrated instantly like a bubble popping.
Muffled exclamations rang out from the surrounding onlookers as they suppressed their reactions.
“Third-Order Dragon Vein!”
“It’s a Third-Order Dragon Vein!”
“Was there someone with a Third-Order Dragon Vein in Half-Dragon City?”
Li Jiao furrowed his eyebrows at those exclamations. He knew that his Dragon Clan bloodline was impure, but he did not know how to classify it. He had never had anything else to compare it with after all, let alone a standard he could measure against.
The classification of the Dragon Clan’s bloodline originated from Dragon Island and the Dragon Clan, so it was not known to outsiders; however, judging by the exclamations from the crowd, the Dragonborn of Half-Dragon City seemed to have a clear idea of the standards of classification.
[So, I have a Third-Order Dragon Vein?] It was the first time Li Jiao had ever heard of that himself.
“Did we have a Dragonborn like that in Half-Dragon City?”
“Who is this person? How come we’ve never seen him before?”
“Look at his power! He probably has a Third-Order High Rank, right?”
“I don’t think so. It’s probably only Mid Rank.”
“Someone is about to be in trouble.”
“Don’t joke around. It’s not like you don’t know that person’s background, he might not necessarily be the one in trouble.”
……
The expression on that sinister and vicious-looking man changed constantly as he cursed endlessly in his heart. [What the hell?! Where did someone possessing a Third-Order Mid-Rank Dragon Vein pop out from? I, myself, only have a Second-Order High-Rank Dragon Vein! There’s a difference of two Minor Realms between us! My cultivation is not as good as his, and my bloodline is not as pure as his. How am I supposed to fight him?]
A wave of Dragon Pressure pressed down on him, and his expression became extremely troubled. The Emperor Qi in his body could barely respond, and the meridians in his body squirmed. At the same time, the throbbing from the depths of his heart made him panic.
It was also the first time Li Jia had experienced the benefits of bloodline suppression. In the past, he had always been the one being suppressed. He could only shrink in fear in front of Zhu Lie and Zhu Qing. This time, he was finally the one standing on top.
The rage in his heart had yet to subside though and raising his hand, he swept his palm at the sinister and vicious-looking man’s face. The sinister and vicious-looking man wanted to resist; however, he did not have the power to do so. He couldn’t even dodge aside when the slap came at him.
The crisp sound of a slap rang out. Consequently, one side of that man’s face swelled and several of his teeth were knocked out. He spun around several times before crashing heavily into the ground; that was how much power Li Jiao’s attack contained.
Afterwards, Li Jiao turned around. His cold expression disappeared immediately to be replaced with a kind one as he looked at the little girl, “He slapped you once, so I slapped him back. Was that enough to vent your anger?”
Meanwhile, the girl was in shock. She did not know Li Jiao. More than that, she did not know why he was helping her. All she knew was that she had been filled with grievances and fear when she and her mother had been harassed by that sinister and vicious-looking man. In contrast, she currently felt overjoyed to see that man receiving his just desserts. Hence, she had a good impression of Li Jiao, a person she had just met by coincidence, so she nodded repeatedly in response to his question.
He smiled, “If you think it’s not enough, I can hit him a few more times.”
The girl mulled over it for a moment and shook her head.
Li Jiao continued, “Good, then I’ll help your mother vent some of her anger now.”
On the streets of Half-Dragon City, everyone was silent.
When Li Jiao turned around again, the cold expression was back on his face. He approached that sinister and vicious-looking man, step by step.
The sinister and vicious-looking man was dizzy after being slapped in the face and when he finally got his bearings again, he saw that Li Jiao was standing in front of him all of a sudden. Thus, he became angry out of shame and opened his mouth to curse at Li Jiao, “How dare you hit me!?”
Li Jiao’s eyes drooped. Then, he lashed out again. A crisp slapping sound rang out, and the other side of that man’s face swelled as a result.
The double suppression from their bloodline and their cultivation left that man with no power to resist; thus, he could only take the beatings passively.
“You bastard! How dare…”
Before he finished speaking, Li Jiao smashed another fist into his face. He was hit so hard that his skin tore off.
“You…”
*Hong…*
Another punch slammed into his face.
The surrounding onlookers were as silent as cicadas in winter, feeling a chill running down from the tops of their heads to the bottoms of their soles.
Li Jiao was extremely furious and ignored everything around him as he rushed forward and pinned that sinister and vicious-looking man. Then, he began punching that man’s face repeatedly with both fists. The sounds of punching rang out continuously, so much so that that man couldn’t even get another word out of his mouth.
Although Li Jiao appeared ruthless, he also knew his limits. This was an unfamiliar place after all and even if he wanted to help those two vent their anger, he did not kill that man. Therefore, that sinister and vicious-looking man’s life was in no danger whatsoever even though he suffered such a terrible and miserable beating.
“Friend… It would do you good to be forgiving. Besides, this person… Isn’t somebody you can afford to offend.”
A voice suddenly floated into Li Jiao’s ears. Somebody had sent a Divine Sense transmission directly to him, causing him to frown and reduce the force behind his attacks considerably. Most of his rage had calmed down after beating that man up, so he was no longer as unreasonable as he had been previously.
The woman he rescued finally came back to her senses and screamed, “Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! Sir, please stop!”
She wasn’t pleading on behalf of that sinister and vicious-looking man. How could she possibly plead on his behalf after suffering such humiliation at his hands? Her daughter even saw the entire scene! She was brimming with a thirst for revenge, but she was worried about Li Jiao. If Li Jiao killed that man, he would not walk away from this incident alive; thus, she was filled with the guilt and anxiety of dragging him into her problems.
In response, Li Jiao punched the sinister and vicious-looking man two more times before stopping and coldly snorted, “Worthless dog!”
The woman took the opportunity to run forward and clutched at his arm as she begged, “Sir, please stop! Stop hitting him!”
Li Jiao got up, looked at the sinister and vicious-looking man lying on the ground coldly, and snarled ferociously, “I’ll let you off this time. If this happens again, I will rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces.”
At this moment, the face of the sinister and vicious-looking man was covered in blood and his expression was literally deformed. Nobody knew whether it was because he was feeling incredibly embarrassed or he was actually severely injured, but he lay motionlessly on the ground as if he was dead.
Li Jiao kicked the sinister and vicious-looking man once again before turning to look at that woman with a slightly complicated expression and asked, “Are you alright?”
The woman shook her head, not daring to meet his gaze. Then, she gently let go of his arm. She was also an Emperor Realm Master. Thus, she was only sightly injured despite being subjected to that torture just now.
“Good,” Li Jiao nodded.
Lowering her head, the woman bit her red lips lightly before uttering, “Many thanks for lending a helping hand, Sir. But… You should leave quickly. You can’t stay in Half-Dragon City anymore.”
Li Jiao frowned at those words. Whether it was this woman’s current reaction or the message from before, both were conveying a clear meaning. Li Jiao was no fool, so how could he not realize that the man he had beaten up was somebody influential?
[I’ve really done it now. This is going to be troublesome.] Li Jiao couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy. Even so, he did not reveal his uneasiness in front of the woman. Besides, he would still make the same choice even if he was asked to choose again. It wasn’t because he had a gallant and compassionate nature; it was just…
“Are you going to keep addressing me in that manner?” He looked at the woman and sighed softly.
The woman’s tender body trembled and continued to play dumb as she asked, “Sir… What do you mean by that?”
“Ha…” Shaking his head, Li Jiao did not continue pestering her on that topic and simply said, “Come with me.”
After saying that, he led the way.
The woman hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she called her daughter over and held her hand before following behind him.
Walking into the teahouse from before and heading to the second floor, Li Jiao immediately saw Yang Kai smiling at him strangely. He couldn’t help blushing furiously in response, knowing that his impulsive actions just now had made him seem like a fool. He was a Third-Order Emperor, as well as a Palace Master, so it was indeed rare for him to lose his composure in such a manner.
Without saying anything, Li Jiao returned to his original seat. Yang Kai pushed a cup of tea over to him which he downed in a single gulp with a grim expression and remained silent.
Meanwhile, the mother-daughter pair stood next to each other happily. If one were to look at them carefully, one would notice that they had many similarities. Moreover, they were both extraordinarily pretty. The woman had been injured, and she even had some blood in the corner of her mouth, but that did not take away from her beauty.
Li Jiao remained silent. Similarly, the woman said nothing either. She simply stood there with her head lowered as if she had done something wrong. On the other hand, the girl studied Yang Kai and Li Jiao curiously, although she was relatively more curious about Li Jiao as he had rescued her and her mother; thus, she was more cordial and grateful toward him.
“Why don’t you sit down and talk?” Yang Kai smiled at them slightly.
The woman shook her head and whispered, “I have received your kindness, Sir. It’s enough for me to remain standing.”
Li Jiao was frustrated when he heard what she said and took another sip of tea.
She continued, “Two Sirs, you should leave Half-Dragon City as soon as possible. You must not stay here for long.”
Yang Kai asked, “Who is he?”
She answered, “He isn’t anything important, but… He can communicate with the other side.”
She did not explain clearly as it seemed to be a taboo of some sort. Seeing the indifferent expressions on both Yang Kai and Li Jiao’s faces though, she anxiously turned to Li Jiao and explained, “Sir, you really have to leave soon. It will be too late if you don’t leave now.”
Li Jiao turned his head and looked at her in annoyance and quickly snapped back, “Are you going to continue pretending not to know me?”
As soon as those words left his mouth, she immediately lowered her head again and did not dare to look at him. The girl next to her widened her eyes curiously and stared at her mother. Then, she turned to Li Jiao and asked, “Do you know my mother?”
Li Jiao snorted, “You have to ask her yourself!”
Li Jiao seemed to be a little angry; however, even he did not know why he was feeling upset.
In response, the girl innocently turned her head, “Mother, do you know this man?”
The woman remained silent, but her tender shoulders began shaking softly. Her tears dripped down like a string of broken pearls as she looked like she was reminiscing about something sad.
“Mother…” The girl’s eyes reddened at the sight, and she reached out to hug her.
“Why are you crying? So many years have passed, yet you’re still the same…” Li Jiao felt speechless. Knowing that his words had been a little too harsh just now, he suddenly felt bad. Unfortunately, he did not know how to comfort her so he fidgeted anxiously for a bit before turning to Yang Kai for help.
Yang Kai smiled, “Elder Sister, please have a seat.”
Although they were both in the First-Order Emperors, this woman was certainly older than him so it was not wrong of him to address her as ‘Elder Sister’. Furthermore, she seemed to be an old friend of Li Jiao’s, so it was only natural for him to show some courtesy to give Li Jiao some face. After all, Li Jiao had gone out of his way to play the role of a hero just now.
Sure enough; Yang Kai’s words immediately caused Li Jiao’s face to turn a brilliant shade of red. Nevertheless, he sternly ordered, “Sit. Why are you just standing there? If people didn’t know better they might think that I am bullying you!”
The woman continued weeping quietly. Even so, she sat down with her daughter. She probably felt that it was unsightly of her to stand there and cry. Her emotions were all over the place. Nobody knew if it was because of the harassment she received earlier or her meeting Li Jiao again after so many years; in any case, her tears flowed without stopping.
Seeing that it wasn’t convenient for her to talk at the moment, Yang Kai decided to turn to look at Li Jiao instead and secretly communicated with him via Divine Sense, “Do you know her?”
He had guessed as much before Li Jiao even made a move. Besides, what happened afterwards gave him various indications that Li Jiao and this woman were old acquaintances. It was just that he found it strangely coincidental for Li Jiao to meet somebody he knew in this weird place called ‘Half-Dragon City’.
Li Jiao nodded lightly in response, his expression becoming complicated again as memories flashed through his eyes.
Yang Kai did not inquire any further. It wasn’t easy to ask about something so private and he just couldn’t shake the feeling that the relationship between Li Jiao and this woman was not an ordinary one.
“Palace Master Yang, have you ever heard of the Sect, Dream Gate?” Li Jiao was silent for a long time before he answered through Divine Sense without any warning.
“Dream Gate?” Yang Kai pondered for a moment and nodded, “Yes, I have.”
Dream Gate was also located in the Northern Territory, but it was nothing compared to Fire Dragon Palace, Full Sky Sect, Seeking Passion Sect, or Ice Heart Valley. That was because there were no Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters in that Sect. The strongest among them was merely a Second-Order Emperor. Therefore, Yang Kai did not have a thorough understanding of this Sect even though he had heard of it before. Hearing Li Jiao mentioning it at this time, he immediately understood that this woman had something to do with Dream Gate.
Li Jiao continued, “Dream Gate’s Sect Master, Lu Qiu, is only a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master. Although his cultivation is not the greatest, it is not bad either. Furthermore, Dream Gate is a Sect with a long history. Sect Master Lu Qiu might not have many achievements under his belt, but he has been able to maintain the inheritance passed down by his ancestors well. The point is, he has many children. In particular, his third child is very beautiful and very famous. Everybody knew her as Lu San Niang.”
At this point, he turned to look at the woman who was crying softly next to them.
“It was probably around three hundred years ago, I was out travelling when I encountered a group of evildoers committing heinous crimes. I’m sure you are familiar with such incidents, Palace Master Yang. Not knowing the circumstances, I did not dare to interfere in the matter lightly, but just then, a lone woman decided to intercede on behalf of justice. Her strength wasn’t bad, but in the end, she was just a Third-Order Dao Source Realm at the time. She was surrounded by danger on all sides, so I saved her from her predicament and became acquainted with her. That woman… Was none other than Lu San Niang of Dream Gate. I am not afraid of being laughed at, Palace Master Yang, but the lecher in me was tempted by her beauty. After getting to know her for some time, I learned that she had a favourable impression of me, and therefore, I went to Dream Gate to ask for her hand.”
Li Jiao was born lecherous. Combined with the Dragon Clan’s blood flowing in him, it was only natural for him to be charmed by Lu San Niang’s country destroying beauty.
“Lu Qiu allowed the marriage, and as I did not wish to delay the matter any longer, I planned for the wedding to be held in a month. It’s a pity that one cannot predict the Heavens’ will; Lu Qiu sent a message half a month later saying that San Niang had disappeared. Naturally, I was furious. I went crazy at Dream Gate and injured many people; however, it was later verified that San Niang had vanished for no reason. It wasn’t the doing of Dream Gate. Fire Dragon Palace and Dream Gate searched for San Niang’s whereabouts for years after that, but there had been no leads whatsoever.” Li Jiao gave a wry smile, “It was as if she had vanished off the surface of Star Boundary. It was very strange indeed. This matter was such a huge deal back then that everybody in the Northern Territory knew about it. It was extremely embarrassing for me.”
Li Jiao was the Palace Master of Fire Dragon Palace, as well as a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master; therefore, it must have been quite humiliating for him to be involved in a marriage scandal like that. Yang Kai could almost imagine how Li Jiao had felt at the time.
[No wonder he went crazy at Dream Gate in his rage. If I had been in his shoes, I wouldn’t have been able to hold back either.]
“Up until today…” Li Jiao let his sentence trail away. Turning to look at Lu San Niang, he fell silent for a moment before sighing again.
It couldn’t be helped. They had been mutually in love at the time, but the woman he used to love now had a daughter of her own. Thus, he couldn’t help feeling heartbroken at the sight. Even though three hundred years had passed, some things could not be smoothed out with time. Li Jiao did not know why or how Lu San Niang vanished back then. He also did not know how she turned up in this Small World. More than anything else, he did not know whose child that girl was.
When he heard her voice earlier at the teahouse, he had simply thought that it sounded familiar. It wasn’t until that sinister and vicious-looking man kicked her to the ground that Li Jiao saw her face clearly and acted out of shock and rage.
The woman who had been betrothed to him had disappeared for three hundred years. Moreover, she had given birth to the child of another man. Any man would simply not be able to bear such humiliation.
It was only because it was Yang Kai that Li Jiao bothered to explain the situation. If it had been any other person, he would not have revealed such embarrassing secrets. In any case, it was not the first time he was humiliated in front of Yang Kai so he was already used to it.
“Big Brother Li…” A low voice rang out from the side. Lu San Niang had finally stopped sobbing. Wiping her tears from the corners of her eyes, she called out to Li Jiao.
Yang Kai choked and nearly burst into laughter. [‘Big Brother Li’!? I can’t believe that there are people in this world who address Li Jiao in such a manner! Moreover, it’s such a beauty too! He sure has pretty good fortune in love!] Unfortunately, now was not the time for laughter thus he hurriedly picked up a teacup and placed it by his mouth.
On the other hand, Li Jiao looked shaken. He turned to look at Lu San Niang with turbulent emotions, but what came out of his mouth was a sneer, “Are you going to stop pretending now?”
Lu San Niang did not look up as she whispered, “I was too ashamed to meet you. That’s why I didn’t dare to admit that I know you.”
“Oh, so you know that you should be ashamed to meet me?!” He coldly snapped. Li Jiao was feeling extremely vexed. At first, he wanted to ridicule and humiliate her to vent the anger that had been simmering in his heart for so many years; however, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue again when he saw her bleak and miserable appearance. At the same time, his face became slightly distorted.
Rubbing her eyes hard, Lu San Niang lifted her head and forced a smile at him, “I really would have never imagined that I’d be able to meet you again, Big Brother Li.”
His heart softened at the sight of her face and he no longer had the heart to blame her for anything else anymore.
“The person I have wronged the most in my entire life is you, Big Brother Li. I won’t have any complaints even if you want to beat me, scold me, or even kill me. It’s just…” While speaking, she turned to look at her daughter with eyes that were filled with love and longing.
The girl was shocked to hear those words and all the goodwill and gratitude she felt for Li Jiao vanished from her heart instantly. She jumped up, spread her arms wide in front of Lu San Niang, and shouted, “Don’t bully my mother!”
Li Jiao immediately became exasperated. Slamming his hands on the table, he shouted, “When have I ever bullied her!?”
The girl jumped in fright, blinking several times as pea-sized tears slid down her cheeks. Despite trembling uncontrollably, she continued standing in front of her mother with her arms spread open.
“Why is this girl so much like you?!” Li Jiao felt a little speechless. His words and tone had been a little harsh just now, so he felt extremely apologetic and looked extremely uncomfortable.
Lu San Niang reached out and pulled her daughter’s arms down, coaxing her in a gentle voice, “Qin’er, don’t cause a fuss. Your Uncle Li will not bully me.”
The girl seemed sceptical. However, she no longer dared to challenge Li Jiao again after he yelled at her just now.
Lu San Niang continued, “Big Brother Li, you should leave as soon as possible. That person won’t let things go so easily now that you beat him up. If you don’t leave now, things will get very troublesome.”
Li Jiao smiled coldly, “Trash like him? I won’t show him any mercy if he dares to pester me again.”
He was simply being stubborn and prideful when in actuality, he felt rather uneasy inside. Half-Dragon City was simply too strange. He would never have placed himself in the limelight if he had not accidentally come across Lu San Niang.
Lu San Niang shook her head though and continued, “Big Brother Li, I know that you are powerful; however, it doesn’t matter how strong you are in this place. The opponents you will face are not ordinary people.”
Despite feeling extremely nervous inside, he immediately scoffed at her words, “If that’s so, then I really want to see what kind of help he can bring.”
Lu San Niang was about to continue speaking when Yang Kai suddenly smiled and said, “Sister San Niang, you don’t need to worry about our affairs. Rather, I’m very curious about why you suddenly disappeared back then.”
He knew that what Li Jiao wanted more than anything else in the world was the answer to that question. Putting himself in Li Jiao’s shoes, he knew that this matter was a thorn in Li Jiao’s heart, one that had been pricking at him for three centuries now.
Nevertheless, Li Jiao seemed reluctant to ask that question. Rather, it might be more accurate to say that he seemed scared of asking. He was probably worried about what he might gain or lose from knowing the answer, so Yang Kai decided to ask in his stead.
Upon hearing that question, Li Jiao’s expression twitched as he picked up his teacup and took a sip. Despite how calm he acted on the outside, his hand holding the teacup was trembling slightly.
Lu San Niang did not expect Yang Kai to ask that question so forthrightly, so a trace of shame surfaced on her face and she lowered her head, “It happened so long ago. I don’t remember it that well anymore.”
That answer clearly did not satisfy Li Jiao and he couldn’t be bothered to keep up with pretences anymore. His expression sank immediately and he shouted, “In other words, the feelings you showed me back then were nothing but lies! Good good good!”
He looked sad and indignant. If any other man had been the one to encounter this situation, they would not have remained calm either. Just thinking about the marriage back then left him feeling incredibly vexed and he was tempted to slap that shameless woman to death!
“That’s not it!” She abruptly lifted her head with all her strength as her tears came rolling down her cheeks again, “The feelings I had for you were genuine! I wanted to marry you, Big Brother Li.”
The way she looked caused his heart to soften again and his ferocity subsided considerably as he quickly said, “I need an explanation for what happened back then.”
She shook her head again, however, and as a result, the rage in his heart that had cooled flared up again and he stood up and spat, “Fine! You don’t need to tell me. I won’t force you. Let’s just pretend we never knew each other in the first place. Let’s go, Palace Master Yang.”
Although what happened back then was extremely regretful, Li Jiao had overcome so many other challenges over the years so by now, he could take what came his way in stride. His cultivation was not low after all and his mental fortitude was exceptional.
As soon as Li Jiao turned around to leave though, Lu San Niang grabbed his sleeve.
“What else do you want?” Li Jiao looked down at her with a cold expression.
She sobbed for a while before explaining in a soft voice, “I… was kidnapped back then.”
Li Jiao’s face twitched upon hearing those words, but he said nothing. He simply stood there without moving and did not mention leaving again either.
“Back then, our marriage had been decided and I was eagerly awaiting Big Brother Li’s arrival at Dream Gate, but I could not bear it any longer and wanted to meet with you right away. Hence, I ran out secretly. I wanted to go to Fire Dragon Palace to find you, but… but I never imagined…” At this point, she couldn’t continue speaking anymore. She was probably recalling the memories from back then and they choked her up so much that she couldn’t even speak anymore.
“Mother…” The little girl started crying too as she raised her hand to wipe away her mother’s tears. For a moment, both mother and daughter wallowed in grief and wept their eyes out.
Then, Li Jiao sighed, “That’s enough. Stop crying. It’s fine; let’s not talk about what happened back then. I went too far.”
Lu San Niang shook her head, barely able to control her emotions as she continued, “I was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm at the time, while ‘that’ person’s cultivation was extremely high. Unable to fight back, I was kidnapped and…”
There was no need to explain what happened next. She was such a stunning beauty, so she couldn’t escape unscathed after being kidnapped.
Li Jiao’s expression turned frosty at those words and he asked coldly, “Who was it?”
Lu San Niang did not answer directly and instead simply continued her story, “After that, he brought me here, to Dragon Island.”
“Dragon Island?” Both Li Jiao and Yang Kai were shocked and looked at her in unison to ask, “Is this really Dragon Island?”
She looked up at them, feeling curious about the reason why they did not know where they were even though they were already here. Nodding, she confirmed their suspicions, “That’s right, this is Dragon Island.”
Yang Kai and Li Jiao looked at each other, their expressions sinking. Although Lu San Niang did not mention who had kidnapped her, the answer was obvious. Who else could freely come and go from Dragon Island aside from the Dragon Clan?
Li Jiao clenched his fists tightly, and his hand trembled violently. [No wonder she refused to tell us, it was the work of the Dragon Clan! If I had not forced her to talk, she would never have revealed the truth!]
[Her disappearance back then was related to the Dragon Clan after all…] Yang Kai frowned, secretly thinking that this matter was going to be very troublesome.
Li Jiao was the same. It wouldn’t have mattered if it were anybody else; even if it were another Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Li Jiao was willing to risk his life to get revenge and seek justice on Lu San Niang’s behalf; however, it turned out her abductor was a Dragon…
Li Jiao laughed bitterly in his heart as he thought to himself, [The Dragon Clan is something I can’t afford to offend…]
Just the bloodline suppression alone prevented him from having any thoughts of resistance. Thus, he fell back heavily in his seat with an ashen complexion. [My woman was snatched from me and humiliated beyond words. I also lost a great deal of face because of that incident, but even after learning the truth of the matter, I can’t even take revenge!!] A strong sense of helplessness sprung up in his heart, leaving him extremely depressed.
“How did you end up in this place?” Yang Kai looked at Lu San Niang with a frown. [The Dragons are lustful in nature. To add to that, she is a stunning beauty so it makes sense for her to attract the attention of someone from the Dragon Clan and get herself kidnapped, but how did she end up in Half-Dragon City then?]
Yang Kai was puzzled by this conundrum while at the same time, he sympathized with Li Jiao. [The Dragon Clan bastard that kidnapped her is a real piece of shit!]
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s question, Li Jiao became suspicious too. He frowned and asked, “That’s right. Why did you end up here? What happened to the guy who harmed you?”
Lu San Niang lowered her head and was silent for a while before she whispered, “After being taken back to Dragon Island, I was imprisoned in the Dragon Palace. It was a life no better than death.” Her voice choked, and her body trembled continuously, “Until fourteen years ago…” She turned and glanced at her daughter with a sad smile, “I was finally driven out of the Dragon Palace when Qin’er was born.”
Li Jiao was taken aback by her words and couldn’t quite wrap his head around what she said, but when he finally returned to his senses, his complexion turned pale with rage as he slammed his fists down on the table and shouted, “That bastard!”
Similarly, Yang Kai’s expression was no better, [That Dragon Clan member really is a piece of shit. It was bad enough that he kidnapped a woman, brought her to Dragon Island, and made her suffer for so many years, yet he kicked her out when her daughter was born?! Where are his morals?! Is he someone without a heart!?]
Yang Kai had not held much prejudice against the Dragon Clan before, simply feeling that they were too arrogant for their own good. On this point, both Zhu Qing and Zhu Lie were carved from the same mould; however, if the Dragon Clan was not arrogant, could they even be called the Dragon Clan anymore? He never expected the Dragon Clan, who called themselves the strongest and the head of the myriad spirits, to actually have such reprehensible conduct.
“Then this girl is…” Yang Kai looked at the girl when he asked the question.
She said nothing to that, but the meaning was obvious enough.
“She is a child of that bastard, she has their blood flowing through her! Why was she kicked out of that Dragon Palace?” Li Jiao frowned. As the saying went, ‘even a vicious tiger would not eat its cubs’. Regardless of the circumstances, her daughter was still part of the Dragon Clan, so why would they kick both mother and daughter out of the Dragon Palace the moment the daughter was born?
Lu San Niang replied in a quivering voice, “Those are the rules of the Dragon Palace. It doesn’t matter if you are infertile or have yet to give birth to children, but once you do, those without a Dragon Vein will be expelled from the Dragon Palace. Qin’er she… Wasn’t born with a Dragon Vein.”
“What kind of rule is that?!” Li Jiao was furious. [These children are their flesh and blood, regardless of whether they have Dragon Vein or not! How can they kick their children out like they were disposing of unwanted garbage?! Isn’t the Dragon Clan being too inhumane?!]
“This is truly too much!” Yang Kai lost any favourable impression he had towards the Dragon Clan.
However, Lu San Niang smiled sadly and shook her head, “These kinds of stories are not uncommon on Dragon Island.” Turning to look outside, she pointed at the pedestrians who came and went outside, “Where did you think all these people in Half-Dragon City came from?”
“Where do they come from?” Li Jiao asked.
She explained, “Many of them were expelled from Dragon Palace. Even if they themselves weren’t, their ancestors were.”
“What!?” Yang Kai and Li Jiao widened their eyes in unison.
“There are very few true members of the Dragon Clan and it is always very difficult for them to conceive children. Thousands of years can go by without a single new addition to the clan. Additionally, the ratio between men and women is very unbalanced in the Dragon Clan. Hence, most adult males in the Dragon Clan leave Dragon Island occasionally to search for excellent women, kidnap them, bring them back, and use them as tools to fulfil their desires. Over time, many of these women would eventually become pregnant. After giving birth, they can remain in Dragon Palace under observation. Even if the child is born with a Dragon Vein, it must be of a certain order or else even they will be expelled from the Dragon Palace. That’s how Humans, Monsters, and even Dragonborn with impure bloodlines have been added to Dragon Island over the years. As the number of Humans, Monsters and Dragonborn increased, they eventually established Half-Dragon City. That’s how Half-Dragon City began. Afterwards, the residents of Half-Dragon City got together with each other and gave birth to the next generation. Over the years, the population increased and gradually developed into what it is right now.”
After listening to Lu San Niang’s explanation, Yang Kai and Li Jiao were so shocked that they couldn’t say a word for a very long time. [Is that how Half-Dragon City was formed? All living creatures in Half-Dragon City, be they Human, Monster Race, or Dragonborn, are descendants of the Dragon Clan?! T-That’s… Just unbelievable…]
Lu San Niang had made it very clear. A portion of the people in Half-Dragon City were driven out from Dragon Palace; these people were none other than the women who had been captured by the Dragon Clan and their respective children, like Lu San Niang. However, this group was small in number. The rest were the descendants of people like them that had continually reproduced over the generations; they made up the vast majority of the population.
[No wonder this place was named Half-Dragon City. It turns out that there is an actual reason for this moniker. All the residents in Half-Dragon City had some relation to the Dragon Clan. What else should the city be called if not Half-Dragon City?]
At first, Li Jiao felt as if he had been cheated on by his once future wife. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to vent his anger. Even meeting with her today caused unpleasant emotions to erupt within him and the reason he asked so many pointed questions of her was that he simply wanted to get a clear picture of the situation.
But after listening to those words, all Li Jiao felt now for her was sympathy and regret. It wasn’t her fault for being kidnapped. At the time, she was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so how much resistance could she put up against a member of the Dragon Clan? Besides, what happened to her was so saddening that he couldn’t even blame her anymore.
Letting out a long sigh, he couldn’t help feeling that he was not fated to be in a relationship with her. Then, he looked at the girl and asked, “What is your child’s name?”
She replied, “Yu Qin. Lu Yu Qin!”
Li Jiao nodded and asked another question, “What is the name of the Dragon that harmed you?”
Lifting her head, she anxiously asked, “What are you going to do?!”
“I was humiliated so badly, and it’s all that guy’s fault. Don’t I at least have the right to know his name?”
Lu San Niang shook her head without saying anything. It was clear that she wasn’t willing to tell him the name of that Dragon Clan member, lest she bring trouble down on him. She understood Li Jiao’s circumstances, but… the other party was a member of the Dragon Clan, and this was Dragon Island. How could Li Jiao possibly bear to offend that man? She did not want to see him meeting a tragic ending because of her.
Her reaction enraged Li Jiao and he was just about to say something when he frowned and turned to look into the distance.
At the same time, Yang Kai seemed to notice it too and focused his gaze in the same direction.
“A Dragon!” Li Jiao shouted with a solemn expression.
He and Yang Kai had been searching this place for so long to no avail. They saw neither hair nor hide of the Dragon Clan during this time. Who could have known that the Dragon Clan would show up on their own initiative? Before that member of the Dragon Clan approached, a monstrous power washed over them from a distance and Li Jiao couldn’t even move a muscle from the effects of the bloodline suppression. Similarly, the many Dragonborn in Half-Dragon City noticed what was happening and quickly stopped and stared.
A loud Dragon Roar soon came from afar. Immediately after that, the figure of a Great Dragon appeared before everybody. It was a Green Dragon a few dozen meters long and it flew through the clouds and quickly arrived in the skies above Half-Dragon City. The Dragon Body covered the skies as its giant head stared down from above.
The entire Half-Dragon City seemed to tremble and all the residents within it panicked. The Dragon Clan was absolute on Dragon Island. Furthermore, the Dragon Clan rarely came to Half-Dragon City. For one to suddenly appear left them feeling at a loss for what to do. They did not know the reason for this Green Dragon’s sudden appearance.
That Green Dragon remained in mid-air for a long time, taking in the entire situation of Half-Dragon City before assuming human form. A young man in his twenties or thirties appeared on the spot with a flash of light. He was wearing gaudy clothes, looking like a butterfly flying through the city.
Following that, a figure suddenly flew out from Half-Dragon City.
Yang Kai and Li Jiao watched this scene with shocked expressions. This couldn’t be helped though as the person who flew over to meet the Green Dragon was none other than the person Li Jiao had beaten up earlier.
At this moment, the sinister and vicious-looking man cautiously and respectfully landed in front of the Green Dragon with a fawning smile. He was shorter than the Green Dragon by a head. Furthermore, he had yet to recover from the injuries he sustained before so his cheeks were badly swollen, and he had lost some teeth. Combined with his current ingratiating behaviour, he looked extremely ridiculous.
The Green Dragon glanced at the sinister and vicious-looking man and frowned slightly. The contempt and disgust in his eyes were obvious.
“Greetings, Senior Fu Qi. I didn’t know you were coming. Do you have any instructions for me?” The sinister man did not immediately start snitching to this Green Dragon by the name of Fu Qi. That was because he knew that everyone in Half-Dragon City, including himself, were nothing but ants in the eyes of the Dragon Clan. Although he could communicate with the other side of Dragon Island, he was still no different from an ant to them. Trying to tattle at this moment would not only make Fu Qi ignore him, but it would also annoy Fu Qi instead.
Fu Qi did not look at the sinister and vicious-looking man at all and simply said indifferently, “The Dragon Blood Flowers need watering.”
The sinister and vicious-looking man hurriedly nodded when he heard those words, “I understand. I will prepare for it immediately. Will two hundred as usual be enough?”
Fu Qi nodded gently, “Yes.”
“Sir, please return ahead of me. I will bring the people to Dragon Palace immediately.”
Fu Qi then added, “I also need five hundred ordinary people!”
The sinister and vicious-looking man was stunned by those words, “Five hundred ordinary people?”
He looked confused, wondering why Fu Qi made such a sudden request like that. In the past, the Dragon Clan essentially only came to Half-Dragon City for matters related to the Dragon Blood Flowers. It had always been enough to bring two hundred Dragonborn over to the Dragon Palace. There had never been a precedent where ordinary people had been brought along before.
Regardless of how high a person’s cultivation was, they were nothing but ordinary people to the Dragon Clan as long as they did not have the Dragon Clan’s bloodline in them.
“What for?” He didn’t quite understand the situation.
“Are you questioning me?” Fu Qi turned around and glanced at the sinister and vicious-looking man with a frigid look.
In response, the sinister and vicious-looking man became anxious. He knew he should not have asked that question. No matter what the Dragon Clan did, his job was simply to do as he was ordered. He did not have the right to inquire too much into it; therefore, he immediately lowered his head and said, “Of course not. I wouldn’t dare. Please forgive me, Senior Fu Qi, I was careless with my words.”
“Scram!” Fu Qi spat out before closing his eyes and standing there motionlessly.
The sinister and vicious-looking man thanked the Heavens for his luck before he immediately spun around and flew towards Half-Dragon City.
Inside the teahouse, Lu San Niang’s beautiful face paled drastically as she screamed, “Big Brother Li, please leave immediately! It will be too late if you don’t leave right now!”
Li Jiao frowned as he watched the sinister and vicious-looking man fly towards them and calmly replied, “It’s already too late to run.”
He had assaulted that sinister and vicious-looking man previously, and it was clear that the other party was holding a grudge over it. Although he did not hear what that man said to that Green Dragon, Li Jiao knew that he couldn’t get out of this easily just by looking at the unkind expression on that man’s face.
[Do I regret doing that? No, I don’t.] Lu San Niang was being humiliated right in front of his eyes, so if he had just stood idly by, he wouldn’t be able to call himself a man ever again. It was just that Li Jiao had not expected trouble to come knocking on his door so soon.
Lu San Niang once mentioned that the sinister and vicious-looking man could communicate with the other side. Now, it would seem that the ‘other side’ was referring to Dragon Palace and the Dragon Clan.
Yang Kai squinted at the sinister and vicious-looking man flying towards them and asked, “What’s so special about this person? Why is he able to communicate with Dragon Palace?”
Lu San Niang sighed after hearing that question. She understood that there was no escape for Yang Kai and Li Jiao at this point. Where could they go with a member of the Dragon Clan here? Her expression was full of guilt, knowing that she had dragged the two men into her mess as she quickly said, “That person’s name is Yuan Wu. There is nothing special about him. He just got lucky. He has a Second-Order High-Rank Dragon Vein and speaks eloquently in front of those with power; therefore, he has always been in charge of communicating between Dragon Palace and Half-Dragon City.
“What about that Green Dragon?” Yang Kai glanced at the Dragon Clan member standing in mid-air.
Her expression became complicated, “His name is Fu Qi. He is a Fifth-Order Dragon.”
It was only natural that she knew of Fu Qi. She lived in Dragon Palace for 200 to 300 years after all. Besides, there were only a few members of the Dragon Clan.
“His surname is ‘Fu’?” Yang Kai was surprised, [I thought all the Dragon Clan members on Dragon Island had the surname ‘Zhu’.]
Li Jiao spoke up, “It is said that there are two surnames among the Dragon Clan living on Dragon Island. One is ‘Zhu’ and the other is ‘Fu’.”
Yang Kai nodded, “A Fifth-Order… barely passable.”
Lu San Niang was shocked as she stared at Yang Kai in a daze and secretly wondered, [What kind of background does Big Brother Li’s friend come from? How can he speak so brazenly? How can he say that a Fifth-Order Dragon is just barely passable?] The strongest in Half-Dragon City only had a Second-Order High-Rank Dragon Vein, and they were nothing compared to a Fifth-Order true pure-blooded Dragon Clan member. The differences between the Dragon Clan and the Dragonborn in Half-Dragon City were like night and day. Hence, she thought that Yang Kai was simply bluffing.
On the contrary, Yang Kai was simply stating facts. The only Dragon Clan members he came into contact with before were the siblings, Zhu Qing and Zhu Lie, both of whom had Eighth-Order Dragon Veins and were Eighth-Order Dragons. Moreover, Zhu Qing had broken through to the Ninth-Order after becoming intimate with him, so what was a Fifth-Order Dragon in comparison?
Even without Lu San Niang’s explanation, he could tell that the Green Dragon called Fu Qi did not have an extremely pure bloodline because Fu Qi’s true appearance as a Dragon had only been a few dozen meters long, a far cry from Zhu Lie’s 200 meters long body.
“What is a Dragon Clan member like him doing here?” Li Jiao asked with a frown.
Lu San Niang regained her senses and explained, “It’s probably for the Dragon Blood Flowers.”
“The Dragon Blood Flowers?” Li Jiao’s eyes lit up when he heard the words as he whispered, “Are there Dragon Blood Flowers in Half-Dragon City?”
What Lu San Niang went through had left him feeling humiliated; unfortunately, the enemy was a member of the Dragon Clan. In terms of pure cultivation, Li Jiao believed he would not lose to that Dragon; after all, he was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. However, in terms of bloodline, he was unworthy of even polishing their shoes.
Therefore, he had to bolster his bloodline first if he wanted to get revenge, and the best way to do so was using Dragon Blood Flowers. That was why Li Jiao suddenly lit up with interest at the mention of these exotic flowers. If he could strengthen his bloodline with them, then he might stand a chance against that Dragon Clan member in a fight.
To his surprise, Lu San Niang shook her head, “How can there be Dragon Blood Flowers in Half-Dragon City? Dragon Blood Flowers are the foundation of the Dragon Clan and can only be found in Dragon Palace.”
“But, you just said…”
She continued “The Dragon Blood Flowers need to be watered and nurtured with Dragon Blood. There are so few members of the Dragon Clan in Dragon Palace that it wouldn’t be of much use to the Dragon Blood Flowers even if they drained their blood dry. What’s more; doing this kind of thing will have a negative impact on one’s strength if done frequently; hence, the Dragon Clan will not use the blood of their clan members to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers unless absolutely necessary. Fu Qi came here for Dragonborn. While Dragonborn bloodlines might not be very pure, they make up for that in numbers. Using the blood of Dragonborn to water the Dragon Blood Flowers has shown to be effective too.”
Upon hearing her explanation, Yang Kai and Li Jiao immediately understood the situation.
Li Jiao had cultivated a Dragon Blood Flower before and similarly used his own blood to nurture it at the time.
Dragonborn numbered as many as tens of thousands in Half-Dragon City, which made them a good choice for this task. From another perspective, it could be said that Dragon Palace was using Half-Dragon City as a source of Dragon Blood for watering the Dragon Blood Flowers. Their scheme was truly ingenious.
That explained the disparity the two of them had noticed in Half-Dragon City. It had puzzled them as to why the higher the cultivation, the fewer the Dragonborn among them. Among the Human and Monster Race there were several Third-Order Emperors, but not a single Dragonborn was in the Third-Order Emperor Realm. This was clearly the answer to that conundrum. The Dragonborn with higher cultivations had been dragged to Dragon Palace to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers, and after years of repeated bloodletting, it would be a miracle in itself if their cultivation did not regress. How could they even expect to improve in their cultivation?
Lu San Niang turned to look at Li Jiao and said uneasily, “Big Brother Li, Yuan Wu will definitely take you away.”
Li Jiao’s expression was incredibly ugly. When he attacked Yuan Wu earlier, he had revealed his identity as a Dragonborn; moreover, he had overpowered Yuan Wu in both bloodline and cultivation.
It was only to be expected that Yuan Wu would not let Li Jiao get away with that behaviour, especially now that he had been ordered to search for Dragonborn to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers. It was easy to tell just by looking at his flight path that Li Jiao was the first person he was approaching for this task.
Li Jiao suddenly became a little uneasy and looked to Yang Kai for help. If he were dragged to Dragon Palace to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers, he might have to bleed himself dry in the worst-case scenario. Only Yang Kai could save him from this predicament. Even an Eighth-Order Red Dragon couldn’t do anything in front of Yang Kai, so what was a Fifth-Order Green Dragon to him?
“Let’s watch how things develop for now!” Yang Kai said in a soft voice and took a sip of tea.
Li Jiao felt reassured, knowing that Yang Kai was not going to abandon him.
Things progressed as they had expected. Yuan Wu headed directly to the teahouse and flew into the second floor. He glared at Li Jiao coldly, the fear and horror from before gone completely. Instead, he gave off the sense of a small-time villain intoxicated by a feeling of success. He had been humiliated by Li Jiao because his bloodline and cultivation were both inferior to Li Jiao’s; however, he now had a Fifth-Order Green Dragon behind him so what was there for him to be afraid of? Rather, he was eager for Li Jiao to resist; that way death would be the only ending waiting for Li Jiao.
“I come under the orders of Senior Fu Qi. I need 200 Dragonborn to go to Dragon Palace to serve. All Dragonborn above the Dao Source Realm are to gather here immediately. If anyone does not appear within a quarter of an hour, all will be killed without mercy!” Yuan Wu announced, his voice not loud but still resounding enough to spread throughout Half-Dragon City.
As soon as those words rang out, all the Dragonborn above the Dao Source Realm panicked and their expressions became extremely troubled. Needless to say, they understood the reason why Fu Qi came looking for Dragonborn to go to Dragon Palace. There could be no other reason aside from watering the Dragon Blood Flowers with their blood. It was a difficult and unrewarding task. Throughout the ages, every Dragonborn who went to Dragon Palace would suffer severe damage to their foundation and in severe cases, they might even suffer regression in their cultivation. There were also cases where some died on the spot.
Naturally, no one wanted to do such a difficult and unrewarding task. It was just that Fu Qi remained above Half-Dragon City so no one dared to resist even if they wanted to. They couldn’t escape from this place, nor could they escape from Dragon Island, so they were fated to be oppressed by Dragon Palace for life.
For that reason, all the Dragonborn above the Dao Source Realm began moving from all directions to gather at the teahouse after Yuan Wu’s announcement.
“You! Get over here!” Yuan Wu shouted, pointing at Li Jiao.
Li Jiao’s expression changed slightly. Although he had known from the beginning that Yuan Wu would definitely target him, it was still upsetting when it happened. He would have slapped that man again if not for that Green Dragon’s presence. Unfortunately, doing that under the Green Dragon’s watch was tantamount to declaring war against the entire Dragon Clan. Li Jiao did not have the guts to do so.
“The rest of you, get over here too!” Yuan Wu suddenly pointed again, including Yang Kai, Lu San Niang, and her daughter in their midst.
Lu San Niang’s expression changed abruptly.
Similarly, Yang Kai frowned. He did not know what that man was up to. [Dragon Palace should only be looking for Dragonborn to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers. Lu San Niang, her daughter, and I are not Dragonborn, so why are we included in the mix? Is he trying to take revenge on us by abusing his authority? But, I don’t think he has the courage to do so….]
Although the Green Dragon kept his eyes closed, the commotion here was no secret to him. If Yuan Wu tried to do anything by borrowing his authority, Fu Qi would definitely not allow it; after all, he did not consider Yuan Wu to be worth his time, so why should he let Yuan Wu take advantage of him?
“I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?!” Yuan Wu deliberately shouted loudly with a displeased expression when he saw that no one at the table was moving. At the same time, he secretly glanced in Fu Qi’s direction. It was clear that he wanted to make a large commotion.
If Yang Kai and the others defied direct orders, then he could openly kill them; therefore, he was not mad at Yang Kai’s current behaviour. Rather, he was happy. He couldn’t help wishing that Yang Kai and his friends acted as arrogantly as possible. [Acting so high and mighty in front of the Dragon Clan… He must not know the word ‘death’.]
Meanwhile, Li Jiao glanced at Yang Kai. He was all out of ideas. In contrast, Yang Kai continued sipping his tea with an indifferent expression.
“How brave of you! How dare you disobey the orders from Dragon Palace!? You court death!” Yuan Wu looked angry on the surface, but he was dancing with joy inside. [Go on; keep being arrogant! Soon, you’ll be begging for death!]
The other people in the teahouse had incredulous expressions on their faces as they glanced at Yang Kai’s table. [These guys sure are not afraid of death. It has been many years since Half-Dragon City last saw thorns like them.]
Yuan Wu continued to yell, “Don’t blame me for not warning you! None of you can afford to pay the price for causing a delay in Senior Fu Qi’s affairs!”
When those words rang out, Fu Qi, who had been floating above the Half-Dragon City with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and snarled angrily, “Why are you wasting time on nonsense?! Hurry up and finish this!”
Yuan Wu jumped in fright and his complexion paled. He knew that his performance had upset Fu Qi and he did not have the leisure to rub his authority in Yang Kai’s face anymore. Thus, he immediately opened his mouth and announced, “Senior Fu Qi has ordered 500 ordinary people to be brought to Dragon Palace. Those that I selected are required to prepare for departure immediately; otherwise, no mercy will be shown to those who resist!” After saying that, he pointed at Yang Kai and the others again and ordered “You, you, and you…”
He circled his hand around and picked out all the people in the teahouse.
Everybody in the teahouse had terrible expressions on their faces and looked extremely uneasy.
In the past, the Dragon Clan only came to Half-Dragon City to look for Dragonborn. In their eyes, ordinary people had no value except for becoming outlets of their sexual desires. Therefore, nobody knew the reason why Dragon Palace suddenly wanted 500 ordinary people to be sent there as well.
Those who had been picked out by Yuan Wu looked depressed. [If we had known this would happen, we would never have come here for tea.] Dragon Palace was not a place people came and went at will. In fact, they might never leave that place alive if they went there.
When it came down to it, Yang Kai and the others were undoubtedly the cause of this incident. If they had not clashed with Yuan Wu before, the latter would not have rushed to the teahouse directly. This was truly a disaster.
All of a sudden, many people looked at Yang Kai and the others with resentful expressions, silently pinning their hatred on him and his group.
There were only slightly more than 20 people inside the teahouse, so after Yuan Wu picked them all out, he flew out and busied himself with the rest of his tasks in Half-Dragon City.
Fu Qi was watching him, so he didn’t dare to slack off. For that reason, he tried his best to round up the required manpower, not even spending any time picking a quarrel with Li Jiao anymore.
“What should we do, Palace Master Yang?” Li Jiao secretly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Yang Kai. He did not want to go to Dragon Palace as although he had never been there before, he was instinctively afraid of that place. At this point, he could only rely on Yang Kai to decide.
Yang Kai glanced at him calmly and replied, “Let’s go with the flow for now.”
He came to Dragon Island to look for Zhu Qing. Unfortunately, he had neither seen hide nor hair of her anywhere. He did not know where to find her, so Fu Qi’s appearance was an opportunity. Zhu Qing was probably inside Dragon Palace. For that reason, there was nothing he wished for more than to sneak into Dragon Palace with Fu Qi; it was exactly what he wanted. Therefore, he did not put up much resistance against it. As for what to do once they entered Dragon Palace, if it was a choice between a direct showdown or going with the flow, then he could only choose to go with the flow for now.
Li Jiao wasn’t in a position to refute, especially since Yang Kai had already said so. Nodding lightly in acknowledgement, he turned to look at Lu San Niang and her daughter, “Follow me. I will not allow you to be harmed.”
Lu San Niang had turned pale after being selected by Yuan Wu. Dragon Palace was a land of nightmares to her. She had lived there for 200 to 300 years, wishing every day she could escape. Although she was later kicked out by the Dragon Clan and was humiliated as a result, she finally got what she wished for.
She never imagined that she would have to return to Dragon Palace again after some ten or so years had passed. The thought filled her with terror and unease. Her grip on her daughter tightened considerably. Lu Yu Qin could sense the changes in her mother’s mental state; thus, she snuggled against her mother without saying anything.
It didn’t take long for all the preparations to be completed. The number of Dragonborn who gathered here far exceeded two hundred people, but Yuan Wu was clearly very experienced in this. He chose 200 Dragonborn with relatively good cultivation and health before dismissing the rest.
Those Dragonborn that had been dismissed noticeably let out a sigh of relief. On the other hand, the remaining Dragonborn all had sorrowful expressions as if they had been recently bereaved.
The 500 ordinary people were also gathered in the same place.
Only when everything was in place did Yuan Wu fly towards Fu Qi. Standing at a respectful distance, he cupped his fists and smiled, “Sir, everything is ready.”
“This matter cannot be delayed. Follow me.” After saying that, Fu Qi led the way.
Yuan Wu turned around and yelled, “All of you, keep up with the group! You will not be forgiven if you delay Senior Fu Qi’s affairs!
He did not know why Fu Qi wanted these 500 ordinary people either; even so, the Dragon Clan’s business was always top priority on Dragon Island. He could not handle these matters carelessly.
When the crowd heard those words, their expressions turned serious as they chased after Fu Qi. In an instant, seven hundred figures rose into the sky. There were many Emperor Realm Masters among them, a magnificent sight to see.
Lu San Niang was in the First-Order Emperor Realm, but Lu Yu Qin was only in the Saint King Realm; hence, it was only to be expected that Lu Yu Qin couldn’t keep up with the speed of the group with her meagre cultivation. They were fortunate to have Li Jiao assisting them, so they did not get left behind.
Li Jiao’s current perception of the mother-and-daughter pair was extremely complicated. More so when it came to Lu Yu Qin. She was the child between Lu San Niang and a member of the Dragon Clan, so no matter how innocent and cute she was, it was hard for him to have a favourable opinion of her. The resentment he held extended toward Lu San Niang as he felt as if he had suffered the world’s greatest humiliation for no reason.
At the same time, he also understood that Lu San Niang was not to blame for this incident. Back then, she simply missed him and secretly snuck out of Dream Gate to visit him at Fire Dragon Palace. Who would have thought that she would be kidnapped by a member of the Dragon Clan halfway through her journey and brought back to Dragon Island?
No one could have predicted this and she never chose for it to happen either. Furthermore, it was easy to tell from the way she didn’t dare to acknowledge him when they ran into each other again due to the guilt she felt towards him. Therefore, his emotions felt extremely complicated. It felt like a mountain was pressing down on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Lu San Niang understood why he was feeling down, so she followed him silently throughout the entire journey, not speaking a single word so as not to annoy him.
The group of seven hundred was completely silent and filled with feelings of unease. The Dragonborn knew what they were expected to do on this trip, but the 500 ordinary people were extremely anxious. There had never been a precedent where Dragon Palace gathered ordinary people before. Moreover, this situation came about far too suddenly. For that reason, some of the people who were on better terms with Yuan Wu approached him to inquire about the matter.
It was a pity, but what could Yuan Wu tell them? He was simply following Fu Qi’s orders to gather ordinary people and had no clue as to what was going to happen next. Nevertheless, he responded to their inquiries vaguely and put up a difficult-to-read demeanour in front of them. His attitude left them feeling annoyed, but they were helpless against him.
During the journey, Yang Kai found an opportunity and secretly handed several bottles of Spirit Pills to Li Jiao. Li Jiao was inevitably going to have to use his blood to nurture Dragon Blood Flowers which might affect his strength if he went unprepared. At the very least, he should be able to overcome this crisis with the help of those Spirit Pills.
Knowing that what Yang Kai was giving him were quality goods, Li Jiao did not refuse. He simply accepted them quietly and secretly felt grateful towards Yang Kai.
After the group left Half-Dragon City and flew for half a day, they felt a hot and humid sea breeze blowing against their faces and the sound of waves crashing against the reefs entered their ears.
Yang Kai looked up and saw an endless sea stretching out in front of him. It went as far as he could see, seemingly stretching out infinitely into the distance.
The fact that there was a sea in this Small World was beyond his expectations. It would seem that the scale of this Small World was much larger than that of the Revolving World. Additionally, the World Energy coming from the sea was incredibly rich. The closer they got to the sea, the more obvious this became.
Another half-day later, a small island suddenly appeared in front of them when evening rolled around. Yang Kai and Li Jiao looked at each other and they both saw the surprise in each other’s eyes.
Lu San Niang promptly explained, “That’s Dragon Palace.”
“It’s located on that island?” Yang Kai asked.
She shook her head in response. Glancing at Li Jiao with her beautiful eyes, she sighed when she saw that he wasn’t paying attention to her and replied to Yang Kai’s question with a sad expression, “No. Dragon Palace is composed of many islands, that is just the entryway to Dragon Palace. The name ‘Dragon Palace’ is a collective term. Each Dragon Clan member has their own Spirit Island. They don’t live together.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. He understood in his heart that powerful Divine Spirits such as Dragons would not be used to living communally. Each and every one of them was very powerful; therefore, the amount of World Energy they needed for cultivation was incredibly large. It was only natural that they would not live together in one place. If they really did that, it would not be beneficial for their growth.
Even in a big Sect like Azure Sun Temple, each Elder had their own Spirit Peak. What’s more, this was the Dragon Clan, so these Spirit Islands were equivalent to their dens.
Somebody seemed to be waiting for them at the entrance to Dragon Palace. When they got closer, they saw it was a woman, a young girl, to be precise. She seemed to be around 15 or 16 years old at a glance, not much older looking than Lu Yu Qin; however, her real age was far beyond that number. The Dragon Clan grew at an extremely slow pace. Oftentimes, it took several hundred years just for them to be considered true adults. Hence, her 15 or 16-year-old appearance was nothing more than her surface appearance.
She was wearing a purple sleeveless dress that exposed her fair arms and had an ample bosom and beautiful looks. It was just that her brow was furrowed deeply in impatience. She had probably been waiting there for a long time now. As soon as she saw Fu Qi approaching, she yelled, “Why did you take so long?! I’ve been waiting here for half a day now!”
Fu Qi frowned and replied, “Travelling always takes some time.”
On the other hand, Yuan Wu stepped forward and bowed his head respectfully, “Greetings, Senior Fu Ling!”
[It’s the Fu Clan again?] Yang Kai’s expression changed as he studied the girl and secretly wrinkled his brow. His first impression of Fu Ling was not very good, but that couldn’t be helped as her expression gave off an insidious feeling.
From the way Yuan Wu was behaving, it was obvious that he had been in and out of Dragon Palace many times, even daring to speak first to Fu Ling… It could be seen that his arrogance within Half-Dragon City was not without reason.
Fu Ling offhandedly glanced at Yuan Wu and said contemptuously, “Oh, it’s you.”
Seeing that she remembered him, Yuan Wu felt excited and was about to say something, but she did not give him a chance to speak. Fu Ling waved her hand impatiently and continued, “Whatever. Since you’re here, come with me. The flowers are waiting for you.”
As soon as those words rang out, all the Dragonborn, including Yuan Wu, looked miserable. Even though they knew that it was inevitable, they still couldn’t help feeling apprehensive when the time came.
Fu Qi crossed his hands behind his back and snorted lightly, “Get going, you hybrids!”
‘Dragonborn’ was just the name the people in Half-Dragon City with the Dragon Clan’s bloodline called themselves. In front of the true Dragon Clan, these so-called ‘Dragonborn’ were nothing but hybrids, bastards with impure bloodlines. They were the despicable by-products of the Dragon Clan’s release of sexual desires and no Dragon Clan member cared about their lives or even remembered their faces, regardless of whether they had blood ties between them or not.
If not for that, Lu San Niang and her daughter would not have been kicked out of Dragon Palace; after all, Lu Yu Qin’s biological father was a Pureblood Dragon.
The two hundred Dragonborn were obviously accustomed to that title and no matter how high or low their cultivation, they did not dare to show any dissatisfaction towards it. Thus, they separated from the crowd and gathered towards Fu Ling.
Li Jiao suddenly became restless as he moved slowly while glancing towards Yang Kai. He never dreamt that he would be separated from Yang Kai the moment they stepped into Dragon Palace. His only hope in this place was Yang Kai, so what could he rely on if they were separated!?
Besides, he was more worried about Lu San Niang than his own situation. Despite the resentment he had towards her, it was a thing of the past. Moreover, the truth had become clear and, now, Li Jiao hated that Dragon Clan member that harmed her far more.
Yang Kai gave him a meaningful look, and he nodded imperceptibly in response. Li Jiao knew that there was no need to worry about the safety of Lu San Niang and her daughter as long as Yang Kai was watching over them.
Yuan Wu quickly asked, “Sirs, what about these ordinary people?”
“I have other uses for them,” Fu Qi answered, frowning.
The gears in Yuan Wu’s head spun quickly, and he immediately suggested, “Do you want me to stay behind to monitor them? As you know, these people… Heh heh… Some can be quite disobedient. Who knows? I might be of some use if I stay here with them.”
Yuan Wu was just talking without much thought to it. The main reason was that he was extremely unwilling to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers. He had done this more than once and would be weakened for a year to two after each session. It was an excruciatingly painful experience.
Who could have thought that Fu Qi would nod in agreement after briefly considering the suggestion?
“Alright then, I will leave them to you, hybrid. If anything happens, you will be held responsible!”
Yuan Wu was stunned for a moment. Then, he was overjoyed, “I won’t let you down, Sir!”
“Let’s go,” Fu Ling urged impatiently. Hence, the 200 Dragonborn had no choice but to follow behind her and flew in the direction of the Spirit Island where the Dragon Blood Flowers were being cultivated. Many of them looked at Yuan Wu enviously before they left, making him feel very proud of himself.
All of a sudden, his eyes flashed and he glared at Li Jiao with an insidious expression. It so happened that Li Jiao was looking back at that moment. Their gazes met, and the corners of Yuan Wu’s mouth lifted in a smirk.
He had suffered at the hands of Li Jiao back in Half-Dragon City. He had been badly beaten and lost a lot of face. Now, the tables had turned. Li Jiao was about to be taken away to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers while he had the easy task of watching the 500 ordinary people. Comparing his situation to Li Jiao’s, he felt extremely happy and satisfied.
[So what if your bloodline is stronger? So what if your cultivation is higher? You still need to bleed for Dragon Blood Flowers.]
Besides, that mother-and-daughter pair was finally in his hands again. He was already in the middle of planning how he could torture those two to vent his grievances. He turned his head to glance at the pair, then he turned back to give Li Jiao a deliberately provocative look and snickered. The meaning behind that look could not be more obvious.
Contrary to expectations, Li Jiao was completely unaffected. He simply glanced at Yuan Wu coldly. What’s more; the look in his eyes seemed to contain a trace of ridicule and sympathy.
[What does that mean?] Yuan Wu’s expression immediately went cold. Despite ruminating over it for a while, he still could not understand the meaning behind the look Li Jiao had given him.
Earlier, Li Jiao had stepped up to protect Lu San Niang and her daughter. It was quite clear that they were friendly with each other. [Why is that guy so indifferent towards my provocation?] Yuan Wu frowned deeply, his mind full of doubts.
Li Jiao had no need to worry about Lu San Niang and her daughter because Yang Kai was with them. It would be fine so long as Yuan Wu did not do anything; however, it would end very badly for Yuan Wu if he dared to do something. Li Jiao was certain that Yang Kai would not stand idly by when it came to Lu San Niang and her daughter.
The 200 Dragonborn disappeared into the distance and vanished out of sight. Then, Fu Qi turned around and headed in another direction without saying anything.
Yuan Wu had no time to worry about Li Jiao’s unusual reaction and quickly shouted, “Hurry and keep up! Don’t cause delays for Senior Fu Qi!”
He was used to bullying others by relying on the Dragon Clan’s authority; therefore, his tone was very rude.
Even so, nobody dared to complain about it. The 500 ordinary people hurried after Fu Qi. As Lu San Niang and her daughter passed by, Yuan Wu smiled coldly and immediately leaned over.
Lu San Niang shuddered, her complexion paling slightly. Li Jiao was gone, and she had lost her support; moreover, Yuan Wu could communicate with the Dragon Clan. If he really raised his hand against her or her daughter, she would have no power to fight back; thus, she secretly vowed to herself, [Even if I die, I won’t allow my daughter to fall into Yuan Wu’s hands!]
Her daughter might be the by-product of that Dragon’s impropriety, but Lu Yu Qin was also the baby she carried and gave birth to. The only reason she had been able to continue living all these years was Lu Yu Qin. If not for her daughter, Lu San Niang would have chosen death a long time ago. How could she have survived until today?
She held her daughter in her arms and quietly moved to the side, putting some distance between Yuan Wu and them. Unfortunately, Yuan Wu would never let such a chance slip away. He moved closer to her, clearly trying to take advantage of the situation to feel her up. In response, her expression suddenly became very unnatural. Lowering her head, her pretty face turned deathly pale.
Glancing to the front, Yuan Wu saw that Fu Qi was flying without paying much attention to what happened behind him; therefore, he immediately reached out his hands boldly to grab at Lu San Niang’s firm peaks. He had been lusting after her for a long time now as it was rare to see such a gorgeous beauty in Half-Dragon City nowadays. Furthermore, she had been expelled from Dragon Palace, which meant that she had been intimate with a member of the Dragon Clan, giving Yuan Wu a perverted sense of anticipation. It was only to be expected that he would not let the opportunity pass him by now that he could finally get rid of that itch.
To his surprise though, his hands grabbed at nothing but air and his expression darkened as a result. Turning to look to the side, he discovered that Lu San Niang, who had been right next to him, had slipped to the other side somehow. Moreover, a young man wearing dark blue clothes was standing between him and the mother-and-daughter pair.
He had been completely focused on feeling up Lu San Niang and did not notice when that young man had arrived. When he looked up, he saw the young man giving him a cold glance.
[Did this guy do that on purpose?] Yuan Wu immediately became annoyed. As he was able to communicate with the Dragon Clan, his status within Half-Dragon City was very high and whether they were Human, Monster, or Dragonborn, even the stronger cultivators had to show him some measure of respect.
The previous beating he suffered at the hands of Li Jiao inside the city had enraged him greatly; hence, he could not believe that there were still people out there that would ruin his fun. He glared at the person, and his expression turned frosty, “It’s you!”
He recognized Yang Kai as the young man sitting at the same table as Li Jiao. They clearly had a friendly relationship with each other.
[What’s this? Since that Dragonborn is gone, you’re stepping up to protect those two instead? What can you protect with that pitiful cultivation of yours?] Yuan Wu did not think much of Yang Kai as his own cultivation was Second-Order Emperor Realm, and he had a Second-Order High-Rank Dragon Vein on top of that. Yuan Wu could put up a fight against an ordinary Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and even if he couldn’t win, protecting himself wasn’t an issue.
Yuan Wu had failed to detect Yang Kai’s cultivation before because the latter had not used his Emperor Qi; however, everybody was flying at this moment and the aura fluctuations Yang Kai gave off exposed his strength.
[A First-Order Emperor!? How dare a First-Order Emperor defy me! Moreover, a mere Human!] Yuan Wu was so furious that his nose twitched in rage. [This little brat is looking down on me too much! Is he insane!?]
He darkly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Yang Kai, “Little brat, you sure are bold! How dare you spoil my fun?!”
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth curled slightly as he replied, “I’ve always been this bold.”
Yuan Wu was taken aback by those words, not having expected Yang Kai to be so unyielding. He initially thought that Yang Kai was simply acting out of loyalty and summoned up the courage to stop him as a result. If that was the case, he simply needed to act fiercely to scare the other party away. To Yuan Wu’s surprise though, his statement not only failed to scare the other party away but actually drew insults to himself. [This is a rebellion!]
Thus, Yuan Wu instantly hated Yang Kai and secretly planned to create a chance for Yang Kai to suffer a fate worse than death. [How dare a mere Human boy in the First-Order Emperor Realm act so presumptuously in front of me? If I wasn’t worried about Fu Qi at the head of the group, I would have beaten this little brat senseless already.]
Smiling coldly, Yuan Wu sneered, “Good. Very good. Don’t forget those words you said. I hope you don’t regret saying them in the future.”
Yang Kai sneered, “Rest assured. I have never regretted anything I did.”
[He is too cocky! Too arrogant!] Yuan Wu was livid. Nobody in the whole of Half-Dragon City had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner before. Not only did somebody break that precedent today, but that person also had an expression of ‘What can you do to me?’ while speaking those words.
Gritting his teeth, he snarled, “Do you think that I won’t dare to do anything to you just because Fu Qi is right there? If that’s the case, you’re gravely mistaken…”
“Go on then, do something,” Yang Kai looked at Yuan Wu sincerely, “If you want to make a move, go ahead, I promise I won’t fight back.”
Yuan Wu was livid beyond words. Unfortunately, he truly did not dare to make a move. Fu Qi was right in front of him and if he did anything without a valid reason, Fu Qi would punish him first. Yuan Wu was not ignorant enough to believe that Fu Qi’s willingness to speak a few words to him meant that he thought any differently about him. The Dragon Clan was prideful and could not be bothered to speak with people like him, it was simply better to have a familiar face to speak with than a stranger. Yuan Wu knew he meant nothing to Fu Qi and could be replaced on a whim.
He understood this point very clearly. Hence, he was so furious that his face flushed red when Yang Kai provoked him in that manner, causing him to issue a vicious threat, “Little brat, I will remember you! Once we reach the island, I will show you what suffering means!”
“Waste!” Yang Kai glanced at Yuan Wu coldly.
Yuan Wu was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red, “What did you say!?”
Yang Kai moved his lips and spat out that word again, slowly, nearly causing Yuan Wu to explode with rage.
At that moment, a figure suddenly intervened between Yang Kai and Yuan Wu. That person cupped his fists at Yuan Wu and smiled ingratiatingly, his Divine Sense surging as he clearly said something to Yuan Wu.
It was a middle-aged man with a monkey-like face and shifty rat-like eyes. At first glance, he did not look like a good thing. Nevertheless, that person’s cultivation was not weak. He was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master and seemed to be of the Monster Race. The Monster Qi surrounding him was very dense, but it was not very pure.
These kinds of situations were very common in Half-Dragon City. The Dragons had a lustful nature and did not discriminate when it came to their conquests. Therefore, women of the Human Race were not the only ones that the Dragon Clan kidnapped and took back to Dragon Island. There were women from the Monster Race too. If those women gave birth to a child of one of the Dragon Clan members, it would often bring about a situation like this where the child did not have a Dragon Clan bloodline. Unfortunately, their Monster Qi was not pure either and combined with the unique situation in Half-Dragon City where Humans and Monsters intermingled with each other, it was inevitable that some Half-Monsters would be born as a result.
Half-Monsters generally had a hard time cultivating and increasing their cultivation, so to be in the Second-Order Emperor Realm was an amazing achievement in itself.
While communicating with Yuan Wu via Divine Sense transmission, that man secretly winked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai blinked then laughed to himself. This Half-Monster certainly was kinder than he looked.
This man was obviously aware of the conflict between Yang Kai and Yuan Wu and deliberately came to rescue the former. What he didn’t know was that Yang Kai did not need any rescuing whatsoever. Just as Yuan Wu did not think much of Yang Kai, what could Yang Kai possibly think of Yuan Wu?
Even so, this man’s gestures made Yang Kai form a favourable opinion of him and it reminded him that he should not judge a person by their looks.
Just by looking at this Half-Monster’s face, anyone would think that he was an insidious and wretched person; moreover, if one were to meet this person on the streets, they would have stayed as far away from him as possible, lest they were harmed by him in any way.
Who could have known that the Half-Monster would be such a kind and warm-hearted man? Despite not being acquainted with Yang Kai, he was willing to risk his life to help him; after all, his actions could easily offend Yuan Wu. Going by their current situation, what good would there be to offend Yuan Wu?
Therefore, this man’s actions made Yang Kai’s perception of him improve by leaps and bounds. Still, it was rather strange. This vicious-looking man had blatantly interfered in the matters between them, and although Yang Kai did not know what he was talking to Yuan Wu about, Yuan Wu did not seem upset at him. Rather, Yuan Wu leaned in closer. It would seem that the ingratiating and fawning expression on this vicious-looking man’s face was very pleasing to Yuan Wu.
Afterwards, Yuan Wu did not bother Yang Kai, Lu San Niang, or her daughter again for the remainder of the journey.
Yang Kai stared into the distance and narrowed his eyes. He had been hesitating over the idea of revealing his identity so that he could search for Zhu Qing; after all, he and Zhu Qing were already husband and wife, so it was only natural for him to come and find her. Besides, he also had the Dragon Island Token in his possession.
However, after meeting Fu Qi and Fu Ling, he had a vague feeling that acting rashly in that manner was not a good idea. He might not only fail to meet Zhu Qing if he did that, but it might also cause some unpredictable consequences. Hence, Yang Kai decided to act according to the situation and opportunity. [Let’s find Zhu Qing first.]
Night arrived. A cool wind blew, and the sky was full of stars. An island suddenly appeared in everybody’s field of vision. It was difficult to see clearly, but the size of the island was not small. Furthermore, the World Energy on that island was incredibly rich and pure, extremely suitable for cultivators to cultivate.
Yang Kai observed the island, secretly feeling surprised that the cultivating environment in Dragon Island was this good. [No wonder none of the Dragons I’ve met before were below the Emperor Realm in terms of strength.]
Putting aside the strength of Fu Qi and Fu Ling’s Dragon Vein, their cultivations put them on par with Human Emperors. That was not strange since the Dragon Clan were Divine Spirits though; moreover, they occupied such an abundant Small World so it would be stranger if they were weak.
“Mother…” Lu Yu Qin’s soft voice suddenly came from nearby.
Yang Kai turned at the sound and frowned at what he saw. He discovered that Lu San Niang’s condition was strange. She was shivering uncontrollably and pursing her lips tightly, her face completely pale and bloodless.
Lu Yu Qin had called out in concern upon noticing her mother’s abnormality and asked softly, “Mother, what’s wrong?”
“I-It’s nothing,” Lu San Niang shook her head.
“Mother, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Why is your body so cold?”
“It’s nothing. It’s probably just the wind.” She reached out to hug her daughter tightly.
Lu Yu Qin looked at her mother in confusion but decided to believe her mother despite her doubts. She did not know what was wrong with Lu San Niang for her to be trembling so hard, and it was only getting more noticeable.
Yang Kai had clearly noticed this too. It was obvious that Lu San Niang’s explanation was nothing more than an excuse. Her cultivation was First-Order Emperor Realm, so how could she shiver this badly just because of some wind? That explanation could only fool an ignorant child like Lu Yu Qin.
Observing her silently, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed for a moment as he looked in the direction of that island not far away. He had a rough guess as to why she had such a reaction. She had been kidnapped by a member of the Dragon Clan, brought to Dragon Island, and confined for 200 to 300 years. It wasn’t until a few years ago that she was expelled when Lu Yu Qin was born. For that reason, the place where the Dragon Clan member who had captured her lived must be a nightmarish place in her memories.
Along the way, they had passed by several islands; however, Lu San Niang’s reaction had not been so strong. In contrast, her mental state changed so much that it was strange when the island in front came into view. The reason for that change couldn’t be more obvious; that was where she had been imprisoned for the past 200 or 300 years!
More than ten years had passed, but seeing the land of her nightmares again would inevitably bring back the painful memories from her past. Thus, it was normal to have some reaction. Her emotions were all over the place, so much so that even her flight became unsteady. Her body swayed, scaring Lu Yu Qin so much that she turned pale with fright.
Yang Kai pushed his Emperor Qi at that moment, wrapping both mother and daughter in it. Only then did their flight path stabilize.
“Many thanks!” Lu San Niang nodded gratefully.
To which Yang Kai replied, “Li Jiao entrusted the two of you to me. It’s only natural that I take care of you, so don’t worry too much about it.”
Lu San Niang fell silent for some time, but a short while later, she asked, “I haven’t asked you for your name, Little Brother.”
“Yang Kai,” He smiled.
Nodding, she asked, “I see, so it is Brother Yang. Are you very close to Big Brother Li?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “We are very close, like Brothers. That’s why his affairs are my affairs too. You don’t need to be so reserved, Elder Sister Lu.”
He knew the right things to say at the right time. Her love for Li Jiao was deeply rooted, not having faded even after centuries of forced separation; therefore, Yang Kai could not embarrass Li Jiao in front of her. He couldn’t tell her that Li Jiao had suffered greatly at his hands, right? That would be awful of him. Besides, they were only words. It didn’t cost him anything to say them.
Upon hearing that, she smiled, “Big Brother Li might have some Dragon Clan blood running through his veins, but he is an upright and righteous person. He likes to fight against injustice and is also very kind to others.”
Those words seemed to remind her of something from the past and brought a soft smile to her face. After distracting her like this, her situation improved greatly and she wasn’t shaking as badly as before anymore.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai felt speechless. [Is someone like Li Jiao even worthy of such appreciation? It seems love truly is blind. She thinks that he is perfect in every way. I bet she even thinks that his farts smell like roses. Seriously; when he came to High Heaven Palace with Ji Ying not that long ago, he was running around causing trouble left and right. Where was the kindness that she spoke of? I was so tempted to slap him to death back then!]
Needless to say, Yang Kai would never say such things in front of her. He simply followed her lead in the conversation and replied, “En, you’re right, Elder Sister Lu. Brother Li and I might not have known each other for long, but he has been a true friend, helping me with a number of issues.”
Saying that Li Jiao had helped him was the truth. Be it searching for Zhu Qing or coming to Dragon Island, Li Jiao had contributed a lot. That was something he could not and would not deny.
Lu San Niang smiled in response, “He has always been one to suppress the bullies and help the weak. If he had not acted out of righteousness back then, I would have died a long time ago. I would not be able to live until this day.”
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched. He knew that he was simply one of the recipients of Li Jiao’s ‘helping the weak’ acts in her eyes. It wasn’t hard to understand why she thought that way. His cultivation was only in the First-Order Emperor Realm, just like hers. On the other hand, Li Jiao was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so if they ever encountered anything as a group, Li Jiao would be the one they relied on. That was the normal understanding most people would have. Since she had assumed this to be the case, Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to explain either.
After chatting with her like this, her mood had stabilized significantly and she no longer felt anxious in front of Yang Kai. Their cultivations were similar in terms of realm, so she was able to relax more around him. On the other hand, she felt ashamed, timid, and cautious whenever she stood in front of Li Jiao.
[She is such a pitiful person…] Yang Kai sighed in his heart.
While they were conversing, Lu San Niang suddenly shut her mouth tightly and did not say another word. At the same time, she began trembling uncontrollably again as her gaze shakily looked forward.
Yang Kai looked forward as well, feeling a little speechless. That was because Fu Qi was flying directly towards that particular Spirit Island, marking it as their destination.
[Isn’t this a little too much of a coincidence?] There were countless Spirit Islands spread out across this sea; moreover, the Dragon Clan were scattered and lived far apart from each other. Nobody could have predicted that Fu Qi would lead them to the island Lu San Niang once stayed.
Having guessed the reason for her reaction, Yang Kai couldn’t let it go just like that. Hence, he secretly sent a transmission to her, “Elder Sister Lu, follow me closely when we get on the island. Do not separate from me.”
He did not know whether she heard what he said, but in any case, she showed no reaction whatsoever. The closer they got to the island, the worse her complexion became.
Finally, the group of people following Fu Qi landed on the island. Yang Kai’s previous observation had been accurate, Fu Qi’s destination was indeed this island.
A member of the Dragon Clan probably lived here as there were many palaces on the other side of the island. Although it was late into the night, the lights were flickering in the palaces. Nobody knew what the people were doing inside those homes.
When they arrived, Fu Qi beckoned with his hand and Yuan Wu immediately ran over eagerly, nodding and bowing respectfully. Then, Fu Qi coldly issued some instructions in a low voice, took out a Space Ring, and tossed it to Yuan Wu. Contrarily, Yuan Wu’s expression became as bitter as a bitter gourd. He obviously looked troubled; however, Fu Qi couldn’t care less and flew into the sky, transformed into a Green Dragon that was some 80 metres long, plunged headfirst into the sea, and disappeared.
“Senior Fu Qi! Senior Fu Qi!” Yuan Wu shouted.
“If you don’t finish it within a month, you will all die!” A Dragon Roar rang out from the depths of the sea, causing everybody’s expression to change. Nobody knew why they had been brought here or what they had to do, so how could they remain calm after hearing such a threat?
[One month? What does he mean by one month? What do we have to do within a month?] Nobody knew and all were silent for some time. A short while later, the crowd began chattering among themselves.
Now that Fu Qi was gone, all that were left were residents of Half-Dragon City. There was nothing to worry about now, so several of the more powerful Emperor Realm Masters gathered around Yuan Wu.
“Brother Yuan, why did the Dragon Clan gather us here? What do they want?”
“That’s right. What do they want us to do?”
“What did he mean by ‘a month’?”
“Brother Yuan, do you know something? If you do, please hurry up and give us an explanation.”
“Brother Yuan, you can’t keep it a secret from us. We are all in the same boat. We need to work together to get over this.”
“Good. If we can’t complete the task the Dragon Clan gave us, the consequences will be disastrous.”
…..
That group of people clamoured endlessly and Yuan Wu’s head was about to burst from it all. There was no helping it; it was a matter of life and death after all. Who would dare to take things lightly? Since Fu Qi mentioned a month, then it was a month. If they failed to fulfil his request within that time, forget the 500 people standing here, he might even kill 5,000 people in his wrath. The Dragon Clan had always meant what they said, especially when it came to threats.
Yuan Wu’s face was extremely distorted while at the same time he deeply regretted his actions. [If I had known this would happen, it would have been better to follow Fu Ling to water the Dragon Blood Flowers! Just great. I’m stuck with something troublesome now, something worse than merely bleeding for those damned flowers! What a blunder! Why is my life so difficult?!]
The people surrounding Yuan Wu continued to clamour noisily. He endured it for a while until he couldn’t stand it anymore and roared, “Shut up. All of you!”
Everybody immediately fell silent at those words as they turned to look at him. He swept a cold gaze over the crowd before speaking through gritted teeth, “I’ve gotten the gist of it, but I’m not too sure about the finer details either. Let me explain once I’ve figured it out.”
After saying that, he took out the Space Ring Fu Qi had given to him and carefully studied its contents.
Meanwhile, everybody watched him carefully to observe his reactions. They saw his expression turning into one of surprise, followed by one of glee. Then, his expression darkened again. After several more changes of expression, his face regained that bitter expression from before.
He waved his large hand and took out something that looked like an animal skin from the Space Ring to look at it carefully. The moment he laid eyes on it, he let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
The Emperor Realm Masters surrounding him couldn’t curb their curiosity anymore and leaned in for a closer look and their expressions changed after looking at what was written on the animal skin.
“What is this?”
“It looks like a palace.”
“It sure is large.”
“Huh? Even the construction materials have specific requirements.”
“What does this mean? Were we brought here to build a palace?”
“No way! Why would the Dragon Clan need to build a palace? I’ve never heard of the Dragon Clan having such needs before.”
“Unbelievable. This is just unbelievable. If this palace is built, there won’t be another one like it across the entire Star Boundary!”
“Green Gold Purple Copper, Ice Spirit Snow Jade, Heavenly Crystal Meteor Sand… Hey, these are all materials for refining Emperor Rank Artifacts. A-A-Are we really building a palace with these?! Isn’t it too lavish?!”
After seeing what was written on the animal skin, the group of Emperor Realm Masters immediately became a little uneasy and their expressions changed as a result.
Those gathered around the periphery couldn’t see the drawings on the paper, but their eyes also widened in surprise when they heard what was being said. They looked like they were in disbelief, their faces twitching slightly from the shock.
Green Gold Purple Copper? Ice Spirit Snow Jade? Heavenly Crystal Meteor Sand? One after another, those highly impactful terms sounded in their ears like thunderbolts, rendering them stupid from the shock.
Although they had always lived on Dragon Island and never communicated with the outside world before, that did not mean that they were ignorant of the ways of the world. The Alchemists and Artifact Refiners in Half-Dragon City had everything they needed. Besides, there was no shortage of cultivation materials on Dragon Island, so as long as they did not infringe on the benefits or boundaries of Dragon Palace, they were allowed to move about freely in this Small World. Therefore, they all knew what these materials meant.
All of these were extremely rare Artifact Refining materials, and any one of them was incredibly expensive. Moreover, they were extremely hard to find. If an Emperor Realm Master could get their hands on these materials, they could use them to greatly improve the Emperor Artifacts that they owned.
However, the voices in their ears seemed to be saying that these materials that were so rare to the point where they were almost non-existent were actually going to be used to build a palace! How could that be? Their hearts were filled with doubt and they did not dare to believe what they were hearing.
In an instant, everybody’s gaze turned to Yuan Wu, hoping he would give them an answer.
Even Yang Kai was surprised. [If that really is true, then this is certainly far too lavish. Even those Great Emperor Sects could not afford to make such a large and luxurious expenditure. Can Dragon Island really do this?]
In the meantime, Yuan Wu had been observing the animal skin drawing. He finally put it away after studying it for some time then swept his gaze over the crowd, his insidious eyes landing on Yang Kai for a moment before he loudly announced, “The Dragon Clan has given us a very difficult mission!”
As soon as the words rang out, the crowd exploded in noisy chatter.
“No way!”
“Are we really going to build a palace?”
“With those materials no less?!”
“Building a palace isn’t a big deal. We have so many people after all. No matter how large the palace is, we should be able to finish constructing it in a month. The problem is… those materials…”
“Yeah! Where are we going to find those materials?! How are we going to build the palace if we don’t have the materials?! Is the Dragon Clan trying to kill us?!”
“Shhh. Watch what you say! This is Dragon Palace! The walls have ears! Be careful!”
The crowd began talking among themselves.
Yuan Wu’s expression was as ugly as it could be as he waited for some time before he continued speaking, “You’re right. The Dragon Clan wants us to build a palace. Moreover, it’s a very magnificent and grand palace. From what I saw just now, this palace will span across an area of hundreds of thousands of square metres upon completion.”
A round of gasps rang out through the crowd. [Hundreds of thousands of square metres!? How big was this island? If it spans across an area of hundreds of thousands of square metres, then it will occupy almost a tenth of the entire landmass!]
They originally thought that they had enough manpower on their side, but they were stunned by how large the palace was going to be. Could that still be called a palace!? It was more like an entire city!
Yuan Wu pointed to the centre of the island and said loudly, “The palace will be located there. The Dragon Clan has essentially planned everything for us so we only need to follow their instructions.” Seeing that the crowd was showing signs of breaking out in a commotion again, Yuan Wu lifted a hand to suppress them and continued, “I know what you are worrying about. It’s about the materials needed for construction. Regarding the materials, Dragon Palace has prepared them in advance.” He lifted the Space Ring in his hand into the air, “It’s all inside this Space Ring.”
When those words sounded, everybody seemed taken aback for a moment before they all let out a breath of relief in unison.
“Oh! The Dragon Clan prepared them in advance! That sure scared me!”
“Yeah, that’s right! If we had to find those materials ourselves, we might as well just commit suicide.”
“That’s more like it. Still, I’ve heard that the Dragon Clan is astonishingly wealthy, but now I finally know that the rumours weren’t exaggerated.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe they are building a palace with all those materials. It’s so exaggerated and wasteful! If only they could give me some…”
“Stop dreaming. Who would dare to steal any of the materials from that Space Ring? If anybody really did do that, they wouldn’t even know how they died.”
“That’s true. Heh heh… I was just saying, you know?”
Just as the crowd began to relax, Yuan Wu smiled coldly, “I’m not trying to spoil your mood, but the materials within this Space Ring are not enough. It lacks a large part of what we need. We will need to obtain the rest ourselves.”
“What?!” They were shocked by those words. With just a few words their emotions fluctuated again and again. They could not believe what they were hearing. [The materials in the Space Ring are not enough?! We need to obtain them ourselves?! Where are we going to find such precious materials?! These materials can only be found by chance and won’t appear just because we are looking for them!]
Yuan Wu comforted them again, “Don’t worry. There are a few Spirit Islands in Dragon Palace that produce these materials. We only need to obtain them and bring them back.”
Their tense nerves relaxed again. That was good if that was the case. They were scared that the Dragon Clan wanted them to search for the materials themselves. These materials were extremely rare; where would they even begin to search for them? Upon hearing that the nearby Spirit Islands produced these materials, they did not worry as much anymore.
However, they couldn’t help criticizing Yuan Wu slightly in their hearts. [This bastard is definitely doing this on purpose, saying one thing but leaving out half the details. Why did he have to scare us like that?]
“Yuan Wu, may I know why the Dragon Clan wants us to build a palace like that?” Somebody asked suddenly.
That question represented the doubts in everybody’s hearts. They had coexisted with the Dragon Clan in this Small World for countless years, but there had never been a precedent for something like this. Although the Dragon Clan occasionally visited Half-Dragon City in the past, most of those occasions were to gather Dragonborn to cultivate the Dragon Blood Flowers. Therefore, the sudden request to come and build a palace left them feeling strange. Since when had the Dragon Clan paid attention to such things, and with such an exorbitant price too.
Judging from the scale of this palace and the materials needed for its construction, it was not meant for an ordinary member of the Dragon Clan to live in. It might turn out to be the palace of an Elder within the Dragon Clan. That conjecture inevitably made them feel uneasy as they knew that if they did not do this well, all 500 of them would die.
“I want to know that too,” Yuan Wu replied unhappily. He was extremely upset today. First, he was beaten up and humiliated. Then, he took on such a dreadful task. The rage burning in him was reaching its boiling point and right now, he just wanted to find an outlet to vent out all his frustrations.
The person who asked the question was a Human in the Third-Order Emperor Realm, but after being snarled at by Yuan Wu, he merely laughed apologetically and said nothing more. It couldn’t be helped. Inside this Small World, he did not dare to make Yuan Wu an enemy even if his cultivation was higher than his.
It wasn’t just the Humans or the Monster Race. Even the Dragonborn had to tread carefully around Yuan Wu. There was no benefit to provoking this man, especially now that he was having a headache over the fuss about the Dragon Clan’s orders.
Yuan Wu scanned his surroundings with an insidious gaze before taking a deep breath and saying, “The situation is very grave. I won’t say more. I’m sure you all understand it too. If we want to finish building a palace of this scale within a month, we will need to give it our all, maybe even… put our lives on the line.”
Those words did not contain a single lie. If it was just a palace covering an area of hundreds of thousands of square metres, then it wasn’t too troublesome a task for the 500 people present in this place; after all, the Emperors among them numbered over a hundred, so how hard could building a palace be?
The main issue was that the Dragon Clan had specified the materials to be used. Those were extremely precious Emperor Grade materials, each of which was incredibly tough to handle. It would take a lot of manpower and resources to obtain them and then refine them into the necessary shapes and sizes. Just take the Green Gold Purple Copper for example. It would take a long time just to melt a palm-sized piece of the Green Gold Purple Copper.
Hence, everybody could understand how arduous this task was. All of them were silent and looked grim, thinking about their prospects. Meanwhile, Yang Kai was the only one looking carefree. He studied their surroundings without paying much attention to the matter at hand. He came to Dragon Island to look for Zhu Qing, not to work as a slave. As long as he could find a chance to meet with Zhu Qing, he couldn’t care less about other matters.
A gaze suddenly landed on Yang Kai and he turned to look in that direction to see the monkey-like man from before smiling at him. When their eyes met, that person nodded at him lightly.
Yang Kai’s impression of this man was quite good as he had taken the initiative to smooth things over between him and Yuan Wu when the situation between them was getting heated. That indicated that he was a brave and just man; therefore, Yang Kai had to return this favour regardless of whether he had needed the help or not. Seeing that that man was nodding at him in greeting, he smiled back at the man. It was a gesture of goodwill.
On the other side, Yuan Wu accidentally discovered this little action of Yang Kai’s and it immediately caused a wave of rage to rise in him. [I’m drowning in gloom, worrying about what’s going to happen during this one-month period, and yet this brat is so damn calm, relaxed, and at ease! Why!? Just why!?]