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!?]
Combined with the friction between Yuan Wu and Yang Kai previously, the feelings of hatred surged up in the former and his expression darkened as he pointed at Yang Kai, “You there! Go and obtain more Ice Spirit Snow Jade! You need to obtain 500 kilograms of the Ice Spirit Snow Jade every single day! If you fail to do so, you will suffer the consequences!”
*Shua shua shua…*
Everybody suddenly turned to look at Yang Kai with eyes full of sympathy.
The small disagreement between Yang Kai and Yuan Wu had mostly gone unnoticed. All they knew was that this young man was acquainted with the Dragonborn that had beaten Yuan Wu up. Thus, he was most likely being targeted by Yuan Wu due to his association with Li Jiao. He was being unfairly victimized. If he had been sent on any other errand, it would not have mattered as much even though it would still be unfair, it wouldn’t be life-threatening. However, mining Ice Spirit Snow Jade was an extremely dangerous task.
Ice Spirit Snow Jade was formed in extremely cold areas and even an Emperor Realm Master would suffer if they stayed in such a place for too long. In the worst-case scenario, they may even freeze to death. Additionally, Ice Spirit Snow Jade was extremely tough, so mining 500 kilograms daily was an impossible task!
Yuan Wu was clearly up to no good and everybody understood that. Besides, he didn’t even try to hide it as he snickered and sneered to himself, [Cocky, weren’t you? Arrogant, weren’t you? How dare you look down on me!? How dare you oppose me!? Good, these are the consequences of your actions!]
He was still pining over Lu San Niang and her daughter as he believed that as long as he got Yang Kai out of the way, he could do whatever he wanted with them. If he thought about it that way, then the job he took on today wasn’t that bad after all. At the very least, he could order these 500 people here around as he pleased. His mood immediately lifted and his ego inflated. [For the next whole month starting from today onward, I am King here. Everybody has to obey me!]
As for whether or not Yang Kai could manage to mine 500 kilograms of Ice Spirit Snow Jade, that wasn’t for Yuan Wu to worry about. It would be great if Yang Kai succeeded, but if he failed… Then, he would have a great excuse to teach Yang Kai a lesson.
[I will let him know the consequences of defying me!]
He believed that it was impossible for Yang Kai to complete that task. Hence, he was already secretly plotting ways to torture and humiliate Yang Kai to soothe the hatred in his heart.
Everybody else could see what Yuan Wu was planning and couldn’t help feeling their heart pounding in trepidation as their expressions changed. They had been overwhelmed by the Dragon Clan’s massive splurging of wealth and the difficulty of building the palace. Nevertheless, hearing the task Yuan Wu handed out to Yang Kai finally made them aware of something else.
Mining Ice Spirit Snow Jade was no easy feat and nobody would be willing to do it since the slightest mistake could cost them their lives. Now that Yuan Wu was in charge, they had to foster a good relationship with Yuan Wu in order to escape from being tasked with such a dangerous duty; after all, it would take more than one person to mine the Ice Spirit Snow Jade. At least 20 or 30 people would be needed for this task.
As that thought crossed their minds, somebody immediately piped up, “Brother Yuan, my cultivation technique is perfect for mining Green Gold Purple Copper, you should leave that to me!”
Although both were mining tasks, the dangers and difficulty between mining Green Gold Purple Copper and mining Ice Spirit Snow Jade were on completely different levels. Naturally, that person was rushing to take the easier job.
“That’s right. I believe I’m more suited to mining Green Gold Purple Copper too.”
“Heh heh… I think I’m more suited to mining the Heavenly Crystal Meteor Sand. Brother Yuan, what do you think…”
More than ten Emperor Realm Masters surrounded Yuan Wu, taking the initiative to volunteer for the mining duties. Their voices rang out, and it was extremely lively.
A smug look surfaced on Yuan Wu’s face as he felt that he was becoming more and more prescient for taking on such a pleasant task. The resentment from before had vanished without a trace. Although he was used to being arrogant and doing whatever he wanted in Half-Dragon City, he had never experienced the feeling of holding such authority in his hands before. Now that he finally satisfied that craving, he suddenly felt as though taking on this task was pretty worthwhile.
Even so, he ignored the requests of those people. [Those in power must have an air of authority around them. If I readily agree to anything they suggested to me, then how will I display my wit and brilliance? They are free to offer suggestions, but the final decision will lie in my hands! I will be the one to decide who mines the Ice Spirit Snow Jade, who mines the Green Gold Purple Copper, and who mines the Heavenly Crystal Meteor Sand.]
Therefore, he simply looked at Yang Kai coldly and lifted the corners of his mouth slightly as he scoffed, “Boy, I’m talking to you, are you deaf?”
Yang Kai gave a sidelong glance at Yuan Wu before retracting his gaze and looking out into the vast sea wondering which direction Zhu Qing was in. He had seen several Spirit Islands on the way here and Lu San Niang had mentioned that each Dragon Clan member lived separately. Zhu Qing surely had her own Spirit Island but unfortunately, he didn’t know which island that was. That was the first thing he needed to figure out.
“Impudence!” Yuan Wu was furious when he saw that Yang Kai was completely ignoring him. It was bad enough that Dragonborn was so rude to him, but at the very least his cultivation was stronger and his Dragon Vein was superior, but what thing was Yang Kai? How dare a mere First-Order Emperor Realm Human give him such an attitude! He needed to learn his place!
He was enjoying the exhilaration of his newfound authority, so how could he allow Yang Kai to ruin his prestige? Letting out a roar, he raised his hand and slammed a palm in Yang Kai’s direction. A gigantic green palmprint immediately appeared in the sky and smashed down.
Yuan Wu had not used his full strength in his attack. He did not want to kill Yang Kai after all. With the arduous task at hand, one less person would mean one less worker. The one-month deadline was already stressing him greatly. More importantly, he did not want Yang Kai to die so easily. He had transferred the hatred of being humiliated by Li Jiao to Yang Kai, so how could he let Yang Kai off easily before cruelly torturing and humiliating him?
He could never win against Li Jiao as neither his cultivation nor his Dragon Vein was a match; thus, he could only go for his next best option.
[Didn’t you have a good relationship with that Dragonborn? Didn’t you want to protect that mother-daughter pair? Let’s see if you have the ability to do so!]
For that reason, Yuan Wu only used half his strength in that attack. Still, that was enough. He was a Dragonborn and a Second-Order Emperor while Yang Kai was only a Human First-Order Emperor. Half of Yuan Wu’s full strength was more than what the other party could take. This attack of his would surely cause Yang Kai to suffer from some broken bones, at the very least.
“Watch out!” Lu San Niang shouted as her beautiful face went pale. Ever since she came to this island, her mental state had been rather out of sorts. She had been extremely nervous and her complexion was as white as a sheet. She had not even noticed the conflict between Yang Kai and Yuan Wu until Yuan Wu made his move, prompting her to suddenly call out to Yang Kai.
While speaking, she moved her body and circulated her Emperor Qi. She was clearly trying to take the attack on Yang Kai’s behalf. She might be no match for Yuan Wu alone, but if she worked together with Yang Kai, they might be able to deal with him; therefore, she needed to intercept this attack. In the worst case, she just had to apologize to Yuan Wu and beg for him to overlook the matter.
Her thinking was naïve and simple, but contrary to her expectations, Yang Kai swiftly grabbed onto her shoulder. She didn’t even feel him using any strength at all, but her Emperor Qi was instantly suppressed. She couldn’t even move a muscle, causing her eyes to widen in shock. She could not comprehend what had just happened.
The Masters surrounding them slowly shook their heads, thinking to themselves that Yang Kai was in deep trouble now. [This guy is pretty unlucky. It’s all because he is friends with that Dragonborn that Yuan Wu is displeased with him. It’s a pity but he will not have an easy time here because of that.]
They were unrelated to Yang Kai, and had never even met him before; hence, nobody stepped up to help him even though some people pitied him. They could tell that Yuan Wu was the person they needed to ingratiate themselves with at the moment so there was no way they would be willing to offend him for a complete stranger.
Almost everybody expected to see Yang Kai in a miserable state. Thus, they vowed to themselves to never offend Yuan Wu. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to leave this place alive one month later.
As sparks flew and tension soared, that gigantic green palmprint came smashing down on Yang Kai’s head; however, Yang Kai didn’t make any move at all. In fact, even the expression on his face did not change. It was as though he was so terrified that he had frozen in place.
It wasn’t until the palmprint was about to touch him that he gently lifted his hand. Emperor Qi concentrated on the palm of his hand and a mysterious Principle Strength surged. Raising his hand slightly, he pressed it against the gigantic green palmprint.
*Kacha…”
The sound of something cracking rang out as the gigantic green palmprint suddenly split apart and disappeared in a shower of light.
Yuan Wu was stunned. Lu San Niang was stunned. Everyone was stunned. Nobody knew how Yang Kai had caused that attack to disintegrate as it looked like he had merely lifted his hand gently and Yuan Wu’s unavoidable attack fell apart.
[Did that really just happen? Is this a joke? Did Yuan Wu underestimate his opponent too much?] That was what most people thought; after all, Yuan Wu’s strength was clear to see. Furthermore, Yang Kai was one Minor Realm below him, so even if the former didn’t use his full strength, it still wouldn’t be something Yang Kai could withstand. Thus, the only explanation was that Yuan Wu underestimated his enemy too much, causing his attack to be defeated.
However, there was a small portion of the people who narrowed their eyes slightly and looked at Yang Kai in amazement as an inconceivable notion flashed across their minds. They had not paid much attention to Yang Kai before now because there was nothing special about him. Things were different now though. That gentle movement he made just now was enough to make several Masters turn their attention on him.
[This young man was no soft persimmon! The reason this young man was able to disperse Yuan Wu’s attack wasn’t just that Yuan Wu had underestimated his enemy.]
On the other side, Yuan Wu was dumbfounded and his expression cramped up. He originally wanted to solidify his position with a demonstration of authority, but how could he have known that his attack would fail to establish his superiority here? Moreover, it even made him feel as if he had slapped himself in the face. Thus, he shouted furiously, “You court death!”
The flames of his rage burned in Yuan Wu’s heart as the Dragon Scales under his neck darkened in colour. A faint wave of Dragon Pressure swept out and the aura of a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master reached its peak.
Yang Kai’s resistance had undoubtedly enraged Yuan Wu. At first, all Yuan Wu wanted was to teach Yang Kai a lesson and make him realize his place so that he would become obedient in the future, but now, he planned to use his full strength to teach Yang Kai an unforgettable lesson.
[I’ll just beat him half to death for now!] Yuan Wu secretly decided in his heart, but before he could make his move, his vision blurred and a figure stood before him without warning. It made Yuan Wu jump in fright and when he refocused his gaze, he was startled to discover that Yang Kai, who had been standing some distance away from him, had appeared right in front of him somehow, no more than three steps away.
[What just happened?]
Yuan Wu completely failed to see how Yang Kai had approached him. It had happened too quickly!
Those Masters, who had been watching Yang Kai, also looked shocked and their pupils contracted in astonishment. That was because they had been observing him ever since he made that gentle palm movement just now. Therefore, they had a clearer idea of what had happened compared to the others. Even so, they failed to fully grasp his movements. It was as if they were watching an afterimage and had actually been standing in that new position the whole time.
Meanwhile, Yuan Wu finally came back to his senses and a look of hostility appeared on his face. Raising his fists, he punched at Yang Kai’s head. It was almost an instinctive reaction; however, he suddenly screamed when his fist was halfway moving through the air and his expression distorted so badly that it was barely recognizable anymore.
At that moment, he discovered that the left eye of the young man standing in front of him had transformed into a golden slit. It held no emotion whatsoever but was filled with sovereign power and majesty, like an impassionate deity was looking down from the Heavens at him.
When their gazes met, Yuan Wu’s mind blanked out for a moment as he vaguely felt as though he saw a budding lotus flower flashing by and rushing into his Knowledge Sea. Then, a severe pain spread from his Soul to his entire body, causing him to scream and tremble violently. As for his punch, it lost all its momentum and missed its target harmlessly.
Yuan Wu was still a Master in the end though, so after being ambushed in this manner, he knew he had fallen for Yang Kai’s trap. The young man in front of him did not have high cultivation; however, his Spiritual Energy was frighteningly powerful. That attack from the Secret Technique that seemed to come from the Soul felt like it was tearing his Knowledge Sea apart. Biting the tip of his tongue, Yuan Wu used that spike of pain to wake himself for a moment and clenched his fists to condense two lightning bolts which he then shot towards Yang Kai.
The two of them were standing very close together and Yuan Wu did not hold back at all, so the power behind his attack was monstrous and the dazzling lightning of his attacks practically illuminated the entire sky. However, in the next instant, something unbelievable occurred. The lightning passed through Yang Kai’s body without causing any harm to him whatsoever. Instead, it went straight through his back and hit nothing but air.
“Huh…” Yuan Wu gasped, barely able to believe what he was seeing. [How did he avoid an attack like that at such close distance?! No, that’s not right, he didn’t avoid it, it was more like my attack had no effect on him at all. But, how is that possible?! The lightning obviously hit him! I saw it clearly!]
Yuan Wu wasn’t the only one who did not understand what had happened, no one else in the crowd understood either; all of them were dumbstruck as a result.
While everybody was stupefied, Yang Kai suddenly reached out a hand and grabbed Yuan Wu by the neck. His movements were not fast, almost looking slow and casual to outsiders, something Yuan Wu should have avoided with ease but did not for some reason. Thus, he was caught just like that.
Meanwhile, Yuan Wu’s eyes felt like they were going to explode. All he could feel was a mighty force around his neck that threatened to snap it. That wasn’t all; the Dragon Pressure that he was exuding was suppressed in an instant. It felt like he had met his nemesis. The most obvious change was that the colour of the Dragon Scales on his neck became dimmer again.
[Bloodline suppression?!] Yuan Wu’s heart thumped in horror. He had a similar experience when he had been pummeled by Li Jiao during the day. Under the bloodline suppression from him, he could only exert 80% of his strength which was why he couldn’t lift a single finger against Li Jiao and was badly beaten as a result. Otherwise, he, who was a Second-Order Emperor, could have at least put up some resistance against Li Jiao even if he couldn’t win in the end.
But what was with this Human boy? Yuan Wu did not sense any Dragon Aura coming from this young man so he clearly wasn’t a Dragonborn. But if that was the case, how was he able to use the bloodline suppression on him?
What scared Yuan Wu even more was that the bloodline suppression he was facing right now was far more terrifying than the one he experienced earlier! That Dragonborn during the day only had a Third-Order Mid-Rank Dragon Vein; therefore, the suppression wasn’t that strong even though Yuan Wu was somewhat affected by it. At the very least, he could still exert 80% of his strength.
Yet now, he was being held by the neck by this young man and his strength had been suppressed by more than 50%. Moreover, the flow of his Emperor Qi seemed to be frozen, making it impossible for him to exert any of his strength at all. It felt as though he was terminally ill and his entire body went limp, but that was insane! The large hand around his neck felt like a metal shackle restraining him in place, making it difficult to even breathe properly, turning his face a bright shade of red.
The cultivators surrounding them widened their eyes in shock. What did this mean? They couldn’t comprehend the situation in front of them. Wasn’t Yuan Wu a Second-Order Emperor? Wasn’t he a Dragonborn? How did he get caught by a Human boy in the First-Order Emperor Realm so easily? What was going on? This didn’t make sense even if Yuan Wu had severely underestimated his enemy. Besides, the shocked expression on Yuan Wu’s face clearly indicated that it wasn’t a simple case of underestimating his enemy. Rather, it looked as if he had met an opponent he couldn’t hope to match! Was this young man really so powerful? Many people were utterly confused.
Meanwhile, the most powerful Masters among the crowd exchanged glances with each other and saw the astonishment in each other’s eyes.
On the other hand, Lu San Niang did not know what was going on. All she understood was that Yang Kai had dared to raise his hand against Yuan Wu; moreover, he was crushing Yuan Wu’s neck. Seeing this, she paled and cried out, “Stop, Brother Yang! Hurry up and let him go!”
She wasn’t pleading on Yuan Wu’s behalf. She simply felt that Yang Kai was being far too reckless. Yuan Wu currently held the highest authority here, so what good would it do to offend him? Mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade was certainly a dangerous job, but as long as they were careful, they wouldn’t die, but now what? Now that Yang Kai had completely offended Yuan Wu, how were they going to survive this one month?
It wasn’t that she was incapable of discerning the truth. It was just that Yang Kai had his back to her and he just so happened to be blocking Yuan Wu from her sight, so she couldn’t see how the situation had developed.
Many people looked at her with strange expressions after she spoke, causing Lu San Niang to become taken aback, not knowing the meaning behind their looks.
“Choose. Do you want to live or die?” Yang Kai asked calmly while staring at Yuan Wu.
Although Yuan Wu was incredibly shocked by Yang Kai’s strength, he did not want to lose what prestige he had. Besides, he was the person Fu Qi personally selected to be in charge of building the palace and believed that Yang Kai couldn’t kill him.
Besides, he was already feeling humiliated and the moment he heard Yang Kai asking him that question, he immediately countered coldly, “Hurry up and put me down! Otherwise, you’ll die so miserably you won’t even have a corpse to bury!”
In response, Yang Kai snickered and looked at Yuan Wu and said, “It looks like you choose death. If that’s the case, I’ll fulfil your wish!”
Saying so, Yang Kai’s expression froze over and the strength in his grip increased abruptly as his murderous intent billowed out like waves.
*Kacha…*
A soft cracking sound rang out and Yuan Wu felt as if the bones in his neck were breaking, frightening him greatly. He had not expected that Yang Kai would dare to kill him. [It looks like this guy isn’t just bluffing, he’s really going to kill me! Where did this madman pop out from? How dare he act so presumptuously in Dragon Island?! It’s ridiculous! Isn’t he afraid that the Dragon Clan will come after him? However… regardless of whether or not the Dragon Clan will come after him, I will certainly die a miserable death if I don’t compromise right now!]
Feeling his life really at stake, Yuan Wu no longer hesitated and breathlessly called out, “H-Have… m-mercy…”
[He’s begging for mercy?!] Several hundred people around them froze in shock. It was unthinkable for a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master to be held by the neck by a First-Order Emperor Realm Master and be incapable of putting up any resistance whatsoever. What’s more; it was a Dragonborn against a Human.
Therefore, they couldn’t accept the fact that Yuan Wu was now begging for his life; after all, a Dragonborn’s status in Half-Dragon City was not something a Human or Monster Race could compare to. Regardless of their cultivation, Dragonborn held much higher status than the other races.
It was the first time any of them had ever seen a Dragonborn bowing their heads to a Human. Moreover, it was a Dragonborn in the Second-Order Emperor Realm with a Second-Order High-Rank Dragon Vein. If they had not witnessed it for themselves, they would have thought they were hallucinating or having some strange dream.
Aside from Yuan Wu, who was a Dragonborn, all the other 500 people present here were Humans, Monsters, or Half Monsters. When they saw this scene, they were utterly stunned. At the same time, they felt the resentment building up in their hearts for so many years ease up slightly at the sight before them.
None of them wished to offend a Dragonborn in their daily lives, and some had even bowed their heads and ingratiated themselves with Yuan Wu before. However, that did not mean that they held any goodwill towards this bastard. It was undeniable that some of the Dragonborn were reasonable and upright individuals; unfortunately, most of the Dragonborn in Half-Dragon City thought of themselves as superior beings and treated non-Dragonborn with disdain. Yuan Wu was a prime example. Hence, seeing Yuan Wu bowing his head and begging for mercy gave them a sense of satisfaction.
“Wouldn’t it have been better if you did that from the beginning?” Yang Kai lifted his hand and patted Yuan Wu on the cheek lightly. That slight slapping sound shamed Yuan Wu so much that he wished the ground would swallow him whole.
He was a prideful man, and Yang Kai’s actions were tantamount to slapping his face in public. Despite his raging fury though, he showed none of it on the surface.
“Don’t mess with me again. There won’t be a second chance.” Yang Kai roughly flung out his hand and tossed Yuan Wu away.
Yuan Wu fell to the ground in a miserable heap, his hand clutching at his throat as he coughed violently, sounding extremely miserable, almost as if he was about to cough up his lungs.
The surroundings were completely silent as everybody stared stupefied at Yang Kai, Lu San Niang included. At this point, how could she still be clueless about what happened? This Little Brother named Yang Kai actually humiliated Yuan Wu? Moreover, he suppressed Yuan Wu through brute force? It wouldn’t have surprised her if her Big Brother Li had accomplished such a feat; after all, he had the appropriate strength and cultivation to do so, but what was with this Brother Yang? Where did her Big Brother Li get to know this monster? Wasn’t his strength and ability too unbelievable?
Under everybody’s gaze, Yang Kai walked to the side and stood in front of the sea, staring out into the distance with his brow furrowed deeply. He didn’t think much of the conflict he had with Yuan Wu as all he cared about right now was how he was going to confirm Zhu Qing’s current status and whereabouts.
However, the disturbance he had caused made the entire atmosphere become rather awkward as a result.
Originally, Yuan Wu had arrogantly dictated everybody’s actions. He held full authority in his hands; thus, everybody had to act according to his wishes and act cautiously around him. However, he had been publicly humiliated by Yang Kai so how was he supposed to hold his head up high and lead the others now?
His heart was full of anger, but his strength could not compare to the other party. Therefore, he could only choke down his rage while trying to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth.
“Senior Yuan. Senior Yuan, are you okay?” At that moment, someone came scurrying over to Yuan Wu.
Everybody looked and immediately saw a monkey-like man walking over to Yuan Wu and cautiously helping him up.
Yang Kai frowned when he heard the voice and, turning around to look, he discovered that it was the middle-aged man that had helped to smooth things over for him earlier, acting again at this moment.
Yuan Wu’s complexion was greenish. After being helped up by the middle-aged man, he coughed violently and finally said, “I’m fine!”
He glared at Yang Kai hatefully but quickly shifted his gaze away when their eyes met. After experiencing what he went through just now, he no longer dared to challenge Yang Kai; thus, he could only bury the resentment in his heart and hope that he would have a chance at revenge in the future.
Only then did the monkey-faced man breathe a sigh of relief. He smiled flatteringly and said, “Good good, it’s good that you’re okay. We still need your leadership for the upcoming construction of the palace. What would we do if anything were to happen to you? We would lose the very backbone of the group!”
His flattery was so strong and obvious that many people glanced sideways at him, thinking to themselves that he could not be more shameless. Still, it made Yuan Wu’s expression turn for the better as he felt as though he managed to recover some of his pride.
The middle-aged man spoke again, “Sir, if there’s really no other choice, you can leave the mining of the Ice Spirit Snow Jade to me. What do you think?”
“Huh?” Yuan Wu was stunned. He turned his head to look at the middle-aged man, properly looking at the man for the first time.
The others were shocked too, and their expressions were weird. Everybody knew how dangerous mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade was. That was why nobody had been willing to take on that task. They had actively volunteered themselves for all the other tasks because they were afraid Yuan Wu might assign that task to them.
The middle-aged man was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, so they were sure he knew about the dangers too. [What is he doing? It’s clearly a dangerous task. Why would he volunteer for it? Is he sick in the head? Even if it’s flattery, he shouldn’t joke about a matter involving life and death!] For a moment, they looked at the middle-aged man as if looking at a fool.
However, the middle-aged man seemed oblivious to those looks and just smiled slightly, “Of course, I’m only just saying. You will be the one to make the final decision, Sir.”
As soon as Yuan Wu heard those words, his favorability towards this middle-aged man increased considerably. His ego had been bruised by Yang Kai; the first task he assigned had been brushed off and he had been severely humiliated in the process. That had been a huge blow to his prestige, which was likely to affect his standing in the hearts of these 500 people.
In light of that, how could Yuan Wu not be grateful towards somebody who stood up in support of him at such a crucial moment? Moreover, this man had a smooth way with words and always spoke flatteringly and respectfully towards Yuan Wu.
Looking at the middle-aged man deeply, Yuan Wu asked, “What is your name?”
He did not recognize this man nor did he have the faintest recollection of a person like this in Half-Dragon City. Thus, he couldn’t help finding it strange; after all, such a strange appearance would definitely leave a deep impression on people.
The middle-aged man grinned meaningfully and replied, “My name is Wu Chen!”
“Good! You are very good!” Yuan Wu reached out and patted Wu Chen on the shoulder. It was easy to gild the lily, but it was not easy to extend a helping hand in times of need. Wu Chen had undoubtedly helped him out during a difficult time; therefore, even if the two of them had never met before and were not familiar with each other, Wu Chen’s position in Yuan Wu’s mind was much higher than anybody else’s from this moment on. Nodding, Yuan Wu continued, “Then, I will leave the mining of the Ice Spirit Snow Jade to you. Will 30 subordinates be enough?”
Wu Chen was startled, looking surprised for a moment before he grinned with joy, “Many thanks, Sir!”
When everybody else heard those words, they glanced at Wu Chen enviously and secretly regretted their inaction. [If we had known earlier, we wouldn’t have stood by and watched the show. We would have rushed forward to show some concern for Yuan Wu too.] Wu Chen had become highly valued by Yuan Wu with just a few words. He could be considered a leader among the 500 people present in this place. Moreover, he had been assigned to be in charge of mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade. It was a stroke of good fortune that just fell into his lap.
Yuan Wu narrowed his eyes and said, “You will be in charge of this matter. You can choose the people you need yourself. Once you’re done choosing, just let me know.” Then, he slowly swept his gaze across the crowd and calmly continued, “If anybody dares to make excuses, tell me. I will deal with them myself.”
“Yes, of course. Many thanks for your graciousness, Sir!” Wu Chen’s expression was practically glowing. It was obvious that he was incredibly elated.
He could conduct himself freely with Yuan Wu supporting him; after all, not everybody had the courage and strength like Yang Kai to dare to challenge Yuan Wu. Even the few Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters present did not have the courage to do so.
With Wu Chen as the precedent, the other Emperor Realm Masters no longer sat around doing nothing. They hurriedly gathered around Yuan Wu, spewing an endless string of flattery with big smiles. They could tell that building the palace was too cumbersome and huge a task and Yuan Wu couldn’t do everything by himself. If he wanted to build a palace within a month, he inevitably had to pick some leaders to work under him to take charge of other matters; therefore, now was a good time to perform well.
In the blink of an eye, Yuan Wu once again tasted the glory of being revered as a leader, like the sun the planets revolved around. The previous humiliation and resentment he felt were swept away in an instant. He glanced in Yang Kai’s direction coldly, hesitating whether he should instruct these people to get rid of Yang Kai; however, that thought had only flashed through his mind once before he shot it down immediately. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Yang Kai, it was just that mentioning it at this time might indicate that he was too eager for success. [I’ll let you have your moment of glory for now. I have a whole month’s time anyway. I’ll kill you the moment I get the chance!]
Yuan Wu laughed coldly in his heart. Afterwards, he no longer thought about Yang Kai as he started assigning tasks to the rest. During the previous investigation, he had gained a little understanding of what needed to be done in the next month. For now, the plan was to send people out to obtain the materials needed to build the palace. That was an urgent matter as it would be too late by the time the materials they had on hand were completely used up.
He consecutively selected more than two hundred people and divided them into eight teams. These eight teams were to go and obtain the various materials they needed for the construction; however, Yuan Wu was very careful with his selection. Aside from Wu Chen, he did not appoint another person to be in charge directly. He was grateful to Wu Chen for helping him save face, so he wanted to repay the favour in kind. On the other hand, the others had done nothing just now. [You want me to value you? Good, show me your attitude first!]
Although each material was produced by the islands of Dragon Palace, they were scattered across different Spirit Islands. Yuan Wu explained the tasks and pointed out the direction of the respective Spirit Islands. Then, more than two hundred ‘helpers’ reluctantly took flight under the cover of the night. Time was running out so there was not a moment to delay or rest. Therefore, there was no room for dissension even though they held some resentment in their hearts.
With that, the number of people remaining was halved all of a sudden.
After that, Yuan Wu began to assign different tasks to the remaining people. The Dragon Clan might have planned out the site, but that was only a rough mapping of the area. The rest of the details had been left to these 500 people to figure out.
Building a palace was not a simple matter. It involved many different aspects. Fortunately, the remaining three hundred people were not completely useless. Many of them had some experience in this, so Yuan Wu gathered them together for a brief discussion. Following that, he issued various orders to them.
Waves after waves of people flew off, each embarking on a different task. They began to make preparations for the construction of the palace on this island. In an instant, the entire island became bustling. Despite how late it was, the sounds of people moving about and working continued without end.
As dawn approached, most of the tasks had been assigned to these people. Only Yang Kai, Lu San Niang, and her daughter remained standing there without moving. Yuan Wu clearly had no plans to provoke Yang Kai anymore. He even ignored both Lu San Niang and her daughter as a result. Glaring at Yang Kai’s back coldly, he snorted and turned to leave.
The moment he left, Lu San Niang immediately looked at Yang Kai and helplessly asked, “Little Brother Yang, what should we do now?”
How things played out had been rather unexpected. She initially thought that it would be difficult for her daughter and her to escape from Yuan Wu’s clutches; thus, she had mentally prepared herself to resist to the bitter end. She did not expect that nothing would happen at all.
It was all thanks to Yang Kai that they could be so leisurely at this time. At the same time, she finally understood why Li Jiao had left without any worries whatsoever. He didn’t even tell her anything before he left. He clearly knew what Yang Kai was capable of and that was why there was no need to say anything at all.
“There’s something I’d like to ask you, Elder Sister Lu.” Yang Kai turned his head to look at her.
“Just ask away.” She looked at Yang Kai with some restraint, no longer daring to treat him as an equal. The reason she had been able to relax in front of him before was that she had believed they were both First-Order Emperors; however, after seeing his strength, she immediately understood that he was not someone she could ever hope to compare with. Besides, respecting the strong was an unchanging principle of the Martial Dao, so she was slightly in awe of him.
He seemed oblivious to the changes. Pondering in silence for a moment, he said, “You have lived here for a long time. Have you ever heard of a Dragon Clan member named Zhu Qing?”
“The Zhu Clan of the Dragon Clan?” She was startled.
“Indeed!” He nodded gently.
“I’ve never heard of that name before.” She shook her head, “Although I have lived here for 200 to 300 years, I have never left the place where I lived, so I don’t have much of an understanding towards the affairs within Dragon Palace.”
“I see…” Yang Kai seemed a little disappointed. He thought that since Lu San Niang has lived here for so long, she might know something about the internal workings of the Dragon Clan. At the very least, he thought she could point him in the right direction or something. Who could have known that she was basically a prisoner here the entire time, so he couldn’t rely on her to help at all?
She seemed slightly surprised, “Little Brother Yang, do you know a member of the Dragon Clan?”
[I don’t just know one, we even have an intimate relationship!] Naturally, he did not say those words out loud and simply answered, “I’m going to go out for a bit. Do you want to come along, Elder Sister Lu?”
She became frightened upon hearing those words and exclaimed in horror, “Go out? Go where?”
“I’m just taking a walk around!”
“You can’t!” Lu San Niang’s expression changed abruptly. She glanced about their surroundings to make sure there was no one else around before she whispered, “Brother Yang, I know you are strong, but this is Dragon Palace. This is where the Dragon Clan lives. If you are discovered by the Dragon Clan…”
Yang Kai smiled, “So many people have gone out. It won’t matter even if we were discovered by a member of the Dragon Clan.”
Earlier, more than two hundred people had scattered in different directions in eight different teams. They were all heading towards different Spirit Islands to obtain the materials needed for building the palace, so it was the perfect cover for Yang Kai.
Lu San Niang thought about it and agreed that it made sense. It could not be compared to back then. During the years that she lived here, Humans and Monsters who were non-Dragonborn were not allowed to stray too far away from the island where they lived.
With the construction of the palace, Yang Kai had a reasonable explanation even if he ran into a member of the Dragon Clan. Even so, she was still worried, “But…”
Yang Kai lifted his hand to cut her off and said, “If you want to come with me we’ll leave right now.”
He had no plans to stay on this island. Now that nobody was paying attention to him, it was a good chance for him to go out and search for some news about Zhu Qing.
She could probably guess that he was determined about this; thus, she pondered over it for a short moment before saying, “We won’t be going with you. You’ll have to be careful.”
Although her cultivation was not that bad, Lu Yu Qin was too weak. They would only be a burden for him if they followed him. If that was the case, they might as well remain in this place. That way, it would be easier for him to escape if he ran into any trouble.
He frowned in response and looked in a certain direction, “But, Yuan Wu…”
If he left, it would be hard to prevent Yuan Wu from harassing the Lu mother-daughter pair. That was the only thing he was worried about. Since Li Jiao had entrusted them to him, he had to take good care of them. It was a little irresponsible of him to leave them be just like that. Although he could place Lu San Niang and her daughter in the Sealed World Bead, he was not willing to do so unless it was his last resort.
She smiled slightly, “Brother Yang, you don’t need to worry about us. I have lived here for hundreds of years, so if I really wanted to hide, he wouldn’t be able to find me.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, Yang Kai immediately understood that his previous guess had been correct. This Spirit Island really was the den of that Dragon Clan member that had caused her so much grief. If that was the case, then he had nothing to worry about anymore. Lifting his head, he looked to the other side of the island, “What is the name of the Master here?”
She was silent for a moment before she whispered, “Fu Chi…”
While speaking, she shuddered slightly. It was clear that the name itself had brought up memories of something.
“What order Dragon Vein does he have?”
“The Eighth-Order Dragon Vein… He is a Thunder Dragon…”
Yang Kai nodded in response, “I understand.”
An Eighth-Order Dragon Vein was not low, so this Fu Chi was probably ranked fairly highly on Dragon Island. Even Zhu Lie only had an Eighth-Order Dragon Vein. Similarly, it wasn’t that long ago when Zhu Qing had an Eighth-Order Dragon Vein herself. It was just that she now had a Ninth-Order Dragon Vein. She was only one step away from becoming a Great Elder of the Dragon Clan.
“If you want to leave, you can leave without worries, Brother Yang. You don’t need to concern yourself about me. I can take care of myself.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Then, you take care too. I’ll be back in a few days.” After saying that, he rose into the sky and flew off in a random direction.
His movements had not alerted many people. Yuan Wu and the rest were busy working on their tasks in the middle of the island so it was impossible for them to notice what was happening here.
At this time, the sky had brightened considerably. Yang Kai moved about like lightning, not knowing which direction to begin searching. Thus, he could only take things one step at a time. He silently and secretly spread out his Divine Sense, investigating the surrounding movements.
The Spirit Islands dotted the sea within Dragon Palace like the stars in the night sky. Each Spirit Island was rich in World Energy and had an excellent environment. Moreover, the islands were full of wonderful and strange plants, as well as precious treasures. Even though Yang Kai was used to seeing such riches, he was still awed by the sight. He had known that the Dragon Clan was rich, but ‘rich’ was a vague concept. It was very hard to imagine the extent of their wealth without seeing it with his own eyes.
Many of the Spirit Islands did not contain auras of any living creatures. In other words, the precious treasures on those islands were completely unguarded. If it weren’t for his attachment towards Zhu Qing, Yang Kai would have cleaned out all those Spirit Islands of the precious treasures they held. Unfortunately, searching for Zhu Qing was the priority, so even though he was amazed by those treasures, he was not in the mood to think about them.
In addition to the abundance of various exotic flora, there were countless rare mineral lodes, including Source Crystal Lodes that would make anybody envious. All of this was simply left out in the open, exposed to the world for all to see. Even so, nobody seemed to care.
At this point, the wealth of Dragon Island was not something the so-called top Sects in Star Boundary could compare to. Even Great Emperor Sects could not hold a candle to it. No wonder they could generously spend such a lavish amount to build a palace. There was probably nobody else across the entire Star Boundary, other than the Dragon Clan, that could pull off that kind of bold move.
During that time, Yang Kai explored Spirit Island after Spirit Island; however, his search was not fruitful to say the least. It wasn’t until half a day later that he sensed the aura of some living creatures on one of the Spirit Islands.
That was probably one of the places where a member of the Dragon Clan lived. Yang Kai did not know whether it belonged to a member of the Fu Clan or Zhu Clan, but the aura coming from the island wasn’t that powerful. Hence, Yang Kai snuck in to investigate.
The living creatures on the island were all women. They were charming, alluring, and beautiful. Furthermore, there were at least a hundred of them. Although all of them were gorgeous, their cultivations were rather uneven.
Yang Kai understood that these women had probably been imprisoned by one of the Dragon Clan members. Just like Lu San Niang, these women were under house arrest on this Spirit Island. They were the toys of a Dragon Clan member.
It might have been due to the jealousy and competition between them, but many of these women were dressed up extravagantly and seductively. Some of them even went so far as to wear only a thin layer of transparent tulle. Their snow-white skin that was boldly exposed in front of Yang Kai made him slightly dizzy.
On the other hand, the Dragon Clan member that owned this place was nowhere to be seen. Who knows where that person had gone? Even so, he knew that this was not the place where Zhu Qing lived. She was a female Dragon, so there was no reason for her to keep so many women.
Yang Kai finally had a real understanding of the Dragon Clan’s extravagance and lasciviousness. Therefore, he hurriedly retreated from the island and continued onward.
One day passed, then another… Yang Kai wandered Dragon Palace for several consecutive days. During that time, he never encountered a single member of the Dragon Clan. He also inspected many of the Spirit Islands but aside from one or two of them that exuded auras so powerful that even he felt a little afraid, he had sneakily entered all others that were suspicious to investigate.
There was no sign of Zhu Qing anywhere though, and there was no sign of Zhu Lie either. Yang Kai did not know where the siblings lived so it made his search incredibly frustrating.
One day, another island appeared before him. Shifting his body slightly, Yang Kai flew in that direction as he could sense the aura of living creatures coming from that place.
Most of the islands in Dragon Palace were uninhabited. It was rare for him to come across an island with living creatures on it; therefore, Yang Kai could not pass up on an island like that. Concealing his aura as much as possible, he rushed towards the island.
Over the past few days, he discovered that the places where the Dragon Clan members lived were not very strictly guarded. They did not even have a single barrier erected around their islands, so it was not difficult to sneak in. All he needed to do was be careful to conceal himself and he would not be discovered.
Such behaviour had a lot to do with the Dragon Clan’s arrogance. Besides, this was Dragon Palace. Who would dare to run about without permission? Those who dared to do so were simply seeking death. Hence, it was very easy for Yang Kai to infiltrate the island and it didn’t take long for him to arrive at a palace.
This palace seemed to be rather old, but the interior decorations were extremely luxurious. Everything was giving off an ancient aura and there was the occasional person coming and going from the palace, though their cultivations were not that high.
What Yang Kai found strange was that all the people here were men. Moreover, they were handsome men. Not a single woman could be seen. Thus, he couldn’t help feeling a little suspicious. All the islands he had investigated before were mainly occupied by women. [Why is the situation reversed on this Spirit Island?]
The more the doubts grew in his mind, the more he wanted to figure it out. He carefully avoided those people and continued inward, and when he reached a certain place, a mellow voice suddenly entered his ears, turning his expression weird.
After listening carefully, Yang Kai distinguished the direction the sound was coming from and arrived outside a hall. Several dozen bodies were entangled together inside the hall. Additionally, it was overflowing with a strong scent of debauchery. The scent was so strong that it even wafted outside of the hall.
In the meantime, moaning cries rang out incessantly from inside the hall. Listening to those cries would make anyone blush furiously. They felt like little hands pulling at one’s heartstrings, making one’s blood rush and arousing one’s desires until they couldn’t control themselves. The sounds were intermixed with muffled groans and the urgent slapping sound of flesh against flesh.
Yang Kai had seen many similar scenes over the past two days. Life on most of the Spirit Islands where the Dragon Clan lived seemed to be overflowing with acts of carnal desires. If that was all, he would not have been this dumbstruck. What shocked him was that the hall was mostly filled with men. Moreover, there was a single woman among all these men!
That woman had her back to him. Her smooth and extremely alluring figure was beautifully curved, exuding a porcelain-like lustre. It might have been due to her arousal but her pale white skin seemed to be tinged with a faint shade of pink. It made one fantasize about it strongly. Behind her, a strong man was working hard to thrust into her. Meanwhile, two men were kneeling next to each other in front of her. They seemed to be sucking something. Similarly, there were two men on both sides of her, each holding one of her small hands to their mouths, sucking on her fingers, one by one. There was a faint expression on their faces that indicated their desire for her approval as they stared unblinkingly at her face.
There were many other naked men sprawled across the hall, looking extremely weak. They looked like they were half-dead. Who knows what kind of torture they suffered. These men were Humans, Monster Race, and even some Half-Monsters. However, the aura coming from that woman was that of a Pureblood Dragon.
[This woman is a member of the Dragon Clan!] Yang Kai was shocked and could not believe his eyes. The Dragon Clan lived a hedonistic life, something Yang Kai had truly understood over the past few days. Even so, such debauchery had mainly involved only the male Dragons. It was his first time seeing a female Dragon participating in such acts.
Even though Yang Kai had seen many things in his life, the scene in front of him was so impactful that he was completely dumbstruck and froze in place from the shock.
All of a sudden, the woman waved her hand and pushed away the faces of the men gathered around her. Then, she shoved the strong man who had been standing behind her down, turned around, and knelt on top of him. In the next moment, her exquisite and graceful body began moving up and down. Her head was lifted slightly and her beautiful hair danced with the motion as her ample peaks bounced in rhythm with her movements. A short while later, a suppressed moan rang out and the woman shuddered violently while at the same time, her tightly closed eyes opened slightly to reveal a look of ecstasy.
Inside the hall, the sounds of the carnal acts gradually stopped.
Outside the hall, Yang Kai stood dumbstruck.
That moment stretched out as if time had frozen at that very moment. Then, the woman’s slightly opened eyes met his peeping gaze. Their eyes seemed to meet for a moment and Yang Kai’s heart jumped in fright. [This is bad!]
Up until today, he had gone through many difficult challenges in life to get to where he was; however, what he witnessed just now was so unbelievable that he was utterly shaken. It wasn’t until this moment that he realized that the Dragon Clan member inside the hall was none other than Fu Ling, the one who came to pick them up when they first arrived in Dragon Palace.
Fu Ling’s slightly opened eyes slowly became sharp and compelling. It was clear that she had noticed his presence, so how could he dare to stay for another moment longer? Pushing his Space Principles, Yang Kai immediately disappeared from that spot.
Fu Ling frowned and stood up slowly. A touch of liquid flowed down her thighs but she ignored it. She didn’t even bother to cover up her body and simply walked straight out just like that. Glancing at the spot where Yang Kai had been standing just a moment ago and seeing nothing there, her scowl deepened and she turned her head to look into the distance, snorting softly as she did so.
…..
Yang Kai flew above the sea with an awkward expression. He had not expected to encounter something like that. It wasn’t his intention to peep, it was just that the scene was too shocking, so it was inevitable that he took a few more glances. That was why he accidentally revealed his presence.
[I wonder if she noticed me. She probably did. Otherwise, the look in her eyes wouldn’t have changed so much. Will she come looking for me? Will she cause trouble for me?] Based on the Dragon Clan’s temperament, that possibility was almost certain. Fortunately, Fu Ling did not know who he was even if she wanted to search for him. Moreover, she had not paid any attention to him when they met several days back. She would not remember a nobody like him. Therefore, there was no need to worry too much about it.
Although the lifestyle of that female Dragon might be a little more corrupt than usual, her figure and appearance were extraordinary. She was a Divine Spirit, a Dragon, after all; it was only natural for her to have extraordinary looks.
Recalling the scene he witnessed, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling his heart racing as a result. Obscene images filled his mind as he continued to explore a few more islands to no avail. Hence, he decided to return for now. A few days had passed since he left the island and he did not know how Lu San Niang and her daughter were doing. Besides, he was also worried that Yuan Wu would cause trouble for them.
Half a day later, Yang Kai returned to the island. Landing on the ground, he glanced around but did not see Lu San Niang or her daughter anywhere. He did not know if they were hiding or doing something else.
Just as he was about to begin searching for them, the sound of water splashing about suddenly rang out from the sea nearby. At the same time, a peal of clear and sweet laughter entered his ears.
Turning his head in that direction, Yang Kai saw two graceful figures slowly rising from the sea. It was Lu San Niang and her daughter. He did not know what they had been doing under the sea, but they were clearly returning at this moment.
Both the bodies of mother and daughter were dripping wet, their clothes pressed tightly against their bodies, vividly revealing their graceful curves. One was mature and voluptuous while the other was young and alluring.
Yang Kai’s eyesight was so sharp that even if they were standing far away, he could take in that beautiful scenery clearly just by looking in that direction. Thus, he shifted his gaze away without saying anything and looked somewhere else, simply feeling relieved that they were safe.
The laughter continued. It was Lu Yu Qin’s voice. She seemed to have encountered something pleasant and was laughing non-stop. All of a sudden, the laughter broke off as she had probably noticed his presence. The mother-daughter pair exchanged a glance with each other before hurriedly using their Qi to remove the water from their clothes. After that, they flew over hand-in-hand.
“Little Brother Yang!” Lu San Niang greeted Yang Kai and landed not too far away. What happened just now might have made Lu Yu Qin a little shy, so she was hiding behind her mother and did not dare to show her face. Moreover, her cheeks were a little flushed.
Only then did Yang Kai look in their direction and nodded lightly with a smile, “I’m glad you’re having fun, Elder Sister Lu.”
He thought that the mother-daughter pair had been playing in the sea.
She smiled and asked, “Did you gain anything from your trip, Little Brother Yang?”
She might not know the exact reason why he was going out, but she knew that he had a purpose. It was just that she could not inquire too deeply into the matter since he did not take the initiative to tell her about it.
“I was just looking around,” he replied.
“The scenery around Dragon Palace is beautiful indeed. Little Brother Yang, please wait for a moment, let’s talk when I return after delivering something.”
He asked suspiciously, “Deliver?”
“This!” While speaking, she flicked her wrist and a Luminous Pearl suddenly appeared on the palm of her hand. The Luminous Pearl was not small, about the size of a man’s fist. It was unexpectedly round and full, and one glance was enough to tell that it was a first-class product. It was also exuding a soft light, which gave off a very warm feeling.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at the sight. Although this kind of Luminous Pearl did not have much value to one’s cultivation, women loved such things. That couldn’t be helped; this kind of Luminous Pearl was best used for lighting up dark places and was many times better than using other kinds of luminous stones.
“This pearl is pretty good.” He nodded in praise.
She replied, “This is one of Dragon Palace’s specialties. It’s known as the Radiant Night Pearl. It’s hard to find this in the outside world.”
“Who are you going to give this to?”
Her expression became a little unnatural. Mulling over it for a bit, she decided to answer anyway, “I was going to give it to Yuan Wu…”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened immediately, “Did he make you do this?”
When he left, all 500 people had been given tasks. Only Yang Kai, Lu San Niang, and her daughter had been exempted. It wasn’t because Yuan Wu was being respectful towards Yang Kai but simply because he did not dare to command the three of them to do anything. He had suffered a terrible loss in Yang Kai’s hands after all.
[I can’t believe Yuan Wu did something like this the moment I left!] Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling annoyed. [It looks like the lesson I gave him before isn’t enough!] He immediately turned to look towards the centre of the island.
When Lu San Niang saw his expression, she immediately understood what he was thinking and hurriedly explained, “It’s not like that. He did not force me to do anything.”
“Then, why did you…” He looked at her with a frown.
She explained, “I volunteered to do this.”
[Volunteered to do this? Why?] Yang Kai said, “You don’t have to do that. He won’t dare to do anything to you.”
“I know.” She smiled wryly, “But, I want to leave this place as soon as possible. The Dragon Clan gave us a deadline of one month, but if we can finish building the palace a little earlier, then we can leave this place sooner too.”
After listening to her explanation, Yang Kai immediately understood what she was trying to do. This place was her nightmare, and every moment she spent here was another moment where she was tortured by the memories of this place. It was only natural that she did not wish to stay here for long. She just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Knowing this, his anger cooled. If she had volunteered to do this, then there was nothing he could say to that, “Why do they need these kinds of Luminous Pearls? For lighting?”
She nodded, “Yes. Such a large palace will surely need these pearls as decoration. Besides, I am very familiar with the coastal area around here. I also know where I can easily find these pearls, so it’s not that difficult of a task. I might as well do what I can do.”
At this moment, Lu Yu Qin suddenly stuck her head out and proudly exclaimed, “Mother found several hundred of them all at once!”
Lu San Niang had lived here for 200 to 300 years, so even if she couldn’t stray too far from the island, she must have been active in the nearby areas. Therefore, she was familiar with the nearby coastal region. Asking her to find these kinds of Luminous Pearls was obviously more efficient than asking others to do the same.
“Did Yuan Wu make things difficult for you again?” He looked at her and asked the question.
“No,” she shook her head, “His attitude might not be good, but he did not cause any trouble for us either.”
“Good.” Yang Kai nodded.
“Brother Yang, please excuse me for a moment. I need to deliver these pearls to him.” Afterwards, she said something to Lu Yu Qin before flying away.
Only Yang Kai and Lu Yu Qin were left. He smiled at her, but she seemed to be afraid of strangers and simply stood there awkwardly, blushing slightly without saying anything. Thus, Yang Kai looked for something to talk about and chatted with her. Unfortunately, she only replied with a few words or non-committal nods. It seemed like she didn’t dare to talk to him.
A short while later, Lu San Niang returned with a smile. She looked at Yang Kai and added, “Yuan Wu probably saw you coming back so he didn’t even dare to give me attitude this time around.”
“People like him only dare to bully the weak but are terrified of the strong,” Yang Kai snorted coldly. He looked down on people like Yuan Wu, but that was only if they did not do anything to him. If they so much as provoked him, it would not end at just giving them a lesson.
All of a sudden, Lu San Niang’s expression grew solemn and she whispered, “I heard them talking just now. It seems that quite a few people died while mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade. Moreover, one of them was in the Emperor Realm.” Her expression seemed to be filled with lingering fears. She was clearly grateful for having Yang Kai’s protection; otherwise, she might have been assigned to mine the Ice Spirit Snow Jade too.
“Somebody in the Emperor Realm died?” Yang Kai was astonished. He knew that mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade was no easy task and would surely be fraught with dangers, but even so, he did not expect people to die in the endeavour after just a few days!
“Yes. I didn’t hear much about the exact details so all I know is that a cold explosion occurred at the mineral lode of the Ice Spirit Snow Jade. A few people failed to escape in time, and they froze to death as a result.”
He asked, “What about Wu Chen?”
Yang Kai did not understand that monkey-like man at all. That man had helped Yang Kai out of a sticky situation and later volunteered to mine the Ice Spirit Snow Jade, which recovered some of Yuan Wu’s face. He seemed to be a good person who was considerate of others; however, Yang Kai had the feeling that that man was not that simple and couldn’t help being rather concerned about him.
She replied, “I’m not sure. I did not see him. He should still be mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade; after all, this is a task handed down by the Dragon Clan. Nobody dares to procrastinate on that matter. Even if they want to proceed more carefully, they can only grit their teeth and continue working at pace or they risk not meeting the deadline.”
“That’s true.” Yang Kai nodded. He was the only one among the 500 people here that couldn’t care less about this matter. The others were working hard to complete the task given by the Dragon Clan within the one-month deadline; after all, it was a matter that involved their life-or-death. If they did not work hard on it, they would only be waiting for death.
While Yang Kai was speaking with Lu San Niang, a commotion sounded from the other side. The sounds seemed to be coming from the place where the palace was going to be built. Apparently, something had happened there.
Neither Yang Kai nor Lu San Niang was bothered by the commotion. However, several people soon came flying from the other side, rushing directly towards Yang Kai and Lu San Niang.
Sensing that something was off, Yang Kai turned around and looked in that direction, where he saw four people flying over, one man and three women. That man was none other than Yuan Wu, who appeared to be obsequious and cautious as he accompanied the ladies, nodding and bowing to them.
All three women were strikingly beautiful, especially the one at the front who appeared about 25 years old. Her face was alluring, her figure was curvy, and her peaks were grand. Moreover, her long imperial green dress and jet-black hair were fluttering in the air as she was flying over to this place. However, something might have happened to the lady earlier as she appeared to be furious. At the moment, her expression was grim, and her gaze was cold. Although the two behind her were pretty as well, they paled when compared to the leading lady.
As Yang Kai watched them flying towards him, he frowned and wondered what these people were up to. Apparently, Lu San Niang saw them as well and in an instant, she turned pale as her tender body started trembling.
Seeing that, Lu Yu Qin hurriedly approached her and asked in a small voice, “Mother, what happened to you?”
Lu San Niang shook her head and remained silent, but her expression grew more apprehensive by the moment.
Noticing her strange behaviour, Yang Kai took a look at her and then shifted his attention to the three ladies. With his brows twitching, he asked in a small voice, “Do you know them?”
In response, Lu San Niang gave a small nod. It was then Yang Kai understood her reaction when she saw these three.
According to Lu San Niang, they were now on a Spirit Island where Fu Chi of the Dragon Clan resided. Centuries ago, she was captured by Fu Chi and forced to live on this island. Apparently, Lu San Niang wasn’t the only woman on this island, and most of them were Fu Chi’s playthings.
Obviously, the three ladies coming at them were also Fu Chi’s toys, so it was no wonder that Lu San Niang knew who they were. After all, they had been living together for centuries, so she might have been familiar with them. However, it seemed that she was afraid of them. Perhaps there were some grudges between them.
After Yang Kai pondered over the matter for a bit, he got a rough picture. Hence, he decided to take a step to cover up Lu San Niang’s figure. He wasn’t sure why these ladies were coming at them, but the expression of the leading lady suggested that this wasn’t a friendly trip.
In the blink of an eye, Yuan Wu and the three women arrived, but they just floated in the air and looked down at Yang Kai and the others in an aloof manner. With a cold expression, the leading lady sized Yang Kai up and asked coldly, “Who did it?”
Yuan Wu hurriedly pointed at Yang Kai and the others before uttering, “Madam, they’re the culprits!”
The leading lady shot a glare at them and said through gritted teeth, “How dare all of you hurt Xiao Hong!”
Unfazed, Yang Kai just stared sternly at Yuan Wu, who became uneasy because of that gaze. Recalling the humiliation he went through a few days ago, Yuan Wu’s expression changed as he flinched a little. He was truly terrified of Yang Kai. Until this day, he still couldn’t understand how a trivial Human who was merely in the First-Order Emperor Realm could be so much stronger than he was, and how he was able to suppress his Dragon bloodline.
Nevertheless, Yuan Wu soon remembered that he wasn’t alone. He had a prominent lady by his side, so he shouldn’t be afraid of Yang Kai. Considering all this, he straightened up and pointed at the leading lady before snarling, “This is the Mistress of the Master who owns this land, Madam Hua. Are all of you deaf? Pay your respects to her, now!”
Upon hearing the introduction, Madam Hua raised her chin, appearing quite overbearing. In fact, there was no such position as ‘Mistress’ on this Spirit Island. Fu Chi brought them here and regarded them as mere outlets for his sexual desires, so he had never treated them with any kind of respect.
However, Madam Hua was an alluring lady who knew how to make a man happy, so she was Fu Chi’s favourite plaything, which was why her position was second only to Fu Chi on this island. Yuan Wu’s introduction was a great compliment for her, so she was satisfied with it. With narrowed eyes, she stared at Yang Kai as though the latter was an ant.
Ignoring her, Yang Kai continued to stare at Yuan Wu and curled his lips into a sneer.
In an instant, Yuan Wu felt furious as he had been provoked, [I’ve introduced Madam Hua to them, so how could he still be so arrogant? Doesn’t he understand Madam Hua’s importance on this island?]
Nevertheless, he was gleeful at Yang Kai’s behaviour. He was no match for Yang Kai, but it would be wonderful if he could teach him a lesson with Madam Hua’s help; therefore, he was now taking pleasure in Yang Kai’s imminent misfortune as he secretly hoped that this boy would act even more arrogant, so he intentionally stirred up the situation more, “Madam Hua, look how insolent he is! He doesn’t have any regard for you at all!”
At that moment, Madam Hua was quite infuriated. She thought that these insignificant people would bow to her right after she showed up. Although she wasn’t Dragonborn or from the Dragon Clan, she was Fu Chi’s favourite woman; therefore, she regarded herself as more important than anyone else on this island. Having been incited by Yuan Wu, she snorted coldly, “You’re all quite bold, no wonder you had the guts to hurt Xiao Hong!”
It was then Yang Kai slowly shifted his attention to her and asked with a frown, “Who is Xiao Hong?”
Yang Kai really didn’t know who or what Xiao Hong was, so he instinctively thought that Yuan Wu had played a dirty trick to shift all the blame to him.
Madam Hua scoffed, “Don’t you even know what you’ve done?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“How impudent!” Yuan Wu growled at Yang Kai, “Madam Hua’s prized Golden Backed Red Carp was hurt today. On this island, only you have the guts to be so reckless!”
Shaking his head, Yang Kai replied, “What Golden Backed Red Carp? I’ve never seen it.”
Yang Kai had just come back from outside, so he had never seen any Golden Backed Red Carp. However, its name suggested that it was a fish that Madam Hua had been keeping. These ladies had been confined to this island for such a long time and had nothing to do except when Fu Chi needed them in bed. Hence, it was natural that they wanted to raise some pets to occupy and relax.
However, Yang Kai truly wasn’t the culprit, so he put on a sneer and thought, [Yuan Wu, I was going to let you off, but I didn’t expect that you’d try to use such a transparent scheme on me. It seems that you haven’t learned from your previous lesson!]
With a murderous intent flashing across his mind, he stared at Yuan Wu as though the latter was already dead.
All of a sudden, Madam Hua waved her hand, “Show him!”
Then, one of the ladies behind her stepped forward with a fish tank in her hands. Inside the tank, there was a red fish that would easily fit into one’s palm. Its back was golden, but the rest of its body was red, so it had an outstanding appearance.
It seemed that it was the Golden Backed Red Carp Yuan Wu just mentioned, but its aura suggested that it was just a Fifth-Order Monster Beast. Hence, although it looked pretty, it wasn’t powerful. Furthermore, its original form should be larger than this. The fish tank must have some special power to contain the fish in it.
Indeed, the Golden Backed Red Carp was hurt as some of the scales on its back had peeled off, which affected its overall beauty; however, it should be alright as it still appeared energetic inside the tank. Given enough time, the fish’s beauty should be restored. However, by just looking at Madam Hua’s expression, one would have thought that the fish had died a terrible death.
The pretty face of the lady, who was holding the fish tank, was cold, as though one could scrape a layer of frost off it. Glowering at Yang Kai, she bellowed, “This is Xiao Hong! Do you remember now?”
Impassively, Yang Kai replied, “I’ve never seen this red carp before, let alone hurt it. You’re blaming the wrong person.”
“How dare you deny it when the evidence is right here!” Madam Hua was incensed, thinking that this guy’s attitude was outrageous.
Yang Kai refuted coldly, “You can’t prove that I hurt it. Moreover, if I had made a move, your fish would be dead by now.”
Hearing that, Madam Hua was startled for a moment before she started trembling in rage, “How dare you talk to me like this!?”
“I can talk to you however I want. Who do you think you are?” Yang Kai snorted.
Madam Hua was infuriated because her power on this Spirit Island was second only to Fu Chi. Although she was servile to Fu Chi, all others on this island had to be respectful to her. Earlier, when she went over to Yuan Wu’s place and revealed her identity, everyone there instantly became subservient to her. Hence, she didn’t expect that Yang Kai would have no regard for her at all and simply could not tolerate it.
Ignoring her fury outright, Yang Kai snapped coldly, “The red carp’s injury has nothing to do with me! Scram back to where you came from and stop bothering me!”
Madam Hua’s expression turned livid when she heard that. Although this red carp wasn’t valuable, she had been keeping it for more than ten years. Whenever she felt lonely, it was this fish that kept her company and helped her set her mind at ease. Now that it was hurt, she definitely had to settle the score with the culprit.
Nevertheless, the culprit before her eyes kept talking back and insulting her. Now, this matter had escalated beyond the red carp’s injury. If she didn’t teach this young man a lesson on this day, her authority would be forever damaged. [How dare a trivial Human provoke me! He must be sick of living!]
Just when Madam Hua was ready to teach Yang Kai a lesson at all costs, Yuan Wu suddenly pointed at the people behind Yang Kai and said, “If you’re not the culprit, it must be them who did it! Yes, it was them! Madam Hua, it was that mother and daughter who were gathering Luminous Pearls nearby. They must have come across your pet in the sea and hurt it!”
“What?” Madam Hua frowned and looked behind Yang Kai. She had not paid attention to the people behind him because she was furious about Xiao Hong’s injury. With her mind set on getting her revenge, she had no time to care about other matters.
Upon Yuan Wu’s reminder, she then noticed that two people had been hiding behind Yang Kai. One of them was covered up by the young man before her eyes, and the other young girl was looking timidly at her.
“Hmm?” Madam Hua stared at the young girl and frowned, finding her somewhat familiar, thinking she had met her somewhere before.
Although Madam Hua found the timid-looking girl familiar, she couldn’t remember where she had met her before. She had been living on this Spirit Island for about 200 years, so even if she had really come across the girl before, it must have happened before then.
However, the young girl’s cultivation and appearance suggested that she was just a teenager, which meant that she couldn’t possibly have been alive 200 years ago. Therefore, it wasn’t possible for Madam Hua to have met her before. Moreover, the young girl’s face and eyes, which resembled those of a woman she knew, made her feel repulsed.
Then, Madam Hua shifted her attention to the person hiding behind Yang Kai. Instantly, she figured out who that person was, so she sneered, “What’s the point of you hiding behind a man? Get out now!”
Hearing that, Lu San Niang couldn’t help but start shuddering, and she didn’t dare to reveal herself.
Seeing that, Madam Hua was certain that her speculation was right, so her lips curled up and said, “San Niang, it’s been more than ten years since we last met. Don’t you recognize me anymore?”
[San Niang?] Yuan Wu was startled for a moment before he gazed at Madam Hua in shock. At that instant, he realized that Madam Hua and Lu San Niang knew each other. Feeling apprehensive, he thought, [If Madam Hua and Lu San Niang are on good terms, then… I’m doomed.]
However, after he examined Madam Hua’s expression, he was able to set his mind at ease. [It’s fine. They’re not on good terms. In fact, there must be some grudges between them.]
Pretending to know nothing, Yuan Wu gazed at Madam Hua and asked, “Madam, do you know her?”
Madam Hua scoffed, “Of course I know her. We lived together for almost 200 years, and she always took good care of me. We know each other very well.”
With a fawning smile, Yuan Wu said, “What a coincidence.”
It was then he realized that both Madam Hua and Lu San Niang must be the captives of the Dragon Clan on this island. Judging from Madam Hua’s furious expression, he reckoned that these two ladies must have been in a fierce competition for Fu Chi’s favour, so it was understandable that they were on bad terms now. After Fu Chi expelled Lu San Niang from Dragon Palace, she was forced to relocate to Half-Dragon City, while Madam Hua stayed in the same place. Now that Madam Hua had come across her old foe, naturally, she wasn’t in a good mood.
“San Niang, why don’t you want to see me? Why are you hiding behind a man? I can see you, you know?”
Left with no choice, Lu San Niang moved away from Yang Kai and hung her head low with an anxious expression.
After Madam Hua snorted, the two ladies around her growled, “It’s really you!” Apparently, they knew Lu San Niang as well. Because of Madam Hua’s attitude, they also looked coldly and disdainfully at Lu San Niang, as they took pleasure in the latter’s misfortune.
Previously, Lu San Niang was Fu Chi’s favourite woman, so her position on this island was equivalent to that of the current Madam Hua. During the past 200 years of competition, Madam Hua had always lost to Lu San Niang. Now that Lu San Niang had been expelled from the palace though, Madam Hua didn’t have to be wary of her anymore. After all, it was said that the winner took all, and Madam Hua was the winner.
“Elder Sister Hua, fellow Sisters…” Lu San Niang hung her head low and greeted them as she grew more anxious by the moment. If possible, she would never have wanted to reveal herself; however, since Madam Hua had figured out her identity, it would be pointless for her to keep hiding. Furthermore, they had to solve the problem on this day, otherwise, it might turn into a bigger problem in the future. Gazing at these familiar faces, Lu San Niang couldn’t help recalling the unhappy memories from the past.
The woman holding the fish tank glared at Lu San Niang and snarled, “How impudent! How dare you call us Sisters! You’ve been expelled from the palace, so you have no right to address us in such a way! What a shameless woman!”
Although the other woman uttered nothing, her expression suggested that she shared the same thoughts. In the past, they were wary of Lu San Niang because the latter was Fu Chi’s favourite. However, now, they had gained Fu Chi’s favour, while Lu San Niang had been discarded by the Dragon Clan like a piece of trash. Since she was just a piece of trash, there was no way they would be afraid of her.
With a faint smile, Madam Hua said in a magnanimous manner, “Forget it. We lived together for a long time. Don’t be too hard on her now.”
Hearing that, the woman beside her stopped speaking. Appearing to be victorious, Madam Hua looked at Lu San Niang in a haughty manner and asked, “We haven’t met for more than ten years. How are you?”
Lu San Niang pressed her lips together and replied softly, “Many thanks for your concern. I’ve been doing well.”
In response, Madam Hua nodded gently, “Very good, you have no idea how sorrowful I was when you were forced to leave the island back then. I even went to beg Senior Fu Chi so that you could stay, but he had made up his mind, so there was nothing I could do. You don’t blame me for that, do you?”
After shaking her head, Lu San Niang replied, “No, I have never blamed you.”
With a smile, Madam Hua said, “I knew that you were a magnanimous person. It’s no wonder that you were Sir’s favourite in the past…”
As she spoke, she looked at Lu San Niang from the corner of her eye. Seeing that the latter appeared to be dejected, she continued gleefully, “Your power was second only to Senior Fu Chi at that time, so even I had to be respectful to you; however, life is full of uncertainties, isn’t it? Look how different the situation is now.”
Knowing that Madam Hua was mocking her, Lu San Niang just remained silent. Now that she was the weaker one, she had no choice but to kowtow to her. Furthermore, she had never been a woman who loved to compete with other women to win a man’s heart.
“By the way, why have you come back to this island? Have you gotten Sir’s permission?” Madam Hua suddenly changed the topic.
“I don’t have his permission.” Lu San Niang shook her head gently.
Pretending to be surprised, Madam Hua asked, “How did you dare to come back without his permission? Aren’t you afraid that he’ll punish you if he finds out about it?”
With a grin, Yuan Wu explained, “Madam, we’ve come to this island to help Sir build a palace. All of them are here to help as well, so they don’t need anyone’s permission.”
Upon learning the reason behind it, Madam Hua said, “Oh, I see. You have to be more meticulous, then. This palace is being built for Sir’s upcoming wedding, so everything has to be perfect. If there’s any mistake, all of you will be punished.”
“Wedding?” Yuan Wu was startled because he hadn’t heard of this news. A few days ago, Fu Qi brought all 500 of them to this island and told them what they had to do before promptly leaving. However, he didn’t tell them what the palace was for. It wasn’t until they heard it from Madam Hua that they came to the realization that this palace was being built for Fu Chi’s wedding.
It was indeed big news because there was only a small number of Dragon Clan members, and the period it took for them to reach maturity was unbelievably long. Furthermore, the ratio of men to women was unequal, so it was difficult for them to fall in love and get married. As far as Yuan Wu knew, the last wedding of a Dragon Clan member took place more than ten thousand years ago, which went to show how important a wedding was for them.
Understanding all this, Yuan Wu hurriedly said, “Madam, please rest assured. I’ll do my best to build this palace so that all of the Masters of the Dragon Clan will be satisfied.”
“Good,” Madam Hua nodded lightly. Then, she sighed and spoke helplessly. “Sir is going to get married soon. I wonder what will happen to us. San Niang, I’m really envious that you left the palace more than ten years ago. We have no choice but to stay here, and we don’t even know who the future Mistress is that we’re going to serve.”
All of a sudden, Lu Yu Qin growled, “You can also leave, then. No one is forcing you to stay!”
Although she was young and inexperienced, she could easily tell that Madam Hua and the other ladies were awful people. They kept picking on her mother as they spoke in an overbearing manner. Having been enraged by their attitude, she couldn’t take it anymore and flared up.
Lu San Niang’s expression changed abruptly as she pulled Lu Yu Qin’s sleeve and chided, “Don’t speak like that.”
With narrowed eyes, Madam Hua stared at Lu Yu Qin and said lightly, “San Niang, she must be the bastard child, right?”
Lu Yu Qin had already been born when Lu San Niang was expelled from the island. It was because Lu Yu Qin had no Dragon Vein at all that she and her mother had to be forced out of the island.
Judging from Lu Yu Qin’s age and appearance, Madam Hua was certain that she was Lu San Niang’s daughter. Having been provoked by Lu Yu Qin, she stopped being polite to Lu San Niang. She had never been fond of Lu San Niang anyway, so naturally, she loathed her daughter as well.
Furthermore, Lu Yu Qin was the daughter of Lu San Niang and Fu Chi. Although she didn’t have any Dragon Vein, she was still Fu Chi’s descendant. The very existence of Lu Yu Qin was like a needle in Madam Hua’s heart, so she had to remove it.
With a pale face, Lu San Niang pleaded, “Elder Sister Hua, she’s just a young girl who knows nothing, please forgive her.”
The woman holding the fish tank said coldly, “As her mother, do you know nothing as well?”
Lu San Niang bit her lip and replied, “Elder Sister, please forgive her. I’ll apologize on her behalf.”
Madam Hua sneered, “Are you implying that I’m a cold-hearted person? Am I so terrifying?”
“Elder Sister, you mean…”
Madam Hua waved her hand, “I will allow this matter to pass.”
Surprised, Lu San Niang uttered, “Many thanks, Elder Sister.”
Then, Madam Hua said, “However, I won’t forgive the culprit who hurt Xiao Hong. San Niang, do you know that after you left, I’ve been missing you every day?”
Naturally, Lu San Niang wouldn’t believe her. In the past, Madam Hua was her archnemesis who kept provoking her. Even though she ignored Madam Hua, the latter still wouldn’t stop competing with her. Obviously, Madam Hua was just spouting nonsense when she claimed that she had been missing Lu San Niang after the latter was forced to leave. Instead, she must have been gleeful.
“Fortunately, I chanced upon Xiao Hong.” Madam Hua then turned to look softly at the red carp in the fish tank, “Over the past decade, Xiao Hong has given me lots of comfort, so I’ve regarded it as my family member. Now that it has been hurt, I won’t let the culprit go. So, I hope that you’ll understand me.” As she stared coldly at Lu San Niang, she questioned, “Who was the one that injured Xiao Hong?
The sea wind blew by. Faced with Madam Hua’s question, Lu Yu Qin flinched and looked away, appearing to be guilty.
Madam Hua snorted, “Do you think you can get away with it by just keeping quiet? There are not many people on this island, so it isn’t hard to find out the culprit. I might consider giving you a lighter punishment if you come forward yourself. Otherwise…”
Yuan Wu immediately said, “Madam, it must be both the mother and daughter who hurt Xiao Hong.”
Madam Hua scoffed, “How do you know?”
Yuan Wu explained, “Just like what I had said, they were the ones responsible for obtaining Luminous Pearls. Your red carp must have been hurt when it was having fun in the sea. I swear that besides those two over there, no one else had gone into the surrounding waters.”
With her gaze turning glacial, Madam Hua stared at Lu San Niang and demanded, “San Niang, how will you explain yourself?”
Lu San Niang lowered her head, “Elder Sister, please forgive me. I didn’t know that the red carp was your pet. If I knew, I wouldn’t have the guts to harm it.”
With a furious expression, Madam Hua said through gritted teeth, “So, you’re really the one that hurt Xiao Hong. San Niang, I’m so disappointed in you!”
Just then, Lu Yu Qin stepped forward and growled, “My Mother didn’t do it! It was me! The fish suddenly came at us and surprised me, so I hit it by accident. I don’t think the fish was severely injured anyway.”
Shocked by her daughter’s move, Lu San Niang quickly pulled her back and chided, “Stop talking!”
Madam Hua stared at the sight and put on a cold smile, “What a loving mother and daughter! I’m moved!” Despite what she just said, her expression was ice cold, as though she couldn’t wait to kill the people before her eyes.
The woman holding the fish tank bellowed, “What do you mean Xiao Hong isn’t severely injured? Open your eyes and take a closer look. The scales on Xiao Hong’s back have been damaged! Do you know how much Madam loves Xiao Hong? How are you going to compensate Madam?”
Knowing Madam Hua’s temperament, Lu San Niang understood that this problem couldn’t be solved easily. Madam Hua had always been resentful of her, so she wouldn’t give up this chance to teach her a lesson. Hence, Lu San Niang hurriedly pleaded, “Elder Sister, it was me who hurt the red carp, so please punish only me.”
“San Niang, do you think I’m an idiot?” Madam Hua stared sternly at her and parted her lips, “You’re in the Emperor Realm, but Xiao Hong is just a Fifth-Order Monster Beast. If you made a move, Xiao Hong wouldn’t have survived.”
“It was really me!”
“Stop spouting nonsense! I already know who hurt my precious pet!” Madam Hua shifted her attention to Lu Yu Qin, “Since you’ve failed as a mother in disciplining your own daughter, I’ll teach her a lesson on your behalf, then. This is something I should do as her Senior, so there’s no need for you to thank me!”
“Elder Sister!” Flabbergasted, Lu San Niang hurriedly stood in front of her daughter.
Lu Yu Qin knew that she had made a huge mistake, so her beautiful face turned pale in an instant; however, she didn’t harm the fish on purpose. When she was collecting Luminous Pearl with her mother, a huge red carp approached them suddenly. Shocked, she landed a palm on that fish to chase it away, but she didn’t expect that her action would cause her to get into trouble later. If she knew that this would be the outcome, she wouldn’t have harmed the red carp no matter what. Although she was terrified, she still yelled, “Don’t bully my mother!”
“What do you mean, I’m bullying your mother?” Madam Hua snorted, “A little girl like you shouldn’t be so rude. Slap her for me!”
“Yes, Madam!” The woman, who had been quiet all the while, stepped forward and glared at Lu San Niang, “Move!”
Certainly, Lu San Niang wouldn’t just stand down as she kept shaking her head at Madam Hua, begging for her mercy.
Madam Hua continued, “San Niang, you know my temperament well. If you step aside now, it will only be a small lesson; however, if you dare to stop me, I will have no choice but to thoroughly punish her.”
Lu San Niang’s expression changed when she heard that.
“Out of the way!” As the woman spoke, she pushed Lu San Niang aside. She was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, which was much lower than Lu San Niang; however, Lu San Niang apparently didn’t dare to resist her, so she staggered to the side from the impact as she looked at her daughter with teary eyes. Knowing that her daughter couldn’t be spared the punishment, she just hoped that Madam Hua wouldn’t go overboard.
“Mother!” Lu Yu Qin called out to her.
With a ruthless smile, the woman raised her hand, ready to land a slap on Lu Yu Qin’s face, which resembled that of Lu San Niang. Apparently, the woman didn’t intend to go easy on Lu Yu Qin as she circulated her Source Qi around her palm. Lu Yu Qin’s cultivation was so low that she couldn’t possibly parry the attack. If she was slapped, her face would be severely injured.
Lu San Niang dug her nails in her palms, but she felt no pain at all. With her eyes turning bloodshot, she forced herself to remain on the same spot. She knew that if she tried to save her daughter, both of them would lose their lives here on this day as Madam Hua wouldn’t let them off. However, if she stayed put, there was a chance for her daughter to survive. Not having the heart to see her daughter being punished, she looked away as her tears slipped down her face.
*Pa…*
A loud slap was heard, followed by a woman’s scream. At that instant, the entire world seemed to have fallen into silence.
Lu San Niang felt her heart aching terribly. Although having her daughter was an accident, she still gave birth to her after a 10-month long pregnancy. Over the years, she only had her daughter by her side, so her daughter had become the most important person in her life.
She had never had the heart to scold harshly or lay a hand on her daughter before, but on this day, she had no choice but to let someone else slap her daughter right in front of her. She hated herself for being so useless, as well as Madam Hua’s ruthlessness. Thinking that it was all her fault, she started tearing up. At that instant, her tears dropped onto the floor like stringless pearls.
Then, worried that Lu Yu Qin’s face might have been deformed, she turned to look at her daughter. However, the next moment, Lu San Niang was stunned, as her daughter’s face remained flawless.
Although Lu Yu Qin appeared to be terrified, there was no sign of injury on her face. On the other hand, there was a visibly red slap mark on the face of the woman who was about to lay a hand on her. At the same time, blood was streaming out of her mouth. The woman was slapped so forcefully that her face soon became swollen.
[My daughter is fine? That woman was slapped instead?] Lu San Niang was astounded as she didn’t know what had happened.
The woman, who had been slapped, was rooted to the spot as she didn’t understand how she got slapped instead when she was the one who was supposed to slap Lu Yu Qin.
At that instant, Yuan Wu, Madam Hua, and the woman holding the fish tank were stunned as well. However, Madam Hua’s expression soon darkened as an insidious glint flashed across her beautiful eyes. Staring at the young man, who was standing in front of Lu Yu Qin, she questioned, “It was you who did it, right?”
Here, only Yang Kai, Lu San Niang and Lu Yu Qin dared oppose her. The mother and daughter pair did not have the guts to disobey Madam Hua, so the person who dared to make a move must be Yang Kai.
Since she arrived at this place, she had never spared Yang Kai a glance, as the latter was only a First-Order Emperor. Although her cultivation was in the same realm, cultivation wasn’t the most important thing on Dragon Island.
She had the support of an Eighth-Order Thunder Dragon, so no one other than the Dragon Clan had the guts to offend her. Hence, she didn’t expect that this average-looking young man was brazen enough to slap her subordinate, which was akin to slapping her.
[How outrageous!] Madam Hua was burning with fury as she glowered at Yang Kai.
“Good, it was me who did it.” Yang Kai took the blame in Lu Yu Qin’s stead.
Hearing that, Lu San Niang was grateful for what he was doing for her, but at the same time, she was worried about him. She knew that Yang Kai was a powerful man who had taught Yuan Wu a lesson before, but Yuan Wu’s status wasn’t comparable to that of Madam Hua.
It was no big deal punishing Yuan Wu, but it was akin to courting death offending Madam Hua. Extremely worried, Lu San Niang wiped away her tears and hinted at Yang Kai with her gaze.
Oblivious to her, Yang Kai waved his hand and said disdainfully, “I never wanted to lay my hand on a woman, but all of you are too disgraceful. Unfortunately, my hand has been dirtied.”
“What did you just say?” Madam Hua narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
Straightening up, Yang Kai questioned, “Are you deaf or what? Is that why you couldn’t hear me?”
Infuriated, Madam Hua couldn’t believe what she just heard. [How dare he talk to me like this!? How could he have the guts to offend me? I’m basically the Mistress of this island. Other than members from the Dragon Clan, no one else dares to be so arrogant before me!]
With her body trembling in anger, she said through gritted teeth, “Brat, you must be sick of living!”
Yang Kai snorted, “Let’s see if you have the ability to kill me. You’re nothing but a plaything to some Dragon, so I don’t understand how you could be so overbearing. Why are you making a big fuss over a minor issue? Do you know that you’re annoying? If you dare to find fault with us again, I’ll slap you as well. I don’t enjoy laying hands on women, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t.”
[I’m just a plaything? A minor issue?] Madam Hua widened her eyes in disbelief and actually started laughing out of anger, “Xiao Hong has been hurt, so I’m just here to obtain justice! And yet, you dare to offend me and injure my subordinate? Are you out of your mind?”
“So what if I called you a plaything and harmed your subordinate? Elder Sister Lu has apologized to you, so you shouldn’t have tried to harm her daughter.”
“Is an apology useful?” Madam Hua’s expression was dark, “Whatever injury Xiao Hong has suffered, I’ll have that brat get the same treatment!”
Hearing that, Lu Yu Qin couldn’t help shuddering. The red carp had only lost some scales, but if she were given the same treatment, it would mean that a layer of her skin would have to be peeled off. She was just a young girl, so she couldn’t possibly endure this kind of pain. In an instant, her face had turned completely pale.
“Is that how you want to settle this?” Yang Kai scoffed.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That’s how the world works!” Madam Hua declared coldly, as her chest was heaving. Apparently, she could not stand Yang Kai’s attitude anymore.
With a frown, Yang Kai nodded slightly and replied, “You’re right. An eye for an eye is indeed fair.”
Lu San Niang’s beautiful face turned a shade paler when she heard that. She thought that Yang Kai couldn’t withstand the pressure anymore and was giving in to Madam Hua. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t blame him for this because he had just protected her daughter from a possible injury. It was the right move to give in at this point, but she was worried that Madam Hua wouldn’t let him off as well.
As such, she secretly made up her mind. No matter how Madam Hua was going to punish her daughter, she would endure the pain in her stead so that her daughter wouldn’t be harmed.
“You think it’s fair as well?” Madam Hua stared at Yang Kai with narrowed eyes, a glint of ferocity flashing across their depths.
“Yes,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Step aside then. I’ll settle accounts with you later,” Madam Hua waved her hand and demanded impatiently.
With a grin, Yang Kai extended his hand suddenly and made a grabbing gesture.
The woman, who had been slapped earlier, was shocked. Thinking that Yang Kai wanted to attack her again and hurriedly stepped backwards. However, Yang Kai didn’t seem to have the intention of harming her, which made her look like she had overreacted. With her face flushing, she was utterly embarrassed.
Just then, a splashing sound could be heard, and after Yang Kai withdrew his hand, a Golden Backed Red Carp magically appeared in his grip. Upon closer look, that fish was none other than Madam Hua’s pet, which she had kept for more than a decade.
Nobody could see clearly how he obtained the red carp. He just seemed to have stretched out his hand, upon which the red carp called Xiao Hong magically appeared.
The woman holding the fish tank was stunned for a moment, but after taking a look at the red carp in Yang Kai’s hand, she shifted her attention to her fish tank and in an instant, her beautiful face turned pale as she screamed, “Ah!”
With a livid expression, Madam Hua came to her senses and snarled, “What are you doing? Release Xiao Hong now!”
“It’s just a red carp. Why do you see it as a treasure? In my eyes, it’s nothing more than a piece of trash.” Yang Kai put on a sneer.
At that instant, Madam Hua had a horrendous premonition and she hurriedly demanded, “I’ll count down from three now. If you don’t release it, I’ll kill you!” Right after she finished speaking, she started counting down, “Three!”
*Pu…*
When Madam Hua heard that, her pupils contracted as she watched Yang Kai tighten his grip and kill her fish. Although Xiao Hong was a Fifth-Order Monster Beast, it couldn’t possibly survive Yang Kai’s attack.
Upon impact, the fish broke into two as its head and body fell to the ground. Turning back into its original 10-metre form, it was dead when it touched the ground. Yuan Wu gasped and stared at Yang Kai in disbelief, as he didn’t expect that this young man was so brash.
Although the red carp wasn’t valuable, it was a pet that had accompanied Madam Hua for more than a decade. Earlier, Madam Hua had already blown her top because the red carp’s scales had been damaged. Now that the fish was dead, there was no way she would let Yang Kai off.
[This brat is practically dead meat now!] Yuan Wu was elated as he gazed at Yang Kai, taking pleasure in the latter’s imminent misfortune. He still remembered vividly that he was humiliated by Yang Kai a few days ago. He didn’t have the ability to get his revenge, but it would be great solace for him if he could get Yang Kai killed with Madam Hua’s help.
Lu San Niang and her daughter were dumbfounded as well. They met Yang Kai not long ago and only knew that he was Li Jiao’s friend; however, they didn’t expect him to be such a reckless man who had no regard for Madam Hua at all.
[What should we do now? We’re basically doomed. Earlier, the issue could be solved if we just let Madam Hua vent her fury by punishing us, but now…] Lu San Niang was extremely anxious. She blamed Yang Kai for his recklessness, but at the same time, she also blamed herself for dragging him into this matter. [How will I explain myself to Li Jiao in the future?]
“H-H-How dare you kill Xiao Hong!” The woman holding the fish tank turned completely pale as she stared at Yang Kai as her heart sank. [Where did this madman come from? Doesn’t he understand that his action will bring dreadful consequences?]
The other woman was flabbergasted at the sight as she was rooted to the spot. Even with her hand still covering her face, she couldn’t feel any pain at all.
A myriad of expressions came over all of them except the culprit, who didn’t seem to be perturbed by what he had just done. Yang Kai looked mockingly at Madam Hua and sneered, “An eye for an eye? How are you going to make me pay the price now?”
Madam Hua’s chest heaved in outrage as her pretty face contorted. Turning hysterical, she snarled, “Kill him! Kill him now!”
She couldn’t take it anymore. Initially, she just wanted to obtain justice for Xiao Hong by lecturing the person who had harmed it. However, after she saw Lu San Niang, she changed her mind and decided to humiliate that woman who had been her archnemesis for centuries. Now that her precious fish was killed though, she wanted nothing less than an end to Yang Kai’s life. Xiao Hong was dead, so she could only relieve the fury in her chest by killing him!
Her order was loud and clear, but no one took any action. The two women who had tagged along were also Fu Chi’s playthings, but they were only Third-Order Dao Source Realm. Facing Yang Kai, who was a First-Order Emperor, they didn’t have the courage to step forward.
Furthermore, judging from what Yang Kai had just done, it was apparent that he was a madman who knew no bounds. The two women would only humiliate themselves if they tried to challenge Yang Kai, so they remained on the spot and appeared to be hesitant.
Seeing that, Madam Hua growled, “What are you waiting for? Do you want me to make a move myself?”
If Madam Hua was forced to make a move herself, the two women would be doomed as well. Left with no choice, they traded glances and pounced at Yang Kai. Although they were no match for Yang Kai, they still had to take action; otherwise, they would be punished harshly after the incident. In the blink of an eye, they reached both sides of Yang Kai.
Despite being Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, they had lost almost all of their battle instincts after spending so many years on Dragon Island only competing with other women for Fu Chi’s attention. Hence, they couldn’t even utilize 70% of their real strength. With that said, even if they could make full use of their power, they would still be no match for Yang Kai, who was in the Emperor Realm.
Yang Kai didn’t seem to have made any move, but the two women were sent flying back in the next instant, spraying out blood in mid-air. After they fell to the ground, all their Source Qi had dispersed, and they couldn’t even get to their feet.
“How dare you!” Madam Hua yelled in a high-pitched voice that could damage a person’s eardrums.
Not only did Yang Kai kill Xiao Hong, but he also had the guts to hurt the women on this Spirit Island. His action was beyond Madam Hua’s ability to fathom. At that instant, her entire body was trembling as she was about to explode like a volcano.
Nevertheless, she had been living a luxurious life for years, and although she was utterly incensed, she didn’t have the intention of making a move herself. Hence, she shot Yuan Wu a glare and demanded, “What are you waiting for? Kill him for me!”
Instantly, Yuan Wu appeared to be on pins and needles. If he could defeat Yang Kai, he would have charged forward without Madam Hua telling him to do so. It was beneficial for him to strike up a relationship with Madam Hua, and the chance was right before his eyes. Despite that, he couldn’t seize it.
He had confronted Yang Kai a few days ago and despite the fact that Yang Kai’s cultivation was one Minor Realm lower than his, Yuan Wu knew was no match for him at all. If it weren’t because Yang Kai decided to let him go, he would have lost his life then and there.
This time, he had tagged along with Madam Hua to teach Yang Kai a lesson; however, he didn’t expect that not only did Yang Kai have the guts to kill Madam Hua’s pet, but he also dared to harm her subordinates. [He must be out of his mind!]
“I…” Yuan Wu uttered hesitantly as he didn’t have the courage to fight with Yang Kai.
Madam Hua threatened coldly, “You dare to disobey my order? Good, I’ll go back now and tell Senior Fu Chi that all of you have partnered up to shame me!”
“Please wait, Madam!” Yuan Wu was flabbergasted as he cursed at Madam Hua in his heart. He was just there to watch the show, so he wondered how he ended up being dragged into this matter. [What an unexpected ordeal!]
At that moment, he was truly flustered. If Madam Hua told Fu Chi what happened, it would mean the end of Yuan Wu’s life.
He didn’t believe that a Dragon Clan member was willing to spare a subordinate’s life. Although he was also a Dragonborn, he was just an insignificant hybrid in the Dragon Clan’s eyes. Hence, they would just kill him as they pleased.
[This is so unfortunate! If I knew this would be the outcome, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place! Now, I’ve been put in a tight spot.] Yuan Wu couldn’t help but feel like giving his past self a slap to the face.
Since he could never offend Madam Hua, he had no choice but to look apprehensively at Yang Kai. Upon seeing Yang Kai’s glare, Yuan Wu started shuddering and recalled that Yang Kai was able to suppress his bloodline with ease a few days ago. Suddenly thinking of something, he growled with a ruthless expression, “Madam Hua, rest assured. I’ll teach this bastard a lesson on your behalf!”
At the same time, he secretly spoke to Yang Kai by Divine Sense, “I have no choice. Please don’t blame me.” Upon finishing his words, he pushed his Emperor Qi and launched himself at Yang Kai, making the exact same move as the two women had done earlier.
With a gratified expression, Madam Hua shot an insidious glare at Yang Kai. She had been humiliated this day, but as long as she could capture Yang Kai, she had many ways to torture him. She could feel that, just like herself, Yang Kai was in the First-Order Emperor Realm, while Yuan Wu, a Dragonborn, was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Basically, Yuan Wu should be the more powerful man between the two of them. Since Yuan Wu had made a move, there was no way he would fail in his attempt to capture Yang Kai.
Meanwhile, Madam Hua was coming up with ideas on how to torment Yang Kai to vent her anger. [Since you have the guts to kill Xiao Hong, I’ll make life a living hell for you!]
Upon hearing a man’s scream though, Madam Hua was rooted to the spot as her well-laid plan evaporated before her eyes. Yuan Wu, who appeared to be fierce just now, was struck with a palm and sent flying backwards. The blood he sprayed out in mid-air was dazzling under the sunlight.
[What just happened? What is going on?] Madam Hua couldn’t believe what she saw. [Yuan Wu was supposed to be able to defeat that young man so why was he defeated instead? What happened?]
Yuan Wu landed on the ground with a loud thud as he convulsed for a bit and passed out. In an instant, Madam Hua’s face fell dramatically.
Yuan Wu had lost consciousness while Madam Hua’s expression remained livid. At that moment, the atmosphere in the beach was eerily quiet. Moments later, Madam Hua snarled at Yuan Wu, “Stop pretending! Get up now!”
It wasn’t possible for Yuan Wu, a Dragonborn in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, to be defeated by Yang Kai, a Human in the First-Order Emperor Realm, with just one palm strike. Therefore, Madam Hua concluded that Yuan Wu was just pretending to have passed out. Although she didn’t understand the reason behind it, she still shouted at Yuan Wu because he was the only person she could still order around at the moment.
However, Yuan Wu remained lying on the ground. It seemed that he had really passed out. Seeing that, Madam Hua approached him and landed a forceful kick on him, but he remained reactionless.
“How dare you!” Madam Hua bellowed. Just when she was about to keep rebuking Yuan Wu, she realized that her vision had turned a tone darker. When she raised her gaze, her pupils contracted uncontrollably, for Yang Kai was standing right in front of her and glaring at her.
Feeling her chest tightening, Madam Hua took a few steps back and asked in fright, “What are you trying to do?”
Upon finishing her words, she started to circulate her Emperor Qi and pushed out her palm at Yang Kai’s chest. She seemed to have planned for it earlier as there were no signs that suggested that she would make such a move. Judging from her expression and posture just now, no one could have guessed that she was about to take action.
After she pushed out her palm, she put on a sinister grin. She believed that Yang Kai must have never suspected she would launch such an attack. Given that their cultivation realm was the same, she had the confidence of defeating him with just one palm.
“What a devious woman.” Yang Kai snorted and pushed his palm forward as well. Despite the fact that he made a move later than Madam Hua, he managed to land a palm strike on her shoulder first.
“Ah!” Madam Hua was sent flying backwards from the impact as her mouth was instantly filled with blood. At the same time, she felt excruciating pain in her shoulder, so she knew that her bones must have been fractured. Just then, she felt a violent energy rushing along all her meridians and spreading across her five viscera and six organs, throwing her Emperor Qi circulation into chaos.
[How is he so strong?] Madam Hua widened her eyes in disbelief. Although both of them were in the First-Order Emperor Realm, Madam Hua realized that Yang Kai was far more powerful than she was. Just one attack was enough to make her realize that there was a huge difference between them.
A moment later, she fell to the ground, and before she managed to get to her feet, her vision turned dark again. Raising her head, she saw Yang Kai looking down at her with a sneer.
“How dare you attack me!” Flabbergasted, Madam Hua had forgotten about the pain in her shoulder as she stared at Yang Kai in disbelief.
“Why wouldn’t I dare to attack you?” Yang Kai raised his leg and put his foot on her chest, causing her tall peaks to deform noticeably.
Feeling a sharp pain, Madam Hua knitted her brows together. At the same time, she was stunned by what Yang Kai had said. [How dare he lay a hand on me? I’m Fu Chi’s favourite woman, no one has ever had the guts to attack me!]
“You court death!” Madam Hua turned mad as she gathered her Emperor Qi in an attempt to resist; however, with Yang Kai’s foot still pressing against her body, she couldn’t even get up, let alone counterattack. As she was clawing at the air, her hair became messy. At that moment, she looked like a mad shrew, completely unlike her beautiful self earlier. Her face had contorted as her gaze was filled with a sense of hatred.
“How are you still so arrogant at this point?” Yang Kai snorted and exerted more force with his foot, causing Madam Hua to wail and her face to turn pale.
It was then Lu San Niang came to her senses. After Yang Kai killed the Golden Backed Red Carp, she was stunned at the sight and rooted to the spot. It wasn’t until she sensed Yang Kai’s murderous intent that she regained her senses. Following that, she rushed over and grabbed Yang Kai’s arm before shouting, “Little Brother Yang, you can’t kill her!”
“There’s no one I can’t kill in this world.” With a ruthless expression, Yang Kai turned his head and glared at her.
It was the first time Lu San Niang saw Yang Kai looking so ferocious. After some contact with him, she believed that, while a bit arrogant, he was a reasonable man. Now though, he seemed to have completely changed, she was stunned and instinctively flinched.
Nevertheless, it was she and her daughter who caused this problem. If Yang Kai really killed Madam Hua, none of them would be able to leave the island alive. With that said, the problem had come to a point where it couldn’t possibly be solved anymore.
Given Madam Hua’s temperament, it wasn’t possible that she would let them off after she was humiliated in such a way. They would have to pay a hefty price to dispel her fury.
“You can’t kill her, Little Brother Yang. Release her first!” Lu San Niang tried to persuade him. Although she was grateful that he was standing up for her and her daughter, things had come to a point where she had been put in a tight spot. Whatever the case, they couldn’t kill Madam Hua, and they could only come up with a way to settle the issue later.
Seeing that Lu San Niang was showing her weak side, Madam Hua became haughty again as she snarled, “You bitch! I’ll definitely tell Sir what all of you have done to me. Just you wait!”
Her face turning a shade paler, Lu San Niang pleaded, “Elder Sister, it’s all my fault, and it has nothing to do with Qin’er. Please forgive her and never mention her name in front of Sir.”
Madam Hua sneered, “It’s no use begging me now. It’s too late! All of you must die!”
She shot a malicious glare at the mother and daughter as she watched their faces transformed by fear. Feeling gleeful, she shifted her attention to Yang Kai, but she was soon stunned. That was because she couldn’t see any sign of fear on his face. Instead, he was calm and collected, as though he was unperturbed by what he had just done.
[What’s wrong with him?]
“Elder Sister Lu, you see it now? You’re kind-hearted enough to let her go, but she isn’t willing to let you off. Why don’t I just kill her and end all the trouble?” Although Yang Kai was staring at Madam Hua, he was talking to Lu San Niang in a dispassionate tone.
Feeling anxious, Lu San Niang fell silent, for she wasn’t sure what she should do. If they released Madam Hua, she would go back and tell Fu Chi what had happened; however, if they killed her now, Fu Chi would also make sure that they couldn’t leave the island alive.
Whatever their decision, the outcome would be the same. In her heart, she was extremely exasperated. The incident on this day happened because Madam Hua’s red carp had been slightly injured, which wasn’t a big deal at all. Nevertheless, Madam Hua still brought along her subordinates to find fault with them; moreover, they had already apologized to her, but she still wanted them to suffer miserably.
“You… want to kill me?” Finally understanding the emotion behind Yang Kai’s gaze, Madam Hua was gripped by fear. In an instant, she was no longer arrogant as her body turned cold, as though all her blood had been frozen over. She had never expected that someone would have the guts to kill her on this island one day.
With a sneer, Yang Kai replied, “You think I’m making a joke?”
If they were in a different place, it wouldn’t matter whether he would kill Madam Hua. However, they were now on Dragon Island, and such a conflict had happened between Madam Hua and them, so they could never let her go. As for the consequences of killing her, they could only think about them later.
Engulfed in his murderous intent, Madam Hua was flustered as the colour had been drained from her face. She certainly didn’t expect that things would come to such a point. If she knew Yang Kai was such a daredevil, she would have given in to him earlier. Nevertheless, it had never crossed her mind that Yuan Wu would be of no use to her at all.
“Don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! I won’t pursue this matter again! I swear! Please let me go!” Madam Hua pleaded with him as her body trembled. Finally realizing that he truly intended to kill her, all she wanted now was to survive. Hence, she stopped caring about her dignity. Due to the fact that she was terrified, her tears were now slipping down her face.
Seeing that Yang Kai still remained impassive, she hurriedly shouted out to Lu San Niang, “San Niang, we were Sisters for centuries, and I treated you well in the past. I know I’m in the wrong here, so will you please forgive me?”
Lu San Niang’s heart softened as she really didn’t have the heart to kill her. On the other hand, Lu Yu Qin was incensed. Earlier, Madam Hua had haughtily shamed her mother, but she now appeared to be lowly and servile, which was why Lu Yu Qin was gleeful. However, she also felt horrified as she had never seen anyone being killed before. It was then she realized that lives could be so fragile in the face of a threat.
“San Niang…” Madam Hua continued to plead with her.
Lu San Niang was in a dilemma as she wasn’t sure if she should keep asking for Yang Kai’s mercy on Madam Hua’s behalf. She had always been a kind-hearted woman, and although Madam Hua had always opposed her in the past, she still didn’t have the heart to watch her get killed over such a trivial matter. In the end, her nature got the better of her as she parted her lips and was ready to plead with Yang Kai, but just then, she suddenly frowned and turned to look at the sea.
The next moment, her expression changed drastically as she exclaimed, “A Dragon!”
She could sense that a Pureblood Dragon was approaching them, and it seemed that the person was just as powerful as Fu Chi. She had lived on Dragon Island for years, so naturally, she was sensitive to the presence of members of the Dragon Clan.
Following that, she shifted her attention to Yang Kai and said anxiously, “Little Brother Yang, release her now!” No matter which Dragon Clan member was coming, they couldn’t let the person see this sight; otherwise, Yang Kai would be doomed.
Naturally, Yang Kai had noticed this newcomer’s approach as well. However, unlike how flustered Lu San Niang was, there was a tinge of strangeness in his expression as he stared fixedly in the direction the Dragon Clan member was coming.
“Hahaha!” Madam Hua started cackling all of a sudden as she no longer appeared to be subservient.
With an insidious expression, she glowered at Yang Kai and said coldly, “You want to kill me? Try it! Since you have the guts to harm me, I’ll slowly settle the score with you. I’ll make sure you’ll go through the cruellest torture in this world!”
As a Dragon was coming, she was no longer afraid of Yang Kai. Glaring at him, it was as though she was trying to imprint this revolting face in her mind forever. Then, she shifted her attention to Lu San Niang and her daughter. She seemed to be shooting imaginary daggers at them through her gaze.
Lu San Niang was astounded as she said, “Little Brother Yang, release her now. A member of the Dragon Clan is coming.”
Although Madam Hua was just Fu Chi’s plaything, she was still his woman. No matter which Dragon Clan member was coming, the person wouldn’t watch her get killed without doing anything. Most probably, the person would murder Yang Kai.
At that moment, Lu San Niang was completely on edge.
“Are you deaf or what? Get your foot off me!” Madam Hua bellowed.
“Shut up!” Yang Kai used his Emperor Qi to slap her in the face.
Madam Hua was dumbfounded after she was slapped as she felt her cheek swelling rapidly. Although she had been injured by Yang Kai, it was due to the fact that she was no match for him. However, this slap in her face was a direct humiliation to her, “How dare you…”
*Pa…*
Yang Kai gave her another slap, after which the other side of her face became swollen as well. In an instant, blood started streaming out of her mouth. Glowering at Yang Kai, she decided to keep her mouth shut for now. She realized that this young man, who had been quiet earlier, was a thug. The more she tried to talk back, the harder he would slap her. Naturally, she wouldn’t want to suffer grievances anymore, so she could only hope that the Dragon Clan member would arrive quickly and bring justice to her.
Just then, a beam of red light appeared and approached at incredible speed. Seeing that, Lu San Niang’s tender body started trembling as her face turned pale.
She tried to rack her brain to come up with an explanation she could use when she met this Dragon Clan member; however, there really weren’t any great ideas. What awaited all three of them was this Dragon’s wrath.
With this thought in mind, she stretched out her hands and pulled Lu Yu Qin into an embrace. Since they were all doomed, she wanted to spend her last moments with her daughter in an intimate manner.
Unexpectedly, the beam of red light flew past their heads and headed to the other side of the Spirit Island. Both Lu San Niang and Madam Hua were startled, but a moment later, Madam Hua’s face turned ashen as she shouted, “Sir! Help!”
Thinking that the Dragon Clan member didn’t see that she was being bullied, she hurriedly shouted to attract his attention. Seeing that, Yang Kai snorted.
Suddenly, the beam of red light stopped in mid-air, “Hm?”
Following that, he turned his gaze downwards, but his pupils contracted when he saw what was going on.
Appearing quite wretched, Madam Hua wailed again, “Sir, save me!”
The Dragon Clan member turned around and transformed into a beam of red light again. In the blink of an eye, he landed on the ground as he stared fixedly at Yang Kai.
Lu San Niang’s face was transformed by terror as she felt the Dragon Pressure wafting from this Dragon. Knowing that there was no chance they could survive, she secretly sized up the Dragon Clan member and realized that he appeared about the same age as Yang Kai. His gaze was clear, and his red hair was conspicuous.
What shocked her was that the Dragon Pressure of this red-haired man was on par with that of Fu Chi, which meant that he was an Eighth-Order Dragon.
[We’re doomed.] Lu San Niang felt the world around her spinning as she was on the brink of passing out.
“Senior Zhu Lie, please help me!” Madam Hua, who was still being stepped on by Yang Kai, called out to the Dragon Clan member for the third time.
It was then Zhu Lie turned to look at her and asked dispassionately, “You know me?”
All the Dragon Clan members lived separately, and they rarely contacted each other, which was why these women, who had been living on Dragon Island for centuries, couldn’t possibly recognize all the Dragon Clan members. However, since this woman knew him, it was apparent that her identity was a little different.
Madam Hua hurriedly said, “I had the pleasure of seeing Sir once from afar, and I’ve always remembered you since then.”
After giving it a thought, Zhu Lie nodded lightly, “I see. You’re Fu Chi’s woman.”
In response, Madam Hua nodded, “Yes!”
“What’s going on?” Zhu Lie frowned and shot Yang Kai a look. He felt his head aching because he didn’t expect that he would come across Yang Kai here. [This guy is so bold by coming to Dragon Island. Moreover, he happens to be on Fu Chi’s island. Did he get wind of the news?]
If that were the case, it would be bad news because he had experienced how reckless Yang Kai could be previously. If this matter wasn’t handled properly, it would be a massive trouble for the Dragon Clan.
Madam Hua hurriedly said, “Sir, this is what happened.” She appeared to be pitiful as she explained the situation to him in a choking voice, “The pet I’ve kept for more than ten years had been hurt by these people, so I came over here to get an explanation from them; however, I didn’t expect that he’d be so unreasonable! Not only did he refuse to admit his wrongdoing, but he also laid a hand on us! We’ve not fought for many years, so naturally, we were no match for him. After we were humiliated, I begged him for mercy, but not only was he not willing to let us go, but he also intended to kill me! Sir, please stand up for us!”
As she spoke, she started crying her heart out, as though she was a young girl that had been bullied.
With a dark expression, Zhu Lie stared at Yang Kai and thought to himself, [What’s wrong with him? How is he able to cause trouble wherever he goes?]
Naturally, he wouldn’t believe Madam Hua, as he knew that Yang Kai wasn’t a man who would use his strength against others for no reason.
As Madam Hua examined Zhu Lie’s expression, she went on to slander Yang Kai further, “Sir, please look! It’s obvious that he has no regard for you at all. He’s still so arrogant in front of you, stepping on me with no regard for your presence! When you weren’t around just now, he…” She continued sobbing.
Flustered, Lu San Niang said, “Sir, that’s not true!”
Madam Hua naturally said nothing about how she had acted haughty just moments ago. Worse still, she shifted all the blame to Yang Kai. Lu San Niang was worried that Zhu Lie would buy her story and then harm Yang Kai. At this point, only she could step forward to explain the situation on Yang Kai’s behalf.
Without even looking at her, Zhu Lie said coldly, “You have no right to speak here.”
He appeared to be in a bad mood, which explained why he treated Lu San Niang harshly. Hearing that, Lu San Niang kept her mouth shut, her expression anxious.
After a sigh, Zhu Lie gazed at Yang Kai and said, “It’s inappropriate that you’re stepping on her. Release her first. You’re a man, aren’t you?”
With a cold expression, Yang Kai raised his chin and stared at Zhu Lie in a conceited manner.
In an instant, Zhu Lie was infuriated. He and Yang Kai were already on bad terms; moreover, Zhu Qing suffered grievances previously exactly because of Yang Kai. Considering all these, he was enraged as he growled, “Release her!”
Seeing that, Madam Hua regained confidence and said through gritted teeth, “How dare you still be so presumptuous in front of a Dragon Clan member! Who do you think you are? Get your stinky foot off me right now!”
Right after she finished speaking, she groaned in pain. Apparently, Yang Kai had exerted more force with his leg. Instantly, Madam Hua’s expression turned from haughty to pained as her forehead was beaded with sweat, her eyelashes fluttering as she stared at Yang Kai in fear.
[He still dares to hurt me in front of a Dragon Clan member? Is he out of his mind?] Despite the pain she was going through, she still felt gleeful, for she knew that Yang Kai could never get away with such an insult. She was Fu Chi’s woman, so Zhu Lie would certainly stand up for her for the humiliation she had suffered.
At that moment, she could envision Yang Kai on his knees as he begged Zhu Lie to let him go, but he was still murdered in the end. With this thought in mind, she put on a triumphant smile.
“Oh, you’re talking to me?” Appearing to be unfazed, Yang Kai started picking his ear.
Hearing what he just said, Lu San Niang and Madam Hua were dumbstruck. Although they knew that he was bold, they didn’t expect that he was this brazen. It was akin to asking for death when he talked to a Dragon Clan member like this.
Worried that Yang Kai might not understand how terrifying the Dragon Clan could be, Lu San Niang kept hinting at Yang Kai with her gaze. The Dragon Clan was the leader of all Divine Spirits, and the person before their eyes was an Eighth-Order Dragon who could kill Yang Kai without needing any effort.
At that moment, she felt that Yang Kai was practically walking on a tightrope between two mountains. If he wasn’t careful enough, he would fall and lose his life. However, what shocked her was that Zhu Lie didn’t immediately make a move.
Exasperated, Zhu Lie questioned, “What do you want?”
“Nothing. I just want justice to be done.” Yang Kai sneered.
After taking a look at Madam Hua, Zhu Lie uttered, “She’s Fu Chi’s woman, and Fu Chi is an Eighth-Order Dragon. If you kill this woman, he won’t let you off.”
“Just tell him to come at me if he has the guts.”
Zhu Lie growled, “You arrogant bastard!”
In an instant, Yang Kai’s expression turned cold, “Mind your language. Otherwise, I’ll beat you too.”
[H-He wants to beat him up?] Lu San Niang was startled as she widened her eyes.
Madam Hua yelled, “Sir, stop wasting time with him! This man clearly has no regard for the Dragon Clan at all! Please kill him right away!”
With the corner of Zhu Lie’s mouth twitching, he stared at Madam Hua as though she was a fool. If he was provoked by someone else like this, he would have already made a move, for he wouldn’t allow anyone to violate the Dragon Clan’s majesty. However, he was now confronted by Yang Kai, so there was nothing he could do.
It was because he was also no match for Yang Kai, as proven in their previous battles. He would only be able to deal with Yang Kai if he went to Dragon Temple to receive its blessing first, but he didn’t have the time to do that now. Moreover, in his heart, he was biased towards Yang Kai.
Although he wasn’t fond of Yang Kai, Madam Hua was just an insignificant ant in his eyes. The reason he persuaded Yang Kai to release her was that he didn’t want to make things worse to the point where the problem couldn’t be solved anymore. It wasn’t possible for him to fight against Yang Kai just to save Madam Hua.
Extremely anxious, Lu San Niang looked worriedly at Yang Kai. She could never have imagined that Yang Kai would still act so overbearing when he was facing a real Dragon. What puzzled her more though was that Zhu Lie didn’t seem to have the intention of making a move. [When did the Dragon Clan become so gentle? He’s been provoked by Yang Kai several times, but he still has done nothing in response.]
Zhu Lie’s behaviour completely changed Lu San Niang’s understanding of the Dragon Clan. As far as she understood, the Dragon Clan was a bunch of hot-headed people who were ready to kill whenever they felt displeased.
All of a sudden, Zhu Lie turned his head and stared in another direction, a dark expression filling his face as he commented, “Fu Chi is coming.”
“Sir is coming?” Madam Hua was elated upon hearing that. Her cultivation was weak, and she didn’t have any Dragon Vein at all, which was why she couldn’t detect the distant Dragon Aura. However, since Zhu Lie had said so, Fu Chi was certainly on his way.
Zhu Lie uttered, “I think he’s worried because he can sense that I’m here, which is why he’s coming over now.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai asked curiously, “Are there any grudges between you two?”
Zhu Lie looked away and replied impassively, “Not really. However, you’ll form a grudge with him soon.”
Upon finishing his words, he shot a look at the woman beneath Yang Kai’s foot.
At that moment, Madam Hua became hubristic again. Although she was unhappy that Zhu Lie didn’t stand up for her immediately, there was nothing she was afraid of now because Fu Chi was coming. She just had to tell Fu Chi what happened, after which Yang Kai, Lu San Niang, and her daughter wouldn’t be able to see the next sunrise.
As they spoke, they could sense Dragon Pressure wafting from the other side of the island. Just like what Zhu Lie had said, Fu Chi was indeed coming over.
Noticing the familiar aura, Madam Hua grew more confident as she stared viciously at Yang Kai.
“Move!” Zhu Lie growled all of a sudden and pushed out a palm at Yang Kai.
Seeing that, Yang Kai stomped his foot and leaped off to the other side.
Right then, Madam Hua, who was still coming up with ideas on how to torture Yang Kai, Lu San Niang and her daughter, spat blood suddenly. All her bones had been cracked as she was engulfed in excruciating pain. With her vitality leaving her body rapidly, she turned her head with difficulty and looked at Zhu Lie in disbelief, “Sir, you…”
As her head slumped to the side, all her aura dissipated. Her eyes were still wide open while she was dead. In her last moments, she still couldn’t understand why Zhu Lie decided to kill her.
Apparently, Lu San Niang didn’t grasp what was going on either. Seeing that Zhu Lie had killed Madam Hua, she raised her hands to rub her eyes, thinking that she was mistaken. [I don’t think he accidentally killed her. He’s an Eighth-Order Dragon, so it’s not possible that he’d kill the wrong target.]
Just when she was doubtful, Zhu Lie pushed out both his palms, upon which the two women who had come to this place with Madam Hua, grunted and lost their lives. Blood was streaming out from all their seven orifices.
At that instant, the colour drained from Lu San Niang’s beautiful face. By now, she was certain that it wasn’t an accident. Zhu Lie intentionally killed all three of Fu Chi’s women. [What’s going on? Wasn’t he supposed to kill Yang Kai? Why did he spare Yang Kai but murder Madam Hua and the other women?]
Lu San Niang was stumped as the incident was beyond her. Just then, Zhu Lie turned his head and stared at Lu San Niang and her daughter. With his gaze filled with murderous intent, he raised his hand and was ready to make a strike.
With her face turning a shade paler, Lu San Niang’s chest tightened. Suddenly, a figure appeared before her eyes. Yang Kai was standing in front of her as he said gently, “You can’t kill them.”
Zhu Lie replied, “Better safe than sorry.”
At that, Yang Kai shook his head, after which Zhu Lie said angrily, “Whatever. If the truth is exposed, it’s you who will be troubled.”
Upon finishing his words, he shifted his attention to Yuan Wu, who had remained lying on the ground after he was attacked by Yang Kai. At that moment, his body was trembling uncontrollably.
After all, he was a Dragonborn who was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Yang Kai didn’t exert much force with his palm earlier, so it wasn’t possible that Yuan Wu would really pass out from the impact. In fact, he was just pretending to have lost consciousness. As he watched the following incidents, he felt his heart pounding terribly against his chest.
The sight of Zhu Lie murdering Madam Hua and the other two women was extremely shocking for him. By now, he realized that Zhu Lie had sided with Yang Kai. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have helped Yang Kai silence all the witnesses before Fu Chi arrived. Hence, Yuan Wu knew he was also one of his targets.
The moment Yuan Wu saw Zhu Lie staring at him, he knew that he was in trouble. After hesitating between begging for mercy and running for his life, he decided to flee. As he ran in the direction Fu Chi was coming, he shouted, “Sir, help me!”
Although he didn’t understand why Zhu Lie wanted to kill all of them, he knew that Zhu Lie wouldn’t let him off. Therefore, it would be pointless for him to beg for his mercy. If he wanted to survive, he could only rely on Fu Chi. Even though the chance was slim, it was better than having no hope at all.
After staring coldly at his figure for a while, Zhu Lie lifted his hand and condensed a ferocious Fire Dragon from his flames.
Feeling the heat, Yuan Wu panicked, and when he turned his head and saw the Fire Dragon, he felt as though his soul had left him as he shouted desperately, “No!”
In the blink of an eye, he was engulfed in the Fire Dragon, which was summoned by a Pureblood Dragon, so it wasn’t possible for Yuan Wu to parry or escape. As his body was on fire, he screamed and collapsed to the ground, upon which he rolled around and struggled.
After just a short moment though, Yuan Wu stopped moving. His body was completely charred, looking just like a big piece of charcoal.
Finally, Fu Chi arrived at the scene. He looked like a man in his thirties with a sturdy physique. Despite not saying anything, he gave off a stern vibe. Crackling sounds could be heard as he was surrounded by arcs of lightning.
With a dark gaze, Fu Chi shot a look at Zhu Lie, apparently not welcoming him. It seemed that there were some grudges between them. Then, he took a brief glance at Yang Kai and looked away, as he didn’t have any regard for a Human. However, he frowned when he saw Lu San Niang.
Certainly, he still remembered Lu San Niang. It was he who kidnapped Lu San Niang from the Northern Territory and brought her to Dragon Island. He was also the one who banished her out of the island. The latter incident happened barely more than ten years ago, so he still remembered it.
On the other hand, Lu San Niang didn’t have the courage to look at him. Her face as pale as a white sheet, she stood in front of Lu Yu Qin as her tender body trembled uncontrollably. Fortunately, Fu Chi didn’t seem to care about her as he had only shot her a brief glance.
The next moment, Fu Chi was infuriated and said through gritted teeth, “Zhu Lie, what have you done!?”
At that moment, he saw the corpse of his favourite woman lying on the beach. Her eyes were still wide open, and her mouth was caked in blood. Her corpse was still surrounded by some faint Dragon Essence, so it was apparent that she was killed by a member of the Dragon Clan.
Now, there was only one Dragon Clan member here, which was Zhu Lie. Fu Chi didn’t need to ask any questions to know that it was Zhu Lie who killed her, and that fact alone enraged him.
This island was his territory, so naturally, he couldn’t tolerate the fact that his toys were killed by Zhu Lie.
While Fu Chi was fuming, Zhu Lie uttered dispassionately, “I just helped you kill a woman who thought too highly of herself.”
With a livid expression, Fu Chi questioned, “What do you mean?”
He wasn’t aware of what had happened. Although this place wasn’t far from his residence, he didn’t have the time to keep watch on this area all the time. He only came all the way here because he could sense Zhu Lie’s aura, but he didn’t expect to see this sight when he arrived.
“What do you think I’m talking about? She’s just an insignificant person, but she had the gall to offend me.” Zhu Lie snorted.
“She offended you?” Fu Chi was both surprised and doubtful. Madam Hua had been living on Dragon Island for centuries, so it wasn’t possible that she would recklessly offend a member of the Dragon Clan. Furthermore, as far as he knew, Madam Hua had met Zhu Lie before and thus knew his identity.
There were only a small number of Dragon Clan members, and those with extremely pure bloodlines were even rarer. Since Madam Hua had met Zhu Lie before, Fu Chi didn’t think she would rashly offend him for it would be akin to courting death.
[What’s going on?]
“What’s wrong? Are you sad to see her dead?” Zhu Lie put on a sneer.
Fu Chi stared fixedly at him and gave it a thought before replying, “They were just my playthings, so I don’t care if they’re dead. Why would I be sad about it?”
Indeed, these women were not important to him, and Madam Hua’s death didn’t really matter. What he cared about was his own dignity. Zhu Lie had just killed his people on his own island, which was a challenge to his authority. However, his situation was a bit sensitive right now, so he wouldn’t want to argue with Zhu Lie, lest the matter escalate into a conflict. After coming up with an excuse, he uttered, “Since she offended you, her death isn’t worth pitying.”
“I’m glad you understand.” Zhu Lie snorted.
Then, Fu Chi questioned coldly, “Why are you here today?”
Zhu Lie replied, “I’m here to check on the construction of the palace.”
“That’s it?” Fu Chi frowned.
His expression turning dark, Zhu Lie said sternly, “This is an important matter.”
Fu Chi nodded, “Indeed, it’s an important matter. Since you’re here, we should have a look together. I’m not sure how much has been completed either. I just took a brief glance, but the progress seemed satisfactory. Those lowly people are indeed somewhat capable.”
With a cold expression, Zhu Lie flew off in the palace’s direction. In the blink of an eye, he was nowhere in sight.
Fu Chi’s expression turned grim for Zhu Lie had been impolite to him on this day. He was displeased at the fact that even though he had extended an olive branch to Zhu Lie, the latter still appeared arrogant.
They were on par in terms of power and bloodline, so Fu Chi couldn’t really flare up. Moreover, in just one month, he wouldn’t have to be wary of him anymore. By then, he would be able to get his revenge. With this thought in mind, he turned around and disappeared as well.
Now, only the corpses, Yang Kai and the mother and daughter pair remained. Just now, Fu Chi hadn’t paid any attention to Lu San Niang, nor did he care about Lu Yu Qin’s presence. To him, these two were air, not even worthy of his attention.
Lu San Niang became dejected realizing this, not for herself, but for her daughter. Lu Yu Qin was still Fu Chi’s daughter, but Fu Chi was utterly stone-hearted towards her, which caused Lu San Niang to be crestfallen. Fortunately, Lu Yu Qin didn’t understand the intricacies of the situation.
Nevertheless, Lu San Niang’s focus was on another matter. Still reeling from the shock, she gazed at Yang Kai and said gently, “Little Brother Yang, he…”
Yang Kai replied impassively, “Don’t tell anyone what has happened today.”
With a solemn expression, Lu San Niang nodded repeatedly, “I understand. My daughter and I swear we won’t tell another soul about this matter. Please rest assured.”
Yang Kai nodded and looked in the palace’s direction. If it weren’t for Zhu Lie’s timely arrival, this issue wouldn’t have been settled so easily, especially after Fu Chi arrived.
Apparently, Zhu Lie was aware of this as well, which was why he turned ruthless suddenly by killing Madam Hua and the other two women as well as Yuan Wu, who had been pretending to have passed out. If Yang Kai didn’t stop him, Zhu Lie undoubtedly would have killed Lu San Niang and her daughter as well.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t so worried. If things really got out of control, he would have just fought it out with Fu Chi; after all, he didn’t put an Eighth-Order Thunder Dragon in his eyes. Yang Kai was confident he could defeat him, so he had nothing to fear.
With that said, he was satisfied with the outcome. The only thing he didn’t understand was that Fu Chi seemed to be wary of Zhu Lie.
They were both Eighth-Order Dragons, so they shouldn’t be afraid of each other. Nevertheless, Fu Chi’s attitude on this day was puzzling. Since Yang Kai couldn’t figure out what was happening though, he decided to stop thinking about it. Now, he only cared about Zhu Qing’s whereabouts.
Since he had come across Zhu Lie, Yang Kai reckoned he should seize the chance and ask him about Zhu Qing’s whereabouts. Nevertheless, Zhu Lie was with Fu Chi now, so it was inconvenient for Yang Kai to look for him. Left with no choice, Yang Kai could only wait.
He believed that Zhu Lie must have realized his intention for coming to Dragon Island, and since Zhu Lie was willing to help hide Yang Kai’s identity, he must have his own considerations.
Moments later, a beam of red light shot up from the palace and headed in a particular direction. The red light flashed past Yang Kai’s head and disappeared over the sea, as though it was done intentionally.
Standing on the beach, Fu Chi stared fixedly at Zhu Lie’s leaving figure. After a sneer, he turned around and left.
Yang Kai stood on the beach for a long time. The metallic tang that came with the breeze wasn’t so strong anymore.
Lu San Niang and her daughter dug out some holes and buried the four corpses so that they could rest in peace. She had always been a kind-hearted woman. Despite the fact that Madam Hua had humiliated and even tried to kill both her and her daughter, she was still willing to give them final rites.
After all, she couldn’t bring herself to leave their corpses lying out in the open. She had still lived with them for centuries and although they were not her friends, they could still be regarded as her acquaintances. Hence, she wouldn’t let their corpses decay on the beach. She also made sure to handle Yuan Wu properly, even though the corpse had been completely burnt black.
It wasn’t until the sun was sinking into the horizon that they were done with everything. Seeing that Lu Yu Qin was pale-faced, Lu San Niang draped her arm around hers as they walked towards Yang Kai. At that instant, Lu San Niang was at a loss, not knowing what she should do next.
Li Jiao had been taken away to nurture the Dragon Blood Flowers, so she could only rely on Yang Kai now; however, she wasn’t so familiar with him either, and after what had happened in the morning, she couldn’t see through the mystery surrounding this young man.
He remained arrogant when confronted by Madam Hua, and he could also talk back in front of a member of the Dragon Clan. All he had been doing seemed to be putting him in a dangerous situation, but he managed to escape unscathed in the end.
At that moment, she was three metres away from Yang Kai as she thought about what she should say to him. The incident in the morning made her realize that there was a huge difference between them, so she couldn’t treat him casually anymore.
Just then, a splashing sound could be heard. A water column shot out from the sea, as though a Sea Monster was taking a breath. There seemed to be a gargantuan figure hiding below the surface.
With his gaze fixed on that figure, Yang Kai said, “Elder Sister Lu, I have to go now, but I’ll be back soon. Please don’t go anywhere.”
“Oh, okay,” Lu San Niang subconsciously replied. Feeling warmth in her heart as she knew that Yang Kai had been taking care of her because of Li Jiao, so she was glad that Li Jiao had made such a good friend.
At the thought of Li Jiao, Lu San Niang became dejected, for she knew that she couldn’t get back together with him again. She didn’t treasure the man previously, and now, she could only reminisce about the past.
When she came to her senses, Yang Kai had leapt into the air and plunged into the sea. After a splash, the Sea Monster turned around and swam forward with an unwelcome guest on its back.
One hour later, a small Spirit Island came into sight. The Sea Monster stopped before reaching the island.
Understanding the Sea Monster’s intention, Yang Kai stomped his foot and landed on the island in the blink of an eye, upon which the Sea Monster turned around and disappeared into the sea.
After scanning the island with his Divine Sense, he ascertained his destination and activated his Space Divine Ability, after which he instantly appeared on the top of a hill.
Zhu Lie had been waiting for Yang Kai, so he wasn’t surprised at the latter’s arrival. Turning around, he asked with a frown, “Why are you on Dragon Island?”
Exasperated, Yang Kai charged forward and grabbed Zhu Lie’s collar as he glared at him, “What do you think, my little brother-in-law?”
“Let go!” Zhu Lie lowered his gaze and scowled. Given his identity, he couldn’t accept that someone was grabbing his collar, even though there were no outsiders around.
“I’ve been patient with you enough!” Yang Kai wouldn’t release him and continued to glower at him, “I’ve already figured out that Zhu Qing didn’t return to the Northern Territory because she followed you back to Dragon Island. It’s because of you, right? If you didn’t instigate Qing’er, she would have waited for me at High Heaven Palace.”
Zhu Lie replied coldly, “Dragon Island is where the members of the Dragon Clan have been living since forever. Where else could we go other than this place?”
“How dare you deny it! Do you think I don’t have the guts to lecture you?”
“Don’t you cross the line! This isn’t High Heaven Palace! We’re on Dragon Island!”
“What’s the point of you yelling about that? Since I’m here, of course I know I’m on Dragon Island! However, as your brother-in-law, I have the right to teach you a lesson, wherever we may be. Even if Zhu Qing is here, I’ll still lecture you whenever I want to. Let’s see who she’ll side with.”
Zhu Lie gnashed his teeth together, “You’re so unreasonable.”
Yang Kai sneered, “It’s better than how you played a dirty trick on me.”
Zhu Lie growled, “When did I play a dirty trick on you? Stop slandering me!”
Yang Kai uttered, “Why don’t we talk about why Qing’er secretly returned to Dragon Island, then? Why didn’t she even inform me about it? Do you dare to say it has nothing to do with you?”
“How would I know the reason behind it? Maybe she got sick of you. Stop thinking so highly of yourself. You’re just a Human, so you’re no different from an ant to the Dragon Clan.”
Yang Kai was so exasperated that he started laughing, “Good, let me teach you a lesson today! Let’s see if you’re really as noble and powerful as you think you are!”
“You’re so irrational!”
“You don’t respect your Seniors at all!”
After bickering for a bit, they shut their mouths suddenly and stared at each other. With no one willing to back down, the atmosphere was intense, but a moment later, Yang Kai released Zhu Lie’s collar and snorted.
Displeased, Zhu Lie adjusted his collar and patted his clothes with a disdainful expression.
With his gaze fixed on the sea, Yang Kai asked, “So, where’s Zhu Qing?”
Without answering his question, Zhu Lie questioned, “How did you get to this island?”
Pursing his lips, Yang Kai replied, “I’m a Master of the Dao of Space, how difficult could it be for me to enter this world?”
Zhu Lie shook his head, “It might have been possible in the past, but the Elders placed a seal at Dragon Island’s entrance. If a trespasser appears, that seal will automatically transform into a Void Labyrinth. It’s impossible for you to barge in.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Indeed, there was a Void Labyrinth, but it couldn’t stop me.”
He was eager to find out Zhu Qing’s whereabouts, so he decided not to tell Zhu Lie what he had gone through in the Void Labyrinth. Otherwise, he might invite unwanted trouble.
“You must have been lucky, then.” Zhu Lie sighed. He had heard from the Elders that the Void Labyrinth could even trap a Great Emperor for some time. If anyone tried to break free from it, the Elders would be alerted. The reason they had placed such a seal at the entrance was to prevent anyone from entering Dragon Island without them knowing. It didn’t necessarily have to trap the person inside it, but its purpose was to alert the Elders at a critical moment.
Hence, Zhu Lie didn’t expect that Yang Kai was lucky enough to have found a way out of the Void Labyrinth.
“Go back now,” Zhu Lie heaved a sigh. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
Yang Kai looked at him from the corner of his eye, “I won’t go back before achieving my goal. I want to see your Elder Sister.”
Zhu Lie shook his head, “You can’t see her.”
Yang Kai’s expression turned cold, “You won’t help me? Don’t forget it’s me who brought you out of the Revolving World. I don’t expect you to be grateful, but you should at least know how to return favours.”
Nevertheless, Zhu Lie shook his head again.
With his patience running out, Yang Kai threatened, “I really will beat you up.”
Zhu Lie explained, “It’s not that I’m not willing to help you… But it’ll be useless even if I lend you a hand.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai frowned.
Zhu Lie fell silent, as though he was thinking how to tell Yang Kai about it. A moment later, he turned around and stared fixedly at him before uttering, “How far will you go for my Elder Sister?”
It was the first time Yang Kai heard him addressing Zhu Qing as ‘Elder Sister’. Although he didn’t call out to Zhu Qing directly, it showed his love for his sister.
Realizing something, Yang Kai questioned in a grim voice, “Has she fallen into danger?”
“Answer my question first.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t have to tell you anything about your Elder Sister and me, and you have no right to butt in on our affairs; however, if anyone dares to stop me, they’ll be my enemy. The Dragon Clan is no exception.”
“What if it will cost your life?”
Yang Kai replied coldly, “No one can take away my life from me.”
Zhu Lie nodded as his cold gaze turned softer, “Perhaps Zhu Qing has found the right man. I hope you’ll always remember what you just said.”
In an impatient manner, Yang Kai asked, “So, has she gotten into any danger?”
Zhu Lie replied, “Not really, but… She has been confined.”
Yang Kai turned gloomy and spoke in a cold voice, “Is it because of me?”
Zhu Lie nodded, “That’s right. You said that I instigated Zhu Qing to return to Dragon Island directly without waiting for you in the Northern Territory. I admit that it was my intention, and I’d persuaded her to do so, but in the end, it was she who made the decision. However… I didn’t expect that the reason she wanted to return to Dragon Island was to inform the Elders about what happened between you two.”
He turned around and spoke in a slow manner, “She wanted to gain their approval to get married to you!”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded, but he soon became enraged, “How could the Dragon Clan imprison her just because of that?”
Zhu Lie yelled, “It’s taboo for a Dragon to marry a Human!”
Yang Kai scoffed, “Rubbish! I know what your Dragons have been up to all this time. Over the years, both male and female Dragons have been keeping their own playthings on their own island. Why don’t your Elders imprison all of them?”
Zhu Lie refuted, “Just like what you’ve said, they’re playthings, which is a different case between you and Zhu Qing. If she gets married to you, she’ll have to break away from Dragon Island. The Elders will never allow that to happen!”
“She’ll have to break away from Dragon Island?” Yang Kai was stunned as he didn’t expect that Zhu Qing would make such a decision. Although he wasn’t familiar with the Dragon Clan’s rules, he could picture how infuriated the Elders were when they learned this news.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Zhu Qing was just an average Dragon Clan member; however, she was already a Ninth-Order Dragon, so the Elders wouldn’t allow her to set a precedent.
After a sigh, Zhu Lie said, “If I knew this would be the outcome, I wouldn’t have told her to come back. Now…” He sighed again.
With a frown, Yang Kai questioned, “Didn’t she attempt to flee?”
Zhu Lie stared at Yang Kai as though the latter was a fool, “Her Dragon Vein has been sealed, and her cultivation has been suppressed. Now, she can’t even circulate her strength, so how is she even going to flee?”
“Where is she now? Bring me to see her immediately.” Yang Kai was anxious.
“It’s pointless even if you go because you can’t break into the place where she’s been confined. Even if you manage to get in, you’d still be doomed.”
“How do you know when we haven’t tried?” Yang Kai snorted.
“I know you’re a master of the Dao of Space, but that’s useless. Second Elder has confined her to her own Spirit Island, so she can detect anyone who tries to enter.”
“Is the Second Elder very strong?”
“As strong as a Great Emperor!”
Yang Kai gasped upon hearing that. If that was true, he didn’t even need to attempt. Before he could even go near the island, he was certain he would be discovered.
Just then, Yang Kai thought of something. If the Second Elder of the Dragon Clan was as powerful as a Great Emperor, what about the Great Elder? The Great Elder was supposed to be stronger than the Second Elder.
In other words, there were two Masters who were supposedly as powerful as Great Emperors overseeing Dragon Island, which was a piece of shocking news.
In the past, when Yang Kai heard other people talk about how incredible Dragon Island was, he still couldn’t grasp the concept. Now, he had learned that there were two Great Emperor level existences living on this island. Taking other Dragon Clan members into consideration as well, nowhere else in this world was comparable to this kind of heritage.
“What is the Great Elder’s stance on this matter?” Yang Kai asked with a frown. Since the Second Elder had confined Zhu Qing to her personal island, there was no way she would let her go. If Yang Kai wanted to help Zhu Qing escape, he had to start with the Great Elder.
Zhu Lie replied, “The Great Elder’s name is Zhu Yan, and the Second Elder’s name is Fu Zhun. Do you get it now?”
Yang Kai arched his eyebrow, “The Second Elder is from the Fu Clan of the Dragon Clan.”
“Although the Zhu Clan and the Fu Clan are both from the Dragon Clan, we’re not exactly on good terms.”
Furious, Yang Kai yelled, “Since the Great Elder is from the Zhu Clan, why doesn’t he help Zhu Qing?”
Although he had never met Zhu Yan before, he started growing resentful of the old man now. [That old fart is so useless. If he can’t even protect his own people, what’s the point of him holding the position as the Great Elder? Why doesn’t he just resign and spend his retirement years somewhere else?]
Zhu Lie explained, “Zhu Qing has violated the rules and disgraced the Dragon Clan, so the Great Elder can’t help her even if he wants to.”
Thinking that it was all Yang Kai’s fault, Zhu Lie glowered at him. [If it weren’t for him, Zhu Qing wouldn’t have ended up being imprisoned.]
A similar case to this took place more than ten years ago; however, at that time, it was the Fu Clan that was the cause of the incident rather than the Zhu Clan.
That person also fell in love with a Human and even gave birth to a child. When Dragon Island got wind of the news, the Second Elder, Fu Zhun, was so enraged that she personally went to bring that Fu Clan member back to Dragon Island. Ignoring the other Dragon Clan members’ persuasion and pleas, she directly imprisoned that person in the Dragon Grave.
Only dying Dragon Clan members would enter the Dragon Grave, so it was basically the Dragon Clan’s Restricted Area. Entering that place was akin to getting a death sentence, so no one could ever hope to get out of it again.
That person, who had violated the Dragon Clan’s rules, was Fu Zhun’s favourite clan member at that time. She had personally raised her, and even regarded her as her daughter. However, Fu Zhun was impartial when the rules were concerned. She still stone-heartedly pushed that person into the Dragon Grave, leaving her to perish on her own.
Zhu Lie still remembered that, at that time, even the Great Elder had tried to persuade the Second Elder to give her a lighter punishment, but the Second Elder was unfazed and went on to punish her accordingly.
More than ten years had passed, but Zhu Lie still remembered the incident vividly.
Given this precedent, Zhu Qing was lucky enough to not have been thrown into the Dragon Grave directly, so there was nothing else she could ask for. It was exactly because of this incident more than ten years ago that the Great Elder decided not to make a plea for Zhu Qing.
The Second Elder was cold-blooded enough to push the one whom she regarded as her daughter into the Dragon Grave, so she wouldn’t have any mercy on a Zhu Clan member. If the Great Elder insisted on protecting Zhu Qing, the outcome would turn out to be the opposite of what was desired.
Now, it was thanks to the fact that Zhu Qing wasn’t pregnant that she didn’t get thrown into the Dragon Grave. Otherwise, she would have ended up in the same place as that Fu Clan member.
The Dragon Clan was a bunch of promiscuous people, and many male Dragons had bedded Humans and Monsters, bearing many children; however, it was a different case when the female clan members bore children from another race, which was a taboo within the Dragon Clan.
The main reason was that the ratio of men to women within the Dragon Clan was imbalanced. The female Dragons were much smaller in number, so every one of them was a treasure as well as the hope to sustain the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, which was why they were not allowed to get together with other races.
With a dark expression, Yang Kai gave it a thought and asked, “Do you think I can suppress the Second Elder’s bloodline?”
Zhu Lie pressed his lips together and replied, “Don’t even think about it.”
“I’m able to suppress an Eighth-Order bloodline, but I have never tried it on a Ninth-Order before. The Second Elder’s bloodline is in the Tenth-Order at most, so there’s not much of a difference.”
Zhu Lie shook his head and explained, “I know what’s on your mind, but I suggest you give up that idea now. The Second Elder’s cultivation is unbelievably powerful. Given your current strength, you can’t suppress her bloodline. In fact, on this island, if I’m well prepared, you won’t even be able to suppress my bloodline.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai frowned.
Zhu Lie went on to say, “The Dragon Temple contains all our ancestors’ power, so if we’re able to obtain a Secret Technique from it, we’ll be able to considerably offset bloodline suppression. You’ve experienced it before.”
Yang Kai was startled for a moment before he recalled the first time he came across Zhu Lie. Back then, he wasn’t able to suppress Zhu Lie’s bloodline. It wasn’t until he achieved a breakthrough at the last moment, making an advancement in his Dragon Transformation Secret Art, that Yang Kai was able to peel off a special Dragon Scale from Zhu Lie and defeat him. There was a trace of the Secret Technique on that Dragon Scale.
It was then Yang Kai realized that it must be the blessing Zhu Lie obtained from the Dragon Temple. Now, he understood the reason why he couldn’t suppress Zhu Lie’s bloodline initially.
“If you want to suppress a Master like the Second Elder, you’ll have to integrate all the Dragon Source within your body first. Despite that, your chance will still be slim. Don’t forget that, other than being a Dragon, the Second Elder’s own strength is basically on par with that of a Great Emperor.”
“It’s impossible for me to fully integrate the Dragon Source!” Yang Kai shook his head repeatedly. It had been a long time since he started cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Art, and although he had made some progress with refining the Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength within his body, the amount was still insignificant. It would take him more than 100 years of cultivation to integrate all of it at best.
“Then, don’t even think about challenging the Second Elder.”
“Is the Great Elder really unable to help?” A glint flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes. The only person on Dragon Island who could challenge the Second Elder was the Great Elder. If he was willing to lend a hand, there was hope for them to save Zhu Qing.
“Don’t even think about it. The Great Elder is the leader of the Dragon Clan, so he won’t violate the rules.”
Yang Kai became incensed, “Are there really no solutions at all? Do we just watch Zhu Qing suffer and do nothing?”
As he spoke, he suddenly thought of something, so he uttered in an excited manner, “By the way, I have a Dragon Island Token. Why don’t I use it to get your Elder Sister freed?” Upon finishing his words, he fished out the Dragon Island Token.
Zhu Lie’s gaze lit up for a moment before it dimmed again. After a sigh, he replied, “The Elders will grant your wish if it’s a different matter, but they won’t agree to free Zhu Qing.”
Yang Kai snarled, “Won’t they keep their promise? It’s said that the Dragon Clan will grant the Dragon Island Token’s holder a wish. My wish is to leave with your Elder Sister.”
“That’s true, but the prerequisite is that you can’t violate the Dragon Clan’s rules and harm our interests. Rules will be broken if we allow you to leave with Zhu Qing.”
Yang Kai fell silent for a moment before he cursed. He hadn’t felt so helpless for a long time. He felt displeased and frustrated, as though all the roads had been blocked, which caused him to be unable to show his true power.
In a hesitant manner, Zhu Lie said, “You might have a chance next month.”
With his gaze lighting up, Yang Kai looked at him.
Zhu Lie gazed at him as well and explained, “Zhu Qing will leave the Second Elder’s Spirit Island next month. That’ll be your only chance to save her.”
“How do you know what’s going to happen next month?” Yang Kai frowned and thought that there was a hidden message in Zhu Lie’s words.
With a conflicted gaze, Zhu Lie asked, “Do you know why the Dragon Clan suddenly wants to build a palace on Fu Chi’s Spirit Island?”
After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai replied, “Because of Fu Chi’s wedding?”
He had heard about it from Madam Hua in the morning, but Yang Kai didn’t really care about it. Although a Dragon Clan member’s wedding was an important event, it had nothing to do with him. Now, he just wanted to leave with Zhu Qing.
“To be precise, it’s Fu Chi and Zhu Qing’s wedding!”
In an instant, the air seemed to have frozen. The temperature around them dropped by a few degrees as the area was engulfed in coldness.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, and his Emperor Qi started surging beyond his control. In a slow manner, he uttered, “Say that again. I didn’t hear it clearly.”
After a sigh, Zhu Lie replied, “She was spared from being thrown in the Dragon Grave, but there was a catch; she has to get married to Fu Chi to sustain the Dragon Clan’s bloodline.”
*Hong…*
Instantly, a surge of fury came over Yang Kai. He clenched his fists as his bones started cracking. He hadn’t been so infuriated in a long time, as though he had been engulfed in the sea of rage, causing him to be extremely agitated.
At that instant, he wanted nothing more than to kill Fu Chi. He wanted to return to that Spirit Island and find him before tearing him apart. Otherwise, he would never be able to soothe the fury in his chest.
[Bastard! How dare he snatch my woman from me!] Yang Kai had already disdained Fu Chi when he came across him in the morning, but now he was enraged and regarded him as his archnemesis.
He had never expected that Fu Chi, who had harmed Lu San Niang previously, dared to snatch his woman from him.
“Zhu Qing did try to resist, but it’s the Elders’ collective decision, so it’s useless for her to disagree with it. Otherwise, her Dragon Vein wouldn’t have been suppressed, and her cultivation wouldn’t have been sealed.”
Yang Kai’s mood turned worse when he heard that. Feeling sorry for Zhu Qing, he could picture how helpless she must have been at that time. With this thought in mind, he started blaming himself for failing to protect the woman he loved.
At the thought of Fu Chi, he became even more angered. [Who does he think he is? Even if I pissed on a picture of him, it would make it look better! Someone like that…]
With a ferocious expression, Yang Kai gnashed his teeth together, as though he was ready to kill.
Zhu Lie stared at him and uttered, “The wedding will be next month. At that time, she’ll go to Fu Chi’s island. That will be your only chance to save her. Other than that, you won’t have any chance to see her.”
Yang Kai said bitterly, “In other words, I have to stay here for one more month.”
“You can try breaking into the Second Elder’s residence now and depart for the afterlife immediately.”
Yang Kai glowered at him for a moment before taking a deep breath. The breath he puffed out from his nostrils was scorching hot, as though he was breathing fire. After he managed to compose himself, he nodded slightly, “Got it.”
“It’s not too late for you to leave now.” Zhu Lie gazed at him, “Since you were able to come in, I’m sure you’ll be able to leave as well. If you insist on staying, you’ll likely lose your life in a month’s time!”
Yang Kai was a hot-blooded man, but he could also calm himself down quickly, and his rational mind told him that Zhu Lie was right. Despite that, he still balled up his fists and said, “We’ll see who dies on that day.”
After the talk, Zhu Lie returned to his residence, leaving Yang Kai alone on the island. A myriad of dark expressions came over Yang Kai as he was still boiling with anger over what he had learned from Zhu Lie.
[It will be Zhu Qing’s wedding next month?] All of a sudden, Yang Kai looked up at the sky and began to laugh. His Emperor Pressure surged as he sent a circular shock wave across the island using his Emperor Qi.
The trees shook violently, and the sandstorm plunged the beautiful island into chaos. After Yang Kai stopped laughing, he turned his head and looked in a particular direction. At the other end of the island, there was a small area of purple corals in the sea. The corals were beautiful and looked just like crystals.
After stomping his foot, Yang Kai leapt into the air and disappeared into the night sky, upon which the atmosphere on the island became serene again.
A long time later, the corals contorted and transformed into a curvy and beautiful lady who was clad in purple clothes. Staring in the direction Yang Kai disappeared, she batted her alluring eyes and curled up her lips, “It seems that I’ve discovered a big secret! Zhu Lie, I’ll definitely get you this time. You’ll have to pay the price for looking down on me!”
Elated, she giggled for a bit and came up with all sorts of dirty tricks in her mind. After that, she turned around to leave.
Right then she stiffened as, all of a sudden, a chill was sent down her spine as though all her blood had been frozen. It was because she saw that Yang Kai, who had left the place earlier, appeared again and stood right there in silence. With bloodshot eyes, he was glaring at her, as though she was dead meat.
“You…” Flabbergasted, Fu Ling instinctively moved backwards in an attempt to widen the gap between them.
She had heard the conversation between Zhu Lie and Yang Kai earlier, so she knew that this average-looking Human was formidable. Therefore, her first reaction was to flee instead of battling against him.
It wasn’t that she was timid, as members of the Dragon Clan were never afraid of battle. They were the most powerful creatures in the world as well as the leaders of all Divine Spirits. They only respected Masters from the same clan. The reason she was retreating was that she knew she was no match for Yang Kai.
She was only a Sixth-Order Dragon, while even Eighth-Order Dragons like Zhu Lie and Zhu Qing were defeated by Yang Kai previously. Naturally, she couldn’t defeat Yang Kai either.
It had to be said that she had made a wise decision. As long as she could widen the gap between her and Yang Kai and disappear into the sea, she could possibly escape unscathed, given her ability to transform into various different forms.
Moving at full speed, Fu Ling turned into a Purple Dragon and broke through the void.
On the other hand, Yang Kai didn’t seem to be moving his body at all as he stared coldly at her. However, he was able to remain three steps away from her and make sure that she couldn’t escape from him.
The colour drained from Fu Ling’s beautiful face as she pushed her Dragon Essence in an attempt to call for help. Although it might not be useful at all, it might scare Yang Kai off for a moment.
“Look at me!” Yang Kai growled as his voice transmitted straight into Fu Ling’s eardrums.
Fu Ling instinctively raised her head, only to see that Yang Kai had transformed into a 45-metre long Half-Dragon. His towering figure was like a mountain pressing against her chest, making her unable to breathe. The Dragon Pressure he released seemed to have made her blood freeze, as she couldn’t even utilize half of her power.
What terrified Fu Ling most was that Yang Kai’s left eye was golden, which caused her mind to destabilize and her Soul to shake. Following that, a huge claw was seen coming at her.
Flustered, Fu Ling felt her heart fill with fear. She wanted to call for help, but she couldn’t utter a word, as though she had plunged into a nightmare. The next moment, she was sucked into something. The sea and the island disappeared from her sight and a huge area of land magically appeared beneath her feet, and the view around her had changed.
With her knees on the ground, she coughed for a bit and gasped for air, her face as pale as a white sheet. At that moment, her clothes were soaking wet, so they now stuck closely to her body, outlining her voluptuous figure.
Suddenly, a pair of big feet came into view.
Fu Ling raised her head with difficulty and looked up at the towering man as her tender body shook uncontrollably. Her nightmarish experience just now caused her to look particularly pitiful, adding to her appeal at the moment.
Although she knew that Yang Kai was powerful, she didn’t expect that she still couldn’t escape from him after she used all her strength to flee. [What’s going on with him? He’s more terrifying than what Zhu Lie described!]
Right after Zhu Lie and Zhu Qing returned to Dragon Island some time ago, they went to meet the Elders. After that, Zhu Qing was imprisoned. Recently, it was announced that she was to marry Fu Chi, which sent a shock wave across Dragon Island.
After all, there was a layer of mystery surrounding this incident, so all of them wanted to find out the truth. It was the same for Fu Ling. Women were intrinsically gossipy, and the Dragon Clan members were no exception. After putting in some effort, she was finally able to get some useful information.
It was said that Zhu Qing fell in love with a Human after she left the island some time ago. That was fine and all, but what wasn’t acceptable was that she wanted to get married to him. She returned to Dragon Island just to ask for the Elders’ approval.
That Human was named Yang Kai. It was said that he had obtained the Ancestral Dragon Source, which was an extremely fortuitous event for him.
However, he was a Human after all, so there was no way the Elders would agree to Zhu Qing’s request. A similar event had happened more than ten years ago, and that woman was pushed into the Dragon Grave and wouldn’t be able to come out ever again, so her ending was even more miserable than Zhu Qing’s.
Now, Zhu Qing had been confined to the Second Elder’s Spirit Island, and she was going to marry Fu Chi in one month. Fu Ling had no idea how the Elders would handle that Human, but his future was definitely bleak.
The Dragon Clan would certainly deal with him after Fu Chi and Zhu Qing’s wedding, for they couldn’t tolerate the fact that the Ancestral Dragon Source had fallen under a Human’s control.
Fu Ling knew a thing or two about Yang Kai, but she didn’t expect that he was reckless enough to sneak into Dragon Island. If she hadn’t come across Zhu Lie and followed him to this place, she wouldn’t have discovered this shocking secret.
However, now, she regretted the fact that she had been exposed. She was no match for Yang Kai, so she wondered what her ending would be. After struggling internally for a bit, she suddenly leapt into the air and travelled more than a few thousand metres.
Turning around, she was elated to see that Yang Kai remained on the same spot while he was looking at her coldly. Nevertheless, he didn’t seem to have the intention of chasing after her.
Without any hesitation, Fu Ling roared and transformed into a Purple Dragon before she shot up into the sky and hovered around the clouds.
“You’re doomed. My clansmen are coming over now. If you kneel and beg me now, I might consider sparing your life.” With a faint smile, Fu Ling stopped moving and stared at Yang Kai from a few thousand metres away.
The Secret Technique she just used was a call for help. She believed that all the Dragon Clan members on Dragon Island were coming over now, so she wasn’t afraid of Yang Kai anymore. Having regained her confidence, she was able to set her mind at ease and return to her human form.
Without uttering a word, Yang Kai stared mockingly at her. There wasn’t any trace of anxiety on his face.
Surprised, Fu Ling sized him up and asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”
“Why should I be afraid?” Yang Kai grinned.
Fu Ling nodded, “You’re indeed bold.” She flung her hair back casually upon finishing her words. After the fear in her heart disappeared, she became charming again, her alluring gaze seemingly having the ability to suck any man into it.
“However, I don’t think Zhu Qing would fall in love with you just because you’re bold. What does she see in you? I still can’t believe she’s willing to break away from Dragon Island just to be together with you.”
She was speaking to Yang Kai to stall for time. After her clansmen arrived, Yang Kai would never be able to harm her again no matter how powerful he was. Suddenly, she covered her mouth and giggled, “Could it be that… you’re skilful in bed? So Zhu Qing fell in love with your skills, is it…? Hahaha… She’s indeed an inexperienced girl.”
Yang Kai wasn’t surprised that Fu Ling would say such shameless things; after all, he had seen for himself how promiscuous she could be.
“Who knows?” Yang Kai shrugged and remained in the same spot.
Fu Ling licked her plump and juicy lips, which were as attractive as rubies. Panting slightly, she said, “I heard that Zhu Qing managed to become a Ninth-Order Dragon because of you?”
This wasn’t a secret, at least on Dragon Island. When Zhu Qing returned to Dragon Island some time back, all of them were shocked to learn that she was now a Ninth-Order Dragon.
It was extremely difficult to improve one’s Dragon Vein. Even if a Dragon Clan member continuously consumed Dragon Blood Flowers for more than 10,000 years, they might not be able to break through.
Since Zhu Qing was already an Eighth-Order Dragon, it was especially difficult for her to do so. However, she had managed to achieve that. Although she didn’t reveal the reason behind it, the knowledgeable Elders had figured out the truth.
The Human she had gotten together with had obtained the Ancestral Dragon Source. Hence, after they became one, Zhu Qing must have gotten a lot of benefits, which then led to the breakthrough in her bloodline.
Fu Ling was just a Sixth-Order Dragon, so if she could also bed Yang Kai, she should be able to become Seventh-Order with ease. Perhaps she would even make it to the Eighth-Order.
With this thought in mind, she felt her body growing hot as her heart yearned for that man. Her fair face and long neck also turned a shade redder.
“I’d like to have a try as well.” Her voice became alluring as she panted and tried to show off her hourglass figure.
She didn’t attempt to hide her promiscuity because Yang Kai had seen her having fun with other men in the Dragon Palace some time ago. Therefore, she didn’t have to pretend to be innocent now.
At that time, Yang Kai was taking a peek outside the room. She discovered him at the last moment and obviously remembered his face.
“Sorry, I’m not interested in worn-out shoes.” Yang Kai sneered.
Fu Ling turned cold instantly as her eyes beamed with a glacial glare. Clenching her teeth, she screamed, “Human, you’ll pay the price for your rudeness! After you are captured by the Elders, I will bring you home and make love to you! I hope you’ll have enough stamina because it’s difficult for any man to satisfy me!”
“We’ll talk about it when you have that chance.” Unfazed, Yang Kai changed the topic, “Anyway, I’m curious how you were able to hide without Zhu Lie and me noticing.”
Fu Ling grabbed her own hair and fiddled with it as she spoke nonchalantly, “I’m a Purple Dragon who was born with the Ever-Changing Innate Ability, so it isn’t surprising that I could turn into some rocks.”
“Ever-Changing Innate Ability!” Yang Kai exclaimed, “An impressive Divine Ability!”
If he hadn’t allowed his Emperor Qi to explode and noticed that something was off, he would have been fooled by her. Despite that, he wasn’t so certain himself, which was why he pretended to have left the place while actually hiding nearby to observe.
He didn’t expect that he would really catch someone, and that person turned out to be Fu Ling. Because of Fu Chi, he was generally resentful of all those that were in the Fu Clan. He especially loathed Fu Ling’s promiscuity, but now that she had eavesdropped on his secret discussion with Zhu Lie, it would cause him huge trouble if this matter wasn’t handled properly.
Finally sensing that something was amiss, Fu Ling knitted her brows and looked around cautiously.
“If you’re waiting for help, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but none will be coming.”
Fu Ling’s expression changed as she muttered, “This isn’t an Illusion Array! Is this a Small World?”
Just now, when the view changed as she was transported from that Spirit Island to this strange place, she thought that Yang Kai had used an Illusion Array to confine her. Now, she realized that they were in a Small World instead of an Illusion Array.
Upon that realization, Fu Ling almost broke down, for she finally understood why her clansmen were not coming. A Small World was an independent space, so there was no way she could send her call for help across World Barriers using her Secret Technique. Without the help of her clansmen, it meant that she had to confront Yang Kai on her own.
“Damn it!” Both exasperated and shocked, she whirled around and turned into a beam of purple light, no longer calm and collected. She didn’t know what this Small World was, nor how Yang Kai managed to bring her into it; however, she knew that she was in deep trouble, so she had to flee.
Not long after she flew off though she suddenly screamed. She was being pressured from all directions, which had fixed her onto the spot, as though she had crashed into an invisible wall. At that moment, she was bound to that place and couldn’t struggle out of it.
Just then, a strange force could be felt from ahead of her, which pushed her backwards and shortened her gap with Yang Kai. She started shrieking, for it was the first time she experienced such a strange event despite her age.
[It’s World Force! It’s the power of this Small World!] Fu Ling’s gaze was transformed by fear. The fact that Yang Kai could control this Small World plunged her into a state of despair. She knew that there was no way she could go against him in this place.
In just a short moment, all her effort had gone to waste as she was now right in front of Yang Kai again. Gazing at the 45-metre-tall Half-Dragon, she was panic-stricken and yelled, “You can’t kill me!”
Unfazed, Yang Kai went on to land a palm on her with a cold expression, he wanted to vent out his anger from last night on her.
Just then, Fu Ling shouted, “I’m Zhu Lie’s woman!”
Yang Kai’s Dragon Claw stopped just a hand’s length above Fu Ling’s head as her clothes flapped in the wind brought by the palm. Still reeling from the shock, she fell on her bottom, her face completely pale.
Yang Kai looked down at her and lifted a finger before he placed a pointed Dragon Claw on her forehead, upon which, blood started streaming out of her wound, “Say that again.”
“I’m not lying. I’m really Zhu Lie’s woman!” Fu Ling’s tender body trembled uncontrollably as it was the first time she was so close to death, which was why she was suffering from a breakdown. No longer dignified as a Dragon Clan member, she looked up at him and put on a fawning smile. Due to her fear, her smile was uglier than if she was crying.
“You’re quite bold to make such a claim.” Yang Kai chuckled, but he was now in a Half-Dragon Form, so his laugh was rather eerie.
Fu Ling hurriedly replied, “It’s true. It’s the Elders’ collective decision… As well as my own request.”
Yang Kai frowned as he realized that she wasn’t lying, “What do you mean?”
“Zhu Qing will get married to Fu Chi. As compensation, someone from the Fu Clan will have to marry a Zhu Clan member. I’m the designated woman, and Zhu Lie will be my husband.”
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched when he heard that.
“We’ll be one family soon…” With teary eyes, Fu Ling looked at Yang Kai in a pitiful manner, as though she was gazing at someone she admired. In a soft voice, she uttered, “Brother-in-law, all I’ve said is true.”
She seemed to be sincere when she addressed Yang Kai in such a way, and her expression was natural, as though they were indeed one family now.
With a weird expression, Yang Kai asked, “Has Zhu Lie… agreed to it?”
He was amused upon learning this news. [That brat’s taste in women is… heavy. I’m sure he knows what kind of woman Fu Ling is, so how does he have the courage to marry such a slut? Isn’t he worried that she’ll cheat on him in the future?]
Fu Ling forced a smile, “It’s not up to him. To the Elders, the most important thing for the Dragon Clan is to sustain our bloodline.”
“What a poor man.” Yang Kai sighed as he felt sorry for what Zhu Lie had to go through. [My little brother-in-law is so pitiful. If I were in his shoes, I would have blown my top.]
“Brother-in-law,” Fu Ling called out smoothly, “I didn’t intend to expose your secret. I just wanted to threaten Zhu Lie with this and make him agree to marry me. As for Fu Chi’s matter, I don’t care about it at all. Moreover, Zhu Qing is a Ninth-Order Dragon, so only a man like you is the perfect match for her. Who does Fu Chi think he is to snatch your woman? He doesn’t know his place!”
She had never flattered anyone before, so her words didn’t sound sincere, and seeing that Yang Kai remained silent, she felt extremely apprehensive. However, in order to survive, she mustered her courage and took Yang Kai’s finger before shaking it in a coquettish manner, “Brother-in-law, please trust me. I will never lie to you.”
Yang Kai looked down at her with a dispassionate expression, “It doesn’t matter whether I believe you or not.”
Fu Ling’s face turned pale again as she pressed her lips together, “Do you really want to kill me?”
Before Yang Kai could reply to her, she went on to say, “Brother-in-law, we’re one family, so I won’t complain even if you want to kill me. I shouldn’t have seen what I wasn’t supposed to see, and I shouldn’t have heard what I wasn’t supposed to hear. However, if you kill me, it will send a shock wave across the entire Dragon Island. By then, the Great Elder and the Second Elder will start an investigation and find out that you’re the culprit. When that happens, you’ll never have a chance to save Zhu Qing.”
Yang Kai frowned when he heard that. Fu Ling finally made a valid point after talking so much nonsense.
In fact, he really was hesitating whether he should kill Fu Ling or not. Inside the Sealed World Bead, it wouldn’t take him much effort to end her life as he was the Master in this place and could easily suppress her bloodline. The problem was what would happen after she was dead.
There were only a small number of Dragon Clan members, so everyone on Dragon Island would be alerted if any one of them died. If Fu Ling lost her life, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to remain hidden anymore.
Seeing that he was hesitant, Fu Ling was elated. Knowing that he was now wary of the consequences of killing her, she reckoned that she had made the right move.
With her expression turning softer, she said gently, “As long as you don’t kill me, I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
She was kneeling on the ground with her dress wide open, and her fair bosom appeared particularly alluring under the sunlight.
Understanding the meaning behind her words, Yang Kai shifted his attention to her bosom.
Putting on a faint smile, Fu Ling extended her hand and slightly pulled at her robes, which revealed more of her body. At the same time, she felt gleeful in her heart. [He’s just a Human while I’m a member of the Dragon Clan. By just exposing my body, I’m sure he’ll be enchanted by me! Furthermore, this Human has obtained Ancestral Dragon Source. Zhu Qing managed to gain benefits from him and even broke through. I’m only in the Sixth-Order, so if I can do the same, I should be able to gain even more benefits!]
With this thought in mind, she no longer felt repulsed by his aggressive stare. Instead, she was over the moon as she now yearned for his love. With her body growing hotter, she clenched her thighs tightly.
Just then, some popping sounds could be heard, upon which Yang Kai returned to his Human form. Following that, he stretched out his hand and clenched her neck.
“Brother-in-law…” Fu Ling was blushing as she made herself look charming. At that moment, she was pretending to be shy.
“Open your Knowledge Sea!” Yang Kai growled.
The shyness disappeared from Fu Ling’s face in an instant as she stared at him in shock, finally realizing his intention and turning pale as a result.
“Don’t make me repeat my words.” Yang Kai’s voice was cold, “I’ll grant your wish if you want to lose your life.”
After hesitating for a bit, Fu Ling decided to give in. With a forced smile, she replied, “Brother-in-law, please be gentle, it’s my first time.”
As soon as she lowered her Knowledge Sea’s defences, she felt a stream of pure Spiritual Energy gushing into her body.
In an instant, she felt her head growing heavy. It was really the first time she let anyone invade her Knowledge Sea, and she had given up resisting it. At that moment, she felt like she would rather die. [If I knew this would be the outcome, I wouldn’t have tailed Zhu Lie.]
At the same time, she cursed Zhu Lie in her heart.
Sending her consciousness into her Knowledge Sea, she appeared as her Soul Avatar and immediately saw Yang Kai’s figure. Yang Kai had also transformed into a Soul Avatar as he was standing on the vast waters of her Knowledge Sea. With a solemn expression, he wove a series of seals to form an Imprint.
Despite knowing what he was trying to do, Fu Ling was powerless to stop him. Standing to the side, she was extremely frustrated.
A moment later, a Seal appeared on Yang Kai’s palm and shot into Fu Ling’s Knowledge Sea. Instantly, her Knowledge Sea became volatile. Fu Ling groaned as her Soul Avatar kept shaking, as though it would disintegrate at any moment.
It took her some time before she managed to come to her senses. Raising her gaze, she realized that Yang Kai was nowhere in sight. Apparently, he had left her Knowledge Sea.
Upon checking on the Soul Imprint, she felt utterly helpless. Initially, she thought that she could dissolve the Soul Imprint with some time and effort, but upon seeing how complicated and solid it was, she gave up on the idea.
After her consciousness returned to her body, she looked apprehensively at Yang Kai and asked gently, “Brother-in-law, what do you want me to do?”
Since a Soul Imprint had been planted in her Knowledge Sea, her life or death was now up to Yang Kai to decide. Hence, she had to give in and stopped being presumptuous. Also, she had become more cautious when dealing with Yang Kai.
“Just make sure you don’t ruin my plans. I’ll leave this place in a month. By then, you’ll be set free.”
“Good.” Fu Ling appeared to be obsequious.
The Sun was rising from the East. At the break of dawn, Yang Kai decided to return to Fu Chi’s Spirit Island.
It had been a night full of unexpected twists and turns. Not only did he find out that Zhu Qing was going to get married next month, but he also managed to capture Fu Ling and plant a Soul Imprint in her mind, thereby controlling her life and death. Knowing that it was useless for him to be furious now, he suppressed the emotions in his heart. Now, he had to come up with a way to save Zhu Qing next month.
All the Dragon Clan members were expected to attend Fu Chi’s wedding, including the Elders. The Great Elder and the Second Elder were said to be as powerful as Great Emperors, so would he really be able to save his woman under their watch?
The chance of success was slim, unless he could persuade the Great Elder to side with him. If the Great Elder could deal with the Second Elder, there would be hope for him to save Zhu Qing.
It wasn’t ridiculous. Instead, it was highly feasible. Judging from what Zhu Lie had said, the Great Elder had a temperate personality, while the Second Elder was an impartial person. Supposedly, the Great Elder wasn’t in favour of this wedding, but he kept quiet about it due to the Dragon Clan’s rules.
[How do I make the Great Elder side with me? The Dragon Island Token might be useful, but it isn’t a sure-fire way.]
Now, Yang Kai hoped that Fu Ling could get some useful information for him. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any chance of him surviving in a month’s time.
It was a good choice to subdue Fu Ling, as he had managed to plant a mole within the Fu Clan. It wouldn’t matter even if she was useless, but if she turned out to be useful, she might bring him the outcome he desired.
On his way back to the Spirit Island, Yang Kai was still pondering over the matter. When he returned to the island, Lu San Niang and her daughter were still waiting for him on the beach.
Seeing Yang Kai, Lu San Niang approached him, “Little Brother Yang, you’re finally back,” she said as her gaze was filled with worry. Although she didn’t know why Yang Kai had to leave, she knew that something must have happened. Upon seeing his dark expression, she dared not utter one more word.
Lu Yu Qin on the other hand, as a young and inexperienced girl, was still reeling from the shock of witnessing the death of a few people right before her eyes. Her face was pale and she was snuggled up to her mother.
Yang Kai gave it a thought on the same spot for a moment before he managed to clear up his mind. Now, he had to make sure that he would be able to meet Zhu Qing one month later. If he couldn’t even see her, how was he going to rescue her?
Having come up with a temporary plan, he took a deep breath and turned to look at Lu San Niang before speaking in a calm voice, “Where’s Yuan Wu’s Space Ring?”
“It’s here.” Lu San Niang hurriedly fished out a few rings, “Madam Hua and the others’ rings are here as well.”
When she and Lu Yu Qin were burying Yuan Wu and the others, she took their Space Rings off their fingers. She didn’t intend to hide them, so she immediately took them out when Yang Kai asked her about the rings.
There were a total of five Space Rings, four of which belonged to the deceased. There was one ring that was given to Yuan Wu by Fu Chi to store the rare materials needed to build the palace.
After scanning them with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai took the Space Ring with the rare materials and gave the others to Lu San Niang.
“This…” Lu San Niang took them hesitantly.
“Just keep them.” Upon finishing his words, Yang Kai leaped into the air and headed to the palace.
At that moment, the construction site was hustling and bustling. In just a few days, they had managed to build a foundation of the palace, which was incredible progress for such a large-scale building.
About 200 people were working there, and nobody dared to slack off; after all, it was a task that had been assigned to them by the Dragon Clan, and an Eighth-Order Thunder Dragon was living on this island, so they couldn’t be sure whether they would be caught if they loafed.
That was why all of them were working around the clock and would only take some Spirit Pills to restore their energy when they were exhausted.
“Little Brother Yang, I haven’t met you for such a long time. Why are you here?” A friendly voice could be heard as Wu Chen, who had a thin figure and a monkey-liked face, greeted Yang Kai with a smile.
Hearing that, the other cultivators shot a displeased look at Yang Kai. It couldn’t be helped, as all cultivators had been given different tasks by Yuan Wu, so they were all very busy. Even Lu San Niang and her daughter had to dive into the sea to look for Luminous Pearls previously.
However, only Yang Kai seemed to have nothing to do. Naturally, the others felt that they had been treated unfairly. Nevertheless, Yang Kai was a mysterious man who managed to defeat Yuan Wu previously. Although they were displeased, they didn’t have the guts to confront him, so after shooting him a glare, they continued with their work.
“Greetings, Brother Wu.” Yang Kai nodded.
With a frown, Wu Chen approached Yang Kai and said, “Brother Yang, have you seen Sir Yuan? I heard that he went to visit you. Why isn’t he back yet?”
“Yuan Wu is dead.”
Wu Chen was startled and looked dazedly at him while the other cultivators also turned to look at him in disbelief.
With the corner of his mouth twitching, Wu Chen said in a bitter voice, “He’s dead? How did that happen?”
“He offended a Dragon Clan member, so he was killed.”
Hearing that, all of them gasped as a myriad of expressions came over them. Some time ago, after Fu Qi brought them to this place, he told Yuan Wu to be in charge of the construction, so they thought that Yuan Wu had gained the Dragon Clan’s favour. However, in just a few days, he was killed by a Dragon.
All the Dragon Clan members were driven by their emotions and had no qualms about killing others. Hence, these cultivators reminded themselves not to make any mistakes. Otherwise, they might be the next to lose their lives.
After a moment of silence, Wu Chen appeared to be sorrowful as he asked, “What should we do, then? Without Sir Yuan in charge of the construction, this palace…”
“You’ll be in charge, then.” Upon finishing his words, Yang Kai tossed the Space Ring to him.
“Me?” Wu Chen was startled and hurriedly caught the ring before putting on a forced smile, “Stop pulling my leg, Brother Yang. I’m not qualified…”
“Someone has to be in charge of this place, so you shouldn’t reject it. I’m just passing on the Dragon Clan’s word. If anyone dares to disobey you, just tell me right away. The Dragon Clan will punish them.” As Yang Kai spoke, he shot a cold glance at the other cultivators, which sent chills down their spines. The message in Yang Kai’s words was significant, so they had to re-evaluate him.
Realizing that as well, Wu Chen asked in a small voice, “Brother Yang, have you been in contact with the Dragon Clan?”
“You just have to take care of everything here. The palace has to be built before the deadline. Otherwise, all of you will have to die!” Instead of replying to him directly, Yang Kai gave an ambiguous answer.
In fact, he wasn’t lying. He could contact Zhu Lie at any moment, and he had subdued Fu Ling. If anyone dared to disobey him, he could summon Fu Ling to punish them.
With a solemn expression, Wu Chen nodded and replied, “I understand, Brother Yang. I’ll make sure there won’t be any mistakes.
“Very good.” Yang Kai patted his shoulder and turned to leave.
If he wanted to meet Zhu Qing, he had to make sure that the palace would be built before the deadline. If the palace wasn’t ready on the day of the wedding, the wedding couldn’t even take place. When that happened, he also wouldn’t be able to see Zhu Qing.
He had wanted to be in charge of the construction, but that would be too frustrating. No man would want to trouble himself to build a palace for his woman to get married to another man. If he was in charge of the construction, he might end up destroying the palace instead of building it, which was why he decided to pass the responsibility to Wu Chen right after he saw him. What the eyes don’t see, the heart doesn’t mind.
With so much free time now, Yang Kai could take the chance to cultivate. If he could make a breakthrough to the next realm, he would stand a better chance to save Zhu Qing when the time came.
With this thought in mind, he returned to the beach and gave Lu San Niang some instructions before heading to sea. In just one hour, he reached the centre of the waters. There was basically no end in sight, and all he could see were the blue sea and the bright sky.
After inspecting the area with Divine Sense and making sure that no one was around, he dove into the waters. After reaching a few thousand metres below the sea surface, he summoned the Sealed World Bead and entered the Small Sealed World. Following that, the Small World Bead sank to the bottom.
Inside the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai took a seat on the ground with his legs crossed beside the medicine garden before he emptied his mind and breathed in the World Energy.
After about four hours, he finally calmed himself down and cleared up the unnecessary thoughts in his mind. Then, he summoned the Black Jade Furnace and took out a set of Spirit Herbs before laying them to his side.
Lastly, he fished out three Spirit Flowers that were as red as blood in a careful manner. They were Dragon Blood Flowers, a treasure only found on Dragon Island.
Although they looked similar to Li Jiao’s Dragon Blood Flower, the quality was much better, and the size was much bigger.
These were the Dragon Blood Flowers nurtured on Dragon Island, so they were naturally much better than Li Jiao’s half-baked Dragon Blood Flower. In comparison, Li Jiao’s Dragon Blood Flower was just like the weeds one could pick from the fields.
There were only three Dragon Blood Flowers, which he had snatched from Fu Ling. When Fu Ling was forced to take out the Dragon Blood Flowers, resentment was clearly written all over her face; however, under the threat of the Soul Imprint, she couldn’t resist Yang Kai’s demands.
Although every Dragon Clan member could get a fixed number of Dragon Blood Flowers every year, the quantity was small. For a Sixth-Order Dragon like Fu Ling, she could get 20 flowers every year at the maximum. It also depended on the maturity condition of those flowers. If she was unlucky, she might only get 10 flowers in any given year.
Dragon Clan members didn’t cultivate like Humans due to their already incredibly long lives. Furthermore, as they aged, their bloodline would naturally be purified, thereby increasing their power. The advancement would only stop when they reached the maximum purity their Blood Vein could support.
Besides that, they could also consume Dragon Blood Flowers as a shortcut to purify their bloodline, and increase their might.
Dragon Blood Flowers hadn’t been distributed for this year yet, and while last year, Fu Ling had obtained more than ten flowers, after regular use, she only had three left, which were all taken by Yang Kai.
At the time of passing the flowers to Yang Kai, she regretted that she didn’t use up all the flowers. She would have rather consumed them hastily than give them to Yang Kai.
In fact, Dragon Blood Flowers were graded into Low-Rank, Mid-Rank and High-Rank. The highest rank for Dragon Blood Flowers was Peak-Rank; however, Peak-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers were rarely found even on Dragon Island, as medicinal age wasn’t a determining factor in nurturing them; some natural factors were involved as well.
As for the three Dragon Blood Flowers taken from Fu Ling, two were Low-Rank while the other one was Mid-Rank. Based on this grading system, Li Jiao’s Dragon Blood Flower was just a flawed product, which couldn’t even be regarded as Low-Rank.
Some time ago, that Dragon Blood Flower was refined into Dragon Blood Pills by Ji Ying, and after taking that pill, Yang Kai was able to enhance his Half-Dragon Form with the help of Dragon Transformation Secret Art, which proved to be beneficial for him.
Having obtained three higher grade Dragon Blood Flowers, naturally, Yang Kai wouldn’t want to waste them. He decided to refine them into Dragon Blood Pills to stimulate his Golden Divine Dragon Source so that he could further integrate it into his body.
To deal with the Dragon Clan, the best way for him was to utilize bloodline suppression. Unfortunately, given his current level of strength, he wouldn’t stand any chance of success.
Although he had never made Dragon Blood Pills before, he was familiar with the production process through his contact with Ji Ying. Also, he could remember the pill recipe.
Given his mastery in the Alchemic Dao, there shouldn’t be any problems with this attempt. When everything was ready, Yang Kai started forming seals, upon which a fire was kindled inside the Black Jade Furnace.
After dropping the herbs and portraying the Spirit Arrays, Yang Kai began monitoring the heat, and moments later, the medicinal liquid was extracted. A mild scent started wafting from the Black Jade Furnace, which contained some soothing qualities for anyone who took a whiff.
With his increased strength, Yang Kai was able to perform Alchemy with greater ease than before. Although he hadn’t done this for a long time, his movement was smooth and not rusty at all. In the past, when he triggered the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone on Water Moon Star, Yang Kai was lucky enough to be taught Alchemy directly by the Heavenly Way. After that point, Alchemy became far more natural to him.
After Yang Kai dropped one Low-Rank Dragon Blood Flower into the Alchemy Furnace, the medicinal fragrance grew thicker. With a serious expression, Yang Kai was meticulous in every step he took, as though he was doing the most solemn thing in the world rather than simply performing Alchemy.
Half a day later, Yang Kai used his Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method. This Pill Condensing Method was taught to him during the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone as well. It was an individual technique, but it also harmonized perfectly with the Heavenly Way and Alchemic Dao, making it incredibly efficient and abstruse.
Just then, innumerable images flashed in his mind as a melodious and continuous clunking sound was heard from the Alchemy Furnace. After the fire went out, Yang Kai’s expression appeared as calm as a still lake.
After taking off the lid, he tapped the furnace with his other hand, upon which two red Spirit Pills flew out of the Alchemy Furnace. Already prepared for it, Yang Kai directly stored them in a jade bottle. Upon closer look, he still wasn’t satisfied with his work.
Although the Dragon Blood Pills had been produced successfully, the quality was rather poor, only slightly better than those made by Ji Ying previously.
The Dragon Blood Flowers he used this time were far better than those used by Ji Ying, but the quality of the pills still couldn’t meet Yang Kai’s expectations. Taking that into consideration, his pills were actually worse than those made by Ji Ying.
The quantity wasn’t ideal either, as he had only gotten two pills, not to mention that things like Pill Veins and Pill Clouds were nowhere in sight. With that said, any Emperor Grade Alchemists would have been over the moon if they could make such pills.
Although Emperor Grade Alchemists were able to produce Emperor Grade Spirit Pills, the success rate wasn’t 100 percent, not to mention when making pills like Dragon Blood Pills. Even compared to other Emperor Grade Pills, Dragon Blood Pills were one of the hardest to refine.
It couldn’t be helped, as the main ingredients for making the pills were Dragon Blood Flowers. Besides Ji Ying, no other living Emperor Grade Alchemists had had the privilege of refining this Spirit Pill.
It was Yang Kai’s first time refining Dragon Blood Flowers, but he had managed to produce two pills. This kind of result was extraordinary for any Emperor Grade Alchemist, so it was worth celebrating.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t happy with it because these Dragon Blood Pills were needed to help him save Zhu Qing one month later, so certainly, he hoped that the quality could have been better, and the quantity could have been greater.
After composing himself, Yang Kai didn’t rush to kindle a fire in the furnace again. Instead, he took out some Spirit Pills and gulped them down to restore himself. One hour later, he began again. This time, he also used a Low-Rank Dragon Blood Flower.
Half a day later, when he heard the clunking sound again, he arched an eyebrow and clapped the Alchemy Furnace. Although he hadn’t tried to sense it, he knew that there were more than two pills by just hearing the sound. As expected, four red Spirit Pills flew out of the Alchemy Furnace, upon which he put them in a jade bottle.
This time, the Dragon Blood Pills were much better than his first ones in terms of colour saturation, indicating that their medicinal efficacies were far better as well. It was true that it required skills and experience to perform Alchemy.
Yang Kai didn’t take a rest again and directly tried to refine Dragon Blood Pills for the third time. Half a day later, the third batch of Dragon Blood Pills flew out of the furnace. There were still only four pills, but the quality had been improved significantly.
Although it had something to do with Yang Kai’s increased familiarity with the process, the determining factor was that he had used the only Mid-Rank Dragon Blood Flower he had. To practice Alchemy, even though the Alchemist’s skills were crucial, the ingredients were the key to determining the quality of the final products. For the same Alchemist, the better the ingredients, the higher the quality the pills would turn out to be.
There were a total of ten pills for three refinements. The result was outstanding, as any Emperor Grade Alchemist couldn’t guarantee to achieve the same result, not even Ji Ying. Perhaps only the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor could ensure a 100 percent success rate.
When everything was ready, Yang Kai began cultivating. He was now in his Sealed World Bead, which was basically his territory, so he didn’t have to be wary of anything. No matter how much noise he made, people in the outside world wouldn’t notice it.
“Dragon Transformation!” After Yang Kai growled, his body swelled up instantly as popping sounds could be heard. Soon, his skin was covered in Dragon Scales. Two bulges rose from his forehead. His hands transformed into pointed Dragon Claws. Even the shape of his legs had changed.
After he transformed into his forty five-metre tall Half-Dragon Form, his Dragon Pressure permeated the place. Although he was seated on the ground with his legs crossed, his figure was still towering. With his eyes wide open, they beamed with a ferocious glare.
The petite jade bottle looked just like dust on his palm. As his chest heaved, he opened his mouth and took one Dragon Blood Pill into his stomach. Instantly, a scorching heat could be felt in his abdomen, as though he had just gulped down lava instead of a Dragon Blood Pill.
With hot air gushing out of his nostrils, Yang Kai closed his eyes and focused on circulating Dragon Transformation Secret Art.
His entire body was squirming, and it was as though all his pores had opened up. The Dragon Blood Pill disintegrated in his stomach as its medicinal efficacies spread across his entire body. The Golden Divine Dragon Source, which lay in his body, seemed to have been activated by some kind of force as it transformed into a mass of golden light that then began flowing along his veins and mixing with his Emperor Qi.
Just like thirsty travellers, his meridians expanded and sucked the power of the passing Dragon Source Strength, as though they wanted to drain it dry.
*Kacha…*
His bones seemed to have broken as a sense of excruciating pain came over his entire body. Paired with the scorching heat in his abdomen, Yang Kai felt that life was like a living hell for him.
After a grunt, he cast away the unnecessary thoughts as he continued circulating his Dragon Transformation Secret Art.
*Kacha…*
Cracking sounds could be heard again as though all his bones had been broken and then restructured. With every advancement in the Dragon Transformation Secret Art, Yang Kai had to go through this bone-exchanging process. Only by enduring this unbearable pain could he be reborn.
Although it was difficult to persevere, Yang Kai felt joyful in his heart. After his power was increased with the help of Zhu Qing’s Primordial Yin previously, his Dragon Transformation had not seen any significant progress for a long time. There had only been some slight progress which was almost imperceptible, as there hadn’t been any changes to his forty five metre long Dragon Form.
After all, he was originally just a Human. He had obtained the Golden Divine Dragon Source by chance and had lived with it for years. If he wanted to integrate the Dragon Source into his being fully, he had to pay a considerable price, and the process would be gradual.
Without any external help, any significant progress could take 100 or even 1000 years. However, the Dragon Blood Pill’s medicinal efficacies helped him shorten the time needed, ensuring that he could integrate his Dragon Source in a short period of time.
Cracking sounds were still heard continuously. The Dragon Scales on Yang Kai’s skin gradually changed into another colour. He even felt itchy on his temples as though some things were about to protrude. The places he felt itchy were where his stubby Dragon Horns were located.
The Dragon Blood Pill’s medicinal efficacies lasted for about an hour before the cracking sounds subsided and his expression turned calmer. After the medicinal efficacies disappeared, he opened his eyes. At that moment, his entire body was drenched in sweat, as though he had just emerged from the ocean, but his expression was jovial.
Without even trying to sense it, he knew that there must be some changes in him. After taking a rest, he opened his mouth and sucked in a breath, upon which, the second Dragon Blood Pill flew out of the jade bottle and into his mouth.
…
Inside the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai repeatedly took his Dragon Blood Pills, and with their help, he continuously cultivated his Dragon Transformation Secret Art.
Although the Dragon Blood Pills could help increase the Dragon Clan’s bloodline purity, their biggest use was to stimulate the Dragon Clan’s Source Strength and purify it.
Unlike the other Dragon Clan members, whose bloodline and Source Strength improved as they grew up, Yang Kai’s Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength was fixed, which meant that there was no room for growth, but it was easier for him to activate and integrate it. To Yang Kai, it was akin to owning a treasure trove, but he was unable to use it fully. He could only collect a small amount of wealth from time to time to enrich himself.
Two days later, the last Dragon Blood Pill had also been refined and Yang Kai abruptly opened his eyes as his gaze flashed. With him as the center, his Dragon Pressure spread across thousands of kilometres. His roar sounded just like an authentic Dragon Roar, which shook everything around him.
With a body as large as a hill, he got to his feet and let out a hot breath, which seemed to have caused the entire world to shake. After scanning himself with his Divine Sense, he put on a smile. The ten Dragon Blood Pills were indeed effective.
His Dragon Form had grown from forty five metres to fifty metres, which was a significant improvement. After he was helped by Zhu Qing’s Primordial Yin previously, his Dragon Form had grown from thirty five metres to forty five metres. These ten pills had helped him grow another five metres, satisfying him greatly.
Three days later, Yang Kai was still in a lotus position when he opened his eyes with a grim expression.
He had consumed all the Dragon Blood Pills, which helped grow his Dragon Form from 45 metres to 50 metres. However, after three days of cultivation, there still hadn’t been any progress. He knew that his cultivation had reached a bottleneck and without any special opportunity, it was impossible for him to reach the Second-Order Emperor Realm.
Nevertheless, Zhu Qing’s wedding was just around the corner. He eagerly wanted to increase his power, so he still gave it a try anyway. Unfortunately, he had just wasted three days of what little time he had. He couldn’t improve his cultivation anymore, and all Dragon Blood Pills had been consumed.
[Is there really no other way?]
The Golden Divine Dragon Source within his body was a treasure trove. If there were more Dragon Blood Pills, he could have fully activated his Dragon Source’s potential. If he could just grow his Dragon Form to 100 metres, he would have the confidence of leaving with Zhu Qing. However, it was an extremely difficult task to grow that much.
He had cultivated the Dragon Transformation Secret Art for a long time now, but even with the help of Zhu Qing’s Primordial Yin and more than ten Dragon Blood Pills, he had only managed to grow his Dragon Form to 50 metres, which was just half of 100 metres. If he could grow 5 metres with ten Dragon Blood Pills, he would need at least fifty pills to grow an additional 50 metres, which translated into more than ten Dragon Blood Flowers. This didn’t take into consideration that the difficulty would increase in the later stage of his cultivation. Taking that into consideration, he would need at least twenty Dragon Blood Flowers.
[But where do I get twenty Dragon Blood Flowers?] As Yang Kai thought about it, he was startled all of a sudden. Then, he smacked his own head as he realized how foolish he was. Although it was hard to get Dragon Blood Flowers in the outside world, he was now on Dragon Island, which was the only place where Dragon Blood Flowers were produced. As long as he could find the place where Dragon Blood Flowers were nurtured, he could easily get his hands on twenty of them.
At that moment, he couldn’t believe how foolish he was. If he had thought of it earlier, he wouldn’t have wasted three days of time. With the wedding just around the corner, every breath was crucial, and the three days wasted might determine his success or failure.
Upon that realization, he stopped hesitating and left the Small Sealed World. The Sealed World Bead was now sleeping on the bottom of the sea, so right after Yang Kai got out of it, he immediately felt the immense pressure as though he would be crushed into pieces at any moment. He circulated his Emperor Qi to form a layer of protection around his body to offset the sea-level pressure. After retrieving the Sealed World Bead, he shot up to the surface.
Half a day later, a beam of purple light arrived and landed on the island where Yang Kai had a discussion with Zhu Lie at night some time ago. The purple light turned into a beautiful lady, who was none other than Fu Ling.
She looked around cautiously but couldn’t find anything that felt amiss. Then, she called out gently, “Brother-in-law… Brother-in-law…”
She appeared to be stealthy as though she was doing something scandalous.
“I need more Dragon Blood Flowers.” Yang Kai’s voice was heard behind Fu Ling all of a sudden, which shocked her greatly. Turning around, she realized that Yang Kai was right before her eyes.
Upon hearing that, she put on a bitter expression, “I have none left. I already gave you all the Dragon Blood Flowers I had. If you don’t believe me, you can search me.”
She felt apprehensive when she received Yang Kai’s summoning, but it had never crossed her mind that Yang Kai would make such an outrageous request right after they met up. She was already resentful of him for snatching her three Dragon Blood Flowers previously, so she didn’t expect that he would demand even more.
However, her life was now in his hands, so she wouldn’t dare to show any displeasure on her face. Then, she asked in shock, “Where are the three Dragon Blood Flowers I gave you? Have you used them up?”
Yang Kai replied, “You think it’s a lot? They’re totally not enough.”
Disbelief was written all over Fu Ling’s face as she gasped and widened her eyes, “They’re not enough?”
A Sixth-Order Dragon like her would need ten days to refine a Low-Rank Dragon Blood Flower, and it would take her at least twenty days to refine a Mid-Rank Dragon Blood Flower. In other words, she would need more than a month to consume those three flowers. However, Yang Kai managed to use them up in just a few days.
[Wait… aren’t I a member of the Dragon Clan? Why does he seem more suited to be in the Dragon Clan instead? Is he able to defy the law of nature just because he’s gotten the Ancestral Dragon Source?]
Amazed by the revelation, she sized Yang Kai up as though it was their first encounter.
Displeased, Yang Kai uttered, “I need more Dragon Blood Flowers!”
Fu Ling spread her palms and replied, “I really don’t have any left. Oh, you can get some from Zhu Lie. I believe he still has some flowers left. Do you want me to help you contact him?”
“That’s still not enough.” Yang Kai pursed his lips, “I need the Dragon Blood Flowers of Dragon Island.”
Fu Ling was startled for a moment as she didn’t understand him, but her expression soon changed drastically. She yelled, “W-W-What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. Stop wasting time. Lead the way. Now.” Yang Kai snorted.
Fu Ling took a few steps back and shook her head repeatedly, “No! If the Elders find out about it, I’ll be thrown into the Dragon Grave!”
[This man must be out of his mind! How dare he try to steal the Dragon Blood Flowers on Dragon Island!? Moreover, he wants me to lead the way! That’s like sending me to Hell. How despicable!]
Yang Kai stared at her with narrowed eyes, “You might still survive in the Dragon Grave, but you should know the consequence if you dare to disobey me.”
Fu Ling’s expression changed and she looked pitifully at him, “Brother-in-law, I can help you with other matters, but this… AHH!”
Before she could finish her words, she suddenly felt excruciating pain in her head, so she couldn’t help but grip her temples with her hands. As she shrieked, her tender body trembled uncontrollably.
With a cold expression, Yang Kai pushed his Divine Sense even harder.
Fu Ling screamed louder as she collapsed to the ground. With her body curled up like a shrimp, she wailed and called out, “Brother-in-law… Please… Stop…”
Ignoring her, he continued.
“AHHH!” Fu Ling looked up at the sky and growled. Following that, a purple light exploded as she transformed into a more than 80-metre-long Purple Dragon. With her body writhing about aimlessly, she plunged deep into the sea.
A moment later, she shot up from the waters, which caused a huge splash. Her Dragon Roar was extremely mournful as though it could shake the sky. She kept alternating between Dragon Form and Human Form.
The unbearable pain and torture she was going through made her unable to sustain either form properly, so she kept changing between the two. In her Knowledge Sea, her Soul seemed to have been seized by a big hand with the intention of crushing it.
Fu Ling couldn’t even utter a word to beg for mercy. She was being subjected to the cruellest torture in this world as she sank into the chasm of pain and despair. Every breath was an endless torment for her.
After the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, Yang Kai finally stopped and looked down at her coldly.
Fu Ling was lying at his feet, her clothes so soaked in sweat they stuck to her tender body and perfectly outlined her luscious figure. Her body was convulsing still and her eyes seemed to have lost focus. Drool was leaking out of her mouth, and her hair was completely dishevelled.
Even a Dragon like her couldn’t endure having her Soul directly tortured. There were countless times when she felt she was on the brink of death. This ordeal would remain her nightmare for life.
“This is just a lesson for you. You won’t get so lucky next time.”
“Y-Y-Yes…” Fu Ling gasped for air as her plump chest heaved. With all her energy drained from her, she lay down on the beach.
After she went through the ordeal Yang Kai imposed on her, reality finally dawned on her. What she was about to do might harm Dragon Island’s interests, and if the Elders found out about it, she would undoubtedly be thrown into the Dragon Grave. However, if she disobeyed Yang Kai now, she would suffer unimaginable agony before dying a cruel death.
Her future Brother-in-law wasn’t a man who would treat women gently, and he didn’t regard her as his family at all, so he had no qualms about torturing her. After weighing her options, Fu Ling knew what choice she had to make.
Members of the Dragon Clan indeed had incredible restorative abilities though, and it only took Fu Ling a stick of incense worth of time to go from lethargic to energetic. After adjusting her clothes and wiping away her saliva, she looked timidly at Yang Kai, “Are we really going?”
After the incident just now, she was instinctually fearful of Yang Kai, which was a feeling she didn’t have previously. Although she knew that her life was in his hands, it was just a vague notion before. Now, she finally realized that Yang Kai indeed had the power to kill her instantly and make her go through an ordeal worse than death.
“Hm?” Yang Kai glared at her with a ruthless expression.
“Good…” Knowing that she should shut her mouth and obey for now, Fu Ling leapt into the air immediately, “I’ll lead the way. Please follow me. If we come across other Dragon Clan members on the road, you have to hide somewhere first.”
Without uttering a word or making any move, Yang Kai followed after Fu Ling closely.
The incident just now made Fu Ling resentful of Yang Kai, so she never uttered a word on their way to their destination, unlike her active and passionate self a few days ago. She also appeared to be cautious whenever she took a look at him.
“Where are the Dragon Blood Flowers planted on Dragon Island?” Yang Kai asked.
Despite her grudge, Fu Ling replied, “It’s on an island as well. That island is only used for nurturing Dragon Blood Flowers. It’s one of the most important places for the Dragon Clan.”
“How many Dragon Clan members are guarding the place?”
“There’s only one…” Fu Ling uttered hesitantly.
“What Order is he?”
“Sixth-Order…”
That was basically the same as Fu Ling, so Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of the guard. After giving it a thought, he said, “When we reach there, you’ll distract that guard, and I’ll deal with him. We mustn’t give him any chance to react.”
Embarrassed, Fu Ling replied, “Brother-in-law, we don’t have to do anything.”
“What do you mean?”
Fu Ling pointed at herself and replied, “I’m the guard…”
The corners of Yang Kai’s eyes twitched as he looked at her in a daze. A moment later, he started laughing.
This would mean that he could get all the flowers he wanted without taking much effort, so the plans he had come up with earlier were all rendered useless. [What a coincidence. It seems that they deserve to have their flowers snatched by me.]
Fu Ling laughed with him, albeit awkwardly, and as she gazed at him, she appeared to be embarrassed.
“The Dragon Clan are simply too arrogant,” Yang Kai said with a smile as he was pleased with this unexpected outcome, so he stopped caring how fawning Fu Ling now looked, “They’ve only assigned one member to guard such an important place? Also, it seems that you’re not very dutiful at all.”
Fu Ling shook her head and explained, “It’s not that we’re arrogant, but no one has the guts to break into the place where Dragon Blood Flowers are nurtured on Dragon Island. Furthermore, every Dragon Blood Flower there is carefully accounted for, so only the Elders are qualified to pick them, and other Dragon Clan members can’t get their hands on those flowers, which is why that place doesn’t really have to be guarded.” She paused for a moment. “Also, there’s only a small number of Dragon Clan members, so it’s impossible to place numerous guards there. Normally, we take turns to keep watch on it. It’s my turn this year. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone over to fetch those hybrids the other day.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai nodded slightly. Some time ago, after he, Li Jiao and other Dragonborn came to Dragon Palace, it was indeed Fu Ling who took them away. It seemed that it was one of her duties as a guard.
Furthermore, the security of every place on Dragon Island was lax, which Yang Kai had some first-hand experience with. He had been to many Spirit Islands, but only Fu Ling managed to discover him, which went to show how lax their security was.
To him, it was because the Dragon Clan was so conceited that they felt there was no need for security, but they indeed had the power to be so haughty. However, they would never have expected that a Human could be so reckless and wanted to steal their Dragon Blood Flowers.
While they were on the way to their destination, Yang Kai suddenly thought of something. “When’s the season for harvesting Dragon Blood Flowers for the Dragon Clan?”
Fu Ling replied. “Not yet. It’ll be in two months.”
“Very good.” Yang Kai was able to set his mind at ease because he didn’t plan on being on Dragon Island in two months, so the matter would have nothing to do with him even if it was exposed.
He had to make a scene at Zhu Qing’s wedding and snatch her away from Fu Chi, which would thoroughly offend the entire Dragon Clan. Having prepared himself psychologically, he had no qualms about stealing Dragon Blood Flowers as well.
Since he would certainly offend the Dragon Clan, it made no difference for him to steal some Dragon Blood Flowers to increase his power in the process.
The Spirit Island used for nurturing the Dragon Blood Flowers wasn’t big, but the World Energy in the air was thick, showing an excellent Earth Vein ran beneath it. Moreover, the entire island appeared scarlet, as though it was built with blood. As they approached the island, they could clearly detect a whiff of the bloody smell.
Yang Kai and Fu Ling landed on the island at the same time. After scanning the area with his Divine Sense, he realized that there were auras of living creatures on this island.
Those living creatures gave off a weak aura, like candles amid the howling wind that might lose their light at any moment. There were about 200 of them.
The Dragonborn!
Those living creatures were the Dragonborn who were brought to Dragon Palace. The Dragon Clan was using their fresh blood to fertilize the Dragon Blood Flowers.
Yang Kai frowned as he found a familiar aura with his Divine Sense, after which he disappeared from the spot.
Li Jiao had been living a miserable life for the past few days. After he parted with Yang Kai, he was brought to this island. Fu Ling had ordered him to take a seat in a Spirit Array. After the Spirit Array was activated, Li Jiao immediately felt his Blood Essence leaving his body, which was then transformed into Blood Mist and spread across the island.
The entire Spirit Island was covered in a layer of red mist, which was made up of those Dragonborn’s Blood Essence.
He had tried to resist, but he couldn’t break free from this array. With the constant running of this array, his Blood Essence was continuously sucked out of his body. It was the first time he came across such an incident. Although he had prepared himself for it, he was still flabbergasted.
Although the speed at which the array drew out his Blood Essence was quite slow, his cultivation would regress to a lower realm if this went on for a long time. He might not even be able to save his Third-Order Dragon Vein, which would be unacceptable for him.
It was then he came to the realization why the Dragonborn in Half-Dragon City generally had lower cultivations. They were regarded as the fertilizers for Dragon Blood Flowers, so they wouldn’t attempt to improve their cultivation.
He felt a chill running down his spine at the thought of the Dragon Clan’s ruthlessness.
To make sure that his cultivation wouldn’t drop, Li Jiao had no choice but to sit cross-legged in the array and circulate his Secret Art constantly. However, he was still losing more ground than he could gain. He knew that he couldn’t persevere for a long time. In just ten days, his cultivation would drop to the Second-Order Emperor Realm.
If that happened, it would be extremely difficult for him to regain his Third-Order Emperor Realm in the future. As such, he didn’t hesitate to consume his supply of pills and had almost used up all his High-Rank Source Crystals as well.
In the past, he had always looked forward to visiting Dragon Island to see for himself the birthplace of his bloodline. That had been his biggest wish in life. His wish had now been granted, but the truth turned out to be crueller than he could have imagined.
If he could turn back the clock, Li Jiao would rather have stayed carefree in Fire Dragon Palace than follow Yang Kai to wade into these muddy waters. Every time he thought about the fact that he might not even leave this place alive, he felt crestfallen.
Just then, sensing that something was off, he frowned. When he opened his eyes, a smiling face came into sight.
“Brother Yang!” Li Jiao was elated as he got to his feet in an agitated manner. “Are you here to save me?”
At that instant, his resentment towards Yang Kai vanished into thin air, which was then replaced by gratitude and affability.
Suddenly, Li Jiao found himself to be quite miserable. The ordeal that had befallen him was all because of Yang Kai, so it was the latter’s responsibility to save him, which was why he shouldn’t have felt so grateful.
“Brother Li, it seems that you’re living a good life here.” Yang Kai teased.
With a bitter expression, Li Jiao replied, “Brother Yang, please stop. Get me out of here first. I don’t want to stay in this damn place any longer.”
Just then, a rustling sound was heard, upon which a curvy figure came into Li Jiao’s sight. When Li Jiao saw that woman, he was stunned as he yelled. “Watch out, Brother Yang! There’s a Dragon Clan member over there!”
With her hands behind her back, Fu Ling approached them and pouted.
“Release him,” Yang Kai turned his head and demanded.
Li Jiao was dumbfounded as he looked at Fu Ling and Yang Kai in a daze. Apparently, he couldn’t grasp what was going on. [It seems that this Dragon isn’t hostile towards him. Also, how is he able to give her orders as he pleases? What’s going on?]
What happened next astonished Li Jiao. Upon receiving Yang Kai’s order, the Dragon Clan member really performed a hand seal and pushed out a palm in his direction.
The next moment, the array stopped running. Li Jiao felt lighter instantly as he didn’t need to endure the pain of his Blood Essence being drawn out anymore.
“Brother-in-law, do you know him?” Fu Ling shot Li Jiao a curious look.
In response, Yang Kai nodded.
“B-Brother-in-law?” Li Jiao widened his eyes in disbelief. Then, he approached Yang Kai and asked in a whisper, “Is she Young Lady Qing’s sister?”
“It’s a long story…”
Seeing that Yang Kai wasn’t willing to explain, Li Jiao stopped pursuing the matter. With gratitude written all over his face, he uttered, “Many thanks for saving me, Brother Yang. I’ll always remember it.”
“I just happened to realize you’re here, so I decided to save you. I have another important thing to do.”
“What is it? Maybe I can help.” Liao Jiao offered to lend him a hand.
“I’m here to steal Dragon Blood Flowers!”
Li Jiao was stunned for a moment before his forehead began dripping with sweat.
“Why so cowardly?” Fu Ling pursed her lips and shot Li Jiao a disdainful look.
“Are you really a member of the Dragon Clan?” As Li Jiao wiped away his sweat, he shot a look of disbelief at Fu Ling.
[That’s strange. Even if she’s Young Lady Qing’s sister, she shouldn’t help Yang Kai steal Dragon Blood Flowers. If other Dragons find out about it, she’ll be doomed.] Li Jiao couldn’t fathom the reason behind it, but Yang Kai looked as if there was nothing wrong with it. What was stranger was this Dragon girl’s attitude.
Fu Ling scoffed, “If I’m not a Dragon Clan member, then do you think you are? I don’t want to steal Dragon Blood Flowers either, but since it’s my Brother-in-law’s order, I’m obliged to help him.”
“Enough nonsense, let’s get to work,” as Yang Kai spoke, he walked to the side as there was a scarlet spirit flower, which was a Dragon Blood Flower. Judging from its size and colour, it was a Mid-Rank Dragon Blood Flower.
Cautiously, Yang Kai harvested it and put it into his Space Ring. He was excited because he could make four Dragon Blood Pills out of one Dragon Blood Flower, which would be a great help in cultivating his Dragon Transformation Secret Art.
Seeing that, Fu Ling put on a fawning smile. “Brother-in-law, can I just watch?”
Although she had already committed a huge crime and was bound to face the consequences, she was afraid to steal Dragon Blood Flowers herself. Stealing the flowers herself and being forced to do it were two different things. If she was held responsible by the Elders in the future, she could defend herself with this excuse.
Seeing that Yang Kai remained silent, she took it as that he had agreed to it in silence. After that, she followed him around but never made a move.
[One, two, three…]
The Dragon Blood Flowers were scattered everywhere as Yang Kai kept moving forward and picking as he went. In just the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, he managed to pick ten flowers, most of which were Low-Rank, while there were two Mid-Rank ones. It seemed that even on Dragon Island, Mid-Rank and above Dragon Blood Flowers were rare.
Li Jiao didn’t have the guts to steal the flowers as he followed Yang Kai around. When he saw that Yang Kai was actually enjoying this moment of flower picking, his eyes were green with envy.
In the past, he had spent hundreds of years nurturing just one Dragon Blood Flower, so he treasured it dearly. However, in the end, it was taken away by Yang Kai. He still felt heartbroken at the thought of this.
It already made him feel so bitter for losing one flower, and they were now on the island where Dragon Blood Flowers were cultivated, so it was no wonder that Li Jiao was envious. He was tempted because getting just one flower would be enough to promote his bloodline, but in the end, he wasn’t as bold as Yang Kai.
It was the same case for Fu Ling. These Dragon Blood Flowers were the Dragon Clan’s wealth, but she had a share of them as well. The fact that Yang Kai was stealing these flowers also meant that her own interests were being harmed.
Fortunately, she realized that Yang Kai had his own principles as he wouldn’t touch the immature Dragon Blood Flowers, only taking those that had reached full growth.
In fact, there were tens of thousands of Dragon Blood Flowers on this island, but over 90 percent of them were still in their growth phase.
Even if Yang Kai took away all the mature Dragon Blood Flowers, his actions wouldn’t cause extinction. By just waiting for another ten to twenty years, more Dragon Blood Flowers would mature.
[Ten, twenty, thirty…]
In just one hour, Yang Kai managed to pick more than a hundred Dragon Blood Flowers. His initial target was twenty, but he had removed said target after he started picking the flowers. Stealing one, twenty, or a hundred flowers made no difference. Since he had decided to act, there was no point holding back.
Of the more than one hundred Dragon Blood Flowers he had picked, 80% of them were Low-Rank while there were just more than ten Mid-Rank flowers. What made Yang Kai excited was that he had also obtained some High-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers as well.
At first glance, the High-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers were distinctively different from those of Mid-Rank and Low-Rank. The medicinal efficacies were sure to be astounding and if they were made into Dragon Blood Pills, they would bring greater benefits than those pills made from Low-Rank and Mid-Rank flowers.