Free Web NovelChapter 421: Chapter 404: World of Dragons
"Haha, Old Tu, I must thank you again for the Dragon Crystal. Without it, my breakthrough to Minor Perfection might very well have failed."
Wang Meng said. He had encountered plenty of enemies on his journey, but he had also received help from many friends.
Tu Mu smiled faintly. "Come, have a taste of my handiwork today."
Tu Mu set up a grill. "You’re in for a real treat. This is a Celestial Wing Beast—incredibly delicious and a rare sight."
Wang Meng had never heard of a Celestial Wing Beast, but since Tu Mu mentioned it, it had to be something good.
"Old Tu, how old are you?"
As the aroma wafted over, Wang Meng found himself growing restless with anticipation.
Tu Mu thought for a moment. "I can’t quite remember. Over eight hundred years, I suppose. Time doesn’t hold much meaning for us."
"You didn’t come all this way just to treat me to a meal, did you?" Wang Meng laughed, deciding to get straight to the point. Tu Mu had helped him immensely.
Tu Mu chuckled. "I do have a favor to ask."
"Senior, please tell me. As long as it’s something I, Wang Meng, can do, I will give it my all!"
Wang Meng’s expression turned serious. He was never one to be flippant when it came to official business.
Tu Mu smiled faintly. "Our Giant Dragon Imperial Family bloodline is becoming increasingly rare. Frankly, we are worse off than the Demon Race. Perhaps I was wrong."
Wang Meng didn’t interrupt. A hint of sorrow flickered in Tu Mu’s eyes. It seemed the mighty and invincible Dragon Race had truly run into trouble.
"A long, long time ago, the Dragon Race, Demon Race, and Human Race coexisted on this continent. We, the Dragon Race, were the de facto rulers. The Demon Race was powerful but vulnerable due to the Five Elements Mutual Inhibition. Humans were fragile, but they were quick to learn. And we, the Dragon Race... we had no weaknesses." At this, a bitter smile touched the corner of Tu Mu’s mouth. "It turns out that having no weakness is the greatest weakness of all. Our fertility rate is abysmal, even lower than that of the Giant Dragons. Most critically, we have always clung to the pride of our bloodline, which has led to our gradual decline. In contrast, when faced with the growing strength of the Human Race—and especially your terrifying rate of reproduction—the Demon Race chose to assimilate. In fact, your current Holy Statues and Life Artifacts are manifestations of soul imprints carrying power across generations. A kind of mutation, I suppose."
As Tu Mu spoke, Wang Meng’s eyes widened. ’So that means the Demon Race has long been integrated among humans.’
"The stubbornness of my Dragon Race lineage has led to our current predicament. Facts have proven the Demon Race was right. Wang Meng, I have something I must do, and I need you to look after someone for me."
Wang Meng nodded. "No problem!"
Tu Mu waved a hand. "Haha, it’s good that you agree. However, there is a small complication... But come, try my cooking first."
The Celestial Wing Beast was an Ancient Strange Beast, renowned for its delicious taste. At one point, they were nearly hunted to extinction by Cultivators. Wang Meng was truly fortunate.
Seeking out Wang Meng had been an act of desperation for Tu Mu. As far as he knew, there were no other dragons left, and he had to go search for them. This meant his daughter had to be entrusted to someone.
His daughter, however, had inherited the pride of the Dragon Race; she would rather let their kind go extinct than take that forbidden step. But Tu Mu was different. He was old and no longer cared so much for things like pride. Still, deep in his bones, he knew that if he were to find someone to look after his daughter, they had to be an extraordinary person.
In recent years, the Human Race’s development had been incredibly swift, their power advancing by leaps and bounds. After integrating the power of the Demon Race, they had reached an unimaginable level. This gave Tu Mu a sliver of hope, but after observing some of the so-called young prodigies, he was deeply disappointed.
It wasn’t that they weren’t powerful, but their auras, the very essence of their souls, were too inferior.
Then he saw Wang Meng. Tu Mu sensed a trace of a noble aura about him. Although it was very faint, it was absolutely not the aura of a mortal.
The only problem was that Wang Meng’s strength was too low, which was why he had left the Dragon Crystal, to see if Wang Meng could advance further.
Wang Meng had succeeded. And not only had he succeeded, but he also seemed to have undergone a change that even Tu Mu couldn’t comprehend. That noble feeling had grown a little stronger as well.
Although he had found someone who was barely qualified, the final decision still had to be made by his daughter.
The Dragon Princess.
"Now that we’re done eating, let’s go."
Tu Mu was a man of action. With a great wave of his hand, he literally tore space open. Wang Meng spat out the bone in his mouth. ’...Did he really have to be so dramatic?’
A Star Ring contained immense power and coordinates, allowing a Cultivator to traverse space. Tu Mu, however, did not use one. He simply and decisively forced space open, establishing no laws, merely barging through, unafraid of the Power of Space Law.
It just showed that the bodies of the Dragon Race were truly formidable to an astonishing degree.
Tu Mu stepped into the rift. Gazing at the chaotic void within, Wang Meng gritted his teeth. ’I’m not from the Dragon Race. I’m not sure I can handle this kind of teleportation... but I just promised Old Tu. I can’t chicken out now.’
Wang Meng finally experienced the Dragon Race’s method of teleportation. Human Magic was very stable, which made establishing a portal relatively difficult. The Dragon Race’s teleportation, however, was unstable—they simply didn’t care.
"Inside this space, Elemental Power is useless. You have to use Spiritual Power."
Tu Mu said calmly.
’You could have told me sooner!’ Wang Meng thought. He stopped trying to protect himself with Elemental Power and immediately released his Heart Spirit. The previously unstable journey instantly smoothed out.
Tu Mu was slightly taken aback. The Spiritual Power of the Dragon Race was famously formidable, which was how they were able to master the Law of Space. Yet judging by Wang Meng’s performance, he seemed even more comfortable.
Wang Meng was experiencing the Dragon Race’s teleportation firsthand. It was crude, one could say, but it was also direct to the source. The frailty of human bodies required the use of numerous techniques, but the dragons’ innate power allowed them to focus solely on the fundamental source of that power.
An unknown amount of time passed before a line of light appeared ahead. Wang Meng and Tu Mu stepped out of the spatial passage.
Before them was a mountain range that soared into the clouds, looking exceptionally magnificent under the sunlight. ROAR...
A Giant Dragon burst from the forest below, taking to the air and soaring straight into the heavens.
As far as the eye could see, more than ten Giant Dragons of different attributes were soaring through the air.
Tu Mu smiled slightly. "Welcome to the last Dragon City."
His pride was tinged with sorrow. The glory of the Dragon Race had once been magnificent, but now it was on the verge of extinction. ’If only we had been willing to let go of our pride sooner...’
Space rippled and a white light flashed. A young woman in silver clothes appeared. Upon seeing Tu Mu, she broke into a happy smile. "Father Emperor, you’ve returned."
But when she saw Wang Meng, her smile vanished, and her eyes filled with hostility.
Tu Mu smiled slightly. "Wang Meng, let me introduce you. This is my daughter. Dragon Race names are quite long, so I gave her a Human Race name: Linglong."
"Linglong, this is a human friend I’ve recently made, Wang Meng."
Linglong let out a cold snort, and her figure vanished in a blur.
Tu Mu gave a wry smile. "Don’t mind her childish temper."
"Old Tu, from what I can see, her power is extraordinary. I doubt she needs anyone to look after her."
That Body Technique alone—appearing and disappearing without a trace—was terrifying enough. Besides, it’s said that members of the Dragon Race possess immense power from the moment they are born.
Tu Mu sighed. "The doom of the Dragon Race is not a matter of power, but of integration. We’ve become disconnected from this world. I am old, but Linglong is still young. I want her to go out and see the world, to understand it. Even if she can’t escape her destiny in the end, at least the choice will have been her own."
"Linglong is very headstrong. Having her with you will likely bring considerable trouble. You can reconsider your decision."
"Old Tu, I, Wang Meng, may not be some great figure, but I always take responsibility for my words!"
"Haha, that’s for the best. I wasn’t wrong about you. The rest is in your hands,"
Tu Mu said with a laugh.
"What is?"
"Persuading Linglong to leave with you, of course." Tu Mu’s smile was sly. Wang Meng was exasperated. ’Why is every old codger so crafty? I’ve fallen into another trap.’
’The princess of the proudest race... what a difficult person to handle.’ But now, Wang Meng could only grit his teeth and face it.
’A man has to be a man of his word. I can’t just back down now.’
Tu Mu, however, was quite relaxed. Having delegated the task, his figure flickered and he disappeared to who-knows-where.
In the world of the Giant Dragons, Wang Meng headed towards the palace on Dragon Cliff. This was a world filled with powerful auras and Elemental Qi, and from time to time, he could see Giant Dragons traversing space.
’It’s hard to imagine these powerful creatures, a rare sight in the outside world, being so peaceful here.’
In a typical Small Thousand Realm, any creature entering a dragon’s territory would be ferociously attacked. But here, the Giant Dragons seemed far more rational. Perhaps they knew very well that this wasn’t their territory, but that of the Dragon Race.
Just as he was about to reach Dragon Cliff, a Giant Dragon spiraled down toward him, its body wreathed in dazzling lightning.
The dragon’s eyes stared at Wang Meng. Its claws shifted, and surging Dragon Qi enveloped a hundred-li radius. Wang Meng could feel that the space he occupied had been sealed by lightning.
This was a dragon that could control lightning.
Inside the palace on Dragon Cliff, Linglong stood by a window, quietly looking outside.
’Since you’re the one Father Emperor chose, you should at least be able to pass this test.’
The lightning-wielding Five-Clawed White Dragon scrutinized Wang Meng, and then, bolts of lightning suddenly formed a net, blocking his path.
Wang Meng understood its meaning. The dragon before him was showing its contempt.
A Giant Dragon of this caliber was even more powerful than a human at the Great Perfection stage, so its arrogance was natural. If not for the Dragon Emperor’s aura on him, a mere human like himself would have long ago been turned to ash.
The net of lightning was meant to make him recognize the difficulty and retreat.
Wang Meng smiled slightly. The Dragon Race was certainly superior, but they were not the most superior beings in this world.
Wang Meng slowly reached out to touch the intimidating net of lightning just inches from his face. ’To be able to solidify such a powerful force to this degree just by controlling lightning... the Dragon Race is truly formidable.’
BZZZT...
A powerful electric current surged into Wang Meng’s body. In the Dragon Hall, Linglong was stunned for a moment. She had only told the White Dragon to intimidate him; she never expected the man would actually dare to touch it. That lightning was powerful enough to injure even a cultivator at the Great Perfection stage.
Once the lightning found an opening, it swarmed in, surging into Wang Meng’s body.
Seizing the opportunity, his Life Wheel suddenly grew excited. Ever since his Life Wheel had come into being, Wang Meng had been both excited and worried. The Cultivation Techniques of the Small Thousand Realm had a negligible effect on improving the Life Wheel. It was obvious the Elemental Qi of a Small Thousand Realm was insufficient to nourish this power from a Middle Thousand World. Conventional power sources wouldn’t work; he had to find another way.
Devouring.
Devouring any and all Elemental Power and energy.
The sensation was far from pleasant. Wang Meng’s entire body was paralyzed by the electricity, but his Life Wheel was clearly very satisfied with this pure energy, absorbing it without pause. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
