Third Master Jing of Frostmoon City had always been a ruthless person, even to himself. The moment he saw that the situation wasnât right, he took quick steps towards Jiang Chen and apologized without hesitation. âFriend Shao, I apologize for offending you. Please forgive me for being blind to who you are.â
If Jiang Chen hadnât had to consider the bigger picture, he wouldnât have given a damn about Third Master Jingâs apology. Moreover, the third master was formidable because he could submit to circumstances if necessary. If one day he had the upper hand, he could turn against Jiang Chen just as easily. The best way to deal with people like him was to kill him and end all oneâs troubles once and for all.
However, Jiang Chen had business in Frostmoon City, so it might not be wise to fall out completely with a local head gangster. In fact, this seemed like a good opportunity to check if he had any useful information. After all, Third Master Jing was the vice head of Moon God Sectâs first division, wasnât he? And so Jiang Chen smiled. âThird Master Jing, there is a good saying that goes âno discord, no concordâ. Iâm sure that we will both be pleased if the discord between you and me can turn into a friendly relationship, wouldnât you agree?â
Although Third Master Jing found it strange that Jiang Chenâs tone was more amiable than expected, he grabbed onto the extended olive branch and smiled. âI absolutely do. I admit that I can be a bit of a bastard sometimes, but you should also know that Frostmoon City can be so weak. It makes doing business difficult unless youâre forceful. Anyways, I have absolutely no reason not to become friends with you seeing how magnanimous you are, friend Shao.â
The atmosphere actually turned cheerful and lively as they chatted. They didnât look at all like two sworn enemies who were about to fight each other to the death a moment ago. This outcome caused the corner of Long Xiaoxuanâs mouth to droop downwards repeatedly. This wasnât fun. He was hoping to fight another round, but his wish was obviously not going to come true.
Not long after, Third Master Jingâs subordinates brought Jiang Chenâs spirit herbs and two hundred million saint spirit stones over. He personally placed the goods in Jiang Chenâs hands. âNo discord, no concord, so please accept the Smiling Bodhi I traded you earlier as a gift. As for these goods, I cannot possibly accept them since the transaction is now null, so please take them back, Sir Shao.â
Jiang Chen didnât hesitate to retrieve the two sky rank spirit herbs. âItâs true that I have urgent need of the Smiling Bodhi. These two hundred million saint spirit stones and two earth rank spirit herbs are about equal in value to a Smiling Bodhi, so you should keep them, Third Master Jing. Now we can meet comfortably with each other in the future without feeling the pain of our losses.â
Third Master Jing gave him a thumbs-up. âThatâs wonderful!â
And so a conflict came to an unexpected end just like that. Both parties wisely didnât mention the cultivators who went missing earlier, as if theyâd never existed in the first place. Now that the atmosphere had turned amiable and friendly, Third Master Jing finally took his leave and cordially invited Jiang Chen and his friends to visit him at the first division.
As Long Xiaoxuan watched Third Master Jing departing with his men, he curled his lips into a sneer. âHypocrite, what a hypocrite! Had he stayed any longer I might have thrown up on the floor.â
The scene earlier was very wearing on Long Xiaoxuanâs nerves. Jiang Chen smiled. âHeâs a formidable bastard who can throw or take a punch alright. Oh right, brother Long, this is Emperor Peerless. He is my sworn older brother. Old Brother Mo, this is my younger brother, Long Xiaoxuan.â
Emperor Peerless hadnât seen Long Xiaoxuan earlier, so he found the young manâs sudden appearance a bit strange. Naturally, Jiang Chen had to make the necessary introductions. The emperor didnât ask how Long Xiaoxuan came to be though. He guessed that Long Xiaoxuan mustâve been in Frostmoon City since the beginning.
Long Xiaoxuan cast a glance at Emperor Peerless and struck a cocky tone. âOld Brother Mo, youâre pretty strong, arenât you? Very impressive.â
The great emperor smiled. âAs I thought, the brothers of my brother are all extraordinary. Little brother Long looks very young, but the depth of your cultivation is incredibly impressive. Also, if Iâm not mistaken, little brother Long possesses great qi and blood. You must be a cultivator with a powerful bloodline. Cultivators like you normally possess great martial dao talent.â
Long Xiaoxuan was a true dragon, so of course his qi and blood were incredibly rich. Although the young man had hidden them well, a great emperorâs insight wasnât to be underestimated.
The dragon withdrew his conceit when he saw how Emperor Peerless had seen through him with a single glance. Old Brother Moâs answer made him realize that the great emperor was truly powerful, and Long Xiaoxuan wasnât so prideful that he couldnât acknowledge a true expert. He knew that he was still a long ways away from becoming as strong as this Old Brother Mo, even though he was a true dragon who had reached emperor realm. There was no way he could beat the great emperor in a straight fight, and the only thing he could do was to run away.
âOld Brother Mo, you should head in and save your wife. Brother Long and I will ensure that youâre not disturbed.â
It wasnât the time to stand on ceremony, so Emperor Peerless answered. âAlright. Thank you for all youâve done.â
Jiang Chen carefully went over the curing method and healing procedure until the emperor was sure that he hadnât missed anything. Finally, the great emperor went upstairs to cure his wifeâs poison.
After Emperor Peerless had gone upstairs, Jiang Chen asked the dragon, âBrother Long, please look after them for a moment. I need to check outside. Why hasnât the innkeeper and attendants shown up despite such a large commotion?â
Jiang Chen didnât care about the innkeeper or the attendants. He was worried for his spirit beast cub. After all, he did put it in the innâs care. When he headed out and took a spin around the inn, Jiang Chen was flabbergasted by his discovery. There was no one inside the inn except them, and everyone from the innkeeper to attendants to guests had fled the scene.
Jiang Chen wasnât sure how to react, but he did figure out why theyâd fled immediately.
âThis Third Master Jing is rather infamous. It seems his presence has frightened off the innkeeper and the attendants.â
Thankfully, the spirit beast cub was still right where he deposited it last time; the spirit beast care area. When the spirit beast cub saw Jiang Chen walking towards it, it jumped into his lap with an aggrieved look and let out a plainful whine. It seemed to be complaining that Jiang Chen was heartless or something.
Jiang Chen was amused by its reactions. He petted the cub before smiling, âIâm just protecting you, little fella. If I were to bring you with me, Brother Long is certain to scare you.â
Seeing as there were no one left inside the inn, there was no point in leaving the cub behind in this area. He had no choice but to take it back to his room. When Long Xiaoxuan saw the spirit beast cub, his eyes lit up. âIs that the descendant of the Astral White Tiger you mentioned?â
âBrother Long, I know that dragons and tigers are incompatible with each other, but it is just a cub right now. You donât have to show that much animosity, do you?â
Long Xiaoxuan let out an odd laugh. âHow did you come to that conclusion? I just want to know if it really has the Astral White Tigerâs bloodline. If it did, then itâll be quite interesting.â
âInteresting how?â Jiang Chen said warily.
âWhen it grows up, Iâll have a true opponent I can spar with anytime I want,â Long Xiaoxuan said proudly. âOnce my inherited memories and bloodline powers have completely awakened, even you will be outshone by me, young master Chen. Iâll feel lonely if I canât find a worthy opponent after Iâm at the top.â
Jiang Chen was very amused. âBrother Long, is it just me, or have you gotten a lot more self absorbed since the last time you appeared? Have you finally awakened the narcissistic side of a dragon from your inherited memories?â
True dragons had always been prideful and narcissistic race. It was their unique racial characteristic since ancient times. A dragon was both prideful and very conceited. There were never enough ways for them to show off themselves. Jiang Chen had started noticing the signs from Long Xiaoxuanâs recent behavior. He couldnât help but lament, to think that that pure Long Xiaoxuan who felt shy at the sight of a mere stranger would change so quickly!
Long Xiaoxuan wasnât ashamed of his attitude though. âPlease watch your words, young master Chen. This isnât narcissism, this is just the truth. I am confident that the strength of true dragons is absolutely superior to you humans.â
Jiang Chen chuckled. âDonât you think youâre being a little overconfident? I am absolutely certain there are more celestial emperors within the human race than the dragon race.â
Long Xiaoxuan quibbled. âThatâs only because we dragon race are of noble blood and has a slow reproduction cycle. Out of every race in the heavenly planes, the human race is the species with the greatest reproduction rate.â
The human race had two strong points compared to other races. They had strong reproductive and learning capabilities. It was why the human race was able to grow and pass on their knowledge, skill, and more to the next generation despite facing all sorts of calamities. The human raceâs strong reproductive ability made them very powerful. Moreover, a human raceâs bloodline had great tolerance, inclusiveness, and assimilation. It allowed the human race to exist within the various worlds like evergreen trees.
Moreover, a strong learning ability meant that a lot of experts were raised within the human community. It made sure that a powerful genius could always be born at the right time to save the human race from disaster. There were countless humans who met with life-or-death crises in the worlds, but they were always able to survive like weeds, never failing to grow between the cracks. When the winds and rain were over, they would flourish with life once more. These two strong points were qualities that many races didnât possess.
Jiang Chen chuckled. âAll races have their advantages and disadvantages. All things are created equal.â
Surprisingly, Long Xiaoxuan didnât refute him this time. He let out a soft sigh. âMy inherited memories do contain some information. It seems that humans and dragons shared a close relationship with each other during ancient times, and dragons are willing to interact with the humans.â
Long Xiaoxuan wasnât talking nonsense. In ancient times, the true dragons and humans didnât just share a close relationship with each other, they even copulated a lot and gave birth to children of mixed blood. The dragons truly wanted to acquire the human ability to reproduce. A dragonâs reproductive ability was far, far inferior. If the true dragons could reproduce as quickly as the humans, they wouldâve dominated the heavenly planes a long time ago.
âBrother Long, you and I are not friends because of our races. We are friends whoâve helped each other in our times of need. Maybe there isnât another true dragon in Divine Abyss Continent, but that isnât an issue. As long as you continue to improve your cultivation, itâs only a matter of time before you break through the limits of this plane and ascend to the heavenly planes. When that happens, I am sure that you can find the place where you truly belong.â
Jiang Chen himself was intrigued by Long Xiaoxuanâs predicament though. If Brother Long was the only true dragon in this whole world, then what on earth had brought him into existence? He couldnât have just popped out of nowhere, could he?
Jiang Chen wasnât able to come up with an answer no matter what. Moreover, the Divine Abyss Continent was strange in many ways. There were a lot of things that couldnât be explained through common sense at all. For example, it should be an average secular plane. However, it contained a lot of things that completely exceeded its level