Senior Mo retorted in displeasure, “You aren’t pleased by even a single one? Hmph, what a waste of time. I’ll get another batch but be quick, as you’re taking up my sleeping time.”
Reluctantly, the dark jade dragon summoned another batch of dragons.
Only eight showed up this time. Again, their appearances varied. Some of them were so ugly that they looked more like disfigured lizards, rather than dragons.
Lin Jin’s eyes scanned across the dragons and once again, he shook his head.
Looks like Senior Mo was adamant about making things difficult for He Qian.
While a hostile conflict was out of the question, it did not preclude foul play. For this, Lin Jin found Senior Mo to be quite an idiot. The dragon was probably giving them trouble because of the jade dragon deity’s death. However, it wasn’t like they could revive the deity, so what was the point of doing all this?
Life had to carry on.
If he angered He Qian, wouldn’t they be the ones to suffer if the Emperor one day decided to poison their food supply? Did the old dragon have to be so obstinate?
However, it was a pity that simple-minded dragons wouldn’t accept his advice that easily.
He Yu met Lin Jin’s eyes and was able to read his thoughts. Again, she spoke up, “Senior Mo, please get another batch!”
Senior Mo was getting impatient. The dragon had deliberately gathered the worst of the tribe to make up these numbers so no matter which one He Yu picked, they were all trash. If she didn’t pick up what the dragon was trying to tell her, then Senior Mo would use the opportunity to give her a hard time.
“I’ve already done that once! Your family has never been this fussy in the past when selecting dragons! Perhaps you are trying to give us a hard time just because the jade dragon deity has passed on?” Senior Mo began to vent his frustration based on the convenient pretext He Yu had given him.
Senior Mo knew some inside information on the jade dragon deity’s passing. He was also aware of what the jade dragon deity had relied on to prolong his life.
Both factions understood each other without having to mention the incident but that didn’t mean they would easily accept it.
He Qian scoffed. “There is no limit in the number of dragons we get to choose from. But you, Senior Mo, what do you intend to achieve by continuously making things difficult for us?”
“Me!? Making things difficult for you? Hah! If you’re capable enough, go ahead and pick one out from the nest below. I won’t stop you, but are you brave enough?” Having secured a victory, Senior Mo smirked.
He Qian frowned. It was clear to him that Senior Mo was intentionally trying to gull them into accepting a subpar dragon. Ever since the founding of the Jade Dragon Kingdom and the formation of their agreement with the jade dragon tribe, all selections had been carried out on this altar. Not a single member of their royal family had ever ventured down into the dragons’ den.
Hence, what awaited below was unknown territory. It was a risky move, and a single mistake could cost their lives. Hence, while there was a chance that they would be deceived, the royal family could only suffer in silence.
It would be way too dangerous to let He Yu venture down there. Should anything happen, He Qian would never forgive himself.
“Senior Mo, you’re determined to make things hard for us, aren’t you?” He Qian asked with a hostile tone. Senior Mo was just as stubborn. It let out an eerie cackle. ”
Either you pick a dragon from this lot, or you go down there and pick one on your own. The choice is yours. Need I remind you that this is perfectly allowed under our agreement.”
He Qian’s eyes widened, and he was moments away from lashing out when someone suddenly spoke up, “We’ll head down there and pick one then.”
He Qian stopped himself.
The Emperor recognized whose voice it was.
It was Lin Jin.
Had anyone else said that He Qian would have ignored them. Lin Jin was a completely different story.
“Appraiser Lin!” He Qian turned to Lin Jin. The latter flashed him a look of reassurance before walking up to He Yu’s side.
Senior Mo looked at Lin Jin and asked icily, “Who are you? What does this have anything to do with you? If you’re not a member of the He family, stay out of this.”
The dragon was basically telling Lin Jin, the outsider, that he was not to interfere with this matter, which exclusively involved the dragons and the royal family.
“I am the sixth princess, He Yu’s teacher. A teacher is akin to a parent, so as her mentor, it is only reasonable for me to partake in events as important as this,” Lin Jin replied apathetically.
Senior Mo was oblivious to Lin Jin’s background. After hearing his response, the dragon was momentarily taken aback.
Lin Jin didn’t give Senior Mo the time to think. Instead, he held a hand out to He Yu and said, “Come with me!”
At this, He Yu took Lin Jin’s hand without hesitation.
When Lin Jin referred to himself as her teacher, a strange sensation filled He Yu’s heart. It was a combination of being impressed and delighted. There was no hesitation on her part, as Lin Jin was able to instill into her a strong sense of trust. The level of faith she had in him was demonstrated by his leading her down the edge of the cliff. Down below was a pitch-black pit that seemed to go on forever. Standing on the edge of the cliff was a harrowing experience, even for the bravest of souls.
Behind them, some wore puzzled expressions, while some had an expectant look on their faces.
“Cumulus!” commanded Lin Jin.
Next, he stepped forward into the abyss.
Both princes were shocked. Lin Jin was walking into a practically bottomless pit. Wouldn’t it be suicide to just step forward like that?
He Yu was startled as well. However, she felt safe just by holding onto Lin Jin’s hand, so she closed her eyes and stepped forward with Lin Jin.
The next instant, two rows of clouds appeared below their feet like a short flight of stairs made of clouds.
They were walking on clouds.
At this, He Qian finally loosened up as astonishment washed over him.
‘This Lin Jin has too many tricks up his sleeve,’ he thought.
Wasn’t riding clouds something that only immortals were able to achieve, as depicted by the illustrations in ancient books?
Arriving at this thought, He Qian shuddered.
With the Emperor being this surprised, it went without saying how the princes felt.
Both He Huang and He Yv had been confused as to why their father had decided to bring them along. It wasn’t until meeting Appraiser Lin that they started realizing what their father’s intention was.
Although they found the reason to be baffling, both princes had been intelligent enough to be respectful toward Lin Jin.
If their guess was spot on, their father was trying to get Appraiser Lin to assess them.
In other words, Lin Jin’s opinion was held in high regard by their father. After all, both of them were the ones who had the highest chance of claiming the throne.
As this concerned the inheritance of the responsibility of running a nation, both He Huang and He Yv took it incredibly seriously. Though, if they had to be completely honest, they didn’t think much of Appraiser Lin.
They were princes and the other was just a Rank 3 beast appraiser.
While Rank 3 beast appraisers may be the highest rank in a country like the Jade Dragon Kingdom, they had a few of them so there was no reason for the princes to have greater respect for these people.
However, that all changed the instant they saw Lin Jin walking on clouds. It was a sight that made their hearts race. They finally understood why their father held this Appraiser Lin in such high regard.
They quickly tried to recall if they had somehow disrespected Appraiser Lin earlier and if their performance thus far had been satisfactory.
In addition, they began harboring thoughts that others shouldn’t know of.
Back to Lin Jin. Still walking on clouds, he led the equally shocked He Yu down the lair.
He was fairly proficient at cloud manipulation now. Although he still couldn’t fly up into the sky or cover thousands of miles in one night, he could manage to let someone travel with him for a short while.
He Yu’s heart was thumping madly with excitement.
This was something that happened only in fairy tales but to think she was actually walking on clouds at this very moment.
It seemed like a dream.
However, halfway through their journey, everywhere became pitch black. They could hear something slithering in the darkness, watching them, so they would be lying to say they weren’t the least bit afraid.
