Lu Yun didn’t know what to say anymore. He highly suspected that the Azureclad Duke had a complex about his sister.
Qing Ting recovered her senses as well and glared furiously at her brother, almost grinding her teeth to pieces.
“You say you want to join Coiling Dragon City so you can participate in the Dragonling Assembly?” Leng Che stepped forward in his traditional robe. He’d noticed that the duke’s mentality was unbalanced—likely due to Qing Ting’s thorough beating of him.
“Yes.” Lu Yun nodded.
“My name is Leng Che, I am titled the Poisondragon Duke. I will be representing the city for this time’s Dragonling Assembly. The entirety of Coiling Dragon possesses only five spots—His Grace and the miss each have one. The other three are going to me and two other titled duke half step kings. By what right or virtue do you claim one of the spots?”
Leng Che wasn’t a Coiling Dragon citizen or even a cultivator of Azure Dragon Region. He was like Lu Yun—an outsider who’d joined Azureclad’s banner.
“I’m the Champion Duke. Have you not heard of me before?” Lu Yun blinked.
“A nameless nobody who relies on sharp weapons to win a little bit of fame. What’s there to be proud of?” Azureclad snorted. “But, it’s not impossible to join Coiling Dragon and represent us at the Dragonling Assembly either. Leng Che, You Cang, and Ghost Dragon are all titled duke half step kings. Pick any one of them to challenge and you can replace whoever you beat.”
Far from being a simple training opportunity, the Dragonling Assembly was an exhibition to the death. Vast swathes of geniuses died in historic assemblies, but those who could emerge from the pack and receive the power of the azure dragon rose to tremendous heights. Many of them set foot into titled kinghood as third step kings.
The assembly was called thus because only cultivators younger than ten million years old and not yet a titled king could participate.
“Ghost Dragon?” Lu Yun frowned slightly when he heard the name. Is there a Ghost Dragon in the Hongmeng too? Or is it just a coincidence?
He quietly called upon formula dao after hearing this name and discovered it to be shrouded in mist; there was nothing he could deduce about it.
Lu Yun’s heart sank. The Ghost Dragon and Ghost Phoenix of the world of immortals had disappeared in the Nihil Hell, very likely becoming one of its denizens.
Of course, the Nihil Hell was a pale shadow of what it used to be—it was filled with endless yin and dead spirits now. Lu Yun suspected that the ghosts in the third realm also came from that hell. Likewise, the origins of the demon of immortal dao were hardly as simple as they appeared.
Can it be that someone suspects I’ve come to the Hongmeng, so they’ve released Ghost Dragon on purpose to test me? A variety of thoughts flew rapidly through Lu Yun’s mind while he kept a straight face.
“That’s fine.” He nodded. “Anyone, you say?”
“Take your pick of Leng Che, You Cang, and Ghost Dragon, or you can attempt me or Qing Ting if you feel so inclined.” Azureclad nodded.
The Dragonling Assembly was a solemn affair. As Coiling Dragon City only had five spots, each one was extremely important. The assembly and its results were pivotal to Coiling Dragon’s status and interests in Azure Dragon Region, and would also directly impact its alliances with various other factions in the Hongmeng.
Apart from Qing Ting and the Azureclad Duke, its other three spots were claimed by outsiders. If Lu Yun wanted to throw his hat into the ring, the city’s senior council had to approve. They needed to accept the Champion Duke’s strength and his background.
The city would’ve been more than happy to accept him if he’d been a wandering cultivator with no background to speak of—a wild genius, in other words. But given his background of the Trueriver Sect of Multitude City and his patron the Immortal Pagoda that had more money than sense, the city was theoretically perfectly fine with the duke as well.
However, Azureclad couldn’t make the definitive decision in this matter. Though he was the city lord’s son, he was still a half step king at the end of the day and had no right to make decisions on his father’s behalf.
“Then, what about that?” Qing Ting took a step forward and pointed at the foggy bead. “Father will advance to a new level of strength if he obtains this partial ultimate treasure of the realm. He won’t have to bow down to those guys from Azure Dragon City then.”
These were her true thoughts. She didn’t want the treasure for herself, but for her father.
“I’ll pay the two thousand crystal veins for you first. You can pay me back if I can’t represent Coiling Dragon City in the Dragonling Assembly. If I beat one of the three and represent the city, then we’re all one family and it’s just two thousand crystal veins.” Lu Yun waved a hand and materialized all five thousand premium crystal veins in the thirty-second floor of the Firmament Pavilion.
Their combined aura shocked some of the shoppers on the premises, but no one dared make a move in the store. If they did, they would elicit undying fury from the pavilion’s high level kings.
A sixth step king elder of Firmament Pavilion quickly appeared and personally attended to Lu Yun and the others. He put away the five thousand crystal veins and wrapped up the foggy bead for Qing Ting.
The elder then decided to list Lu Yun, Qing Ting, the Azureclad Duke, and Leng Che as very important customers of the trading company and gifted them a token of their status, as well as a king grade treasure each.
……
“How, how do you have so many premium crystal veins?” Azureclad and Leng Che swallowed hard at the bounty that’d appeared without forewarning.
“When Starspace Region’s central crystal vein rampaged throughout the land, Champion Duke and I robbed it blind. We got three thousand crystal veins each,” Qing Ting responded matter-of-factly, skipping over the detail that the crystal veins had been a gift. That would mean exposing some of Lu Yun’s secrets.
“What about that Ghostblade Duke Li Zhen?” Leng Che blurted out.
“Him? Piece of trash,” Qing Ting snorted. “He didn’t contribute anything, so why should he get a cut?”
“I see.” A sharp light twinkled in Leng Che’s eyes, but he asked no further.
Qing Ting naturally wouldn’t tell anyone that Li Zhen also had three thousand crystal veins. That would set sixth step or even high level kings on his trail. Three thousand crystal veins were worth the while for a high level king to take action.
Azureclad’s heart bled to see his sister spend five thousand crystal veins in one go and buy a half step ultimate Hongmeng treasure. Though the treasure was a rare find, the five thousand crystal veins were premium cultivation resources! The energy within them could raise Coiling Dragon’s overall strength by an explosive amount! Numerous new superior realm cultivators would develop and some kings stuck at a bottleneck would also break through.
But since Qing Ting was gifting the treasure to their father, there wasn’t much that he could say.
“No wonder she kept talking about the Champion Duke after she came back. I thought she had a crush on him, but it was because her crystal veins were with the kid!” Azureclad felt much more understanding and a little relieved by the situation. No—wait, new fires of anger quickly licked at his heart. The lass had gotten her hands on this incredible wealth but hadn’t handed it over, and had even stored it with an outsider!
But that kid didn’t keep the crystal veins for himself. He may be someone worth befriending after all. Azureclad suddenly found Lu Yun much more pleasing to the eye.
……
Champion Duke’s name was known throughout Coiling Dragon City; there didn’t exist a single person who didn’t know him. He was their little princess’ good friend and had gifted her a full set of king grade treasures, arming her to the teeth. He’d also brought her thirty-six Aureate Fruit so she could form a golden body.
He was here in Coiling Dragon City now and issued a challenge for one of the three spots for the Dragonling Assembly. He wanted to represent them on this grand occasion!
That sent the entire city into an uproar.
