Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The scene was rather silent.
Every Ferals’ gazes fell upon Jiang He, just as Wang Hou and Pei Donglai gaped at him.
In truth, Wang Hou had a hunch that Jiang He had indeed slain the Black King Drake when that Panjolin projected Jiang’s He image with its spirit powers… but Jiang He’s admission was still rather shocking.
“No way!”
On of the Ferals roared in fury. “How could a mere rank-eight slay the Black King Drake?”
“Your human elite must have played some trick!”
Upset, Jiang He’s brow furrowed at that. Who did that beast think it’s talking to?
“I had indeed slain the Black King Drake, and I must say that even if it had recently ascended as a Feral King, it was extremely powerful. I had to bleed as we fought to the death, tearing each other apart for a dozen minutes before I finally killed it.”
Jiang He seemed to have some lingering fear at that, and he breathed a long sigh, saying, “I almost did not manage to come back!”
Those words were spoken out of the heart with no falseness at all!
If the Black King Drake was double its own strength, he would be the one dying.
“You!”
The Feral King who spoke—a giant black eagle that was circling the skies had a wingspan of a hundred meters, kicking up cyclones whenever it flapped its wings.
Its eyes were dark and golden and its talons vaguely golden too. There was also a circle of golden down over its head that resembled a golden crown.
Then, screeching shrilly, it abruptly gaped its maw, unleashing a golden radiance from on high.
Pei Donglai drew out his blade and was about to attack, but Wang Hou shook his head, stopping him.
Beside them, Jiang He’s face fell.
He sensed tremendous danger from the golden radiance.
Still, he pushed his aura to its limit in virtually a split second!
Raging True Qi overflowed over Jiang He’s body as the silhouette of five suns materialized, with the projections of a dragon soaring and an elephant trumpeting at the skies. At the same time, golden light shone from his body as a vein of Innate Qi shielded him.
Boom-crack!
Jiang He hence slashed out directly at the golden radiance.
The Third Fold of the Ninefold Thunderblade!
Buffed with thunder will, the power of the strike increased greatly, with the thirty-meter long thunder slash tearing through the air and striking the golden radiance.
Crack.
Though the thunder slash shattered immediately, the golden radiance cracked, its speed slowing slightly although it continued its descent.
Even so, after the first thunder slash struck, the second slash arrived, followed by a third, a fourth, and a fifth…
Jiang He unleashed nine slashes in quick succession, eventually shattering that golden radiance. When that was done, he coughed out a mouthful of blood, the recoil caused by the collision between his slashes and the golden radiance hurting him..
Naturally…
He was not really hurt.
And he felt much better after coughing blood.
There was a cold flash in his gaze as he looked up at the gigantic black eagle in the skies.
I’m never forgetting you now!
That eagle was the strongest amongst the Feral Kings—its aura equal to the Blue King Drake’s.
On the other hand, there was a flash of surprise in the black eagle’s gaze when its single strike was foiled, growling, “Wang Hou, this might settle the matter of the Black King Drake, but I will report your killing of the Blue King Drake to our emperors!”
Wang Hou looked up at and thundered a reply, “Your attacking on a rank-eight human breaks the rules too. Get lost, or I’ll kill you too!”
Whoosh!
With that, the black eagle turned and left without a word.
It flapped its wings and soared at twice the speed of sound, disappearing without a trace in a flash.
The other Feral Kings turned and left too.
Within the mountain forest, Jiang he stared at the many Feral Kings that flew away, sighing in awe, “They are so quick…”
Wang Hou turned to look downward at Jiang He, grinning, “Feral Avians have always been adept at speed. As a matter of fact, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle could reach up to three times the speed of sound—it’s an innate gift, nothing to envy of.”
Jiang He pouted.
‘I’m not envious, just a little worried…
‘What if I can’t catch up to that bugger when I have to kill it in the future?
‘Still, that bird’s name—the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was very cool.’
Pei Donglai walked up to them then.
With that, both top human elites studied Jiang He from head to toe, curiosity showing in their eyes.
Jiang He was a little speechless and embarrassed from the stares. “Chief Wang, General Pei… is there a flower on my face?”
“Kid…”
Wang Hou laughed out loud, saying, “Interesting. To think that a rank-eight actually possessed such impressive cultivation, and your blade technique is equally frighteningly devastating. Moreover, if my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, you’ve grasped the Boundary of Wills, did you not?
“That’s at least thirty percent of mastery over thunder will.”
He sighed in awe. “A rank-eight pinnacle individual, slaying the King-tier Black King Drake and nullifying a strike from the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle… your combat ability is almost at the level of divine-tier.”
“Demonic!”
That was the only word Pei Donglai could manage in agreement.
“Demonic indeed.”
Wang Hou said. “Jiang He, if I’m not mistaken, you must have inherited the legacy of an elite from the Old Martial Era. Now that chaos is upon us and there are crueler struggles to come, cultivate well, and reach divine-tier as soon as possible… because that is where cultivation truly begins.”
Beside them, Pei Donglai’s mouth twitched.
Divine-tier was the beginning of cultivation?
There was no telling how many people would die from frustration if those words spread elsewhere.
Jiang He, however, nodded in agreement.
They then had a chat.
Pei Donglai, who had kept quiet throughout finally could not help it and asked in curiosity, “Jiang He, I am acquainted with the Black King Drake. It was already very powerful before it reached King-tier, possessing endless strength and powerful defense. It’s also both a venomous drake and capable of water manipulation, and normal rank-nines would lose their combat ability under a short time when they encounter it. The venom fog it breathes could only be even more lethal after its ascension, so how did you kill the Black King Drake?”
“Oh!”
Jiang He breathed a long sigh at that and said helplessly, “It was really an accident. I wasn’t aware that the Black King Drake had reached King-tier, or I wouldn’t dare to fight it even if you gave me a few more guts.”
Nonetheless, with the curious looks from the two top elites, Jiang He forced himself to describe what happened last night.
“I’ve read online that the Black King Drake is one of the most powerful rank-nine Ferals and extremely intimidating. But since I was at Jiangnan by coincidence and got bored from having nothing to do in the evening, I went off to Chongming Island for a bit…
“You guys know the rest.
“I killed my way to the island, and after a bloody fight, slew the Black King Drake after much difficulty.
Jiang He then paused, feeling that the description was too short, and therefore added, “Of course, I was injured grievously too.”
Pei Donglai was speechless at that.
‘I was asking you how you killed the Black King Drake, but you’re telling me it was ‘a bloody fight’… does that mean I have to fill in the blanks myself?
‘And how are hurt?
‘In fact, where are you hurt?
‘Why can’t I see that?’
Wang Hou was taken aback as well, and murmured after some time, “Well, that’s one way to ease boredom…”
Heading to Chongming Island just because he was bored, hence killing the Black King Drake? The beast might resurrect from sheer frustration if it heard that.
After some thought, Wang Hou then said, “Jiang He, don’t spread the word of you killing the Black King Drake. By the way, I have a list of people permitted to enter the five Secret Realms, and those doors would be open soon. I’ll have someone notify you then.”
Jiang He remembered about the Secret Realms with a start, and asked, “Cheng Dongfeng spoke to me about that matter before, Minister Wang, that I would be sent to the Tantra’s Secret Realm?”
“I wonder… could I go to another Secret Realm instead?”
After all, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna was a secret technique of the Tantra Sect, and Jiang He was afraid that he might cause a mess.
“Oh?”
Wang Hou appeared quite surprised, although he nodded and said, “Of the five sacred grounds, the Tantra Sect is nearest to the Western Xia Province… but it’s fine if you want to go to another sacred ground—I’ll arrange it for you.”
Beside them, Pei Donglai said, “About the list, Minister Wang…”
“Don’t worry, the military would be included in the list.”
Pei Donglai offered him a fist-palm salute at that, “Thank you, Minister Wang. I shall bid my leave here, since there’s much work to do back at the military.”
He took to the air and left.
“I have a mess to straighten out too, so I’ll be going first.”
Wang Hou was about to leave as well and took to the air, when he heard Jiang He yell, “Hold on… Minister Wang, could you tell me some information about that Golden-Crowned Black Eagle?”
“Why would you need to know that?”
Wang Hou chuckled at first, but he then glared and bark, “Jiang He, that beast is a Feral King that ascended during the early days of the Revival of Qi. The Black King Drake is absolutely nothing in comparison—don’t be reckless!”
Jiang He flashed an innocent smile and replied, “Minister Wang, I’m just trying to learn more.”
“And I’ve already mentioned it… my slaying of the Black King Drake is just out of misunderstanding.”
“I know my own weight very well, and I absolutely wouldn’t bother that bird.”
Yeap.
After all…
The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle was really powerful and quick. Jiang He knew that he would not fight recklessly without the confidence of killing it, not to mention that its single strike today left him coughing blood…
But that was no big deal.
The saying that ‘bear with it, and the world is yours’ was on point. He could afford to let the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle live for now, or if he acted recklessly and startled, how could he kill it if it fled at top speed and hid itself…
“The Golden-Crowned Black Eagle is the fifth top Feral King amongst the Feral Avians across the world, and could usually be found at Tianshan of the Western Border…”
“Oh?”
Jiang He blinked. “Tianshan? I thought the Feral King who rules that place is called the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle or something.”
“That’s the Feral King of Mount Kunlun!”
Wang Hou then described the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle’s powers, abilities, and top speed in detail for Jiang He, saying, “You’re nearing divine-tier in ability now, but you don’t stand a chance against that bird at all. Remember, keep calm and cultivate. Don’t go starting troubles.”
Jiang He nodded with a smile. “Well, about the Secret Realm, Minister Wang… I’ll go to Tantra, it’s fine… Oh, right…”
Calling out to Wang Hou again as the minister turned to leave once more, Jiang He asked awkwardly, “Can I have a little of that Blue King Drake’s flesh, Minister Wang?”
It was a Feral King’s meat after all.
Taste notwithstanding, it was a deposit if the farm needs Feral King flesh to level up next time, would it not?
***
Soon, holding a chunk of the Blue King Drake’s tail that was over ten meters long, Jiang He cheerfully yelled at the skies, “Take care, Minister Wang… fly slow, and safety first!”
Up in the air, Wang Hou almost dropped out of the sky.
What the heck?
I’m flying, not driving… what do you mean by flying slow?
