This stone altar was ancient and antiquated.
In an instant, a fire flickered to life, illuminating their surroundings. Once their vision had adjusted to the brightness around them, the group could feel their scalps prickle.
Up ahead of this cave was a cliff with a seemingly bottomless abyss. In the distance where the light hardly reached, they could see the outline of something hiding at the border of light and darkness. Whatever it was, it was currently watching He Qian and his group.
When the light first appeared, after everyone got used to the brightness, they found many things around them to be glowing with a faint emerald hue.
The emerald lights weren’t stationary but were instead moving at varying speeds and they were most certainly alive.
Although Lin Jin knew what those lights were, he was still fairly excited given that it was his first time. This was in fact a dragon’s breeding ground and below this cliff were most probably dozens of dragon nests. There was a book named ‘Dragon Tales’ for beast appraisers which provided detailed descriptions of the different living habits of dragons and their nests.
Dragons were ancient beasts, and the more primitive they were, the more territorial they got. Once a specific nesting ground was chosen, if nothing out of the ordinary happened, they would continue to dwell in that location for the next hundred to thousands of years.
Jade dragons were of the ‘jade’ attribute, a branch from the earth element, so they naturally thrived in underground caves. Pitch-dark caverns like this place fit the bill.
At this point, Lin Jin was quite familiar with jade dragons as he had killed quite a number of them when he battled the old dragon. Still, this was his first time seeing a dragon’s nest he felt a sudden urge to start exploring the place.
Of course, he wouldn’t do that now.
With a stern expression, He Qian went up to the altar as an emerald light circled around him. Suddenly, a Rank 4 jade dragon darted out of nowhere. It was He Qian’s pet beast.
“As Emperor of Jade Dragon Kingdom, I am here on the Dragon’s Covenant to select a dragon!”
His booming voice reverberated through the cave.
Soon, something crawled up from the bottom of the cliff.
Some of them were startled by the creature’s sudden appearance. As Emperor, He Qian anticipated its arrival so he wasn’t startled, and since the two princes had come here to select their pet beasts before, they were already mentally prepared for what was about to happen.
However, it was He Yu and He Qing’s first time here so they stuck close to each other. Timidly, they took refuge behind Lin Jin. Even then, they were so curious that they poked their head out to look at the creature.
Lin Jin was, of course, unfazed. How could he? He was the one who slaughtered the so-called dragon deity after all. Hence, the other jade dragons were nothing to him.
A rather unique jade dragon had crawled up from below.
This dragon in particular was massive. It had barely revealed its entire body, and yet the aura that it gave off was already tremendously overwhelming.
In addition, the scales of this dragon were a shade of dark green, like old jade. It had two sets of horns. One of the pairs was smaller than the other. In spite of the fact that they were in a cavern, and the air was still, its long whiskers swayed as if there was a breeze blowing.
On the first impression, this jade dragon should be at least two hundred years old or more.
“Descendant of He, how dare you visit the Jade Jade Dragon Lair anymore?” the dark jade dragon sneered.
A low-rumbling growl was audible in addition to its voice, which frightened those who were not courageous enough. Lin Jin immediately took note that both princes were barely able to stand still, as their hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably.
After all, this old dark jade dragon was overwhelmingly oppressing.
As he had a Rank 4 jade dragon to protect him, and coupled with his already strong mentality, He Qian wasn’t daunted.
“I am the Emperor of Jade Dragon Kingdom! Why wouldn’t I have the courage to come here again?” he answered with an air befitting a monarch.
He Qian’s Rank 4 jade dragon was similarly unintimidated as it floated above He Qian’s head, confronting the huge dark jade dragon. Based on his observations, Lin Jin guessed that the dark jade dragon should be Rank 4 as well. Other than his slightly larger size, he was inferior in almost every other aspect.
Sure enough, the dark jade dragon let out a low growl before its aura reduced by half. He Qian continued, “It was an accident that the dragon deity passed. No creature in this world lives forever and the dragon deity was already near his end. I’m sure you were unaware of this fact as well. Today, I have brought my sixth daughter here to select her dragon. As such, I seek your cooperation.”
Power was almost always the decisive factor in a negotiation. For instance, it was clear to Lin Jin from their interaction that the dark jade dragon despised He Qian. However, the Emperor was by no means a weak foe. Aware of its weakness, the dark jade dragon had no choice but to bend to He Qian’s will.
On the other hand, He Qian wouldn’t have had this audacity if the jade dragon deity was still alive.
Life truly was full of ups and downs. Knowing the shame that submitting to He Qian brought, the dark jade dragon complied with the utmost reluctance.
He Qian frowned. “Senior Mo, don’t you forget that it was our family who fed your entire tribe for four hundred years. We’ve sacrificed countless livestock here in this cave. The dragon selection ritual was already guaranteed in our agreement, so if you refuse to entertain my proposal, then shall I just cut off your supply?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” the dark jade dragon roared. Rocks crumbled off the ceiling of the cave from the tremors that its voice caused. Its heavy breath swept past their bodies like a gust that had come out of nowhere.
He Qian stood his ground.
Although they seemed eager to fight, both of them were actually trying to hold themselves back. Lin Jin could tell that He Qian and the dark jade dragon did not wish to aggravate the situation.
Moments later, the dark jade dragon scoffed, retracting his aura. “Our jade dragon tribe stand by their words. Since a promise has been made to your family, we shall never go back on our word. Now, tell me, who will you be selecting a dragon for?”
The dragon had capitulated.
He Qian recalled his pet beast as well.
“Yu’er, come here,” said the Emperor as he beckoned He Yu over.
He Yu took a deep breath, braced herself, and approached him.
With no one else to latch onto, He Qing summoned her courage to move closer to Lin Jin’s back. She clung tightly onto the hem of his shirt. Lin Jin merely smiled in response to this. The little lady was frightened, but it didn’t bother him at all, so he decided to let her be.
It was a battle of wits and courage between He Qian and the dark jade dragon, and in the end, He Qian came out on top. Lin Jin figured that before the jade dragon deity died, He Qian must have suffered unbearable humiliation from this tribe, so it was no wonder he was this aggressive this time around.
At the sight of He Yu, a glint flashed in Senior Mo’s eyes. After a long while, the dragon let out a roar, following which a dozen of jade dragons either crawled or flew up over the ledge.
Their sizes and shapes varied.
The ritual was that He Yu would pick out a jade dragon for herself.
Now, Lin Jin understood why He Qian brought him along. He Qian already foresaw a conflict with the jade dragon tribe. Even if they honored the agreement, the jade dragon tribe could easily make things difficult for them.
This was one of those instances. To Lin Jin, the jade dragons on offer today were all repulsive and had terrible potential.
Admittedly, if he wasn’t well-versed in dragons, He Qian would surely have gotten the short end of the stick every time.
He Yu naturally didn’t know how to make a choice so she turned to Lin Jin. He Qian looked over too and Lin Jin knew it was his time to shine.
He shook his head at He Yu.
Bright as she was, He Yu understood what Lin Jin’s gesture implied, so she asked politely, “Senior Mo, may we look at other dragons?”
At the sight of Lin Jin shaking his head, He Qian figured out what had happened. He mused resentfully, ‘This old dark jade dragon isn’t playing fair after all.’
However, it wasn’t long before a smirk appeared on He Qian’s face.
Didn’t he invite Lin Jin over for this exact reason? With a beast-appraising expert such as Lin Jin here, it was a given that it would be Senior Mo’s loss today.
