The atmosphere on the flying treasure was both awkward and off.
Azureclad sat inside the cabin by himself while Crimsonclad and Qing Ting swanned around Lu Yun, laughing and chatting with each other. Lu Yun felt slightly uneasy sitting between them as he could sense two extremely unfriendly gazes constantly roving over him.
Though Qing Yu and the little fox had arrived at Dragonsea City, their gazes remained on their beloved.
Meanwhile, Leng Che and You Cang looked wordlessly at each other.
There were no further developments along the way, so the Coiling Dragon procession quickly arrived at Dragonsea City. However, arriving at their destination didn’t mean that they were safe. Since the Dragonling Assembly had begun, any sort of conflict that took place was part of the assembly.
Several thousand factions within Azure Dragon Region had the right to participate in the assembly, but only a few hundred made it to the city. It was a path dyed with blood and some of the most desperate clashes broke out on the city’s outskirts. Participants stopped at nothing to take out their competition.
The struggles outside Dragonsea City weren’t limited by level of strength. Anyone could throw anything into the mix. This was also why Coiling Dragon City had invited the Torch King from Blazing Phoenix Region to boost their ranks. The Dragonling Assembly wasn’t just a trial for the half step kings participating, but also one for the various factions of Azure Dragon Region. It was time to evaluate their comprehensive strength—their allies and their friends. Everything was included in this category.
It didn’t matter if a faction possessed an unparalleled genius if they couldn’t protect the talent. Ruthlessness was a way of life in the Hongmeng.
……
“It’s the entourage from Coiling Dragon City!” Two factions fighting each other to the death immediately broke off their engagement when they saw the new procession. No one wanted to give an opening for others to freely profit off of them.
“Coiling Dragon’s here? That means the Spacetime King’s failed!” A keen light shone out of the eyes of a small and skinny elder inside Dragonsea City. He stared fixedly on the procession approaching the city.
“‘What should we do now, Your Majesty Fog King?” asked a young man dressed in long golden robes next to the elder.
“It’s no matter, I don’t believe that Coiling Dragon has the ability to pierce through the Spacetime King’s formation. It must be another expert who conveniently saved them.” The Fog King thought for a moment. “Don’t provoke them for now, let’s wait until they enter the city. Kings can’t take action in the city, so are you confident of taking down that Azureclad Duke?”
In the Fog King’s eyes, the strongest member from the Coiling Dragon faction was still Azureclad.
“I wouldn’t be if this was back in the day, but now, he’s no match for me.” The young man in golden robes lifted his head proudly. “Azureclad is just an idiot who fishes for compliments and a phony who angles for a good reputation. He honestly thinks he’s the strongest half step king in the Hongmeng just because the realm’s kings raise him up to be the greatest beneath kinghood!”
“Then kill him.” A smile crossed the Fog King’s face. “Let everyone know that the golden dragon bloodline isn’t any bit inferior to the azure dragon bloodline!”
“I’ll have him die with full acceptance of his fate and not a single word of complaint.” An ugly leer curved the young man’s face as he watched the enormous procession filter into the city.
“Coiling Dragon City and Blazing Phoenix Region ambushed our representatives together at the Dragonling Assembly ten million years ago. They inflicted heavy losses to our Crouching Dragon City and stole the spot of second in Azure Dragon Region from us. It’s time for them to pay!” Flames of hatred flickered in the skinny elder’s eyes.
Crouching Dragon City was now ranked number three in the region, but there was no difference between third and last place when it came to the Dragonling Assembly. Anyone below second place was only allotted three spots for the gathering.
Startled, the young man looked at the Fog King. He hadn’t been born yet ten million years ago, so he didn’t know about this occurrence. The killing intent in his heart solidified now that he learned of it.
“Not just the Azureclad Duke, but all four of the others must die as well!”
……
Dragonsea City sat on the shores of the Hongmeng Sea. Occupying one hundred and fifty kilometers of land, it was a colossal entity in both deed and name. The road before its west gate was stained with blood, gore, and littered with organ pieces. Plainly, plenty of ghastly clashes had occurred in the area.
The city didn’t prohibit fighting within its bounds, but kings were unable to take action after setting foot through its gates. Everything had to be resolved by cultivators beneath titled kinghood.
Lu Yun tilted his head upward at the mammoth city in front of him.
“A layout of sea dragons vying over a pearl… the architect of this city had quite lofty ambitions,” he murmured as he scanned the metropolis.
“Let’s go in,” Qing Ting quietly said close to his ear.
Lu Yun shuddered subconsciously.
“What? Am I that scary?” she asked with surprise upon noting his reaction.
“Not at all, it’s nothing.” Lu Yun chuckled ruefully. He’d once more sensed death glares from Qing Yu and the little fox.
“Do we have other enemies or something?” He perceived dense currents of malice wrapping around their procession when they entered the city.
“Everyone here is an enemy!” Qing Ting nodded slightly. “But our biggest enemy is the Azure Dragon City, and second is the Crouching Dragon City!
“Azure Dragon has been our rival all this time and we follow close on their heels. Though we aren’t feuding to the death with each other, we’d happily send each other to the grave if we have a chance to.
“As for Crouching Dragon… It’s said that they were the number two in the region ten million years ago. We badly defeated them during that Dragonling Assembly and took their position from them. They’ve thought of nothing but revenge all these years—the Spacetime King was very likely one of their hired men.”
Lu Yun inclined his head.
Coiling Dragon was currently the second greatest faction of the region, so they didn’t meet with much obstruction after entering the city. They made it to their stronghold without much incident.
People bustled to and fro in Dragonsea, many of the Hongmeng’s kings and half step kings gathering in the city. They were neither cultivators of Azure Dragon Region nor descendants of a dragon bloodline; they just wanted to come observe the proceedings.
The Dragonling Assembly was a massive occasion of bloodshed. Only dragonlings who survived this trial by combat could eventually soar as a true dragon. For those not participating, simple observation was also a chance to grow and develop. Half step kings or superior realm cultivators had a chance to participate and temper themselves.
Dragonsea City was, at present, an extremely disorderly place. No one knew who had the final right to participate in the assembly before the road to Dragonhollow Mountain appeared. Most importantly was that the mountain had set a new rule for this time’s assembly—the right to participate could be taken by another.
If one killed a cultivator who could participate, they had the right to replace the defeated!
The news sent the city into an uproar when it spread.
