Sovereign of the Three Realms

The Coiling Dragon Clan had no need to fear retaliation from the Murong Clan when they had sufficient evidence. Young master Ji San’s face was quite calm as he looked on as those from the Murong Clan left with resentful expressions. Only when they disappeared did Ji San address Jiang Chen, “Brother, I almost arrived too late. This Murong Clan are in-laws to the Majestic Clan and have always been their faithful allies. You’ll have to be wary of them in the future. This Murong Qiu is a petty and lecherous character.”

At this, young master Ji San glanced momentarily at Huang’er as a subtle warning. He had seen Huang’er before and naturally knew who was behind the mask. Jiang Chen flashed a wide grin. “Brother Ji, I owe you again this time.”

“There’s not need for such words between us.” Young master Ji San waved his hands as he looked towards the formation bound area, “Brother, did that bastard disturb your cultivation?”

Jiang Chen laughed, “It’s no big deal.”

Young master Ji San nodded, “I still don’t feel at ease. I’ll have Captain Mo station his men within fifty kilometers. That way they can avoid disturbing your cultivation, but will still be able to reach you if any untoward situation arises.”

Jiang Chen truly hadn’t expected to be disturbed at such a remote place either. He looked towards Captain Mo. “Captain Mo, I’ll have to trouble you then.”

Captain Mo laughed expansively, “This is within Ole Mo’s scope of duty. Please rest assured, Pill King Zhen. I won’t even let a fly enter within fifty kilometers of you.”

It wasn’t simple bragging when a sixth rank emperor realm cultivator gave such a promise. Young master Ji San remarked, “Brother, Murong Qiu will definitely make a malicious report when he returns. I’ll have to go back and make some arrangements to counter him. Although I don’t particularly fear him, some preparations are necessary for the upcoming battle. We will have to take the initiative in order to avoid a passive defense.”

It wasn’t the Coiling Dragon Clan’s style to wait passively for the enemy to arrive. It had to exert dominance in every battle as the top clan, charging offensively and demonstrating the Coiling Dragon’s ferocity! Passive defense wasn’t ferocious at all!

“Brother Ji, Captain Zhang is truly loyal and worthy of an important position.” Jiang Chen glanced at Captain Zhang momentarily.

Young master Ji San had also noticed Captain Zhang’s abilities and responded with a smiling nod. “True gold truly does stand the test of fire. Ole Zhang, I trust your talents, since even Pill King Zhen has praised you. Come see me at the clan manor after all this.”

As honest and straightforward as Captain Zhang was, he still understood that the young master was hinting at a promotion and hurriedly bowed. “This subordinate understands.” He then cupped his fists towards Jiang Chen. “Many thanks for Pill King Zhen’s high regards.”

Jiang Chen laughed in reply—he admired this Captain Zhang quite a bit—the Coiling Dragon Clan would be as sturdy as a steel plate if all its subordinates were like this captain. The Majestic Clan would then be hard pressed to overtake the Coiling Dragon Clan even if they upped their aggressiveness.

Jiang Chen’s rhythm was largely unaffected by this momentary disturbance. The formation was still in perfect condition and Long Xiaoxuan’s breakthrough remained unaffected.

Long Xiaoxuan broke through after three more days. It was fortunate that Jiang Chen had set up a formation to conceal the enormous amount of untamed energy released from such a breakthrough. But even with such precautionary measures in place, Captain Mo was still able to detect some wild tremors, which greatly alarmed him. However, he understood his role very well. He knew what he was responsible for, what he should be doing and what he shouldn’t do. Thus he kept to his own post despite his curiosity and refrained from going over to investigate. But he was inwardly puzzled, “Pill King Zhen was not only a talent in pill dao but also outstanding in martial dao? What level of breakthrough did he achieve to produce such powerful waves of energy?”

Captain Mo was full of questions. According to his observations, Pill King Zhen should only be in the sage realm. But a sage realm breakthrough shouldn’t have generated such a powerful pressure.

Jiang Chen knew Long Xiaoxuan’s breakthrough had been successful when he noticed the disturbances within the formation. He entered and found the post-breakthrough Long Xiaoxuan. The scales on his whole body were glistening brightly and he was enshrouded by a mysterious radiance. He appeared mysterious and dignified, with ancient dragon runes crawling lazily across his scaled armor. Long Xiaoxuan’s body had evidently grown stronger.

“Brother Long, congratulations on your advancement!” Jiang Chen sincerely gave his regards.

Long Xiaoxuan appeared to be in great spirits after breaking through. His body flashed as a number of mysterious lights shot towards Jiang Chen. “This is for you.”

Jiang Chen caught them and found them to be dragon crystals. These crystals were not on the same level as those from before. They’d undergone substantial upgrades and shone with alluring luster.

“You did very well as my protector this time. These crystals are the first few that I produced after my breakthrough and are the most valuable of all. Consider this as a token of my gratitude.” Long Xiaoxuan was the same as ever; cold in appearance but friendly and passionate inside.

Jiang Chen laughed and accepted them without being overly polite. “Well, it seems I received a valuable prize without doing much.”

These dragon crystals would definitely raise his cultivation efficiency. It was hard enough to find one dragon crystal, not to mention so many. Many dragon descendents could secrete dragon crystals, but the dragon blood within normal descendents was too diluted. Their dragon crystals were all appearance and not much use. Only crystals produced by one of true dragon blood would contain such rich spirit energy. Long Xiaoxuan’s dragon blood was incomparably pure and was virtually free of impurities.These were priceless treasures.

His dragon crystals, especially the ones he’d produced during his emperor realm breakthrough, were the absolute best. They can easily produce ten times the result when used for a sage realm breakthrough. One day of cultivation would equal ten.

“Brother Long, you should now be able to use the true dragon transformation arts now that you’ve broken through to the emperor realm.” Jiang Chen smiled at Long Xiaoxuan with great anticipation.

Long Xiaoxuan’s body suddenly shone bright, filling the whole area with dazzling radiance akin to the sparkling of the waves in the sun before fading into nothingness. A strand of mist descended to the ground and revealed a Long Xiaoxuan who’d transformed into a youth clad in black robes. His complexion was somewhat pale and almost translucent, the veiny patterns beneath his skin vaguely visible. But his sharply contoured features and, his somewhat cold and aloof demeanor both pointed towards his identity. He possessed a certain grave and solemn elegance.

Jiang Chen and Huang’er glanced at each other and nodded delightfully. This transformed appearance was apparently quite similar to what they’d imagined. A gentle appearance coupled with his proud and untamed facial features bestowed a rather unique temperament upon him.

“A faint draconic aura still lingers around you, but many cultivators who refine dragon blood have a similar air around them. It can even be said that they actively release such an aura to show their outstanding qualities. Brother Long, congratulations. From now on you can boldly appear in public.” Jiang Chen truly felt happy for Long Xiaoxuan.

Long Xiaoxuan replied slowly, his mastery of the human tongue not perfect enough to hide an accent. “My transformation has yet to reach perfection. Once it does, I’ll be free of my draconic aura.”

“It isn’t a bad idea to let a little leak to frighten thieves and rascals. No one will be able to guess your identity as long as you don't reveal your true body. Furthermore, it’s common knowledge that the human domain is devoid of those with dragon blood. People might not believe it even if you announce yourself as a true dragon.” Jiang Chen laughed. After the breakthrough, Jiang Chen put away the formation and spoke to Long Xiaoxuan, “Brother Long, there were only two of us when we set out, so it’ll look suspicious if we returned as a group of three. So, I’ll have to trouble you again for the moment.”

Long Xiaoxuan didn’t actually mind. With a flicker of his body, he concealed his form and transformed into a tiny speck of light, which attacked itself to Jiang Chen’s body. Long Xioaxuan’s breakthrough gave Jiang Chen even more confidence. Another powerful arrow had been added to his quiver.

The lake surface returned to its previous serenity as he retrieved the wood spirit spring. Captain Mo had already been waiting for quite some time when they reached the outskirts of the territory. When he saw Jiang Chen, a flash of peculiarity appeared in his eyes as he scanned the latter a couple of times with his gaze. There wasn’t the slightest trace of a breakthrough on Jiang Chen. The captain felt it odd because there’d normally be some residual energy after a breakthrough, but he could detect nothing of the sort.

“Captain Mo, I’ve troubled you quite a bit during this period.”

“Haha, its not trouble at all! I’m just sitting here effortlessly. On the contrary, it’s rare to be able to enjoy some peace and quiet.” Captain Mo definitely knew what to say.

Captain Zhang had also been following Captain Mo on this mission and was in charge of patrolling the perimeter. He was delighted after seeing Jiang Chen emerge. “Pill King Zhen, congratulations on the breakthrough.”

Everyone thought Jiang Chen had broken through. He didn’t refute this and simply nodded, a mysterious smile on his face. “Captain Zhang, I’m sure you’ll be promoted when you call upon young master Ji San this time.”

Captain Zhang laughed out loud as he scratched his head, “I only fear I’ll fail to accomplish big things with my meager talents.”

Captain Mo laughed from the side. “Skills can be learnt and strength can be trained. Your devotion, however, is something many people lack. Pill King Zhen’s insightful eyes burn as bright as torches. Anyone he recommends is certainly good enough.”

Captain Mo had inadvertently praised Jiang Chen once again. He’d apparently obtained some news regarding this Pill King Zhen’s significance to the Coiling Dragon Clan.

The group laughed and chatted on their way back to Veluriyam Capital. Huang’er was extremely good at understanding others. She knew it wasn’t necessary for her to remain beside them during a conversation between men. As such, she intentionally walked on ahead for a short distance to give them some space.

After they entered the city, Jiang Chen had originally planned to let Captain Mo and the rest return to the Coiling Dragon Manor. But Captain Mo insisted on fulfilling his responsibilities by escorting them back to Taiyuan Tower. Jiang Chen didn’t protest much since he couldn’t convince the captain otherwise.

Farmer God Market was, as always, bustling with activity. However, people had odd expressions on their faces as Jiang Chen’s entourage walked past, although they still greeted him. It wasn’t that these people weren’t enthusiastic. But their expressions seemed to communicate different attitudes. Some appeared to be sympathizing while others appeared to be gloating...

“Pill King Zhen, it’s been quite a while. Why haven’t you returned until now?”

“Pill King Zhen, haven’t you heard of what happened at Taiyuan Tower?”

“Pill King Zhen, you’ve finally returned! Taiyuan Tower has been seized and business has stopped for several days.”

Jiang Chen’s expression froze as he heard that particular tidbit. Seized? Taiyuan Tower has been seized? What kind of sick joke is this? We’ve just started doing business!

He looked at Captain Mo and realized the latter knew nothing of this. However, the captain had frequently been exposed to grand spectacles, so he calmly responded, “Pill King Zhen, don’t be too anxious. Let’s go and ascertain the situation first.”

It wasn’t quite possible for Jiang Chen to not be anxious. He’d put everything into Taiyuan Tower and it was his first step towards gaining a foothold in Veluriyam Capital. But his very first step was being met with so much resistance! Which idiot had come to stir up trouble this time?