TIC Chapter 53: The Dragon Splits the Sea and Brings A Pearl

Fang Zhiyuan’s actions were quick, decisive, and wholly unexpected. The Dragon King and the Demon Lord were so shocked that they simply stood there for a moment, stunned.

Lin Fuqing came back to his senses. He angrily pointed a trembling finger at Fang Zhiyuan, momentarily speechless. “Fang Zhiyuan!! You…”

Nearly crushed by Lin Fuqing’s other hand, Ziwei cried out in pain. After a brief struggle, it broke free and fluttered away.

Ao Yin awkwardly stroked the dragon horn on his head. “Ah, you two are really…close friends…”

Still fearless, Fang Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows at Lin Fuqing, giving him a provocative look, as if to say, “What? Do you have the guts to bite me?”

The Demon Lord grounded his teeth in anger. He was not only furious at this little bastard for tricking him but was also disappointed.

He’d originally wanted to give the Sea God Pearl to Zhiyuan to protect him, but he didn’t expect to be tricked. However, he was too embarrassed to quarrel with his shidi in front of the Dragon King.

After all, the Dragon King had held onto his throne for hundreds of years. Although he seemed frank and honest, he was actually quite shrewd. Knowing this, Lin Fuqing could only acquiesce.

The Dragon King was naturally overjoyed and thanked them, before changing the topic.

“Oh yes, there is one more thing that little dragon would like to ask Huangyang Immortal Sovereign.”

Fang Zhiyuan said, “Please speak.”

“The Sea God Pearl is this King’s request to safeguard a ray of hope for the future of his people. The following matter is the private matter of little dragon Ao Yin.”

Having said that, the Dragon King shook his head helplessly.

“Little dragon… has a good-for-nothing younger brother.”

“This brother is gifted and has been spoiled since childhood. He arrogantly looks down on everything. But two hundred years ago, he made a bet with the then human immortal sovereign and swore an oath to the heavens.”

“If he won, he would take the osmanthus tree with the most bloom deep within the Golden Osmanthus Palace. But if he lost, he wou;d guard the gate of the Golden Osmanthus Palace for the rest of his life.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Fuqing couldn’t help but be surprised, despite still being angry.

The stakes of this bet was really… hard to describe.

An osmanthus tree in exchange for a five-clawed golden dragon as a lifelong servant. This was far from an equal exchange.

It was clear that the Dragon King’s younger brother was certain that he would win. But his opponent was none other than the Immortal Sovereign, who as indicated by his title, was by far the strongest out of all cultivators. This was really…an arrogance that stretched the width of heaven and earth.

“You two probably thought this bet was ridiculous, right? Naturally, the result was that…”

Ao Yin smiled bitterly and spread his hands. “He lost.”

The little golden dragon was willing to accept defeat and suffer the consequences of his own actions. He made a heavenly oath, and neither the Dragon King Ao Yin nor the Dongliu Sea could interfere. To do so would bring down a thunder calamity.

Fortunately, the Golden Osmanthus Palace upheld benevolence and righteousness for generations, and it did not torture the little golden dragon. Instead, he was imprisoned deep in a small fantasy realm underground.

This imprisonment lasted for two hundred years.

Fang Zhiyuan’s eyes flickered. With a frown, he said, “What the Dragon King meant was that this brother is…”

Ao Yin laughed helplessly. “In fact, the Immortal Sovereign never made things difficult for him. He even told him that if he was willing to acknowledge him as master, he would release him from his underground prison.”

“But my stupid brother thought that recognizing humans as masters would bring shame to the dragon race. He would rather stay underground for the rest of his life until he dies of old age than recognize a human master.”

Fang Zhiyuan closed his eyes and sighed softly; he already understood.

It turned out to be this.

It turned out that the Dragon King’s younger brother…

Ao Yin continued, “Two hundred years passed like this, and the Lord of the Golden Osmanthus Palace was replaced. Until one day in my previous life, I got news from a little sea monster…”

“That my Zhao’er finally recognized a master.”

“Someone brought him out from underground and freed him.”

When the Dragon King said this, Lin Fuqing also understood.

In the previous life, the first recognizable thing about the Immortal Sovereign Huangyang was the Huangyang Divine Sword.

The second recognizable thing was his contracted mount, which was a golden dragon.

Dragons were the most noblest of the ancient bloodlines that belonged to the demon beast race, and golden dragons were members of the dragon clan’s royal family. There were less than a handful of humans in history who could catch a golden dragon as their mount.

Fang Zhiyuan was one of them, the only one in the past thousands years in all the three realms.

Unexpectedly, this golden dragon wasn’t an ordinary golden dragon but…

Ao Yin smiled. “Has Immortal Sovereign remembered? That’s right. The golden dragon that Immortal Sovereign Huangyang rode in his previous life was little dragon’s younger brother, named…Ao Zhao.”

…the Dragon King’s biological brother.

“Now, Little dragon’s useless younger brother is still deep underground in the Golden Osmanthus Palance.” Ao Yin stood up, took two steps back, and bowed deeply. “Little dragon would like to ask the Immortal Sovereign to bring my stupid brother out of the Golden Osmanthus Palace again for the sake of your past relationship as master and servant.”

Fang Zhiyuan’s expression didn’t look good.

Or more accurately, it was very ugly.

His eyebrows were lowered, as if he was trying his best to restrain his emotions. Unfortunately, emotions were something he was never good at. He pressed his lips together, his fingers were clenched so tightly that his fingertips turned blue, and a cold flame burned from the depths of his eyes.

To others, this might look like rage.

Only Lin Fuqing knew that Fang Zhiyuan had a hot temper and would even beat and scold others from time to time. Yet, those were fleeting emotions that quickly came and went.

Perhaps his miserable childhood had exhausted emotions like hatred, resentment, and despair.

In short, by the time Lin Fuqing met Fang Zhiyuan, it was already very difficult for the outside world to provoke any truly intense negative emotions from him.

Even if someone wanted to kill him, he would lack any reactions and wouldn’t feel the hatred that any normal person would feel toward that person.

However, emotions that were truly malicious, full of heavy darkness, tend to grow inward instead, carrying self-multilated barbs.

For example, if he thought that he hadn’t protected his shi-ge well in their previous lives, he would have blamed himself for two lifetimes.

For example…

Toward the end of their previous life, the golden dragon Ao Zhao died.

Lin Fuqing saw it with his own eyes.

Fang Zhiyuan had terminated the contract and driven the golden dragon away with cold words. When the golden dragon flew back, hugging him as if nothing had happened, he’d said that his shi-ge was all he needed and he didn’t want the little dragon to get in the way.

But during that last desperate siege, the golden dragon returned, swooping down to protect the blood-soaked Fang Zhiyuan with his huge body.

The dragon fought with the gods from space.

It was a brutal, violent fight. The golden dragon roared with fury, fighting until his scales cracked and his jade horns broke, and blood poured from his head like heavy rain.

In the end, three of the outer gods died, and the golden dragon’s demon core shattered beyond repair. The dragon collapsed to the ground, blood flowing heavily from his mouth and nose.

But the dragon only narrowed his eyes, seeming to smile with satisfaction.

He rubbed Fang Zhiyuan’s palm with his broken and bloody dragon head and weakly whispered in human language.

“Little dragon…wants to take…the master…flying again.”

At that time, a broken-hearted Lin Fuqing saw the cold, violent flames of pain in Fang Zhiyuan’s lowered eyes, exactly the same as now.

That day, the golden dragon expanded his last bit of strength and flew them very far, leaving the cultivators trying to capture them far behind.

At dusk, the exhausted golden dragon finally fell from the sky, its huge body smashing into a dense forest.

The setting sun was like blood, and the earth was so vast. Fang Zhiyuan knelt on the ground, stroking the dragon’s broken horn and blood-stained scales, calling his name until his voice became hoarse.

But the golden dragon never opened his eyes, never responded.

During that time, Lin Fuqing had completely become useless due to the backlash of yin qi. From beginning to end, he was nothing but a burden.

From afar, he looked at Fang Zhiyuan’s back that seemed deeply buried in that blood sunset, and he suddenly hated himself for not dying at the hands of the outer god earlier.

Lin Fuqing said softly, “Zhiyuan, it’s okay to cry.”

Ignoring him, Fang Zhiyuan stood up with his back straight, his face cold as ice.

With a wave of his hand, spiritual power gathered into a raging fire that shot up into the sky. With a crackling sound, sparks flew, and in an instant, the golden dragon’s still warm body was burnt to ashes.

In order to prevent the golden dragon’s corpse from being dismembered and humiliated by the pursuing cultivators, the Immortal Sovereign Huangyang cremated his dragon with his own hands.

A sharp pain stabbed into Lin Fuqing’s heart, so sharp that his vision went momentarily dark. In his blurry vision, he saw Fang Zhiyiuan striding towards him.

It was already dusk, but the fire outlined Fang Zhiyuan’s sharply defined features, revealing eyes as dark as a deep pool.

Lin Fuqing watched him in a trance. Before the thought of “Will Zhiyuan regret saving me now?” could fully take shape, Fang Zhiyuan hugged him tightly and said hoarsely, “Why are you crying? Let’s go.”

Startled, Lin Fuqing struggled to lift his hand to touch his cheek, only to discover that he’d been crying.

Silent, he closed his eyes and buried his pale, tear-stained and yin qi-corroded face into Fang Zhiyuan’s arms that smelled strongly of blood.

The silent sadness seemed to form a line between heaven and earth, and a desolate wind stoked the flames behind them. The Immortal Sovereign held the Demon Lord and walked toward the future where night was gradually falling, one step deep and one step shallow.

The road behind them was awashed half in fire and half in blood.

=========

“Naturally.”

The sound of Fang Zhiyuan’s voice pulled Lin Fuqing out of the memories entangled in blood and fire.

He didn’t know how long he’d been distracted, but from the sounds of it, Fang Zhiyuan seemed to have regained his composure. “Even if the Dragon King hadn’t asked me, I would have brought him out and set him free.”

Ao Yin bowed and said, “Thank you, Immortal Sovereign.”

“No need.” Fang Zhiyuan turned his eyes coldly away. “I owe him.”

He paused to sort out his emotions, before speaking again. “…The fantasy realm that resided within the grounds of the Golden Osmanthus Palace contains countless high-level magic weapons, immortal tools, cultivation techniques, and inheritances. It’s a place of adventure, and not everyone can enter casually.”

Ao Yin waved his hands and said, “No worries, no worries. It’s already been this many years, and there’s no rush.”

“But,” Fang Zhiyuan held his forehead and shook his head, “After each Golden Osmanthus Challenge, the top twelve on the list will be given the chance to enter the small fantasy realm to seek opportunities. This is the rule, and I planned on using this opportunity to enter and bring him out.”

Seeing the surprise in Ao Yin’s face, Fang Zhiyuan raised a finger and added, “But.”

Lin Fuqing understood what Fang Zhiyuan meant and said, “But, there are too many variables. This Golden Osmanthus Challenge had been unprecedentedly chaotic. We’re not sure what the Thunder Sky Immortal Sovereign intends to do.”

Seeing his hope shattered, a trace of regret appeared on Ao Yin’s face.

Just as the Dragon King was about to speak, Fang Zhiyuan opened his mouth and said again, “But.”

Lin Fuqing smiled faintly and continued lightly, “But Thunder Sky Immortal Sovereign will listen to my thoughts. Your Majesty, just leave your brother’s affairs to both of us. We’ll take care of it.”

The muscles on Ao Yin’s face twitched, and he asked with some timidity, “Immortal Sovereign, do you have any more ‘buts’?”

Fang Zhiyuan said, “No more.”

With a sigh of relief, Ao Yin thanked them profusely. They chatted idly for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, the Dragon King was ready to leave.

The Demon Lord and Immortal Sovereign escorted the Dragon King off the island. At the foot of the main peak, the waves had returned back to its original calm.

Before he left, Lin Fuqing said, “Your Majesty, we had offended you a little while ago. I hope you’ll forgive us.”

The Dragon King hurriedly said, “No, no, the little dragon was the one who was rude. I hope I didn’t scare the little girl.”

Lin Fuqing shook his head and said with a smile, “You didn’t scare her. That kid is so brave that her brain is nearly full of nothing but courage. It’s just…” He hesitated and finally continued with some seriousness, “I wonder if your majesty thinks my junior sister is different from ordinary people?”

The reason he’d asked was because he suddenly thought of the strange scene he’d seen when he’d picked up Yu Hongtang. At the time, she was carried atop the dead body of a large fish, with countless smaller fish keeping them afloat.

In fact, he had always suspected that Yu Hongtang wasn’t an ordinary child. He’d even secretly discussed his speculations with Fang Zhiyuan, wondering if she might be a half-demon child born from the union of a demon beast of noble blood and a human.

Unfortunately, apart from that strange phenomenon at their first meeting, there was nothing else eye-catching about Xiao Hongtang.

Of course, it must be mentioned that, with Lin Da Shixiong and Second Fang Shixiong leading the way, in Xuyun Sect, something like having a high talent for cultivation couldn’t be regarded as “eye-catching.”

Later, after the Immortal Calamity disbanded Xuyun Sect, the Demon Lord and the Immortal Sovereign had met Yu Hongtang several times, but they always had to separate shortly due to various reasons.

These two childhood sweethearts had not been completely reunited in nearly a hundred years.

“……No.”

Unfortunately, Ao Yin shook his head, revealing a puzzled look. “Little dragon doesn’t see anything special about her. Could it be that your little sister isn’t human?”

The Demon Lord and the Immortal Sovereign were momentarily silent. Since the Dragon King had said it himself, then…

Lin Fuqing shook off his speculations for the moment and said with a smile, “No. Maybe I was overthinking. I’ll send the Dragon King off.”

“No need.” Ao Yin leaped into the air. Stepping barefoot onto the waves, he bowed from a distance. “The sea tribe and little dragon each owe you a favor. We’ll meet again if fate permits.”

After that, a long dragon roar came, resounding throughout Taiqing Island. Ao Yin transformed himself, transmitting a red-gold divine light that spread across the sea.

In the light, a massive five-clawed golden dragon revealed its true appearance. With whiskers fluttering in the wind and its entire body covered with golden scales, it shone as dazzlingly as the rising sun.

Lin Fuqing and Fang Zhiyuan stood side by side on the cliff overlooking the sea, taking in the remarkable sight.

Ao Yin roared and dived into the sea. Water rolled, stirring up countless waves crashing upon the rocks. The Dragon King turned into a golden light under the sea. His five dragon claws pushed aside the waves and disappeared into the depths of the sea in the blink of an eye.

Although the figure of the Dragon King had long disappeared, Fang Zhiyuan stared at the rolling sea for a long time, unable to return to his senses.

Lin Fuqing inwardly sighed and approached from behind.

“Missed your little dragon?”

Fang Zhiyuan lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, “I hadn’t treated him very well. He’s stupid and I often hit and scold him.”

Lin Fuqing put his arms around Fang Zhiyuan’s waist, hugging him from behind, his expression calm. “I’ll go with you to get him out. Be nicer to him next time.”

 

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