Translator: Exodus Tales
Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by Mianbao
Edited by RED
At the Li Clan’s royal court…
A soft, slender robe over armor, hair hanging on both shoulders, and an incomparably pale complexion; Luo Xiao stood on the walled bridge connecting the royal mansion and the military institution, his gaze looking over the layers of attics, the winding courtyards…
He stood here habitually. Even when he was still a servant, he could distantly see the spread of autumn phoebe trees in the forest after passing through those towers, as well as the faint silver roof of an exquisite courtyard.
He had originally thought that he would have more chances to get closer to Li Yunzi after becoming a commander of the Li Clan’s hundred armies. In truth, however, after confessing his feelings that day, Luo Xiao had not managed to meet her even once.
“Commander Luo, we know what is on your mind. It’s not that we’re not willing to give you a chance to visit, but Yunzi’s father has given out a house arrest order. This matter concerns the face of our Li Clan. Our lord does not wish to hear anyone in the city state speak of that disgraceful matter,” the lady of the house, Concubine Kong Tong, informed him.
“This subordinate has a little suggestion. That is, if the Patriarch could arrange for Young Miss Li Yunzi to be married, and spend some money to have those gossipers on the streets spread a rumor that it was some other city state using this rumor to tarnish the Young Miss Li Yunzi, and the Li Clan’s reputation. No matter if the public believes it, this matter would die down very quickly.” Luo Xiao said respectfully to the mistress, Kong Tong.
Kong Tong looked at Luo Xiao, whose head was lowered in salute, and revealed a smile. She said, “It’s not a bad idea; I’ll have the lord consider Yunzi’s marriage soon.”
“Many thanks, my lady!” Luo Xiao was both happy and surprised. If Kong Tong had agreed to it, the chances of things going through were extremely high!
“This is the written order for your mission. The lord had me pass it to you. The nine cities of Wutu have allied to stage a rebellion, wanting to occupy our East Dawn City Stronghold. The city state’s army is already heading over; you set off tomorrow. Since Wutu’s rebelling army thinks that the heavens are unfair in giving them such barren land, let them know who is the real heavens!” Kong Tong said, handing Luo Xiao a written order.
Luo Xiao accepted the order with both hands respectfully. He was resentful of the people of Wutu to begin with, and was thus happy to take on this task.
Slaughtering rebellions was the most direct and most effective method to deal with them. Not only that, the terror of the slaughter would quickly spread throughout Wutu. The citizens of the other cities of Wutu would live in the shadow of this terror for a very long time, not daring to stir up any trouble!
“This is different from the small merits you have achieved thus far. After completing this mission, your reputation in the city state will rise exponentially.” Kong Tong continued.
“Luo Xiao won’t disappoint my lady and my lord!” Luo Xiao replied.
“Oh, there’s still another matter I need to ask you about…” Kong Tong spoke up, suddenly recalling something.
Luo Xiao halted his steps. He turned around and saluted once more, awaiting Kong Tong’s question.
“That man who came back with you. Did you recognize him?” Kong Tong changed her mind.
Luo Xiao frowned, He asked doubtfully, “Zhu Minglang; isn’t he a staff member of the clan?”
“There’s no one with that name in the clan. Who told you he was one of us?” Kong Tong asked.
“Young Miss Yunzi.” Luo Xiao’s brow was furrowed, obviously thinking about this question very seriously.
“Alright, you head off to East Dawn City first, we’ll talk about this small matter again when you return. I need time to investigate this man’s identity. Since Yunzi was set up by others, she’s sure to have some people with ulterior motives around her,” Kong Tong said.
Luo Xiao saluted once more. When he turned to leave, his expression darkened.
If Zhu Minglang wasn’t someone from the Li Clan, then why did Li Yunzi lie?
——–
At the Dragon Tamers Academy…
In the residence courtyard, Zhu Minglang was overjoyed. Little Baiqi had finally emerged from his cocoon!
Zhu Minglang carefully brought the sleepy little Baiqi out from his spirit domain, wanting to see its appearance as soon as possible.
“Strange. He’s not an Azure Dragon?” Zhu Minglang was very surprised!
Even if little Baiqi was dragonizing again, he looked too different from before!
Baiqi used to be an Ice Azure Dragon with a pure bloodline. He had tough, frosty scales, a long, slender body and a long, narrow tail. He was somewhat similar to the Waterfall Flood Dragon, not having any wings.
However, the current Baiqi actually had a large pair of wings!
Thinking back, he had indeed had a pair of light and soft wings like a butterfly’s, in the ice cocoon. Now his wings had grown stronger, and were covered in very thin and delicate icy feathers.
Not only that, the wings’ bones were formed in several sections, nimbler than a human’s fingers. This seemed to allow its wings to spread backwards like a butterfly, showing off their beauty. It could beat its wings powerfully to execute shocking flight techniques, attacking and dodging freely in the air, or retract them softly, making it look like a harmless yet noble and elegant little swan.
Naturally, it had also carried over a portion of an Azure Dragon’s body. Its neck, chest, hips, and tail were as graceful and slender as a snake’s, with limbs similar to a cat’s, and clawed feet.
There weren’t any of his old diamond-shaped ganoid scales on the dragon’s body. His neck was covered in long, silvery white velvet, as elegant as tassels. Also, the rest of his body was covered in short, soft silvery velvet fur, as smooth as silver silk, right down to its tail.
Its tail was also a little different. It was long, and almost seemed woven like a girl’s braids. He didn’t know whether the dragon’s tail feathers were special, or the frost that had condensed on his body had spread!
While Zhu Minglang was closely observing little Baiqi, he carefully fed the dragon some nectar.
It was interesting that when this little ice dragon was sucking the nectar up seriously, his attractive white slender braid of a tail would perk up very slowly, then suddenly fall straight down after a while, and not move for some time…
Overall, Baiqi looked much less imposing than before, but had a more elegant and noble appearance. Every feather, every icy scale, and every inch of its skin exuded an extraordinary beauty.
“What kind of dragon is this? A White-feathered Winged Dragon? But it seems to possess the bloodline of Great Dragons… Could it be an White Ice Morning Dragon?” Zhu Minglang wasn’t able to make an accurate judgment.
Overall, he seemed like a Winged Dragon, but the ice-velvet feathers on its wings were similar to the Frost Dragons of the Great Dragons. Recalling what he had been taught regarding dragons, it was very similar to the White Ice Morning Dragons said to dwell in the icy skies, thousands of kilometers above the ground!
“Yiyiyi…!” Little Baiqi still sounded like a baby. Zhu Minglang was unsure whether he was acting like a child because he was hungry, or his voice was like that now.
Still, he had prepared sufficient nectar for Baiqi earlier.
The nectar, still exuding the thick fragrance of flowers, was contained in a small scoop. Little Baiqi stared at Zhu Minglang first, then at the nectar, his eyes rippling with joy.
“Drink more, and grow well,” Zhu Minglang said.
Baiqi took a whiff of the nectar, slowly bringing its small, now-fuzzy white head to the scoop of nectar, and licked it gently, like a baby cat.
—
Finally, Baiqi had eaten his fill. However, he didn’t want to return to its ice cocoon bed in Zhu Minglang’s spirit domain.
He slowly crawled into Zhu Minglang’s embrace, his long tail coiled around itself. His wings were fully retracted, covering his body, and he nestled blissfully in Zhu Minglang’s arms tamely and lazily.
Soon, he heard the White Ice Morning Dragon’s soft breathing. It was sleeping comfortably; its soft and comfy short feathers made Zhu Minglang feel like he was actually raising a clingy little white cat, and not a real dragon!
Of course, Zhu Minglang was very clear that little Baiqi had gone through a cycle of life after emerging from his cocoon, returning to his infancy.
The speed of most dragons’ growth was very slow. A Great Dragon’s life expectancy was up to a thousand years; their growth from an infant to an adult could easily outlast two generations of humans.
It was at this point that the effect of Master Dragon Tamers would show up most prominently.
First, a human’s spirit domain was like a greenhouse for growing their soul-contracted dragons. Even if all they did inside was sleep, their rate of growth would be greatly increased.
Second, the rapid growth in the spirit domains still wouldn’t impact the lifespan of the dragons.
In addition, by feeding them certain foods, or buying them some spiritual fruits, one could help the young dragons quickly get through their weakest period.
It didn’t matter that the White Ice Morning Dragon was still young. Get more sleep, and eat more nectar. As a real dragon, it changed greatly with every passing day. In less than a month, it would possess great combat ability!
“Crap, I almost forgot there’s an end of month lesson today!” Zhu Minglang had his mind fully focused on little Baiqi and almost didn’t remember that matter.
The Dragon Tamers Academy’s management of its students was very lax. It had classes set up every morning, and let the students themselves decide whether to attend them.
There were many facilities and venues in the Academy that do not charge any fees for their usage; the students could use them freely.
However, for matters like going to the Dragon Storage Hall to pick a new spiritling, and obtaining medicine or special feed, the students would need to rely on completing the Academy’s missions to accumulate sufficient course credits to exchange for them.
Course credits in the Dragon Tamers Academy were worth more than gold and silver. The Academy stored plenty of spiritual treasures in their Grand Storage Pavilion every year. Students could exchange for them as long as they earned enough course credits.
It was said that there were dragon eggs available. They were real dragons after hatching!
Zhu Minglang had yet to go visit this legendary Grand Storage Pavilion. The main reason was that he had exchanged the little bit of course credits he had earned after much difficulty for money and feed. Why bother to visit the Grand Storage Pavilion just to drool?…
The classes every morning weren’t free, either. A course credit was charged for them.
The big class at the end of the month was free, however, and students of the same cohort were not allowed to skip them, or course credits would be deducted from them.
Zhu Minglang needed to go to class. He went to tidy up his appearance. On the one hand, the contents of the large class at the end of month were richer. On the other hand, he had yet to meet his fellow classmates, outside of those in the same residence courtyard as him, especially his female classmates. What kind of flowers were they?