Dragon Tamer

The sunlight was comfortable, and receiving awards was always a delight. Especially since he could collect two prizes, one being a Spiritual Realm Fruit as an outstanding student, and the other was given by the academy to the instructors.

Spiritual Realm Fruit, Zhu Minglang had never seen such a spirit fruit before and wondered if even the Divine and Mortals tasted it, would it also help to enhance their cultivation base.

Having obtained the Spiritual Realm Fruit, Zhu Minglang nibbled on it while humming a tune on his way to the academy to collect the award for the instructors.

“Zhu Minglang, how is it?” A friendly-looking classmate came up to him, and upon seeing Zhu Minglang, couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s not as sweet as the peaches that girl sells by the bridge,” Zhu Minglang casually replied.

The classmate’s face immediately darkened.

Spiritual Realm Fruit, was it about the taste?!

Zhu Minglang didn’t bother to savor it carefully, just letting the fruit slowly digest in his body, believing that as a genius blessed by the heavens, whatever he ate would greatly enhance his power, which is why he didn’t prepare with incense burning and hand washing, or bathe and change clothes before consumption like other outstanding students.

Arriving at the academy, only the core of the Spiritual Realm Fruit was left, and Zhu Minglang casually tossed it, noticing that when the core fell into the soil, the soil quivered.

Subsequently, a light blue sprout rapidly grew out, quickly absorbing the nutrients from the surrounding soil and turned into a very beautiful spirit seedling!

Zhu Minglang gaped, realizing that the core was also valuable, had he been a bit wasteful?

Oh well, what’s done was done, think of it as contributing to the academy’s beautiful greening. Starting now, one could pretty much say goodbye to the poor and impoverished former self!

Moreover, with three strong dragons by his side, his strides could now be even bolder than before.

“With the credits earned, enough for Big Black Tooth to feast on pork till spring, and I can afford expensive queen bee honey with the gold and jewelry I have. This way, Bai Qi’s Ice Morning Method will be much more powerful, and by summer, it will reach maturity!”

In summertime, he would truly become a Dragon Herding Sanctifier, radiant and splendid, and should anyone dare to give him attitude like Nan Zhaobing did, he’d definitely stomp on their smug faces.

Whatever, the overbearing sort that loved to strut around were his favorites, he’d absolutely give them a lesson they’d turn green over!

“You can pick anything from the third level of the treasure house, but you can’t take anything from the high shelves,” the old woman guarding the treasure house said.

The old woman knitted her yarn, her eyes hollow and lifeless, speaking without much of a friendly tone.

Zhu Minglang showed his respects by bowing. Those who seemed to reject worldly interactions were often the ones with profound skills, and anyone capable of guarding the entire treasure pavilion was certainly no ordinary person.

The first and second levels were mostly rewards for students; with enough credits, they could basically exchange for items.

Zhu Minglang just walked up along the staircase and spotted many items he desired, such as an elixir that could refine ancient dragon bones, a real treasure for Big Black Tooth.

Unfortunately, Zhu Minglang was also running out of credits, having exchanged for a season’s buffet voucher for the pasture.

On the third floor, Zhu Minglang saw many ancient tables, on which there were many sandalwood boxes and some vessels, most of which were for storage purposes.

“Exchange the Demonic Spider’s Demon Bead for an Ancient Dragon Demon Bead, I might get a better match. This Ancient Dragon Demon Bead is good, but it’s only a little over a thousand years old,” Zhu Minglang shook his head, abandoning the thought of choosing this Ancient Dragon Demon Bead.

There’s a six-hundred-year gap between one thousand seven hundred years and one thousand one hundred years, which could afford you a nice house within the city-state wall.

Zhu Minglang continued to look forward; the really good stuff is usually placed towards the back.

“Stardust Stone?”

“That’s also a good item, could make a piece of Starlight Armor, but what a pity, there’s so little material.”

If Bai Qi were to wear Starlight Armor, its Azure Dragon Mystics would likely leap an entire level, and even Dragon Lord Level beings wouldn’t dare take its hit lightly.

The material was too scarce, and anyway, Zhu Minglang’s craftsmanship hadn’t fully matured; he probably couldn’t forge such high-level dragon armor.

“Storm Phantom Feather?”

“This item seems pretty good, could be attached under Bai Qi’s feathers, whimsically controlling the storm, significantly strengthening the Wind

Controlling Method!” Zhu Minglang saw an item that truly caught his eye.

It was a cluster of really extraordinary feathers.

Seeming to come from some ancient Holy Spirit, its unique feathers could reside on almost any feathered dragon beast, bestowing the dragon beast with the ability of wind feathers!

Even though Bai Qi would eventually evolve into a Dragon Lord, with these feathers’ enhancement, whether using Profound Art or mastering ice and wind control, it would far surpass any dragon beast of the same realm!

This is good!

Wind was probably Bai Qi’s weakest ability, and with these feathers attached, it would be strong enough to thrash a High-Rank Dragon General.

“Bai Qi… no, no, no, everything here is quite nice, but you can’t just roll them up and take them, it could be fatal!” Zhu Minglang finally chose an item, only to find Little Bai Qi already raising its tail.

It was preparing to use the Universe Concealment Trick; it seemed to disapprove of Zhu Minglang’s hesitant decision-making, planning to take everything away in one fell swoop.

“Yoooooo…” Bai Qi called out in a plaintive tone, the meaning of which was, isn’t there nobody around?

“Our realm at the moment is far from what it used to be. Looting is something we can’t afford to do just yet. That old lady guarding the door must be quite formidable,” Zhu Minglang said with a wry smile, hurrying to explain to Bai Qi.

Only then did the Ice Morning White Dragon gain some understanding and, albeit somewhat unwillingly, let its braided tail droop. Those clean and bright big eyes of its fixed on the small feather that Zhu Minglang had chosen…

Is this it?

What could be taken differed too much from what had been imagined, not exciting in the least.

Zhu Minglang let out a long sigh.

It seemed that Bai Qi was accustomed to living large, and this kind of meticulous, underhanded cultivation was something it couldn’t adapt to in a short time.

“It’s alright. It won’t be long before we return to our peak again. If we can find the way back, perhaps we can even surprise our old adversaries, ” Zhu Minglang consoled Bai Qi.

“Yooo…” Bai Qi flapped its wings, indicating it too looked forward to returning to the places it had once stayed. However, when those eyes gazed at Zhu Minglang, they revealed a touch of sadness and guilt.

Zhu Minglang picked it up, gently stroked its fluffy little head with a hand, and smiled, “It’s okay, being a Dragon Shepherd is also quite nice. Look, we’ve gained new companions like Big Black Tooth and Little Qing Zhuo.” “Think about it, in the past we were weak on our own and got bullied, sometimes even having to run away. Now that I’ve become a true Dragon Shepherd, we will have even more companions in the future. When we want to trouble others, we will call them all out at once to let them know what it means to have the advantage of numbers.”

“Do you remember that time we were chased for a month by a Dragon Shepherd who had a Dragon King? What powerful dragons did he have, do you remember?”

“Yooo…” Bai Qi nodded, as it was gradually recalling past events.

“Now you are my Dragon Leader, you are strong, therefore I am strong,” Zhu Minglang said.

“Yooo!!” Bai Qi seemed to ignite its fighting spirit, telling Zhu Minglang that it would definitely try hard to sleep and become stronger!!

‘ Zhu Minglang chuckled wryly.

It seemed that after its regression and rebirth, Bai Qi indeed possessed an extraordinary talent—Big Black Tooth trained strenuously every day, yet couldn’t catch up with the Ice Morning White Dragon, which spent most of its time sleeping.

But it wasn’t as simple as it looked; after all, Bai Qi had regressed into a small ice bug for so many years, and in this world where giant Demon Dragons roamed rampant, it lived like an ant, surviving solely by being subservient—no other creature would have experienced such divine tribulations…

Everyone has their own way of cultivation, including Zhu Minglang himself— from glory to mediocrity, then rising bit by bit from mediocrity, life’s ups and downs; a heroic life needs no words, just one true phrase to accompany: in strength one may mock the heavens with pride, in adversity one stays steady like an old hound!

Summer, neither close nor far away.

Zhu Minglang was very clear that once he made it to summer, he would no longer fear the vast majority of strong beings in the Ancestral Dragon City.

Having selected the item he wanted, Zhu Minglang reluctantly left the Treasure Pavilion.

With winter’s chill, Zhu Minglang stopped wandering around, devoting himself to cultivating and training dragons within the academy, replenishing his Dragon Shepherd arts that he hadn’t properly studied due to past laziness, and simultaneously searching for the Law of Evolution for Big Black Tooth and Little Qing Zhuo.

There are many ways to enhance the strength of a dragon, but considering the speed of Bai Qi’s transformation, Zhu Minglang naturally would not be content with his dragons remaining at the Dragon Son or Dragon General level.

The so-called Dragon Gate is not a divine gate to leisurely ease after one leap through.

This First Dragon Gate is but a threshold for Ordinary Spirits to cross, to become higher beings capable of cultivating and transforming, no longer like wild animals that only seek to satisfy their hunger and survive, but more to find their own path, soaring above all creatures!

There are countless Dragon Gates, and their heights are unknown to anyone; every being in every realm understands that by transcending one realm, beyond and above, there lies a more grand Divine Mountain, and a more majestic Dragon Gate Waterfall…

Ordinary Spirits have their own Dragon Gate.

Cultivating Spirits have their own elusive and difficult Dragon Gate. Zhu

Minglang vaguely remembered being told by an elder of the Zhu family that grown dragons must face their own Dragon Gate tribulations if they wish to transform again.

This tribulation isn’t merely a test of enduring thunderous ordeals to attain immortality.

Was Bai Qi’s regression the Dragon Gate tribulation?

My decision was akin to enduring this tribulation with it.

Regrettably, after scouring through some of the Dragon Taming Academy’s archives, there are only mentions of the Dragon Gate, but no records of the second Dragon Gate—the Dragon Disaster.

If we could uncover the Dragon Disaster for Black Tooth and Qing Zhuo, they would transform again!

If Bai Qi’s regression is indeed the Dragon Disaster, having already crossed it, does it now face the Third Dragon Gate, and what might the Third Dragon Gate

Or perhaps Bai Qi’s regression was merely a disaster in its life.

It has become stronger than before, turning into the Ice Morning White Dragon, because of some other reason.

Indeed, the Way of the Shepherd Dragon is a long and winding path.

There won’t be any dull moments for the rest of my life!