Dragon Tamer

With a few days left before departure, Zhu Minglang decided to stay in the Silver Fir Sacred Forest, mainly to train the Black Azure Violent Dragon and the Divine Green Holy Dragon.

Big Black Tooth had consumed a Lord-Level Azure Dragon Soul Pearl, and after nearly a month of digestion, it had now reached Dragon General Level and had grown Dark Thunder Scales!

The Dark Thunder Scales were special, for when the body of the Black Azure Violent Dragon was attacked by an enemy, they absorbed most of the energy, including the shock from impacts, which would then empower the Black Azure Violent Dragon’s horns, claws, tail, back ridge, and other parts with a dark thunderstorm enhancement…

This made every part of the Black Azure Violent Dragon capable of generating thunderstorms with its attacks, naturally making them extremely terrifying!

Beyond that, Big Black Tooth had mastered an Ancient Dragon Warfare Skill, the Blood of Bravery.

This was a powerful ability that made an Ancient Dragon increasingly fierce in battle.

Tyrant Dragons are top predators, and when they maintain a high-pitched combat stance, their blood flows more rapidly, boils, gradually awakening their ancient fighting spirit, and fully releasing all potential in the midst of fierce fighting.

Each wound inflicted on the enemy, the smell of blood, would make the Tyrant Dragon a bit stronger.

Being wounded and losing blood would also make the Tyrant Dragon stronger than before.

Continuous fighting, constant slaughter, subjugating all living beings around them, and maintaining the highest predator’s momentum and dragon majesty would also make the Blood of Bravery in the Tyrant Dragon’s body boil, causing an explosion in strength, defense, speed, reaction, self-healing, warfare skills, and overall abilities!

As long as it did not die, it would keep getting stronger!

Big Black Tooth was a hybrid of Tyrant Dragon and Azure Dragon, and with the awakening of the Blood of Bravery, one could say that it had truly acquired its own authentic Ancient Dragon spirit.

As a result, Zhu Minglang planned to find some more opponents in the Sacred Forest, to give Big Black Tooth a real battle forging!

It’s worth mentioning that the Blood of Bravery isn’t just a temporary gain during battles; it retains a portion of potential in the Ancient Dragon’s body even after fighting.

This meant that each victorious battle would permanently enhance the Tyrant Dragon’s strength…

This warfare skill, rightly called an Ancient Dragon God Technique, was fortunate due to Zhu Minglang’s efforts to feed and strengthen Big Black Tooth with the best possible resources, or there was a chance he could have missed the awakening of this ability!

With the Blood of Bravery, Big Black Tooth didn’t have to worry about being left behind by the naturally gifted Bai Qi and Qing Zhuo with the Holy Dragon bloodline!

However, Big Black Tooth was still in the digestion period.

A Lord-level Soul Bead was quite substantial for Big Black Tooth, making the digestion period very long, which of course meant that Big Black Tooth might continue to grow stronger.

Battle could shorten the digestion period and increase the chances of awakening abilities.

Feeding, spiritual nourishment, combat, and strengthening are all indispensable in the growth process of all dragons, and it’s best if they complement each other…well, except for Bai Qi!

Bai Qi probably maxed out his fighting attributes in a previous life, and in this life, only needs feeding, spiritual nourishment, and sleep.

Whether he fights or not all depends on his mood and whether the opponent is worthy enough.

“It feels like I don’t really understand Xiao Bai Qi either. When I get back home, I can ask Mr. Dumb for advice…” As Zhu Minglang thought of Mr. Dumb’s appearance, he couldn’t help but feel like laughing.

I remember when I was very young, Mr. Dumb tried so hard to convince me to become a Dragon Shepherd, yet I had chosen Divine and Mortal.

Nowadays, I have become a Dragon Shepherd, and I hope Mr. Dumb hasn’t completely given up on me like my aunt has.

“Mr. Dumb should be able to explain Bai Qi’s regressive condition,” Zhu Minglang murmured to himself.

Zhu Gate…

I wonder if for them, my return is a good thing, or just a headache.

Some are happy, some are sorrowful, I suppose.

Walking through the Silver Fir Sacred Forest after completing today’s dragon taming, Zhu Minglang had planned to return to the Nan Mansion, but he found himself wandering to the other side of the garden, where a shrine lay deep within the forest.

It was already night, and there was candlelight within the shrine. Out of curiosity, Zhu Minglang walked towards it.

Normally, candles in such a shrine would only be lit on the death anniversaries of family members.

Zhu Minglang had just reached the entrance when he saw a man sitting on a grass mat with a flask of alcohol in his hand, his hair and beard slightly messy and unkempt.

In the candlelight, Zhu Minglang recognized the man as the master of the Li Family, Li Ying.

He looked much more haggard and older than when Zhu Minglang had seen him before, his eyes no longer as sharp as they had been, resembling more a middle-aged man keeping a vigil.

After taking a sip of alcohol, he saw Zhu Minglang and didn’t show any surprise, but simply asked indifferently, “Care for a drink?”

Zhu Minglang looked at the somewhat dispirited Li Ying and felt little sympathy in his heart.

This guy, he’s made his own bed.

To be able to keep a vigil and enjoy peace here was probably because Li Yunzi and Nan Lingsha remembered he was their father, and did not wish to be the murderers of their own father.

“Who are you mourning?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“My wife,” Li Ying replied.

“How did she die?” Zhu Minglang glanced at the shrine table, where a spirit tablet was placed…

It wasn’t Kong Tong, but Li Ying’s first wife, the birth mother of Li Yunzi and Nan Lingsha.

“My wife and I had four daughters; the two younger daughters were sickly from birth and passed away at the age of two or three. My wife was so grieved by this that she left on the same day,” Li Ying said.

How many daughters did Li Ying have in the end?

Had he always wanted a son, but was punished by fate with only daughters, leading to resentment in his heart? “Was that today?” Zhu Minglang inquired.

“Yes.”

“Alive, they don’t cherish; dead, they mourn. You really are a joke,” Zhu Minglang said.

“I just wanted to imprison them, I just wanted to imprison them…” As he repeated these words, Li Ying poured another mouthful of strong liquor into his mouth and continued to mumble.

Looking at Li Ying’s state, he seemed to be somewhat incoherent from drinking too much.

But one could also see the remorse and pain deep in his heart.

Zhu Minglang didn’t want to console his deservedly miserable father-in-law anymore, and as he turned to leave the shrine, Zhu Minglang noticed a name among the spirit tablets that seemed faintly familiar.

Li Xinghua!

“Xinghua?”

“Isn’t she the prophet Nan Lingsha talked about?”

Zhu Minglang specifically walked over and saw that the spirit tablet indeed bore this name, and the birth and death dates on it clearly indicated an untimely demise…

Nan Lingsha had clearly told him there was a woman named Xinghua who was a prophet.

Li Yunzhi had also learned from this prophet about an approximate time when a new continent similar to Wutu might emerge in the Li Chuan Continent.

The problem is, her spirit tablet is here! And she died a long time ago.

Could it be that Li Yunzhi possessed some sort of necromancy spell??

“Hey, your prematurely deceased daughter… How could you fall asleep drunk like this, and this is how you mourn your deceased wife and daughter?” Zhu Minglang glanced back at Li Ying and immediately rolled his eyes.

Could this spirit tablet be a fake?

Perhaps the prophet named Xinghua didn’t die; for some reason, she was hiding somewhere??

Did Li Ying know that his daughter was still alive?

“Nan Yuso…” Zhu Minglang quickly noticed another spirit tablet, almost placed next to Li Xinghua’s.

Just now, Li Ying mentioned two younger daughters who had passed away prematurely; it must have been them.

Could it be that Li Xinghua and Nan Yuso’s deaths were not due to frailty and illness but were actually caused by someone else?

And the biological mother of Li Yunzhi and Nan Lingsha died of grief that day, which was equivalent to being indirectly killed as well.

Was it Kong Tong’s doing?

Li Ying had always been unaware, but Li Yunzhi had some inklings, which is why her relationship with her father had always been very poor.

Or was it that Li Yunzhi saved her sister Xinghua, but her mother and Nan Yuso fell prey to malicious hands; recognizing her young age and the enemy’s strength, Li Yunzhi could only hide Xinghua away?

Could it be that, in addition to Kong Tong, there was also Elder Nan??

Otherwise, why would Elder Nan set out to punish Li Yunzhi? Even if it was to monopolize the Holy Dew for a hundred years, the enmity didn’t seem enough to be relentless and deadly.

For many years, Li Yunzhi and Nan Lingsha had been enduring in silence, just waiting for the opportunity to kill all of those who were responsible for the past atrocities!

After all, was Li Ying simply oblivious and naive, never knowing that the murderers of his wife and daughters were within the Li and Nan Families from beginning to end?

Or was it that he was involved too, having caused the death of his own daughter and his first wife?

Alas, within a single family, there can be so many malicious people; it really was tough for Li Yunzhi and Nan Lingsha to survive in such an environment…

Fortunately, the ultimate outcome was good, and the sisters still managed to eliminate all the culprits from back then.

Having understood all this, Zhu Minglang looked once more at Li Ying, who had collapsed into the ground in a drunken stupor, and shook his head helplessly.

He lit two candles, placing them separately at the spirit tablets of the deceased Nan Yuso and the biological mother of Li Yunzhi.

After completing the tribute, Zhu Minglang didn’t bother with Li Ying anymore and walked out of the shrine.

It was time to pack up in the evening.

It was about time to return to the Supreme Court Courtyard Continent, back to Zhu Gate.

Who knows if the candle wax beneath my own spirit tablet has turned into a solid stone slab!

Sigh, the first thing to do when I get back is to go to the Zhu Gate’s shrine and remove my spirit tablet. I, Zhu Minglang, am not dead!

Stop worshiping!

As midsummer approached, the mountains bloomed brilliantly. Flying over the Li Chuan Plain, one could always see vast expanses of flower fields scattering beauty, compelling one to pause there.

Riding on a sail dragon, the vast land and boundless rivers gradually submerged into the horizon, replaced by a series of rolling mountain ranges.

These mountain ranges, known as Long Gorge Mountain, marked the boundary between Ancestral Dragon City and Lingxiao City State. Due to perennial warfare, one could see stone outposts and flags fluttering in the mountain breeze on the valleys, paths, and ridges.

The group didn’t linger in this area. After all, they couldn’t meddle with the wars. Zhu Xuehen and Pu Shiming were Orderers; they were not only supervising the Divine and Mortal and Dragon Shepherds in those forces but also watching over the people of the Li Chuan Continent. Those who defied or rebelled faced a fate akin to that of the Sect Palace.

The sail dragon belonged to Dean Duan Changqing, and this time, the number of people heading to the Supreme Court Courtyard Continent was not small, with just Dean Duan Changqing’s Dragon Shepherd Team consisting of eight members.

Zhu Minglang’s team was a bit meager; if not for the Divine and Mortal Nan Lingsha joining, he would only have Fang Niannian, the little Dragon Food steward..