However, no matter how off things felt, he had to set that aside for now. His current situation was what mattered most, and he was in the worst predicament of all.
“Godfather, can you help me undo this seal first?” As a dignified member of the Dragon clan, and a dignified Young Master of the Dragon clan at that, he had actually been subjected to that kind of method to be sealed.
It was simply…
Far too humiliating.
Yet no matter how humiliating it was, what could he do about it? Everything was brought upon him by his own doing; he had only himself to blame.
Looking back now, he had acted as though he were possessed, behaving so… In any case, he had been careening wildly down the path of courting death, and had come within a hair’s breadth of having his tendons ripped out.
A dragon’s original spine tendons were peerless treasures. He… had nearly lost the most vital asset of his race. Even though extracting his spine tendons wouldn’t have killed him outright, and he could have even survived to cultivate all over again, such a rebirth would have shattered all the pride of a dragon, and very few ever managed to walk out from under that shadow.
Moreover, given how Long Huayan had been courting death just prior, courting his own destruction and suffering the consequences, who else could he blame?
Thus, even though he knew he currently looked utterly shameful and desperately wished to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, he still had to wait until he could move again first.
When his godfather had suddenly appeared before his eyes a moment ago, he had genuinely been dazed for a moment, followed by a wave of grievance like nothing he had ever experienced. In all his two hundred-plus years of living, he had never taken a fall so miserable and thorough.
He finally understood what it meant when people said there were always people better than you and heavens beyond the skies, but… he hadn’t known the other party could be so ruthlessly severe. Even if he was in the wrong and hadn’t done anything, they still intended to do that to him.
Alright! The truth of the matter was that he truly had brought it all upon himself.
“Is that your sweetheart?” Su Cixuan mocked while swiftly shattering the seal on Long Huayan’s body. He had to admit that the other party’s sealing technique was indeed quite impressive.
It was actually capable of holding down a dragon race member like this brat.
When on earth had such a unique cultivator appeared in the Misty Continent, and whose lineage did they come from? It just so happened to be the one Long Huayan ran into, making him suffer early on… and face disaster.
Hearing Long Huayan’s aggrieved plea, Su Cixuan didn’t think for a second that Long Huayan was exaggerating. The seal on Long Huayan’s body had clearly been prepared with the express intent of extracting his spine tendons.
Witnessing this scene, a surge of anger also ignited within Su Cixuan’s heart.
This brat still called him godfather after all, and he had responded to that title for over two hundred years. Leaving aside whatever had transpired between them, shouldn’t the other party have feared incurring karmic retribution?
One had to know that extracting a dragon’s spine tendons would incur no minor karmic backlash.
What kind of background did the other party possess to be so confident and fearless? Leaving aside the fact that this boldness was being misapplied elsewhere though Su Cixuan might have somewhat appreciated such audacity under different circumstances seeing it used against his own brat, how could he not be furious?
Su Cixuan… was also a person who fiercely protected his own.
Furthermore, he was someone who never bothered reasoning with people.
He had no desire to reason; his fists were reason. Whoever lost was unlucky, and whoever won naturally proved the other person was unlucky. Up until now, Su Cixuan was always the one making others unlucky.
Even though Su Cixuan currently lacked half his life and half his lifetime cultivation, to him unless a situation genuinely required him to go all out very few occasions had ever arisen in his entire existence that warranted even one percent of his true strength.
That was how formidable he was, how… overbearing.
“Godfather, can we please not mention those three words?” It was too embarrassing.
“So this state you’re in now is the handiwork of that sweetheart of yours.” Su Cixuan looked at his godson, who was now free and capable of circulating his dragon qi on his own, while the coldness in his words grew heavier and heavier.
“Godfather, I truly, truly know I was wrong. Please don’t roast me like this. Although I didn’t end up in this state because of that person, it was actually caused by that person’s Dao companion.” It was precisely because of this that he learned just how many younger peers in this world were more talented and stronger than him.
At any rate, he had taken a severe beating to his ego during this period.
Because it wasn’t just those two individuals even the friends around those two were stronger than him and possessed higher innate talent.
Therefore…
Long Huayan truly had no face left. Of course, he hadn’t lost his pride as a dragon; at least after being sealed by the other party, while he had felt apprehension, he had felt no terror, nor had he groveled out of cowardice to cling to life.
Death was death; he wasn’t afraid. He wouldn’t lower his head to beg for mercy, only worrying that his father would surely grieve.
“You’ve finally met your match.” The brat wasn’t weak in terms of strength, and the other party should also be of the younger generation, yet they were able to back him into such a desperate corner he truly had some terrible luck.
However… no matter how powerful the other party might be, he was dead set on bullying them back for once today.
“Godfather, can I return to the Wuchen Palace with you? I’ll serve as an attendant in the Wuchen Palace, and then through my own efforts become your registered disciple, striving diligently so that I never have to experience a situation like that a second time. Even if I were to die in battle, it would be better than being helpless and reduced to a lamb waiting for slaughter.” Long Huayan’s eyes gleamed with resolve as he faced Su Cixuan with unprecedented seriousness and sincerity.
“You’ve figured it out? You’re giving up on traveling through the mainland?” With a wave of Su Cixuan’s hand, a set of tables and chairs materialized amidst the blooming flowers, and he had already seated himself alongside Bu Liuliqing.
Thus they sat, sipping tea amidst the picturesque scenery, waiting in the tranquility of heaven and earth.
“I’ve figured it out. I’d rather listen to my father’s advice and go train under your wing; that’s the most suitable path.” In the past, he had been playful and lacked focus. Having undergone this trial leaving aside whether he had achieved total enlightenment he at least wanted to grow strong on his own terms.
“Mm. Once matters here are settled, you’ll first return to Longyuan to have a proper reunion with your father. Your father was worried enough to spend a massive favor having me come take a look, only to find you ended up in a state like this. Go back properly, accept your reprimand, and then make your way to the Wuchen Palace on your own.” Su Cixuan finished laying out everything that needed to be said.
“Understood, godfather.” Knowing just how reckless this trip of his had been and how much it had cost his father, when he thought about his father’s condition he must have been unable to come personally, which was why he sent his godfather he realized his mistake.
His godfather’s temperament was not something that could be moved by just any ordinary big favor; he knew he had also caused his godfather to worry.
“Godfather… the Creation Fruit.” Having seated himself, Long Huayan retrieved a spiritual-energy-radiating jade box from his storage ring and handed it directly to Su Cixuan.
“It has already matured.” Su Cixuan took it and opened it for a look, feeling somewhat surprised. So the Creation Fruit had already matured, and judging by its appearance, it hadn’t been picked very long ago either.
“Mm, I’ve been guarding it the whole time. They wanted the Creation Fruit too, and I almost… almost let myself get muddled by some worthless romantic sentiment and hand it over to that person. Fortunately, I’m not completely foolish.” Although Long Huayan said this, his actions and demeanor looked somewhat… foolishly honest.
At any rate, when Bu Liuliqing laid eyes on this young dragon youth, he found him rather pleasing to the eye.
“Indeed, you weren’t completely muddled. You probably ended up in this state precisely because of this Creation Fruit, didn’t you?” The storage ring on the brat’s person had been personally crafted by himself as an adult coming-of-age gift; nobody else could possibly touch it except the brat himself. Therefore… extracting his spine tendons probably also served as an intimidation tactic to force the brat into handing over the Creation Fruit.
To be frank, this Creation Fruit was a supreme heavenly treasure within the Misty Continent, so harboring such obsessive desire for it was entirely normal.
Among the opposing party, there clearly appeared to be individuals of extraordinary discernment.
After all, not everyone possessed the knowledge to recognize a Creation Fruit.
The reason the brat recognized it was because he belonged to the Dragon race, and the Wuchen Palace held far greater treasures than this, along with detailed records regarding Creation Fruits.
It seemed the other party also possessed some background.
“Since it’s something godfather wishes to seek out, naturally it cannot be given to outsiders not even to a sweetheart.” That was how stubbornly straightforward he was.
Long Huayan was a dragon after all, and an imperial member of the Dragon race at that. Blessed with extraordinary innate talent and a solid foundation, his appearance was inherently handsome and regal; though he fell short of Su Cixuan, he still belonged in the top tier.
Right now, he appeared significantly more sheepish and shy in front of Su Cixuan.
“Consider it thoughtful of you.” As he said this, Su Cixuan had already retrieved the Creation Fruit from the jade box and handed it straight to Bu Liuliqing.
“Eat it directly?” Bu Liuliqing didn’t refuse either. He knew this Creation Fruit was intended for him to consume in the first place, so he had no reason to decline.
Even though he knew this Creation Fruit looked exceedingly precious, Old Su’s life mattered more than anything else; if it was meant to be eaten, eat it he must.
“Mm, eat it directly.” Although Su Cixuan told him to eat it directly, he gently retrieved the Creation Fruit back from Bu Liuliqing’s hands and meticulously peeled away its outer skin.
The peel, upon dropping to the ground, immediately melded into the soil.
Bu Liuliqing didn’t find anything amiss about this whatsoever. Because Old Su had done such things for him far too many times, Bu Liuliqing was no longer surprised; instead, he accepted it with utter nonchalance and habit.
However, Long Huayan was utterly thunderstruck.
The gaze he directed toward Bu Liuliqing was practically glowing with sparkles.
So the reason his godfather went looking for the Creation Fruit was to give it to this man to eat? So when eating a Creation Fruit, one even needed his godfather to personally peel the skin off first, and then…
Seeing his godfather so naturally pass over the peeled Creation Fruit and seeing the other man just as naturally accept it, Long Huayan was completely dumbfounded, because that action was far too natural.
So did this kind of thing happen frequently between the two individuals before him?
Regardless of how shocked Long Huayan felt, Bu Liuliqing went right ahead and ate as he pleased.
When that double-fist-sized Creation Fruit had been peeled and half-eaten,
From the sky came the sounds of… swoosh, swoosh, swoosh… piercing through the air as swords swept forward.
Before long, several figures descended onto the ground just ten meters away from where they were seated.