MSBITRS Chapter 40 V1

The long two days…

Amid the somewhat dull music and dancing, Li Changshou unlocked a new skill—monitoring his surroundings with the Wind Whispering Spell while leisurely reading borrowed texts from the outer hall of the Daoist Scripture Pavilion.

Slightly boring.

The most exciting parts of this Demon Assembly were yet to come: the Dragon Palace’s treasure gifting and the sparring matches between disciples from various sects.

Li Changshou had no interest in the Dragon Palace’s treasures.

While nobody would complain about having more magical artifacts, there were two main reasons he wasn’t eager to compete. First, the treasures were scarce compared to the many who desired them, and with his displayed cultivation level of Return-to-Void Stage, Level Two, he wasn’t even in the running.

Second, he predicted the Dragon Palace was destined for a major catastrophe. He wanted no part in the karmic entanglements that might come with it.

If trouble arose, well, it would be Jiuwu’s fault anyway.

Judging by the time, the Demon Assembly was about to officially begin.

Glancing at the high platform in the sky, Li Changshou guessed that over the past two days, the Heavenly Immortals from various sects had reached agreements with the Dragon Palace about matters such as the boundaries of the Eastern Sea.

But these had little to do with him…

Jiujiu was still struggling to solve the six-colored wooden cube puzzle he’d handed her, proving once again that cultivation level and intelligence weren’t directly correlated. At least it helped her pass the two wine-free, boring days peacefully.

Youqin Xuanya, after hearing his polite rejection the other day, seemed to have realized something. Though she glanced his way every half hour, she didn’t try to approach him again.

Overall, the past two days had been fairly uneventful.

Just as he was enjoying his reading, Li Changshou suddenly felt two sharp, hostile gazes directed at him.

Without drawing attention, he put away the bamboo scroll he was holding and focused on parsing the information from his Wind Whispering Spell. Following the direction of the gazes, he spotted a vague silhouette of a young man at the edge of the gathering.

Hmm?

Did he have a grudge with this person? That didn’t make sense.

Looking up, Li Changshou found that the figure stood about a hundred feet away from the section allocated to the Du Xian Sect.

More accurately, this wasn’t a “person” at all. On the figure’s forehead were budding antlers resembling those of a young dragon.

A young dragon of the Dragon Clan?

This must be one of the young dragons set to spar with disciples from various sects.

Li Changshou’s thoughts raced as he noticed the dragon’s eyes fixed firmly on him.

Subtly leaning back to test the gaze, he found that the young dragon’s eyes shifted slightly, confirming it was indeed watching him.

On closer inspection, a faint blue glimmer could be seen in its eyes.

Could it be? Had this dragon seen through his concealed cultivation level?

Unlikely. His concealment techniques had been meticulously developed, drawing on reverse-engineered insights from various detection spells.

“Or maybe it’s because I seem to have the weakest cultivation among the Du Xian Sect’s attendees?”

Li Changshou speculated further. Just then, his Wind Whispering Spell picked up on the young dragon’s smug smile.

So that’s it. This young dragon probably lacked confidence but had been tasked with ensuring a victory in the upcoming sparring matches. Naturally, it wanted to target the weakest member of a major sect.

This approach…

Is truly reckless.

Li Changshou returned the gaze with a calm, steady look. The blue light in the young dragon’s eyes gradually faded, revealing sapphire-like pupils.

For a moment, they stared silently at each other across hundreds of feet—until a large, crimson figure blocked the view.

A turtle immortal had stepped in front of the young dragon.

“Your Highness, what are you doing here? It’s almost time for your appearance!”

Your Highness? The Dragon King’s son?

Being targeted by someone like this wasn’t good news at all.

Li Changshou’s confusion deepened. Out of all the attendees, why had this dragon prince zeroed in on him?

Could it be that his appearance held some inexplicable charm for male dragons?

Lost in thought, Li Changshou analyzed the potential causes and debated whether he should find an excuse to leave the gathering.

The Dragon Clan’s current state was a peculiar one.

Though they still possessed many ancient experts and immense treasures accumulated over countless ages, they faced severe challenges. After the ancient battles shattered the Primordial World, the dragons were suppressed by Heaven and Earth itself.

On the surface, the Dragon Clan appeared powerful, with numerous experts. But their overall strength had fallen far behind the rapidly advancing Human Clan.

Moreover, the dragons relied heavily on their bloodlines for power. Since the death of their progenitor, the Ancestral Dragon, in the final battles of the ancient era, no dragon had surpassed his strength.

Now, with the rise of the Six Saints, the Dragon Clan had to tread carefully, fearful of provoking the Saints and risking annihilation.

Despite this, they were unwilling to fade into obscurity and continued dreaming of reclaiming their former glory as rulers of Heaven and Earth.

For instance, just a few years ago, the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace had deliberately sent a small wave of freshly trained shrimp soldiers to wreak havoc along the Eastern Sea coast.

The Du Xian Sect responded by dispatching disciples to eliminate the threat and protect the Human Clan, delivering a symbolic slap to the Dragon Palace.

The Dragon Palace didn’t retaliate, as the Du Xian Sect was under the Three Daoist Sects. This Demon Assembly was an attempt by the dragons to flex their martial prowess and negotiate the Eastern Sea’s boundaries with the Human Clan’s Qi Refinement practitioners.

In another display of the Dragon Palace’s frustration, they sent a hostile dragon to deliver the assembly’s invitation to the Du Xian Sect, only to have it sent flying by Wangqing Shangren’s casual strike—another loud slap.

Still, the Dragon Palace refrained from retaliating, instead resorting to petty schemes like planting a grapevine to stir up trouble.

Petty, but it reflected the Dragon Clan’s desperation and awkward position.

Li Changshou suspected that this dragon prince’s fixation on him might be connected to these factors.

Weighing his options, Li Changshou decided it was better to stay close to his fellow sect members. This mixed gathering of dragons and cultivators was too risky to navigate alone. If the Dragon Palace decided to silence a small fry like him out of spite, things could get ugly.

If the young dragon challenged him in the upcoming matches, Li Changshou resolved to simply admit defeat, using his low cultivation level as an excuse.

As the music and dance ended, an elderly turtle immortal, standing on a golden turtle, stepped forward. He began to deliver a slow, nostalgic account of the Dragon Clan’s glorious past—a speech Li Changshou had no interest in.

Yet again, he felt the piercing gaze of the dragon prince.

Casually dispelling his Wind Whispering Spell, Li Changshou followed the gaze to see the young dragon preparing to take the stage.

……….

 

“I, Ao Yi, Second Crown Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, must accomplish something important today.”

Ao Yi stood behind a few celestial dragon guards, his expression calm, waiting for the Turtle Chancellor to introduce him so he could step onto the stage.

The shimmering radiance of his enchanted armor subtly highlighted his youthful, refined features, making him appear as polished as a jade sculpture.

Ao Yi was aware that he was practically the star of today’s Demon-Slaying Gathering.

It was, after all, his tenth birthday.

To clarify, this marked the tenth anniversary of his hatching.

Over 230 years ago, Ao Yi had already been conscious within his dragon egg, with three hours of activity each day.

The dragons had a term for this developmental stage: Egg Movement.