Chapter 1255: Robbery
“Azure Dragon King!”
As the guards on the city walls watched the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace’s people flee, they all cheered. Xiao Chen’s dominance of kingship formlessly appeared.
When Xiao Chen looked back, he saw Mo Chen and Lan Shaobai smiling as they exchanged glances. Nothing needed to be said.
The flood dragon war chariot whizzed by and picked up Xiao Chen. Mo Chen and Lan Shaobai waved their hands to get the others to move back. Then, they leaped onto the war chariot at the same time.
“Big Brother Xiao Chen, you succeeded?” Mo Chen asked anxiously.
The same anticipation also appeared in Lan Shaobai’s eyes. Xiao Chen had left Heavenly Star Island to find a way to quickly advance to Consummation quasi-Emperor. This was something that both of them knew.
Based on today, Xiao Chen could even toy around with a half-step Martial Emperor. He must have succeeded.
Xiao Chen nodded and gave a simple explanation of his experiences. Then, he said, “This time, I not only advanced to Consummation quasi-Emperor but also condensed the Heart of an Emperor, gaining the capability to cultivate Primordial Energy.”
After the two obtained a definitive answer, they both revealed sincere smiles, smiles filled with intense joy.
Lan Shaobai laughed loudly and said, “It looks like the City Lord’s Residence will have to put on a grand banquet tonight. We will not return before getting drunk.”
After that, Xiao Chen continued asking about the matter at the city gates to find out what was going on.
Lan Shaobai hesitated before suggesting, “Mo Chen, how about you say it? You were the one who made that decision.”
Xiao Chen looked over, filled with doubts. Could there be more to this matter?
Mo Chen nodded and said, “After using all the human resources of the entire Heavenly Star Island and some secret techniques of the Book of Heavenly Works, I managed to complete the general outline of the Heavenly Dragon City half a year ago.
“At the same time, we also got the refining pavilion on Black Flame Island and the winery up and running. As you know, we have the Dragon’s Gate’s Treasure Trove and the Azure Dragon Merchant Association. We have access to all sorts of peak ores and rare materials.
“The city was just built, and it soon started operations. In a mere one month, it became the financial hub of the Western Sea. Jin Dabao and I worked together, taking out a few treasures from the Dragon’s Gate’s Treasure Trove and organizing regular auctions.
“Heavenly Dragon City immediately prospered, far surpassing the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace’s Sea Dragon City.”
When Xiao Chen heard this, he was rather flabbergasted. Heavenly Dragon City was like a juggernaut. The moment it started operations, it rose extremely quickly; this was simply unbelievable.
Mo Chen continued, “Due to the huge profits, the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace became envious. Three months ago, their Young Palace Master came over and wanted to work out a cooperation with us.”
Xiao Chen raised his eyebrows. “Cooperation? What kind of cooperation?”
Shaking her head, Mo Chen replied, “They claimed it was a cooperation, but in essence, it was just robbery. They said that the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace would provide protection for Heavenly Dragon City, and they would take fifty percent of the profits every year.”
Xiao Chen laughed and said, “That scheme is really neat. Since when did we need their protection?”
Naturally, the subsequent events went without saying. It was obvious that Mo Chen would not agree to such a cooperation. After that, the other party kept sending people to cause trouble.
Mo Chen sized up the situation and made the decision to endure until Xiao Chen returned. Then, there was the scene that Xiao Chen witnessed at the city gates.
Lan Shaobai took over, saying, “The more repulsive thing was that the Young Palace Master of that Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace arrogantly said that he would tear off Mo Chen’s veil. If not for Master showing up and scaring him away, the consequences would be hard to imagine.”
There was such a thing? Profound rage stirred in Xiao Chen’s heart. When he looked at Mo Chen, she smiled calmly and said, “It’s fine. He was not able to get near me. I did not fall behind on my cultivation in this past year.”
Xiao Chen looked carefully and discovered that not only Mo Chen but also Lan Shaobai had experienced a significant leap in their cultivation over the past year. Both of them were now Great Perfection quasi-Emperors.
Mo Chen possessed the Book of Heavenly Works, a key treasure of a particular Distant Ancient sect that was a perfect match for her. It was not strange for her to experience such improvements. However, it was rather strange for Lan Shaobai.
Although Lan Shaobai was talented and also had the support of the treasures in the Dragon’s Gate’s Treasure Trove, Heavenly Star Island was not an excellent experiential training ground like the Astral Battlefield. How could he have such improvements?
Mo Chen noticed Xiao Chen’s doubts. She said, “I know what you are dubious about. The answer lies in the Dragon’s Gate’s mountain tablet that you brought back from Bright Moon City.”
Lan Shaobai explained, “We found out that the Dragon’s Gate’s mountain tablet, made from Heaven Subduing Rock, has not only the effect of gathering Luck for the sect but also an excellent experiential training ground inside, which has many Dragon’s Gate heroic spirits. Xiao Yu, Yue Chenxi, and the others are currently training in there.”
Xiao Chen felt excited. Back then, when he first saw the Dragon’s Gate’s mountain tablet, he had indeed seen some illusionary existences. Unexpectedly, there were some mysteries behind these illusions, and they could be used for cultivating.
The changes to Heavenly Star Island in the one year that Xiao Chen was gone were too surprising, catching him somewhat off guard.
However, he could not blindly immerse himself in joy. He still had to figure out the hard bone to chew that was the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace.
“What do you two think of the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace?” Xiao Chen asked.
The moment Xiao Chen mentioned the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace, the smiles on Mo Chen’s and Lan Shaobai’s faces slowly vanished. Now, worry flashed on their faces.
The Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace possessed vast accumulations. The Western Sea Dragon King was also a Sovereign Martial Emperor, and the two Vice Palace Masters were Martial Emperors. Furthermore, they could muster the seven colored Marquises. Simply put, they were a huge faction.
The Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace had been the tyrant of the Western Sea for more than ten thousand years. It was just that they did not take action. However, once they did, they could level the entire Heavenly Star Island.
Mo Chen said, “Heavenly Star Island still has the Martial God Palace behind it. The Western Sea Dragon King does not dare to truly start a war. We only fear them playing many tricks, continuously sending people to harass us. After all, Senior Lan cannot make a move in such cases.”
Lan Shaobai said, “There is no need for us to worry about this now. With Xiao Chen around, if they dare to send people to harass us, they will just end up humiliating themselves.”
Xiao Chen listened to what the two said. They were both very intelligent people, but they could not come up with any good solutions at the moment.
The reason was none other than insufficient accumulations. The accumulations of Heavenly Star Island were far inferior to those of an old tyrant like the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace.
“Big Brother Xiao, do you already have a countermeasure in mind?” Mo Chen was meticulous in her thinking. She could make out something just from Xiao Chen’s expression.
Lan Shaobai looked over curiously. Xiao Chen had just returned, yet he already had a countermeasure. This was too incredible.
Xiao Chen nodded. “I do indeed have a countermeasure. Actually, I already thought of this as I was returning. Coincidentally, it will deal with the hard bone to chew that is the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace. It will show the Western Sea Dragon King that Heavenly Star Island is not as simple as it appears on the surface.”
“What countermeasure?”
Xiao Chen’s tone remained calm as he slowly replied, “Announcing to the world the reestablishment of the Dragon’s Gate!”
When Mo Chen and Lan Shaobai heard that, they sucked in a deep breath of cold air. Unexpectedly, Xiao Chen’s countermeasure was so shocking.
Although Mo Chen and Lan Shaobai had known about Xiao Chen’s future goal of using Heavenly Star Island as the foundation to rebuild the Dragon’s Gate, they had not expected it to happen so soon. This was somewhat surprising.
“Isn’t it a little too early?” Lan Shaobai asked.
Mo Chen did not say anything, but she clearly shared the same doubts. Right now, Heavenly Star Island’s strength and accumulations were far from sufficient.
During the days Xiao Chen was gone, Lan Shaobai and Mo Chen were the actual managers of Heavenly Star Island. There was no need for him to hide his thoughts from the two.
Xiao Chen organized the words in his mind before saying, “Actually, compared to those Holy Lands, no matter how Heavenly Star Island develops, we will never be able to reach their level of accumulations within a hundred years. When announcing it early, we are not comparable to them. However, even if we delay the announcement, we will still not be comparable to them. It is all the same in the end.
“Given that, why not announce it earlier? By building up the reputation of the Dragon’s Gate, we will definitely be able to hasten Heavenly Star Island’s development.”
This logic stunned the two when they heard it. They never considered the problem from this perspective before. After thinking about it carefully, they concluded that Xiao Chen was right.
Xiao Chen continued, “I am the Azure Emperor’s descendant in the first place, the Azure Dragon King that the Thunder Emperor favors. I possess the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit. It is right for me to reestablish the Dragon’s Gate. It is all in the open, and it is my rightful duty. There is no need to fear too much.”
Upon seeing the resolution and determination in Xiao Chen’s eyes, Lan Shaobai smiled and said, “I do not mind. When you agreed to let me follow you at the Supreme Sky Sect, I made my choice: to support you no matter what you do.
“The Azure Dragon Bamboo Scroll is a record of your legend in the first place. I will continue writing it as well as anticipate the Martial Dao convention that you promised me.”
Under the veil, Mo Chen smiled faintly. “This is something you’ve decided. I would never object to it.”
Hearing what the two said, Xiao Chen felt warmth in his heart. Then, he earnestly thanked them.
Lan Shaobai smiled and said, “Reestablishing a sect may seem easy. However, there are many things to consider. Let us take this slowly. You just returned to Heavenly Dragon City today. Let Mo Chen bring you around the city first.”
After that, Lan Shaobai performed a somersault, jumping off the war chariot. He probably was going to think about how to carry out Xiao Chen’s decision.
Xiao Chen’s memories of when he first met Lan Shaobai remained fresh; he still clearly remembered Lan Shaobai’s arrogance from back then. Even until now, Xiao Chen was somewhat curious. What kind of setbacks did Lan Shaobai suffer in his trip in the oceanic world to cause him to lose his ambition to write the Azure Dragon Bamboo Scroll by himself?
“Put away the war chariot. I’ll bring you around this Heavenly Dragon City.”
Mo Chen’s words summoned Xiao Chen back to reality. He smiled faintly and put away the flood dragon war chariot. Then he followed after Mo Chen, strolling around Heavenly Dragon City.
Many people walked on the streets of various sizes. It was now tens of times more crowded than it had been before Heavenly Star City was destroyed. Such a change could be felt only by personally walking among these people.
Occasionally, the two saw guards patrolling. When these guards saw the two, they would respectfully greet the two.
After leading Xiao Chen through the busy business district, Mo Chen brought him to the unique Heavenly Dragon Dueling Grounds. All the details of this place were built according to the ancient cities of the Dragon’s Gate, several of which had already lost their line of inheritance.
These inheritances that reappeared in Heavenly Dragon City held great attraction to some cultivators.
For example, there was a wall with the Dragon’s Gate’s Sages drawn on it. As long as one passed some tests, they would be able to touch it and feel the Martial Techniques of these Sages in the wall.
There were numerous such places. As Xiao Chen walked around, he discovered that many Heavenly Starry Ocean experts had chosen to camp here. There were even some half-step Martial Emperors who had opened training halls and established their own dueling rings.