The Legend of the Dragon King

“So what we have to do now is draw the snake out of its den. We’ll make him come to us, then make our move against him in broad daylight.” A cold gleam flickered in Qiangu Zhangting’s eyes.

“Zhangting, you’ve grown up.” Qiangu Dongfeng looked at his grandson with a satisfied expression. After hearing the details of his painstaking investigation, which was well founded in logic, and seeing that his attitude was not affected by his personal feelings, Qiangu Dongfeng was greatly pleased.

“I like this girl, Nana, as well. You’re saying that you want to use her to lure Tang Wulin out? I understand, but you must be careful with this. Nana has made great contributions to the Spirit Pagoda, and the spirit soul’s evolution which she’s working on is very important to us. Once this research yields fruit, in addition to the man-made black spirit souls which she developed, she actually has the right to become the successor to the Spirit Pagoda. This is why I’ve always wanted you to marry her. She’ll submit herself to you once you’re married. With her support, your position as my heir will be firmer, and the clan’s glory will shine brighter.”

Qiangu Zhangting smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, Grandfather. I won’t simply use Nana to deal with Tang Wulin. I love Nana from the bottom of my heart. An outstanding girl such as her, I doubt I could find another anywhere on the continent. She’s the only one who’s fit to be my wife. She’s chosen our Spirit Pagoda and yielded important fruits from her research. We can’t give up on her no matter what! That’s why I came up with a plan where we can kill many birds with one stone.”

Qiangu Dongfeng’s eyes brightened. “What’s that?”

Qiangu Zhangting chuckled. “Joust for a Spouse!”

“Joust for a spouse?” Qiangu Dongfeng was puzzled.

Qiangu Zhangting nodded without hesitation. “We’ll joust for a spouse, by which I mean Nana. The reason is simple. She’s the most outstanding young person from the Spirit Pagoda and is at the age where she can marry. To find her a suitable spouse, the Spirit Pagoda will organize a grand festival where the participants will fight for her hand. At the same time, this will be a platform for the soul masters to connect with each other.”

Qiangu Dongfeng instantly understood what his grandson was trying to say.

“It’s a good idea, but we’ll still need Nana’s agreement.”

Qiangu Zhangting said with a smile, “Grandfather, you’ll have to personally see to that. You’re so nice to her, so I’m sure she’ll be most willing to listen to you. We’ll be the ones to set the rules of this festival. When the time comes, Tang Wulin will surely make an appearance once word of this got out.”

Qiangu Dongfeng said with a deep voice, “Nevertheless, have you thought about this? Tang Wulin is very powerful. You must’ve seen his performance when he participated in the Battle of Five Gods in the Star Luo Empire. I’m afraid that it’ll be difficult for you to defeat him with your current strength.”

A cold gleam flickered in Qiangu Zhangting’s eyes. “I’ll not only defeat him, I’ll also take the opportunity to kill him ‘by accident’ in broad daylight. Without him, Shrek Academy’s reconstruction will be over without us having to do anything about it. As for my strength, there’s no need to worry, Grandfather. Before I came here, I went to Great-Grandfather’s place.”

Qiangu Dongfeng was overjoyed. “Father has come out of seclusion?”

Qiangu Zhangting nodded. “Yes, Great-Grandfather has just come out of his seclusion. I’m sure you’ll rest easy now, right?”

Qiangu Dongfeng laughed, “Good, very good. Then, let’s have this Joust For A Spouse Festival!”

…

“Whew!” Tang Wulin heaved a sigh and stopped in his tracks. He bent forward and supported himself on his knees as he panted heavily.

He was not even sure how long he had been walking. In this golden world, all sense of time had left him.

The clues his father left in that sentence was limited. All he got was the “Sea God’s Nine Trials” and “keep walking forward”.

As he continued onward, Tang Wulin discovered some problems. The first one was that his own cultivation base had disappeared.

There was not an ounce of soul power left in his body. Even his Dragon Core vanished. His incredible strength and physique were nowhere to be found. It seemed as if he had completely turned into an ordinary person in this world.

However, that was not what concerned him most. What was more frightening was that this place was too quiet.

It was as empty as it was silent. Nothing else existed here. There were no noises. The only thing he had was to keep moving forward.

As his stamina faded and his body wore out, the feeling of loneliness intensified.

He could only advance without stopping, step by step. He had no other choice, as he knew that this was the only way by which he could proceed.

His many years of cultivation, tireless training, and the trials on the Demon Island had steeled his determination. He kept count in his heart silently. If the flow of time here was the same as the outside world, he would have been walking for three days and three nights.

He neither ate nor drank. He merely kept walking. His body was near exhaustion, and he was unsure of the distance he covered. At this point, his spirits were even starting to become muddled, but he kept putting one foot before the other, albeit with difficulty.

Maybe the first trial was a test of his perseverance. There was no way he could stop.

Father had told him that if he wanted to actually use the Sea God’s Trident’s powers, he would have to pass these trials. Even if he was not doing this to master this divine weapon, he could not let his father down.

Since it was Fathers’s weapon before this, Father must have experienced the same trials as well. If his father could do it, Tang Wulin felt that he could do it.

When he entertained these thoughts, Tang Wulin was filled with new drive. He would stand up straight again and boldly pressed on.

Step by step, sweat kept sliding down his skin. His body was at its limits long ago. He only just managed to continue walking with every breath he took.

Everything in his sight was blurry, so could only tell that he was moving forward. His feet were as heavy as lead. It was because he had grown so to having such superhuman physical capabilities that it was excruciating when he lost them.

After countless steps, it was an endless forward march, and his body weakened as he went along.

His life force was being drained continuously. He even had an ominous sense of impending doom.

Because of his exhaustion, the feelings of agony diminished. He even felt that his soul was floating toward another world, which was a painless sensation. Instead, it felt comfortable, as if there was a voice in his head which kept telling him to give up. If he gave up, he would be free from all this pain.

He bit down hard on his tongue, and he tasted the blood spreading in his mouth. The stabbing pain pulled him out from the comfortable sensation he was having.

“Plomp!” His body could take it no more and he crashed roughly onto the ground. The violent fall made him dizzy. His life force seemed to have shattered instantly, as if it was on the verge of vanishing.

“You’re five meters away from the finish line.” Suddenly, there was a stern voice in that golden world which had been silent for who knows how long.

The finish line!

When he heard these words, Tang Wulin’s spirits were instantly lifted. He raised his head with difficulty and managed to look in front.

His vision very was blurry, so could not see anything clearly. He could only manage to make out a dash of red faraway, and logic told him that it must have been the finish line.

‘The finish line. Am I almost at the finish line?’

Tang Wulin took a deep breath. He wanted to prop himself up, but he realized that he had lost all sensation in his legs. It would have been nothing to him in normal circumstances, but he could not even do that anymore.

‘No, the finish line is right in front of me. Five meters more.’

Since he could not use his legs, he used his hands. Sprawled on the ground, he crawled forward, bit by bit.

The finish line! The finish line!

He dragged his heavy legs behind him. He could only nudge himself forward little by little. Even though he did not have an ounce of strength left, he relied on his stubborn willpower to support his body as he made his way forward.

‘I must succeed. I must!’