The Burden of Farewells

The little pitiful creature’s state stirred an uneasy ache in Xiao Chen’s heart.

The snow-white beast let out a series of low whimpers, then raised its head to the sky, its large eyes brimming with moisture as if calling out to its parents.

“Keke, do not grieve. One day you will see them again, and I will find a way to reclaim the Little Sacred Tree for you.”

When Xiao Chen and Keke left that place, they finally encountered several old-generation cultivators on the periphery of the Dragon Clans’ Sacred Mountain. Though they had still found no trace of the Ancestral Dragon, this time they had managed to subdue the descendant of the Lion King Dragon that haunted this region.

The golden little dragon king was exceedingly fierce, its entire body gleaming as if cast from pure gold. By form alone, it counted as one of the more outstanding among the young dragon kings.

Xiao Chen did not reveal himself. He watched them depart from afar. What astonished him most was that, not far away, a massive Lion King Dragon concealed its copper-like body among the trees, silently watching as the little dragon king was led away. It did not block them. Yet its eyes were filled with reluctance—the look of a mother seeing off her child, profoundly human, steeped in sorrow.

Xiao Chen was deeply shaken. The Lion King Dragon was voluntarily sending the little dragon king away! Who said they were more beast than divine? This was a display of unmistakable clarity! Perhaps, after the ordeal of the City of the Dead, their clouded minds had finally cleared.

It seemed that the dragon clans understood that to break the seal of Dragon Island, the young dragon kings had to leave this place, and they were forced to rely on human power.

Earlier, they had also seen instances of tyrannosaurs preventing cultivators from capturing young dragon kings, mercilessly slaughtering many. Perhaps then they were angry and unwilling, not wanting their descendants—especially the legendary dragon kings—to be driven and enslaved. But now, they appeared to have compromised. They seemed to realize that the young dragon kings would have to leave sooner or later, entering the human-dominated world of Deathless Longevity. Perhaps having a human patron would be safer, ensuring the young kings’ survival in the future. These dragon fathers and mothers had conceded.

Another companion dragon king had been subdued. Currently, ten dragon kings on Dragon Island had chosen to follow human cultivators. Yet the legendary Ancestral Dragon remained nowhere to be seen.

Distant roars of young dragons echoed. Xiao Chen followed the sound with Keke and discovered a golden little dragon king locked in fierce battle with a brown-black young dragon. It was a mismatched fight—the brown-black dragon was already covered in wounds, having suffered several fatal strikes.

Several old-generation cultivators silently watched the little dragon king’s battle. Then a white-bearded elder spoke: “We should move on. Battles like this are meaningless. The little dragon king needs stronger opponents.”

He waved his right hand, and a burst of spiritual power shot through the air, sending the brown-black dragon flying. Then the group departed with the golden little dragon king.

It was him again!

It was that solitary, proud little dragon, high in battle spirit, unyielding, forever challenging others.

Xiao Chen grew puzzled. This little dragon, though ordinary in appearance, seemed truly extraordinary. How did it survive every fatal blow? And why did it challenge dragon kings again and again, utterly unafraid of the pressure from its own royal kin? Its temperament was that of a true dragon king, but its physical endowments were far too poor.

Xiao Chen was about to act when he sensed a fierce, slaughterous aura—the unique presence born from countless killings. A massive cyan Tyrant Dragon emerged from the forest across the way, step by step approaching the grievously injured young dragon.

Xiao Chen stopped Keke from rushing forward and observed quietly from the shadows. Clearly, the Tyrant Dragon had been lurking nearby, unmoving until now, yet another proof that the dragon clans had apparently compromised. It had not stopped the old experts from taking the golden little dragon king. Perhaps, like the Lion King Dragon, it hoped the little king would rely on those people to grow up safely in the world of Deathless Longevity.

The Tyrant Dragon was one of the most dominant dragon species, its entire body flashing with divine light. Step by step, it approached the weakened little dragon.

Xiao Chen did not know what it intended. He held his breath and watched in silence.

“Roar…” A low dragon cry sounded. The Tyrant Dragon lowered its massive head, then extended its tongue and began to lick the battered young dragon.

There was no malice in its actions—rather, a kind of affectionate care. Could this young dragon be its offspring? Doubt filled Xiao Chen’s mind.

It was astonishing. The saliva of the Tyrant Dragon, a species that could make even gods tremble, was truly a healing miracle. As it licked, the young dragon’s gaping wounds closed, and a crystalline light shimmered around the healed areas.

The unconscious brown-black young dragon let out a few faint, unintelligible sounds, as if sensing its condition improving. The Tyrant Dragon stepped back, then strode away with heavy, thunderous footfalls, leaving the area.

Xiao Chen was baffled. The young dragon’s form could not possibly be the Tyrant Dragon’s offspring. Could it be that the dragon clans were so harmonious that adults from other tribes would care for another’s young?

When Xiao Chen approached the stubborn little dragon, it had already awakened. This time, it did not reject him. It watched him calmly, though still with a hint of aloof pride.

Keke seemed drawn by the young dragon’s state, momentarily shaking off her gloom of the past days. She amusingly tapped the little dragon’s head, as if testing a ripened melon—which greatly displeased the weakened dragon, who glowered at her. But Keke had no sense of it and continued poking around its head.

“Don’t bother looking. It doesn’t have horns yet.”

“Ya-ya…” Keke replied to Xiao Chen, pointing at a barely visible point of light.

Xiao Chen looked closely and was startled. A horn tip the size of a grain of rice had emerged, but it was so tiny, with no swelling around it, that it was hard to believe a horn was growing.

“It really is growing a horn. How curious,” Xiao Chen murmured.

It was not a pair of horns, but a single horn, for it grew right in the center of the young dragon’s skull.

Xiao Chen left a small piece of Snow Lotus Heart for the stubborn little dragon. He hadn’t expected it to accept, but he sensed the Tyrant Dragon seemed to be returning, so he needed to show he meant no harm. Unexpectedly, the little dragon did not refuse this time. It shifted its body with effort and swallowed the crystalline Snow Lotus Heart from the grass.

Clearly, this aloof little dragon had begun to tolerate him. With Keke’s consent, Xiao Chen broke off a larger piece of Snow Lotus Heart and left it for the dragon, then resumed his journey.

Only after traveling a great distance did he look back. In that area, a golden light flickered—it was the Lion King Dragon!

…

Half a month passed, and the little Ancestral Dragon still showed no trace. Why had the legendary supreme being not appeared on Dragon Island? The old experts were deeply disheartened.

In truth, nearly a hundred old-generation cultivators had entered Dragon Island, but only twenty-odd remained. Among the younger generation, over a thousand had entered, but now only eighty-odd survived—a grievous toll.

All the youths who entered Dragon Island were experts among their peers, nearly all having stepped into the Mortal-Shedding realm. Though on Dragon Island Mortal-Shedding cultivators seemed common and almost trivial, these youths had been carefully selected. Otherwise, how could so many Mortal-Shedding practitioners gather in one place?

Strictly speaking, the youths who entered Dragon Island were not the absolute apex of the younger generation in the world of Deathless Longevity, but they were certainly among the top ten of each major power and sect. The leading young masters of the great powers were never sent—they were the future hopes and would never be risked in such peril. There were exceptions, of course; some weaker organizations did send their top talents, but those were few.

After months of tribulation on Dragon Island, these young experts had undergone an unforgettable tempering. In just a few months, nearly all had broken through again, driven by the pressure of survival.

If they returned to the world of Deathless Longevity alive, they would surely rank among the top five of their respective sects' younger generation. More importantly, this experience would drive them to train even harder, their future achievements limitless. Painful experiences and ordeals would become a precious asset in their lives.

In these final days before departure, the eleventh dragon king was subdued by the Spellmaster Schroed. This young dragon king had been found at the seaside—the descendant of the Eight-Armed Malignant Dragon, with the head of an Ancestral Dragon and the body of the Malignant Dragon, its whole form gleaming silver. The crowd called it the Evil Dragon King.

Schroed had originally wished to call it the Silver Dragon King, since Evil Dragon King was not quite elegant, but the name had already caught on, so he went with the flow.

Xiao Chen was startled by this news. He had once refined an Evil Dragon egg, but had not expected the other egg to hatch into a dragon king.

Still, there was no trace of the Ancestral Dragon. Xiao Chen could not help a guilty suspicion—had the little Ancestral Dragon been among the dragon eggs he had refined? In the end, he dismissed the idea. The odds were simply too small.

The blazing sun hung overhead. Waves of heat carried the salty, fishy sea breeze. The golden sand and the vast ocean merged into a single expanse of gold.

After Dragon Island had been sealed, the once turquoise sea had, over several months, turned into a golden sea. It still had wind and waves, still surged and crashed, but a deathly stillness reigned—no fish swam in it, no seabirds flew above.

On the shore, a lush green coconut grove cast patches of shade. Ripe yellow coconuts, round and clustered together, looked especially tempting against the green leaves.

Xiao Chen, Liu Mu, Yizhen, Liu Ruyan, Yan Qingcheng, and others gathered in the coconut grove. Most of the remaining cultivators on the island had also arrived, for tomorrow the young dragon kings would summon the legendary divine ship.

“Xiao Chen, you’re safe and sound after all!” The fat little Niu Ren grinned stupidly, leading the Black Dragon King as he approached. He was now a beast-race descendant with three beast souls. Though only at the Fifth Heaven of Mortal-Shedding, his strength should not be underestimated.

Xiao Chen, Yizhen, and the others smiled and began chatting with him. The twenty tribesmen from Niu Ren’s village had all drunk the mixed blood of the Nine-Headed Dragon King and been completely freed from their curse. Their mood was exceptionally light, for they finally had the chance to escape this island.

By now, almost everyone had relaxed. There was no more strife. All the cultivators rested in the seaside coconut grove, calmly awaiting the day of deliverance.

Monk Yizhen leaned against a coconut trunk, stroking the Azure Dragon King beside him. “When I return, I’ll train twice as hard. I must catch up to Dugu the Sword Demon.”

Liu Ruyan smiled seductively. “Master, don’t push yourself too hard. After all, wine and meat pass right through you. When we get back, I’ll introduce you to a nice girl.”

Liu Mu nodded seriously. “Not a bad idea. Brother Yizhen’s mind seems calm, but there’s always some bitterness in his heart. He really could use some help.”

“Hehe, Liu Mu, shall I find one for you too? We share the same surname, after all. As your elder sister, I’ll be sure to pick a good one.”

“Forget it. I couldn’t handle any of your sisters,” Liu Mu said with a shake of his head.

“Could you find one for me?” the fat little Niu Ren asked with a simple grin. “I’m not picky. Someone just like you would do nicely.”

The whole company burst into laughter.

“Go die!” Liu Ruyan punched him. “Not picky? Someone like me? Are you saying I’m average and ordinary? Is this more what you had in mind?” The stunning woman pointed at Yan Qingcheng beside her.

“Her? No, thanks. My grandmother said women like that don’t make good wives.” The little fatty wore a face of honest innocence.

They laughed again.

Liu Ruyan was already shaking with mirth, her seductive red lips parting. “Her? She’s really not the wife type. Only fit to be a lover. Do you dare?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Niu Ren said, utterly unconcerned.

“You two…” Yan Qingcheng glared at Liu Ruyan and the little fatty.

“Wouldn’t work even if you dared,” Liu Ruyan said, shooting a look at the fatty. “Haven’t you heard? A brother’s wife is not to be trifled with.”

“What? A brother’s wife is not to be trifled with?”

…

On the verge of leaving Dragon Island, almost everyone had let down their guard. Laughter filled many places along the shore.