Wang Dalong

Wang Dalong

It was well past midnight, and the snack street outside was still buzzing.

The bustling city was drunk on the night.

Yue Wen had washed up and was lying on the little bed on the second floor. He scrolled on his phone for a while, then got ready to sleep.

But there was one thing he still needed to do before turning in.

He set down his phone and closed his eyes to meditate. His Spiritual Sense sank, and in an instant, he slipped into darkness and arrived in a hollow, empty realm.

When he opened his eyes again, he had already found himself in a solemn, shadowy hall of black and gold.

The four walls and floor were made of stone as black as ink, inlaid with broad golden carvings that formed rows of ancient, intricate reliefs. Looking along them, it seemed they depicted countless battles between gods and demons in ancient times.

Straight ahead stood a long staircase, each step as tall as a wall. On the vast platform above it sat a single enormous black-and-gold throne, with a dragon coiled upon it.

That was right—the legendary True Dragon.

A dragon throne in the truest sense.

Its body was enormous. Even the several-story-high throne was barely enough for it to coil halfway around, and much of its tail still draped over the back and hung outside.

Its ink-dark scales glimmered with a muted golden sheen, each one marked with mysterious patterns. Its proud head held steady, radiating authority. In its slightly opened eyes burned fierce golden flames that made one's heart tremble.

Its horns were like long halberds, pointing straight at the ceiling.

"Big Dragon, I'm back."

Yue Wen showed no reverence toward the divine creature before him. He greeted it as casually as an old friend.

"I've told you many times not to address me so flippantly." The giant dragon on the throne spoke in a deep, thunderous voice. "You don't understand dragon speech, so you can't pronounce my true name. I don't blame you for that. But when you address me, you should at least add 'King.'"

"Fine, Wang Dalong." Yue Wen waved a hand carelessly. "I'm here on business."

"..." The dragon on the throne looked a little speechless.

"I've reached the late stage of the Third Realm. I should be close to the peak." Yue Wen raised a hand, and a thick, coiling Chaos Qi Dragon appeared in his palm, whistling faintly as it spun.

He looked at the giant dragon. "How much Demon Suppressing Coin do you want for the Fourth Realm Cultivation Method?"

The flames in the dragon's pupils flickered as if it were searching its memory. Then it replied, "The Gang Realm chapter of the True Dragon Dao Method is worth 399."

"Huh?" Yue Wen had been expecting this, but his face still tightened. "That expensive?"

He turned his hand over and brought out a stack of old copper coins—about a dozen. Each bore the words, "Suppress all evil, and stabilize the universe."

"I killed a Tree Nightmare with a hundred years of cultivation and only refined twelve Demon Suppressing Coins. That was the biggest job I've taken lately. At this rate, who knows when I'll save enough to buy your Cultivation Method? And that's only the Fourth Realm. What am I supposed to do when my cultivation gets higher?"

Seeing his gloomy expression, the giant dragon seemed pleased. It gave a couple of snorts. "Think it's too expensive? Then go buy someone else's Cultivation Method."

"Ugh." Yue Wen sighed.

He had cultivated the first three realms using the True Dragon Dao Method sold by the giant dragon. Setting aside whether he could adapt to a different method in the Fourth Realm, even if he could, the Cultivation Methods available on the market were nowhere near as powerful as the True Dragon Dao Method.

This method could rival the finest cultivation techniques in the world. Otherwise, how could a resource-poor independent cultivator like him have reached such a high level in such a short time?

If he put the True Dragon Dao Method up for sale in the cultivator market, even a single chapter for the Fourth Realm could easily fetch over a million.

After thinking it over, Yue Wen spoke again. "Then let me ask you..."

The giant dragon seemed to anticipate what he was about to say and cut him off. "No credit."

"I'm not asking for credit. I told you, I'd only ask that once." Yue Wen grinned. "I was wondering if you'd accept installment payments."

"Hmph."

The giant dragon didn't answer. It simply closed its eyes, the flames in its pupils went out, and the entire hall plunged into darkness.

Lights out.

Big Dragon only cared about money.

Yue Wen opened his eyes again on his little bed, and his consciousness returned to the real world.

He didn't dare join the Supervision Bureau. The existence of that dragon was an important reason.

Three years ago, after he fell into a coma, his consciousness had gone to that space for the first time, where he met the enormous dragon.

At their first meeting, he had still felt some reverence.

The True Dragon coiled on the throne had claimed to be the true king of the Dragon Domain, driven into exile after being ambushed by treacherous ministers. If Yue Wen gave him five million Demon Suppressing Coins to help him reclaim the throne, he would make Yue Wen the Prime Minister of the Dragon Palace.

Yue Wen hadn't dwelled on what species the Dragon Palace's Prime Minister was. He had simply asked, "What are Demon Suppressing Coins?"

Big Dragon had replied, "Since you are the chosen one, fated to come here, you need only slay Demonic Evils to refine their souls into Demon Suppressing Coins."

Yue Wen had asked, "I'm just a student. I don't have any cultivation. How am I supposed to slay Demonic Evils?"

Big Dragon had said, "You can use Demon Suppressing Coins to buy Cultivation Methods from me. Once you cultivate, you'll have cultivation."

Yue Wen had asked, "But I don't have any Demon Suppressing Coins. How can I buy a Cultivation Method?"

Big Dragon had said, "Go slay Demonic Evils, and you'll get Demon Suppressing Coins."

Yue Wen had asked, "But I don't have any cultivation. How can I slay demons?"

Big Dragon had said, "Buy a Cultivation Method from me and cultivate. Then you'll have cultivation."

Yue Wen had said, "Are you out of your mind?"

Big Dragon had said, "Why are you cursing a dragon?"

Yue Wen had said, "I #%&..."

So not only had he seen a dragon, he had cursed one, too.

After going around in circles, the man and dragon both realized what the problem was. In the end, Big Dragon reluctantly agreed to sell Yue Wen a Cultivation Method on credit: the first chapter of the True Dragon Dao Method.

That was how Yue Wen began cultivating.

After he started cultivating, he woke up—and then realized that half a year had already passed.

With his parents gone, Big Dragon had become his greatest source of support.

It could sell not only Cultivation Methods, but also magical artifacts, pills, talismans... Apart from living things like Spiritual Plants and Exotic Beasts, it seemed to have every kind of cultivation treasure in the world in its vault.

And the quality was exceptional.

The only catch was that it accepted only Demon Suppressing Coins as payment.

Yue Wen had been forced to open this affordable Cultivation Firm. Aside from earning enough to support himself for the time being, his most important goal was to establish a channel for gathering information about Demonic Evils.

Although he wanted to search for his parents right away, he knew that, with his current strength, he wasn't qualified to investigate that secret.

Becoming stronger had to be his top priority.

He needed to slay more Demonic Evils and collect Demon Suppressing Coins so he could improve his strength with Big Dragon.

If the Supervision Bureau noticed his powers and magical artifacts, Yue Wen would have no way to explain where they came from.

Big Dragon's nature was hard to fathom, and Yue Wen didn't know why he had been able to establish a connection with him. Besides, if Yue Wen confessed to having this ability, he wasn't sure whether he'd be taken into custody and turned into a research subject or a bargaining chip.

So he didn't want anyone to notice anything unusual.

It was a shame to turn down a prestigious government post, but Yue Wen knew what mattered: keeping this dragon a secret was the best way to grow stronger.

As he pondered, his phone suddenly vibrated.

A message.

Yue Wen glanced at it. There was a new message in the "Jiangcheng City Cultivator Order Group," and he perked up at once, opening it to read the details.

Sure enough, there was a new job.

"East City Cemetery needs its Demonic Evils cleared out. Seeking a careful, courageous, and conscientious cultivator with a cultivation level of at least the Second Realm. Submit your bid within three hours. City Seven applicants preferred."

The group was full of fellow cultivators. Usually, everyone kept to themselves and remained discreet. They only came alive when a job was posted.

As soon as the job went up, several replies appeared.

"I'm highly cultivated and brave. I'll take it for twenty thousand."

"Professional Nightmare Object cleaner. I'll take it for twelve thousand."

"I'm from City Seven. I can do all sorts of tricks, and I take both male and female clients. Ten thousand per job."

"..."

East City Cemetery was a large burial ground in the suburbs. Many people who died in accidents or demonic disasters had gone unclaimed by their families for a while. Since they couldn't simply be cremated, they were buried there first.

With spiritual energy so active these days, corpses could easily give rise to Demonic Evils. Usually, they came from the lingering mental energy of the deceased combining with spiritual energy to form "Nightmares."

But those buried there were no great figures. Even when they gave rise to Nightmares, they were usually the weakest kind: Ghost Fire Nightmares, commonly known as Lantern Monsters.

They weren't especially dangerous, so the cemetery management would let them accumulate for a while. Once enough ghost fires had appeared, they'd hire cultivators to clear them out, like a regular cleanup.

The job was easy, safe, and paid well since it was government work. Do a good job, and they might keep you on. For independent cultivators taking jobs, it was a pretty good gig.

"Even a Lantern Monster is worth something. It'd be nice to clear them out every so often." Yue Wen considered it and decided to try for the job.

Seeing how fierce the competition was, he sent a message too.

"City Seven. Handsome, smooth-talking, and highly cultivated. I live nearby, so no need to cover food or lodging. I'll take it for one thousand."

When the other cultivators saw his price, the group fell silent for a moment. Then a flood of replies poured in.

"Did you enter the wrong price?"

"Holy crap, you're a scab!"

"Are you into killing Demonic Evils or something?"

"???"