Qiyana's Resentment

Qiyana's Resentment

As an important link connecting all of Ixialia, the Road Protectors were a powerful combination of elemental mages and warriors.

Under these circumstances, Kacang could clearly sense that the concentration of magic drifting through the air in this unremarkable village was even higher than that in the central tower of Yishuaoken!

Sitting there and sipping blood curd from the edge of his bowl, Yuan Chen's forehead was already beaded with tiny droplets of sweat.

Yuan Chen wasn't the only one. Once the blood curd had cooled a little and the Meat-toothed Beasts were sure their sensitive tongues could handle it, they gathered in groups of three or five around the pot, eagerly sampling it.

Spicy food wasn't uncommon in Runeterra, but dishes that incorporated heat were rare. Those who hated it hated it, while those who liked it couldn't get enough.

Just like now, even the blacksmith was happily eating alongside the Meat-toothed Beasts. His thick beard was coated with a layer of red oil.

"Ha! Audan's back! Come over and eat! And bring our honored Road Protector, too!"

The blacksmith raised his bowl with a hearty laugh. "This Dragon Blood was prepared by Yuan Chen himself. It tastes amazing! I feel like I'm brimming with magic!"

As he spoke, he seemed to bite into a Sichuan peppercorn and couldn't help sneezing. A stream of scorching flames burst from his throat, and, before he knew it, he'd singed a good deal of his beard.

"Dragon Blood?!"

At the blacksmith's words, Kacang's eyes narrowed slightly.

He didn't doubt it at first. The blacksmith's excessive magical energy was plain to see.

When someone had too much magic in their body, it was rapidly metabolized through physical activity or sensory stimulation. The flames the blacksmith had just spat out were a perfect example.

Coming over to the pot, Kacang looked at the simmering Dragon Blood curd. Feeling the energy within it, he could only think what a waste.

He didn't know where the blood had come from, but there was no doubt it was exceptionally high-quality dragon's blood. It could greatly improve the quality of an item when used for enchanting or quenching. And yet, it had been made into a pot of food—

No.

He picked up a wooden spoon and scooped up a piece of blood curd. Kacang quickly realized that this dish wasn't as simple as it looked... It had been processed a second time.

"Don't bother looking. The apprentices made a mistake while refining these two pots of Dragon Blood, so it can't be used properly anymore. Turning it into food is the best thing we can do with it."

Yuan Chen's voice came from beside him.

Kacang turned and saw a fair-skinned young man—one whose appearance was completely different from that of the Yixialians.

He had long limbs and a well-built, proportionate body. In the sunlight, his fair skin seemed to glow softly. Its jade-like smoothness made Kacang want to reach out and touch it for himself.

The moment he noticed Yuan Chen's foreign features, Kacang's eyes widened. And as wariness and hostility stirred within him, an indescribable fear weighed down his heart—

A Dragonblood User!

They said that anyone who killed a dragon and bathed in its blood would receive the dragon's blessing, gaining a power and presence unique to dragons.

Almost instinctively, as panic gripped him, Kacang summoned the Axiom Wheelblade and brought it up beside him in a guarded stance.

Audan had already told him that they'd hunted a dragon with the help of an outsider. But now that Kacang was standing face-to-face with a true Dragonblood User, he couldn't help but feel uncertain and suspicious.

What Kacang couldn't understand was how this Dragonblood User had entered Ixialia. Why hadn't the Concealment Spell covering the entire country given any warning?

Just as Kacang was about to use the Axiom Wheelblade to question him, he suddenly sensed that something around him was off.

As he guided the Wheelblade into the air, the cheerful crowd fell silent.

Then the blacksmith promptly drew the Fire Tongs and Forging Hammer from his waist. He spat a hot breath infused with Dragon Blood magic onto them, heating both tools until they glowed red, and stared at Kacang with suspicion.

"What are you doing, honored... Road Protector?"

The stonemasons weren't idle, either. Using the simple Yuan Chu Axiom, they covered their arms in heavy rock—

Though it was only a basic application of the Yuan Chu Axiom, it still let them easily lift enormous stones weighing hundreds of pounds.

As a Road Protector, Kacang was undoubtedly far more skilled in the Yuan Chu Axiom than these people. But the problem was that after consuming Dragon Blood, the villagers' magic had far surpassed the Normal State.

They had the advantage in numbers... and was there another Dragonblood User, too?

Kacang looked toward Mordas, who had already risen to his feet. Holding a hunting knife, covered in gashes, and looking like a vengeful ghost, he brought a startling thought to Kacang's mind...

They really had hunted a dragon!!!

Just then—

"Don't worry. Put everything down. We'll be leaving soon, so let's all keep things friendly."

Yuan Chen waved a hand casually. At that, the blacksmith and the other villagers gradually relaxed.

Even so, the blacksmith couldn't resist snorting. Two streams of fire shot from his nostrils as he sat back down to eat his blood curd, though he kept his eyes on the Road Protector.

After slaying the dragon, Yuan Chen's regional reputation in the village had reached LV5: a word from him brought everyone to his side.

In a remote village far from civilization, people weren't merely neighbors; most were related by blood in one way or another. That made outsiders especially likely to be shunned.

The Lupe Family, newly exiled, had struggled for years before finally becoming part of the village. Through their wisdom and experience, they'd earned everyone's respect and become elders in the community.

Yuan Chen had faced the same rejection. But there was an upside: once the villagers accepted him, they treated him as one of their own.

When outsiders came to bully one of them, even the most timid person would stand up to help, if only to make up the numbers. It wasn't about loyalty. It was how people living far from civilization protected themselves—a lot like the old Town Gangs and Hometown Associations.

Seeing how much influence Yuan Chen had here, Kacang was surprised, even baffled.

The Outside World was full of wars, disease, conflict, and opportunists who'd made their fortunes amid the chaos. In such conditions, even commoners in the provinces—let alone villagers deep in the mountains—were wary of and hostile toward outsiders.

As a Road Protector and a governor's bodyguard, Kacang had plenty of responsibilities. He knew the Outside World wasn't the desolate wasteland people imagined. A new civilization had taken root there.

But because of its isolationist policies, Ixialia had maintained the Concealment Spell and remained cut off from the world.

So... why had this outsider earned so much acceptance?

"Drop your guard, Road Protector."

A dispassionate voice came from a nearby boat. Lupe emerged from the great house, dressed in a Vydalian Robe and leaning on a wooden staff. Her expression was cold.

"You need to learn what respect means."

Seeing Lupe's attire, Kacang quickly crossed his arms before his chest in the Ixialian gesture of respect. "My respects, reformer of the Earth Axiom, honored Yuentar, Master Lupe."

"Enough. That was all in the past. There's no need for this false show of respect."

Lupe shook her head in distaste. She did long to restore her family to its former glory. But when her family had fallen on hard times, the coldness of the nobles who had once treated her with courtesy had left her deeply disgusted.

Lupe wanted her family to become part of the nobility, while also despising the nobles. It might sound contradictory, but human nature was complicated. There was nothing more to say.

Even so, Kacang maintained his etiquette to the letter.

As the Elemental Master who had revolutionized the Earth Axiom, Lupe wasn't someone a Road Protector could insult, even if she had been exiled.

Every elemental mage who studied the Earth Axiom inevitably learned Lupe's interpretation of it. In such circumstances, even if she had been exiled and stripped of her Yuentar title, Lupe could kill Kacang without facing any consequences.

All she had to do was turn around and say, "He offended me." Her standing in the Outside World was one of the reasons she had become an elder in the village.

The farther people lived from civilization, the more they needed protection strong enough to withstand its pressures. Otherwise, the elemental taxes alone would be enough to make their lives miserable.

Lupe came over to Yuan Chen. As Kacang watched in disbelief, Yuan Chen simply sat there with a genial smile, offering no response. It was Lupe who dipped into a slight bow and asked:

"What should we do next?"

"That depends on where we're headed."

Yuan Chen spoke calmly, then looked toward Kacang. "Where are you from? Who do you serve?"

Kacang was silent for a moment before answering quietly, "I'm from Tiklas. I serve the Ninth Yuenale, Lord Mara."

Though Kacang didn't know why Lupe treated an outsider with such respect, reason told him that if he couldn't understand something, he shouldn't dwell on it. For now, he should simply do his job.

After hearing Kacang's answer, Yuan Chen fell silent briefly, then looked up. "Go and complete your mission. The dragon's corpse is on a covered wagon outside the village. Verify it, then take the Dragon Meat and Blood back with you. With proof, Mara won't give you trouble."

"And what about you?" Kacang asked, suspicious. "Aren't you coming to Tiklas with us?"

"We're not going to Tiklas. We're heading straight to Yishuaoken," Yuan Chen said.

"Even the Yuenale has no right to stop the Dragon Slayers from going to Yishuaoken to present such a precious congratulatory gift."

Kacang hesitated. This wasn't something he could decide.

An Elemental Master who was also a political prisoner was going to the heart of the country. That alone would give the elders in the provinces a massive headache. And now he was expected to decide what to do? That seemed a little...

"The gift isn't just the dragon." Yuan Chen turned to Milio, who was curiously studying the Road Protector.

"Milio, give us a Spirit Fire."

Milio pursed his lips. "It's Fire Treasure, not Spirit Fire... Teacher, you're so annoying."

"There's not much difference."

Yuan Chen shrugged, unconcerned.

A little flame with a soul and emotions—what else could it be but Spirit Fire?

Milio didn't like the name Spirit Fire, but when Yuan Chen asked, he still opened the furnace strapped to his back.

Inside burned a warm, round flame... It was hard to imagine that a flame could be described as round. But somehow, that was exactly what it was.

He took a small flame from the larger one, then hopped over to Kacang and held it out to him.

As for Kacang, the moment he saw the large Fire Treasure, his eyes filled with shock.

By Yuan Chen's standards, Kacang was an elemental mage somewhere between LV3 and LV4. According to the data, his primary element was wind and his secondary was fire.

Elemental mages usually studied two or more kinds of Elemental Magic. Their secondary element often complemented their primary one. In Kacang's case, wind aided fire, and fire boosted wind.

Seeing this warm, gentle, tranquil, healing flame, Kacang immediately understood what it meant. He stared at Milio in utter astonishment.

After a moment, his astonishment gave way to respect. He knelt on one knee and accepted the flame. "As you wish... Elemental Master."

Milio wasn't an Elemental Master yet—not officially. The central tower in Yishuaoken had not bestowed the honor on him.

But as an elemental mage who studied fire, Kacang was certain that Ixialia was about to welcome its youngest Elemental Master, who might even become the greatest of this age.

Milio looked confused when he heard Kacang's words—

By the time he was born, the Lupe Family had already become a part of the village. He had no idea why Kacang treated him with such respect, much less what the words "Elemental Master" meant to all of Ixialia.

"Go take a look at the dragon. Bring back a souvenir, then return with this flame. Don't forget to use magic to keep it burning."

Yuan Chen waved a hand, as if he had nothing more to say. Kacang didn't take offense at his manner.

He'd clearly heard Milio call Yuan Chen "Teacher." Combined with the respect a Yuentar had shown him, that meant the matter was beyond Kacang's ability to handle, whether Yuan Chen came from the Outside World or not.

Meanwhile, in the Deep Palace of Yishuaoken—

Qiyana gazed at the appointment on the table before her, resentment plain in her eyes.

[You must not break the rules.]

They'd be putting the book up for paid release on Thursday... Speaking of which, the competition on Qidian had gotten ridiculously intense lately.