Dragon Hawk City

On a quiet rocky mountainside, Long Jiuyyao sat in silence as the power of heaven and earth stirred around him. Strands of Yin Sha Power continuously surged forth, then gathered without end in his thumb.

His thumb grew increasingly profound. What had once been fair and clean turned pitch-black, radiating an intensely cold, baleful aura.

Long Jiuyyao opened his eyes and looked at his changed thumb. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Half a month. I can finally condense the second finger of the Black Obsidian Sacred Dragon Finger."

Half a month ago, when Long Jiuyyao had returned from the Great Elder's place, he had carefully examined himself, but still hadn't found the mysterious seal.

Since then, every day he had spent half a day cultivating his spiritual power before the stone stele. He had used the rest of his time to practice the Creation Martial Art, the Black Obsidian Sacred Dragon Finger.

At last, he had mastered the second finger today. With the stone stele's help, his spiritual power had also been slowly improving. The effect wasn't very noticeable, but he had made some progress.

To the north of the Demon Domain lay an immense territory, no less vast than the Four Great Xuan Regions. The Dragon Clan, one of the Four Hegemons of the Demon Domain, lived there, and their territory was known as the Dragon Domain.

For a hundred thousand miles in every direction from the center of the Dragon Domain, the land belonged to the Dragon Clan. Not a single other race lived there.

Hundreds upon thousands of cities surrounded the Dragon Domain. All of them looked to the Dragon Clan as their leader and revered the Dragon Domain as a sacred place. They depended on the Dragon Clan to survive.

Now, Long Jiuyyao, wearing a mask, had arrived at a city called Dragon Hawk City. Behind him followed an old man cloaked in black. Though aged, he emanated a faint trace of Life Qi.

The old man was Yan Ying, a powerful cultivator who had reached the great completion of the Life Profound Realm. Yuan Gan had assigned him to protect Long Jiuyyao.

Though Yan Ying was only in the Life Profound Realm, no one in the lands north of the Demon Domain dared offend the Dragon Clan. Long Jiuyyao had only reached the Heaven Origin Realm, and it was risky for him to travel alone. He needed a bodyguard.

"Young Master Long, we've arrived at Dragon Hawk City. The Dragon Hawk Auction will be held in three days, so we can rest at the city lord's manor until then." Elder Yan took a crystal from his Universe Bag and crushed it.

Long Jiuyyao nodded.

Three days earlier, Dragon Hawk City had sent an invitation to the auction, asking the Dragon Clan to send someone to attend.

Since the city depended on the Dragon Clan, it naturally invited them whenever there was something to be gained, hoping to earn the clan's protection.

The Dragon Clan hadn't paid the invitation any attention at first. The Dragon Domain was full of treasures, and they doubted the auction would offer anything that could catch their interest.

But Long Jiuyyao had learned about it by chance and asked his father for the spot. He wanted to see if he could find any treasures at the auction, and also to explore the world beyond the Dragon Domain.

Yuan Gan had readily agreed, and even assigned him a bodyguard.

Long Jiuyyao looked at the vast city rising from the plain. Its walls were towering and majestic, stretching all the way to the horizon, where they disappeared from sight.

He also saw Dragon Hawk City's landmark: a hundred-meter-tall statue of a dragon hawk.

It had an eagle's body and a dragon's head, with scaled talons beneath its belly that gleamed coldly. Its feathers were interspersed with a few dragon scales.

"It only has a trace of dragon blood. Naturally, it can't compare to the purity of our Dragon Clan Bloodline," Elder Yan remarked.

Ten minutes after Elder Yan crushed the crystal, a figure appeared before Long Jiuyyao, followed by several attendants.

"I am Ying Shuo. It's an honor to meet you, sir." The middle-aged man in a Brown Robe bowed respectfully.

"Heh. Now that we're here, Elder Yan, let's go," Long Jiuyyao said gravely.

He wasn't wearing his usual playful expression. Instead, he carried the imposing air of a ruler. In private, Long Jiuyyao could let go of the dignity expected of the Dragon Clan's heir. In public, he had to maintain it.

Even though he was only seven years old, the pride of being a member of the Dragon Clan was already etched into his bones.

Ying Shuo glanced at the child, who barely reached his waist, and felt a storm of astonishment rise within him. Who is this child? How can he have such a presence?

"Lord Yan, may I ask who he is?" Ying Shuo respectfully asked Elder Yan.

"You aren't worthy of knowing. All you need to know is that if he suffers even the slightest harm here, my clan will flatten everything within ten thousand miles of Dragon Hawk City in an instant." Elder Yan spoke coolly.

Ying Shuo's eyes widened in shock. His face was stricken with fear, and sweat covered him.

Ying Shuo wiped the cold sweat from his face and immediately ordered dozens of Eagle Guards to protect Long Jiuyyao in secret. Though he knew how powerful Elder Yan was, he still gave the order.

Knowing something and doing it were two different things.

Ying Shuo quickly followed them, explaining the details of the auction as they went.

At Long Jiuyyao's request, however, he didn't reveal what items would be auctioned.

Knowing in advance would spoil the anticipation, and that wasn't what Long Jiuyyao wanted.

Long Jiuyyao was now resting in the Courtyard Ying Shuo had arranged for him. It wasn't as comfortable as his own Courtyard, but that didn't bother him. Elder Yan, naturally, guarded him from the shadows.

When Long Jiuyyao arrived in Dragon Hawk City, the auction was only three days away. Over the next three days, after gathering the information he needed, he rarely went out. The farthest he went was just beyond the Courtyard. Otherwise, he stayed in his room, cultivating in silence, until he finally opened his tightly shut eyes on the morning of the third day.

"Phew..."

Today, Dragon Hawk City was undoubtedly louder and livelier than usual, and the auction was being held at the city lord's manor.

In the Demon Domain, the most important thing for holding an auction was the host's strength. Otherwise, someone might simply try to seize the items being sold.

After all, the Demon Domain was ruled by strength. Order was fragile here, so without a strong fist to command respect, holding an auction would only invite humiliation.

Fortunately, this city lay within the Dragon Clan's sphere of influence and depended on the clan. No one dared challenge it, so the auction felt relatively safe.

When Ying Shuo led Long Jiuyyao to the most luxurious room in the auction house, Long Jiuyyao looked down at the vast venue, which could hold millions of people, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. It was the first time he had ever seen such a massive auction hall.

Outside the auction hall, a large number of city guards maintained order. Of course, that order was upheld by the weapons they gripped tightly and their fierce gazes.

After Long Jiuyyao took his seat, Elder Yan suddenly appeared behind him. Long Jiuyyao had come simply to see if he could find anything unusual at the auction, and to get a glimpse of the world beyond the Dragon Domain.

Time passed, and a steady stream of people poured into the enormous auction hall like ants. In just over an hour, the venue, large enough to hold millions, gradually filled with a dense sea of people. Every kind of noisy voice pressed in from all directions like demonic music, seeping in without a gap.

Fortunately, Long Jiuyyao's room had a soundproofing array, so he couldn't hear the clamor.

"Ding!"

As the VIP seats gradually filled, the auction hall was nearly packed. At last, a crisp chime rang through the hall, and a smiling old man in hemp clothes appeared on the spacious auction platform.

"Heh, I'm Yi Feng. You may call me Manager Yi. I'm honored by your presence today. On behalf of our city lord, I'd like to thank you all."

The old man's kindly face wore a warm smile. His hearty laughter, wrapped in powerful Yuan Power, echoed throughout the enormous auction hall.

"The city lord's manor is truly powerful. They've sent a Nirvana Realm expert to host the auction." Long Jiuyyao watched the old man, who called himself Yi Feng. A faint golden light shimmered across Yi Feng's skin, and surprise flashed in Long Jiuyyao's eyes as he murmured to himself.

The Demon Domain was several times stronger overall than any one of the Four Great Xuan Regions, simply because it had the Four Great Overlord Clans.

Several minutes later, Yi Feng finally stopped speaking, seemingly still reluctant to finish. He pressed down hard on the bell in front of him, and several young, beautiful maids immediately stepped onto the auction platform, carrying silver trays in their hands.