A Deal?

"In my homeland, true dragons have always been favored by Heaven. They protected my people and served as our totem for thousands of years."

Qin Chuan lifted his eyes, calmly meeting the gaze of the silver dragon lurking in the void before him.

Since the being before him was a dragon, Qin Chuan chose his words carefully when discussing true dragons. He focused on their virtues and conveniently left out the giant lizards of the West, instead speaking of the true dragons in the ancient legends of the Huaxia people.

Myths had already begun to resurface. He believed those radiant faiths were no mere fantasies. Even if they weren't quite as he imagined, he still hoped they existed.

The man and dragon seemed to have forgotten their real purpose, talking about the legends and myths of Earth Star—from ancient times to the present, then from mythology to spiritual energy.

The ancient dragon had experienced too much. She listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a word or two. Unexpectedly, she was neither fierce nor cruel, unlike the dragons of Western legend. On the contrary, she was gentle.

Perhaps she was only pretending, but Qin Chuan didn't care.

He was doing it on purpose, telling the dragon a little about the grassland, mixing truth with lies. Who could know?

Lately, he had heard rumors from the natives of Douluo Continent that Starry Sky People from beyond the realm had appeared. The news had weighed heavily on him. The more Starry Sky People who entered, the more forces there were bound to be.

And that would only make it harder for him to seize this continent.

But now, his Dao Seed had already been planted in the grassland. It would be best if he could claim Douluo Continent, but it didn't matter if he couldn't. If he could bring the top fighters of Douluo under his thumb, he'd still come out ahead!

Just as their calm conversation came to an end and the atmosphere began to ease, the world's Soul Power throughout the Life Ancient Tree's domain suddenly froze!

The Silver Dragon King, who had been lazily lying in wait, slowly raised her enormous head. Her moon-silver pupils fixed on Qin Chuan, and she spoke in a mild tone, without much arrogance, as though she were talking to a friend.

That was only natural. Qin Chuan had been a little too convincing. He had seemed so calm that even the brainless Xiong Jun had grown wary.

Much less the intelligent Silver Dragon King of the dragon race...

"How about a deal?"

Qin Chuan was delighted inwardly. She was finally tempted. He'd been singing the grassland's praises for so long that his throat was nearly smoking.

He still looked calm and composed. He clasped his hands respectfully, neither servile nor overbearing, and looked at the dragon. "May I ask what kind of deal you have in mind, senior?"

Rumble—!

The dragon flicked her long tail. Now that she was taking things seriously, Qin Chuan could even faintly sense the surrounding space trembling, tugged by some mysterious force.

"You will bring us to your world and provide us with a place to live. In return, I can promise you three chances to call upon me."

Three chances to call upon her—that was already an excellent offer.

It should be enough to help in a few crucial moments, perhaps even save his life.

He still had to search for opportunities on Douluo Continent. Most of those Starry Sky People had guardians from the God-Demon Realm, but he had none.

Now, with the Silver Dragon King at his side, he could finally compete on equal footing.

After all, though the grassland had already been refined, the Immortal Dao had only just begun to spread, and spiritual energy had only just revived. It would take time before they could turn that into combat strength.

"The terms are good, but how can this junior be sure you won't go back on your word after entering Green Green Grassland?" Qin Chuan asked. His handsome face gave no sign of delight, as if he weren't excited by the offer at all.

Who would ever say no to more benefits?

The Silver Dragon King spread her wings slightly, revealing her long neck.

A five-colored glow suddenly blazed, dazzlingly bright. A variegated silver scale fell away from her body, its surface shimmering.

"What's this?" Qin Chuan asked in surprise. The silver scale gleamed with a variegated light and flowed with a mysterious aura, as though it held the most primordial power in the world. Even the surrounding elements stirred in response.

"This is... my reverse scale. Wear it on your person, and you can use it to contact me. If I break my word in the future, destroy it. That will be enough to severely damage my cultivation and deal me a heavy blow."

The Silver Dragon King seemed to struggle to put it into words, but in the end she spoke slowly. A glimmer passed through her moon-silver pupils, and a complicated emotion surfaced.

"Rest assured, senior. Once I've finished what I came here to do, I will return and take you all away from this world."

Qin Chuan clasped his hands and made his promise. The silver scale drifted into his hand, flashed, and transformed into a bracelet around his wrist.

Was the reverse scale really as the Silver Dragon King had claimed?

Qin Chuan didn't inspect it in front of her. That gesture earned a faint nod from the Silver Dragon King, along with the slightest hint of goodwill.

"Good. I hope you'll remember what you said today."

"This junior will keep it firmly in mind. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave and won't disturb you any further, senior."

After the Silver Dragon King nodded, Qin Chuan turned and left.

Outside the ancient tree, the Ferocious Beasts stood waiting in silence, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

"How did things go with our lord...? The reverse scale?" Di Tian sensed Qin Chuan's approach at once. His usually indifferent gaze swept over, and he was about to casually ask how the conversation had gone.

But when his eyes landed on Qin Chuan's wrist, where a silver bracelet gleamed—the very one that belonged to his lord—

Boom!

Di Tian's whole body shuddered, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints!

His heart, which had remained still as an ancient well for hundreds of thousands of years, erupted in that instant!

Every other Ferocious Beast there stood frozen, too!

They had followed the Silver Dragon King for hundreds of thousands of years, through countless bloody battles. They knew better than anyone—

A dragon's life-bound reverse scale, beyond its connection to the dragon's essence, carried another special meaning...

"Uh, senior Di Tian, is there something wrong with this reverse scale?" Qin Chuan asked curiously, hoping Di Tian might let slip something about the giant dragon.

"Nothing. Make sure you wear it properly. Don't let anything happen to it." Di Tian's expression was complicated, but he didn't reveal anything useful.

Qin Chuan looked unconcerned. He hadn't expected much anyway.

It was clear Di Tian was fiercely loyal to the Silver Dragon King inside the ancient tree. He obeyed her without question. Qin Chuan had only been trying his luck.

"Let's go. Now that we've reached an agreement, you should leave." For some reason, Di Tian felt that this kid might call him "senior" every other sentence, but he was clearly no good. Just looking at him was irritating.

Especially since he came from the same world as those detestable people—his fellow countryman, no less. That made it even harder to stomach.

The excitement he'd felt at the prospect of escaping this cage had vanished without a trace. He was suddenly in a foul mood.

"Senior Di Tian, have you captured any of those Starry Sky People before?" Qin Chuan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. If we had, would we be making a deal with you?" Di Tian answered impatiently. His emotions were growing increasingly unsettled, as though hundreds of thousands of years of composure had vanished with the appearance of the reverse scale.

"Oh!" Qin Chuan smiled and said nothing, but a glint flickered in his eyes.

They probably did capture some—and even brought them here. But something beyond their control must have let them escape.

He could be almost certain now.

These Ferocious Beasts had certainly encountered the Starry Sky People before, and they'd taken a heavy loss. That was why they were barely treating him as an equal: they were afraid of another incident.

"What are you smiling at?" Di Tian's mouth twitched at Qin Chuan's expression, but he couldn't lay a hand on him.

They had only just managed to reach a deal. If another complication arose over some trivial matter, things would become troublesome. In the end, he could only snort coldly.

Black light flashed. He swept Qin Chuan up and turned into a streak of light, flying off into the distance.