"Do you know who I am?"
Zhu Jin studied Xie Dong, who knelt before him on six legs with both hands raised. He was no fool. This Purple Cloud Scorpion Serpent had not addressed him as Dragon King or Dragon Lord, but as an ancient dragon. Clearly, it had said that deliberately for him to hear.
Feeling the powerful ancient dragon's gaze fixed upon him, Deputy Chief Xie Dong was already drenched in cold sweat, terrified that the other party might crush him with a claw the next second. But for the lives of his entire clan, as well as his own, he had no choice but to demonstrate his value.
Xie Dong spoke in a fearful, trembling voice. "This servant does not know. I merely... merely glimpsed a little from a damaged ancient text. Thousands of years ago, the rulers of the Beast Domain were neither the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan nor the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan. There was once a race that had dominated the Beast Domain since ancient times, feeding on Heaven Demon Phoenixes and enslaving Nine Netherworld Pythons. They soared to the blue heavens to pluck stars and swept through the void to cleanse the universe. That race was known as the Ancient Void Dragon Clan."
When Xie Dong uttered the four words "Ancient Void Dragon Clan," he subconsciously swallowed and glanced around with his compound eyes.
After all, the ancient book found in those ruins had merely been a children's reader from ancient times, something like an encyclopedia. In other words, its contents had been common knowledge thousands of years ago. Yet its description of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan had been far too terrifying.
Feeding on Heaven Demon Phoenixes and enslaving Nine Netherworld Pythons. Saying such a thing aloud would not merely invite laughter—it might get one killed!
What kind of race was the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan? It was the strongest magical beast race in the Beast Domain, powerful enough to sweep across the entire region without rival. It was the absolute king of the Beast Domain. Although the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan was not as overwhelmingly dominant as the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, its territory and population were greater. The lands it occupied were more vast, and its influence was even broader.
Feeding on Heaven Demon Phoenixes and enslaving Nine Netherworld Pythons. Just how powerful did the Ancient Void Dragon Clan have to be for it to be described in such terms?
At the time, Xie Dong had merely assumed that some weak dragon race called the Ancient Void Dragon Clan had invented it in ancient times for its own amusement. The Beast Domain was enormous, and more than seventy percent of the magical beast families on the Dou Qi Continent were gathered there. There were plenty of dragon races—not just ancient dragons, but Sky Dragon Clans, Flood Dragon Clans, True Dragon Clans, Flying Dragon Clans, Earth Dragon Clans, and countless others.
Though some of those dragon-type magical beast families were powerful, most were merely putting on airs. Their strength was far inferior to that of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan.
But now, he seemed to have encountered a real one!
After finishing, Xie Dong secretly glanced over and found that the ancient dragon remained silent, his expression cold as iron, as though he did not care in the slightest.
At that moment, Zhu Jin maintained an unfathomable expression while inwardly screaming, Damn! Finally, a magical beast recognized that I'm from the Ancient Void Dragon Clan! That idiot Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun got tricked by the Tou She Ancient God and was trapped for thousands of years. Then those three idiot Dragon Kings split the clan, causing its strength to plummet. If Zi Yan had not appeared and Xiao Yan had not saved the day, the mighty Ancient Void Dragon Clan would not even have been able to defeat the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, and would have handed over control of the Beast Domain. The Ancient Void Dragon Clan vanished for thousands of years. Now I finally get to show off!
Zhu Jin slowly lowered his head and looked at Xie Dong. "Mm. I am indeed of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan."
Hiss! Hearing Zhu Jin admit it, Xie Dong abruptly raised his head. His compound eyes gleamed as though he had seen his idol, and he nearly screamed, Does anyone understand? I actually got to see a real Ancient Void Dragon!
"This servant presumptuously asks: how old are you, Dragon King?" Xie Dong gathered his courage and voiced a small curiosity that had been lingering in his heart. After all, the cultivation ranks of the Dou Qi Continent were common knowledge. Magical beasts were ranked from Tier One to Tier Ten. Though Tier Four was not considered weak in the Wild Mountain Range, it was not strong either. Moreover, Zhu Jin's body had not even reached twenty meters in length.
Among top-tier magical beasts, twenty meters was tiny. It was worlds apart from the legendary Ancient Void Dragons, which were said to be ten thousand meters long.
Zhu Jin did not hide it. Age was something one could roughly tell from appearance anyway. "Eleven."
"No wonder... Then, Dragon King, your elders..."
Zhu Jin cast him a glance and said deeply, "That is not something you should ask. I can only tell you this: within twenty years, my clan will return to the Beast Domain and ascend to its peak once more."
"Return to the Beast Domain..." Xie Dong's pupils shook. Those four words meant mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
After all, the current balance of the Beast Domain had long been established. The Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan ruled over most of its lands, while powerful magical beast families and hidden magical beast clans occupied the rest. There was simply no spare territory left.
If the Ancient Void Dragon Clan truly returned, the Beast Domain would inevitably be plunged into a great war!
"You know when to yield. I can spare you all from death." Zhu Jin glanced at Xie Dong and had no intention of slaughtering the entire Purple Cloud Scorpion Snake Tribe. After all, the magical beasts here spoke rather pleasantly.
Hearing that Zhu Jin had spared his clan from death, Xie Dong finally let go of the weight in his heart. "The Purple Cloud Scorpion Serpent Clan will surely swear loyalty unto death to you, Dragon King, and to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan."
Zhu Jin nodded inwardly. By now, he had subdued two Tier Four magical beast families. Of course, such families did not even qualify as vassal clans; they could only be regarded as servant clans. After all, neither the Purple Cloud Scorpion Serpents nor the Flame Wolf Unicorns shared any bloodline connection with the Ancient Void Dragons.
"Take me to your treasury."
Zhu Jin had once looted the Flame Wolf Unicorns' treasury as well—the cave where he had roasted chicken wings. It had once been the Flame Wolf Unicorn chief's residence. In the end, that Tier Four Flame Wolf Unicorn treasury had contained absolutely nothing. The scenes he had imagined, like the Amethyst Winged Lion King's cave storing Purple Spirit Crystals and Companion Amethyst Source, had never happened.
At those words, Xie Dong awkwardly pointed toward the mountain peak that Zhu Jin had smashed into rubble with a single punch. "That was the one you destroyed with your fist, Dragon King."
Zhu Jin could not help frowning. Then, he swept Dragon Sense across the pile of mud and stone. While he did not possess Zi Yan's treasure-hunting ability, his Dragon Sense could still scan for high-energy objects.
After probing with Dragon Sense, Zhu Jin discovered that beneath the rubble, let alone pills, there were not even spirit herbs or medicinal materials above Tier Three.
Still unwilling to give up, Zhu Jin asked, "No pills? Not even pill formulas or anything like that?"
Hearing the question, Xie Dong shook his head. Afraid that Zhu Jin would not believe him, he even had the entire clan dig through the earth and excavate the buried cave. "Dragon King, you may not know this, but to magical beasts, pills are exceedingly precious and extremely difficult to obtain. That Dragon Power... ah, Beast Power Pill that the chief obtained was already the only pill we had. The chief had sacrificed many clan members and risked his life searching for the location of Heavenly Flames before receiving it as a reward from a powerful member of the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan."
!!!!!
"Hm?!" Zhu Jin grabbed Xie Dong in one claw and brought his face nearly against Xie Dong's. Excitedly, scorching breath burst from his nostrils, and he could not hide the exhilaration on his face. "What did you just say? Heavenly Flames? There are Heavenly Flames here?!"
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