Answering the Request

Up close, the Dragon Lord looked only seven or eight years old. Her two little horns were even more delicate and exquisite. In his original world, he would surely have wanted to pinch those little cheeks, but Su Ziji naturally had no such thought.

Those eyes were absolutely not those of a cute young dragon.

Su Ziji's question made the Dragon Lord smile mutely. In no hurry to answer, she pointed outside. "Take another look."

Su Ziji looked up and saw another gust of wind sweep past. As it passed, the magnificent palaces outside swiftly collapsed, breaking apart and crumbling.

That was not even the worst of it. The vague figures caught in the wind also met with calamity. Even those hiding behind pillars were helpless to escape, rapidly turning to ash, leaving behind only a few despairing screams.

Though he did not know the outcome, it was surely horrifying.

A gust of wind rushed in. Though it was blocked by the ring upon reaching them, Su Ziji could not help but shudder, his hair standing on end. As if unable to bear the chill, he rubbed his shoulder, his face turning pale.

The Dragon Lord remained unconcerned, smiling. "It seems you have some guesses. What do you think this is?"

"Dragon Lord, could this... be time?" Su Ziji hesitated before daring to venture a guess.

Coiling Dragon Lake was a famous sight in this prefecture, but the name itself had only existed for several centuries. Legend said there had once been a Dragon Lord, and the county chronicles recorded it. There had even been official sacrifices, but for some unknown reason, the imperial court had suddenly abolished them.

Through the Rosewood Pendant, the Coiling Dragon Secret Art had, if his guess was correct, drawn upon the very state of mind its author had possessed while writing it, allowing him to enter its gates so swiftly.

Though it was only a fragment, he could still faintly understand the complicated feelings of that time—worry, resolve.

And he clearly understood that the splendid scene from moments ago had taken place centuries in the past.

Could time have flowed backward, and was this now the backlash?

"Time? Could it be that you think this is the past? You think too highly of me." The Dragon Lord was startled, then laughed again, though her tone was grave and icy. "Time is the measure of a hundred generations. If time could be reversed, the world and the Heavenly Dao would both vanish without a trace."

"I fear that even a Heavenly Emperor could not reverse it."

Boom! As they spoke, another wave of wind swept in. It looked like a heavy haze of red and yellow, yet as it passed, the palaces whose frames still stood collapsed. With one glance, he saw stones flying everywhere, ten thousand thunderclaps roaring in fury, until everything became ruins, with only a few broken pillars still standing tall.

Some clever people who had fled deep into hiding let out despairing screams.

"Once a great mistake has been cast, even a hundred schemes cannot escape it." Su Ziji glanced over, grief filling his heart, yet there was nothing he could do.

The Dragon Lord's expression remained calm. Her graceful head lowered, her beautiful eyes fixed on the unfolding scene. Only after a long while did she break the silence with a sigh. "I merely foresaw a great calamity and used its calamitous aura as a seal, sealing this prosperity, the shadows of my ministers, and a thread of my Primordial Spirit within it. Only then could it retain the appearance of those years."

"Originally, I never expected you people to come. To speak frankly, this was prepared for my dragon daughter. Once she unraveled the chess manual, she would naturally receive my true inheritance."

"But I never imagined that, after calculating everything, I would overlook a treacherous minister. The formation meant to protect my dragon daughter was altered into a prison, making me wait for centuries without her ever arriving. I could only watch helplessly as she gradually withered away."

"I never expected the Dragon-Serpent Blood Sacrifice to forcibly tear open the seal for a moment. It was truly a fortunate coincidence. I held the chess match only to send out the chess manual, to pry open a tiny crack in the seal. What surprised me even more was that you, a mere mortal, actually unraveled the seal."

"Now that the seal has opened, everything is rapidly decaying and synchronizing with the world outside. Rather than time, this wind is better called a headwind that smooths away anomalies."

"Those people just now left without my permission. No matter how much fate they possessed, once this headwind blew upon them, they were doomed to be reduced to ashes."

"Ten miles of splendor vanished in a few breaths. The grandeur of heaven and earth truly makes one sigh. We are almost like duckweed adrift on the water."

The Dragon Lord was still lamenting. She had only a thread of her Primordial Spirit left; perhaps she was unafraid, but Su Ziji had no wish to perish together with her. Not to mention that Ye Buhui was still in his arms. He could only force a reply. "Compared to the world, who is not duckweed? It is precisely because of this that people like us must seize every moment."

The Dragon Lord could not help smiling. "Do not rush. There is still time."

As she spoke, her smile faded and her expression grew solemn. "I am bound by the headwind. Escape is useless. You siblings originally had little to do with this and could have left, but you somehow learned the Coiling Dragon Secret Art in an instant—the very art I was meant to pass down to my dragon daughter. You have formed a grave karmic bond."

"Your sister may leave now, but you must remain. You brought this upon yourself; it is not that I am deliberately making things difficult for you."

So I had ended up taking the blame for myself?

Su Ziji's face instantly went pale. After a long silence, he asked, "Is there any way to resolve this?"

If the Coiling Dragon Secret Art was so important, why had the Dragon Lord so readily agreed to his request earlier?

Of course. She had never imagined that he would directly obtain the true essence of the Coiling Dragon Secret Art. She had merely wanted to send out the chess manual and then let a destined person pry open the seal.

More than one person had heard the chess manual just now.

Su Ziji quickly sorted through his thoughts. His eyes gleamed as he stared at the Dragon Lord. "Dragon Lord, time is running short. If there is anything you need, please command me freely. If I can do it, I will never refuse."

"Forthright. A promise from a man of the realm is worth a thousand pieces of gold—I believe you." Another headwind swept in. The entire palace had already turned to ash, while the core hall swayed on the verge of collapse. Several great demons at the outskirts flickered between light and shadow, nearly breaking apart.

The Dragon Lord no longer delayed. "The Coiling Dragon Secret Art's inheritance can only be passed on once. You have received it, so my dragon daughter no longer has it."

"Without that inheritance, she cannot truly be called a dragon daughter. She can only remain trapped within the Dragon Palace, sleeping as each day draws her closer to extinction."

"I will never accept that fate."

Su Ziji knew the crucial moment had arrived. He bowed deeply. "Dragon Lord, give your command. I will not disobey."

"Good. If you are willing to pass the Coiling Dragon Secret Art to my dragon daughter in its entirety, I will help you return. Not only that, I can help you take revenge."

"When the Dragon Palace was reopened just now, there was a Dragon-Serpent Blood Sacrifice. I secretly examined your fate, and this Dragon-Serpent Blood Sacrifice was the work of your enemy. It will surely become a source of disaster for you in the future, bringing you many tribulations."

"If you agree, I will stake this thread of my Primordial Spirit and lend you power, allowing you to reach Spirit Transformation and return. In an instant, you may travel a thousand miles, kill your enemy, and eliminate this calamity. What do you say?"

Su Ziji hesitated no longer and answered at once, "A great man's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold. I will surely not fail the trust placed in me."

"Good!" Seeing Su Ziji acknowledge it with his own lips, the Dragon Lord nodded and laughed heartily. She was about to say more when thunder rumbled in the distance. The moment it sounded, the Dragon Lord swiftly restrained her smile. "Alas, Heaven is jealous and will not allow me to speak further—take your sister and leave at once!"

As her words fell, the weightless sensation from his arrival struck again. In the instant before he departed, he unexpectedly caught sight of a small, panicked face.

"Eh, that is the young lady of the Hu Family. She is still where she was?"