King Big Dragon

It was already past midnight, and the snack street outside was still bustling.

In the lively downtown streets, people reveled in the night.

Yue Wen had washed up and was lying on his little bed on the second floor. After scrolling through his phone for a while, he was ready to sleep.

But before falling asleep, he had one more thing to do.

He put down his phone and closed his eyes to meditate. His spiritual awareness sank, slipping into darkness in an instant and reaching an empty, formless realm.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing inside a solemn, imposing hall of black and gold.

The four walls and the floor were made of stone as black as ink, inlaid with sweeping golden carvings. They formed ancient, inscrutable reliefs that seemed to recount countless battles between gods and demons in the distant past.

Directly ahead of him stood a long staircase, each step as tall as a wall. On the vast platform at its summit sat a single enormous black-and-gold throne, with a dragon coiled upon it.

Yes, a true dragon of legend.

A dragon throne in the most literal sense.

Its body was enormous. Even that throne, several stories tall, only accommodated a loose coil of half its body. Much of its tail still hung over the back of the chair.

Its ink-black scales gleamed with a dark golden sheen, each marked with mysterious patterns. Its raised head was steady and commanding, and searing golden flames burned within its slightly opened eyes.

Its twin horns pointed straight toward the vaulted ceiling like long halberds.

"Da Long, I'm back."

Yue Wen showed little reverence for the creature radiating a sacred aura before him. He greeted it as casually as an old friend.

"I have told you many times not to address me so flippantly." The dragon on the throne spoke in a voice as deep as thunder. "You do not understand the dragon tongue and cannot pronounce my true name. I do not blame you for that. But when addressing me, you should at least add 'King.'"

"Fine, King Big Dragon." Yue Wen waved a hand casually. "I came to talk business."

"..." The dragon on the throne looked somewhat speechless.

"I've reached the late stage of the third realm. I should be close to completion." Yue Wen raised a hand, and a thick, coiling dragon of chaotic energy appeared in his palm, giving off a faint howl as it spun.

He looked at the dragon. "How much Evil-Suppressing Money do you want for the fourth-realm cultivation method?"

The flames in the dragon's eyes flickered, as though it were searching its memory. Then it answered, "The Astral Realm section of the True Dragon Method costs three hundred ninety-nine."

"Huh?" Although Yue Wen had expected as much, his expression still tightened. "That expensive?"

He turned his hand over and produced a stack of old copper coins, roughly a dozen in all. Each bore the inscription, "Suppress all evil, bring order to heaven and earth."

"Killing a Tree Nightmare with a century of cultivation only got me twelve coins of Evil-Suppressing Money, and that was the biggest job I've taken lately. How long will it take me to save enough for this cultivation method? And this is only the fourth realm. What am I supposed to do when my cultivation gets higher?"

The dragon seemed rather pleased by his miserable expression and gave two snorts. "Too expensive? Then go outside and buy someone else's cultivation method."

"Ah." Yue Wen sighed.

He had cultivated the first three realms using the True Dragon Method sold by the dragon. Setting aside whether switching methods in the fourth realm would even work, the cultivation methods available on the market were nowhere near as powerful as the True Dragon Method.

This method could undoubtedly rival the finest cultivation arts in the world. Otherwise, how could an independent cultivator with so few resources have reached his current level in such a short time?

If he took the True Dragon Method to a cultivators' market, the fourth-realm section alone could easily fetch over a million.

After thinking for a moment, Yue Wen spoke again. "Then let me ask you..."

The dragon seemed to anticipate his thoughts and cut straight in. "No credit."

"I'm not asking for credit. I already said that one time would be the last." Yue Wen chuckled. "I was going to ask whether you accept installment payments."

"Hmph."

The dragon did not answer. It merely closed its eyes. The flames within them disappeared, and the entire hall instantly plunged into darkness.

Lights out.

Da Long really only cares about money.

Yue Wen opened his eyes on his little bed, his consciousness returning to reality.

The existence of this dragon was one major reason he dared not join the Supernatural Affairs Bureau.

Three years earlier, after falling into a coma, his consciousness had entered that space for the first time, and he had met the enormous dragon.

At their first meeting, he had still felt some reverence.

The true dragon coiled upon the throne claimed to be the rightful king of the Dragon Domain, stranded here after being betrayed by a treacherous subject. If Yue Wen gave it five million coins of Evil-Suppressing Money and helped it reclaim its throne, it would make him chancellor of the dragon palace.

Yue Wen did not dwell on what species a dragon palace chancellor was supposed to be. He merely asked, "What is Evil-Suppressing Money?"

Da Long answered that, as someone chosen by destiny who could descend into this place, he only needed to slay demons and evil spirits, and he would naturally be able to refine their souls into Evil-Suppressing Money.

Yue Wen asked how he was supposed to slay demons and evil spirits when he was only a student with no cultivation.

Da Long said he could use Evil-Suppressing Money to buy cultivation methods here, and once he practiced them, he would have cultivation.

Yue Wen asked how he could buy cultivation methods when he had no Evil-Suppressing Money.

Da Long said he could get Evil-Suppressing Money by slaying demons and evil spirits.

Yue Wen asked how he was supposed to slay demons without any cultivation.

Da Long said he would have cultivation once he bought a cultivation method here and practiced it.

Yue Wen said, "Are you out of your mind?"

Da Long said, "Why are you insulting a dragon?"

Yue Wen said, "You &%#..."

So he had not merely seen a dragon. He had cursed one out, too.

After going around in circles for a while, both man and dragon realized where the problem lay. In the end, Da Long reluctantly agreed to sell Yue Wen a cultivation method on credit: the first section of the True Dragon Method.

That was how Yue Wen began cultivating.

Only after cultivating did he wake up, only to discover that half a year had already passed.

After his parents were gone, this dragon became his greatest source of support.

It sold not only cultivation methods, but also magical artifacts, pills, talismans... Apart from living things such as Spirit Plants and exotic beasts, its treasury seemed to stock every cultivation treasure in the world.

And their quality was exceptionally high.

But it only accepted Evil-Suppressing Money.

Yue Wen had opened this affordable cultivation agency because of that constraint. Aside from making enough to support himself for now, the more important goal was to establish a channel for information about evil spirits.

Although he desperately wanted to search for his parents right away, he knew that with

his current strength, he was not yet qualified to investigate that secret.

Growing stronger had to come first.

He needed to slay more evil spirits, earn Evil-Suppressing Money, and improve his strength through Da Long.

If anyone at the Supernatural Affairs Bureau noticed his supernatural abilities and magical artifacts, Yue Wen would have no way to explain where they came from.

He could not tell whether Big Dragon was good or evil, nor did he know why he had been able to establish a connection with it. And if he revealed this ability, he was unsure whether someone might imprison him and turn him into a research subject or a trading tool.

That was why he did not want anyone to notice anything suspicious.

Turning down a coveted permanent position was a shame, but keeping this dragon a secret was his best path to greater strength. Yue Wen understood that clearly.

As these thoughts ran through his head, his phone suddenly vibrated.

A message.

Yue Wen glanced at it. There was a new message in the "Jiangcheng City Cultivators' Job Group." Instantly alert, he opened it for a closer look.

Sure enough, there was a new commission.

"The eastern cemetery needs evil spirits cleared out. Seeking one brave, attentive, conscientious cultivator, with cultivation no lower than the second realm. Submit your quote within three hours. Priority given to City Seven residents."

Everyone in the group was in the same line of work. They generally remained reserved and mysterious, only becoming lively when a commission arrived.

The commission had barely been posted before several replies appeared.

"High cultivation, plenty of courage. Twenty thousand."

"Professional Nightmare Wraith removal. Twelve thousand."

"I'm in City Seven. I know every trick in the book and take clients of either sex. Ten thousand per job."

"..."

The eastern cemetery was a large burial ground in the suburbs. Many victims of accidents or demonic disasters were sent there for burial if no family claimed them for some time and immediate cremation was inappropriate.

Spiritual energy was active these days, and corpses could easily give rise to evil entities. The main kind was the "Nightmare Wraith," born when the spiritual energy combined with the mental energy left behind after death.

But none of those buried there were particularly powerful people. Even if they spawned Nightmare Wraiths, these were usually the weakest kind, Ghostfire Nightmares, commonly known as Lantern Monsters.

Those things posed little danger, so the cemetery management would let them accumulate for a while. Once enough ghostfires appeared, they would hire a cultivator to clear them out, like a regular spring cleaning.

The job was easy and safe, and the public authorities paid generously. Do it well, and it could even become steady work. For independent cultivators taking commissions, it was a pretty good gig.

Even little Lantern Monsters are worth something. Clearing out a batch regularly would be nice. After a moment's thought, Yue Wen decided to compete for the job.

Seeing how fierce the competition was, he sent a message of his own.

"City Seven. Handsome face, sweet tongue, high cultivation. I live nearby, so no meals or lodging needed. One thousand."

After seeing his price, his fellow cultivators in the group abruptly fell silent. Then a flood of replies poured in.

"Did you mistype the price?"

"Holy shit, scab!"

"Do you kill evil spirits for fun?"

"???"