The Dragon Palace

A tael of silver was thrown straight at Fang Zelin.

Fang Zelin immediately frowned at the sight, his expression turning somewhat cold.

"You'd better get out of my way while I still don't particularly feel like fighting."

"Brat, for those words alone, never mind whether you want to fight-you won't even be allowed to leave!"

The leader of the Wild Wolf Gang flew into a rage. He had built this gang, only to be berated by Fang Zelin like this.

If he did not cut Fang Zelin's head off today, how could he retain any authority in the gang afterward?

At that thought, he immediately gripped his saber.

A white gleam flashed as the saber went straight for Fang Zelin's head.

"How vicious."

The onlookers in the distance were immediately startled. The fellow had gone straight for the neck the moment he attacked.

That was truly going too far!

Fang Zelin's expression also turned icy in an instant. These people treated this place as a game world and acted without the slightest restraint.

Even their methods had grown more brutal.

He wondered whether spending too long in this game world would affect them in the real world.

Fortunately, most people still knew nothing about cultivation.

If people like this attained the Dao and became immortals, there was no telling what they would become.

Presumably, they would only act with ever less restraint, and ordinary people would inevitably suffer.

He had previously posted the Wind-Riding Sword Art directly on the forum, and he had no idea how many people had learned it.

But one thing was clear: from now on, it would be better to keep cultivation methods hidden.

If he published them carelessly, what if someone successfully cultivated in the real world and had the same character as the fellow before him?

At that thought, the saying "Heaven and earth will destroy those who do not look out for themselves" surfaced in Fang Zelin's mind again.

Fang Zelin had only been thinking for a moment, but his opponent's saber had already reached his neck.

His expression chilled at the sight. With methods this vicious, there was no need to let this man live.

With that thought, Fang Zelin reached out and casually pinched the saber between his fingers.

What had seemed like a certain killing strike was painfully slow in Fang Zelin's eyes.

After several months of cultivation, Fang Zelin had thought he had made little progress.

Only now, seeing his opponent's saber technique, did he realize he had actually improved considerably.

Without anyone to spar with, Fang Zelin naturally had no way of knowing how much progress he had made.

When the leader of the Wild Wolf Gang swung his saber, he had initially thought he could take Fang Zelin's head in a single stroke and use it to intimidate the people in the distance.

Never had he imagined that Fang Zelin would catch his blade effortlessly between his fingers.

At the sight, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Damn it, I've kicked an iron plate!

But before he could react, a sharp cracking sound rang out.

The next instant, a half-inch white gleam filled his vision.

In that instant, pain he would never forget for the rest of his life swept through him from his neck.

Then he saw a headless body slowly topple over in the distance.

"Urgh."

The two groups facing off against each other felt their stomachs churn like surging rivers and seas the instant they witnessed the scene, then ducked aside and began vomiting violently.

The people who had initially intended to become great heroes revealed their true colors at once.

Even martial instructors from a martial arts school with a little combat experience would not have been this pathetic.

Fang Zelin's expression, however, remained perfectly calm.

After glancing indifferently at the corpse on the ground and seeing that no one nearby was blocking his way anymore, he gently patted the elk.

The elk understood and walked forward with its head held high.

A short while later, with Hualing City coming into view ahead, the elk stopped.

"Sir, a little farther ahead is the territory of Hualing City's City God. If this lowly demon gets too close, I could easily be discovered. I can only take you this far."

The elk spoke cautiously, looking rather worried that Fang Zelin might blame him for it.

Fang Zelin waved a hand. "This is far enough."

With that, Fang Zelin jumped off the elk's back.

The elk nodded lightly and watched Fang Zelin walk toward Hualing City before turning and swiftly departing.

A short while later, Fang Zelin entered Hualing City.

Compared with Anzi County, Fang Zelin's first impression of Hualing City was its size.

Its walls were high and its gates were large.

There were also far more people coming and going than in Anzi County.

"Where should I start?"

Standing in the street, Fang Zelin considered where to begin, but then headed straight toward an apothecary in the distance.

Whatever else, he did not have much silver left. He would exchange something for silver first.

The half-piece of lingzhi the elk had given him earlier could still be put to use.

That half-piece of lingzhi would sell for a considerable sum, so he would not have to worry about running short of money while traveling in search of immortals in the future.

The East Sea Dragon Palace.

The young man wearing a jade crown strode through the underwater crystal palace.

A short while later, he reached a middle-aged man with dragon horns growing from his head.

"Father, could you take a look at what this is?"

As he spoke, the young man held out the few grains of spirit rice he had saved earlier.

Although he was a dragon prince, he had truly never seen such a spiritual treasure before, so he had secretly brought a few grains back to ask what it was.

If possible, he would grow some himself later.

The Dragon King glanced over at his words, initially rather unconcerned, but the moment he sensed the rich Spiritual Qi contained in the grains, he sprang from his dragon throne.

The next instant, he stepped forward, his dragon eyes wide as he examined the grains before him.

"This... where did you get this?"

Looking at the spirit rice before him, the Dragon King was utterly astounded.

The dragon prince beside him had yet to recover from his surprise, but at the question, he recounted what had just happened.

After hearing him out, the Dragon King immediately began beating his chest and stamping his feet.

"You... you! What am I supposed to say to you?"

The Dragon King looked at his son, his face filled with utter helplessness.

He had never imagined that his son could ever be so slow on the uptake.

"Father, what's wrong?"

Seeing the Dragon King behave like this, the dragon prince was completely at a loss.

Hadn't he merely mooched a bowl of rice off someone earlier? What was the big deal?

"You do know that there are people in this world who cultivate the Dao."

Seeing his son's confusion, the Dragon King sighed, a trace of melancholy on his face.

"Of course I know. But they are extraordinary people. Never mind ordinary folk-even we rarely get to meet them. It's just that those of us in the Aquatic Race, the Demon Race, and the like have hardly ever had dealings with them."

The dragon prince frowned as he replied.

As a dragon prince, he did at least know that much.