CSMCDB - Chapter 167
Chapter 167
This news was so explosive that for a moment, Wen Yuncheng didn't know if she should immediately report it to the Empire. The problem was, even if she did… should she claim that her Star Power mutation gave her the ability to traverse planes and maintain a constant lock on a location? That would be far too outrageous.
Both of those soldiers had appeared on Dragon Island. Combined with Dragon Island's various attitudes toward the Empire, the connection was clear. Dragon Island also had a planar passage to the Huanling Continent, but this passage hadn't been sensed by any of the Star Emperors—perhaps they had used some special means to hide it.
The Dragon Race, what a mysterious and troublesome opponent. Wen Yuncheng's only impression of them was the dragon's roar and the aftershock of its pressure she had felt during the Beast Tide.
Wen Yuncheng hesitated before telling Lin Jinyu about it. Lin Jinyu, however, advised her not to report it to the Empire right away. The Empire had already assembled its Star Emperors and sent them to investigate Dragon Island. If anything happened, they should receive news very soon.
"It's best not to let the Empire know too much about the specifics of your monitor skill. You can tell them about its limitations and flaws, though," Lin Jinyu said seriously. Of course, it wasn't that she didn't trust the Empire, but there were so many people in the high command. The only ones they truly trusted were those they had more contact with, like the First Princess and Chu Han.
Of course, if one day she became the Child of the Plane and gained the ability to transcend planes, or if Wen Yuncheng's level rose to Star Emperor, they wouldn't need to be so cautious. With the great enemy from the Huanling Continent at their doorstep, it was impossible for the Empire's high command to be wary of Wen Yuncheng at this time. But she feared that as the war situation changed, some people within the Empire might get other ideas.
After all, when it came to making grand promises and brainwashing, the Fu organization had likely maxed out those skills.
Wen Yuncheng nodded. There was indeed no rush.
Still, Wen Yuncheng was truly speechless when it came to Dragon Island. According to the history of the Starry Sky Continent, Dragon Island was originally the birthplace and burial ground of the Dragon Race. The island could be described as a land of great fortune, with Star Power so abundant it rivaled a secret realm. Although it was called an island, it was not small at all; its total area was comparable to a large-scale secret realm.
Before the birth of the human race, the lands of the Starry Sky Continent were mostly populated by various demonic beasts. The Dragon Race left Dragon Island to travel, leaving behind many mixed-blood descendants with other demonic beasts. In that era, the Dragon Race was the hegemon of the entire continent. Of course, Wen Yuncheng had also read about other famous legendary beasts, such as the Black Tortoise and the Phoenix, but there was very little written about them. The Black Tortoise's legacy was likely just the Black Tortoise King in the forest, who had lived for an unknown number of years, while the Phoenix… the Rainbow Phoenix King had clearly inherited a bit of phoenix bloodline.
The continent's history focused more on how the human race rose from weakness, step by step. In an era dominated by demonic beasts, the Dragon Race was extremely disdainful of humans, because unlike demonic beasts, any human was incredibly weak at birth. With no reference or exploration into the path of cultivation at first, the human race could only barely survive in the most remote places.
The Dragon Race… was likely too proud to even look at humans, but humanity developed far too quickly. It was so fast that the dragons felt as if they had only taken a short nap, and the entire continent's situation had changed. With the establishment and succession of the Empire, humanity continuously expanded, leaving the Dragon Race able to survive only on Dragon Island.
"But to cooperate with Fu, to cooperate with Huanling… just how out of touch with reality is the Dragon Race?" Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but sigh again. They were ancient dragons who had lived for thousands of years, yet they were providing a base and shelter for the invaders of the Starry Sky Continent. Did they think that after the Huanling people and the Empire wore each other down, they could once again become the continent's overlords with overwhelming power? True, these creatures didn't know about the existence of the Plane Consciousness, nor did they understand that a war between planes was far from being as simple as a war between nations. But to just open the door for invaders from another continent… Wen Yuncheng found it truly hard to accept.
Perhaps they thought, "Even if Huanling occupies the Starry Sky Continent and defeats the Empire, it won't affect us at all. The continent's empire will just change its name from the Starry Sky Empire to the Huanling Empire"… Neutral beings like the Black Abyss King and the Black Tortoise King, who chose to hibernate to avoid the flames of war, mostly thought this way. As for those fanning the flames, they naturally believed they could gain more benefits from the chaos.
"Honestly…" Wen Yuncheng sighed. Regardless, she admired the Empire for still striving to protect low-level cultivators and civilians, and even trying to maintain peace and order at a time like this. War, at any time, was a disaster for both sides.
Wen Yuncheng continued to work hard on assembling the Air Wing. If she had to slay dragons and attack Dragon Island in the future, the Star Cannon's effectiveness would be greatly diminished. In contrast, the more mobile Air Wing was the best choice. Her experience points hadn't changed at all during this time, but Wen Yuncheng wasn't anxious. The current missions were stage-based; when the time came for an event to occur, her experience would skyrocket.
Watching Wen Yuncheng assemble the parts, Lin Jinyu grew interested during her cultivation breaks. Wen Yuncheng directly gave the blueprints to Lin Jinyu and taught her step-by-step how to assemble the components. "Look, like this… and then like this. Once it's assembled, you inject the energy core to power it, and the Air Wing is complete! … You try?"
"Mm… okay." Lin Jinyu was a quick study and learned very seriously. After looking at the blueprint once, she could find the corresponding parts and assemble them quickly. Although she would occasionally pause to re-examine the blueprint and the parts, her… her proficient movements dealt a heavy blow to Wen Yuncheng.
She had wanted to teach Lin Jinyu hand-in-hand, but this development…
[Let her assemble for a few more days, and she might become even more skilled than you,] 1947 couldn't help but tease. [Also, Huanling is probably about to make a big move. The Starry Sky Consciousness has sensed something, so be on your guard. The Dragon Race is arrogant and conceited, but they have the power to back it up.]
"I know. I'm not underestimating them."
The second phase of the Huanling invasion was clearly centered on Dragon Island, radiating outward from there.
Over a dozen Star Emperors went to investigate Dragon Island together, and a great battle erupted instantly! Dragon Island and Huanling had joined forces.
If not for the valiant intervention of five hidden half-step Star Saint seniors from the Empire, the Empire would have likely lost at least four Star Emperors in the ambush! Even with the seniors' intervention, the Star Emperors still suffered considerable injuries. However, Dragon Island and Huanling didn't come out unscathed either. At the cost of grievous injury and with no fear of death, Di Feng ripped the scales off two dragons. If the Dragon King hadn't furiously intervened, Di Feng would have torn the two 1st Layer Star Emperor dragons apart alive.
Among all the Star Emperors, Di Feng was the most heavily injured. After all, the others were focused on reconnaissance and prioritized retreating after uncovering the conspiracy. But Di Feng had directly unleashed his Blood Demon Transformation…
"Are you a pig? That's Dragon Island, with hundreds of dragons and the Huanling army! Why would you use your Blood Demon Transformation?! Did you want to take two dragons down with you?" Mo Dingtian was dizzy with anger as he struggled to rescue Di Feng and flee in a panic. Chu Han and the other Star Emperors covered their retreat. As for the Dragon King and the Huanling generals, they were intercepted by the Empire's five half-step Star Saint seniors.
"Cough, cough, ha…" Di Feng's chest was a bloody mess from a dragon's tail whip, but he could still laugh. A single laugh brought up a mouthful of blood, a terrifying sight. "Sorry, cough, cough… I saw those beasts… and lost control…"
"You really need to change that temper of yours," Mo Dingtian said, utterly exasperated. "If you do this again, no one will be there to save you. Your two sons are just as crazy as you. I'm telling you, that Blood Demon Transformation technique of yours is no good. You should have them switch to something else sooner rather than later."
"Bullshit! Cough, cough, cough… Blood Demon Transformation is the best in the world!"
This served as the prelude, and the great war officially began.
The Empire finally developed a device capable of detecting the opening of planar passages. The scholars named it the "Plane Passage Detector." The moment there was a fluctuation in planar energy, they could grasp its specific location and magnitude. With this safeguard, they no longer had to fear Huanling opening a passage to launch a sneak attack on their rear during a battle.
Even though they had officially declared war on Dragon Island, the populace did not panic excessively, thanks to the Empire's continuous propaganda and speeches. They evacuated to relatively safe cities in an orderly fashion. The Dragon Tiger Guard was dispatched to deploy in various eastern cities. The heavily injured Star Emperors temporarily retreated to the Imperial Capital to recuperate, while the remaining Star Emperors and half-step Star Saints spread out to counter the harassment from the Dragon Race and Huanling generals.
The second phase had begun.
[Mission Activated: Dragon Slaying!]
[Mission Brief: As a warrior, how can you not slay a dragon?]
[Mission Reward: Kill a Star King-level dragon, receive 5,000 EXP. Kill a Star Venerate-level dragon, receive 15,000 EXP. Kill a Star Emperor-level dragon, receive 30,000 EXP.]
[Special Bonus Mission: Kill the Dragon King, receive 150,000 EXP.]
When Wen Yuncheng received this mission, she and Lin Jinyu had just arrived in Huafeng City in the east. As she stepped off a Gugu Bird, she caught a glimpse of a shadow covering the ground out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and saw the legendary Dragon Race…
As scattered silver light drifted down, Wen Yuncheng realized that this dragon was already injured.
"Everyone, evacuate immediately!" a Star Emperor roared, once again engaging the massive dragon in the sky.
Compared to the dragon's enormous body, the human was so tiny. But the dragon was being completely suppressed by the Star Emperor, its bloody scales continuously falling.
"Jinyu, do you think… if I go steal the kill, that Senior from Dream Haven Sect will get angry?" The moment she received the mission, Wen Yuncheng was nearly frightened by the number of zeros in the reward for killing the Dragon King. But she knew very well that she couldn't get near the Dragon King for now. This Star Emperor-level dragon right in front of her, however, was very tempting.
Lin Jinyu fell silent, her eyes on the heavily injured dragon in the sky. "He probably… won't get angry, right?"
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