Rong Tianling had heard Rong Tianhai mention the second elder’s inclination to take Rong Yueshan as a disciple, but hearing the offer from the man himself still left him quite excited.

“Second Elder, if you’re willing to take my daughter as a disciple, it will surely be her blessing. However, since she was eliminated during the trial…”

“Brother, don’t worry about this. If Master’s extending you the offer, that must mean that he has a plan for dealing with the situation,” Rong Tianhai interrupted.

Indeed, he was a little surprised that his master would be interested in Rong Yueshan—his niece, and soon, also his junior sister-in-training. It was truly a boon that Rong Yueshan would be chosen as the second elder’s disciple even after being eliminated from the trial, so how could the Rong family refuse such an advantageous offer?

Rong Tianhai and Rong Tianling walked out of the northern tower together, where Rong Tianhai bade him farewell. On the other hand, Li Qianyue headed toward the crown prince’s mansion in the academy.

“Fourth Brother, you’re a rare guest indeed! What brought you and Uncle to Kongming Academy today?” Li Qianxiao and Li Qianyue sat together in an exquisite pavilion overlooking a lotus pond, sipping on tea as they talked.

Li Qianyue rarely stayed in the capital, and he was unfamiliar to most of his older brothers. It was for this reason that Li Qianxiao was so shocked by Li Qianyue’s sudden arrival.

“I’ve always been interested in martial affairs, and I wanted to take a look at Kongming Academy for myself. Coincidentally, Uncle was heading to the academy for his own business, and I accompanied him. His business is finished, but I haven’t had enough fun, so I thought I’d drop by your place, Brother. Would it be alright if I were to stay a few days here with you?” 

Li Qianyue glanced all around the pavilion as he talked. “Brother, I heard your new concubine’s also made it to Kongming Academy. Now that you have someone with you, surely you won’t be lonely any longer?”

“She returned to the capital,” Li Qianxiao informed his brother coolly. “Stay here as long as you want—I don’t want to end up alone with her in this place.”

Li Qianxiao had intended on returning to the capital for the two-week break, but he changed his mind as soon as he realized that he would have to stay with Yi Qianying for the duration.

“What’s the matter? Surely you haven’t gotten into a conflict with each other? She might only be a concubine, but…”

“As long as she doesn’t pester me, I won’t bully her. She’s an ornament, nothing more.”

In the evening, acceding to Li Qianyue’s request, Li Qianxiao brought him around Kongming Academy. Because of the break, there were only a few students left on the campus grounds. A bell tolled in the distance, and Li Qianyue turned toward the tall tower from which the sound emerged.

“Brother, what’s that tower?”

“That’s the southern tower where the first elder resides,” Li Qianxiao responded. “I’m a member of the southern college myself, so I’ll bring you around to have a look once I have a chance.”

“A chance? Why can’t we go now?”

“Everyone’s on break, so the college is locked up.”

“Oh, is that so?”

At night, up in the tall tower, Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo were deep in cultivation when the first elder walked in with Shui Yun. As soon as they heard his footsteps, the two opened their eyes at once.

“Senior Shui Yun!” Yun Ruoyan exclaimed.

Shui Yun smiled at Yun Ruoyan, then bowed to Li Mo. “Shui Yun greets the Slaughtering King.”

Yun Ruoyan knew that Shui Yun worked with Li Mo, but was shocked to find that she was also a member of the Slaughtering King’s manor. She reported that Li Qianyue had begun staying in Li Qianxiao’s mansion, and would likely try to get into the southern tower soon. 

Then, she smiled at Yun Ruoyan again. “Miss Yun, I’m actually a guard from the Slaughtering King’s manor. I met you in the past, but never had a chance to talk with you.”

“Is that so? No wonder you seemed so amiable at first glance!”

“Su Xi,” Li Mo instructed Shui Yun. “Keep a close eye on Li Qianyue, and let the first elder know immediately when something happens.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Xun Mo, what’s your next step?”

Li Mo sat cross-legged on the couch as he glanced at Yun Ruoyan, whose face was still a little pale. “I initially wanted them to contact this so-called draconic realm as quickly as possible, but I’m quite worried by Yan’er’s ring. Master, will you keep a close guard on the all-seeing mirror so Li Qianyue can’t get to it for the near future?”

“That seems for the best,” the first elder responded. “Keep in mind that activating the demonic expulsion array took a toll on your body, and you have to be careful about your own reserves as well.”

“Yes, Master.”

After the first elder left, Yun Ruoyan sat down by Li Mo’s side and leaned on his shoulder. Li Mo had always been receptive to Yun Ruoyan’s intimacy, especially if she were the one initiating it.

“What’s the matter, Yan’er?” Li Mo touched her forehead with his lips, but Yun Ruoyan’s mind was roiling from what the demonic spirit had said to her. 

‘We have the same bloodline—you’re the only descendant of the demonic dragon clan on the Chenyuan continent, so you’re responsible for reviving it to its former glory!” The demonic eyes’ message was impossible to believe.

Yun Ruoyan’s mental state had been very weak, and she was in no condition to question the eyes. What was the demonic dragon clan? She had never heard of it! Why would the demonic eyes tell her that she possessed their bloodline? She was clearly a scion of the Yun family, Yun Lan’s own birth daughter!

Were the eyes just talking nonsense, or was there some secret hidden in the Yun family that no one knew about?

“Yan’er?” Yun Ruoyan’s sluggish gaze left Li Mo quite concerned.

“Yan’er, look at me. What’s wrong?” Li Mo removed the gauze patch from Yun Ruoyan’s face. Underneath, her skin was perfect and unblemished: she hadn’t applied a fake birthmark today. 

“I…” Yun Ruoyan came to her senses, but her eyes looked bleak. After a pregnant silence, she finally spoke. “Li Mo, do you know of the draconic race?”

“Dragons?” Li Mo frowned. “Yan’er, why are you asking about dragons?”

“I…”

Yun Ruoyan was just about to reveal what the demonic eyes had told her when Qiuqiu interrupted. “Mistress, this is a very serious matter. Before you figure out the circumstances, I recommend you remain silent about what you heard.”

Because the silver bracelet’s pocket dimension had been filled with an unusual demonic fog, Qiuqiu hadn’t heard what the eyes had told Yun Ruoyan. However, the fact that Yun Ruoyan had begun asking it about dragons implied that she was broaching rather sensitive information. Because of the seal on such information, Qiuqiu was forbidden from revealing it; when the time came, Yun Ruoyan would naturally find out.

But Yun Ruoyan knew that, by the time the information was provided to her naturally, the situation might already be so dire as to be unsalvageable. That was what had happened to her in her past life: foolishly, she waited and waited, then waited some more. In the end, when she knew everything, all her family members had died.

As a result, Yun Ruoyan didn’t intend on following Qiuqiu’s advice. She was about to reach out to Li Mo for help with the investigation, but Qiuqiu knew things she didn’t, and the fact that Qiuqiu interrupted her was likely for a good reason. As a result, she modified what she was about to say. “During the trial, I swam to the bottom of a lake. There, I found a demonic dragon grotto.”

“A demonic dragon grotto? Are you certain?” Li Mo was stunned. “How do you know what it was?”

“Qiuqiu told me, but when I asked it what a demonic dragon grotto was, as well as what demonic dragons were, it refused to tell me. Li Mo, do you know?”

Li Mo frowned. “I do know a few things.”

Although Li Mo had never managed to get the old codger in the Minghuang Cave to reveal his mother’s whereabouts, he had heard the old man call him a mongrel quite a few times. Initially, Li Mo thought that it was just an insult. In time, however, he realized that ‘mongrel’ signified something more.

“The bloodline of the dragons must remain pure and unblemished. A mongrel like you is a stain on our entire clan of silver dragons, so you have to die no matter what,” the old man had once said.

Because of this clue, Li Mo began investigating his own heritage, as well as all the stories about dragons that had been passed down over the millennia. Dragons, phoenixes, 

qilin

—all these mythical creatures had once existed on the Chenyuan continent, but they had vanished in a mysterious purge a few millennia prior. Because of this, the only information he could gather were apocryphal tales and rumors. 

Long ago, the dragon race had allegedly been one unified clan. Due to some unknown schism, the clan had separated into two factions: the demonic dragons, and the silver dragons. Both factions had been lost to time. As far as Li Mo could tell, the silver dragons had transcended into another dimension, whereas the demonic dragons had likely gone extinct.

“Extinct!” Yun Ruoyan exclaimed. The demonic eyes’ words echoed in her mind. ‘As the last descendant of the demonic dragons on the Chenyuan continent, you’re responsible for reviving our past glory.’

“Right,” Li Mo confirmed. “The demonic dragon grotto you mentioned is likely a mass burial site for such dragons.”

“Li Mo, I want to investigate the grotto.”

Li Mo thought for a moment. “That’s possible, but we have to wait till daytime. The first elder will open the all-seeing mirror for us, and we can head into the realm and have a look.”

Li Mo himself wouldn’t give up any opportunity to investigate the draconic race. However, he felt rather certain that the grotto would be a dangerous place. The all-seeing mirror would allow them to traverse into the realm only with their spirits, and would provide a modicum of safety.

The next day, when Li Mo explained the affair to the first elder, he too appeared equally shocked. The trial grounds was only a miniaturized, insignificant dimension, and he hadn’t expected that it would be the location of a site as important as a demonic dragon grotto.

Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan held hands and stood in front of the all-seeing mirror as the first elder operated it from the side. 

“Yan’er, shut your eyes. Release your spirit from the confines of your body, and follow my lead.” Li Mo murmured right by her ear. As he spoke, her body relaxed and became light, freeing her now-unfettered mind...

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