Pov: Vik
Lu Ran continued his story. He said, "Actually, the ancestors of our Lu Family lived on this Azure Mountain thousands of years ago. At that time, there was no spiritual energy, and money was the only power that controlled the world. Those times were not completely peaceful, but they were much better than today. Then a cataclysm happened, and foreign species and dungeons started appearing everywhere. It was a chaotic time."
"Our ancestors and other people living on this mountain barely survived the first wave, but they couldn't survive the next one. The government ignored their pleas for help since they focused on larger cities. No one cared about a simple mountain village. Helpless, they did what they could. They prayed for a miracle, asking the gods and the heavens to save them."
"Their pleas were answered not by the heavens or gods but by something else. A rift opened in the sky, and a massive, majestic dragon appeared with incredible might. He was several miles long and killed every beast that dared to approach the mountain. In his hand, he held a treasure, a bead of dark obsidian color. This was the Heaven Suppressing Bead. He used it to change the laws around thousands of miles from this mountain, so any beast that came close became docile. That is why the Azure Mountain City and any settlement nearby did not face any disasters for thousands of years. They say the dragon returned to the rift, but he left the Heaven Suppressing Bead, which still suppresses the laws of this world, protecting this mountain and the surrounding area."
After finishing his story, I thought this tale sounded straight out of mythology. However, thinking about the Heaven Suppressing Bead, I recalled Lin Chen's status. There is a section where his biggest ability is something called the Heavenly Bead, which shows him hidden abilities and helps him in cultivation. It also shows him the path of evolution for martial souls and beasts.
The Heaven Suppressing Bead must be an upgraded version of that Heavenly Bead. Maybe they were originally a single treasure, now divided into two. I can't imagine how much strength Lin Chen could gain by combining them. We need to act now, so without hesitation, I asked Lu Ran if he knew where the treasure was.
Lu Ran replied, "I don't know the exact location of the treasure, but I know a place. It's the shrine where my ancestors prayed, and that dragon appeared, holding the Heaven Suppressing Bead. You might find some clues there."
After hearing his words, we all moved toward the shrine. It was just a kilometer away, built on a small hill in the mountains ahead. Soon, we got a few hundred meters closer to it. Then, I sensed human presence—not just one, but three. I was sure they were Lin Chen and his two female companions. Without wasting a moment, I wrote on the ground about my findings.
We moved quickly while concealing our presence. The closer I got to the shrine, the more I felt something unusual about the third presence. Two of them felt human, but the third seemed distorted, as if an animal was mimicking human presence.
We soon reached the gate of the shrine. There, we found Xia Yang, Lu Xiaoran's ex-fiancée, guarding the entrance. We kept ourselves hidden, but somehow she knew we were there. Staring in our direction, she said, "Lu Xiaoran, I know it's you. I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you, but you have to understand I love Lin Chen. In this life, I will never be yours. If you want to live, please go back. I will make sure Lin Chen won't retaliate against you. You can't pass this gate; I will protect it with my life."
As she said this, she puffed out her chest, trying to show her strength. Seriously, does she enjoy making a scene? Her words made us seem like a third-rate villain trying to kidnap a heroine while the hero was busy.
But Lu Xiaoran replied calmly. He stepped out of the bushes and said, "I don't know what you're talking about, but let me tell you one thing: the Lu Xiaoran you knew is already dead. Now, I'm a new person who needs to settle some scores with Lin Chen. Please stand aside; you can't stop us in this suppression environment."
She looked unhappy upon hearing this. She said, "I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen. Now you can't blame me for being ruthless. I know I can't stop you, but she can." Saying this, she moved aside, and from the shrine's gate, which was a cave entrance, a presence came toward us. My instincts warned me, sensing a natural predator approaching. The ground started to shake slightly, and soon a lizard head poked out of the cave.
This lizard head was bigger than a crocodile and more menacing. My first thought was that I was looking at a dinosaur. Then its whole body emerged, revealing it as a dragon. It was huge, with silver skin, strong forelimbs, and two obsidian horns on its head. It resembled a classic western dragon, complete with wings on its back.
Xia Yang, standing off to the side, looked at the dragon and said, "Silver, these guys are now yours to tackle."
Hearing the name Silver, I finally understood what was happening. Just as I returned to my original self in this place, Lin Chen's beast companion, Silver, must have gone through the same change. But unlike me, she was a dragon. Now we had to fight this two-story-tall giant lizard.
Sigh! I should have brought that heavy-caliber gun. I regretted leaving it outside, but I still thought some grenades could do the job. I looked at my disciple but couldn't say anything, so I wrote on the ground, "Disciples, today is a very special day. After spending so much time in this world, I am finally going to go dragon hunting."
As I wrote this, I looked back at the dragon. My reptilian eyes met hers, and I felt a huge excitement. Finally, I was going to experience that classic dragon hunting in another world.