US: Chapter 401 (Patreon)

Zhang Dong stood in confusion while looking at this large chamber. It looked like some kind of bunker with a tactical map of the Empire in the middle. The most important cities were shining brightly and he could even see a dot that represented their current location.

While the lights were somewhat dim the holographic map in the middle was lighting everything up nicely. In the center spot of this room, he saw the Azure Emperor just sitting there with his apparent wife next to him. For some reason, he looked quite happy about showing him this place.

‘Did he say something about a war? Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the strongest cultivator here?’

With how the Soaring Dragon Sect had gone under the Azure Emperor would have no worthwhile enemies. The Heavenly Crane sect would probably remain docile as they alone could not contend with the Long Clan.

Wang Long was a problem but he probably wasn’t on the Emperor’s radar just yet. There had to be another reason for this and Zhang Dong had a theory as he approached the holographic map.

While this map was mostly composed of the Azure Empire and its lands, it didn’t end there. For someone like him that had been to the Emerald Phoenix Empire, it wasn't hard to put the dots together.

The border to the Emerald Phoenix Empire was outlined there but this wasn’t the end. At some parts, he could see some red lights with a timer above. The clock was counting down and it seemed that it wouldn’t be long before it was up.

‘All of those timers are at the spots where the barrier between empires was said to be the weakest… I guess war is really coming.’

While he recognized the border with the Emerald Phoenix Empire there seemed to be two other countries. All of them were surrounding this Azure Dragon Empire as if it was the designated fighting place. If each of the Empires around this one attacked at once it would spell disaster for the citizens here.

“What do you mean with ‘my arrival’ what are you implying?’

The Azure Emperor seemed too cheerful after seeing him. Zhang Dong had a bad premonition about this as it would align with how the other world he was in operated.

“Ah yes, I did order everyone to be quiet about it, let me explain it to you my new friend… or should I call you my brother instead?”

“Brother?”

Zhang Dong was not sure at first but the Azure Emperor was implying that he was his sibling. It didn’t seem that they were martial brothers like in a normal sect relationship, by how the Azure Emperor’s facial features matched his this was a possibility. For now, he decided to wait and hear him.

“Yes, this has been foretold by our great ancestor, the very first and most powerful Azure Dragon!”

‘Oh boy, another prophecy…’

The young-looking man continued with his story while looking at the map. It seemed that this progenitor that established this empire had created it to last through the coming wave.

Apparently, the Long Clan was one of the survivors of the old ages and managed to last all the way till this day. For many millennia they hid the facts away from the others while gathering more strength and thus most of the people in this Empire were clueless to the coming carnage.

Every hundred thousand years the bridge to the other cultivation empires would be opened. Thus a war that was to last five hundred years would start with the other empires.

“Sorry to interrupt… but a five hundred year war? What would the other Empires gain with such a prolonged fight?”

This was quite the long timeline that would last half the life span of a nascent soul master. Were cultivation resources enough for something like this to continue? Zhang Dong didn’t see the cultivators fighting that long for just some spirit stone mines and manuals that would be hard for them to use.

He had been in the Emerald Phoenix Empire and the people there didn’t really look like they were starving for resources. The techniques they were using were also different from the ones here, so were the realms they had. It would be impossible for them to use some of the arts that required things like core formation cores or nascent souls.

“Glad that you asked, I see that you are paying attention, older brother is pleased!”

“Older brother?”

It seemed that this strange fellow clearly believed that he was his sibling for some reason. If that was the truth he was unsure but if the world was going through a script it sure was possible.

“The ancestral records state that when the bridges to the other empires open up a treasure will form!”

“A treasure? Would this treasure be something that worthwhile?”

“Yes, it is said that when it is fully formed the treasure will bring enlightenment to the winners and propel them all to the next stage of their very being!”

“Next stage? Do you mean?”

“Yes, the fabled immortal realm!”

Zhang Dong nodded with his head as this made more sense. With the promise of achieving the mystical immortal realm that had been lost through time, it was enough to make these cultivation nuts fight for millennia. They would never stop until they reached that next level, that was something he was already aware of.

‘A battle for the immortal realm… that does sound like the last stage of the scenario… that’s probably why the bridges are open for five hundred years…’

He knew that this was still a world similar to the one where he used to be a summoned spirit. Like in that one this one had some rules and probably also some scripted scenarios. One of them was his favorite squid monster that he kept facing off and another one could be this large-scale war.

If he thought about how his old system worked it all made sense. There weren’t that many nascent soul masters to go around so a massive conflict between large groups of masters was the best way to gain spirit points.

People always liked to gather in groups, the Zhang Clan, the Long Clan, or a larger sect. They would think less of other groups and be fine to engage in a conflict with each other. Thus it would be easier on a person's conscience if he continued to kill people from an ‘enemy’ group.

While his theory about this being the next stage of the ‘scenario’ for this world, it didn’t explain how he was supposed to be this Azure Emperor’s brother. Maybe their resemblance was just a coincidence as he just designed this face to look handsome. This man before him could just have similar traits.

“I see, but why are you telling me this? I'm just a cultivator from a small sect… I thought you wished to speak about the Soaring Dragon Sect incident and not about this…”

“I thought you were paying attention, my brother? As I’ve stated, we share the same ancestor!”

“We do?”

“I see that you are unconvinced, my young brother.”

Long Qing smiled while taking down his necklace. This accessory was made from some kind of silvery-blue material and had a menacing-looking dragon head as its main part. On the dragon’s forehead, there was a white gem that looked like a diamond.

“This is the sacred Azure Dragon pendant that has been passed down through generations. Only a member of the Long with a sufficiently strong bloodline can hold this in their hand without sustaining considerable injuries.”
Zhang Dong looked at this accessory with his eyes and he could feel that it was some sort of ancient treasure.

Azure Dragon Necklace of the True Emperor [ Lesser Immortal Grade]

It revealed itself to be some sort of immortal grade treasure. What it did was unknown to him but it was clear that it was something powerful.

‘Bob, do you know what that is? Is it safe for me to touch it?’

He was still in an unknown location and talking to a powerful cultivator he didn’t know. For all he knew this pendant could instantly suck his soul away into it to power this Azure Emperor. It would be unwise for him to just touch it but he wasn’t sure if he could decline.

‘Scanning in progress please wait… scan complete, displaying item’s characteristics.’

Azure Dragon Necklace of the True Emperor

Ancient treasure created by the first Azure Emperor, it possesses the power to control the ancient formations that lie in the center of the Azure Dragon Empire. It can be only used by someone of the Azure Dragon bloodline that is at least at the 90th percentile.

A person that is deemed unworthy will be burned to ash by the azure flames of the ancestor's spirit that dwells in this treasure.

He started to go through the explanation and it started getting somewhat concerning with that last sentence. It seemed that if he wasn’t deemed worthy by this thing he would be turned into a roasted chicken by some immortal flames.

‘Hey, Bob… do you perhaps know if I will survive touching that thing?’

‘Probability of survival is at 99.99999%’

‘Huh? That’s impossible? Am I really related to that guy?’

‘Biometrics of Azure Emperor match the user’s.’

“Don’t be shy brother, here take it.”

While Zhang Dong was still confused about what his Ai was telling him, Long Qing decided to throw the blasted murder nacklace at him.

“Hey, wait!”

Zhang Dong moved his hand up to surround himself with a barrier of lightning but even when he did the necklace just passed through it as if it wasn’t there. It collided with his hand and the gem in the dragon’s forehead started glowing with a bright blue light.

Soon his entire body was covered with Azure flames. He was ready to click the teleportation option on his system window but before that, he noticed that the flames weren’t hurting at all. The temperature in the room didn’t increase at all and even when the fire continued to burn nothing happened.

“See my wife, you were worried for nothing, the Azure flames aren’t hurting him at all, I was right!”

“So you were my dear husband.”

“Wait… I really am related to the Azure Dragon Emperor?”

“Yes my brother, only someone with the purest of our clan’s bloodlines could hold that necklace, you also are part of it, a member of the Long clan!”

“I’m a member of the Long clan… hey wait a minute… wouldn’t that change my name to…”

‘Updating name.’

‘What are you doing Bob?’

‘User’s name Zhang Dong has been updated to Long Dong.’