"Dragon Blood Flower!" Zhu Qing, who had been standing quietly in the great hall the entire time, suddenly seemed to have a nerve struck. Her expression changed as she reached out and grabbed toward the wooden box. An enormous pulling force surged forth, drawing the box straight into her hand.
Li Jiao hadn't yet recovered from the shock of Ji Ying's remarks when he suddenly realized his precious treasure had been snatched away. His face changed drastically as he cried out, "Miss, what are you doing?!"
Truly, when it rains, it pours. When the wind is late to the ship, the headwind comes.
This trip had not only thoroughly offended Ji Ying, with the refinement of the Dragon Blood Pill now completely uncertain — but on top of all that, his raw materials had now been seized by someone else.
That was a spirit flower he had spent years cultivating using his own essence blood. His plans for improving his strength hinged entirely on it. How could Li Jiao stand by and watch it fall into someone else's hands? Yet he didn't dare get rough. He could only look at Zhu Qing with a face full of anguish and indignation, hoping the woman would return the Dragon Blood Flower to him.
Zhu Qing flicked her finger, opening the wooden box. A flower lying quietly inside, its color a vivid crimson, immediately came into view.
Yang Kai looked over with curiosity, and his eyes lit up.
The Dragon Blood Flower was crystalline and translucent, as if forged from fresh blood. Strangest of all, it emanated faint wisps of dragon breath…
Even though he had never heard of a Dragon Blood Flower before, and this was his first time seeing one, Yang Kai could tell this was something extraordinary.
"It really is a Dragon Blood Flower!" Zhu Qing's delicate brows furrowed. She closed the wooden box again but did not return it to Li Jiao. Instead, she fixed him with a cold stare and asked in an icy voice, "Where did you get this Dragon Blood Flower?"
Li Jiao said, "Miss, please return the flower to me first!"
Zhu Qing ignored him. Without any visible movement, she suddenly appeared right in front of Li Jiao, her expression more solemn than it had ever been. Pressing him with her gaze, she demanded, "I'll ask one more time — where exactly did you obtain this Dragon Blood Flower?!"
An incredibly oppressive aura surged toward him. Li Jiao found himself struggling to breathe, his blood seemingly freezing throughout his body. He couldn't help but take two steps back, his face turning pale. "I obtained it by chance. Why are you asking about this?"
He was completely baffled. This Dragon Blood Flower was indeed something he had stumbled upon accidentally. It was precious, yes, but why was this woman so agitated? What horrified him even more was that he, an Emperor Realm cultivator at the Third Stage, felt absolutely no will to resist in her presence. That bone-deep terror left his hands and feet ice-cold, his entire body chilled to the core.
How was this possible? He had already reached the Third Stage of the Emperor Realm. The only ones who could suppress him so completely with their aura alone were Great Emperors. But this woman didn't look anything like a Great Emperor.
"You're lying!" Zhu Qing shouted sharply. "Dragon Blood Flowers can only be produced on Dragon Island. There is absolutely no other place where they can exist!"
She seemed to have worked herself into a fury. As she spoke, a piercing dragon's roar suddenly rang out across the sky. A massive phantom dragon head materialized above her head, those two majestic dragon eyes gazing down upon Li Jiao. In that instant, all the strength seemed to drain from Li Jiao's body, and he collapsed to the ground, eyes wide. Cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall as he cried out in disbelief, "D-Dragon… the Dragon Clan?!"
"What?!" Mi Qi was also startled. He took a quick step back, putting distance between himself and Zhu Qing, his face draining to snow-white in an instant.
Staring at the phantom dragon head hovering above Zhu Qing, Mi Qi couldn't help but swallow hard.
No wonder. No wonder this woman, despite her petite frame, possessed such terrifying power. No wonder Li Jiao, an Emperor Realm cultivator at the Third Stage, had no power to resist her whatsoever. This woman was of the Dragon Clan?
If that was the case, then everything made sense.
The Dragon Clan was the chief of all living beings, the foremost of the Sacred Spirits. For an adult member of the Dragon Clan to send someone flying with a single blow was hardly surprising. And Li Jiao was in an even worse position — because he carried a trace of dragon bloodline within his body, he was now completely suppressed by this dragon woman's bloodline power. He probably couldn't even channel half his strength.
Such was the terror of a Dragon Bloodline's suppression.
How could a member of the Dragon Clan be here? And judging from the way Yang Kai had treated this dragon woman earlier, the two of them seemed to have an unusual relationship.
Could it be that behind Lingxiao Palace, there actually stood the shadow of Dragon Island?
Mi Qi had been considering whether to renege on his word once he walked out the door, but now he wouldn't dare even think such a thought. If the Dragon Clan was involved, he wouldn't have the courage to welsh on his debt even if given a hundred times his bravery.
On the other side, Ji Ying sat frozen in his chair, utterly stunned.
As the fifth disciple of Miao Dan, the Great Emperor, he was broadly knowledgeable, yet he had never seen a true member of the Dragon Clan before. He hadn't expected to have such an opportunity here, of all places, at Lingxiao Palace.
Recalling how Yang Kai had ordered this dragon woman about, even having her serve tea and pour water…
Cold sweat rolled down Ji Ying's back. His admiration for Yang Kai soared to new heights, but it was accompanied by a deep sense of dread.
The Dragon Clan — that was an incomparably proud race. When had they ever been treated like maids and ordered around? If she lost her temper and went on a rampage, who in this great hall would make it out alive?
What sort of ability or virtue did Yang Kai possess, to make a dragon woman so obedient to his every word? Could it be that he, too, was of the Dragon Clan?
At the thought, Ji Ying looked at Yang Kai with entirely new eyes. Before, the fact that Yang Kai was an Emperor-tier Alchemist and had even bested him in the art of refinement had merely earned Ji Ying's respect and a desire to build a relationship. But now, the only words Ji Ying could think of were those of profound reverence.
To have a dragon woman serve tea and pour water — even if his own master, Miao Dan the Great Emperor, were to visit in person, he probably wouldn't receive that kind of treatment?
Ji Ying couldn't help but let his mind wander.