Combined with the earlier friction with Yang Kai, old grudges and new grievances surged up all at once. Yuan Wu's expression darkened abruptly. He pointed at Yang Kai and said, "You — go mine Ice Soul Snow Jade. If you fail to extract five hundred jin a day, you'll answer to me."
Swish, swish, swish — every pair of eyes turned toward Yang Kai, filled with sympathy.
Not many people had paid attention to the minor clash between Yang Kai and Yuan Wu earlier. All they knew was that this young man had come with the dragon descendant who had beaten Yuan Wu. Now, being the first one singled out by Yuan Wu, he was clearly collateral damage.
This was, without question, an undeserved calamity.
If it had been any other task, it would have been fine — tiring, perhaps, but nothing too serious.
The problem was that mining Ice Soul Snow Jade was absolutely a dangerous undertaking.
The reason was simple. The place where Ice Soul Snow Jade formed was unbearably cold. Even an Emperor Realm cultivator who stayed inside for too long would suffer dire consequences — frozen, injured, or even killed. Moreover, Ice Soul Snow Jade was extraordinarily hard. Five hundred jin a day? This was simply an impossible task.
Yuan Wu was clearly picking a fight on purpose.
Everyone saw through it plain as day, and Yuan Wu wasn't exactly hiding his intentions either. He sneered inwardly. Aren't you arrogant? Aren't you wild? You dare look down on me? You dare defy me and stand against me? This is what happens.
He was still thinking about Lü Sanniang and her daughter. He figured that once Yang Kai was sent away, he could do as he pleased.
Thinking about it that way, accepting this assignment today didn't seem like such a bad deal after all. At the very least, he could command all five hundred people present. His spirits soared, his vanity swelling to bursting. Starting today and for the next month, he was the king of this place — everyone had to obey his orders.
As for whether anyone could actually mine five hundred jin of Ice Soul Snow Jade in a day, that wasn't his problem. If they managed to bring it back, great. If they didn't, he'd have the perfect excuse to punish Yang Kai and teach him the consequences of offending him.
Yuan Wu was certain Yang Kai couldn't complete this task. He was already secretly scheming how to torment and humiliate him to vent his rage.
Everyone else had clearly seen through Yuan Wu's plan as well, and their hearts skipped a beat. Their expressions shifted.
Before, they had been too busy marveling at the dragon clan's grandeur and the difficulty of constructing the palace to think about anything else. But now, hearing the task Yuan Wu had assigned to Yang Kai, they suddenly snapped to attention.
Mining Ice Soul Snow Jade was no easy job. Nobody wanted to do it — one careless moment could cost you your life. Now that Yuan Wu held absolute power, if you wanted to avoid such a dangerous assignment, you'd better curry favor with him.
Mining Ice Soul Snow Jade certainly couldn't be done by one person alone. It would take at least twenty or thirty people.
The moment this thought struck, someone immediately spoke up. "Brother Yuan, the technique I cultivate happens to be well-suited for mining Green Gold Purple Copper. I think you should assign that task to me."
Both were mining jobs, but the difficulty and danger of mining Green Gold Purple Copper versus mining Ice Soul Snow Jade were on entirely different levels. Naturally, the man was eager to claim the easier task for himself.
"Yes, yes, I feel I'm suited for mining Green Gold Purple Copper as well."
"Heh heh, I think mining Celestial Crystal Meteor Sand would be a better fit for me. Brother Yuan, what do you think..."
More than a dozen Emperor Realm cultivators crowded around him, each eagerly volunteering for the less dangerous tasks, all talking at once in a clamorous buzz.
A smug look surfaced on Yuan Wu's face. He felt even more vindicated in his foresight for having accepted this plum assignment. His earlier complaints had long since evaporated. Though he had always been overbearing and high-handed in Half-Dragon City, he had never experienced the thrill of wielding such absolute authority. Now, having finally gotten a taste of it, he felt this trip was entirely worthwhile.
But he didn't respond to any of their requests. A person in power had to maintain an air of authority. If he agreed to every suggestion anyone made, how would that demonstrate his wisdom? They could make proposals, but the final decision had to rest in his hands. Who would mine Ice Soul Snow Jade, who would mine Green Gold Purple Copper, who would mine Celestial Crystal Meteor Sand — he alone would decide.
He merely stared coldly at Yang Kai, the corner of his mouth curling upward, and snorted, "Boy, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"
Yang Kai glanced at him, then looked away, gazing out toward the depths of the sea.
Which direction was Zhu Qing? He had seen some spirit islands along the way here, and Lü Sanniang had mentioned that the dragon clan lived scattered about. Zhu Qing was certainly living on one of those spirit islands somewhere in this vast ocean.
But the key was that he didn't know which spirit island she lived on. He needed to find that out first.
"Insolent!" Yuan Wu flew into a rage when he saw Yang Kai showed him no face whatsoever.
That dragon descendant not giving him face was one thing — the man was stronger in cultivation and higher in dragon bloodline, so Yuan Wu truly wasn't his match. But who did this human think he was? A mere first-level Emperor Realm cultivator who dared give him attitude?
Utterly clueless!
Yuan Wu was in the prime of his newfound authority — how could he tolerate Yang Kai undermining his credibility? With a sharp shout, he raised his hand and struck a palm downward toward Yang Kai. A massive green palm print materialized in the sky, smashing down with ferocious force.
Yuan Wu hadn't put his full strength into this strike. After all, he didn't want to kill Yang Kai. Setting aside the arduous task ahead — losing one person meant losing one pair of hands, and the one-month deadline was already weighing on him like a heavy burden — he didn't want to let Yang Kai off so easily either. He had long since transferred the humiliation Li Jiao had inflicted on him onto Yang Kai. How could he possibly let it go without thoroughly crushing him?
He couldn't beat Li Jiao — in both cultivation and dragon bloodline, the man was far beyond his reach. So naturally, he had to settle for second best.
Oh, you're close friends with that dragon descendant, are you? You want to protect that pair of mother and daughter? Let's see if you're actually capable of doing so.
So Yuan Wu used only half his strength in this strike.