This battle,
Though the fight had lasted only moments, Jiang Chen felt bone-deep exhaustion — as if he'd fought for three days and three nights straight.
Tired. Nearly hollowed-out tired.
The true dragon had witnessed every second of the battle and was utterly stunned. When Jiang Chen first loosed those three arrows, the dragon had been certain it was hopeless.
But then the tide of battle had suddenly turned, and in the end, this young man it had written off actually obliterated the invincible Wei Wudao.
Admittedly, Wei Wudao's strength didn't amount to much in the true dragon's eyes — but he'd still been a second-level Saint Dao cultivator. Injured or not, that was nothing to sneeze at.
And this boy? A mere Minor Origin Realm cultivator, yet he possessed this level of combat power and an endless stream of tricks. The true dragon's scalp prickled just watching.
In a flash, the dragon's emotions were a tangled mess — it couldn't decide whether to celebrate or despair.
With Wei Wudao dead, the antidote for the Lock Spirit Elixir would inevitably fall into the young man's hands. For the true dragon, that was basically shutting the door on a wolf only to let a tiger in through the back.
For a moment, the atmosphere felt suffocating.
The true dragon was the first to break the silence. It glanced at Jiang Chen, who sat cross-legged on the stone steps, and asked in a hoarse voice: "Boy, what do you intend to do with me?"
Jiang Chen blinked, then laughed. "I already told you — I'm a friend of the dragon race. Why would I do anything against you?"
The true dragon cocked its head, eyes bulging as it rolled them over Jiang Chen, trying to figure out if the kid was lying.
Jiang Chen opened his palm. "This is the antidote for the Lock Spirit Elixir. I've already obtained it."
The true dragon was shocked. Just moments ago it had swept the area with its spiritual sense and found nothing of the sort among Wei Wudao's remains. It never expected the boy had already snatched it.
"How did you get it?"
Jiang Chen just smiled. He had so many Ice Fire Demon Lotuses at his disposal — his hands were everywhere. Grabbing something from the scene was as easy as reaching into his pocket.
"Fine…" The true dragon heaved a sigh. "No matter how you look at it, you're still better than that old bastard. So what's your plan?"
"I have only two conditions," Jiang Chen said with a smile.
"Conditions?" The true dragon's eyes narrowed with sudden wariness. "Don't tell me you want to enslave me — that's impossible! The noble dragon race will never bow to slavery."
The dragon seemed well-practiced at deflecting such things and shut the door on the idea before Jiang Chen could even open his mouth.
Jiang Chen understood the dragon race far better than the dragon itself. Yes, dragons were noble — the aristocracy among all beasts. But in the primordial era, plenty of dragons had been enslaved by others. Even his father, the Celestial Emperor in his past life, rode a chariot pulled by nine five-clawed golden dragons wherever he went. There was no sacred rule that dragons could never serve anyone.
The strong ruled, and no race — no matter how proud — could escape that cycle.
Still, Jiang Chen knew full well that subduing this true dragon through sheer power was completely unrealistic.
So he smiled faintly: "You're far stronger than I am. I won't waste my breath dreaming about enslaving you. But I do want us to sign an pact — an alliance pact. That's my first condition."
"Alliance pact?" The true dragon blinked thoughtfully, pondering for a moment before giving a small nod. "If it's merely an alliance pact, I can consider it. But you can't just boss me around constantly, or I'll revoke it."
Jiang Chen chuckled. "Since we'd be allies, I naturally wouldn't enslave you. But don't think signing an alliance pact with me is purely about taking advantage of you. Honestly — even though you're a direct descendant of the true dragon bloodline, the blood you've awakened doesn't amount to even one percent of what the primordial dragons possessed. What if I could help you awaken your bloodline? What if I could teach you dragon divine abilities? What if I could help you soar through the skies, claim a throne, assume human form, command wind and rain, shatter the void itself, and ascend to the heavenly dao?"
Jiang Chen spoke every word in the dragon language, and each sentence struck the true dragon's heart like a spell.
"What did you say?"
"I'll only say it once," Jiang Chen said with a smile. "You're a direct descendant of the dragon race, but you're stuck here on the
The true dragon fell silent. It was indeed a direct descendant of the dragon race. After untold years of gestation, it had awakened from a dragon egg and remained in this Spirit Spring ever since.
It knew nothing of the outside world. All it had were a handful of fragmented details gleaned from its inherited memories.
For hundreds of years in this Spirit Spring, it had grown powerful but never dared leave. It was lonely, yet had no companion to confide in. It was solitary, but couldn't find a single one of its own kind to share its life with.
Thankfully, as its cultivation grew and its inherited memories continued awakening, its spiritual sense had gleaned more and more information.
But even so, it still didn't dare leave the Spirit Spring.