Quinn Shepherd surfaced from the river as a massive flood-dragon swam past him and dove below. It was the Flood-Dragon King. Quinn paused to look and saw the sapphire-blue dragon with a bamboo staff stuck in its brow, blood bubbling up in streams.
"Grandpa Blind's bamboo staff!"
Quinn waded ashore. The Dragon-Qilin was carefully ferrying Lynn Ling, Lina the Spirit Fox, and Serena Yunxiang on its back, leading a troop of over a dozen flood-dragons. Blind Grandpa and the Flood-Dragon King's battle must have just ended; they’d hung back to avoid the shockwaves, so they arrived a bit late.
Lina finally woke from her drunken stupor, blinking around in confusion. She had no idea how she’d gone from the wedding feast in town to here, and was thoroughly bewildered.
Quinn scanned the surroundings and spotted Grandpa Blind.
Right now, Grandpa Blind was in a sorry state—caked in mud, clothes torn, wounds everywhere. Clearly, his struggle with the Flood-Dragon King had been fierce.
The Flood-Dragon King was immensely powerful—a flood-dragon that had ascended to godhood, its divine arts vast and formidable, especially as a water-type dragon. Grandpa Blind had fought with all his might, leaving the Flood-Dragon King battered as well, but he’d taken injuries himself.
The Dragon-Qilin swooped down and landed. Lina leapt off its back, still in her little fox form, bouncing over to perch on Quinn’s shoulder—only to spot the ink-green flood-dragon on his other shoulder. Instantly, her fur bristled and her tails shot straight up in alarm.
—Whenever she got drunk, she’d revert to her true form. She’d forgotten to turn human again.
"Don't be scared, Lina. This is the ink-flood-dragon I just tamed—it pulled off a major feat."
Quinn, still feeling smug, said, "How about that, Grandpa Blind?"
"You’re really something," Grandpa Blind said with a big grin.
Quinn’s eyes flashed as he quietly took out his gold flute and activated the Dragon-Controlling Mantra. Instantly, a herd of flood-dragons flew over and tried to tie up Grandpa Blind!
These flood-dragons were incredibly powerful. If they managed to bind Grandpa Blind, he’d have no way to break free!
Just then, Grandpa Blind flicked his finger. Quinn grunted as all three of his Divine Treasuries slammed shut, sealed again by Grandpa Blind. The flute music stopped; the flood-dragons looked around in confusion and didn’t attack Grandpa Blind.
"Quinn, you’re really something—sometimes too much for your own good."
Grandpa Blind flicked his finger again, sending out golden ropes that bound Quinn’s hands and feet tightly. He sighed, "Each generation brings new talent, but the old ginger’s still hotter. You were a bit slow. Thought you could control the flood-dragons and tie me up? Not so easy."
Quinn collapsed to the ground, his face dark as charcoal, just as he was about to order the Dragon-Keeper Lord to seize Grandpa Blind, but Grandpa Blind stuffed a cloth into his mouth, leaving him speechless.
"The marriage must go on, and the kids must be born!"
Grandpa Blind hoisted him up and said to the Dragon-Keeper Lord, "Carry us upriver to the Great Ruins, back to the village for the weddings! Two more ceremonies left. Do a good job, and I’ll treat you to wedding wine."
The Dragon-Keeper Lord hesitated, glanced at Quinn, who could only mumble through the cloth, still struggling. After a moment, Quinn nodded in resignation.
The Dragon-Keeper Lord felt secretly pleased: "This sly kid is finally getting his comeuppance. Serves him right—"
He lowered himself, revealing his long dragon back, like a narrow island in the water, and called out, "Climb onto my back!"
Grandpa Blind dragged Quinn onto the dragon’s back. The Dragon-Qilin hurried over, and a crowd of flood-dragons followed, jostling together.
"These are all flood-dragons I raised—each one’s a white-eyed dragon…"
The Dragon-Keeper Lord winced, but at this point there was no turning back. If he could do it all over again, he’d have killed this naïve kid the first time he met him.
On the dragon’s back, Quinn seemed to give up—he didn’t struggle or try to get the Dragon-Keeper Lord to attack. Grandpa Blind pulled the cloth from his mouth and said, "Let this eel-lord teach you."
Quinn held out his hands; Grandpa Blind untied the ropes on his wrists, but his legs were still bound.
Quinn’s eyes flickered. "Grandpa Blind, why so cautious? I need to use my power to learn how to seize dragon veins and wield the True Dragon Lord’s strength. Plus, these flood-dragons are hungry—I need to refine pills for them. If you unseal me, could I really escape? Even if I tried, could I outrun you? Sealing me is just a flick of your finger for you."
Grandpa Blind raised his eyebrows and tapped Quinn’s forehead. Quinn was delighted to hear a boom—his Spirit Embryo Treasury opened, but the Five Luminaries and Six Directions Treasuries stayed sealed.
"The yuanqi from your Spirit Embryo Treasury is enough for you to learn," Grandpa Blind said calmly.
Quinn gave a thumbs up, "No wonder you’re the old hand who raised me—always so cautious!"
Grandpa Blind beamed, "Stop buttering me up! Go on, go on!"
Lynn Ling and Serena Yunxiang exchanged glances. The cowherd’s upbringing seemed a bit different—like he was being led down a crooked path.
"These are all flood-dragons I raised—each one’s a white-eyed dragon…"
Quinn refined spirit pills and fed the dragon herd. The Dragon-Qilin took a few bites, but something tasted off. He peeled open a Redfire Spirit Pill and found a Fire Essence Origin Pill inside—no wonder it was spicy!
"Cult Master, something’s wrong with these pills!" the Dragon-Qilin cried. He peeled open more pills, tossed the Fire Essence Origin Pills into the river, and only ate the outer layer.
Quinn blew his gold flute, commanding a blue flood-dragon to give the Dragon-Qilin a beating. The Dragon-Qilin wailed and didn’t dare be picky again.
The Dragon-Keeper Lord swam toward the Great Ruins while teaching Quinn the deeper secrets of the Dragon-Controlling Mantra. The Dragon-Raising Codex he gave Quinn was still incomplete, with many key points missing. Quinn studied earnestly, without any tricks.
After half a day, Quinn mastered the mantra and asked how to wield the True Dragon Lord’s power. The Dragon-Keeper Lord replied, "The True Dragon Lord has been refined into a fate treasure; it can’t become a true dragon. But if you place it in the True Dragon Nest, it can draw dragon qi and, with a special method, absorb fate. Whoever wears it will advance rapidly! But I’ve never learned that method. The one who refined it likely imprinted the art on it. Once you seize fate, you become the True Dragon Lord!"
"A special method?"
Quinn was taken aback and quickly described the Nine Dragons Emperor Art he learned from Emperor Yan Feng. "Is this an art for seizing fate?"
The Dragon-Keeper Lord thought for a moment and shook his head. "That art only seizes qi, using dragon qi for cultivation, not fate. Our dragon clan is born of heaven and earth, inheriting cosmic energy and turning it into language—dragon speech. Every dragon is fluent in it from birth. The symbols on the True Dragon Lord and Dragon Nest are our writing. I’ve only seen the Dragon Nest’s characters, not those on the True Dragon Lord. The nest’s script does contain a fate-seizing art—but it’s incomplete."
Quinn realized the complete art must combine the Emperor Disc and Dragon Nest.
Legend says the gods gave the Ling family ancestor the Emperor Disc, symbolizing imperial authority. The Nine Dragons Emperor Art came from the disc.
Emperor Yan Feng perfected the art, making it rival the Great Nurturing Demon Sutra and the Tathagata Grand Sutra!
Combining the Emperor Disc and Dragon Nest, the art would be incredible!
"Dragon Lord, teach me dragon speech!" Quinn suddenly said.
The Dragon-Keeper Lord taught him all the dragon speech he knew. "Our dragon speech is in our blood—the purer the blood, the more we know. I’m not a true dragon, so there are some I don’t understand."
Quinn wrote down the sounds and script, his head aching—the strokes were strange, like dragons themselves, with no apparent pattern.
With no pattern, there was no way to guess the meaning of unfamiliar characters.
And the way dragons pronounced their language was different from humans, full of strange rhythms—some sounds couldn’t be made by a human throat. Having a real conversation in dragon speech was nearly impossible.
Quinn noted down everything the Dragon-Keeper Lord taught him, then took out the Emperor Disc from his chest. This time, looking at it, he could finally understand some of the symbols and patterns. But since the Dragon-Keeper Lord’s knowledge was incomplete, there were still many he couldn’t recognize.
The dragon script on the Emperor Disc kept shifting, making his head spin.
Quinn closed his eyes, shook his head, and muttered, "Only a true dragon could read all these characters. Where could I find one to teach me the full language?"
"There’s a true dragon in the Great Ruins," the Dragon-Keeper Lord whispered.
Quinn perked up and looked ahead—Mizu Pass was just in sight.
The Dragon-Keeper Lord was shockingly fast; in just half a day, he’d brought them to the Great Ruins.
Mizu Pass was blockaded by Everpeace troops. If the Dragon-Keeper Lord tried to cross, he’d have to destroy the fortress. Quinn quickly had him stop, and everyone jumped off the dragon’s back and entered the pass on foot.
Feng Xiuyun led the local cult branch to greet them, bowing, "Greetings, Cult Master!"
Quinn smiled, "No need for formalities. It’s getting late—let’s rest here tonight and enter the Great Ruins tomorrow. Feng, arrange guest rooms for us."
Grandpa Blind grinned, "The girls aren’t bad… Prepare a banquet. Tonight your cult master blooms again—another wedding!"
Quinn noted down everything the Dragon-Keeper Lord taught him, then took out the Emperor Disc from his chest. This time, looking at it, he could finally understand some of the symbols and patterns. But since the Dragon-Keeper Lord’s knowledge was incomplete, there were still many he couldn’t recognize.
The dragon script on the Emperor Disc kept shifting, making his head spin.
Quinn closed his eyes, shook his head, and muttered, "Only a true dragon could read all these characters. Where could I find one to teach me the full language?"
"There’s a true dragon in the Great Ruins," the Dragon-Keeper Lord whispered.
Quinn perked up and looked ahead—Mizu Pass was just in sight.
The Dragon-Keeper Lord was shockingly fast; in just half a day, he’d brought them to the Great Ruins.
Mizu Pass was blockaded by Everpeace troops. If the Dragon-Keeper Lord tried to cross, he’d have to destroy the fortress. Quinn quickly had him stop, and everyone jumped off the dragon’s back and entered the pass on foot.
Feng Xiuyun led the local cult branch to greet them, bowing, "Greetings, Cult Master!"
Quinn smiled, "No need for formalities. It’s getting late—let’s rest here tonight and enter the Great Ruins tomorrow. Feng, arrange guest rooms for us."
Grandpa Blind grinned, "The girls aren’t bad… Prepare a banquet. Tonight your cult master blooms again—another wedding!"