Long Nuhuang unsheathed the sword that she used to behead Long Yan not long ago.

The royal looked at her with the same expression of amusement he always did. “You would put yourself against me? You would suffer hurt for him?”

She snarled her response. “I will make you bleed for him!”

****

Long Huangdi was in a perilous situation!

He could feel the oppressive killing intent that the enormous dragon before him radiated!

It was a tsunamic entity in itself!

He could hear the shrieks of his wife in the distance, but unfortunately the fight he was trapped in disallowed him the luxury to see what was happening. Thankfully, it was a shriek of anger, most likely because of his current predicament, and not of danger.

Long Huangdi expertly dodged all the blows that the dragon levied against him.

“Long Jiao, what is all this!? What reason do you have to kill me!? Just because you don’t like me warrants my death by you!?”

“Your death has been ordered by the royal emissary! Your wife grows stronger by the day, but she is held back by a parasitic pile of dung! She is laughable, but you are pathetic!”

As he said this, he sent his claws barrelling towards Long Huangdi! The air screamed in protest at the speed and power of this blow!

Long Huangdi executed a movement technique that allowed him to avoid the blow by the skin of his teeth!

“Long Jiao, if I have done something wrong, tell me what it is and I will correct it!” Long Huangdi’s fire of fight was only a smouldering ember at this time of his life.

It was his wife that encouraged him to live day by day. It was for her sake that he would cast away his pride and try to appease this overbearing monster to the best of his abilities.

“Pitiful!” Long Jiao spat at Long Huangdi’s attempt to submit and compromise!

At this time, all the clansmen came to the mouth of the cave they resided in and saw the fight between Long Jiao and Long Huangdi. Though in this case, it would be more accurate to call it a game of cat and mouse, and it wasn’t hard to imagine who assumed which role.

Everyone thought it was nothing short of impressive that Long Huangdi managed to avoid being hit, save for the first time. Though thinking about it, his skills were the real deal.

Long Huangdi was a man that lived his life many times in battle and he climbed to his position on the might of his martial prowess. This dodging of his was something that he trained to perfection on the edge of the blade known as war, a blade that could have taken his life at any time.

Suddenly Long Jiao’s tail whip quickened to a speed that Long Huangdi wasn’t prepared for and it struck!

Bam!

Boom!

“Pwah!”

The blow sent him into a wall for the second time, drawing another mouthful of blood from him.

His organs were shaken, and his blood flipped inside him. He was injured from the first strike and tried his best to suppress his injuries to keep his speed to his optimum, but now the injuries from the first strike superimposed on the injuries from the second, putting him into a very dangerous situation!

He was now on one knee as he tried his best to steady himself. Long Jiao slowed in his attacks since he now had the annoying fly cornered.

Long Huandi looked to where his wife was locked in a fierce fight with the royal emissary.

The former played with her and even that alone already filled her with gashes and drew blood from her. She was maniacal in her attempt to get past him, but it didn’t seem she would ever be his match, so he made a hard decision.

As Long Jiao approached him with menacing steps, Long Huangdi’s other knee met the ground as well, an act that gave the former pause.

“What are you—”

“I beg of you,” Long Huangdi assumed a two-knee kowtowing position. “I beg that you bring my wife no more pain and to fulfil her single wish!”

This was the first time that Long Huangdi ‘begged’ since he got here. It was a line he never crossed because it would signify his lowest point. However, now, as death stared him in the face, he decided to use the last moments of his life to propel his wife forward.

“Why should I listen to your grovelling when your life is mine to reap?”

“Please!!” Long Huangdi kept his head down as he tried to relate to whatever sympathy this beast before him possessed.

Long Jiao went silent as he stared at Long Huangdi’s kneeling posture. “A trash wife for a trash husband.”

As he said this, he raised his claw to put Long Huangdi out of his misery.

“Mumble…”

“What?” Long Jiao’s claw paused during its descent when he heard some indiscernible murmuring from the broken man before him.

“Please… take back what you just said.” Long Huangdi repeated himself.

Long Jiao wondered if this human before him had a brain. Why would a dragon take back its words? That was the same as him apologising and to a human at that.

“There is no reason for me to take back what is true.”

“Just take back what you said.” Long Huangdi said once more, his volume a bit louder than before.

“I refuse.”

“Take back what you said.” His tone became firmer.

“No.”

“…”

Long Jiao stared down at him. He could see Long Huangdi’s body heaving as if he was taking deep breaths. His face was hidden from view, as it was still kept down.

Boom!

Long Jiao’s attention was stolen by the explosion caused by the collision of Long Nuhuang and the royal emissary. Blood ran down her body in rivers, but her ferocity only grew.

At one point, her gaze caught his own, and it contained extreme fury.

Long Jiao thought to himself that this human was a true oddity among the human race.

“Take.”

“Hm?”

“It!”

Long Jiao looked back down, where he saw Long Huangdi’s head raise to meet his gaze.

“BACK!”

Long Jiao saw that something was fighting to be revived in Long Huangdi’s eyes.

“And what will you do if I don’t?” Long Jiao’s interest was enkindled.

“Make you!” Long Huangdi growled those words.

“Then do it! Show me why your wife isn’t trash for being married to trash!”

When Long Huangdi heard those words, it was like something shattered inside him. How could this be?

What happens when you take advantage of the frailty to break an already broken man?

You break his broken self.

Does this mean he is no longer broken? Or is he broken beyond repair!?

Whatever it was that happened to Long Huangdi at this moment became evident quite soon. The thing that Long Jiao saw struggling to come to life in his eyes soon erupted without reserve.

“Fire! I see fire in your eyes! Finally! Now come prove me wrong!!”

Long Huangdi shot toward Long Jiao!

This was the first time that he offensively charged at the arrogant beast!

His fist glowed with a powerful spiritual fluctuation. This was no doubt a powerful martial technique!

Long Jiao rushed towards Long Huangdi, intending to take this attack head-on!

Boom!

A powerful explosion spread from the point of impact! The light from the explosion didn’t allow any of the spectators to see what was happening.

By now the cavern was filled with dragonkin who had been attracted by the disturbance, and they were all shocked by what they saw. A human was actually fighting the ruler of the bastion!

Suddenly, a figure flew from the blast! It was Long Huangdi and in his hand was a magnificent halberd.

He dug it into the ground to forcibly slow his speed! One could see a long ditch that ran the length of the floor of the cavern.

Once Long Huangdi came to a stop. He straightened his back and stood ramrod straight! The clansmen that saw him at this time became emotional. Was this the return of their family head!?

“I can’t believe I get to see the leader’s Heaven Asunder Halberd again!” One said with tears in her eyes.

Ever since Long Huangdi had become dejected, he never drew his weapon until now.

Long Huangdi didn’t waste any time. He immediately went after Long Jiao once more.

The former opened his maw and Long Huangdi could see countless razor-sharp teeth closing in on him!

“Hmph!”

Brandishing his Heaven Asunder Halberd, it shone with a white light that was blinding in intensity as he channelled a technique through it!

Bam!

It collided with Long Jiao, causing Long Huangdi to fly back once again. Oddly enough, even though he was getting injured by these blows, his aura just kept rising.

“Doesn’t the leader look… different somehow?”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

The members of the family realised that Long Huangdi’s haggard look from before was nowhere to be found. He was like a man who was poisoned for years, suddenly being cured.

Bang! Bam!

Long Jiao and Long Huangdi exchanged countless blows against each other. There was rage and something else that drove Long Huangdi at the moment.

He almost seemed to be enjoying himself. Amidst the blows that could easily end with his death, there was what seemed to be enjoyment coming from him. As if he had been liberated!

A blow from above came and slapped Long Huangdi straight to the ground.

Bam!

Boom!

As soon as Long Huangdi crashed into the ground, he shot out like a cannonball!

His figure was covered in blood by this point, but his momentum was unstoppable!

Du-Du-Dum!

Nine cauldrons burst into existence behind him! Eight were white and one was tinted pink.

This meant that he had eight medial-grade cauldrons and one quasi-high-grade cauldron!

It was this quasi-high-grade cauldron that caused the city lord back in Thunder Cloud City to hate Long Huangdi even more.

Long Huangdi was a man of true talent with a bright future. Not just anyone could forge a quasi-high-grade cauldron. The mere fact that he did not rely on the resources of a sect signified his tenacity and determination!

“I hate that the injury caused our leader to be stuck in this realm!”

“He’s supposed to be stuck at the peak of the 9th Duan of the Cauldron-Forging realm, right?”

“Yes. He’s been stuck in that realm for years.”

“Then why is he busy not being a Cauldron-Forging realm expert then?”

“Eh?”

Long Huangdi’s power skyrocketed as it quickly left the confines of the Cauldron-Forging realm and entered the realm of Core Formation.

They could all see as in his first cauldron, a light lit up within that sucked up the surrounding spiritual energy.

This was normally a time-consuming process, but here it happened so quickly and smoothly that it was unheard of.

However, this didn’t stop it from happening and in no time at all his core glistened in his cauldron.

He immediately felt the surge of power that this brought him and looked at himself in surprise, wondering what was happening, when he heard a cry of shock from the dragon before him.

“Impossible! How did your will…!?”

Long Huangdi could feel powerful medicinal energy surging from the wounds of his mutilated hands to the rest of his body, culminating in the spot where his hidden injury lay!

When he realised this, he then looked at Long Jiao in surprise. “W-When you cut my hands before, was it to—”

Whoosh!

Before he could finish what he was about to say, Long Jiao was already sending his claw down with a crushing power that would destroy Long Huangdi in his entirety, when suddenly…!

Boom!

A dragon tail covered in light blue scales tore through the void and smashed into Long Jiao, sending the ruler crashing into the walls to the side!

The royal emissary appeared before him, not paying attention to the ruler he so violently dismissed. The emissary’s voice then rang out. “So you have finally turned poison to cure. Not only that…”

He then turned his attention to the woman, who stood motionless in the distance.

Long Nuhuang’s body was bloodied beyond recognition and the dragon that did this simply shifted its attention to an inconspicuous spot on its body. It was between the scales, and one could see the faintest bit of red that looked ever so striking against the backdrop of light blue-coloured scales.

“You pass.”