Chapter 822: Focal Person

*Gulp! *

Long Binglin swallowed his saliva, gripped the armrests, his whole body's muscles tense, his brain spinning wildly, comparing the strength of the enemy and himself.

The strength of a Jiang Zongshi and a Jiang Zongshi cannot be spoken of in the same breath, especially since the 【Startling Dragon Transformation】 is not only known to Dragon-men, but also to Dragon Sturgeon!

Both obtained the Dragon Lord's bloodline, so there is no difference in the cultivation of this method. Long Binglin had just entered the Jiang Zongshi level, and his divine ability had not been nurtured for long, so the 【Startling Dragon Transformation】 only had a two-fold bonus. Ao Qing would only have more, not less, with an increase of at least four times!

Monsters and humans have different cultivation paths—one seeks "solitude," the other seeks "fusion." In a suitable environment, the strength increase is extremely exaggerated.

Before entering the Long Yuan Path, Ao Qing's tail sweeping away dozens of *li* of turbulent currents showed clues. Under the 【Startling Dragon Transformation】, performing a second divine ability would by no means be one plus one...

Hm.

It's not that they can't fight.

Long Binglin was panicked at first, but then realized he was no longer a Hunting Tiger martial artist; he had long since entered the Jiang Zongshi level. Besides, there was more than one expert on the field.

Eying, himself, the Bai Yuan.

Three against one.

Although he didn't know much about Ao Qing's divine ability, it seemed there were no very powerful trapping techniques in his impression. Plus, Liang Qu had the ability to control water and had many means. Even if they couldn't win in a head-on collision, escaping shouldn't be a problem.

*Whoosh, whoosh! *

The mountain of empty shells slid down and scattered evenly.

The Fat Catfish glanced at the pile of Abyss Clams, then looked at Ao Qing, shuddered, flicked its long whiskers to wipe the residue from the corners of its mouth, and quietly released black mist to assimilate the surrounding environment.

Round Head summoned all the clan pigs that were enjoying Abyss Clams outside the cave.

The Dragon Sturgeon looked at the pile of Abyss Clams, confused.

Not to their taste?

"What exactly does Senior Ao Qing mean? Could it be that you want to snatch my husband to go and claim credit with the Flood Dragon?" Long Eying gripped Liang Qu's wrist, her body leaning forward slightly, half-protecting him behind her, her language cold.

Dragon-men and Dragon Sturgeon throwing themselves at the Flood Dragon is indeed a solution.

Walking the water and turning into a dragon, then becoming the only furnace Dragon Lord in heaven and earth. However, the Dragon-man clan had never thought of doing so. Perhaps individual clan members occasionally had delusions, but they would never put it on the table to talk about!

Better to die than to live in disgrace!

Liang Qu looked around quietly. He touched the Wu Sheng jade token at his waist and gripped Long Eying's wrist back.

The actual situation was more than three against one.

It was three plus one Wu Sheng strike against one!

With 【Water Travels a Thousand *Li*】 combined with 【Nether Sea Cage】 and Heaven's Gate and Earth's Axis, Liang Qu was ninety percent sure Ao Qing couldn't dodge the jade token. A single Great Demon equivalent to a mid-level Perfected Form Jiang Zongshi was not a threat, unless Ao Qing had gone to the central courtyard to call for snake clan reinforcements.

But that was unreasonable.

The Long Yuan Path is located in the center of the West Water Domain, thousands of *li* away from the central courtyard. Without a vortex waterway, going back and forth plus reporting and reacting was absolutely impossible in less than an hour!

As for Great Demons near the Long Yuan Path in the West Water Domain...

He chose to believe in the Turtle King's ruling power!

"How did you do it?" Ao Qing asked.

"What?"

The topic changed abruptly.

Everyone was stunned.

"The Dragon-man bloodline problem, how was it solved?"

The three looked at each other.

This...

Who leaked the news?

The Fat Catfish looked suspiciously at Round Head.

Round-Head was furious; if the situation hadn't been so dire, he would have immediately gathered his tribe of fish to teach the fat savage a lesson.

Ao Qing did not urge them. His two white whiskers floated left and right, his gaze drifting far away, lost in reminiscence.

"Thirty to forty years ago, the Dragon-man clan gathered their living strength to counterattack and ambush the Snake clan, with casualties on both sides. I did not participate, but I knew the inside story of most of the mobilization.

The youngest first and second generations of Dragon-men, those who were in love, all used bloodline secret methods in the years before the war, leaving behind bloodline seeds. In total, they gave birth to you three—Binglin, Eying, and Yanrui—as fire seeds, steadily and surely, reaching the Great Jiang Zongshi level without worry.

Therefore, it is not strange that you stepped into the Jiang Zongshi level, regardless of where the heaven and earth long *qi* came from. But why...

... would Eying be in love with a human?"

Ao Qing withdrew his gaze, looked around at everyone, and waited for an answer.

The topic didn't know why it fell on himself, and he worried about something going wrong.

Long Eying retorted: "Why can't I?"

Ao Qing smiled and shook his head.

"I have lived for over two hundred and sixty years and have had quite a few dealings with humans. For over thirty years, the Dragon-men have visited several times. You might not have a deep impression of me, just a fleeting glance. But every time Long Chen brought you to stay for a while, I observed you.

Binglin's personality is steady and peaceful; he never envies anything or thinks wildly, doing whatever he is told, even feeling that being the eldest brother and a Dragon-man should be like this. Yanrui's personality is soft; sometimes he is more like a girl, and he would even cry when falling off a Dragon Sturgeon.

Eying, you are taciturn and also do whatever you are told. At first glance, you are the same as Binglin, but in reality, you are not. Coming to the Long Yuan Path, you would want to play with the little Dragon Sturgeon, want to go to the cold spring to swim, want to pick Abyss Clams together. But you can endure your temper, understand that you should listen to your elders, practice diligently, and shoulder the future of the clan. You are much more tired than Binglin and Yanrui.

Of the three, I am most optimistic about Yanrui. He is young, has little pressure, loves and is loved by many, has his big brother and second sister to support him, and his emotions are the most abundant. Such people have infinite potential.

The one I am least optimistic about is you, Eying. Too tired to rely on anyone, unable to escape, you tend to self-destruct. If you really fought the Snake clan, you would probably be the first to perish."

The stone table flowed with ripples, and the fluorescent jellyfish drifted quietly.

Long Binglin looked at his cousin in surprise.

Liang Qu scratched his temples and gently rubbed Eying's little finger.

Long Eying couldn't hold her face: "Even if that's the case, what does it have to do with this?"

"Naturally, it has to do with it. You are too happy."

Hap... happy?

Everyone was silent.

"Is it wrong to be happy?" Long Eying stiffened her face.

"It's not wrong to be happy, it's just unusual for you.

Even if you were really in love with Liang, you wouldn't reveal half a bit of affection. You would understand that for the future of the clan, you should choose to combine with a Dragon-man rather than waste several generations of bloodline in vain.

And even if the union was indeed for the Dragon-men to make friends with the Great Shun, you certainly wouldn't resist, but heartfelt joy—that's not right.

With your personality and opinions, you shouldn't easily fall in love with someone."

Reasonable and well-founded.

The Fat Catfish used its whiskers to support its chin, pretending to think.

Liang Qu raised an eyebrow and asked: "Can't it be that it just happened to be a marriage alliance, and it just happened to be two people in love?"

The Fat Catfish nodded repeatedly.

Ao Qing was silent for a moment.

"Reasonable. Lovers finally getting married is a very small chance, but it's not impossible. However, with Eying's personality, she would definitely not 'reveal' it. Even if she found someone she liked, as long as the clan crisis was not eliminated for a moment, do you think she would let go of her 'hard work'? So, what is the Dragon-men's method? Dragon Blood Fruit treats the symptoms but not the root cause. The Bai Yuan with the Flood Dragon bounty?"

Long Binglin was secretly shocked.

Just one meeting, and Ao Qing could see so much?

The words had reached this point.

Ao Qing didn't seem to have any intention of making a move; it was mostly an elder talking, not verbal coercion.

Speaking of which, everyone's *Eye-Knowledge Method* hadn't stopped for a moment, and there was no needle-prick feeling at all. It was just that everyone was scared by the content of Ao Qing's words.

"Senior, what does this mean..."

"It's not a joke." Ao Qing's tone was flat. "I have indeed thought about it. The Huai River has had no lord for two generations; a new lord must appear. Looking at it now, only the Flood Dragon.

The Dragon Sturgeon and East Snake have gone through several rounds of bloody battles. The Flood Dragon turning into a dragon, regardless of the relationship or benefits, going to throw ourselves at it now has no meaning. In these ten or twenty years, we must submit a name-card, but unfortunately, we can't find an opportunity."

*Purr, purr. *

The Fat Catfish flicked its fins.

Long Eying grabbed Liang Qu's right hand, frost spreading beneath her feet.

Long Binglin was fully alert, growing dragon horns, ready to fight and break out at any time.

Ao Qing's gaze dropped.

In a moment of inattention, the excellent Liang Qu became the focus of the whole scene again.

He paused.

"Senior Ao Qing has keen eyes. The Bai Yuan indeed has the ability to solve the bloodline problem!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 823 =====