Chapter 274: Two Extremes Reverse: Baichuan Putting on a Show of Strength?

"Damn, damn it!"

Feeling the waves caused by the newcomer's enormous size, which it made no effort to conceal, the man with that half-smiling, half-not expression could no longer maintain his strange look. His face darkened as he clenched his fists and muttered to himself:

"He, how could he possibly have come back?!"

"You have to understand, that's the deepest part of Mingtu—the most dangerous place. Since ancient times, barely anyone has stepped in there and come out whole!"

"Alright, brother. It's just one dragon. This young master refuses to believe that with so many of us, plus the Divine Arms Battalion led by the Thunder God General, we can't handle a single dragon."

Watching the enormous black shadow drawing ever closer in the distance, the cynical young man shook his head and cut off his colleague's muttering. But even as he spoke, he was no longer wearing his usual cavalier expression; instead, his face had grown solemn, with even a hint of curiosity.

Yes—curiosity!

As a noble young master from the capital, he had long heard of the countless legends surrounding the Dragon King Qing Jun, of just how immensely powerful he was. At the same time, having grown up listening to tales of the invincible exploits of the divine generals and their troops, he had always harbored a peculiar curiosity within him—if the legendary Dragon Lord were to engage in a life-and-death battle with the Divine Arms Battalion led by the invincible god general, which side would ultimately win?

Unfortunately, in the past, both parties were officials of the same dynasty, and unfathomably powerful cultivators to boot. Naturally, they couldn't simply fight to the death just to satisfy his wish. Not even his own father would have had the standing to make that happen.

But now things were different. The Dragon Lord's inexplicable betrayal and his break with His Majesty had finally placed him on opposing sides of the dynasty, so this clash of dragon and tiger was bound to unfold.

At this moment, thinking of the spectacular battle about to erupt, this noble young master from the capital grew increasingly excited.

Also expectant was the green-faced burly man. However, unlike the others, having once seen his lord host that mysterious dragon elder, he understood all too well that the chances of this being his own lord were slim. By comparison, since his lord was trapped, the possibility that this was that mysterious dragon elder was far greater.

If only it really were that dragon elder—then the Crown Prince, the Dragon Lord's only offspring, could survive. If that happened, then even if he himself died and his soul returned to the netherworld, he would have no face to show his sister.

That's right—from the very beginning, he had never expected any of them to survive. Even if the newcomer truly was that dragon elder, after all, although they were of the same race, when you got right down to it, their relationship wasn't all that deep. They'd only met once, and even if the Dragon Lord had some friendship with him, it couldn't have been that close.

Under such circumstances, how could that dragon elder possibly oppose the vast dynasty for the sake of a bunch of ants like them? To be branded an enemy of such a colossal dynasty—even a True Lord of great power couldn't afford to ignore that price.

So, he only hoped that elder, out of his friendship with the Dragon Lord, would be willing to step in and save his lord's son, the Crown Prince. Then, since he himself understood Lord Mo's temperament, with a little maneuvering on his part, Lord Mo, for the sake of his own peace of mind and his sense of propriety and morality, would likely turn a blind eye and let the Crown Prince go.

In the brief span of a moment, because of this sudden turn of events, the green-faced burly man had already mapped out his next course of action.

Setting aside the shifting thoughts of those present, the person everyone was most focused on—Baichuan—finally arrived at a leisurely pace.

From the dark river, deep and full of hidden currents, a long, enormous shadow slowly revealed itself before them.

The first to appear were the beautiful coral-like dragon horns. Next came the dragon's eyes—gentle, profound, like the starry cosmos—each as large as a water vat. Then, accompanied by violent surges of water, a corner of the long, hard-scaled dragon body gradually came into view, and a dragon claw, as large as a small hill, gently flexed with the current, leaving trails of white foam in its wake.

Big! Immeasurably big!

The true dragon's massive body completely covered and blocked the entire sky above the riverbed. In an instant, though it was still broad daylight, everyone abruptly felt as if the hour had turned to night.

The entire riverbed was plunged into darkness; only the true dragon's enormous body still shimmered with a crystalline radiance.

At this moment, the true dragon, stretching beyond the limits of sight, became the sole source of light in this place.

Such a beautiful, sacred, ethereal bearing—even a single glance was enough to feel the ancient, primal aura rushing toward one.

At this moment, the surroundings fell into absolute silence.

In everyone's eyes, there remained only that colossal dragon, as if dwelling in the void, radiating an ancient, primal aura.

A few breaths later, the true dragon's curious gaze swept over, continuously surveying the people below.

In an instant, the crowd, who had been stunned by the sacred, graceful figure of the true dragon, seemed to wake as if from a dream.

"Ha~ ha~ ha..."

Breathing heavily, the Thunder God General—the strongest among them on the surface—was filled with shock. A hand that was usually rock-steady trembled slightly as he raised it and cast a Light Casting Technique.

"Whoosh~"

With a soft sound, the area was restored to light.

With the return of familiar light, the hearts that had seemed frozen and cold among the crowd began to warm again. But before they could truly warm back up, thanks to the light, the true size of this true dragon that had suddenly arrived was now exposed to everyone's eyes.

"Th-this isn't the Dragon Lord!"

From within the crowd, no one knew who said this in a trembling voice.

But strangely, no one spoke up to refute it, because—

The Dragon Lord wasn't this big!

Although the Dragon Lord's strength was formidable, as a true dragon, his size was only a little over fourteen zhang (about fifty meters). Even so, within the Dalong realm, this made him stand head and shoulders above the rest, placing him among the largest of his kind. But what about this incomparably massive dragon before them now?

Even though the crowd had only caught a fleeting glimpse, thanks to their keen perception and the fact that the other party made no attempt to conceal itself, they roughly estimated its size—fifty zhang (about 170 meters)!

Fifty zhang versus fourteen zhang—is there even any comparison?

They're not even on the same level.

Not to mention that the scales on its body were jet-black, dotted with specks of light, resembling the mysterious night sky.

Without a doubt, from its appearance alone, they could tell this was a dragon far more powerful than the Dragon Lord!

At this moment, everyone froze. Even though this colossal being had not revealed the slightest hint of power, and its appearance was one of gentle, kind, sacred majesty, it still made their hearts tremble.

This had nothing to do with power—it was humanity's genetic fear of giants, etched deep into our genes. It was an instinct carved into the bloodline by our ancestors in primordial times, who, facing harsh environments and gigantic beasts, were forced to watch their companions torn apart and devoured, and who survived only by engraving that fear into their very being—fear the giant beasts, stay away from the giant beasts!

At this moment, even the green-faced burly man dared not speak up and acknowledge the dragon, because this dragon was simply too massive. Even he, who had once seen that dragon elder, did not dare to claim recognition.

After all, the difference between just over a hundred meters and a hundred and seventy meters was extremely obvious.

If even the green-faced burly man, a subordinate of the Dragon Lord, was like this, then the group of humans was even more so.

After all, before the other party made any move, no one knew what kind of temperament this true dragon had. They feared that the moment they opened their mouths, they might inadvertently offend it. At this critical juncture, no one wanted to invite unnecessary trouble. Perhaps this dragon was merely curious and would leave soon?

At this moment, weighed down by various considerations, everyone fell silent.

Hmm?

The changes in the crowd, and the silence where no one dared to speak, left Baichuan, who had just arrived, feeling a bit puzzled as well.

However, seeing the solemn, shocked gazes of the crowd, and the green-faced burly man whose eyes were somewhat dazed and uncertain, Baichuan was also taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized what was going on.

He then recalled that it had already been five years since he last sat down and talked with Old Dragon.

Five years wasn't long, especially for the cultivators present, but it wasn't short either—especially for Baichuan, whose strength and size grew at an astonishing rate.

Unlike when he was in deep slumber suppressing his own life processes, now that he was awake and had gained a great deal of ability and abundant energy, he had also acquired the growth ability of plants. Thus, a new round of growth in size had begun, so that in just five years, he had shot up by nearly seventy meters in length.

Realizing this, he gave a light chuckle and, almost instinctively, used the Soothing Emotion Technique he had created during this period, smiling gently: "Mr. Jin, you don't remember me? Baichuan. May I ask if your Dragon Lord is here?"

Hmm, this green-faced burly man's name was Jin Ming. His true form was a Golden Salamander, also known by such aliases as Green River Pig, Green Doll, and Papaya Fish.

Recalling the information about this green-faced burly man in his mind, Baichuan secretly nodded to himself, confirming that he hadn't called out to the wrong person.

"This?" A familiar voice reached his ears. The green-faced burly man Jin Ming was first startled and retreated a few steps, then reacted, his eyes lighting with joy as he stepped forward, cupped his hands in salute, and said: "So it's Senior Bai. Jin Ming pays his respects. Earlier, seeing how much your appearance had changed, I didn't dare recognize you — pardon the discourtesy. My, my Dragon Lord isn't here at the moment…"

By the end, Jin Ming's voice had also grown somewhat low. His face struggled several times, wanting to speak yet holding back. Finally, he gritted his teeth and made a decision, dropping to his knees like a mountain of gold toppling or a jade pillar falling, and spoke with a faint, wavering sob in his voice: "My Dragon Lord is tied up with outside matters and cannot return. Today, enemies have just happened to invade. Please, please Senior Bai, save my family's Crown Prince's life!"

It was hard to imagine that a broad-waisted, muscular, seemingly bold and forthright burly man would one day adopt a posture of pleading and tearful appeal, begging someone else for help.

For a man like this, bleeding without tears was a trivial matter. No grievance, no pain, no despair was greater than a bowl-sized scar left on his head after it was cut off — nothing to speak of.

Yet today, at this moment, he revealed a pleading, fragile posture.

This was undoubtedly a shocking sight, especially for those who knew him.

Seeing this, Lord Mo at this moment recalled the man's every word and deed in days past, and silently sighed with some heartache. For the first time, he doubted His Majesty's decision — would this really be something that His Majesty, once so sagely wise and beloved by the people, would do?

Yet at this moment, the man with the half-smile standing behind Lord Mo's back began to tremble.

Of course, this time it was not from fear, but from indignation, vexation, and rage!

Recalling the aura inadvertently leaked when that seemingly incomparably powerful giant dragon earlier released a technique — a mere thousand years of cultivation.

The man wished he could blast to death his former self who had been so terrified with fear.

A mere thousand-year-old little dragon, a Pseudo-Dragon that bluffed and was empty in substance — had actually intimidated him.

He had always said that over all these years in this world, only one such powerful Dragon Lord had ever appeared, and even that powerful Dragon Lord was only fourteen zhang. So how could it be that today, right when they were attacking Long Gong, a fifty-zhang true dragon that had never appeared in the world nor left any rumors behind just happened to pop out of some godforsaken corner?

How could there possibly be a second true dragon in this world?

"Enough!!!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. The half-smiling man directly let out a great roar and stepped forward.

With a gloomy expression, he looked at the two in the distance — one dragon and one "person" — putting on an act of not recognizing each other, then recognizing each other and begging for help. For the first time, the man felt a certain tedium. He felt his intelligence had been gravely defiled — were they treating him like a fool to be duped?

"Hmm?"

"?"

Caught off guard by this turn of events, even Baichuan was somewhat stunned for a moment.

Because even with his calculating mind and wisdom, he could not have imagined that someone would abruptly jump out at this moment.

But he wasn't too surprised either. After all, in his previous life he had often heard a saying: when the forest is big, all kinds of birds appear. Let alone humans, who were already famous for their wisdom.

Without much curiosity, he also said nothing, but silently watched the other party, preparing to see what the other wanted to say.

Looking at the great "true dragon's" silence, Jin Ming's puzzlement, and the confused gazes of his own group,

The man became even more certain of his inner guess. After all, with him being so brazen, if the other party truly possessed some unfathomably powerful strength, they would have already slapped him dead with one claw — how could they have tolerated his impudence?

That could only be because the other party was bluffing!

Feeling that everyone's gaze was now turned to him — among them shock, puzzlement, curiosity, and even gazes that looked at him as if he were a dead man — for the first time, the man felt the crushing weight of intellectual superiority!

This was a kind of floating, transcendent exhilaration — when all the world is drunk, I alone am sober!

'So this is the inner feeling of a sage? The world is foolish and ignorant, easily swayed and deceived by external things. If it weren't for me here, cleverly seeing through the other's evil trick, this time the other's plan might really have succeeded. But unfortunately, the truth has already been seen through by me!'

At this moment, recalling the words his lord often admonished him with — "see through the surface of things to the details" — the man murmured to himself inwardly.

After freely savoring that sage-like feeling for a while, the man finally opened his eyes again. Tilting his body, he raised his hand from afar, pointing at the true dragon and at Baichuan and Jin Ming who were watching him, and laughed loudly: "Stop putting on an act here! Your trick has long been seen through by me!"

Saying so, the man turned around again with a tone of disappointed frustration, pointing at his own side and cursing: "And you lot too — don't be fooled by the other's bluffing appearance!"

"Bluffing?"

The one who responded to him for the first time was the cynical young master. Even he, facing the man's angry tirade, was somewhat bewildered.

In this world, was it he who was abnormal? Or was it this companion before him whose brain had a problem?

At this moment, it wasn't just that young master who was puzzled — one could say that everyone present couldn't figure out what had come over this man.

Only Lord Mo narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and looked at Jin Ming across from him.

But what about Jin Ming at this moment?

He gazed in bewilderment at Baichuan, who also seemed somewhat strange — what bluffing had he done?

Looking at the green-faced burly man still playing dumb and clueless, and his foolish companions who didn't understand the situation, the man said, somewhat exasperated: "The aura! The aura! Have you all forgotten the aura that this Pseudo-Dragon inadvertently leaked when using a technique earlier?"

In his exasperation, the man even dropped his habitual catchphrase.

"The aura?"

Thunder God General repeated thoughtfully in a low voice, suddenly recalling a detail he had previously overlooked.

The aura leaked when that seemingly powerful true dragon used a technique while speaking!

The strength of that aura was only a thousand years of cultivation!!!

"Exactly. The aura emitted by the seemingly powerful true dragon is grossly mismatched with its own bearing!"

As the words spoken by Thunder God General, the strongest among them on the surface, they naturally could not be taken lightly.

At this, everyone present began to recall.

Once they recalled, one by one they discovered the blind spot.

In that instant, even Jin Ming's face rapidly turned pale.

Because he too recalled the aura's strength from before — a thousand years! In an instant, he felt as if he had just crawled back from hell, only to fall back in before he could even stand steady.

Damn it!!!

Could it be that Heaven truly intends to destroy the sole bloodline of Qing Jun's line?!!!

……

(End of chapter)