Chapter 41: All Parties in Motion, Strange Abilities

High above the sky, a small, somewhat oddly-looking falcon kept gliding forward by riding the updrafts of the high altitude.

Now and then it would beat its wings, now and then it would fold them, its little head constantly surveying the land below.

Suddenly, its eyes lit up.

Tilting its body, it shot like an arrow toward the vast, magnificent ancient city that stood upon the earth like a giant.

Tiandu, the great capital of the Da Zhou Dynasty that had stood unshaken for a thousand years.

At this moment, it was the liveliest time of the day.

A steady stream of carriages and horses, people coming and going, all manner of hawking cries ringing without end—what a scene of thriving prosperity.

Soon, this special falcon descended toward the very center of the capital, that is, the Inner City that stood at the highest point, resplendent and magnificent beyond compare, and finally vanished into a certain mansion.

Zhangtian Mansion.

In the dim surroundings, a candle flame burned slowly.

Sitting cross-legged in the room was an extremely strange old man, his frame wizened and thin, two pairs of eyes growing on his face, a head of white hair that did not look like human hair casually draped loose.

If his withered chest were not still rising and falling slightly, one might even suspect he was already dead.

Suddenly he slowly opened those two pairs of cloudy eyes, and a hoarse voice rang out in the silent, dim room:

"Another message has come?"

Not long after the words fell, a faint bird cry was heard, causing the candle flame to flicker unsteadily.

Swish!

A faint sound appeared—it was an extremely tough fine thread… no, not quite, it was a single hair from the old man's head.

This single strand of hair, as if possessed of a Spirit, flew up, and like a living snake, in just a few moves bound the culprit that had made the bird cry.

Then it swiftly contracted, and finally gently fell into the old man's withered palm.

Only then did the old man unhurriedly release this somewhat oddly-looking falcon, pull a slip of paper from its leg, and then raise his hand.

The somewhat frightened bird immediately flew off in a great hurry.

The old man chuckled lightly, then opened the slip of paper and examined it carefully.

After a long while.

"Another suspected creature carrying Dragon Blood, is it? Spoken with such certainty—well, well, have it your way."

The old man shook his head slightly, somewhat noncommittally, and paid it no more attention, letting them be.

In any case, this was not the first time he had seen such a message; one could say that ever since he was young and took up the post of Prefecture Lord of Zhangtian Mansion, he had seen countless such messages.

But over all these years, from his vigorous youth to his current decrepit old age, he had never once seen a living being that truly contained the bloodline of a true dragon.

Let alone him—even the Da Zhou Dynasty, in its thousand years, had never found a true true dragon.

If it were not for the founding emperor Zhou Taizu having left a record of the dragon in his notes, calling it the most perfect creature, and that possessing it would grant the Da Zhou eternity,

probably not many people would take it seriously anymore. Thus, the old man had long since given up hope.

Normally, such a message should not have disturbed him; the only reason it could reach him now was that the sender was somewhat special, and had an extraordinary relationship with him.

Very well, young people must have some vigor—let him make a fuss if he wants.

The old man's four eyes were full of kindness.

Soon, as the old man made his decision, a secret order was sent out along with it.

……

On another side, in Ping'an County, within a certain hidden secret chamber.

"Everyone, do you think this information is true?"

A deep, steady voice rang out.

"The intelligence was sent by Shegu. I worked alongside Shegu for many years, and I know her character well—she would not exaggerate facts or deceive on such a major matter."

Another voice replied, then shifted its tone: "However, I also harbor doubts about this information. Perhaps Shegu herself was deceived and got it wrong?"

"No, among us, Shegu is the one who understands these living beings best. Many of our brothers have broken through thanks to her potions, so what if this fact is actually true?"

As soon as this voice fell, someone raised a doubt: "Ha, how could that be! I admit Shegu is indeed impressive and has helped the brothers a great deal, and I respect her for it. But the Da Zhou spent a thousand years without finding one, so how could it be that we found one relying on Shegu alone? I'm afraid this is just information deliberately released by the Da Zhou. After all, ever since the Hedong incident, we've been on the Da Zhou's radar."

For a time, after the first person spoke up, all manner of discussion rose up, an exceptionally chaotic clamor.

"Quiet!" A rough, gruff voice suddenly rang out, instantly cowing everyone present. "What's the use of you all talking here endlessly? Just tell me—are we sending some people or not?!"

The first voice fell silent for a moment: "Well, we know Shegu's character well. If we don't go, and the information turns out to be true, wouldn't we be handing the advantage to the Da Zhou for free? By then, we truly won't have the strength to resist."

"But if we go, we fear the brothers might all be lost inside. How about this—we first send a few of the more agile ones to scout out the situation before deciding what to do?"

"Like that, huh~ alright."

"I think that makes sense."

……

At this moment, Baichuan was still unaware that he had only secretly taken a small wooden box, yet had stirred up so much trouble.

Of course, even if he knew, he would not regret it; from the moment he made up his mind, he had already considered the worst-case scenario.

After all, at this very moment he was striving to burrow into the great sea.

By now, it was already the third day since Baichuan had entered the great river and drifted along with the current.

And on this day, he had finally completely scanned and analyzed the entire Ice Silkworm.

However, the abilities displayed by this model were somewhat strange.

【Species: Silkworm (Ice-Blooded Cold Silkworm)】

【Abilities: Spin Silk and Form Cocoon LV2, Symbiosis LV2 (Shihan), Metamorphic Development LV1, Dormant Molting LV1.】

The above were the abilities Baichuan had scanned out. On the surface, these abilities could be said to have absolutely no connection whatsoever with the power it had displayed, and the descriptions of the abilities also contained no specific explanations related to it.

One could say it looked like an utterly ordinary little animal, yet this tiny creature was capable of unleashing Ice Frost attacks that even filled him with some dread.

This left Baichuan utterly perplexed.

The only thing that gave him some doubt was the ability "Symbiosis LV2 (Shihan)," because it was the only ability that had even a tenuous connection to ice and cold.

【Symbiosis LV2 (Shihan): Allows the host to form a symbiosis with other creatures.】

But if it really was this ability, he always felt something was off about it, because this kind of symbiosis ability—he had seen something very similar on Laoshu at the very beginning, and besides that, other animals also possessed this kind of ability.

It could be said to be a fairly common, ordinary ability; the only strange thing about it was the tag description after it.

This made Baichuan suspect—was it a mutated special variant of this ability?

Or perhaps this power of Ice Frost…

Thinking of a certain point, Baichuan hesitated.

Subconsciously, he found it a little hard to accept; perhaps what he wanted even more was the kind of power seen in his previous life's films and television—magic, Spirit power, or even internal force, that sort of thing.

Sigh, forget it. Before anything is tested and verified, it's best not to jump to conclusions.

So, he decided to find a spot and strengthen himself first, to experience it firsthand and test whether it was so or not.

He looked at the surroundings; now he had no idea where exactly he was, but he knew one thing—any river of decent size was basically connected to a river mouth.

As the saying goes, the sea admits hundreds of streams and is great because it embraces them all.

He firmly believed that as long as he followed the river's flow, he would surely reach the sea.

But for now, it was time for him to get ashore first.

(End of this chapter)