Chapter 698 - Gratitude and Grudges

Hai Kuanglang said impatiently, “That stupid map of yours? You’re the only one who considers it a treasure. Who’d want to steal that thing?”

After saying that, Hai Kuanglang turned and continued to walk forward with Zhan Fengting.

When Longyao Lingguang saw his future sister-in-law being ridiculed, he immediately started raining curses on Hai Kuanglang. “Fuck, why are you being so arrogant? You’re nothing more than a bastard. The Dragon God will never give you the inheritance. Just you wait — when my older brother becomes the Crown Prince, you can pack your bags and wait to be kicked out!”

Hai Kuanglang naturally pretended that he didn’t hear anything.

Yan Tianhen blinked with the light of gossip in his eyes as he stared at Hai Kuanglang. “Hai Shixiong, did something unspeakable happen between you and that Longyao Yizhu?”

Hai Kuanglang cast Zhan Fengting a lightning-fast glance and made a face at Yan Tianhen, trying to get him to drop the subject. “What nonsense is this? Longyao Yizhu and I are enormous enemies.”

“It doesn’t look that way.” Yan Tianhen pretended he didn’t see Hai Kuanglang’s expression.

Hai Kuanglang’s lips twitched. He became helpless when he saw Zhan Fengting’s pair of smiling eyes that didn’t seem to be smiling at all. In his heart, Hai Kuanglang cursed this unreliable junior brother of his and concisely explained, “When I was a child, I was still a shallow brat who didn’t know anything. That time, Longyao Yizhu wasn’t the Holy Maiden yet. Because her branch of the family had a low status and almost all of her family members were dead, she was bullied by the younger generation. As you know, I can’t stand such bullies, so I helped her in passing.”

Children could like someone for as simple a reason as a piece of candy, or because he played with you and lit up your entire childhood world.

Longyao Yizhu and Hai Kuanglang were two children who didn’t have much status in the dragon clan, so they held each other to keep warm and supported each other.

The first person Hai Kuanglang liked wasn’t Zhan Fengting, because Zhan Fengting was always with the Dragon Emperor at that time. Even if he saw Hai Kuanglang, he wouldn’t talk much and wouldn’t even look him in the eye. It was as though Hai Kuanglang was a ball of air.

Hai Kuanglang actually liked Longyao Yizhu more. She never looked down on him for wearing clothes he scavenged from the ground and eating the worst spoiled vegetables and cold rice. At that time, Longyao Yizhu wasn’t actually called by that name yet.

But the current Hai Kuanglang had long since forgotten what her original name was.

For a long time, Hai Kuanglang thought that he would marry Longyao Yizhu when he grew up. This continued until one day, when the Dragon Tomb actually selected Longyao Yizhu as the Holy Maiden. Her entire body was bathed in the holy light, and the plants and trees around her blossomed against the seasons due to this holy light. In a field of snow in the middle of winter, a patch of splendid flowers flourished.

Hai Kuanglang only glanced at this scene for a second, but he became dizzy and fainted. When he woke up again and excitedly rushed to find his best playmate, Longyao Yizhu had already become the Holy Maiden and moved into the main palace.

Hai Kuanglang was also genuinely happy for her. As long as a Holy Maiden wasn’t extremely unlucky like his mother was, then her entire life would be smooth-sailing. Longyao Yizhu had suffered too much before, so it was about time that she got something in return. He naively believed that even after becoming the Holy Maiden, that little girl would still be the same as what he remembered.

“……There’s not much to say after that. After all, people change.” Hai Kuanglang shrugged indifferently. Although it was a little hard to accept at first and although he felt betrayed, those feelings gradually turned into indifference.

“After she became the Holy Maiden, she started to disdain me. When I went to find her, at first she was still willing to see me, but later, she avoided me and refused to meet me. Even later, she told me this &#k2014; &#k2018;I will marry the future Dragon Emperor, but you don’t have His Majesty’s bloodline, and you’re even an illegitimate son of unknown origins. Forgive me; it’s impossible for me to marry you. Otherwise, I will become the laughingstock of the entire Longyao clan. In the future, for the sake of our former friendship, don’t look for me anymore.’”

“How could she!” Yan Tianhen was filled with righteous indignation and said angrily, “She’s simply ungrateful! Too shameless!”

Zhan Fengting looked at Hai Kuanglang. “Even after so long, you still hold that grudge?”

Hai Kuanglang asked, “Why can’t I hold this grudge? She played me and humiliated me like this. Don’t tell me that I need to forget all this?”

Zhan Fengting smiled. “You keep thinking about another person so much. Aren’t you afraid I’ll get angry?”

Hai Kuanglang, “…”

Hai Kuanglang immediately turned into a big ball of sugar and said glibly, “What is Shixiong saying? I think about her because she once humiliated and mocked my personality, and I’m so angry it’s unbearable. If I become the Dragon Emperor in the future, I’ll marry her to Longyao Lingheng. In any case, she likes that boy — besides, didn’t I have a good relationship with her only because Shixiong ignored me back then?”

Yan Tianhen raised his eyebrow. “Zhan Shixiong, why did you ignore Hai Shixiong at first?”

When Zhan Fengting thought of the past, he stared into the distance. After a while, he answered, “At that time, I was living under someone else’s roof. I couldn’t even protect myself, so how could I even think about who to play with?”

Hai Kuanglang sighed. “In the end, Shixiong is still the best. After that little girl started ignoring me, she even sent someone to beat me. I fell seriously ill. If Shixiong hadn’t personally taken care of me, I don’t know if I could’ve survived the extremely cold winter that hits the dragon family once every hundred years.”

The past was full of tears.

It was hard to not sigh with emotion.

……

There was day and night in the Dragon Tomb.

However, with the heavy snow and the dark clouds blocking the sun, it was already dark to begin with. Later, as the day ended, the sky became darker and darker. The more you moved forward, the more spiritual Qi was contained in the wind and snow. The temperature gradually decreased, and the frozen layer of snow gradually thickened.

At first, there were still dragon clan disciples joking around and laughing, but right now, many were shivering in the cold. They had to circulate their spiritual Qi to keep themselves warm and free from the ravages of the wind and snow.

Hai Kuanglang’s group was doing okay. Yan Tianhen, who was the most afraid of the cold, held a treasure that automatically defended him against the cold. The others had high cultivation and weren’t afraid of the wind and snow.

But the snow was getting heavier and heavier, completely obscuring the path in front of them.

“Why don’t we wait for a while before walking again?” Lin Xuanzhi suggested.

Yan Tianhen immediately seconded that suggestion. “I agree. Let’s wait until the snow slows down. This snow is a little too heavy.”

Even though he wasn’t cold anymore, it was still uncomfortable.

Hai Kuanglang glanced at Longyao Lingheng and his group, who wasn’t far behind them and was always moving in the same direction. “Then let’s camp here.”

Lin Xuanzhi took out a magic tool in the shape of a disk and placed it in the middle of the four people. He cast a spell, and a silver barrier of light floated up from the magic tool. It soon expanded to enclose the four people, instantly blocking out the heavy snow and strong winds.

Many people were following behind them in scattered groups. When they saw such a scene, they couldn’t help halting and watching. Some were envious, while others also took out magic treasures to keep out the wind and keep warm.

Longyao Lingguang looked through the wind and snow and immediately became dissatisfied. “They just stopped. They’re definitely waiting for us to lead the way. Dage, let’s also wait a while before walking again, so that we won’t be taken advantage of.”

“Don’t be so stingy.” Longyao Lingheng pinched Longyao Lingguang’s nose. He looked at the surrounding environment and said, “Let’s also take a break and rest for a while. The wind and snow here are more and more violent. If we go any further, we might lose our way.”

Yuquan held his beard. “We may as well. I’ll set up a protective array here. It can hold off the wind and snow.”

Yuquan drew a circle around them. The magic array scattered a halo into the air, which immediately blocked all the surrounding wind and snow. When the wind and snow passed through the halo, they seemed like they were moved to another space. Even if they passed through the people inside the circle, the travelers were still fine, and the wind and snow didn’t leave any trace on them.

In a moment, the sky darkened completely, and there wasn’t any light at all. The wind and snow had already become a snowstorm, which almost blew people away. Many disciples of the Longyao clan were freezing and shivering.

“Why is it…… so cold?”

“I’m about to become a popsicle. I’m dying. I don’t want to walk any further.”

“Q-quickly light the fire. It’s too cold.”

The environment inside the Dragon Tomb had always been terrible. There were many people who wanted to secretly break into the Dragon Tomb, but in the end, they all died inside, and not even their skeletons remained. It could be seen that the Dragon Tomb was by no means a nice place.

Inside the magic treasure, Yan Tianhen chewed a spiritual fruit he had brought. He bit down on it, and the fruit juice filled his mouth. It was sweet and refreshing, and he was very happy.

Looking at the others, Yan Tianhen said with some worry, “Can the Longyao clan’s disciples survive? The snow is getting heavier and heavier.”

“They’ll just suffer a little. Nothing bad will truly happen to them. After all, most of the Longyao members’ spiritual roots are ice, so they’re much more resistant to the cold than ordinary people.” Zhan Fengting wasn’t worried. “After tonight, the heavy snow should stop tomorrow morning.”

Yan Tianhen commented, “Your Longyao clan really is ruthless. You’re actually willing to throw all your disciples into this kind of place to gain experience. If you’re not careful and they all get wiped out, won’t the loss outweigh the gains?”

Zhan Fengting, however, said meaningfully, “Although danger lurks in every direction inside the Dragon Tomb, it’s also the safest place. The Longyao clan disciples will have their cultivation temporarily increased to several times higher than usual when inside the Dragon Tomb.”

Looking at Yan Tianhen’s astonished expression, Zhan Fengting continued, “There’s a matter I’ve been hiding from you guys, but due to Master’s order, I had no choice but to comply.”

Three pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to Zhan Fengting.

Hai Kuanglang stared at Zhan Fengting. “I’ve always felt that you were hiding something from me. Is Shixiong finally willing to say it now?”

Lin Xuanzhi frowned slightly. “Did Esteemed Lan Yue divine something else?”

Zhan Fengting sighed imperceptibly and explained, “This Dragon Tomb Holy Land is actually a world that’s connected to one of the evil spirit arrays in Myriad Dao Academy’s Twelve Evil Spirit Temples. That immortal who created the arrays back then was truly a peerless genius.”

“Twelve Evil Spirit Temples?” Naturally, this had never even occurred to Yan Tianhen before. His back couldn’t help feeling cold. “Don’t they say that the worlds connected by the evil spirit arrays all have their own operating rules and a key that can open the evil spirit array? If we can’t find this key or die inside the evil spirit array, then we’ll die for real.”

“So we must complete the mission specified by the evil spirit array, or else everyone who entered the Dragon Tomb Holy Land today will die,” Zhan Fengting’s voice was quiet, almost dispersing in the roaring of the violent wind.

Lin Xuanzhi raised his eyes. “Isn’t the mission of the Dragon Tomb to select a dragon clan successor and have him obtain the inheritance?”

Zhan Fengting shook his head. “That shouldn’t be it, but not even Master could divine the specific content of the mission, so I will know even less.”

Yan Tianhen was puzzled. “Then why did Master hide this from us? This… This doesn’t make sense.”

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