Chapter 23: Long Haotian’s Plans
The Ancestral Dragon Nest was an ancient royal clan with extraordinarily deep foundations.
In their lineage was an Ancient Ancestral Dragon who attained the rank of Ancient Emperor, outshining even some human emperors and dominating the Immortal Domain for countless years.
Long Aotian was one of the most dazzling prodigies in the current generation of the Ancestral Dragon Nest, hailed as a Forbidden First Generation.
As for Long Haotian, while his talent did not reach the monstrous level of his brother Long Aotian, he was still incredibly strong.
Otherwise, how could he have obtained the title of Dragon Child?
In the Ancestral Dragon Nest, a Dragon Child was roughly on par with a Jun Family Sequence member.
“Congratulations to the Dragon Child, fusing a Dragon Essence and greatly increasing your strength!”
“Yes indeed, that was a Dragon Essence. If it were anyone else, their body would have exploded, yet the Dragon Child was able to suppress and refine it. Truly astonishing.”
Many creatures around them offered their flattery.
“It’s nothing much, just one Dragon Essence,” Long Haotian said with a smug smile. “Although it’s impressive, my brother has already fused three Dragon Essences.”
“What? Three Dragon Essences!”
All those present were completely astounded.
A so-called Dragon Essence referred to the flesh and blood essence left behind by certain supremely powerful dragons after their deaths. It held not only dense Dragon Blood but also concentrated innate abilities and rune imprints.
Though Dragon Essence was immeasurably valuable, refining it was no easy task. Even among some prodigies of the Ancestral Dragon Nest, fusing a single Dragon Essence was exceedingly difficult and could easily cause one to burst apart.
Long Haotian’s ability to fuse a Dragon Essence was already enough to brag about. But Long Aotian had fused three.
Seeing the shock in everyone’s expressions, Long Haotian smirked with pride. “That’s not all. According to my brother, his ultimate goal is to consolidate seven Dragon Essences within himself.”
“By then, combined with the Emperor Dragon’s Blood, this era’s destiny will surely be in my brother’s hands!”
Long Haotian felt no jealousy toward Long Aotian—only profound admiration and respect.
“Well, let me offer an early congratulations. I’ve heard that the Jun Family’s Divine Child will soon celebrate his tenth birthday,” said a tall, brawny young man with bull horns atop his head.
He was a young powerhouse of an ancient royal faction called the Ox Devil Mountain. Though the strength and background of such ancient royal clans were not quite equal to the ancient royal bloodlines, they were still formidable enough to intimidate others.
When the words “Jun Family Divine Child” were mentioned, many creatures present fell silent.
While Jun Xiaoyao had yet to truly appear before the world, the scene ten years prior, when myriad saints bowed in worship, still caused a stir throughout the Desolate Heaven Immortal Domain.
Afterward, although Jun Xiaoyao had not made any headlines, no one dared underestimate this low-key, mysterious Divine Child of the Jun Family—especially since he was descended from the White-Clad Divine King.
“Hmph, that Jun Family Divine Child hasn’t even shown himself yet. Who knows if he’s really all that powerful? Though the scene of myriad saints bowing was remarkable, my brother’s birth was also heralded by the Ancestral Dragon phenomenon, which was no less impressive.”
“Besides, I won’t even need my brother to act. I can suppress him myself.” Long Haotian’s expression was contemptuous and overbearing.
The Ancestral Dragon Nest and the Jun Family had a longstanding grudge. The most recent event involved the White-Clad Divine King, Jun Wuhui, who, while still at the Saint Realm, skinned a quasi-Supreme expert from the Ancestral Dragon Nest and pulled out his dragon tendons.
That had been an unimaginable humiliation for the Ancestral Dragon Nest, forever recorded in their history. A quasi-Supreme being utterly defeated by a Saint was a disgrace of the highest order.
Since then, the hatred between the Ancestral Dragon Nest and the Jun Family was fully cemented.
“Hee-hee, indeed. I believe that Jun Family Divine Child is definitely no match for you, Dragon Child.” A female from the Winged Human Race, whose snow-white wings fanned gently behind her, chimed in with a laugh.
“Sigh, but I do wonder what special constitution that Jun Family Divine Child might possess?” mused a member of another ancient royal clan, shaking his head slightly.
Just then, a woman’s voice suddenly arose.
“I know what constitution the Jun Family Divine Child has.”
“Who is it?” Everyone’s gaze turned in unison.
A woman in a blue dress approached the building entrance, ascending the stairs.
“Hmm? Why is a human here?” The tall youthful warrior from Ox Devil Mountain frowned.
While ancient royal clans did not necessarily kill humans on sight, they had little fondness for them.
“Everyone, calm down for a moment,” Long Haotian said, pressing his palm downward so that the various creatures quieted.
Long Haotian turned to look at Lan Qingya with mild interest. “You said you know what the Jun Family Divine Child’s constitution is?”
“That’s right, I know, because I used to be a follower of one of the Jun Family's Sequence members,” Lan Qingya said confidently.
“What!”
All the creatures were visibly taken aback.
A follower of a Jun Family Sequence member coming to seek an alliance with these ancient clans?
Lan Qingya went on to give a brief account of the grudges she bore against Jun Xiaoyao and the others.
“So that’s how it is. So, tell me—what is the constitution of the Jun Family Divine Child?” Long Haotian asked.
“He possesses the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body,” Lan Qingya answered.
At those words, the entire building went silent. The faces of all the creatures froze briefly, then burst into laughter.
“Haha, ridiculous. Are you sure about that?”
“The Desolate Ancient Sacred Body—indeed a human Sacred Body in ancient times, but it’s now just a worthless husk!”
Long Haotian narrowed his draconic eyes, a menacing aura surging. “You realize there are consequences for deceiving this Dragon Child?”
To him, a useless husk of a Sacred Body hardly seemed worthy of the Jun Family’s high regard.
“This is the absolute truth. Jun Xiaoyao is indeed a Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, but it’s one that has broken through a certain restriction,” Lan Qingya continued her report.
“What? Broken one restriction?”
“How is that possible? He has the power to do that?”
Lan Qingya’s words froze the grins on the ancient creatures’ faces, leaving them looking slightly pale.
Long Haotian’s expression did not change much; he contemplated for a moment. “Given the Jun Family’s resources, they could forcefully pour enough resources into him to break one restriction. But that method won’t really work. At most, he'll break three of them, and that would seal Jun Xiaoyao’s future.”
A cold smile tugged at Long Haotian’s lips.
“After all, if it were so easy to break the Sacred Body’s shackles, it wouldn’t have been labeled a ‘useless husk’ in the first place.”
“Probably so,” Lan Qingya nodded.
All she knew was that Jun Xiaoyao had broken one restriction. She could not possibly imagine that, at his birth, he had already shattered all ten.
“Haha, interesting. Looks like I might just have to show up at the Jun Family Divine Child’s tenth birthday feast,” Long Haotian said with a hearty laugh.
At that time, during the Jun Family’s gathering, trampling the Jun Family Divine Child underfoot…
Tsk, tsk…
Merely imagining it made his blood race.
“Heh, once you step in, that tenth birthday feast will become a feast for humiliation.”
“It’s time the Jun Family loses face.”
The atmosphere inside the building turned airy and cheerful.
“Jun Xiaoyao, you forced Lan Qingya to do this. Don’t blame me when it happens.” Lan Qingya’s beautiful eyes narrowed, flashing with coldness.
She planned to accompany Long Haotian and witness Jun Xiaoyao’s disgrace with her own eyes.
Shortly after Lan Qingya’s betrayal, invitations from the Jun Family in the Imperial Province were bound to golden flying swords and sent out in dense streams, spreading throughout the Desolate Heaven Immortal Domain.
“That’s… the Jun Family’s Sword Transmission! These are invitations!”
“The Jun Family’s mysterious Divine Child is finally about to appear and show himself to the world!”
After a long period of relative calm, the Desolate Heaven Immortal Domain once again burned with excitement due to the Jun Family’s flying-sword invitations.