The Dragon of the East

Huo Xuan understood—the Buddha's Eye relic granted him an inscrutable aura that ordinary people couldn't perceive. This elder before him clearly possessed extraordinary insight to have noticed something unusual.

Meeting the old man's gaze with steady composure, he answered, "Thirty-ninth generation inheritor of the Divine Farmer Sect, Huo Xuan."

The elder's eyes brightened with sudden intensity. "Is Hua Buyi your master?"

"He is," Huo Xuan confirmed, wondering how this prisoner knew his teacher.

"Good... very good!" The elder nodded repeatedly, his voice tinged with urgency. "It seems the heavens aren't ready for me to die just yet!"

The attendant called Old Hu abruptly fixed Huo Xuan with a piercing glare. "Boy, how can you prove your identity?"

Huo Xuan scoffed. "Believe what you will. I was framed to end up here—I won't stay long, and I've no conflict with any of you. Best we leave each other alone."

"Bold words!" Old Hu sneered. "More likely you're an assassin sent to target the Dragon Head."

"First," Huo Xuan countered coldly, "I'd never heard of any 'Dragon Head' before today. Second, if authorities wanted you dead, they'd just execute you. Why bother with elaborate schemes?"

Old Hu's suspicion deepened. "Don't play dumb. Over the years, they've attempted at least thirty assassinations. Those powerful men may have imprisoned the Dragon Head, but they dare not kill him outright—the consequences would be unbearable."

Huo Xuan now grasped the Dragon Head's complex status—frequent assassination attempts explained their paranoia. Without proof of his identity, blood would surely spill within moments.

"Proving my lineage is simple." He stepped toward the wooden bed. A dozen predatory gazes tracked his movement—any sudden action would trigger lethal retaliation.

The elder remained composed until Huo Xuan stopped one meter away. "They say Physician Hua could diagnose illnesses at a glance. I happen to feel unwell—can you identify the cause?"

Activating the Buddha's Eye, Huo Xuan nearly gasped. The elder's organs and bones were riddled with old injuries—what brutal life could leave such scars?

Yet astonishingly, the elder had cultivated to the "Holding Dan" stage, his vitality so potent it suppressed these wounds from erupting. Even now, his life force dwarfed any ordinary man's.

Furthermore, the elder's leg meridians had suffered severe damage, likely rendering him unable to walk. What shocked Huo Xuan more was the slow-acting poison circulating through the old man's system, gradually eroding his vitality.

He concluded that without this insidious toxin, the elder could have fully recovered from his injuries through his Dan-stage cultivation alone.

After several minutes of silent observation, Huo Xuan sighed. "Your condition is grave. At your cultivation level, you should have healed completely. But someone ensured you wouldn't—they've been poisoning you to maintain this weakened state."

The attendants paled. The Dragon Head poisoned? Suspicious glances darted among them, as if searching for the traitor in their midst.

The elder remained unperturbed, smiling faintly. "Truly worthy of the Divine Physician's successor. Impressive." Then, with quiet intensity: "Can you remove this toxin, young friend?"

Huo Xuan hesitated. "I'll try." His expression hardened. "But my fees are steep. Can you afford them?"

The elder blinked, then burst into booming laughter. "Name your price!"

A sly grin crossed Huo Xuan's face. "Just your story. I'm curious why they call you 'Dragon Head' and revere you so. Since I'm stuck here anyway, I'd like to hear your legend."

The elder's eyes gleamed. "You truly wish to know?"

Huo Xuan shrugged. "Your choice. I won't force you."

The attendants exchanged glances—some nervous, some pensive, others deliberately blank.

With a sudden wave, the elder dismissed them. "Leave us."

Silently, even the two-meter-tall giant exited, sealing the door behind them.

Huo Xuan then performed something extraordinary—he circled the room before suddenly punching through the wall. From the cavity, he extracted and crushed a listening device. Under the elder's astonished gaze, he located and disabled three more hidden bugs.

Dusting his hands, Huo Xuan quipped, "Seems the authorities care deeply about you."

The elder nodded slowly. "However you detected those, such skill earns you the right to hear my tale."

Without ceremony, Huo Xuan sat beside him on the wooden bed. "Talk while I work." Placing a hand on the elder's back, he channeled a faint golden light—his control over the Buddha's Eye relic's energy having refined considerably over the past year.

The elder sighed in relief as warmth spread through his body. Closing his eyes, he murmured, "No wonder Hua Buyi ranks above the Northwestern Wolf. With such medical skills, who in this world wouldn't beg for his treatment?"

Huo Xuan's interest piqued. "What ranking?"

"A pointless list compiled by bored men—called the Underground Rankings," the elder explained. "Consider it a power hierarchy of the shadow world."

"Where does my master stand?" Huo Xuan asked eagerly. He knew surprisingly little about Hua Buyi's background—such knowledge had been deemed premature.

"The Divine Dragon of the East, the Southern Bodhisattva, the Central Plains' King, the Divine Physician of Shenzhou, the Northern Tycoon, the Southwest Fiend, the Northeast Tiger, the Northwestern Wolf, the Capital's Buddha, and Jiangzhou's God of Wealth—these ten dominate the list's apex. Below them stretch 180-odd names, too numerous to count," the elder recited.

Huo Xuan's eyes sharpened. "The Divine Dragon of the East—that's you?"

The elder chuckled dryly. "No single man dares claim that title. It's an organization—I'm merely its Dragon Head. We served those so-called 'big bosses' above us."

"Then how did you end up here?" Huo Xuan couldn't fathom what force could topple the Underground's top figure.

"Ambition," the elder sighed, his gaze turning distant. "All men harbor it. With power came hunger for more—more control, more freedom. I nurtured loyalists... until one day, I challenged my masters directly."

His voice grew heavy with memory. "When I demanded greater authority, their retaliation was swift. We waged war without blades—a battle where I lost, but not without crippling them in turn."

"Eventually, they imprisoned me here. Killing me would collapse their eastern operations, yet letting me remain strong was unacceptable. Hence the poison... the lingering injuries..."

As he spoke, Huo Xuan's golden light neutralized the toxins like mist under sunlight while healing the internal damage.

Pausing his treatment, Huo Xuan asked, "How long have you been here?"

"Seven years." The Dragon Head's voice held quiet triumph. "Seven years of their failed attempts to replace me. The system I built... they'll never unravel it."

Huo Xuan sighed. Though the elder's account had been brief, he didn't press for details. "This stalemate benefits no one. No amount of power compares to freedom."

To his astonishment, the Dragon Head stretched and actually stood—taking tentative steps as the golden light repaired his damaged leg meridians.

"Incredible skill!" the elder marveled. "You have my gratitude, young friend."

Huo Xuan shrugged. "You've already paid your dues."

"No." The elder's gaze sharpened. "I'll give you more." His eyes now held the calculating gleam of a grand strategist.

Huo Xuan tensed. "What exactly?"

"A path to power." The words fell like stones. "To become the new Dragon Head—perhaps even greater."

Huo Xuan's expression remained icy. "A man like you, surrendering power? What would that leave you?"

The elder spread his hands. "I've had my glory—once made six eastern provinces tremble. Now? I only wish safety for family and friends. Even that requires... assistance."

His stare intensified. "No one suits this role better. First, your master Hua Buyi commands vast resources—his protection makes you untouchable. He's clearly grooming you as successor."

"Second," he continued, "you'll inherit his abilities—perhaps surpass them. Ordinary men lack such potential."

"Most crucially," the elder smiled, "you're here now. Having just healed me, tell me—who else could possibly help?"

Huo Xuan remained unmoved. "You misjudge me. I seek neither power nor influence—only to master medicine and martial arts in peace."

"Really?" The elder's fox-like grin sent chills down Huo Xuan's spine. "Yet witnesses saw us conferring privately. They'll investigate you thoroughly—exposing your connection to Hua Buyi."

He leaned closer. "When they inevitably move against you, your master will be dragged into this conflict. Like it or not—you're already involved."