Volume One: The Dragon Soul Awakens Chapter 74: Welcome to Dragon Chant Gorge!

“See through the appearance to perceive the essence.”
“The old fox has shown its tail.”
Mo Xing was momentarily stunned. To be greeted at the very start with a philosophical musing—was this really a medication leaflet? And that line about the old fox revealing its tail—was it hinting at something?
Continuing to read, Mo Xing soon found the answer:
“When you read this letter, you're one step closer to the truth. This rescue mission on Dragonfang Island is of utmost importance—Kalandis Sect is sure to make a move as well. Pay attention to those around you; they may well be undercover.”
“There is also a third party—the Immortals. Behind many of the recent conflicts and contradictions, their shadows linger. Think carefully about recent events—aren’t there many strange coincidences? Always stay alert, for we have always been playing within the traps they’ve set. To break free of their control, you must do something unexpected. Only then will they reveal themselves in order to protect their pawns.”
“So time is of the essence. Take this opportunity to grow stronger. The power of the Water Dragon God flows in your veins—go forth and shoulder your destined mission!”
Mo Xing scratched his head. This was almost too inspirational! Though the handwriting was neat and graceful, it didn’t quite sound like Xia Ningxin’s tone.
Could it be...
Mo Xing glanced at Zhang Zhihao on the neighboring bed. He was almost certain it was him!
“Brother, help!”
Just then, a cry came from outside the door. Mo Xing’s brows knitted, and he ran toward the commotion.

Outside the door.
Xiao Ming was pressed against the wall, trembling all over.
Opposite him was Gou Ge, cracking his knuckles with a crisp sound, ready to teach this fellow a lesson.
“Y-you... don’t do anything rash!” Xiao Ming stammered in panic.
“I’ll have you know, my brother is powerful!”
“What goes around comes around, don’t you understand?”
“If you lay a hand on me, you’ll get your just deserts!”
“That’s right—punished by lightning from the heavens!”
Gou Ge’s patience wore thin as Xiao Ming’s barrage of words continued. He swung a heavy fist at him:
“I’ll show you retribution! Take this punch—”
In the nick of time, Gou Ge was suddenly frozen by a surge of ice, frost crawling over his upper body, his fist stopping just ten centimeters short of Xiao Ming.
“You again!” Gou Ge shouted, seeing Mo Xing step out from the room next door, his fury burning even brighter.
“That’s right, me again,” Mo Xing said with a smile.
“This time you won’t be able to restrain me!” Gou Ge roared, an explosive force surging from within as the ice shattered, and he lunged at Mo Xing.
“Oh? Is that so?”
Mo Xing gathered water elements and cast “Grasp of Chilling Water,” a giant hand clamping down on Gou Ge, pinning him in place.
“Damn you!” Gou Ge gasped, unable to breathe, “What kind of shameless move is this?”
“To defeat a scoundrel, you must use even more scoundrelly means.” Mo Xing recalled a certain someone’s famous saying and parroted it.
“Thank you, my brother! You saved me again!” Xiao Ming exclaimed excitedly.
“You’re truly my savior!”
“On behalf of my whole family, thank you!”
“And on behalf of my school—”
“Enough! That’s quite enough,” Mo Xing cut him off with a wave, lest his ears develop calluses again.
“Alright, I’ll be quiet,” Xiao Ming grinned.
“You treacherous wretch! How dare you side with a criminal against your own senior?” Gou Ge bellowed, grasping for a shred of dignity.
“Hey, if you can’t beat me, don’t slander me,” Mo Xing shrugged.
“You—!” Gou Ge was too angry for words.
“Attention, students!”
Just then, a voice rang out overhead—it was Mentor Su Yunzhou’s domain of sound.

Mo Xing frowned. Was something else happening now?
“The Divine Ark is about to arrive at Dragonfang Island. We’ll disembark at Dragon’s Roar Gorge. Please prepare yourselves.”
“Dragon’s Roar Gorge...” Mo Xing muttered. He’d heard the name before—the gorge cut across half of Dragonfang Island, starting from the north, connecting to the east, and stretching to the south. It spanned a hundred thousand miles!
“What? Dragon’s Roar Gorge!” Xiao Ming exclaimed.
“I heard there’s a forest with lots of giant eggs!”
“And that haunted place, the Dragon’s Lair Abyss!”
“The dragon’s den atop the mountain, filled with gold!”
“If we could get our hands on that, we’d be rich!”
“But the golden dragons there are huge—they say one gulp can swallow seven or eight people!”
“Oh, and there’s also—”
“Enough!” Mo Xing conjured a bit of ice to block Xiao Ming’s mouth. This chatterbox was a king among talkers—if he wasn’t stopped, he’d ramble on forever!
Xiao Ming’s expression became abstract instantly, his mouth full of ice giving him a taste of true bone-chilling silence.
“See? This outsider is so annoying! And you wanted to protect him?” Gou Ge snorted.
“You have a point. Should I plug your mouth with some ice as well?” Mo Xing nodded.
“No, no, no!” Gou Ge shook his head frantically.
Mo Xing chuckled. He had now mastered Zhang Zhihao the Great’s methods for dealing with troublemakers.
“I’m back.”
A familiar voice sounded behind him. Mo Xing turned and found it was Wu Dance.
This fellow had barely rested after returning to the dorm before being called away to inspect the engine room; he’d been busy until now.
“What happened with these two?” Wu Dance pointed at Xiao Ming and Gou Ge.
“Well, here’s what happened...” Mo Xing recounted the events.
Afterwards, Gou Ge slunk off, while Xiao Ming was once again detained by the seniors, though this time he was placed in the main hall, hands and feet unbound, with more guards watching him. Originally, Xiao Ming wouldn’t have been treated this way, but after all that had happened, he was now marked as a suspect. No matter how he explained, everyone was wary, so they detained him in this manner.
“We’re landing!”
Someone shouted from the deck. Mo Xing ran outside and gazed into the distance. A magnificent gorge unfurled before his eyes like a painting—
The gorge twisted and turned, its steep strata like millions of stacked books, layer upon layer, meandering across the land like a ribbon, flanked by towering mountains piercing the clouds!
The sight left Mo Xing in awe—it was truly majestic!
“This is just one face of Dragonfang Island,” someone said behind him.
Mo Xing turned to see Mentor Su Yunzhou standing there.
“Hello, Teacher Su!” Mo Xing gave a slight bow.
“No need for such formality,” Su Yunzhou waved it off.
“Teacher Su, what’s the general situation on Dragonfang Island?” Mo Xing asked, scratching his head.
“It’s roughly divided into three parts,” Su Yunzhou replied after a pause. “The safe zones, transitional zones, and war-torn zones.”
“The north and east are considered safe, while the west and south, especially Twin Moon Cliffs, are war-torn,” he explained.
“So the place we’re landing must be a transitional zone?” Mo Xing asked.
“Yes, this is the southern tip of Dragon’s Roar Gorge—Dragonshade Path,” Su Yunzhou smiled. “To the north is the entrance to Han Chuan Academy, to the south, Twin Moon Cliffs.”
“Then this Dragonshade Path must be dangerous,” Mo Xing mused, recalling Xiao Ming mentioning it was haunted...
“Teacher Su! Trouble!”
Ai Ji came running over, breathless.
Mo Xing wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. Why was so much happening today?
“What’s the matter?” Su Yunzhou asked calmly.

“There are a lot of Infernal Fire Serpents down below!” Ai Ji said anxiously. “They’ve taken over the landing site.”
“That’s no problem, we’ll just clear them out,” Su Yunzhou replied with a smile.
“What are Infernal Fire Serpents? And why do we have to kill them?” Mo Xing was puzzled—it felt wrong to kill animals...
“They’re monsters. If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill you,” Su Yunzhou said with a smile. “It’s the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest. Mercy to your enemies is cruelty to yourself.”
“There’s a long road ahead, and you’ll have to face them sooner or later. Better to start learning to slay monsters now!” Su Yunzhou patted Mo Xing’s shoulder.
“Alright!”
Mo Xing hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Su Yunzhou smiled, then used his domain of sound to broadcast to everyone:
“Students, monsters have appeared near the Divine Ark’s landing site, posing a serious threat to our safety.”
“It’s time for you to show your skills! And—”
“Welcome to Dragon’s Roar Gorge!”

Moments later.
Mo Xing and several seniors stepped through the portal onto the ground below.
A swarm of red pythons appeared before them, their bodies covered in strange markings, flames flickering from their open mouths.
Infernal Fire Serpents!
From the name, he’d imagined small monsters, but in reality they were enormous. Mo Xing was startled.
“Freshman, don’t get distracted!”
Someone shouted at him. Mo Xing snapped back to attention, raised his “Frostless Blade of the Gods,” and slashed at an incoming serpent.
The monster moved so fast that a moment’s distraction could have gotten him bitten. No wonder Zhang Zhihao the Great had arranged so much survival training for him before coming! Otherwise, he’d have been monster fodder by now.
The blade sliced through the serpent’s body, blood bursting into flames in midair, but Mo Xing, wielding water elements, summoned jets of water to douse the fire.
“Hiss—”
The other Infernal Fire Serpents, seeing their comrade fall, slithered aggressively toward Mo Xing.
“Damn! There are so many! I’m no Xu Xian!” Mo Xing gathered ice elements and cast “Thousand Mile Freeze,” freezing the charging serpents, then pierced them with “Blade of Ice.”
...
In mere minutes, Mo Xing unleashed “Pillar of Ice” to freeze the serpents, then “Grasp of Chilling Water” to hurl them away; switching to “Aqua Rebound” and “Aqua Spiral Storm” to strike and cleave serpents in different areas. His dazzling moves left the seniors marveling.
Was he playing with monsters or slaying them?
“Phew, that should be all.” Mo Xing wiped the sweat from his brow. Though the killing had been exhilarating, the sight of all those snake corpses made him queasy.
Law of the jungle...
Survival of the fittest...
To live, you must kill...
Such a cruel rule, yet it endures...
“Watch out!”
Mo Xing snapped back to his senses just as a fierce purple lion sprang at him.

——Idle chatter at the edge of the pit——

Thank you to everyone following along. This is my first time writing a novel, so I’m not always great at pacing—please forgive any parts that drag, and feel free to share any suggestions!
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