Volume One: The Dragon Soul Awakens Chapter 82: Stray Dogs Shouldn’t Bite Randomly!

“What? The return route has been cut off by the Draconic Outsiders?” Mo Xing exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, the news just came in. The Draconic Outsiders have sealed off the southern end of the Dragon Chant Gorge,” Shi Yan’s voice came through the Titan Ring from the other end.

“So what do we do now?” Mo Xing asked.

“I’ll find you first and we’ll meet up,” Shi Yan replied. “What’s going on over there? Just now I saw you uncovering the tarpaulin on the car.”

“It’s a long story…” Mo Xing paused.

A moment later.

The three of them gathered by the convoy.

“They’re all corpses…” Shi Yan’s face was grim.

“Yeah, it’s revolting…” Mo Xing nodded.

“What’s our next move?” Wu Dancai asked. “The Draconic Outsiders have blocked our way back…”

“For now, going back is out of the question,” Shi Yan said. “We can only move forward or stay put.”

“If we move ahead, there are a lot of unknowns,” Mo Xing analyzed. “But if we stay, we might get surrounded by the Draconic Outsiders.”

“It really is a dilemma,” Wu Dancai spread his hands.

“Let’s go forward!” Shi Yan declared. “Waiting for death does us no good.”

“Alright.” Mo Xing nodded, then gestured toward the corpses laid out on the cars. “Shouldn’t we bury them? Leaving them exposed like this feels so desolate…”

“They were our senior brothers, after all…” Mo Xing added. “I’d like them to leave with some dignity…”

“I agree with you, but… they smell so bad. I’m really reluctant to move them!” Wu Dancai sighed.

“We can use a little help,” Shi Yan suggested.

“Help?” Mo Xing was confused.

“Yes, just follow my lead,” Shi Yan nodded.

…

Following Shi Yan’s instructions, Wu Dancai used the cannon to blast several deep pits in the ground, then shaped several “coffins” out of gold element.

Mo Xing cast the Grasp of Icy Waters to lower each “coffin” into the pits, then filled them in.

Finally, Shi Yan employed her powers to restore the surface soil to its original state, so it looked as if nothing had ever happened there.

“Rest in peace, senior brothers.”

Mo Xing pressed his palms together, bowing his head in silence with Shi Yan and Wu Dancai for three seconds.

“There. The burial is done.” Wu Dancai looked up. “Let’s get ready to head for Crimson Lotus Beyond!”

“Mm.” Shi Yan nodded, glancing in another direction. “What should we do about that creature on the ground?”

Mo Xing and Wu Dancai turned as well, looking at Ma Feifei lying not far away—they’d nearly forgotten about him with all that had just happened!

“Don’t—don’t kill me!” Ma Feifei cried out in panic. “You promised me before—as long as I reported everything truthfully, you’d spare my life!”

“True, we did say that…” Wu Dancai flexed his fingers. “But how do we know you’re not lying?”

“You’ll know when you get there!” Ma Feifei pleaded. “There’s no benefit in me lying to you! After all… I want to live too!”

“Forget it, let’s spare him,” Mo Xing said. “Let’s keep moving.”

“Fine, he’s not much of a threat now anyway.” Wu Dancai gave Ma Feifei a once-over. The creature looked half-dead and unlikely to cause trouble.

“Let’s go,” said Shi Yan, turning to lead the way. Mo Xing and Wu Dancai followed her.

Watching the three walk away, Ma Feifei struggled to his feet, gasping for breath, then broke into a wicked grin:

“Heh heh—humans, always so charitable! So easy to fool, ha ha!”

“Just wait until you reach Crimson Lotus Beyond, you’ll be dragged off by those wild dogs, ha ha!”

“Even if you can handle the wild dogs, you won’t survive the Wolfblade King, ha ha!”

Muttering to himself, Ma Feifei scurried over to check on the bodies of his “brothers,” like Little Savage.

“Not bad! All good and dead! Once I feast on your flesh and bones and restore my strength, I’ll report to Lord Lu, ha ha!”

With that, Ma Feifei bared his sharp teeth and began gorging himself on the flesh of his former companions, devouring them ravenously.

“Delicious! Exquisite!”

As he feasted, suddenly a shadow loomed behind him, wielding a blade.

“Aaah—”

With a flash of steel, Ma Feifei’s neck was struck with a powerful blow, and his body fell heavily to the ground, life snuffed out.

“A monster is a monster—nothing but a bundle of sin,” muttered Sasa, appearing behind him.

Savage Brute, a carnivorous beast, danger level three stars, rotund build, addicted to gluttony.

“Mm.”

Lin Ao emerged from the shadows too; the two of them had been hiding, silently watching Mo Xing and the others.

“What’s our next move?” Sasa asked.

“Move forward,” Lin Ao replied.

Elsewhere.

“We still need to go another two hundred meters west.”

Mo Xing checked the map displayed by the Titan Ring; the trio were only a few minutes away from Crimson Lotus Beyond.

“There’s a huge unknown area to the southwest, marked as forbidden to dragons. There’s almost no data on it. Looks like the road ahead won’t be easy,” Wu Dancai shrugged.

“Right.” Mo Xing turned to Shi Yan. “Any instructions from Han Chuan Academy?”

“Han Chuan Academy says the situation at the southern end of Dragon Chant Gorge is extremely tense. All students sent on external missions are to withdraw to safety,” Shi Yan summarized the message she’d just received on her storage bangle.

“Seems our choice was right—not sitting around waiting for doom,” Shi Yan smiled.

Mo Xing nodded. “We’ll soon reach Crimson Lotus Beyond. When we get there, let’s find a good spot to set up camp and rest.”

“Eh? What’s that?”

Wu Dancai, at the front, suddenly stopped.

“What is it?” Mo Xing followed his gaze to see a pack of violet wild dogs surrounding something in the distance.

“There are people!” Shi Yan recognized them. “They’re surrounded by wild dogs!”

“Let’s help them!” Mo Xing immediately unleashed Frostless Divinity and dashed forward.

…

“Senior Brother Ling Buyu, there are way too many Crimson Lotus Hellhounds!” said a youth with teal hair and delicate features, clutching a teal scythe named Divine Law.

“It’s fine, Dongjun!” his companion, Senior Brother Buyu, smiled, gripping his dual blades named Samsara. “You’re destined to succeed as the next Lord of Danshang Prefecture’s royal city. These obstacles won’t defeat you—they’ll only make you stronger!”

“But… but my summoned beast is too weak, I can’t compare to the other royals!” Dongjun glanced at the silver fox—Shadowflash Fox—at his feet. It had taken him ages to summon it, but it was only one-star in quality, with just a speed boost for a skill.

“Watch out!”

Suddenly, two Crimson Lotus Hellhounds lunged at them. Ling Buyu swung his blades, channeling wood element into a unicorn that sent the beasts flying.

“Summon! Forest of Elders!”

The Forest of Elders—a seven-star summoned beast with powerful healing from the heart of the woods, its teal body glowing. When summoned, it grants the summoner a host of attributes, special abilities, and techniques.

“Woof—”

Seeing their comrades fall, the other Crimson Lotus Hellhounds charged over!

“Forest of Elders! Cast Woodbolt Thunder!” Ling Buyu shouted.

The Forest of Elders raised its hooves, its sharp horn flashing teal, and a thunderbolt crashed down, striking the front ranks of the hounds!

“Woof—”

The remaining hounds roared, violet flames erupting from their bodies and jaws. They were enraged!

“This is bad! They’re going to use their Braised Fire Art!” Dongjun panicked; he’d done his homework before coming to Dragonfang Island. The six-star Crimson Lotus Hellhounds’ ultimate move, Braised Fire Art, was devastating—if he couldn’t defend against it, he’d be roasted alive!

“It’s alright, Dongjun! Stay behind me!” Ling Buyu gripped Samsara tightly. He wasn’t sure if his beast’s Forest Guardian could withstand such a fierce assault.

Against five or six hounds, he’d be confident, but a hundred? Even an eight-star beast might falter!

“Thousand-Mile Freeze!”

Suddenly, a voice rang in Ling Buyu’s ear. A youth descended from the sky, blade in hand, the air around him dropping several degrees. In a flash, all the hellhounds ahead were frozen solid!

“Wild dogs shouldn’t bite at random!” the youth quipped as he landed, his blade wreathed in cold.

“Wow! So cool!” Dongjun’s eyes sparkled.

“Who… who are you?” Ling Buyu was stunned.

“Me? I’m—” The youth was about to introduce himself when a shout came from afar:

“Mo Xing! Get out of the way!”

Mo Xing turned to see the frozen hounds all bursting with violet fire, melting the ice from their bodies, flames spewing from their jaws.

Braised Fire Art!

Hundreds of violet fireballs came crashing down, oppressive and overwhelming!

“Icy Pillar!” Mo Xing quickly summoned columns of ice to defend.

“Forest of Elders! Cast Forest Guardian!”

At Ling Buyu’s command, the summoned beast conjured a teal shield.

But the attack was too fierce. The shield cracked in half a second, and the ice pillars shattered instantly!

“Bronze Rampart!”

Wu Dancai rushed over, conjuring a massive bronze wall with gold element.

Boom—

The blasts raged for several seconds, the bronze wall trembling, dust swirling thickly.

“We… we held them off?” Dongjun covered his mouth, waving away the swirling dust.

“Looks like it…” Ling Buyu paused. The air was so thick with dust, they couldn’t see a thing.

“Where’s Shi Yan? Why didn’t she come?” Mo Xing turned to Wu Dancai, noticing Shi Yan wasn’t with them.

“No idea…” Wu Dancai hesitated. “Maybe she went to lure those wild dogs away?”

———Idle chatter by the pit———

To those still reading, remember to leave comments so I know you’re here!

New characters this chapter:

Dongjun: The adorable boy (?)
Ling Buyu: The lasso-wielding hero (?)

Lastly, happy birthday to Dongjun’s real-life inspiration—April 19th! (^_^)/

Reader group chat: 636946569
Reader group chat: 636946569
Reader group chat: 636946569
All are welcome to join the QQ group—admin spots are first come, first served!