Today marked the final day of confusion in Dragonsea City. Combined with the enormous kerfuffle raised by the Robber Coupleâkings thatâd previously departed from the city to attack foreigners returned with mixed feelings.
They were currently situated in the tallest building at the cityâs center and looked down on everything.
âThose two hold all of the identity tokens for the Dragonling Assembly, donât they?â The Dragonsea city lordâs expression was less than pleasant.
The gathering was meant to be a glorious display of talent from around the realm. One could still retain their participation privileges even if they were defeated, but that didnât appear possible this time given how things had developed.
âThis matter is no oneâs fault,â shrugged Crippled Dragon King. âDragonhollow Mountain shouldâve anticipated that this kind of situation would take place, given that theyâd made that kind of decision. There are more than a few heaven-defying geniuses in the Hongmeng.â
He didnât think much of anything since he was fully confident in the seven geniuses from Azure Dragon City. The young man with green hair, in particular, had once defeated a second step ghost king by himself. He was a secluded genius secretly nurtured by Azure Dragon City, much like Qing Ting and Golden Dragon of their respective factions. All of them had emerged from seclusion specifically for this Dragonling Assembly.
Golden Dragon, however, had been defeated. It remained to be seen whether Qing Ting or the green-haired young man was superior.
Dragonsea City was a faction under Dragonhollow Mountainâs banner, and her city lord one of the mountainâs elders. He glanced at the Crippled Dragon King and inclined his head without further comment.
âThe youngsters from Azure Dragon and Coiling Dragon are really going all out. If one side loses, they might actually be hung on the city walls⌠This fight should be called the Battle of the City Walls,â the Fog King of Crouching Dragon City remarked with schadenfreude.
Dragonfeather nodded. âIt is indeed the Battle of the City Walls. It wonât be pretty no matter who wins.â
âAre you afraid, Dragonfeather?â smirked Crippled Dragon.
âJust a tad,â Dragonfeather replied coolly. âI am rather afraid that these two youngâuns will hang the Azure Dragon City geniuses on the city walls. My two fists can only handle so many attackers and I might be overwhelmed by Azure Dragonâs revenge.â
âHahahaha!!â Crippled Dragon threw his head back with laughter. âYouâre as glib-tongued as always. How about a bet?â
âOh?â Dragonfeather blinked.
âI hear that your city lordâs newly obtained a half step Hongmeng Treasure. If our Qing Di hangs your Qing Ting and Champion Duke on the city walls, how about you give it up to us?â Crippled Dragon smiled as Dragonfeather frowned.
âAnd what if Qing Ting and the Champion Duke hangs your geniuses up on the walls?â he replied expressionlessly.
Qing Ting purchasing a half step Hongmeng treasure from the Firmament Pavilion hadnât been a secret. Anyone could easily find out through simple investigation.
âThen we forfeit a half step Hongmeng treasure to you too! And we will absolutely not seek vengeance on Coiling Dragon Cityâhow about it?â Crippled Dragon smiled through narrowed eyes.
âThat will do.â Dragonfeather agreed with a nod.
Crippled Dragon was a seventh step king and many times stronger than Dragonfeather. But given the numbers of high level kings present, Crippled Dragon wouldnât possibly go back on his words.
âI would request the two ladies of the Immortal Pagoda and the Trueriver King to bear witness. After all, the Champion Duke is a disciple of the Trueriver Sect.â Dragonfeather raised a cupped fist salute to Qing Yu, the little fox, and the Trueriver King.
âWe will.â Qing Yu nodded. âBut this Battle of the City Walls doesnât just involve Azure Dragon and Coiling Dragon, it pertains to the Immortal Pagoda as well. It would lose face for us if the Champion Duke swung from the city walls.
âHow about this, the Immortal Pagoda will bet a Hongmeng treasure. Itâs yours if we lose, and you must pay us one if we win.â
Crippled Dragon gaped at Qing Yu. He didnât know her background, but her words were a bit frightening. A Hongmeng treasure?
Were these ultimate treasures cabbages by the side of the road, to be bought and sold however one wished?
Qing Ting had been able to purchase the half step treasure simply because it was a half step, not a real ultimate Hongmeng treasure.
A true ultimate treasure couldnât be measured in terms of purple crystals. Their market price was undefinable and one could only hope to happen across one. There was one such treasure in Azure Dragon Cityâpart of the cityâs foundations and not something that the Crippled Dragon King could make the decision on.
Trueriver smiled ruefully; his sect was well and truly tied to the Immortal Pagoda now. But⌠that didnât seem so undesirable. It looked like the Immortal Pagoda had only gifted them nine thousand premium crystal veins, but theyâd actually sent over much more than that.
âFine, fine, then itâs the Immortal Pagoda. Thereâs nothing that bad about them,â he mumbled to himself.
âYoung lady⌠does the Immortal Pagoda possess an ultimate Hongmeng treasure?â Crippled Dragon asked with some condescension.
âYes.â Qing Yu nodded and flipped her hand, materializing a small black flag. âThis flag is the Duskwater Flag, an ultimate treasure that can both defend and attack. Will it do?â
A strange note hummed through the atmosphere as almost all gazes shot to the flag, thick greed and desire brimming in them.
In the Azure Dragon Region, only Azure Dragon City and Dragonhollow Mountain possessed ultimate treasures. Here was another one in the girlâs hands!
Dragonfeather shuddered and firmly grasped his emotions in hand. He knew full well that this girl was most likely a ninth step king!
Crippled Dragon swallowed hard and exchanged a glance with Azure Scaled-Dragon. They nodded to each other.
âI must discuss this with the city lord.â Crippled Dragon took out a communication talisman. ââŚaccepted! The city lord agrees to bet against you with our Hongmeng Pearl!â
He looked again at the Duskwater Flag, his greed wholly unconcealed. There was likely no one in the Hongmeng who could withstand the allure of an ultimate treasure of the realm.
âThen may the Dragonsea city lord bear witness,â Miao smiled at the city lord.
âThe Immortal Pagoda is quite awash in wealth to bring out even an ultimate treasure!â he chuckled.
Lu Yun, Qing Ting, Qing Di, and the others of Azure Dragon City naturally didnât know about the kingsâ bet, or that their fight had been named the âBattle of the City Wallsâ. Theyâd certainly protest if they knewâthis wasnât a battle, it was going to be a one-sided beating!
But they were deadly serious about the fight. Lu Yun swung his sword with dashing flair, calling upon his sword dao and executed two half step kings.
It was impossible to show mercy in a fight of this caliber, only the death of one side was possible. They would kill with one stroke when the opportunity presented itself!
Qing Ting also killed one, but the remaining four battled with increasing ferocity. Ghost Dragon and another half step king targeted Lu Yun, while Qing Di and the remaining half step king blocked Qing Ting.
Many of the cityâs buildings were destroyed in their fearsome battle.