Chapter 735: She Thought This Way (Part 2)
On the seventh night after landing, she was ambushed from behind the clouds by a treacherous silver dragon and suffered considerable injuries.
For the following half month, she couldn’t transform into a dragon and had to walk on the ground. Since she had to interact with humans anyway, she had no choice but to endure it. If those humans had only cried, cursed, or pointed fingers, she might have been able to tolerate it. But when that scholar surnamed Zhou in the countryside, his face flushed red, charged over shouting about eliminating pests, she could no longer hold back.
As a noble Profound Frost Dragon, the most important thing was that she valued cleanliness—how could she let that man, reeking of alcohol, get close to her?
That day, she reached out her hand just like tonight.
And so that scholar surnamed Zhou died, turning into a spray of blood.
The spray of blood from several hundred years ago was far more beautiful than tonight’s; the scholar surnamed Zhou shattered even more completely, turning into powder that scattered with the wind.
Perhaps it was because, back then, there was no iron chain on her foot.
She thought this way.
In any case, the scholar surnamed Zhou died. Later, according to that wretched scholar surnamed Wang, he was even recorded in the local county annals, becoming a hero praised by the people.
Regarding this, she expressed neither understanding nor much concern.
The people of that county later organized over a dozen village militias and righteous armies to try to kill her, and she ended up killing many of them.
The people in that county were all a mess, so the county annals were probably written messily too.
She thought this way.
But… having so many people around was really infuriating.
Her memories of this aspect were very poor. When she sensed the countless people surrounding the National Academy tonight, her first reaction was unease, followed by fear.
She used her veiled hat to conceal her beautiful face, quickened her barefoot pace, and wanted to enter the National Academy quickly, but she was still discovered at the entrance of Hundred Flowers Lane.
That assassin from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion emerged from the wind and snow, trying to kill her.
This assassin had no particular scent, compared to that scholar surnamed Zhou from centuries ago.
But as a noble Profound Frost Dragon, being so offended naturally required a response befitting her status.
This response was even faster than her own thinking speed.
It meant making the other party die.
That Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion assassin shattered instantly, exploding into blood and flesh that scattered onto the snow.
She felt much more comfortable, and the deep-seated fear of the crowd inside her faded considerably. Along with it, the violent emotions within her gradually rose. Then, she killed two more human experts. With the splattering of blood and the arrival of death, all fear and unease vanished completely, and the violent emotions triggered a primal urge for bloodlust.
Instinctively, she licked the blood at the corner of her lips, expecting it to be sweet and delicious, but instead it was filthy and foul. Was it because the continent’s spiritual energy was now so thin that humans had become much less tasty? Or… was it that Chen Changsheng had been sending her such rich food in recent years that it had spoiled her palate?
She thought this way, and then she couldn’t suppress her nausea, vomiting uncontrollably.
This situation infuriated her, filling her with resentment toward the weak humans and toward Chen Changsheng, who might harbor hidden malice.
She began to throw a tantrum, like a wronged child, stomping her feet incessantly, scaring away the wind and snow, cracking the ground beneath her, and startling the entire world.
…
…
The wind and snow rose again, and she walked toward the National Academy.
Her figure was not particularly large; in fact, it was somewhat petite. But as she approached, the space within Hundred Flowers Lane seemed to warp, as if it might burst apart.
In the darkness, traces of blood seeped out, whether from assassins who hadn’t managed to flee or soldiers who had been directly stunned unconscious.
The imperial experts who had retreated far away sensed that terrifying aura growing more distinct, the overwhelming pressure feeling as if it might become tangible.
Xiao De’s face was even uglier, pale without a trace of color.
His sensitivity to this aura far surpassed that of human experts.
This aura, though clearly not yet fully mature, seemed to come from the primordial wilderness, carrying an ancient, lingering essence. To humans, this aura was powerful and terrifying, but to the demon race, it directly crushed their souls, leaving them unable to muster any thought or courage to resist.
Xiao De’s body trembled continuously. Logically, even if he wasn’t a match for this black-clad girl, he could at least slow her down somewhat. Yet no matter how he mobilized his true essence, strengthened his will, or even directly entered a berserk state, he couldn’t gather enough courage, not even daring to take a single step forward.
This innate oppressive force between biological hierarchies was truly too terrifying.
That he could still remain in the alley, still stand without kneeling in the snow, already proved his strength and pride.
But this was still far from enough.
The black-clad girl noticed the presence of this demon race member, turned her head to glance at him, and showed some interest. When her gaze touched him, Xiao De’s soul felt as if it had been scorched by holy fire. The fear in his eyes surged uncontrollably. Without daring to stay any longer, he turned abruptly and vanished into the night.
Shortly after Xiao De disappeared, a long, drawn-out sigh echoed from the darkness.
A wary expression appeared on the black-clad girl’s face.
Nothing happened. After that sigh, there was no further sound.
About fourteen li away, at the Bridge of Helplessness, the Demon Queen, Lady Mu, boarded a carriage pulled by a seven-colored deer and headed out of the capital.
On the snowy ground by the lake of the National Academy, Shang Xingzhou turned to look in the direction of the Bridge of Helplessness.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.
Lady Mu and the demon envoy’s departure meant that, from this moment on, between the Great Zhou court and the National Church, White Emperor City would remain neutral.
Why such a major shift? After all, this could potentially change the entire continent’s situation.
Naturally, it was because of that young girl in black who came through the wind and snow.
Unlike the proud and aloof Heavenly Phoenix, the dragon race had written too many stories on this continent. For the demon race, the dragons, long absent from the world, remained their deepest-rooted faith or spiritual sustenance. Moreover, the demon race’s establishment of a nation across the Red River was said to be closely tied to the Profound Frost Dragon clan.
The wall of the National Academy was breached, and the black-clad girl walked in.
Over a dozen green-robed Daoists stood in the wind and snow, forming a formation that seemed scattered but was actually nearly perfect.
She could sense the strength of these humans, and then she saw the middle-aged Daoist on the snowy ground across the lake.
She had been imprisoned at the bottom of the North New Bridge well for centuries and had still seen many human experts—Wang Zhice, Qin Zhong, the Holy Maiden of Heavenly Sea, the Pope, Su Li. But in truth, she only feared Su Li and the Heavenly Sea, because those two truly dared to kill her.
Now, another human had joined the list of those she vaguely feared.
She was nervous but didn’t stop walking.
She crossed the snowy lake, came before Chen Changsheng, cleared her throat, and said, “Hello, I am your guardian.”