Chapter 407

Chapter 407: The Fearful Dragon Clan, the Shocking Announcement

Generally speaking, warriors of the same rank possessed similar strength. Moreover, human energy was finite, making it difficult to master all skills comprehensively. This meant humans excelled in certain areas while lacking in others.

Using these principles, Ao Huan reasoned that even if Mu Lin could defeat the Dragon Palace water tribe’s elites, their tens of thousands of talents fighting in succession would eventually expose his weaknesses and lead to his demise. Thus, Ao Huan dismissed Mu Lin’s boast of annihilating the Dragon Palace water tribe’s younger generation as arrogance.

However, all this applied only to ordinary Transformation.

Sensing Mu Lin’s presence in another realm—a barrier Ao Huan couldn’t breach—a terrifying possibility struck him.

*‘What if even tens of thousands of our water tribe members can’t defeat him…’*

The thought chilled Ao Huan to the core.

Though reluctant to admit it, he truly believed his tribe’s elites stood no chance against Mu Lin. Fear and regret flooded Ao Huan’s mind first.

“Damn it! We shouldn’t have meddled in this!”

Next came a surge of killing intent.

“Such a cultivator cannot be allowed to thrive in the human race. If he grows unchecked, he’ll dominate our dragon clan for an era—and we’ve already made enemies of them…”

Ao Huan even considered sacrificing his life to kill Mu Lin. But a glance at the surrounding human Earth Immortals dashed that hope.

“Ah…”

Helpless, he fled This Place, consumed by dread and remorse, and urgently contacted the Dragon Palace. The matter was beyond his authority.

……

Using an emergency channel, Ao Huan swiftly reached the Dragon Palace. Unaware of the gravity of the situation, the water tribe assumed he was reporting a completed mission. They lounged casually, and one Dragon Prince even complained,

“Uncle Huan, why the rush? I was in the middle of a song—”

Ao Huan’s grim voice cut him off.

“Ao Yi is dead.”

“What?”

“?!!”

“…Uncle Huan, that’s not funny.”

True dragon offspring were rare, and all dragons knew one another. The news stunned the Dragon Palace—a young True dragon offspring hadn’t died in centuries.

Ao Huan’s next words crushed their disbelief.

“I do not jest.”

As he spoke, he tilted the magic water mirror sideways to show Ao Yi’s corpse.

Seeing the body covered in wounds and drained to a thin husk, the Dragon Palace water tribe members behind the water mirror fell silent briefly.

A crushing aura of power and killing intent suddenly burst from the Dragon Palace hall.

"Who did this!"

"Dares to kill my dragon clan’s offspring! I’ll subject him to the Sentence of a Thousand Cuts!"

"My child… Ao Huan, you useless bastard! Why did my son die!"

Ao Yi’s death caused great turmoil in the Dragon Palace, their faces twisting with rage.

—The Dragon Palace water tribe could never ignore a Dragon Prince’s death.

Though mighty, the dragon clan remained few in number. Their dominion over the seas relied on unity – any attacked dragon meant swift retaliation.

This relentless vengeance kept others from disrespecting the Dragon Palace or hunting true dragons.

Ao Huan’s face darkened at the accusations.

"Mu Lin of the human race killed Ao Yi. But Ao Yi initiated the duel himself. This death did not violate any rules."

Weaker races could be bullied and exterminated without cause.

But against land powers like the human race, even dragons had to heed proper conduct.

Having explained, Ao Huan addressed the hall with severity: "We’ve no time to mourn Ao Yi now…"

"BANG!"

"My son lies dead! A Dragon Prince slaughtered! That Mu Lin mocks our entire Dragon Palace, yet you call this trivial?"

Ao Tao, Ao Yi’s father, glared at Ao Huan with murderous eyes.

Ao Huan remained unfazed by the hostile gaze. "A Dragon Prince’s death matters, but greater concerns await… Mu Lin boasted publicly in Moon Water City that he’ll face all challengers from our water tribe. He claims he’ll wipe out our entire younger generation alone!"

…

…

…

Silence gripped the Dragon Palace hall, mirroring Moon Water City’s reaction moments before.

Even the ethereal figure of the True Lord dragon king on the throne shifted attention.

Unlike the humans who’d witnessed Mu Lin’s power firsthand, the dragons dismissed this as empty bluster.

"Arrogant fool!"

"Doesn’t know his place…"

"Annihilate our youth? Since when do humans daydream so boldly?"

"Clearly our Deep Sea dwelling has made men forget their fear. Let’s accept this Mu Lin’s challenge and send warriors…"

Ao Zun’s eyes glittered dangerously as he spoke.

Ao Huan cut him off before he could finish.

"I don’t think this was a wise proposal."

Before Ao Zun could respond, Ao Tao sprang forward.

"Ao Huan, you bastard! Have you betrayed the dragon clan to become human’s lapdog?"

"I remain loyal to our kind."

"Then why block us from killing Mu Lin?"

"Because it’s impossible!" Ao Huan roared, his face betraying a flicker of dread. "Though it pains me to say, Mu Lin has surpassed the Transformation realm. Even if every prodigy from our Dragon Palace water tribe challenged him in succession, none would survive… That man could slaughter our entire younger generation single-handedly."

A bitter laugh escaped him. "When I first recognized Mu Lin’s threat, I resolved to eliminate him even at the cost of my life."

"But as I made ready to strike, I knew – even without human Earth Immortals intervening – I couldn’t end him."

The despair etched on Ao Huan’s face deepened.

"Worse still, when departing Moon Water City, I felt death’s chill. Mu Lin’s killing intent pierced through me like winter frost. Tell me – which of our Transformation-level youths could slay me? Me, who once bested an Earth Immortal?"

……

……

His final words left the Dragon Palace hall deathly quiet, heavier than any silence before.

Minutes crawled by before a strained voice finally spoke.

"Ao Huan… Could your senses have erred? Might it have been a human Earth Immortal or Celestial Master targeting you?"

"I prayed it were so. But remember the treasure I took from our vault? Through its power, I confirmed the killer’s aura as Mu Lin’s own."

This revelation made the assembly understand Ao Huan’s perspective – why Ao Yi’s death meant little against Mu Lin’s potential to shift the balance between human race and Dragon Palace. Compared to racial survival, losing two Dragon Princes counted as trivial.

Yet while some grasped the gravity, others burned for vengeance. Ao Tao, bereaved father, slammed his fist.

"Knowing his danger makes killing Mu Lin more urgent!"

Ao Huan shook his head. "Our warriors can’t touch him. Earth Immortals would struggle…"

"Then petition the Dragon King!" Ao Tao insisted. "Humans won’t risk war over one man, not in their weakened state…"

"They would."

All turned toward the weary Dragon King entering the hall – Fanyang Dragon King, land liaison between dragon clan and humanity, now returned with grim news.

His eyes swept the gathering. "After Ao Huan’s report, I meant to investigate personally. But human Celestial Masters barred my path halfway."

"Using the water mirror technique, I saw the whole battle unfold."

"The human Celestial Master flatly told me that Mu Lin’s arrogance and his threats to wipe out our Dragon Palace water tribe weren’t just his own ideas… He warned our dragon clan’s presence in the East Sea Kingdom had overstepped boundaries."

"Mu Lin acted under their secret orders. The human Celestial Master also promised him protection if he hurt us badly enough."

"Worse still, a northern Celestial Master swore by heavenly law that if Mu Lin got killed by unfair means, he’d seek vengeance even at the cost of his life."

"…"

Dragon King Fanyang’s words left the hall silent.

After a long pause, someone finally sighed:

"Human Celestial Masters interfering… They truly distrust us dragons deeply."

"What now? The humans back Mu Lin, and we’re not justified…"

Lacking justification meant they couldn’t use force against the weak. Their only option was same-level combat.

But as Ao Huan reported, no water tribe member could match Mu Lin at equal strength.

As the dragons brooded, a Dragon King dismissed the meeting. Later, he gathered key members and declared:

"We still fight Mu Lin."

Ao Huan frowned. "I told you – even our best same-level fighters lose to him. Sending more means more deaths. Our Dragon Palace kin can’t keep dying."

The Dragon King nodded. "True. So we won’t send Dragon Princes. Our family will offer dragon transformation resources. Announce this: any water tribe member who kills Mu Lin gets access to our dragon transformation pool."

Dragons’ eyes lit up with understanding. Using water tribe fighters instead of dragons meant minimal losses. If they failed, it weakened rival factions anyway.

Though dragons ruled water tribes like emperors rule the populace, powerful clans always challenged royal authority. Water tribes similarly chafed under dragon rule.

Letting water tribe elites fight Mu Lin served two purposes: avenging dragons if successful, weakening potential rivals if they failed.

"Good," agreed Ao Huan. "I’ll inform the water tribes-"

"Wait!" Ao Tao interrupted, eyes wild with grief. "Announce this bounty to all races!" He shoved his life’s savings at Ao Huan. "Water tribe, Demon Race, even evil god cultists – anyone who kills Mu Lin gets these treasures!"

Ao Huan accepted reluctantly. "My fault Ao Yi died challenging Mu Lin. I’ll add my own resources to the bounty."

"Count me in."

"And me."

"Add my share for Ao Yi…"

Next morning, the dragon clan’s proclamation shook the world. People gaped at the insane bounty:

"Dragon transformation chance! 51 sky-level resources! 3 spiritual weapons! 13 rare treasures! Water territory! 10,000 soldiers! 3,000 Mermaids! 100x thousand-year spirit herbs! 40x three-thousand-year herbs! One ten-thousand-year longevity herb! Have dragons gone mad? All this for one Transformation-stage human?"