This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 177 Border War
Zhuang Lin didn't want to make things up. He had already guessed some of Xi Miao's quirks, so it was better to keep his attention away from them. After all, it was just a joke.

"There's another thing that's also a bit concerning!"

Zhuang Lin glanced around and, seeing everyone's attention drawn back, shook his sleeves, as if trying to drive something away.

A moment later, a faint yellow light emanated from Zhuang Lin's sleeve, and then a small, dark yellow dragon, seemingly carrying a hint of alcohol, flew out from it.

Upon seeing this, Liu Hongyu and the other students naturally became serious, Xi Miao immediately regained her composure, and even Wuming frowned.

"Is this a dragon?"

Liu Hongyu's voice was filled with obvious astonishment. In all his years, even after coming to this special world and starting to cultivate immortality, he had never seen a real dragon. The people next to him also stared wide-eyed, their hearts filled with excitement.

"Is it a dragon?" "It's so small, can it grow bigger?"

The small, dark yellow dragon was in Zhuang Lin's palm. It seemed very obedient, and if one did not know, it would indeed look like a living creature, or in some ways, it could indeed be considered alive.

The nameless man was equally surprised and uncertain.

"Such a strong dragon aura! Could it be related to a real dragon? In my memory, there weren't many dragons left in the world back then."

The "back then" that Wuming mentioned was naturally the end of his era. His understanding of the dragon race was also based on that era. So even though his spiritual sense was very sharp and he could perceive the special features of the little dragon in Zhuang Lin's hand, he couldn't explain why.

Zhuang Lin looked at Xi Miao, who, as expected, stared at Xiao Long in thought for a while before looking at Zhuang Lin with a few flickering eyes.

"Sir, to my opinion, this looks like some kind of seed. The dragon blood on it is extremely pure, as if it had been deliberately refined. This thing is not simple. Where did you obtain it? Could it have been given to you by someone from the Yanzhen Sect?"

This was indeed given by someone from the Yanzhen Sect, after all, it was given by Dao Yanzi.

As he said this, Zhuang Lin slightly raised his sleeve, from which a dark red sliver flew out and transformed into a wooden sword in front of him.

"Chi Xuan?"

Zhuang Lin now wields two swords: one is the spirit sword Ning Shuang, and the other is the more iconic wooden sword Chi Xuan.

Almost the instant Xi Miao saw Chi Xuan, she sensed something was wrong. Upon closer inspection, even she felt a sudden jolt of fear. The aura emanating from the Chi Xuan sword was extremely peculiar; a faint aura of malevolence seemed to contain the mournful cry of a dragon.
"This is the Dragon Slayer Sword!"

Dragon-Slaying Sword?
Everyone present was startled. Xi Miao's words were usually quite reliable. Even Wuming looked up at Zhuang Lin in surprise.

Zhuang Lin shook his head.

"I wouldn't say it slew a dragon, but it did injure a large dragon."

Taking this opportunity, Zhuang Lin also briefly explained to the group what had happened at the Great Yan Imperial Palace and the subsequent changes.

However, even though Zhuang Lin's explanation was concise, those present were not lacking in imagination and were able to recall the situation at the time.

Five enormous dragons were plotting against the human dynasty, and Dao Yanzi was so arrogant as to fight all five dragons alone. Moreover, these were clearly not ordinary dragons. The Master actually attacked the dragons directly.
This contains more information than anything else found in the Taihang Mountains.

"In that case, the dragon that was severely injured by you, sir, is definitely not ordinary. Just the fact that some of its blood was absorbed by the Crimson Profound Sword has already generated such a great dragon aura. If it were an ordinary small dragon, at first glance, it would look like it had slain several dragons with the sword!"

Wuming took a step closer and looked at the small, dark yellow dragon in Zhuang Lin's palm.

"So, this little dragon is actually a true dragon seed that Dao Yanzi extracted from the Great Yan Emperor?"

The others also subconsciously leaned closer to look. If Zhuang Lin hadn't explained the whole story, they would have thought the little dragon was a real, living dragon. Its aura was so solid and lingering that the sense of realism was just too strong.

"That's right, but not all of it. Murong Chui has absorbed a small portion of it, which has even restored his youth to some extent."

Xi Miao stared at the little dragon with a solemn expression.

"The Dragon Clan actually resorted to such a risky move. I wonder if the Emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty or any other emperors in the world have ever done anything similar?"

"That's hard to say. However, I think it's unlikely. I might try to make contact, but I won't be as direct as Murong Chui. After all, the Murong family has only recently restored their kingdom, and the imperial structure is not yet stable."

As soon as Zhuang Lin finished speaking, Wuming snorted coldly.

"The dynasty's destiny is inherently difficult to taint, but when the dragon is thirsty, it's like a lone boat at sea struggling to find fresh water; the drifter is so thirsty he wants to drink seawater and can't extricate himself."

After a long silence, Liu Hongyu suddenly spoke.

"But these dragons who sought alternative solutions can be considered among the more ambitious groups of dragons. Otherwise, even if they just drifted along, given their lifespan, they could have lived a carefree life for a long time. They are like the True Daoist sect in the current immortal path, unwilling to give up the path of seeking truth."

Liu Hongyu felt this deeply, and even felt that he was the same kind of people as them in some ways. The only difference was that he was a person destined by fate, while they did not accept their fate but could only accept reality in the end.

"Master, is there any possibility of making contact with the Dragon Clan in the future?"

Liu Hongyu's words drew everyone's attention, and Zhuang Lin, after thinking for a moment, did not directly deny it. "Who knows what will happen in the future? But they will definitely have their own interpretation. Let's wait and see."

Liu Hongyu nodded and said nothing more. He believed that his master had shown mercy this time, so he must still have some hope left.

Just then, a rapid sound of hooves came from the street below the restaurant, startling some pedestrians who hurriedly gave way. The rider on horseback seemed very anxious, urging his horse forward while shouting loudly.

"Make way, make way—all of you make way—it's an emergency, make way!"

The sound made Zhuang Lin put away the little dragon in his hand, and the group couldn't help but move closer to the window of the private room to look out at the street.

The rider charged in, causing chaos in the street, but the intense aura emanating from him was also quite astonishing. He was clearly not a simple messenger, but at least a veteran of countless battles.

"It looks like war is on the way again!"

Wuming said this, recalling that there had been many wars back then.

Zhuang Lin remained silent, while Xi Miao spoke calmly.

"This world is inherently chaotic; peaceful days are rare indeed. If it is like this in the human realm, is there any difference between those who cultivate themselves in the world?"

The riders on the street below galloped wildly, seemingly ignoring all the civilians, but in reality, their riding skills were extremely superb. They were often able to avoid some panicked crowds. In addition to being able to slightly lead their horses to change direction, they sometimes even leaped over places with their horses.

"Sir? What's wrong?"

After Xi Miao finished speaking, she noticed that Zhuang Lin was staring at the riders on the street, so she asked a question. Zhuang Lin seemed to have just come to his senses and shook his head slightly.

"fine."

However, Zhuang Lin had already figured it out. The rider riding the horse was one of the four people he had instructed in martial arts, namely Yang Tianlei, who was skilled in spear fighting.

He joined the army? Then did Lu Jing and the others do the same?
-
The guards at the yamen saw the galloping horse approaching from afar, and some of them were so frightened that they hurriedly moved aside, as the horse seemed to have no intention of stopping.

However, the rider was a skilled horseman. He spurred his horse to the front of the government office and suddenly pulled on the reins. The horse reared up and neighed loudly in the street.
The rider immediately dismounted and rushed into the yamen (government office).

"Where are the officials from Xiangyang? Where are the officials from Xiangyang?"

"Sir, sir, please wait a moment, we will go and report to the lord immediately!"

The officials in the yamen hurriedly responded. The messenger was menacing, carrying a gun and a knife, looking like he was about to kill someone. They dared not delay for a moment, so they went to inform the officials while also quickly inviting the messenger to rest in the yamen's main hall.

"Water, water—"

Yang Tianlei roared a few times, and the government officials hurriedly brought him a leather bag of water. He then gulped down a large bag of water in the main hall of the yamen, until his stomach was slightly bulging, which finally relieved his thirst.

The officials guarding the side were secretly astonished, and were too intimidated by the menacing aura emanating from the newcomer to utter a word.

At that moment, Shao Jiling, the prefect of Xiangyang, and Yin Kuangzhi rushed in from the back hall together, accompanied by several yamen runners.

Upon entering the main hall of the yamen, the two men didn't think much of the rider's appearance, but the several yamen runners with considerable martial arts skills immediately realized that this rider was no ordinary person.

"Quickly, tell me what military intelligence it is?"

Shao Jiling hurriedly asked, but Yang Tianlei wiped his mouth and didn't waste any words. He simply unfastened his outer armor, revealing the bamboo tube that was tied to his body. He pulled it out and took out a letter from inside, handing it to Shao Jiling.

"Luoyang is in dire need of help. When Murong Yong led his troops to invade Luoyang, Zhai Liao was suspected of colluding with him and also launched an attack. This time, the foreign enemy is coming in a fierce manner. The commander ordered me to send a message to request reinforcements. I have been running for five days without sleep to get here. Please, sir, quickly prepare military supplies, food, and soldiers ready for battle!"

Yin Kuangzhi was startled and immediately asked while Shao Jiling was still somewhat at a loss.

"Luoyang is not a short distance from Xiangyang, and there are many cities along the way. How did the military intelligence get sent directly here?"

Although Yin Kuangzhi and Yang Tianlei had met briefly on the ship, several years had passed, and the former had grown into an adult while the latter had weathered many storms and was now wearing armor. Neither of them recognized the other.

Yang Tianlei spoke frankly.

"Many cities along the way have either fallen or been besieged, and some despicable people have surrendered at the mere sight of them. As far as I know, only the area around Luoyang is being resisted by the commander-in-chief; the rest of the places..."

"What about Xuchang?"

"I do not know, I only know that we have lost contact. I saw that the situation was not good heading south, so I rushed all the way to Xiangyang! I am exhausted and my strength is failing. I hope that you two gentlemen will send a message to the court as soon as possible. Most of my comrades who were with me to send the message have already died!"

Yang Tianlei spoke so much in one breath, but every word was deadly, and just by looking at the bloodstains on his armor, you could tell that his journey had been extremely difficult!
Yin Kuangzhi clenched his fists tightly upon hearing this, while Shao Jiling, standing to the side, turned deathly pale and murmured in panic.

"How could this be? How could this be?"

(End of this chapter)