Dusk at Anning Pier.
Watching the Daoist whisk away the very person at the center of this whole affair, disappearing without a trace.
Qingtuan scratched her head. Seeing Patriarch Huang and his servants clambering out of the Jiangshui, faces flushed and teeth clenched in rage, she quietly backed away a few steps to Bai Shuo’s side.
"Young Lady, Young Lady?"
"So, where do we go now?"
The deep blue pupils of the Dragon Maiden from the Water Monarch’s Mansion, the Young Lord herself, dimmed for a silent moment beneath her veiled cloak before returning to their original luster.
Hearing the question from the round-faced Clam Maiden beside her,
Bai Shuo gazed thoughtfully in the direction Ji Xiu had disappeared.
That young man had been force-fed a Sixth-Grade Spirit Pill by the Flying Immortal Temple Master, shattering his shackles. His Qi and Blood now surged like a flood dragon, his sinews and bones tightly bound, filling every corner of his body.
’Others couldn’t see the truth of it, but...’
’Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate is a Bone Tempering Technique from the East Canghai, and it was never tailor-made for Martial Artists of the Human Race.’
As for its secrets, Bai Shuo knew them like the back of her hand.
When she saw that Ji Xiu had mastered the ’True Flood Dragon Transformation’—tempering his body to the point of Golden Bone, his Qi and Blood like the Jiangshui bursting its banks, every great sinew swelling and clinging tightly to each resplendent golden vertebra—
she knew that only a True Flood Dragon—creatures born with immense, powerful bodies that reach the level of a Human Race Qi Cultivation Grandmaster upon adulthood—could compare.
’Otherwise... in a direct comparison at the same realm, a True Flood Dragon might not even be that much more impressive than some General Leader, a Local Bully in a place like this Great Xuan County!’
’To achieve the True Flood Dragon Transformation in a human body... Even though he hasn’t broken through the Body Great Limit to reach what the Human Race calls Mercury Blood Silver Marrow—the state where marrow is like jade and a single drop of blood can melt gold...’
’...even a Martial Artist who *has* broken the Body Great Limit would pale in comparison to him.’
’This young man’s foundation is terrifyingly strong. If his bloodline weren’t so pure, I’d suspect it was mixed with the blood of some ancient species from the Outer Dao or an Ancient Race.’
Bai Shuo mused to herself, recalling the final volume of the Dragon Gate Jump technique. To master it, one had to anoint their very flesh and bone with Dragon Blood, shedding their mortality to be reborn.
For a moment, she hesitated.
’That Immortal Daoist who just broke through the third realm of Dao Skill to reach the domain of Daoist Skill called him ’Ancestral Master Ji.’ That proves this young man has a significant background, some powerful backing.’
’Anointing with Dragon Blood is an unimaginable treasure for the terrestrial Human Race. You couldn’t find it even if you offered an Earth Treasure in trade. But...’
’...for me, it wouldn’t be a great cost at all.’
’True, the coincidence is a bit much. But this young man’s Dao Skill isn’t profound, and his Martial Artist cultivation has only passed the gates of flesh and bone. It’s utterly impossible for him to see through Qingtuan and me.’
’Never mind him—even a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster would only be able to perceive a hint of what Qingtuan really is.’
’In other words, he doesn’t know my identity. He only acted because he couldn’t stand the arrogance of that Grand Lineage scion from Jiangyin Prefecture.’
As Bai Shuo pondered this, the scattered chatter of nearby Mortal Laborers reached her ears. In just a few snippets of conversation, she learned the young man’s name—Ji Xiu—and heard of his "righteousness that pierces the heavens."
The chatter only ended when the humiliated and enraged Seventh Young Master Huang had his servants drive the noisy crowd away.
Watching this unfold, Bai Shuo grew even more pensive, a light suddenly kindling in her eyes.
’Willing to rush into danger alone for someone he’s never met... a character like that...’
’...is truly that of a righteous hero.’
’He has backing, character, and potential... The only variable is his future.’
’If I were to invest in him, help him break the Great Limit of Mercury Blood Silver Marrow with Dragon Blood, I could get a promise in return.’
’Then if, one day in the future... I must participate in the "Spouse Selection" at the Water Monarch’s Mansion to rally powerful factions to my side...’
’...I could use that promise to summon him as a shield.’
’Come to think of it, only a man like him could face the true prodigies and exceptional young masters of the Outer Dao... and not falter.’
Bai Shuo’s mind was made up. In that instant, she decided she would become Ji Xiu’s "Angel Investor."
Just as she was figuring out how to leave with Qingtuan and find someone to ask for his address...
Suddenly, she felt a pair of antlers nudge against the slender legs hidden beneath her cloak.
Sensing the movement, Bai Shuo glanced down. It was the Jade-Horned Spirit Deer Ji Xiu had been riding earlier. It was now lying at her feet, rubbing its jade horns against her veiled skirt.
She was taken aback.
"Well now, little deer. You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you?"
She gently raised a hand and patted the Jade-Horned Spirit Deer on its head.
The deer’s eyes widened instantly as it sensed the oppressive aura emanating from the very source of its bloodline. Even though the woman before it had a charming smile and a voice as crisp as colliding jade, it couldn’t help but bow its head and lower its body in submission.
If the flicker of affinity it felt for its master, who fed it herbs every day, was like a frog in a well catching a glimpse of the sun and moon...
...then seeing the girl beneath the veiled cloak was like an ant beholding the vastness of the heavens!
So pure! So true!
The Jade Deer’s legs began to tremble.
"Do you know where your master lives?"
Bai Shuo asked, her bright eyes narrowing charmingly.
The deer’s head immediately bobbed up and down. It then lay down, indicating for Bai Shuo to get on.
In response, the Dragon Maiden from the Water Monarch’s Mansion giggled. Seeing how clever the little deer was, she thought for a moment, then retrieved a blade of Spirit Grass from her sleeve and fed it to the animal.
"It’s a delicacy from the depths of the East Canghai," she said. "A reward for such a perceptive little thing."
"Take me to him."
She vaulted onto the deer’s back, pulling Qingtuan up with her in a single leap.
After swallowing the Spirit Grass, the Jade-Horned Spirit Deer’s eyes flew wide. White smoke began to HUFF and puff from its nostrils, and even its inner Flesh, Bone, Skin, and Membrane began to undergo some kind of inexplicable transformation.