NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29
[!DOCTYPE html]
<html>
<head>
<title>Ancient City</title>
</head>
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Ancient City (Seeking Support)
“Hm…”
Bai Luo knew this was the Mist Dragon’s honest truth: “With you like this, I feel even more reluctant to kill you.”
“By the way, may I ask why you yearn for death?”
“Because I’m tired of living.”
The Mist Dragon had lived far too long, and continuing to live offered no joy anymore.
“Boom!!”
As the Mist Dragon spoke of the boredom of life, that power which had previously overturned its understanding once again surged into the sky.
They gathered in the air, forming an incredibly magnificent and splendid giant sword.
The entire sword was pitch black, with stars flowing within it, as if encompassing a boundless universe of galaxies and moons, deep and dreamlike.
“What is this?!”
The Mist Dragon widened its eyes, staring intently at this Black King Sword, falling into a state of shock.
“You haven’t seen it before, have you?”
Bai Luo smiled as he walked up to the Mist Dragon and said, “It doesn’t belong to this world, but rather a force I brought back from another world.”
“Another world?”
“An alternate world?”
In fact, the Shadow World’s technology was quite advanced.
For instance, Art Country, Cid’s nation, had once created a black rose, a spatial channel capable of connecting different worlds.
Of course, these different worlds were not like those in a chat group but rather the alternate worlds within the context of the Shadow series.
Cid traveled from the Blue Star of the Shadow World to this planet.
“It’s different from what you think of as an alternate world, following entirely different rules.”
Bai Luo said, “There are creatures similar to vampires there—man-eaters who fear the sun yet can regenerate infinitely.”
“There are Pokémon that can trigger space quakes capable of destroying entire continents and manipulate time, history, memory, and other rules.”
“And there are Demon Gods who can reset the universe with just a thought!”
Bai Luo asked, “Wouldn’t you want to come along with me to explore all sorts of worlds and endless landscapes?”
…
Alright, the Mist Dragon hesitated.
It didn’t think Bai Luo was deceiving it.
A being so powerful had no reason to deceive it.
“If this is your will, then I shall serve you!”
The Mist Dragon was a guardian born from this planet, but Bai Luo possessed the power to break fate.
In other words, Bai Luo’s will transcended the planet’s will.
The Mist Dragon dared not defy him.
“Yes, welcome to our family, Mr. Dragon.”
“Mr…?”
The Mist Dragon indicated it had no gender and lacked the ability to reproduce.
The dragons in this world were more like integrated life forms than biological beings.
Though they bled and had heartbeats, the essence of the Mist Dragon was the result of magic power becoming alive.
“Is that so?”
Bai Luo thought about it; originally, he intended for the Mist Dragon to become part of Xue Ji or Alpha’s clan.
The Black King Sacred Domain did not react, meaning the Mist Dragon did not meet the requirements for a Ruler.
Actually, after acquiring Xue Ji and Alpha, Bai Luo covered the entire planet with his magic power, searching for new qualified individuals.
This kind of detection did not require high precision because the perception of the Sacred Domain was quite sharp.
Unfortunately, Bai Luo did not find a third person on this planet who possessed the talent to awaken the Sacred Domain.
“Do you wish to become a member of my clan?”
Bai Luo explained the relationship between the Authority Holder and the clan to the Mist Dragon.
Bai Luo’s Black King Clan currently only consisted of Hong Ye.
Hong Ye held a special position, serving as Bai Luo’s personal maid.
“Clan?”
Dragons were products of world rules, representing the planet’s will, and their fundamental logic was to obey the first person who could defeat them.
Originally, this obedience should have been directed towards Alpha.
However, Alpha’s fated death fundamentally disrupted this underlying logic.
This made the current Mist Dragon unbound by any contract, purely free.
“It is my honor.”
The Mist Dragon had its own judgment; Bai Luo’s strength needed no further combat demonstration.
Thus, it lowered its massive head, as if swearing allegiance to a great deity.
“Then, welcome to be my companion.”
Bai Luo stepped forward and placed his hand on the dragon’s forehead, linking his magic power with it through the Sacred Domain.
The relationship between the Authority Holder and the clan inherently resembled a master-servant pact.
Magic power was an incredibly mysterious and versatile force.
When combined, while Bai Luo’s clan members couldn’t compare to Xue Ji and Alpha, they merely lacked a Sacred Domain.
Simply calculating the strength shared from Bai Luo, they were slightly inferior.
To describe it with numbers, the Authority Holder was in the early seven-digit stage and came with an invincible Sacred Domain.
The Black King Clan lacked a Sacred Domain but, after enhancement, could still reach the threshold of the seven-digit level.
In a sense, a Prince was essentially a higher-end version of the Black King Clan.
Of course, the Black King Clan wasn’t recruited arbitrarily.
The power of the Black King was extraordinary, so its clan had a numerical limit, allowing only twenty-one members.
Bai Luo refrained from including the Beast People children besides Hong Ye to avoid inequality issues.
But now, with Hong Ye and the Mist Dragon,
Hong Ye held the highest status among the Beast People children, like an older sister.
The Mist Dragon was exceptionally powerful, ranking among the twelve Demon Kings of the Shadow World.
Using this as a reference, Bai Luo would carefully select future members of the Black King Clan to avoid wasting precious slots.
“Whoosh!!”
As the pact was formed, unimaginable power surged from the Mist Dragon’s body. Its silver-white massive form emitted a brilliant glow.
Subsequently, this light visibly began shrinking, gradually outlining the silhouette of a human figure.
When the light finally dimmed, everyone clearly saw the appearance of this figure.
“Eh?”
Standing before Bai Luo and the others was a tall woman in a cheongsam, with a waterfall of green hair cascading down her back, dragon horns atop her head, and white scales covering her forearms and calves.
“Xi?”
Bai Luo wasn’t surprised that the Mist Dragon transformed into a human form.
The conversion into a clan member inherently leaned toward the characteristics of the Authority Holder.
Since Bai Luo was human, it was normal for the Mist Dragon to transform into a human form.
Being composed of magic power, it possessed infinite possibilities.
Bai Luo restructured the magic power that constituted the Mist Dragon, granting it true life, akin to reincarnation.
What Bai Luo hadn’t anticipated was that the Mist Dragon would turn into a female resembling a character from a mobile game he once played.
“Xi?”
The Mist Dragon appeared coldly, speaking without emotion: “Is this the new name given to me by the Host?”
Names were merely titles, something the Mist Dragon didn’t care about.
After all, even the name “Mist Dragon” was bestowed by others.
“Hmm…”
Bai Luo thought for a moment; the Mist Dragon’s female form indeed resembled Xi, but there were significant differences in aspects such as hair color and scale color.
“No, I’ll still call you Xi Wu.”
Xi referred to her resemblance to a character in Bai Luo’s memory, while Wu was derived from “Mist Dragon.”
Additionally, Bai Luo understood why the Mist Dragon turned out this way.
Although dragons had no gender, humans did.
Both appearance and gender originated from Bai Luo’s subconscious.
Thus, Xi Wu was born, perfectly fulfilling Bai Luo’s needs for a dragon girl.
“From now on, I will be called Xi Wu, Host.”
Xi Wu’s reaction was very calm, devoid of any detectable joy.
That was normal.
Xi Wu had lived countless years, and apart from the initial sudden sensation of death breaking her composure, she remained unfazed even if mountains crumbled before her.
[Xi Wu]
Race: Dragonkind
Status: Dragon Girl
Evaluation: Eight-digit (Exceptional)
[Xi Wu]
Race: Dragon Girl
Status: Dragon Transformation
Evaluation: Seven-digit (Initial)
Just as Bai Luo expected, Xi Wu’s evaluation was also quite high.
Without a Sacred Domain, her endurance and survival capabilities fell short compared to Xue Ji and Alpha.
Moreover, Xi Wu had two states: the eight-digit Dragon Girl form and the fully transformed seven-digit Dragon form.
“Turned into a girl.”
“Yeah, turned into a girl.”
Xue Ji and Alpha exchanged glances; neither had ever heard of such a thing and were still in awe.
“Gray Queen, and Gold Queen.”
Xi Wu nodded to them: “Greetings, ladies. I am Xi Wu.”
Through the Black King Sacred Domain, she already knew their identities, hence showing great respect.
“You, you too.”
Xi Wu’s stoic demeanor left the two women uncertain about her situation.
“Xi Wu isn’t good at expressing emotions; please bear with her.”
Bai Luo had to explain on her behalf: “Xi Wu, lead us to the ancient city ruins.”
“Yes.”
Xi Wu immediately controlled the surrounding misty magical energy, opening a direct path to the ancient capital of Alexandrina for everyone.
“This?!”
“This is the once-great ancient capital of Alexandrina hidden within the Lost Mountains?”
At the end of the misty path, a vast new world revealed itself to everyone.
The ancient city lay in a valley surrounded by mountains and forests, shrouded in toxic mists controlled by Xi Wu, preventing outsiders from entering.
A glance showed numerous collapsed houses, marking the passage of ancient times.
In the distance, a majestic castle stood tall, though dilapidated, its overall structure remained stable and could easily become their main base with simple repairs.
“Children, we’ve arrived.”
Bai Luo turned around, facing away from the ancient capital, and said seriously, “Xue Ji, take the children to tidy up.”
“Alpha, clear out the monsters in the forest and set up a magical barrier.”
The safety of the children was paramount, and Bai Luo wouldn’t take any chances.
“Yes!”
Xue Ji and Alpha acted separately.
Upon receiving orders, Xue Ji quickly moved with the Beast People children through the ancient city ruins, instructing some of them to begin setting up temporary camps in open areas.
Meanwhile, Alpha moved swiftly, her sharp sword skills eliminating all monsters near the ancient city.
These monsters had started adapting to Xi Wu’s power and couldn’t be allowed to remain.
As for monsters farther away, Bai Luo ignored them.
The cleanup was limited to this mountain range.
Monsters beyond that area served as a natural barrier for Bai Luo to block potential intruders.
“Xi Wu, Hong Ye, let’s check out that castle over there.”
As expected, everyone would eventually reside in the castle.
The ancient city’s castle was built against the mountain, grand and spectacular, and remarkably well-preserved after thousands of years.
Bai Luo had no intention of rebuilding the capital.
The castle had enough space to accommodate thousands of people, whereas their current population numbered only forty at most.
“Strengthen the castle and renovate it anew.”
“Regarding the urban area, I plan to construct additional facilities when I have time later.”
Trade with the K World would soon commence, and Bai Luo needed to carefully plan the reconstruction of the ancient capital.
“Furthermore, to prevent possible conflicts in the future, I intend to develop step by step.”
“Most of our current members are Beast People.”
Bai Luo had seen the architectural style of Demon Fox Village, leaning towards a Japanese aesthetic.
Bai Luo didn’t mind this.
The ancient city was vast, and even if Pokémon and humans joined in the future, Bai Luo could still divide the areas accordingly.
Eventually, various architectural styles from all corners of the world would harmonize beautifully, creating a fine landscape.
“That area.”
Pointing at a certain location from a high vantage point, Bai Luo told Hong Ye, “You can build a street there for selling various items.”
Thus, the three continued walking, discussing plans for the ancient city’s future reconstruction.
They wandered around the castle for a while.
Unfortunately, the castle, unused for many years, was filled with dust everywhere. It would take several days of thorough cleaning before anyone could live there.
Fortunately, after Bai Luo’s magical investigation, the castle had no hazardous damages that could endanger the children.
‘The original headquarters of the Shadow Courtyard.’
Bai Luo was satisfied with this place: ‘Now it’s mine.’
PS: Tomorrow it will go online, and updates will be added.
I humbly request your support for the first subscription. Xiao Mao sincerely thanks you all.
</html>