Chapter 64: The Dragon Clan’s Return – They’ve Finally Arrived

In the temporary camp outside the academy, the White-Haired Elder gripped his communication device tightly, still unable to collect his thoughts after a long while.

The young dragon… was Xiang Lun’s grandson? This…

In just two brief exchanges, his understanding of the world had been upended time and again.

Earlier, Xiang Lun had claimed that Xuzhi was the partner of his only grandson, but the White-Haired Elder hadn’t believed a word of it. He figured it was merely an excuse Xiang Lun had cooked up.

Everyone knew Xiang Lun had only one son, Xiang Yuan, who had never married and, lacking any innate talent as an ordinary man, had long since passed away from old age.

So where had this grandson come from?

Xiang Lun had turned down the headquarters elder position for Xuzhi’s sake—that was when the White-Haired Elder had brought up the young dragon.

He didn’t cross paths with Xiang Lun often, but he had always held that this former academy dean and current vice dean was a man of impeccable character, never one to act out of selfishness.

And so, he had hoped to persuade Xiang Lun gently, convincing him to hand Xuzhi and the young dragon over to the Miasma-Clearing Team of his own accord.

In the White-Haired Elder’s eyes, it was the best possible path.

If news spread of Cangyuan Continent’s last God Clan member and last Dragon Clan survivor emerging, the former would spark panic among the populace, while the latter would draw covetous gazes from every corner. Entrusting them both to the Miasma-Clearing Team was the most logical choice.

The White-Haired Elder found himself somewhat agreeing with Qiu Lai. The Dragon Clan had vanished for a century—most likely wiped out entirely. A young dragon without the power to protect itself… who could possibly keep it safe?

As for his own selfish motives, the White-Haired Elder owned up to them.

A Dragon Clan member bolstering the Miasma-Clearing Team—even without forming a beast contract—could, during the young dragon’s controllable phase, propel the team’s fame and prestige to new heights, drawing in droves of top-tier beast tamers.

Truth be told, what beast tamer could stay unmoved at the sight of a dragon?

Bringing Xuzhi under the Miasma-Clearing Team’s oversight would also put the public’s mind at ease.

Otherwise, if panic swept through the masses, the team’s authority would erode, jeopardizing their annual levies…

Provided Xiang Lun agreed, the White-Haired Elder was willing to swear a binding contract: the team would never mistreat Xuzhi or the young dragon.

But now…

The White-Haired Elder hadn’t laid eyes on the young dragon himself. He turned to Qiu Lai at his side. “Do the young dragon’s eyes match Dean Xiang’s?”

“One blue, one gold—heterochromia eyes. A mixed-blood dragon? Impossible…” Qiu Lai’s brows knitted tight. “Is he just talking nonsense?”

Ancient texts recorded that the Dragon Clan bore no mixed bloodlines, though heterochromia was indeed a hallmark of hybrids.

The White-Haired Elder drew several deep breaths. “Dean Xiang wouldn’t fabricate something like this!”

“And what then?” Qiu Lai sneered, lips twisting. “Even if some dragons are still out there, would they bother claiming a mixed-blood one?”

The ancient records might well reflect the Dragon Clan’s refusal to acknowledge mixed-blood dragons as kin.

In the White-Haired Elder’s view, they had forfeited any right to claim the God Clan member or the young dragon. Xiang Lun was its guardian; while he drew breath, he would never surrender it.

Qiu Lai saw things differently.

“Forget it. Your method won’t fly,” he told the White-Haired Elder. “Hand full command of this operation over to me.”

The assembled forces were nearly complete. This time, he was dead set on killing Xuzhi and seizing the young dragon.

~~~

In the afternoon, Ming Shuang had shifted back into his little dragon hatchling form. He lay nestled in Xuzhi’s arms, listening quietly as the others conferred.

“If I hold back my true form, we can still force a breakout,” Yan Si said. “But there’ll be heavy losses on their side.”

He himself didn’t care, but any strikes against the Miasma-Clearing Team would land squarely on Xiang Lun and Herl.

The two were academy deans, after all. It would tarnish Lobe Academy’s reputation.

Yan Si had other concerns as well. Once his identity came to light, the fallout would only multiply. If trackers didn’t follow, all well and good—but if they did, he might not have bandwidth to protect Xuzhi.

“No time for hand-wringing,” Xiang Lun growled, his face dark. “I actually thought they wanted to talk it out… Hmph!”

The Little Dragon hatchling peeked up from nearby, glancing toward Xing Huai in the distance. He let out a soft “Awoo?”

No one else could understand dragon language anyway, so Ming Shuang figured it was safe to ask when Uncle Wu would return.

Xing Huai gave a slight shake of her head, signaling ignorance.

“We move out today,” Xiang Lun decided briskly, addressing Yan Si and Xing Huai. “Straight breakout. Keep your Dragon Clan identities under wraps unless it’s do-or-die.”

With preparations all but finalized, Mochi volunteered to scout the exterior.

A wind-type magical beast, it boasted blistering flight speed. With a sharp “whoosh,” it shot out of the courtyard.

The snow fox perched high, scanning the horizon. The open grounds beyond lay barren under the sun, yet an oppressive pall hung in the air, as though foretelling imminent trouble.

The fluffy balls had been tucked into the pendant. Tomato stood guard over Ming Shuang in Xuzhi’s arms, Coal Ball and Taro Ball riding its back.

Minutes later, a gray blur streaked past.

Mochi zipped back into the courtyard, alighting beside Xuzhi. “Coo coo!”

Yan Si translated. “No anomalies spotted.”

The forces outside lingered unchanged, hunkered silently by the walls.

“Perfect. This way.”

Xiang Lun jabbed a finger at a bearing, channeling his magic power to wrap the group in space magic. They shifted rapidly outward.

Moments later, they reached the academy’s flank.

Magic fluctuations rippled near; the outer beast tamers sensed it at once and reported up the chain.

Qiu Lai got the word and barked, “South side! Cut them off—nobody escapes!”

This was the moment he had craved. He rushed his subordinates thither, leaving sentries at the academy’s other spots to foil any diversions.

Qiu Lai had overplayed his hand, though. No diversion—just a head-on push from Xiang Lun.

By his arrival, combat raged in earnest.

More than twenty fluffy balls had been unleashed, darting effortlessly against tier 8 beast tamers. Four high-tier magical beasts—origins unknown, talents varied—shielded Xuzhi’s perimeter.

Xiang Lun and Herl held the line. Xuzhi, God Clan scion though young in appearance, wielded power beyond question.

The Miasma-Clearing Team had braced itself, front ranks packed with tier 8 beast tamers—yet they fell back all the same.

Qiu Lai’s timely advent brought reinforcements, more aid inbound on orders.

“Bzzz—”

The skies bore a flight-suppressing magic array. Qiu Lai summoned his own beast: a colossal bird hurtling at Tomato.

He flung several magic stones; raw, mingled magic power roared forth, shredding patches of Xuzhi’s light magic bindings.

That’s when Qiu Lai clocked Yan Si and Xing Huai—fresh faces from yesterday.

Blind to their draconic heritage and pegging them as Xiang Lun’s youthful underlings, he dismissed them.

Then a colossal alchemy array plummeted from above.

Qiu Lai’s pupils shrank; he backpedaled. A defense-oriented beast tamer lunged to intercept—and failed. The array bore down, pinning a broad swath of foes immobile.

A high-tier alchemy-practicing beast tamer… no, top-tier? Herl’s protégé?

No leisure for deeper probes; Qiu Lai hurled more magic stones.

These harbored a bespoke water-type magic array. “Waves” erupted skyward.

In a blink, the battlefield submerged in undersea gloom. The water magic mirrored Xuzhi’s light magic: movements hobbled, breaths labored.

Qiu Lai alone roamed free within the array. He bellowed at Xiang Lun, “Dean Xiang, care to rethink this…?”

Next instant, a crisp “Awoo” rang out.

Xuzhi cradled the little dragon hatchling, its blue-gold heterochromia eyes gleaming.

Frost spiderwebbed through the water array, innately overpowering it until the waters fractured and collapsed.

Unlike before, this dense ice magic carried dragon breath interwoven.

Qiu Lai paled at the terror pulsing from his beasts. Xiang Lun hurled a contract array.

It detonated; contract forces lanced through Qiu Lai and adjacent tamers. Their inner bonds thrashed, birthing agony beyond endurance.

Dragon breath’s yoke piled on—a ring of magical beasts buckled, dragging their tamers low.

Qiu Lai clung to his feet. Amid this beast tamer cordon, Xiang Lun’s crew betrayed no dread, no faltering.

The figure beside Yan Si hadn’t even stirred, background a cipher.

Qiu Lai pressed on regardless, goading rear tamers into the fray.

Subordinates screened his retreat; his glare bored into Xiang Lun at the melee’s heart. “Never dreamed the young dragon was your blood… But you think you’ll stroll out today and live carefree ever after?”

Vicious mania flickered in his eyes. “Once the whole continent learns the God Clan remnant and young dragon surfaced together—at your side, Xiang Lun—what then?”

Xiang Lun’s visage turned to stone. “All talk, no spine. Bring it if you can!”

Qiu Lai nursed yesterday’s wounds; his beast rejoined him now, underlings clustered tight.

“The Great Elder minced words, but not me,” he rasped, eyes flicking to Xuzhi. “God Clan dregs… mixed-blood whelp. Dragon Clan or no, would they glance at that mongrel? Once you’re dust…”

Yan Si’s stare honed lethal; he itched to strike—but another beat him to it.

“Bang—”

Xuzhi flickered phantom-quick before Qiu Lai, felling his guards in a heap.

Injury had dulled Qiu Lai’s reflexes; resistance never came. An unseen grip seized his throat from afar.

Speech died on his lips. Trembling eyes fixed on Xuzhi, shock plain at his prowess.

Could it be that earlier… Xuzhi had hidden far more than he had imagined—much, much more.

“You…” Qiu Lai’s face flushed red. “You…”

Xuzhi’s fingertips tightened as his other hand shielded the little dragon hatchling cradled in his arms. He pulled his jacket tighter, blocking any view.

“It’s my fault,” he said flatly, “for letting you live one more day.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Qiu Lai’s throat was slit.

Xiang Lun and Yan Si witnessed the scene with their own eyes, yet they couldn’t even discern what manner of magic Xuzhi had employed. Killing a top-tier beast tamer was as effortless for him as taking a breath.

Yan Si wasn’t particularly surprised, but Xiang Lun frowned faintly. He sensed that Xuzhi’s power had changed dramatically from what he remembered.

This wasn’t the time to dwell on it, though. They needed to escape as quickly as possible.

The instant Qiu Lai collapsed, a fresh wave of beast tamers arrived from behind, accompanied by several elders.

One of them spotted Qiu Lai’s corpse and shouted in shock and fury, “How dare you kill an elder of the Miasma-Clearing Team!”

“The outside world has learned of the young dragon’s emergence!” another voice cried out—nobody could tell who. “Surrender to the Miasma-Clearing Team at once, and the Great Elder will grant you protection!”

Xuzhi gazed at the dense throng of people and magical beasts, a flicker of impatience in his eyes.

If this dragged on any longer, he might not be able to resist absorbing all the black miasma and slaughtering every last one of them.

But by his calculations, the Dragon Clan should be…

At that moment, two flying magic beasts appeared high in the sky.

“Yo, quite the lively scene,” a unfamiliar voice called down from above. “I heard there’s a young dragon around here? Where is it?”

Qiu Lai hadn’t lied. He had indeed spread the word, and beast tamers from nearby had rushed over to investigate.

The elder who had spoken earlier seized the moment and deliberately shouted, “The young dragon already belongs to the Miasma-Clearing Team…”

Xiang Lun erupted in rage. “Bullshit!”

Before he could finish, a fierce gale whipped up from out of nowhere. Everyone locked in battle sensed something extraordinary and hesitated.

In mere moments, the sky plunged into darkness, the sunset blotted out by thick, roiling clouds.

Ming Shuang keenly caught a familiar scent and poked his head out from inside the jacket.

Xuzhi lifted his gaze toward the horizon.

They had finally arrived.

In an instant, the heavens darkened completely as an immense shadow descended.

Everyone stared in stunned disbelief, forgetting to breathe.

That vast “cloud” blotting out the sky was unmistakably… a flock of enormous dragons.

The Dragon Clan—vanished for a century, all but forgotten by the world—had returned.

Deafening dragon roars shook the air as a blast of pure magic slammed into the crowd.

The legs of the elder who had spoken buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

~~~