Lightning furiously danced along the edge of his blade in the face of this, a faint whisper from his lips, the only clue to his method of opposition.

“Breaking Mundane Forging Heaven, first variation, nine tempers.”

****

“What is this folly you have committed!?”

A booming voice rocked the pillared court of what appeared to be a palace.

“The call is mine and mine alone to make.”

The one who responded was calm and cold. It carried a bestial prestige that belonged to very few beings on the continent.

“Fool! You desecrate these halls!”

“Your discrimination has blinded you, you old-”

“Careful Long Cang! Your position doesn’t protect you from my wrath! You were ordered to keep them at the bastion and nothing else!”

Within the court were two massive dragons. One was completely covered in scales of grey and the other was enveloped in azure coloured scales.

Behind the one known as Long Cang were a large group of humans. The younger of them were looking around in curiosity and interest, scanning the internal architecture of the court they found themselves in, seemingly undisturbed by the quarrelling dragons before them.

Looking closely, one could see that the ones at the forefront of the overall group were Long Huangdi and Long Nuhuang, the parents of Long Di.

From this, one could deduce that the azure coloured dragon known as Long Cang was the royal emissary who tested both Long Nuhuang and Long Huangdi before acquiescing to their wishes to screw over the heavens.

“I never go back on my words, Second Claw Long Baofu, and I have made a promise to these humans to bring them here to assail the heavens!” Long Cang refused to back down to Long Baofu in the slightest.

Though Long Baofu occupied a higher position within the dragon race by holding the title of Second Claw, the dragon race as a whole was filled with beings that found submitting to be harder than walking through the eye of a needle.

A ‘Claw’ was a prestigious position held by extremely powerful dragons within the dragon race. In human terms, they could be considered the equivalent of a king’s ministers.

There were five claws in all, and Long Baofu held the position of Second Claw. Though his position was elevated, a royal emissary stood apart from the social hierarchy, thus allowing a dragon such as Long Cang to stand against even the Second Claw.

“Hmph!” Long Baofu snorted upon hearing this.

“What human could possibly hope to assault the heavens!? Your head is getting muddled, Long Cang!” he sneered at the mere thought of it.

His draconic eyes slid to the humans behind Long Cang, especially the woman. He disdained to look at them earlier, but Long Cang’s insistence to bring them here piqued his interest somewhat.

Dum!

Boom!

A wave of draconic might descended upon them with a crushing force!

“Argh!”

Most of the family fell on their faces with their bodies plastered on the ground. In an instant, cracks appeared all over their bodies as if they were about to shatter into a million pieces any second.

Long Huangdi and Long Nuhuang were among the pitiful few who were able to avoid these grievous injuries, though this wouldn’t be the case for long.

Dum!

“Second Claw!!” Long Cang’s rage erupted with his draconic might upon seeing the Second Claw’s intentions!

“What!? Do you wish to challenge me Long Cang!?” Long Baofu taunted Long Cang.

There were pros and cons to everything and even though Long Cang didn’t have to listen to the orders of Long Baofu because of the former’s unique position, according to the dragon’s inherent nature, Long Cang had to stand against the Second Claw with his own power instead!

Rumble!

Their draconic might clashed and caused a powerful tremor to spread throughout the court.

It was no surprise that Second Claw Long Baofu’s draconic might was much stronger than Long Cang’s. In addition, the latter was using his draconic might to offset the draconic might that the family suffered.

Though most of the family still remained plastered on the ground, their lives were no longer in danger.

What was even more impressive was that Long Huangdi and Long Nuhuang tried their best to take on the remaining pressure, even though their bones creaked under its unyielding weight!

Long Cang was having a hard time under the tsunamic weight of the draconic might that Long Baofu radiated, but he did his best to keep these people alive. His pride wouldn’t allow him to relent and have them die when he gave his word.

Long Baofu marched around Long Cang while the latter continued to struggle under his strength.

“You’ve grown stronger, emissary,” Long Baofu growled. He then espied the humans as he scanned them carefully.

Surprisingly, there were few humans whose only yielding was the bending of the knee. These were the likes of Long Chen, who closely followed the family head even at his lowest point.

“Trash should still be wiped out, all the same, your might is no match for mine!” Long Baofu raised a claw to kill a few members when suddenly… “Hm?”

Long Baofu was shocked to see two humans who hadn’t bent the knee even under his might.

Who else could it be but Long Huangdi and Long Nuhuang? Their bodies trembled under his weight, and their bones creaked and groaned with each shudder.

They had long brought out their cauldrons to bring out their full power. It was the only way they could bear the burden on their shoulders. What was even more surprising was the look in their eyes as they stared at Long Baofu.

Their gazes were wilful and unyielding. They refused to submit to his might! Though they couldn’t talk due to the allocation of their energy being channelled to survive, their eyes said it all.

Screw you!

Long Baofu could easily wipe them out with a wave of his claw, but it would leave a bad taste in his mouth if two humans managed to remain standing when he killed them.

“Hmph!”

Dum!

His snort brought out even more of his draconic might to force them to submit!

“Second Claw!” Long Cang was truly feeling the strain this time and his roar of anger displayed his unwillingness.

Both Long Huangdi and Long Nuhuang were both being crushed under the pressure.

“Y-You… Do you dare to kill any member of the people that the young lord has ordained to keep safe!?” Long Cang brought up one of the very few existences that Long Baofu dared to not cross.

The reminder weakened Long Baofu’s draconic might slightly as he stared at Long Cang before it came rolling back in full force.

“The young lord is rash and immature. This infatuation with the humans will certainly pass. So you should-”

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, causing him to reel back, “Courting death!”

But it was too late!

Shu!

Without warning, a streak of light flashed as a blade flew straight towards Long Baofu and struck him in the eye!

The result? His roar was legendary.

“Raaaaaarrrghh!”