“N-no, no, no! My young friend, you’re joking. I’ll be the fly, of course. I’ll do it.”
“And hey, my young friend, take a look at this.”
A small bottle suddenly appeared in the old man’s hand.
A delicate, refreshing fragrance drifted out of the bottle.
“It smells so good, meow!”
Even the White Tiger in the distance could smell it, let alone Xiaobai.
“Old man, what’s that?” Xiaobai asked.
Seeing that Xiaobai’s attention had been caught by his little bottle, the old man let out a long breath of relief.
That stupid dragon’s fault. He’d nearly gotten himself killed just now.
“This is Frostspirit Ice Spring. Simply put, it perks you up and gives you a ton of energy...”
“Wait...”
“Glug, glug~”
Ignoring the old man’s protests, Xiaobai snatched the bottle, tipped back his head, and downed the whole thing.
“Ah~ That hit the spot! Old man, got any more?”
Xiaobai downed all the Ice Spring in one go. A refreshing coolness washed over him, and his whole presence changed in an instant.
“M-monster...”
The old man stared at Xiaobai with eyes wide open, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“Old man, what did you say?” Xiaobai asked, puzzled.
“M-my young friend... was... it good?”
The old man’s lips were trembling.
“It was great! Cool and sweet!”
“M-my young friend... each drop of this Ice Spring contains energy equivalent to a nine-star ice-type Forbidden Spell. Even I have to dilute a single drop with water when I drink it. Y-you just downed the whole bottle? Is anything hurting? Tell me right away. It’s all right, don’t be shy.”
Things had taken a turn so startling that even the old man was freaked out.
“Nope. I feel a lot lighter all over. Even the aftereffects of that teleportation array are gone.”
Xiaobai said it as if it were nothing.
“And old man, if this Ice Spring works so well, why didn’t you give it to me before we used the teleportation array? Were you doing it on purpose?”
“Uh... well... maybe I was so excited because we were about to use the teleportation array that I forgot...”
......
“All right, old man. Now let’s talk about compensation.” Xiaobai beckoned him over.
“Fine, fine. Sigh...”
The old man sighed and accepted his fate. What was coming was coming.
He flicked his sleeve.
Suddenly, a mountain of swords appeared to Xiaobai’s right...
“Whoa!” Xiaobai exclaimed.
There were all kinds of swords: long and short, big and small, light and heavy.
“This one won’t do.”
The old man ran over, picked up a sword, looked it over, and tossed it aside.
“This one won’t do either.”
He picked up another sword, looked it over, and tossed it aside.
“Sigh, I don’t think I have any swords better than those seven holy swords...”
The old man tilted his head back and looked at the sky.
He gritted his teeth and flicked his sleeve.
In the blink of an eye, a pile of defensive magic devices appeared to Xiaobai’s left.
The old man went over and rummaged through them for a long while before finding the most powerful defensive device.
“Clap~”
He channeled his power, and a barrier appeared.
The barrier glowed a bright yellow.
“This...”
The old man carefully looked Xiaobai up and down, then examined the barrier in front of him.
“Crack~”
He struck it hard, and the barrier shattered.
“Sigh.”
The old man sighed.
“As I thought. A Saint Rank barrier can’t block a single strike from someone at God Rank.”
“Um... my young friend, I...”
The old man walked over to Xiaobai helplessly and began to speak.
“Well, my young friend, I don’t think anything I own is good enough for you.”
“What?” Xiaobai asked, confused.
“Here’s the thing, my young friend. I just looked through my things and realized you don’t need any of them.”
“Look, your defense is practically invincible. I attacked you so fiercely earlier, and you were completely unharmed. But when I just gave that barrier a serious slap, the one made by my strongest Saint Rank defensive magic device, it shattered instantly.”
“Your attack is invincible too, my young friend. That little dragon said it himself: your old man here is still a Dragon God, even if I’m nowhere near as strong as I was in my prime, in dragon form. But you only used forty percent of your strength, and one slap nearly knocked the life out of me.”
“And you’ve got that strange black sword, too. Those seven holy swords of mine were forged by that guy Will. It’s possible he gave me seven fake holy swords, sure, but your black sword is definitely high-rank. Anyway, none of the swords in this whole pile is better than yours.”
“And then there’s that little bottle of Frostspirit Ice Spring. It looks like it’s for keeping you alert, but it actually boosts your mental energy. I don’t know what’s going on with your stomach, my young friend, but drinking that whole bottle means your mental energy must be off the charts. Dark magic and the like won’t have any effect on you at all.”
“So, no matter how you look at it, my young friend, you’re already invincible. You can do whatever you want in this world.”
“So what could you possibly still need?”
After saying all that, the old Dragon God suddenly felt several tens of thousands of years older... He was so pathetic. Compared to the person in front of him, he was nothing but a speck of dust.
“Oh, right. Then...”
“Grr?”
A familiar sound—one that hadn’t been heard in a long time—answered the old Dragon God’s question.
“I’ve lost count of how many days it’s been since I last ate. I only just drank that little bottle of Ice Spring. Old man, do you have anything to eat?” Xiaobai asked.
The old Dragon God’s mouth twitched...
“My young friend, once you reach God Rank, the truth is, you don’t really need to eat...”
“How could I not eat? Eating is my life’s pursuit. It’s in my bones! You can go without food if you want, but if I did, what would be the difference between me and a salted fish?”
Xiaobai reacted passionately.
“...”
The old Dragon God had nothing to say. He shook his head. Xiaobai made a good point, and there was no way to argue with it.
“All right, old man. I’ll take your word for it and forget about the things that won’t do. I just want to ask you something. Let’s count that as my compensation.”
“Sure, my young friend. What is it?”
“Old man, I’ve been watching you flick your sleeve, and all those things go whooshing out, piling up into a whole mountain. It’s amazing! Teach me how to do that. It looks so cool.”
Xiaobai’s eyes sparkled.
“Sigh, I thought you were going to ask for something serious. That’s all?”
Though that was what the old Dragon God said, in his heart, this “method” was his most precious treasure.
The old Dragon God hesitated for a moment, but then gritted his teeth. A jade bangle appeared in his palm.
“Here, my young friend.”
The old Dragon God handed the bangle to Xiaobai.
“???”
“Old man, how do I use this thing?”
Xiaobai pinched the bangle between his fingers and looked it over from every angle, but couldn’t figure it out.
What an idiot... the old man thought as he watched Xiaobai.
But he kept a kindly smile on his face.
“My young friend, channel a little of your consciousness into it, then keep part of your mind focused on this ‘mountain of swords.’ Guide it with your consciousness to any spot inside.” The old man carefully explained.
“Thump~”
Xiaobai sent his consciousness inside.
“Whoa, this space is huge. It’s practically a world of its own.”
He focused his mind again and followed the old man’s instructions.
“Whoosh~”
The old Dragon God’s “mountain of swords” instantly appeared inside the space.
“Mm-hmm, that’s easy.”
He withdrew his consciousness.
“So, my young friend, how is it?” the old Dragon God asked.
“Pretty great.”
Xiaobai nodded, satisfied.
He had a thought.
“Whoosh~”
The “mountain of swords” appeared in front of him again.
Though it was only his second time using it, he moved quickly and completed the whole process in one smooth motion. Perfect.
“No wonder my dear Master always acted so secretive when he took things out.”
Xiaobai muttered.
“So he had good stuff and didn’t want me to see it.”
◇
It was time to leave again.
“Old man, I’ve had a really good time lately. This is a great place. I’ll come back when I get the chance.”
Xiaobai adjusted the bangle and turned to face the Dragon God.
“Heh heh, I’m glad you had a good time, my young friend. Have a safe trip. You’re always welcome to visit.”
The Dragon God wore a smile on the outside, but inside he was cursing up a storm.
Just get the hell out of here already!
If you’re leaving, then leave! Why all the extra chatter?!
Once you’re gone, I’m making a run for it too.
Otherwise, you might come back one day, get bored, and decide to pick a fight with me or something. I don’t have enough lives to keep playing with you.
“Kitty?”
Xiaobai beckoned to the White Tiger.
“Meow~ Master, are you done talking?”
“All right, all right. It’s time for us to go.”
“Yes, meow.”
The human and the cat weren’t reluctant to leave at all. They turned and headed into the distance.
◇
Just as Xiaobai was about to disappear from view...
“Flick~”
The old Dragon God suddenly flicked a finger. A streak of golden light shot from it straight toward Xiaobai.
“Smack~”
The golden light sank straight into Xiaobai’s body.
“Old man, is something wrong?” Xiaobai hadn’t noticed anything unusual about himself. He’d only felt something tap him from behind, so he turned and asked.
“Oh, no, no, nothing at all. I just wanted to say goodbye to you once more, my young friend. Have a good trip! Heh heh heh.” The old man waved awkwardly, trying to play it off.
“Okay. Goodbye, old man,” Xiaobai said without a hint of suspicion.
“Goodbye, mean old man, meow~” The White Tiger waved one little paw.
“...”
◇
Not long after the human and cat had left...
“Huff~” “Huff~”
A dark figure hurried over.
“S-senior, why did you give... him that thing? Why not give it to me?”
“Whack~”
“Give it to you? I’ll give you a damn hammer! What use would it be to someone as weak as you? And your brains... honestly, how did I never realize you were this stupid?”
A gigantic dragon claw appeared above the dark figure and slammed down.
The Black Sacred Dragon Emperor was driven straight into the ground, leaving a huge crater.
“That thing may not be suited to him, but it’s better that he has it. The hope rests with him now. This old geezer’s past his prime... The world of the future will probably revolve around him...”
The old Dragon God suddenly said something cryptic, his expression turning serious.
“S-senior?”
The Black Sacred Dragon Emperor climbed out of the crater and stared at his Dragon God senior in confusion.
“Whack~”
Another blow landed, and the mood changed in an instant.
The Black Sacred Dragon Emperor, who’d just climbed out of the crater, was smacked right back in.
“Don’t ‘senior’ me! Get back to training. You’re complete trash—you’re making me look bad.”
“S-senior... weren’t you... shaking in fear just now, too?”
A timid voice came from the crater. It was quiet, but perfectly clear.
“Oh? What did you just say?!”
A gigantic dragon-shaped claw suddenly appeared above the crater.
“WHAM!!!”
The earth trembled, and the crater grew even deeper.
