Chapter 188: The Cold War (Part Three)
Chapter 188: The Cold War (Part Three)
“Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
Tang Jinbiao rode perched atop the Azure Dragon, silently repeating the word over and over in his mind.
He kept asking why, understanding there must be a reason.
He could pinpoint, unerringly, that freedom was the Azure Dragon’s weakness, its deepest desire. Yet he couldn’t offer it freedom – or rather, Tang Jinbiao dared not.
It was an impossible dilemma. No matter how he agonized over it, Tang Jinbiao couldn’t untangle his thoughts.
“Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Damn it, I want freedom!”
Likewise, the Azure Dragon screamed the word over and over within its own mind. It needed freedom now; it had endured enough.
These repeated questions proved the very absence of the thing!
The Azure Dragon lacked freedom. Its yearning ran hotter, fiercer than others’, festering into bitterness and nurturing a murderous intent.
Though man and beast seemed placid on the surface, they were locked in constant, furtive strife, each locked in a struggle, each scheming against the other.
Certainly, Tang Jinbiao held the advantage. He was aware of it; the Azure Dragon was also aware of it. Yet one crucial point eluded both of them, obscured the path to clear victory. Neither had grasped it, and so the outcome remained undecided.
The Azure Dragon hadn’t discovered it. Tang Jinbiao hadn’t realized it.
For now, the Azure Dragon’s mind focused solely on seizing freedom. Its method was to plot against Tang Jinbiao. Killing him, it reasoned, would solve everything.
Tang Jinbiao, meanwhile, schemed on how to exploit the Azure Dragon’s power. He sought maximum benefit from it, but without lifting its Seal and inviting mortal peril. Yet he couldn’t find this perfect method; he couldn’t “play this hand.” Because the Azure Dragon was clearly “showing a bad hand” – actively finding fault. Yet equally obvious, Tang Jinbiao couldn’t bear to “fold.” The Azure Dragon was plump prey he had to kill, only this prey wasn’t some harmless robe but a fierce tiger. The slightest misstep meant death.
Perhaps once, both man and dragon held kindness within them. But now, neither bore any trace of benevolence. Their eyes saw only their own interests!
The Azure Dragon craved freedom. Tang Jinbiao lusted after power!
ROAR!
An occasional demon beast’s furious roar drifted faintly from afar. Too distant for clear hearing, Tang Jinbiao only vaguely sensed it.
The distant bellow snapped Tang Jinbiao from his thoughts. He lifted his head, gazing toward the horizon. He needed a break, a moment to properly organize his mind, and plot his next move in this intricate game.
Similarly, the Azure Dragon beneath him seemed weary of pondering this insoluble problem. Distracted for a moment, it flicked its gaze towards the source of the sound.
Long ago, from that peculiar little village, Tang Jinbiao had glimpsed the distant panorama of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Back then, he saw them as vast peaks: lushly forested at their feet, snow-capped halfway up their slopes.
Now, having entered the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the difference felt staggeringly vast.
Inside the mountains, the terrain proved infinitely more complex than that distant view suggested: deep abysses, immense peaks, primordial forests, volcanic ranges, and lakes – every landscape seemed present.
Of course, years of relentless intrusion by Suzhou’s cultivators had left huge swathes of the Hundred Thousand Mountains “dead.” Apart from the surviving trees, nearly all beasts and demon beasts had either perished or fled for their lives.
Turning back now, Tang Jinbiao lifted his head, peering towards the direction Captain Wang had fled.
Captain Wang had fled deep into the Hundred Thousand Mountains, making straight for those towering snow-capped mountains.
“I wonder what lies beyond those mountains?”
Staring at the distant, towering snowy peaks, a feeling of insignificance washed over Tang Jinbiao, yet it mingled with intense longing.
“They say nearly every demon beast left in the Hundred Thousand Mountains is driven deep into those snowy ranges. Perhaps I could slip in during the chaos… find some gains of my own.”
Tang Jinbiao began formulating plans for the journey ahead.
He had come to the Hundred Thousand Mountains for refuge and to search for Tang Yilin, while also hoping to hunt demon beasts and temper his will and cultivation level.
Tang Yilin was finally seen. Though the outcome held surprises, yet it was not unexpected.
From the moment he’d heard the Tang Family’s annihilation and learned Tang Yilin had become a Nascent Soul Cultivator,
he’d already guessed parts of the truth.
But he’d never held deep ties to the Tang Family,
so revenge or such matters held no appeal.
What truly concerned him were those closest—friends and family.
His father. His mother. His younger brother. His friends!
“Ah—freedom!”
Staring at the distant snow-capped mountains, Tang Jinbiao’s eyes snapped open as if struck by sudden clarity.
He murmured inwardly: “Freedom, freedom, freedom! So that’s it! So that’s it!”
Thunk!
Suddenly, the Azure Dragon beneath him tensed, sensing something amiss.
Its body trembled slightly. “Dammit!” it cursed inwardly. “How could the old man forget the most crucial detail?!
Dammit… but luckily this brat hasn’t caught on yet. No—I absolutely can’t pressure him further now.
If he discovers this secret… my whole existence is doomed!
I must act utterly loyal immediately—or everything’s over!
Gods, freedom blinded me! I missed it completely!”
Boom—!
A fearsome aura erupted from the Azure Dragon, twice as powerful as before.
“Master, hold tight! That wretched Captain Wang up ahead is weakening!”
It called to Tang Jinbiao in a servile tone. “This humble one will carry you to him at once!”
Whoosh!
Its speed surged, accelerating by half as it transformed into a streak of gold-white light.
They raced through the mist after Captain Wang’s flickering figure.
“Heh… caught on, have you?”
As the dragon accelerated, a cold smirk touched Tang Jinbiao’s lips.
He’d been trapped in the dilemma of whether to lift the Restriction or not,
forgetting his position as master—that he held life-and-death authority over this dragon.
Seeing those mountains earlier had reminded him: all Demon Beasts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains
were driven deep into the snows, unable to leave. Imprisoned. Stripped of freedom.
For those beasts, their cage wasn’t the endless ice—but the Cultivators surrounding it.
The peaks were merely a cell; the true shackles lay beyond.
Similarly, Tang Jinbiao had fixated solely on whether to remove the Barrier or not.
It was like debating a prisoner’s cell:
Should it be larger? Or smaller?
Too small, and the inmate might languish, sickened by confinement.
Too spacious, and they’d grow unruly, sowing future peril.
But that wasn’t the core.
The true linchpin was the shackle itself.
Whether the cell spanned acres or inches—if chained, one remained a prisoner.
Trapped. Robbed of liberty.
Without chains? Even a ten-foot square cell felt like paradise.
One’s heart’s destination. Where true freedom resided.
So the cell’s size meant nothing. Only the shackle mattered.
And this Azure Dragon bore seven layers of Restriction planted by Huang Biaozi.
Until Tang Jinbiao dissolved them all—at once—this dragon remained his slave.
Forever unfree.
Even if it killed Tang Jinbiao, it still couldn’t break these bonds.
Or slay Huang Biaozi. Eternally captive.
“Heh… All that struggle over releasing his Barrier—
How utterly absurd, now that I see it.”
Tang Jinbiao flashed a bitter smile as they closed in on Captain Wang.
He shook his head helplessly.
“Haah… To think the ever-mighty Azure Dragon falls so low—
Pitiful. Lamentable. Tragic.”
Below him, having also grasped the truth, the dragon sped onward gloomily.
Its heart filled with despair—wishing, almost, for death.
As soon as he thought of this, Azure Dragon’s speed involuntarily slowed down again.
Having toiled hard only to find it ridiculous like a clownish joke, anyone would feel disappointed and hopeless.
In fact, Tang Jinbiao did not realize how simple the bond between him and Azure Dragon was; he had no need to deliberately study the Six-Syllable Mantra, just speaking out this fact was the greatest “strike” for Azure Dragon!
This “strike” was a setup Huang Biaozi arranged for Tang Jinbiao, otherwise Huang Biaozi couldn’t have so confidently left Tang Jinbiao alone with such a bomb by his side.
Sometimes, one doesn’t need to strike deliberately; simply revealing the fact the other fears most is enough!
“Cough, Ah Huang!”
Tang Jinbiao seemed to also sense Azure Dragon’s sorrow, feeling slightly disappointed in his heart.
That emotion was terrifying; though he hadn’t experienced it himself, he could feel it.
“Hmm!”
Azure Dragon responded faintly, looking as if his grief surpassed death itself; he somewhat resigned himself to fate, thinking it was all the same—killing Tang Jinbiao would change nothing, as he’d still be sealed by others in the end.
Tang Jinbiao gently petted the head of the Big Yellow Dog that Azure Dragon had transformed into, smoothing the fur on its head and back, and with a twinge of sympathy in his heart, he said: “Ah Huang, whether you were once the Demon Emperor or Azure Dragon, from now on, you are my Ah Huang, stay by my side. If I reach my dying moments, I promise to lift the Divine Confinement Seal on you. Or one day, if I feel my Cultivation Level can surpass yours, I will also lift your Divine Confinement Seal. In exchange, when I face danger, you must help me with all your might. Otherwise, if I die, never mind whether Huang Biaozi troubles you, it would be a catastrophe for you too—because you’d have no future forever! I admit, erasing a Cultivator’s future is dreadful, so I urge you to think it over carefully!”
Tang Jinbiao did not know that these words of his just happened to be the “rising” stratagem—first bringing despair, then offering hope. Naturally, his words came sincerely from his heart, and he had no cheating intent at all.
But the truth was, he used rising and cheating together, pulling off a brilliant swindle!
If Huang Biaozi had witnessed this scene, he would have yelled: “Kid, you’re a heaven-sent genius! Right out the gate, it shows hints of the second step—I clearly didn’t misjudge you!”
“Hmm, Ah Huang understands, thank you for your promise, master! Ah Huang admits, before it was Ah Huang’s fault, Ah Huang shouldn’t have schemed against master secretly, it was wrong, please punish me, master!”
Hearing Tang Jinbiao’s words, Azure Dragon felt moved and grateful as he spoke.
“I know you crave freedom. Forget punishment for now; ah, let’s not dwell on this. I’ll honor my promise to you. For now, we must catch up to that person ahead. I have some disputes with him, and I’ll question him shortly. You keep watch nearby for me!”
Tang Jinbiao seemed unwilling to fuss over the issue further and spoke up.
Tang Jinbiao did not even realize that these words were exactly the “selling” stratagem, and he sold it brilliantly—with grace and precision.
“Hmm, master’s immense kindness, this humble one will repay it fully! I’ll spare no effort to help master achieve the supreme path!”
Ah Huang’s large dog head kept nodding repeatedly, looking deeply grateful, tears streaming down from his eyes.
Swish!
After saying this, as if to prove his loyalty, Ah Huang’s aura intensified fiercely, and his speed involuntarily shot up, nearly twice as fast as before.
The distance between Tang Jinbiao and Captain Wang had already been shrinking; now with Ah Huang going all out, Captain Wang’s dark figure gradually started coming into view.
“Hehe, the Six-Syllable Mantra?” Gazing as the gap to Captain Wang narrowed, unnoticed by Ah Huang, a smug sneer turned up Tang Jinbiao’s lips, his eyes squinted slightly, and he chuckled inwardly…