Chapter 55: The Dragon’s Roar from Azure Dragon Pool

Time slipped by day after day, and in the blink of an eye, another month passed.

Only one month remained until the arrival of the Divine Wind Academy’s admission Instructors.

Tang Jinbiao also had only one short month left with the Tang Family.

During these two months since the competition, Tang Hu, Tang Bi, and the others would often find reasons to visit Tang Jinbiao.

In those short two months, their bond had deepened to a state akin to brothers.

On this particular day, just as dawn broke, Tang Bi and the others arrived outside Tang Jinbiao’s door.

As for training, after Huang Biaozi left, Tang Jinbiao had completely forgotten about it.

Or rather, one could say, training was so exhausting—screw that, anyone who loved grinding could grind away, he wasn’t doing it!

And currently, riding high on his victory, he was feeling extremely lofty!

“Brother Biao!”

Tang Hu and the others whispered softly, leaning against the door and calling into the room.

“Wah!”

A good, long while later—nearly a quarter of an hour—Tang Jinbiao let out a noisy yawn.

Finally bleary-eyed, he opened the door, rubbed his eyes, and asked, “Ah Hu, Ah Bi? What’s going on?”

Tang Hu and the others glanced cautiously around, ensuring no one else was present.

They made urgent, quieting gestures, then tiptoed one after another into Tang Jinbiao’s room.

“Huh? What is it?”

Seeing them behave this way only deepened Tang Jinbiao’s confusion.

“Shh! Brother Biao, we’ve discovered a huge secret!”

Tang Hu pressed a finger to his lips, still looking rather nervous.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Brother Biao, this time it must be a huge secret, definitely not like peeking on girls bathing!”

Tang Bi nodded along emphatically, chiming in.

“Right, right, right! Brother Biao, this time it’s a huge secret for sure, absolutely not like sneaking to eat Old Sun’s dog meat stew!”

The youngest, Tang Bu, also nodded vigorously, desperate to forestall any doubt from Tang Jinbiao.

“Haha… Haha… Ow!”

“Hah your sister! Keep it down!”

“And stop giggling like an idiot all the time!”

The last one, Tang Xing, seemed about to burst into loud laughter, but was instantly met with punches from Tang Bi and the others.

Within just these few sentences, the four had managed to reveal a tiny fraction of the “glorious exploits” they’d been up to in recent times.

“Oh? What is it then? Tell me!”

Tang Jinbiao happened to be bored and was actually somewhat intrigued.

“A cave dwelling! We found a cave dwelling!”

Tang Hu declared, speaking first.

“Mhmm! Brother Biao, we found a cave dwelling… and it’s not an ordinary one!”

Tang Bi’s eyes flickered craftily as he quickly added.

“Yep! Brother Biao, we found a cave dwelling… and it’s absolutely, totally not just any cave dwelling!”

The youngest Tang Bu paused momentarily, then promptly echoed.

“Haha… Hah… Ow!”

“Ha your sis, be quiet!”

“Stop laughing like an idiot every time you talk next time!”

Just as Tang Xing was about to speak, he got beaten by the others again.

“I…”

Tang Jinbiao was speechless. He was almost at his wit’s end with this bunch of bizarre friends. Each of the four had their problems.

Tang Hu had the highest cultivation level – Body Refining Second Rank (Advanced). Yet, he was deeply insecure and clumsy. With such cultivation, he still couldn’t defeat a Qi Condensation cultivator. Tang Hu, however, was also the most diligent, training religiously every day. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have achieved a cultivation level that put countless others to shame at just fifteen or sixteen, especially as a Body Refiner.

Tang Bi, next to Tang Jinbiao, appeared the most brawny among them. While everyone else was a head shorter than Tang Jinbiao, only Tang Bi was almost as tall. But he was a bit peculiar too. Yes, that was him! The one with the “God-Slaying Gaze”!

As for Tang Bu, being younger and having lower cultivation, he didn’t stand out much among them. He was just a bit cowardly, otherwise, nothing particularly special.

And then there was Tang Xing, who, whether out of habit or some quirk, always let out three big laughs before speaking, as if that made him seem classier and more imposing. But lately, the others were getting fed up with that laughter. Every time he laughed, they beat him. Tang Xing was also overly confident, acted without thinking, charging ahead recklessly on sheer impulse.

“Ah Hu, you explain!”

To get to the bottom of things, Tang Jinbiao decided to let Tang Hu speak alone.

“Um, Brother Biao, it’s like this. We haven’t come to see you these past few days, right?”

Tang Hu kept looking around cautiously, radiating high alertness.

Hyper-vigilant, overly sensitive – this was another of Tang Hu’s peculiarities. Whether it was good or bad remained unclear.

“Huh? I was starting to think you punks had forgotten your Brother Biao! Speak, what have you lot been up to these days?”

Tang Jinbiao suddenly realized that Tang Hu and the others hadn’t come looking for him in nearly three or four days.

“Brother Biao, we could never forget you!”

“Brother Biao, we’ll remember your great kindness forever!”

“Brother Biao, you’re like a second parent to us!”

“Ha… ha… ah!”

“Ha your sis, I told you to be quiet!”

“Stop snickering like that when you talk next time!”

Hearing Tang Jinbiao’s words, the group immediately put on expressions of utmost loyalty.

“Alright, alright, cut the nonsense! Get to the point!”

Tang Jinbiao felt somewhat helpless. He wondered why he had to end up with such oddballs. Yet, hearing “Brother Biao” repeatedly from them left and right, he still felt incredibly pleased.

Tang Hu continued, “Um, yes, the point! Actually, Brother Biao, while we were gone these days, we were out exploring!”

“Oh? Exploring?”

Tang Jinbiao furrowed his brow slightly, asking with some confusion.

“Mhm, yes, exploring! That afternoon, Ah Bi, me, and the others were bored. We decided to go to the Back Hill to find some game for a treat. Guess what happened?”

Tang Hu spoke mysteriously.

Smack!

“Ah!”

“Don’t fucking guess! Just tell me already, quit wasting my goddamn time!”

Tang Jinbiao couldn’t hold back any longer. He smacked Tang Hu directly and spoke with impatience.

“Brother Biao, I’ll never believe in love again!”

Tang Hu sniffled miserably, muttering with a look of profound sorrow.

“Hmm?”

Tang Jinbiao raised his hand threateningly, his eyes bulging. Tang Hu immediately wilted.

“Alright, alright! I’ll tell, I’ll tell! I’ll spill it, okay?”

Tang Hu hurriedly took two steps back, nodding repeatedly like a pecking chick.

“Good, much better then.”

A look of satisfaction spread across Tang Jinbiao’s face. Clearly, he felt this was an achievement.

Tang Hu began: “Well, here’s what happened. That day, Tang Bi and a few of us headed to the Back Hill. We searched for ages, but didn’t come across any wild game at all. So, since we were bored and the weather was scorching, we decided to go for a swim in the river. That’s what we ended up doing!”

Tang Jinbiao couldn’t help but roll his eyes internally. No shit! I’ve been training out there forever, and damn it, never saw any wild game either. If there was any, I’d have eaten it all long ago. Wouldn’t leave any for you lot!

Tang Hu continued: “We were swimming. After swimming for a while, it got boring. Tang Bi suggested we swim downstream along the river to see where it ended up. I said right then, ‘Ah Bi, that’s pointless! The water here definitely flows into the Azure Dragon Pool a hundred miles away. What’s there to see?'”

“Yeah, Brother Biao, that’s exactly what happened.”

Tang Bi, standing nearby, nodded vigorously in agreement with Tang Hu’s words.

Tang Hu continued his story: “So, since everyone was free anyway, we just swam along with the current. We thought a hundred miles would only take us two or three hours. Didn’t expect swimming to be so slow! Even going with the flow, it took us a full five hours! It was nearly dark by the time we saw the Azure Dragon Pool in the distance. Of course, we didn’t dare swim any further once darkness fell. The family Elders always said that after dark, Demon Beasts come out in that Azure Dragon Pool. So, we had to get out and walk along the riverbank. By the time we reached the edge of the Azure Dragon Pool, it was pitch black. They call it a pool, but it’s anything but small – easily ten miles wide! Stretched out so far you couldn’t see the other shore. And then, under the cover of night, we saw it: right in the middle of the lake, something seemed to be glowing, like it was about to burst out of the water!”

“What? There are Demon Beasts in that lake?”

Tang Jinbiao was slightly shocked. He had heard some rumors about the Azure Dragon Pool, but hadn’t quite believed them.

The lore said that late at night, a Dragon’s Roar would emanate from the Azure Dragon Pool. It was rumored that countless years ago, an Azure Dragon had fallen into it, its soul transforming into a vengeful spirit unable to rest. Supposedly, its Dragon roar echoed only in the dead of night.

Tang Jinbiao naturally dismissed this legend. The mighty Tang Family occupied these lands! If there truly was a dragon spirit causing trouble inside – even a true dragon – the family Elders would surely have captured it long ago. He’d dismissed it as nonsense.

Tang Hu shook his head, rejecting Tang Jinbiao’s immediate thought. “No, probably not a Demon Beast. We only saw a glow and heard a Dragon’s Roar. Didn’t spot any trace of an actual creature. Besides, if there really were a Demon Beast, the family Elders would have been over there destroying it in no time. We were curious, but scared. We just stayed put and waited until dawn. When morning came, the glow slowly faded, and the sounds stopped entirely. As soon as it was light, Tang Bi and I, driven by curiosity, decided to swim over and investigate. But, obviously, when we got there… nothing. Everything was completely ordinary, totally unremarkable. It was baffling. So we swam back to shore and sat down again, waiting for night to fall.”

“You saw it again?”

Tang Jinbiao’s interest was genuinely piqued now.

“Yep, we saw it again! Once darkness descended, that dim glow reappeared! And along with it, those deep Dragon Roars started up again. More than anything, we wanted to check it out under cover of night. But… we just didn’t dare. So we gritted our teeth and rushed back in the dark. We slept for a bit, and now we’re here to ask you, Brother Biao, to come with us and have a look. There’s no way we few could handle it alone. But with Brother Biao leading us? Definitely possible! Who knows, it might be some kind of hidden treasure! If it really is treasure, we’re set for life! Brother Biao, you know the situation! After that last competition where you ran that betting pool on Tang Yilin stripping… didn’t you lose a huge pile of money? The losers might not dare hassle you, but us few have been screwed!”

Tang Hu’s explanation inevitably circled back to the incident. Tang Jinbiao had run a betting pool during Tang Yilin’s last fight, and it had been a financial disaster. Those who’d lost their bets had forcefully snatched their Storage Pouches back. The few winners chased Tang Hu and his friends relentlessly for their winnings. That was the real reason Tang Hu and the others had clung to Tang Jinbiao like shadows recently. Being near Brother Biao deterred the harassers; the impact of Jinbiao’s actions, even after Tang Yilin had nearly beaten him to a pulp, still carried weight. The crowd had stubbornly concluded Tang Yilin and Tang Jinbiao had colluded in a rigged betting scheme. Some even whispered they were a couple, gnashing their teeth in resentment together. Tang Yilin’s reputation had consequently plummeted during this period. Though she probably hated Tang Jinbiao enough to kill him, she too avoided confrontation, fearing further scandal. Therefore, Tang Hu and his mates had undoubtedly endured the worst of it.

“What?”

The moment Tang Jinbiao heard the word “treasure,” a brilliant light instantly ignited in his eyes…