Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251

by Translator: Yeow

  Although Qin Lian had injured the Wang brothers previously, she had failed to finish the job. Hence, the brothers were still a potential threat.

  Mu Youlan had arrived a little later, but she had yet to show herself, evidently intending to keep her presence secret. This was a precaution by the Tianyuan Region's higher-ups to prevent Qin Lian from falling into a trap. After all, as one of their Heavenly Sun trump cards, her loss would definitely be a substantial blow to their morale.

  Qin Lian’s gaze scanned the surroundings. It had already been several days since Zhou Yuan had entered the Heavenly Fire Ancient Forest, but she had yet to receive any news of him. No one knew his current situation.

  Mu Youlan blinked and remarked, “You’ve sacrificed a lot to draw fire for Zhou Yuan.”

  Qin Lian had not only arrived at the frontlines, but she had even conducted a ferocious assault on the enemy. The resulting commotion had not been small.

  Qin Lian sighed softly. “He is special. We cannot let anything happen to him. Drawing over the majority of the intermediate and advanced Heavenly Sun stage experts will make his situation safer.”

  Although she was very troubled by Zhou Yuan’s recklessness, Qin Lian was someone who could see the big picture. Zhou Yuan’s status was far too special. The consequences would be far worse if something happened to him instead of her.

  Mu Youlan frowned a little. She did not particularly dislike Zhou Yuan. It was, of course, mostly because he was the personal disciple of the supreme sovereign. After all, she was also considered an extremely outstanding heaven pride in the Tianyuan Region, but even so, she had not garnered any interest from the supreme sovereign. To suddenly have someone like that appear out of nowhere was not easy to accept.

  Although she did not like him, she did not allow this dislike to turn into anything worse. She merely maintained an indifferent attitude towards Zhou Yuan.

  Zhou Yuan’s reckless actions had substantially deteriorated her impression of him. Although she could not deny his talent, such ignorance was hard to like.

  The mess he caused had to be cleaned up by others. This was not the character a supreme sovereign’s personal disciple should have.

  Grand elders Zhu Zhuan and Chi Jing had never done such things. Their dazzling battle accomplishments had subdued every person who had once doubted them in the Tianyuan Region.

  Qin Lian did not say anything about Zhou Yuan as her eyes continued to scan the surroundings. Blasts of Genesis Qi would occasionally erupt around them. It was a sign of battle and the gradual advance of the Tianyuan Region’s battle line.

  However, Qin Lian frowned a little. She asked Mu Youlan, “Do you feel that the enemy’s battle line is somewhat weak…”

  They had never achieved such progress previously. The enemy’s defensive line seemed to have grown weaker.

  Mu Youlan was silent for a moment before she nodded in agreement. “It has indeed grown much thinner.”

  “What’s going on?” The two young ladies exchanged a glance, both somewhat puzzled. The five top-tier factions had been pushing hard for the past few months, so why had they suddenly relaxed their efforts?

  Qin Lian pursed her lips. She could not explain why, but she felt a little uneasy.

  There was definitely more to this than met the eye.

  Woo!

  A signal suddenly sounded behind them from the headquarters, and a strange sound was transmitted into Qin Lian’s and Mu Youlan’s ears.

  “Oh?” Qin Lian turned around in confusion. Headquarters was calling her back.

  “Let’s go find out what happened.” Qin Lian’s figure swooped down from the sky like a sparrow, shooting towards a certain location behind her.

  Mu Youlan’s petite figure seemed to merge into the tree. One would faintly see light flickering and jumping between numerous trees.

  The two young ladies were extremely quick. Several minutes later, an enormous camp appeared in the forest. Genesis Rune boundaries enveloped the camp as sharp gazes swept the surroundings. It was a tightly guarded place.

  The two young ladies descended towards the camp's center where several Heavenly Sun experts were already gathered.

  Qin Lian immediately looked towards Li Qingyue and the others. “What happened?”

  Li Qingyue and the other Heavenly Sun experts shook their heads before pointing towards Yu Qiushui, Ye Bingling and the others at the center. “They suddenly rushed here and said they have something important to report. We tried to ask them, but they said to wait till you arrived.”

  Li Qingshan displayed an amused smile as he continued, “If memory serves me right, they should be the team members Zhou Yuan recruited. Could something have happened to Zhou Yuan, and he now needs saving?”

  These words drew laughter from several Heavenly Sun experts. If it was true, the face won by their ‘Little Grand Elder’ in the nine regions tournament would be completely lost.

  Qin Lian’s eyes widened. Soon after, she swept an icy glance across the place.

  The laughter immediately stopped.

  Anyone could see that Qin Lian was very influential and intimidating to the numerous Tianyuan Region Heavenly Sun experts.

  “Zhou Yuan’s identity will not change no matter how envious you guys are. If something does happen to him, it will greatly affect our Tianyuan Region,” Qin Lian scolded in an icy voice.

  She then looked towards Yi Qiushui and the others. They were still catching their breaths due to rushing here and had exceptionally grave expressions. Qin Lian’s heart could not help but sink a little. Had something really happened to Zhou Yuan?

  “Did something happen to Zhou Yuan?” she asked in a slightly downcast voice.

  Yi Qiushui looked at Qin Lian and answered without beating about the bush, “Zhou Yuan is fine. He told us to rush here to deliver some urgent news. The Great Five Alliance Army has found the Heavenly Fire Tree King, and they are currently making use of its power to strengthen the entire Chiyun Prefecture battle line. Once they succeed, their power will soar, allowing them to tear through the battlefront.”

  The surroundings turned deathly silent.

  Even Qin Lian’s pupils abruptly shrank as her expression changed drastically.

  After a brief shock, Li Qingyue sternly shouted, “What nonsense! Even grand elder Mu Ni failed to find the Heavenly Fire Tree King. How could the Great Five Alliance Army have found it?!

  “Does Zhou Yuan understand the consequences of irresponsibly giving information that will disturb the hearts of the soldiers?!”

  The others returned to their senses and voiced their agreement one after another. The news brought by Yi Qiushui was far too alarming. After all, the Heavenly Fire Tree King existed only in legend and had only been mentioned by supreme sovereign Cang Yuan long ago. Such a mythical creature was extremely adept at hiding, and even grand elder Mu Ni’s personal efforts had failed to discover it.

  Grand elder Mu Ni was someone with extremely high affinity with plants, and even she could not sense the Heavenly Fire Tree King. How could the Law Domain experts of the Great Five Alliance Army be better than her in this aspect?

  Everyone refused to believe it.

  “How did you obtain this information?” asked Mu Youlan with doubt in her eyes. Grand elder Mu Ni was someone she greatly respected and admired. How could the Five Great Alliance Army succeed at something that even grand elder Mu Ni failed to do?

  Moreover, how had Zhou Yuan obtained such important information?

  Yi Qiushui calmly answered, “Zhou Yuan captured the target he accepted from the bounty list, Cao Xiao, and obtained the information from his mouth.”

  These words instantly caused another commotion.

  Disbelief appeared in the eyes of numerous Heavenly Sun experts. Zhou Yuan had captured Cao Xiao?

  That was an expert at the intermediate purple-gold Heavenly Sun stage!

  Even among the Heavenly Sun experts present, several would be at a disadvantage against Cao Xiao.

&n
bsp; Was Zhou Yuan, an initial heavenly Sun stage expert, really so strong?

  They were not the only ones. Even Qin Lian and Mu Youlan were stunned, bewilderment coloring their eyes.

  It was not impossible for someone to defeat an opponent of a higher cultivation stage within the Heavenly Sun stage. However, this feat was mostly applicable to practitioners of lower grade Heavenly Suns such as the ordinary and snow-silver grades. Triumphing over a purple-gold Heavenly Sun practitioner was an exceedingly difficult task even for an initial glass Heavenly Sun stage expert.

  Li Qingyue’s face twitched. He displayed a superficial smile and said, “Could you guys have gotten the wrong person?”

  Yi Qiushui glanced at him and waved her hand. Han Yuan and the others threw out something that had been tightly bound by scarlet-red tree branches. Genesis Qi surged out, breaking the branches, and the object turned into a human figure as it crashed into the ground.

  “This is Cao Xiao. I believe someone here must have fought him before and should be able to recognize him.”

  The expression of several Heavenly Sun experts present changed slightly as whispers spread. They had already identified that this person was indeed Cao Xiao.

  The expression of numerous Heavenly Sun experts changed. Zhou Yuan had really captured Cao Xiao?

  Yi Qiushui indifferently said, “Of the three targets Zhou Yuan accepted, Zhang Zihao was killed in a single punch, while Cao Xiao was originally about to be killed but had lost his courage at the last moment and spilled this secret.”

  The surroundings fell silent again.

  Numerous Heavenly Sun experts could not help but gasp inwardly, traces of shock in their eyes.

  Killing Zhang Zihao in a single punch and capturing Cao Xiao alive...

  Was he still an initial Heavenly Sun stage expert?!

  Even Qin Lian and Mu Youlan looked at each other, seeing the astonishment in the other’s eyes.

  Was Zhou Yuan actually so strong?

  Chapter 1018 Trouble

  At a certain location in the Heavenly Fire Ancient Forest.

  Zhou Yuan’s figure was hidden within a shadow. He looked through the foliage and saw a defensive line that stretched to the ends of his sight. Teams consisting of Heavenly Sun experts constantly patrolled the area. This place was very close to the Great Five Alliance Chiyun Prefecture headquarters.

  He could even faintly sense several powerful and concealed presences deep inside.

  They were likely enemy Nascent Source experts.

  However, Zhou Yuan was not worried. He had the Celestial Shadow Art, a high-level concealment technique, and most importantly, the Heavenly Punishment Saint Rune. The five-foot Law Domain could fully hide his presence, and even Nascent Source experts would be hard-pressed to discover any traces of him.

  The only problem would be if a Law Domain expert was present.

  However, this was very unlikely because the enemy Law Domain experts were being closely watched by his senior sister Chi Jing and the others.

  These various reasons were why he had dared to delve into enemy territory alone.

  His aim was to confirm the truth of Cao Xiao’s words. Although Cao Xiao had revealed information regarding the Heavenly Fire Tree King to him, it might be a ruse to send Zhou Yuan to his death. However, Cao Xiao sorely underestimated Zhou Yuan if he believed it would work.

  “Qin Lian and the others should attack soon…”

  Zhou Yuan cast a glance behind him. He could see huge batches of teams from the alliance miserably fleeing in his direction. This had already gone on for an entire day, and it was evidently a result of the intense battle that had erupted at the front lines.

  Qin Lian and the others had likely received the news. Regardless of its validity, they intended to launch an all-out attack to probe for more information. If the opportunity presented itself, they would naturally be more than happy to uproot the alliance’s entire headquarters in the Chiyun Prefecture.

  “From how fast the enemy’s front lines are crumbling, it should not be long before the Tianyuan Region pushes to this location.”

  A look of thought emerged in Zhou Yuan’s eyes. When that time came, an earth-shaking battle would be unavoidable.

  It would be a battle that would likely decide the fate of the Chiyun Prefecture battlefront.

  Zhou Yuan wet his lips. The war here had been going on for several months, and such a big event appeared just after his arrival. Who could say whether his luck was good or bad?

  “I’ll wait for the army to reach this location…”

  Zhou Yuan was not reckless enough to sneak in at such a time. He needed to wait for the army to draw away enough attention first. After all, he could not ignore the enemy Nascent Source experts even though he had some trump cards to protect himself.

  As these thoughts flashed across in his head, Zhou Yuan melded even more perfectly into the shadows.

  The wait lasted for three days.

  Over these three days, enemy teams from the front lines were continuously defeated and forced to withdraw. However, Zhou Yuan discovered that there was no hint of panic in the alliance headquarters even after they received so many of their defeated comrades. Instead, they were tightening security.

  This made him sigh deeply. No wonder the Great Five Alliance Army could compete with the Tianyuan Region...they were not to be underestimated.

  When he was sighing, Zhou Yuan’s expression suddenly changed, and he raised his head and peered into the distant sky. Space suddenly rippled before the piercing sound of rushing wind rang out. Countless streaks of light shot across the sky, charging toward this area with unstoppable momentum.

  They numbered in the tens of thousands, while an even bigger Divine Dwelling army followed behind them.

  As expected, Yi Yan, Qin Lian and the others had gathered all the forces in the Chiyun Prefecture in an attempt to destroy the Great Five Alliance Army’s roots.

  The true battle was about to begin. The atmosphere had become so heavy that it was nearly impossible to breathe.

  With the arrival of the great Tianyuan Region army, countless Genesis Runes emerged from the alliance headquarters and began to weave together in the air, creating a protective boundary. Within the boundary, one could see countless figures arriving to face the incoming force.

  Yi Yan stood at the very front of the Tianyuan Region army. Behind him stood six figures giving off deep and powerful Genesis Qi undulations.

  They were the other six Nascent Source experts assigned to the Chiyun Prefecture battlefront.

  A little farther behind them were the numerous Heavenly Sun experts with Qin Lian at their head.

  Yi Yan stood in the air. His usually kind and gentle eyes had been replaced by a ferocious look as he cast his gaze toward the giant camp. Killing intent rose in the air around him.

  “Hehe, elder Yi Yan, why have you guys come here so menacingly? Are you planning on forcing a decisive battle onto us?” Loud laughter sounded from the alliance army camp. Space rippled as eight figures walked out. From their Genesis Qi undulations, they were clearly experts that had stepped into the Nascent Source stage!

  The speaker was an elder in yellow robes standing at the front of the group.

  Yi Yan gazed indifferently at the yellow-robed elder and said, “Old devil Xu Mou, I heard you guys found the Heavenly Fire Tree King.”

  The yellow-robed elder called Xu Mou chuckled and replied, “Elder Yi’s information network is very efficient.”

  He was evidently not surprised that Yi Yan had found out since he had no intention of hiding this matter.

  When Xu Mou did not deny it, Yi Yan’s heart sank a little. To think that the alliance army had really found the Heavenly Fire Tree King...that was something that even grand elder Mu Ni had failed to achieve.

  Such a mythical existence would bring about tremendous benefits in the right hands. This was why they had not hesitated to mobilize the entire army the moment they caught wind of the news. Once it was c
onfirmed, they would need to start the battle immediately.

  If they delayed too long, the other side would be able to bring out enough of the Heavenly Fire Tree King’s power to put them at an absolute disadvantage.

  Rather than wait till the other side had enough power to steamroll over them, it would be better to take a chance now and snatch away the Heavenly Fire Tree King.

  Yi Yan asked with a dark expression, “How did you guys find the Heavenly Fire Tree King? I highly doubt that the Law Domain experts of your five factions are that capable.”

  Xu Mou leisurely answered, “There’s no need for you to worry about such matters.”

  As Xu Mou looked toward the Tianyuan Region army behind Yi Yan, his smile turned a little strange. “But elder Yi Yan, you still dared to attack with your full force despite clearly knowing about the Heavenly Fire Tree King. Aren’t you afraid of sending yourselves into a trap?”

  “If you guys were really able to utilize the Heavenly Fire Tree King’s power, you guys should be the ones attacking.” Yi Yan sneered.

  Although Yi Yan did not have a deep understanding of the Heavenly Fire Tree King, he had once heard grand elder Mu Ni say that it was a mythical natural existence that absorbed Genesis Qi to grow. It possessed tremendous power but did not have a complete consciousness. It could only act on instinct to avoid danger and seek fortune.

  Without a special method, it would be difficult to use the Heavenly Fire Tree King’s power even if one obtained it.

  Xu Mou was slightly taken aback. Soon after, he laughed and said, “Hehe, elder Yi Yan is so discerning. You’re right. The Heavenly Fire Tree King is extremely troublesome, making it very difficult to utilize all of its power. After researching for so many days, we’ve only managed to obtain a small portion...

  “But I believe that this small portion should give you guys a big surprise.

  “Haha, we originally intended to let you guys have a taste after refining it for a few more days, but since you’re in such a rush to die, we will naturally oblige…”