Dragonblood
Book 2 of the Coiling Dragon Saga
Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi
Translated by
Ren Woxing
Wuxiaworld Limited
Copyright © 2018 by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi, translated by Ren Woxing
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For the rest of the Coiling Dragon Saga
Book 3 - Baruch Rising
Book 4 - Gods of Yulan
Book 5 - The Infernal Plane
Book 6 - The Four Divine Beasts
Book 7 - The Planar Wars
Book 8 - Lord of the Mists
Please also feel free to visit us at www.wuxiaworld.com to see many other translated novels, all of which can be read for free!
For another (free) completed work by this author and translator on Wuxiaworld, you can try the story of Ji Ning, ‘Desolate Era’.
Contents
Prologue
I. The Road to Revenge
1. The Dusty Affairs of the Past
2. The Decision
3. Assembling at the Town
4. A Nighttime Chat
5. Writ of Nobility
6. Tomes of Magic
7. Heavy Casualties
8. An Excessive Desire to Kill
9. The Engagement
10. Captured
11. The Man Behind the Curtain
12. The Investigation
13. Secrets Exposed
14. Imprisoned
15. To Be Wronged
16. Limits
17. The Plea
18. The Visit
19. The King of Killers
20. Poison
21. The Trial
22. The Enormous Fine
23. The Bloodrupture Poison
24. Breakthrough
25. Producing the Powder
26. The Scheme
27. The Wine
28. Mother’s Life or Death
29. Kill However Many Come!
30. Even if I Die, I’ll Kill You!
31. Won’t Accept It
32. In Dire Straits
II. Heaven and Earth Turned Upside Down
33. The Dusty Affairs of the Past
34. The Decision
35. Assembling at the Town
36. A Nighttime Chat
37. Writ of Nobility
38. Tomes of Magic
39. Heavy Casualties
40. An Excessive Desire to Kill
41. The Engagement
42. Captured
43. The Man Behind the Curtain
44. The Investigation
45. Secrets Exposed
46. Imprisoned
47. To Be Wronged
48. Limits
49. The Plea
50. The Visit
51. The King of Killers
52. Poison
53. The Trial
54. The Enormous Fine
55. The Bloodrupture Poison
56. Breakthrough
57. Producing the Powder
58. The Scheme
59. The Wine
60. Mother’s Life or Death
61. Kill However Many Come!
62. Even if I Die, I’ll Kill You!
63. Won’t Accept It
64. In Dire Straits
65. A Hope of Living
66. The Divine Boon Descends
67. Would Definitely Die?
68. A Giant Foot
69. Apocalypse Day
70. Deity-Level Combatant
71. Fleeing in Panic
72. One Hand
73. Interspatial Ring
74. A Terrible Situation
75. The Titanic Black Python
76. The Rescue
77. A Major Treasure
78. The City of Hess
79. The Clan of the Violetflame Warriors
80. The Furnace
81. The Heavy Sword, 'Bladeless'
82. A Missing Hand?
83. With Bated Breath
84. The Full Story
85. Fate
86. Passing Away
87. Crazed
88. Stillness
89. Departure
90. Thunderbolt
91. The Howling Worldwolf
92. A Slaughter
93. The Black Shadow
94. The Mysterious Black Panther
95. Another Transformation
96. A Battle of Speed
97. Leaving the Mountains
98. Olivier
99. A Single Sword
100. Hands
101. Blackrock City
102. Persuasion
103. Repeated Assassination Attempts
104. The Apothecary
105. The Yulan River
106. Poison Gas Fluttering in the Wind
107. The Prefectural City of Cerre
108. Search and Seizure
109. The Summer Inferno
110. Gift
111. The Vast Earth
112. The Cardinal
113. Zassler
114. When Experts Join Forces
115. Mutual Trust
116. Secrets of the Church
117. Flower-Like Sisters
118. Investigation
119. The Five Year Agreement
120. Concealed by the Night
121. The Decision
122. The Four Bros’ Paths
123. In Dire Straits
124. The Profound Truths of the Earth
125. True Experts
126. The Undying Warriors
127. The Church’s Strategy
128. Time Passing Slowly
129. Undying Warrior Transformation
130. The Power of the Hundred Layered Waves
131. An Appointment Kept
132. The Gathering in Basil
133. Neighbors
134. Vicious Acts
135. A Change of Plans
136. The Angel Battle Formation
137. The Four-Winged Angel
138. Saint-Level Dragonblood Warrior
139. An Appointment
140. Wharton
141. The Beirut Clan
142. Guest
143. Personal Disciple
144. A Saint-Level Battle
145. The Magicite Core
146. Yet Another Saint-Level
147. Blumer’s Request
148. The Brothers Meet
III. The Ten Thousand Kilometer Journey
For the rest of the Coiling Dragon Saga
Prologue
Linley had finally brought the Baruch clan’s most important heirloom, the warblade ‘Slaughterer’, back home. This had been the dream of countless Baruch ancestors before him as well as the dream of Hogg Baruch himself. Alas, what should’ve been the proudest moment in his life was shattered as he received news from Uncle Hillman of his father’s death…
Part I
The Road to Revenge
1
The Dusty Affairs of the Past
Hillman was being gripped so tightly by Linley’s claws that his clothes were torn open. Scarlet blood slowly leaked out, staining his clothes red, but Hillman didn’t notice in the slightest. Staring at Linley, he said in a downcast voice, “Linley, calm down first.”
“Tell me.” Linley was staring at Hillman.
Hillman said solemnly. “The troop of Knights following you is about to arrive. For now,
let’s not allow others to know about the affairs of your clan. Come with me first.” Hillman shook his shoulders loose of Linley’s claws, then grabbed Linley’s scaled arms with the intention of pulling him into the ancestral halls… only to find that he was unable to budge Linley.
“Linley!” Hillman turned his head, a spark of anger in his eyes.
“Uncle Hillman, I know how to act.” Linley’s face was deeply sunken, but he took a deep breath, retracting the scales on his arms into his body and returning to normal. Just as he once more returned the warblade ‘Slaughterer’ to its case and held it, Linley could hear the sounds of hoofbeats outside drawing near.
The troops of Knights of the Radiant Temple had finally arrived. Linley turned, glancing at them coldly, but paid them no mind. He said directly to Hillman, “Uncle Hillman, lead the way.”
“Alright.” Seeing that Linley was able to calm down, Hillman felt a little bit better. He immediately led Linley in the direction of the ancestral hall. Linley’s face remained sunken. At this moment, aside from Linley himself, perhaps nobody knew that beneath that calm expression there lay hidden an incredibly deep, painful wound.
Neither the Shadowmouse Bebe nor Doehring Cowart made a sound. They were connected to Linley’s soul. Naturally, they could feel the unimaginable grief and pain which Linley was currently suffering.
The wind rose, catching up and hurling into the air countless leaves which had been lying on the unimaginably ancient stone-tiled grounds. Creaaaak. Hillman pushed open the door to the ancestral hall, then turned to look back at Linley.
Holding the warblade ‘Slaughterer’, Linley stepped inside, his face calm. His gaze was fixed upon those rows of spirit tablets placed in the middle of the ancestral hall. Given Linley’s current visual acuity, he could clearly read the words on the newest spirit tablet, located at the front.
There were only two words on the front: Hogg Baruch.
Linley felt his mind growing dizzy, as though he was hallucinating. He just stood there for a long moment without moving… and then, still carrying the warblade ‘Slaughterer’, Linley stepped forward to the stone platform in front of the spirit tablets. He placed the ‘Slaughterer’ on top of the platform.
Linley looked at the spirit tablet, a peaceful smile appearing on his face. In a soft voice, Linley said, “Father. I’m back.”
“I know that all your life, your greatest desire was that we recover our ancestral heirloom and regain the bygone splendor of our clan, the Dragonblood Warrior clan.” Linley spoke very carefully and softly, as though he were afraid of disturbing someone. His voice was so gentle and oh-so light.
Linley stared at the spirit tablet. “I didn’t disappoint you. I have already brought back to the Baruch clan, to the Dragonblood Warrior clan, our ancestral heirloom, the warblade ‘Slaughterer’. Very soon, I will restore our Dragonblood Warrior clan to glory. I will make sure the entire Yulan continent knows of the splendor of our Dragonblood Warrior clan, and will make sure everyone in the Yulan continent knows your name.”
“All of this, I will accomplish. I so swear.” Suddenly, a fiendish look appeared on Linley’s face. “But of course, before I do all of these things… I will first avenge you.”
There was no question at all in his mind that his father, Hogg Baruch, had been killed by someone. Given his father’s prowess as a warrior of the sixth rank who had been in the prime of his health, there was no way he could’ve died to a normal illness. What was more, if he had died of illness then Hillman wouldn’t have acted so secretively. Linley’s intuition was telling him that his father’s death was no ordinary death!
“The person who caused you to die... I will make sure he dies as well!” Within Linley’s eyes, once more there seemed to be a hint of that terrifying, dark golden color of the eyes of the Armored Razorback Wyrm.
Linley turned to stare at Hillman fiercely. “Uncle Hillman, tell me. How did my father die, exactly? In addition, where was my father buried? Also, you said my father died three months ago. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Hillman opened his mouth, but did not speak right away. A long moment passed. “Linley, calm down first,” Hillman finally said slowly.
Calm down? How could he calm down?
“I wish so very much that my father could be here and personally see the ‘Slaughterer’ with his own eyes. I long to tell my father that I have become a Dragonblood Warrior. I deeply desire to see my father’s smile, hear his gratified laughter, and see the pride on his face when I assume the Dragonform! However… all of this is now impossible.” Linley felt as though his heart had been sliced by knives. Hillman was actually asking him to calm down?
Linley wanted to angrily shout at Hillman, but he restrained from doing so. Taking in a deep, unwilling breath, he swallowed his rage. Staring at Hillman, Linley said, “Uncle Hillman, tell me everything that happened. I want to know everything.”
“Your father died three months ago. But before he died, his instructions to me were that only after you had the power of a warrior of the seventh rank could I tell you. Otherwise, I cannot tell you the circumstances surrounding his death,” Hillman said solemnly.
“A warrior of the seventh rank?”
“Yes.” Hillman nodded slightly. “This was the reason why I went to the Institute to look for you, but didn’t inform you of your father’s death or why he had died. Your father’s dying wishes were that I was to not allow you to learn of his death, so that you could calmly focus on your studies.”
Hillman looked at Linley. “Linley, it isn’t that I’m not willing to tell you. It’s that this was your father’s dying wish. I cannot go against it. Only once you become a warrior of the seventh rank would I be willing to tell you everything.”
Linley understood. A warrior of the seventh rank, eh? He withdrew a leather-wrapped book from his clothes and handed it to Hillman.
“What’s this?” Hillman looked at it with surprise.
“A magus’ proof of rank.” Linley’s face was calm. Every single magus, from the day he began to be evaluated, would be issued a certificate with his proof of rank. Each time he advanced a rank, there would be a record of it.
Hillman opened the book and saw that under the ‘wind-style’ and ‘earth-style’ entries, there were a total of seven stars. “Seventh rank… a seventh rank dual-element magus?” Hillman was stunned. He stared disbelievingly at Linley.
How old was Linley? Only seventeen years of age. What did a seventeen-year-old dual-element magus of the seventh rank represent? Hillman wasn’t too clear on the specifics, but he knew that in the Kingdom of Fenlai the most powerful magus present was a magus of the eighth rank... but that was an old man, well over a hundred years old.
Hillman remembered how, when he had joined the army, there had been a magus of the seventh rank who had arrived at the same time. He remembered the glory, the pomp of it all. And now, little Linley whom he had watched growing up, had become in the blink of an eye a dual-element magus of the seventh rank.
“This… is this real?” Hillman asked an extremely stupid question. Hillman knew very well that this certificate of rank definitely couldn’t be fake.
“Uncle Hillman. Now you can tell me what happened, right?” Linley stared at Hillman.
Hillman nodded, then headed for the private room behind the ancestral hall. A few moments later, he came out. Walking over to Linley, he withdrew an envelope from his clothes. Presenting it to Linley, he softly said, “This was written by your father right before he died. Once you read it, you will understand.”
His hands trembling, Linley reached out and accepted the envelope. There weren’t any words on the envelope itself. He opened it up and withdrew the letter inside, which had two full pages of content.
“Linley: By the time you actually read this letter, I will most likely have died a long, long time ago.”
“Towards you and Wharton, my heart is filled with boundless remorse, but there is no way for me to do right by you two any longer. I o
nly hope that you two will be able to live for many years in peace, which is why I have instructed your Uncle Hillman to only provide this letter to you when you become a warrior of the seventh rank.”