CSMCDB - Chapter 200

Chapter 200

[There's a dragon below, but it's only Venerate-level.] 1947's investigation was swift. [It looks a bit simple-minded. Probably never left Dragon Island and wouldn't expect someone to suddenly appear here. This is likely its treasure hoard. You're standing on its mountain of rare metals and jewels.]

Wen Yuncheng: Is that so… This mountain will be mine soon enough.

Wen Yuncheng squeezed Lin Jinyu's hand. She was currently in a cloaked state, so Lin Jinyu couldn't see her either. "I'll control it, you wound it badly. It's a Venerate-level, so don't kill it in one hit. I need the experience."

"Okay."

The two exchanged words extremely quickly; for the giant dragon, it was all over in an instant. It was still on the ground, looking up, wondering how its jewels had suddenly taken human form. Were jewels that took human form still its jewels? Did it have to raise jewels now? But it had never heard of any other dragon's jewels being able to take human form.

However, it soon had no spare energy to ponder such things. A beam of deep blue light struck it directly, and its massive draconic body instantly went out of control. A figure appeared before it, while the figure on the mountaintop rushed down, a slash of sword energy descending from above.

"Use this." In the final moments of its life, the giant dragon heard these words. The figure who had unleashed the sword slash handed their sword to the other person. Then, that person raised the longsword and easily took its life.

[Mission: Slay a Dragon]

[Ding! Killed a Star Venerate-level dragon. Gained 15,000 experience!]

"This is inside a cave," Wen Yuncheng remarked. She should save these teleportation coordinates. Without a dragon here in the future, it would be a safe spot.

She just didn't know if this dragon's death would be discovered, or if another dragon would occupy this cave. Sigh, she didn't understand the daily life and communication habits of the dragons on Dragon Island, so she couldn't make any judgments.

After quickly storing the dragon's corpse, Wen Yuncheng looked at the small mountain of various metals and jewels and stroked her chin. Most of the metals were brilliantly colored. There were some highly practical ones, but they were all mixed together, making them difficult to sort. As for the jewels and ornaments… some were clearly of human make, while others didn't seem to be. Wen Yuncheng suspected they might have been crafted by some demonic beasts from the bottom of the sea.

"Are your storage rings enough?" Lin Jinyu asked.

"More than enough." Having killed and robbed so many people, the last things Wen Yuncheng lacked were Star Stones and storage rings. She had saved up quite a few storage rings before. Later, when her machines all became portable, compact mechanical spheres, she hadn't thrown away the freed-up rings and had kept them all.

Wen Yuncheng handed a ring to Lin Jinyu. "There are over a dozen storage rings in here, big and small. Let's pack it all up together."

Lin Jinyu took the ring, and the two of them began to quickly store away the dragon's hoard.

"I can't believe this dragon was only a Venerate-level, yet it collected so much treasure," Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but exclaim.

"Most of these metals probably came from the seabed," Lin Jinyu said, taking out a piece of deep blue sea crystal. "Some were likely sent by the Empire as well."

"Mhm, it seems the Dragon Clan and the Sea Clan are on good terms."

"The Sea Clan?"

"Oh, the demonic beasts of the sea," Wen Yuncheng said with a smile. "Isn't 'Sea Clan' simpler and more fitting?"

"But… it's not necessarily that their relationship is good," Wen Yuncheng added after a thought. She stored a handful of rainbow-colored scales she had picked up into her storage ring. Some of the scales still had dried bloodstains on them, as if they had been peeled directly from prey.

Piles of metal fragments were put into the storage rings. Neither Lin Jinyu nor Wen Yuncheng would waste time sorting them; that was a job for others back in the Imperial Capital. Wen Yuncheng was now the youngest Star Emperor, and the Empire wouldn't go so far as to embezzle her things over a few metals.

The relationship between the Sea Clan and the Empire was similar to the one the Empire had with the depths of the Demonic Beast Great Forest. However, the Sea Clan had little interest in the land. The Starry Sky Continent was vast, with large landmasses and equally expansive oceans. Therefore, the Sea Clan and the Empire mostly had a cooperative relationship, trading for resources from the seabed that humans needed, while the Sea Clan was curious about some of humanity's inventions. It was said that most Sea Clan tribes were very passive; they might fight among themselves for territory under the sea, but they held no hostility toward the Empire. However, the Sea Clan despised members of Fu, because the Fu organization had once captured sea demonic beasts on a large scale for research—though they later discovered they were much the same as the beasts from the Demonic Beast Forest and made no new findings.

Now that Huanling was invading the Starry Sky Continent, the Sea Clan had made no move. But if any of Huanling's demonic beasts were to be randomly teleported into the sea and encountered by the Sea Clan, they likely wouldn't survive. The Sea Clan would pack up the corpses or living beings and store them, waiting for things to calm down before handing them over to the Empire to see if they could be exchanged for any new items.

"Phew~ Looking at it now, this cave is quite large." Wen Yuncheng looked at the now half-empty cave. She saved the coordinates she had entered today. If nothing unexpected happened, this could become a teleportation point for her and Lin Jinyu in the future.

Wen Yuncheng thought for a moment, walked to the cave wall, and pressed hard, creating a small indentation. Then she placed a monitor inside. This way, if anyone entered the cave and noticed anything unusual, she would know.

Although she couldn't check the monitor's feed at all times, Protector Chu could certainly find talented people to monitor it twenty-four hours a day.

Working with the Empire is so much easier.

"Let's go out and scout around. We'll assassinate any dragons we can. If we can't… we'll make sure to expose ourselves far away from here." After speaking to Lin Jinyu, Wen Yuncheng mentally instructed her "old dad": "You'd better investigate seriously! If the Dragon King spots me, tell me immediately! Be serious, and stop secretly reading!"

[What nonsense are you talking about? Who was reading?!] 1947 said huffily, then silently noted the chapter he had just been reading and exited the interface. [I'm being very focused, okay!]

Wen Yuncheng: Fine, I was the one reading. I wasn't focused.

After spending so long packing up the treasure, the cooldown for her cloaking skill was over. Wen Yuncheng directly entered her cloaked state again and led Lin Jinyu out of the cave by the hand.

Lifting her head, she saw the deep, boundless night sky, with countless stars twinkling overhead.

"So this is Dragon Island," Lin Jinyu remarked with a sudden wave of emotion. "It's very close to the stars here, not in terms of actual distance. The Star Power here is very dense."

"The Dragon Clan is truly fortunate." Born on Dragon Island, which was like a secret realm, yet they all grew in age and strength, but not in intelligence.

This place was likely a relatively remote part of Dragon Island. She didn't know if it was because this dragon had a solitary personality or something else, but there were no other dragon lairs nearby.

Perhaps it was afraid its companions would steal its treasure?

The two of them used the cover of night to scout the surrounding area but didn't find any other dragons. Wen Yuncheng guessed that this place was just the unlucky dragon's treasure spot; the main dragon settlement was definitely not here. After all, that dragon was only a Star Venerate, yet it had amassed such a rich hoard. If it didn't hide it far away, there was no guarantee other dragons wouldn't rob it.

Neither the Empire nor Wen Yuncheng knew much about the situation on Dragon Island. But that was fine. Wen Yuncheng had plenty of time; she could slowly map out the general layout of Dragon Island.

She just couldn't get close to the central area. However, with 1947's diligent scanning, as long as Wen Yuncheng could sense where there was a possibility of being discovered by the Dragon King, once the other safe areas were explored, what remained would be the central zone.

---

Using the Space Shuttle to return to the Imperial Capital, Wen Yuncheng planned to find the First Princess and Chu Han. However, she soon discovered that Protector Chu was staying in Zihua Town. But that was a minor issue; with an order from the Empire, Protector Chu could return quickly.

Wen Yuncheng didn't want to face the Empire's high-ranking officials, so she and Lin Jinyu went to see the First Princess together. For some reason, the First Princess seemed to be in a very bad mood today. The moment she saw her and Lin Jinyu, she couldn't help but huff, her gaze lingering on their joined hands.

"Your Highness?" Wen Yuncheng started, then hesitated. "If you really want to hold my hand that badly… it's not impossible…"

"?!" Wei Qingyu nearly spat out a mouthful of tea. She managed to hold it in but ended up choking on it. Zero instantly materialized from the shadows, nervously offering a handkerchief and helping Wei Qingyu catch her breath. "Shut your mouth! What do you want from me?"

"It's like this. Lin Jinyu and I went to Dragon Island last night, killed a Star Venerate-level dragon, and seized its treasure—"

"Stop! What did you say?"

"We seized the dragon's treasure," Wen Yuncheng said with an innocent look.

"…The sentence before that. Where did you say you went yesterday?!"

"Dragon Island." Wen Yuncheng gave a smile. "I'm already a Star Emperor. I have the ability to enter without being discovered. And I can only bring one person, who must meet a series of conditions. In short…"

"Alright, I get it. You'll only ever bring Lin Jinyu," Wei Qingyu said, waving her hand dismissively. "You should know how dangerous Dragon Island is and what your ability to enter it means for the Empire… Hmm, did you already tell Chu Han about this?" Wei Qingyu suddenly realized that Chu Han seemed to have mentioned something about this yesterday, but his plans were for the future and would require gathering Half-Saints to assist.

"Yes, I did, but that's not important," Wen Yuncheng said seriously. "Listen to me. I need someone completely trustworthy. I found a safe house on Dragon Island, and I need to monitor it to make sure it isn't discovered. That way, I can continue to go there next time. I'll give you a machine, and someone must keep an eye on it at all times. Report any unusual activity to me immediately."

"That's not a problem. I've personally trained many deathsworn retainers," Wei Qingyu replied, her expression turning serious as well. She nodded. "And then?"

"I also need a lot of people, experts in all kinds of metals." Wen Yuncheng nodded. "Then, help me sort through last night's spoils. But you can't embezzle any of it."

"…" Wei Qingyu pursed her lips, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "You call that a problem?"

"All sorts of rare metals and jewels, enough to make a small mountain." Wen Yuncheng was indignant. "This is also very important! It's logistics. Only when the logistics are handled can I work harder to explore Dragon Island tonight. Don't you want a general map of Dragon Island? Don't you want to determine the location of the Dragon Clan's central territory?"

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