Chapter 45

There’s also a trap in the waterway!

Sensing the weird fishes coming at him, a thought flickered across Master Long’s mind, putting a bitter expression on his face.

His experience caused his downfall.

He had originally thought that the bridge on the waterway was narrow and it was difficult to set up traps, but he hadn’t expected the trap to be in the water.

But it was too late for regrets now. With a soft cry, Master Long leaped into the air and pulled something from his waist.

A white glow appeared in the sky. As he waved his sword through the air, several weird fishes were split into two, splattering blood everywhere.

Seeing that it had worked, Master Long didn’t hesitate. He leaped upon the bridge and waved his sword in the air, killing one or two weird fishes every time he struck.

The sudden situation startled everyone.

Master Long’s choice is wrong as well! There’s also a trap in the water!

Right now, on the left and the right, one in the water and one on the square, the two were doing all they could to fend off the attacks from the traps.

Chen Hao was pretty lucky. After ten-odd arrows or so, those clicking and swoosh sounds vanished, leaving behind an uneven square.

He heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead, feeling a lingering fear.

He was truly very lucky. If he hadn’t suddenly decided to diligently practice the Dipper Steps for two days prior to this and activated his body’s ability to apply the Dipper Steps, he would probably be dead by now.

It wasn’t easy to be a master. He had learned a lesson this time. After leaving this place safely, he must diligently practice over a period of time, to master his skills completely. Also, he needed to prepare various protective items before undertaking more missions.

Having escaped danger, Chen Hao looked over to Master Long, feeling a sense of gloating.

Damn, you even tried to entrap me? You’re entrapping yourself now, aren’t you? My trap is at least a dead one, and it’s easy to dodge. Those weird fishes look ferocious. If you’re not careful, that’s it for you.

Chen Hao sat down and took out a piece of chocolate. He started eating it to recover his strength while watching the fun.

He wasn’t worried about Master Long, for the latter was fully armed and had so much good stuff. Also, with his cultivation, dealing with the weird fishes shouldn’t be too hard.

This was a good opportunity to observe Master Long’s cultivation. Chen Hao didn’t want to miss out on this.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Master Long acted rather calmly. Waving his sword, he would chop the fishes either horizontally or vertically. Clearly, Master Long was highly skilled, and the weapon in his hands was incredibly sharp too.

The longer Chen Hao watched, the weirder his expression became. Slowly, his gaze started getting serious.

On Master Long, Chen Hao saw the basic qualities a genuine master ought to possess.

Such as now.

The weird fishes were neither demons nor monsters, so they had clearly transformed into this shape under the influence of the dark energy from the Dragon’s Den. Magical artifacts had little effect on such things, so a physical attack would be more appropriate.

And Master Long had displayed his extraordinary skills and easily resolved this. This was a basic quality—to be able to deploy both means and to stay calm in the face of danger.

At the thought of how he had dealt with his own situation earlier, the difference was stark by comparison. It was embarrassing. Chen Hao felt his face heating up, secretly feeling ashamed for feeling pleased with himself earlier.

He was incomparable to a genuine master, more like a fraud who duped people for a living.

Must not be proud, must not feel pleased with myself, must be low-key, must work hard, must learn from others what they’re good at.

Chen Hao warned himself quietly.

Thereafter, Chen Hao got more and more serious as he watched Master Long deal with the weird fishes.

Regardless of Master Long’s character, his capability was worthy of one’s respect.

Momentarily, as if sensing that Master Long wasn’t someone to be trifled with, having seen many of their companions die, the weird fishes finally gave up attacking him. Slowly, the pond resumed its calm manner.

Holding onto his sword, Master Long was still in an alert state.

After a while, he finally was certain that those weird fishes had backed off out of fear. Only then did he relax and begin taking in big breaths.

Compared to Chen Hao’s avoidance tactic, Master Long’s defenses were more physically taxing. Although he made it look like a breeze earlier, only Master Long himself knew how tough it was.

Under the influence of dark energy, the bodies of the weird fishes were incredibly hard. Even though his sword was made using a special technique and was extremely sharp, if one didn’t use all his strength, he wouldn’t be able to kill the weird fishes easily. It took a toll on him physically to exert such strength continuously.

If those weird fishes were persistent in their attacks, he might have to seek help from Chen Hao a while later.

Luckily, that didn’t happen, else he would have to suffer a loss of face.

Watching as the two masters overcame the traps, Xue Chuang and the rest who stayed behind in the passageway were overjoyed.

Seeing that these two masters managed to get past even such scary traps, they felt confident that this matter could be resolved.

“Master Long, do you want to come back and take a rest?” Xue Chuang was a smart person. Seeing Master Long breathe heavily, it was evident that he had depleted much of his stamina. Hence, he asked this just in case.

“Humph, now that the traps in the outer palace are overcome, if we continue walking we’ll reach the inner palace. Let’s just resolve this now. How can we give up halfway? Master Chen, do you agree?” Master Long snorted and asked Chen Hao loudly.

Chen Hao got to his feet and said humbly, “Master Long, you’re experienced. I, as your junior, will obey your instructions.”

Oh!

Master Long looked at Chen Hao in shock.

What’s going on here? What brought about the massive transformation in this young fellow? He does sound humble and respectful, the attitude a junior should have towards a senior.

Master Long couldn’t figure out why, but he decided not to overthink this since there were more pressing matters at hand.

“Alright, since those two paths were the wrong ones, the right path must be the one in the middle. Follow us into the inner palace to look for the Dragon’s Coffin Chamber.” Master Long instructed, before walking over.

Chen Hao got to his feet too and walked through the square.

A moment later, they arrived within the palace.

When the laser lights were turned on, even Master Long himself gasped at what he saw as he involuntarily retreated several steps.

In the center of the hall, a white skeleton more than ten meters tall could be seen lying on the ground with its head raised up high.

“Dragon spawn!”

Master Long let out a loud gasp, his voice quivering. Everyone could tell the fear and terror in his voice.

“What? Dragon spawn? You mean these bones? There really existed dragons in the world?” Xue Chuang and the rest were scared out of their wits and their eyes widened, full of disbelief.

Although Chen Hao was startled as well, he had become much calmer after having been startled a few times.

Chen Hao frowned as he carefully sized it up. Isn’t this just the skeleton of a snake? How did it suddenly become dragon spawn?

“That won’t do. Let’s go. We have to leave right now. The evil spirit in this tomb is transformed from a dragon spawn. Once it’s awakened, all of us will have to die.”

Without waiting for Chen Hao to ask, Master Chen spoke again. This time, he took the initiative to ask to leave, and his tone was incredibly firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

Leaving? How can we? We’re already here, we have got to resolve this!

Snapping out of his trance, Xue Chuang anxiously asked, “Master Long, can you be more specific? Shuanglong Group is unable to accept such a vague explanation.”

Master Long didn’t give him any face and simply said, “If you can’t accept it, I’ll return to you that spiritual item. Please consult someone else. Evil spirits transformed from dragon spawn are extremely scary. It’s taboo. We can’t stay a moment longer here. I’ll take my leave first.”

Immediately after he finished speaking, Master Long turned around to leave, not willing to say even a word more.

But when Master Long got to the entrance of the palace, the ground suddenly shook, and a sharp sound rang throughout the place.

Hiss!