Firmament Sword

”I choose to submit...” On the brink of death, the Golden Flood Dragon finally gave up its resistance. It resigned itself to its fate.

After a series of complex rituals, the Golden Flood Dragon became Master Mao’s servant—the kind of servant whose very life and death were under Master Mao’s control.

”From now on, I’ll call you Xiaojin!” Master Mao declared elatedly.

The Golden Flood Dragon was listless. ’Today is the unluckiest day of my life,’ it thought. It had come out to hunt, only to run into its nemesis. After a near-death struggle, it had barely escaped with its life, tricking that big, dumb bird with an illusion while its real body hid in the jungle.

Then, hearing the chatter of those country bumpkins, it couldn’t resist rushing out to swallow them and vent its frustration.

But who would have thought that these ignorant country bumpkins were actually masters in disguise? Especially that human one—his strength was outrageously immense.

If it refused to submit, he would have likely killed it without a second thought.

’To think that I, a proud member of the Golden Winged Jiao Clan, have now become a cat’s servant...’

The Golden Flood Dragon’s heart was filled with resentment and immense unwillingness. It walked listlessly.

In contrast, Master Mao was full of vigor, swaggering through the jungle.

”So... Xiaojin. Tell me about this place.”

The Golden Flood Dragon cursed inwardly. ’Xiaojin? What kind of bullshit name is Xiaojin? It’s a stupid, nonsensical name!’

Outwardly, however, it dared not show any defiance. After all, its very life was now in Master Mao’s grasp.

”Uh... Master, what is it you wish to know?” the Golden Flood Dragon asked respectfully.

”Just tell me whatever you know. No need to be formal,” Master Mao said nonchalantly. ”We’re just passing through and are quite interested in the local... culture and customs.”

’Culture and customs... Pfft. You’re just a bunch of country bumpkins!’ the Golden Flood Dragon grumbled to itself. Still, it answered obediently, ”This place is called Xi Hezhou. It’s in the western part of the Divine Domain. Xi Hezhou is immeasurably vast; the area I’ve traversed is less than one-millionth of it.”

”You think I don’t know this is Xi Hezhou? I’m asking what this specific place we’re in now is called!” Master Mao said, rolling his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The Golden Flood Dragon looked aggrieved. ”This place... I don’t know its name either. It’s just the Vast Mountains for millions of miles in every direction. All I know is that these millions of miles of mountains are but a tiny corner of Xi Hezhou.”

”So ignorant. Just a country bumpkin!” Master Mao concluded with a disdainful look.

The Golden Flood Dragon was so frustrated it could cry, but no tears came. ’Isn’t that the title I gave you guys earlier?’ it thought.

To prove it wasn’t a country bumpkin, the Golden Flood Dragon racked its brain, desperately trying to recall something useful. ”Within these millions of miles of mountains, there is One High Emperor, Two Emperors, and Eighteen Kings!”

”One High Emperor, Two Emperors, and Eighteen Kings?” Xu Luo raised an eyebrow slightly.

The Golden Flood Dragon nodded, saying proudly: ”That’s right! Among my Golden Winged Jiao Clan, there are two of the Eighteen Kings!”

”And you’re proud of that?” Master Mao sneered from the side. ”UGH, I can’t take it! You ignorant country bumpkin! Having a servant like you is just embarrassing!”

The Golden Flood Dragon looked aggrieved.

Master Mao lectured it with exasperation, ”One High Emperor, Two Emperors, and Eighteen Kings... The High Emperor is the strongest, right?”

The Golden Flood Dragon nodded.

”The two Emperors are second only to the High Emperor, right?” Master Mao asked again.

The Golden Flood Dragon nodded again.

”And then come the Eighteen Kings... Tsk tsk, eighteen of them! Besides the two from your Golden Winged Jiao Clan, there are sixteen others at the same level... And you say that with pride?” Master Mao rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with disdain.

”But... there are billions of living beings in these millions of miles!” the Golden Flood Dragon argued defensively. ”Out of billions of creatures, two ancestors of my Golden Winged Jiao Clan rank among the top twenty-one. Is that... not something to be proud of?”

”So ignorant!” Master Mao scoffed, sneering. ”Where I’m from, a land spanning tens of millions of miles, I rank number two!”

”Then... who’s number one?” The Golden Flood Dragon was taken aback. It stared blankly at Master Mao with its two golden eyes.

”Number one? Number one, naturally, is the one right here beside me,” Master Mao said nonchalantly.

”Er...” ’The one beside you doesn’t seem that much stronger than the kings of my Golden Winged Jiao Clan,’ the Golden Flood Dragon wanted to say. ’He might not even be their equal!’

However, it wisely chose to hold its tongue. It knew that even if it spoke its mind, the cat would never admit it and would probably just spew more insults.

Xu Luo, however, saw things clearly and became somewhat interested in the ”One High Emperor, Two Emperors, and Eighteen Kings” that Xiaojin mentioned.

Master Mao wasn’t just being arrogant for the sake of it; he was simply trying to put his new servant in his place.

”Hey, Xiaojin, from the looks of it, you don’t seem convinced by what I said. So tell me, this ’One High Emperor, Two Emperors, and Eighteen Kings’ of yours, what kind of powerhouses are they? Exactly how strong are they?”

”If I tell you... you won’t get angry?” the Golden Flood Dragon looked at Master Mao cautiously. It was truly afraid of this moody cat.

”You’re my servant. Why would I get angry at you? Now hurry up and talk! The only thing that’ll make me unhappy is if you’re too slow!” Master Mao squatted imperiously on Xu Luo’s shoulder, barking out commands. He had a very punchable look on his face.

The Golden Flood Dragon secretly rolled its eyes, then said: ”The Eighteen Kings... each one possesses extremely powerful abilities. Their strength... should, should be no worse than Young Master Xu’s... ahem, perhaps, perhaps even a bit stronger.”

”How is that possible?” Master Mao flew into a rage, thinking the Jiao Long was finding a roundabout way to insult them.

Xu Luo gave a light cough and said to the Golden Flood Dragon, ”Continue.”

The Golden Flood Dragon said: ”The two Emperors are two incomparably powerful beings. In the days when the Emperor Venerable is not present, they are the true rulers of these millions of miles of the Vast Mountains! Every one of the Eighteen Kings is extremely powerful, but even if they all teamed up, they would be no match for the two Emperors!”

At this point, even Master Mao became serious. Although he loved to play around, he knew where to draw the line. Having been tempered by the mortal world, Master Mao’s perspective and intelligence were far beyond that of an ordinary beast.

”The two Emperors... what kind of beings are they?” Xu Luo asked.

”One of the Emperors is revered as the Boundless Saint Emperor. His true form is an incomparably massive Golden Toad!” When mentioning the name ’Boundless Saint Emperor’, Xiaojin’s voice became very solemn and filled with respect.

”A Golden Toad? A toad? A big warty toad?” Master Mao’s mouth twitched as he muttered.

”Silence!” Xiaojin sharply interrupted Master Mao, then immediately and cautiously apologized, ”I’m sorry... I don’t mean to be insubordinate, but you don’t understand the situation here. Lord Boundless Saint Emperor has eyes and ears everywhere, and his power is terrifying! If he sets his sights on us, we wouldn’t even be enough for a mouthful!”

Master Mao also felt he had misspoken and sheepishly turned his head away.

Xu Luo said, ”Continue.”

Xiaojin said: ”The reason Lord Boundless Saint Emperor is called ’Boundless’ is because his true form is immeasurably huge. It is said he can swallow millions of living beings in a single gulp!”

”This is not a fabrication; it is a verifiable fact. Back then, there was a large Human Race tribe stationed in these Vast Mountains. It had a population of ten million and had formed its own nation, with many powerful experts among them. Later, for some unknown reason, they offended Lord Boundless Saint Emperor. The great lord became furious, revealed his true form, and swallowed several million people from that Human Race tribe in one gulp...”

Xu Luo’s body trembled slightly, and his eyes narrowed. He murmured, ”Swallowing several million humans in a single gulp... This Saint Emperor... has quite the appetite.”

Xiaojin said: ”Afterward, the survivors who were lucky enough to escape all fled from these Vast Mountains. Since then, you can hardly see a trace of humans within this million-mile radius.”

”What about the other Emperor?” Xu Luo asked.

”The other Emperor is revered as the Limitless Saint Emperor. His true form is a crocodile, and his temperament is even more ferocious. Originally, there were twenty kings in these Vast Mountains... Hundreds of years ago, two of them provoked Lord Limitless Saint Emperor. In the end... Lord Limitless Saint Emperor swallowed those two kings whole. Ever since, no one has dared to provoke him.”

Xiaojin’s voice was full of awe as it said: ”Even the Boundless Saint Emperor will not easily provoke Lord Limitless Saint Emperor. They each have their own territories. Unless summoned by the Emperor Venerable, they never meet.”

”The Emperor Venerable... what kind of being is he?” Xu Luo asked with a frown.

It was hard to imagine that an area of millions of miles, just a small corner of the Divine Domain, could have such a complex situation and so many powerful beings.

’This is the Divine Domain... a world completely different from my own!’

”The Emperor Venerable... we have only ever heard his name. No one has ever seen him. Not even the kings of my Golden Winged Jiao Clan have seen the Emperor Venerable’s true form.”

Xiaojin said softly: ”But Lord Emperor Venerable’s Magical Power is boundless. The two Emperors are completely respectful in his presence and dare not show the slightest neglect.”

”No one has ever seen him?” Xu Luo asked.

”Never. Actually... there is a rumor.” Xiaojin hesitated, then said: ”A long, long time ago, I heard a rumor that the Emperor Venerable... is actually a human!”

”Hm?” Xu Luo frowned.

Master Mao asked from the side, ”If he’s a human, why didn’t he stop the Boundless Saint Emperor when he devoured several million humans?”

Xiaojin shook its head and said: ”That I don’t know. Anyway, it’s just a rumor. The specifics are not something a being of my level would know. Perhaps the kings of my Golden Winged Jiao Clan would know?”

Xu Luo asked again, ”Xiaojin, your current level of strength, where does it rank within this million-mile radius?”

Xiaojin said somewhat awkwardly: ”My strength... is actually just considered upper-middle tier.”

”What about that bird you were fighting just now?” Xu Luo looked at Xiaojin.

Xiaojin said: ”That big, dumb bird is much stronger than me in terms of power. It’s already infinitely close to the King level. I’ve heard... that guy has been getting restless lately, wanting to challenge the king of its clan... to take its place!”