Volume 1, Chapter 478 – True Dragon, Fierce Tiger

Because of the fusion of worlds, the power structure of the Shenwu Great World was extremely complex. Its territory was vast and boundless, and the great stars hanging above the heavens numbered more than a million.

Upon this rich and fertile land, the strong carved out territories and crowned themselves kings, establishing countless powerful dynasties, as well as major cultivation sects and towering longevity lineages.

The Tianyun Dynasty alone governed a territory spanning hundreds of millions of li. Its ruler, the Tianyun King, was a true longevity titan who had dominated this land for over a million years. The one currently holding power was his two-hundred-and-seventy-third-generation descendant.

The memories Qinglan had obtained were not many. She had only a vague understanding of this world, and only half understood its cultivation system.

But judging by the battle strength they had displayed alone, the Lan Clan was by no means weak. At the very least, they would not sink to the bottom.

…

…

High above the sky, Cangyue and Chixun stepped aside and took their places behind Qinglan.

“So you’re the one in charge?”

When he saw Qinglan nod, the middle-aged man in an official crown looked her up and down. The mild smile on his face gradually faded, leaving behind a careless expression.

“This official’s surname is Qiu. I am a fourth-rank City Defense Commandant under the Tianyun Dynasty. This land belongs to my Tianyun Dynasty and may not be occupied without permission. Without identity passes, you can only be counted as vagrants.”

After sensing Qinglan’s strength, he had already set his mind at ease. The strongest in this clan was only at the sixth rank. To him, they were not troublesome.

Although his own cultivation was only around the sixth rank as well, he was protected by the dynasty’s fortune.

Moreover, these natives who had wandered out from small worlds had flimsy foundations. Their battle strength was fundamentally incomparable to his. Even if three or five of them joined forces, they still might not be his match.

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“How does one obtain identity passes?”

Qinglan had seen the term “vagrants” in those memory fragments. If vagrants occupied a mountain and declared themselves kings, they would be branded bandits and suppressed by the dynasty’s armies.

“Those at the fifth rank must serve the Tianyun Dynasty in corvee labor for ten years. For those at the sixth rank, three years will do.”

His gaze swept over the beast horde below, lingering for a moment on the Demon Kings who had taken human form.

“Since your clan has not been officially registered, all who have not entered the fifth rank will be entered into the livestock register. If, in the future, one of your people earns merit on the battlefield and rises to an official rank above the third grade, then your entire clan may be freed from its base status.”

The moment those words fell, the eyes of Cangyue and Chixun, the two great demons, were already filled with fury. If not for Qinglan standing before them, they would almost have erupted on the spot.

To be entered into the livestock register meant being slaughtered at another’s pleasure, without even the right to utter a word of grievance. How was that any different from death?

“Among the neighboring dynasties, the laws of my Tianyun are already the most lenient. If you refuse, leave my dynasty’s territory within two days. If you insist on staying by force, an army will naturally come. When that time comes, things will not be so easy to discuss.”

Commandant Qiu paid no mind to the expressions of the two great demons. Turning his head, he let out a light chuckle.

“That said, it is not as if there are no other options. I see that your clan does have a few with fine looks, and their cultivation is decent as well. This official can help connect you with certain nobles and influential figures, in exchange for your clan’s continued survival.”

A strange gleam flickered in the depths of Qinglan’s eyes, yet her expression remained unchanged.

Among those of lofty cultivation, some were pure-hearted and restrained, while others lived without restraint or decorum. The desires of living beings came in all imaginable forms, and what they sought was never the same. Over the course of a long lifespan, it was very easy to lose one’s will to strive upward, and hard to avoid seeking crooked amusements to pass the time.

And among all forms of decadent indulgence, there were not many pleasures that surpassed the luxuries of wine, women, music, and horses. Thus, there were no few who lusted after beauty.

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It was like the Ancient Gods of Lingyang Realm in the archaic era. Had they not been so wildly depraved and lawless, there would never have been the later Half-God Race, nor the unimaginably bloody Primordial God War that followed.

“If you are interested, come to my residence tomorrow night and we can discuss it in detail. This official can point out a bright road for you.”

Commandant Qiu clearly did not wish to say anything more. He cast Qinglan a sidelong glance, tossed down a map, and turned away with his attendants.

“The future of your clan rests in your hands.”

…

“Your Excellency, what should we do?”

Cangyue could not help speaking. Just now, he had almost wanted to strike directly and splatter that so-called damned commandant’s blood on the spot.

“In my view, we should avoid the edge for the time being and seek another place.”

Chixun was just as furious, but meeting force with force now would be far too unwise. They had only just arrived and had not yet grasped the situation. To provoke a powerful enemy at once would be no good thing for the Lan Clan.

Qinglan did not answer. She drew the map into her palm and slowly unfolded it until it stretched several hundred zhang across.

Her gaze moved slowly over it, growing brighter and brighter. Less than twenty thousand li from here stood a city, and over that city a heavy circle had been drawn. Clearly, the residence Commandant Qiu had mentioned was there.

“This place is not far from the western border of the Tianyun Dynasty, at most thirteen million li.”

After a while, Qinglan put away the map and looked toward the two great demons beside her.

“If the information I received earlier was correct, the Tianyun Dynasty is at war with the Great Meng Sacred Court to the west. Cangyue, set out at once and head for the border.”

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“This subordinate understands.”

Cangyue acknowledged the order with some disappointment. He had thought that, with Qinglan’s temperament, this matter would not be let go so lightly.

“If you can make contact with people from the Great Meng Sacred Court, ask about one more thing.”

Qinglan’s eyes turned slightly cold as her tone shifted.

“How much is the head of a fourth-rank commandant of the Tianyun Dynasty worth?”

In her eyes, the commandant had been a dead man from the very instant he voiced those demands.

She had once heard the saying, “When a dragon swims in shallow waters, shrimp may mock it; when a tiger falls into the flatlands, dogs may bully it,” but she had never truly believed it.

Because in this world, there was no true dragon that would be mocked by shrimp, and no fierce tiger that would be bullied by dogs.

A dragon in shallow waters was still a dragon, and a tiger on the flatlands was still a tiger.

As she saw it, the saying ought to be that a dragon in shallow waters devours shrimp, and a tiger on the flatlands feasts on dogs.

Even if she had been forced to flee beyond her own domain for now, she would not endure any humiliation.

On the road of contending for immortality, she could not allow herself the slightest trace of retreat.

As the distance between her and her true body grew farther, Qinglan’s thoughts became increasingly active. She even buried certain thoughts deep in her heart and did not transmit them to Shi Lan.

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…

…

“Commandant, were those conditions a bit too harsh?”

On the way back, Yan Pan, who was following behind Commandant Qiu, could not help but speak.

According to the laws of the Tianyun Dynasty, if vagrants from outside worlds drifted in and had not yet occupied land and declared themselves kings, the local authorities in each region were required to treat them equally, settle them properly, and then report the matter to His Majesty, after which an imperial commissioner personally appointed by His Majesty would come to the scene and handle it.

Although labor service did indeed exist, it was directed at certain beings beyond instruction or reform.

“What do you know? They’re just a bunch of small-world natives who’ve never seen the wider world. Their strongest is only at the sixth rank. Aren’t they still mine to squeeze however I please?”

Commandant Qiu gave a derisive snort, utterly unconcerned.

“They can’t even make sense of identity passes. What would they know about what’s harsh?”

Several hundred thousand demonfolk, sold off to those black-market traders, would be enough to cover a hundred years of his expenses and all the bribes he needed to grease the wheels above and below.

He would not even need to pay any price for it. Those natives would obediently deliver themselves to his door, a business with ten-thousandfold profit and no capital.

“Have people watch them in secret, in case they try to gather information behind our backs or suddenly leave.”

Thinking of the woman he had just seen, Commandant Qiu could not help growing a little distracted and amorous. A flower blooming on a high, lonely peak always stirred a powerful urge to conquer it.