Dragon Tamer

“And then there are people from the Di Clan, they took the initiative to hand over a few gemstone mines for us to manage, probably producing…” Hu Bailing held a lengthy list in her hands, earnestly read out the details to Zhu Minglang.

“For these matters, you and your siblings make the decisions, there’s no need to report everything to me; I trust that you can keep the city well-organized and use the resources where they should be utilized,” Zhu Minglang said.

“Yes, City Lord. Oh, by the way, there are three Thousand-Year Lingzhi mushrooms in Lingzhi Valley; they originally wanted to sell them to raise start-up capital, but I took them all instead. The lady of the house is frail, and her complexion is always poor, she should take more to replenish her health,” Hu Bailing said.

“That’s quite good,” Zhu Minglang nodded, even though he found the term ‘lady of the house’ a bit odd.

By now, Zhu Minglang already had four pieces of Ancient Lantern Jade.

However, two of these Ancient Lantern Jade pieces contained somewhat lackluster energy and required absorption of nature’s spiritual energy to replenish, in order to be effective for soul nourishment.

But that was merely a matter of time, the reason the Ancient Lantern Jade was special is that it would absorb the spirit origin from the environment on its own, continuing the wearer’s soul.

With four pieces of Ancient Lantern Jade, he now essentially had one complete Ancient Lantern Jade ornament. As long as Li Xinghua wore it every day, Li Yunzi would no longer be in danger for her life and the injury to her soul would gradually heal, she might even become stronger than before.

In the future, the time Li Yunzi was awake would gradually increase. Counting stars on the rooftop all night long was not out of the question, time was indeed meant to be enjoyed…

All was flourishing and Zhu Minglang was especially gratified.

However, there was one issue that made Zhu Minglang a bit worried.

And that was the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon.

True to its history of rebellion, after successfully completing its Ascending Tribulation, it had been lying in the Spirit Realm, maintaining a state of deep post-metamorphosis slumber.

But each time it awakened, Zhu Minglang could sense a restlessness stirring within his own Spirit Realm!

A King-Level Dragon, its consciousness was also immensely powerful and terrifying. Zhu Minglang found that his Spirit Contract was somewhat unable to fully suppress it!

Worried about this, Zhu Minglang quickly woke Mr. Jinli to ask for advice.

“What did you say, you forged a Spirit Contract with the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon???” Mr. Jinli exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes,” Zhu Minglang said with a wry smile; Mr. Jinli had lost his memory again.

“I said I wanted a Purple Dragon, a Purple Dragon, and what is this multicolored, dark creature you’ve brought me? The Heavenly Slaughter Dragon wasn’t even on the list of dragons I compiled for you. Besides, the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon is a Dragon King, and you are at most a Dragon Shepherd whose cultivation has reached the High Rank King Level, how can you bind a Dragon King? While it hasn’t awakened from its transformation, you should quickly release it!” Mr. Jinli said, staring with his large fish eyes.

“I’ve already signed the contract, and besides, its becoming a Dragon King is partly due to my efforts,” Zhu Minglang said.

“Are you talking about gratitude with a dragon that has a lineage of rebellion? Its biggest act of gratitude towards you would be to remind you to eat less garlic recently,” Mr. Jinli said.

“Why should it remind me to eat less garlic?” Zhu Minglang was completely puzzled.

“The Mourning Dragon species dislikes the smell of garlic. If it tastes garlic while chewing on your flesh, it will spit you out and then, in its anger, stomp you to death!” Mr. Jinli said irritably.

With Mr. Jinli’s words, Zhu Minglang truly felt a chill.

“While a Spirit Contract indeed has a suppressive effect on dragons, it doesn’t mean it can span such a large gap. Especially King-Level beings, far beyond all Mortal Dragons. The Killing Dragon isn’t stupid, without enough confidence in rebellion, why would it sign a Spirit Contract with you?” Mr. Jinli continued.

“I understand the reasoning, so Mr. Jinli, do you have any methods now to suppress this Dragon King, to make it obediently listen to me?” Zhu Minglang asked.

Zhu Minglang did indeed now possess a Dragon King as a Dragon Shepherd.

But this Dragon King, it seemed, didn’t really listen to him…

This was truly awkward and not quite what he had expected. Especially if those powers from the Tea-colored Ground heard of this matter, his prestige as a King-level Honorable would be utterly gone!

“Is it just disobedient?” Mr. Jinli asked.

“Yes, it’s younger than I imagined. While it harbors resentment and some malevolent aura, for now, it doesn’t have any intention to kill its master,” Zhu Minglang said.

“The bonds of a Spirit Contract are very strong in the early stages. The bond between you and the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon can be likened to a chain. This chain won’t rust, wear out, or break at first. But over time, it will, as the Spirit Contract chain weakens with the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon’s growing dissatisfaction, contempt, and resistance against your forceful commands, until it finally breaks free completely…” Mr. Jinli said seriously.

“Then what should I do?” Zhu Minglang also became worried.

“Of course, it’s to improve your strength. If you gain its recognition with your power, or if there are other dragons capable of deterring it, it naturally won’t think of fleeing. A dragon pet’s desertion is terrifying, not only does the broken Spirit Contract become void and one cannot form a new bond, but it also causes great trauma to the soul of the Dragon Shepherd, making it difficult to rely on cultivation to form new Spirit Contracts in the future,” Mr. Jinli said.

When it was still a Fiend Star Dragon, Zhu Minglang’s Sword Awakening State indeed could intimidate it, but now that it had ascended and become a Dragon King, his own strength was far behind it.

The main issue was that the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon fundamentally had the blood of rebellion in its bones.

In this regard, Zhu Minglang had actually considered it, but at the time, he still wanted to take a gamble. After all, it was a rare Dragon King. It would be too much of a pity if it were truly gone.

“During its Ascending Tribulation, its body was severely damaged; it is now equivalent to recuperating in my Spirit Realm,” Zhu Minglang said.

“It should take a year or two. If it isn’t afraid of its cultivation base becoming unstable, it probably won’t rebel within one or two years,” Mr. Jinli said.

“Then there’s still time.”

“Strengthening bonds is also an effective method. With the Spirit Contract in place, many of your emotions are interconnected. If nurtured well, even if you are a mortal, it won’t betray you,” Mr. Jinli said.

Zhu Minglang nodded his head.

Little White had followed him without a Spirit Contract before.

The emotions between a Dragon Trainer and a dragon are indeed very important.

Tu Wenhe probably didn’t consider this aspect properly, which led to the complete rebellion of the Undead Female Star Dragon.

“However, reaching the King-level realm isn’t necessarily a matter of effort alone. I’m worried that within one or two years, you won’t be able to advance to King Level. Even the talented Bai Qi could only reach Peak at best. Finding an opportunity for it to break through to King Level on this resource-scarce continent is incredibly difficult,” Mr. Jinli said, shaking his head and sighing.

“There will always be a way. Speaking of which, these past few days Little White has been lapsing into a deep sleep again, and no matter how much I call, I can’t wake him up,” Zhu Minglang said.

“It sleeping is a good thing.”

“Strange…”

Zhu Minglang intended to check on Bai Qi’s condition within the Spirit Contract since it had also been injured.

But soon, Zhu Minglang saw a very special scene on Little White!

And this scene, it felt familiar!