Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1595 - 1594 - Evaluation

It took 3 full days for Lind just to wake up. Karu had checked on him but there was little she could do. Any pill or elixir that could work on him would be prohibitively expensive.

The innkeeper, a shadow seal man, had come home all smiles as his daughter, son, and wife had been brought back alive and whole to see a huge pile of Qi stones and elemental crystals with a note.

The smiles only widened after Karu explained their current state of affairs. His wife and children clamored to keep them safe and then they went to get any fish they could from the market.

Fish was the primary food and beasts of any cultivation realm could absorb the Qi embedded within the flesh to help recovery.

Lind was unaware of that until he groggily opened his eyes and found a small pile of completely unknown fish cut into several styles. There was filet, fingers, and even a preserved sushi style dish.

The meat smelled wonderful and he ate it happily. The little he could absorb did clear his head but his body felt like lead.

He had clearly not only tapped out his dantian but gone far beyond his tolerance. He examined his body and confirmed that while his Mysteries in his dantian were somewhat recovered, they were far from peak condition.

His physical body seemed like it had done multiple marathons back to back with muscle and other tissue damage.

Even his soul, guarded by his harmony, felt strained.

Since both body and soul were one, it seemed one could affect the other directly now.

That was annoying but good to know. He also noted it took a considerable amount of damage too as in his previous fights he had been knocked out or consumed various elixirs to prevent the strain it seemed.

As such, his recovery was miserably slow. Once awake, he was able to learn that the fish were from the Immortal Realm or below as Divine Realm fish were just impossible to bring to a table.

While humans and demons had some qualms about eating sentient beings as beasts at that level became, beasts were pragmatic. So long as it was not done cruelly, the hunt of life and death was perfectly acceptable to them.

The strong live and consume while the weak are consumed. Lind had some issues but already butchered beasts and his body's needs meant it was moot to him. Besides, it was not like the beasts would hold back against the other races if they wanted to consume them too.

Fair is fair.

He spent the next 3 weeks recovering in seclusion while news filtered in.

First, the city had what was essentially a huge party and send off for those that were saved and died in the caverns. He heard that many families had essentially toasted his health over and over but he was not there thankfully to be buried by it.

After that, some of the travelers tried to make some problems but shadow seals, or any seal race, were extremely strong in either form. They quickly ran out the trouble makers.

Several sects and factions had heard of the fall of the bounty hunters and tried to claim treasures from the dead group but the shadow seals had long since hidden them away. The artifacts that affected beasts in particular had been taken for study.

Lind was intensely curious about them as well but did not have the energy to investigate yet. He became sleepy far too easily!

Misham, the man he now learned was a Shatterstone Walrus, had officially retired as City Lord due to the loss of his cultivation. The race was from a stretch of northern cliffs and they literally carved their homes out of the stone at the water's edge!

What kind of power was that?!

The stones and forests of the Divine Lands were insanely strong but his race could break it even at the Heaven Realm!

He was still in the city as he had many friends and clearly was reluctant to sever ties yet.

Lind felt bad but restoring cultivation like that was beyond him. Especially at the Divine Realm, it was just too individualized.

The final piece of news was there was a kind of competition regarding his location. One side wanted him to be properly rewarded, one side wanted to give what was promised to him by the krakens and leviathans before shooting him out the gate, and the final group wanted him to pay for bringing tragedy upon the city.

Lind sighed as it became quite apparent that quietly leaving was long gone as an option. Even if it existed before the bounty hunters, the fact they pinpointed his arrival point meant everyone had overlooked the obvious.

More people are coming. The fact none had shown up in the near month he had been recovering spoke more to the great distance between the various powers more than their desire.

After some consideration, Lind decided to contact the leviathan envoy before anything else. He knew they too had recovered but had gone into seclusion as he had. The innkeepers of Shadow Seal Cove actually had official channels depending on the quality of the inn.

Lind had not been picky when he came back from the caverns, he just wanted to safely pass out.

Thankfully, luck was still on his side as the current inn, Cutter's Tap Inn, was a middle level contact area. Thus, he was authorized to reach out to the envoy if a guest was present.

Surprisingly, it was only a day later that Lind was told the envoy had arrived!

He quickly moved to a decent sized meeting room on the floor his rooms were on. The innkeeper was a savvy man to keep his presence hidden but surely the leviathan envoy would stick out?

He entered the room to find Karu and a young man with bluish skin speaking amicably. They both looked up but the aura of the envoy made Lind frown.

He was an Apprentice Tier but just barely. Technically, Lind was his senior!

The issue was he was sure he had felt a far more powerful aura previously. As if sensing his thoughts the envoy bowed low to him.

"Forgive this junior, but I am the replacement after the most recent incident. Their majesties wanted a full update and recalled my honored uncle." Lind realized that the young leviathan that brought them must have raced back after learning something was wrong.

Even at their best speed, they could not get there and back quickly.

"That is all right, it was simply not mentioned. Was the Shadow Seal Cove not aware or no announcement?" The envoy nodded.

"Senior is correct. The swap of envoys, unless between species, is generally not mentioned. We do not want them to make a point of marking when we change envoys for similar reasons as to what just happened." Lind suddenly grasped it and looked grim.

Just as the bounty hunters staked out Shadow Seal Cove to capture him, if the leviathans and krakens made an official ceremony for when they changed envoys, it could lead to hunters trying to capture them off the coasts.

The city was a safe haven but open water could be very dangerous with enough planning. He had already seen flying artifacts that hid from the senses of both races quite well.

"All right, then I would like to get to the point and ask your frank opinion. Do you have the promised goods and jade tablets for my plans or should I scrap all of it?" His words made the envoy blink before they slowly bowed low as a bracelet was placed on the wooden table between them.

Karu made no sound but she looked at him with some reproach for his rude behavior. Lind did not care at that moment as they were long overdue for their conversation as well. Still, her reaction was genuine.

Lind examined the storage treasure and found all that was negotiated beforehand was there plus a few other things. He arched an eyebrow but the envoy smiled back.

"Senior suffered to save my uncle and other innocents. Not only their Majesties but former City Lord Misham was able to obtain some compensation for you. They are 4 Divine Stones of natural Qi. Their Majesties gave 3 pearls, Divine Shadow Pearl, Divine Flame Pearl, and Divine Light Pearl." The Divine Stones were welcome as it would allow him to purchase high grade materials from the Ore Heaven Pavilion but the pearls stunned him.

He did not recall reading or learning about the source of such pearls! They were like pure crystals combined with jade! There was also far more than Qi inside each one!

They actually contained Daos! Not a little bit either, but fully formed! He looked up and the envoy looked envious but glad for him as well.

"Why?" Such a thing was clearly far more precious than any raw material he had yet come across but the envoy seemed prepared.

"Senior, my uncle is a direct brother to her Majesty. She and His Majesty are very close to him as he has served well. The kraken Majesties also said they must not be left behind." Lind frowned before he understood.

A close family member had been in danger but rescued by his direct actions. He had also saved the kraken princess and had taken on the task only to face hardship beyond anyone's expectation.

"Where are these from?" The envoy became solemn finally as he activated an isolation ward.

"Senior, the pearls are raised by the kraken race. They nurture them over many millions of years with the use of various mussel tribes that are under their protection. Only 1 to 2 pearls can be harvested in 2 million years at a time." Lind's eyes went wide.

He could see that his evaluation had gone dramatically up in the eyes of the kraken and leviathan races. He accepted it and understood no other change was suggested. No one but he, Karu, and the royal leaders knew his next step.

He bowed low and then ordered tea for them to discuss any other news the envoy might have.