Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 842 - 841 - Trial of Life Part 2

A bar with far too loud music and barely clothed dancers was rocking the height of the night. Drunks and tired workers alike let off steam in the seedy place but it was comfortable. The food was decent and the ale was not too watered down.

More than a few of the crowd would die that night as they made the foolish choice of flashing their spirit stones, but that was normal for the bar.

A hooded figure came in from the night and hardly made any turn their heads. They were one of many.

The figure was slim but moved with the grace of a predator. Again, not too unusual as many experts came to unwind at the bar far from guilds or sects.

They came to a full bar but easily tossed a passed out drunk like they weighed nothing to the wall. The shoddy wood wall barely stood up to the impact, but it held. That drew a few auras and eyes but none could pierce the cloak.

A small handful paid the barkeep and left at that revelation. They wanted nothing to do with a cultivator of that strength and high end artifacts.

The rotund barkeep looked nervous until a stack of Sky Stones were left on his counter.

"Honey burn ale." The 3 words made the barkeep blanch as few knew he had such stock on hand but the price was right so he obliged. It was also enough to cover the damages.

A few sharp eyed folk noticed the exchange but again, one look at the cloak and many lost interest in trying their luck. There were far easier marks in the drunken crowd.

There were of course, suicidal fools everywhere.

"Such swill as this place has and you order such a light ale? It may be pricey but that is just because the ingredients are. I can show–" A lanky man with long bangs tried to ply the figure but then he was sent sailing perfectly out the door.

Not a scratch was made on the bar. That throw, however, made silence descend on the bar. A passed out drunk was one thing as they had no chance to defend, but that thief was well known and a tier 7 Sky Realm.

Who could just toss them like nothing and perfectly avoid the crowd and window?

Any in the bar that had thoughts of robbing them let it go right then. The fact they had not killed the thief was already a mercy clearly.

A dirty mug was placed on the bar but the golden liquid inside was exquisite. All were shocked when the person downed it like water. They did not even cough!

Honey burn ale was a fancy but powerful drink. Anyone below the Sky Realm would be drunk for a month! More people left quickly as they smelled trouble.

"P-please don't wreck my place." The barkeep became a soothsayer right then but the figure only nodded before turning to the remaining crowd.

"We can do this easy or my preferred way of hard. Choose." The line of sight strangely went to one of the dancers! They had not stopped but the dancer in question was almost invisible compared to the others.

She had a slim body but not emaciated. She had decent breasts but not so large to draw eyes away from her more bountiful companions. Her face was not ugly nor pretty. Her hair was dark but not so dark to draw the eye.

It was odd. How could a dancer meant to pull coins be so ordinary?

As if the attention broke a spell, a shimmering washed over the girl and a man was revealed! Anger went through the crowd but then a Star Tier aura was felt!

"Damn you–" He was about to use a dagger but then a bolt took him between the eyes! No one even saw the crossbow pulled out. In fact, they still didn't as the figure moved forward with their hands empty.

"Always the hard way." They grabbed the body and tossed another purse at the barkeep. "For your troubles. A round of drinks."

The crowd went from fearful to roars of joy!

The figure left with the body but all toasted to their health.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

[While that was generous, it will cause issues later.] Helia frowned as Lind spoke in her mind. She had spent the better part of a century learning from him and becoming stronger but they had found no leads for the death of her parents.

He told her it was Immortals but they were human so far as he could tell. She knew he was a soul body tied to her but he could not say anymore and both were annoyed by that.

She was now a peak Sky Realm but her power was a full realm above. She was mostly human but her dragon blood afforded her some helpful cheats.

She was stronger, faster, and far more resilient than any human. She also had a much longer lifespan.

Despite taking a century to reach the peak of the Sky Realm, a rather slow speed, she looked incredibly young. She was not done growing! Lind assured her she still had a growth spurt left but she recalled how her mother looked so gorgeous and Helia looked more like her father.

She moved through the seedy streets of Baltar until finally reaching a main avenue. The corpse over her back drew eyes but she did not care. She hung the badge of the Bounty Guild openly so no one stopped her.

She could store the corpse but it would not serve her purpose.

Sure enough, she smelled her true prey for the evening.

[She is on the roof 3 buildings over on the left.] Lind's words made her feel warm. If not for him, she would have been alone. He also helped her through her heart demons as she wanted to rage at the world.

After another block, a presence tried to snatch the body from her back but a weaving snapped to life and 3 circles of emerald light snagged a woman in a similar cloak to Helia's.

"Tck, you take my bounty and now trap me? That is rude." A voluptuous woman was wriggling inside the circles but even her Moon Tier power was not enough to break free.

"Yuna, you would not meet with me, so I got your attention." Helia then placed the corpse and the crossbow at her feet. Yuna looked at her with her sea blue eyes in confusion. Her short cropped fiery hair accentuated her cute face.

Many men bemoaned that the Fiery Yuna had no interest in them.

"You refused to date me, so why should I meet you?" Helia sighed at the troublesome woman. Yuna would not answer her questions over a date or Helia would have happily agreed.

[A moment, she is trying to break free.] Lind's voice made her pause before a new weaving snapped into place that sealed Yuna's Qi.

She looked supremely irritated as she looked up at the moons.

"You are rude not to show yourself! A partner should not hide in the shadows!" It was well known that Helia had a partner but none had ever seen them. A weaver was a respected profession but few ever worked in the Bounty Guild.

"He is merely helping me with personal business. You have something I want and I now have the bounty you want. A trade. Simple and no complications." Yuna pouted but then sighed before nodding.

"What do you want from me?" Helia shook her head before waving her hands and the bands vanished. The Qi remained sealed but a storage pouch collected the body and weapon before being tossed to Yuna.

She took Yuna to a simple cafe but the owner nodded as they ascended the stairs and entered a highly secured room. Even Shard Tiers could not pierce the veil of formations.

"Over a century ago, a dragon and her human mate were killed. You looked into it, why?" A dark frown crossed Yuna's face. She seemed almost angry.

"This bounty is not worth that. In fact, nothing is. Get them to let me go now!" Helia was surprised. Yuna was known to be teasing, flirty, and dismissive but she was dead serious now.

"What were they to you?" Yuna tried to leave but the formations were far above her. Without Qi, Helia was in command.

"What does it matter to you?" The question thundered in the room and Helia was unsure how to respond.

[Tell her. Trust me.] Lind gave her strength and Helia took a deep breath before pulling her hood back.

As she had gotten older, while her face and body resembled her father, her hair was a pale violet unique to her mother.

The instant Yuna saw her face, tears formed. She slowly stepped forward and cupped Helia's face. She looked into her pale violet eyes and cried.

"You look like him. You have her hair. By the spirits, who are you?" Yuna was trembling but Helia simply smiled.

"I am the daughter of Samon and my dragon mother, Extalia. I want to know who killed them." Yuna fell to her knees. The room had a table but there was enough room for them to face each other like that.

"A daughter. By the spirits, they had a daughter!" Yuna was crying in joy before she got herself under control. "I am Yuna, I was essentially a sister to Samon before Extalia came and saved us. Our orphanage was nearly taken by Fiends back then."

Helia heard the story of how her parents met. Her father had no gift for cultivation but he had a charisma few could resist. He never courted Extalia but did small things in thanks that culminated in love.

Helia then finally learned the truth.

Human allies of the Obsidian Clan chose to attack and kill her parents due to their impure relationship. The Temple of Souls and Fire had punished them as it was not their place but the humans survived!

They were alive. Helia's eyes became cold as she took in all Yuna had learned but it was not yet time. She was not strong enough yet.