novelraw Chapter 287
Chapter 287
Chapter 287: New Life
“Knock, knock.”
South of Lachlan Royal City.
Far from the bustling downtown area, each independent villa here comes with a small, uniquely designed garden.
In Lachlan Royal City, where land is worth its weight in gold, owning such a small piece of land is a sign of high status and prestige.
Those who live here are either wealthy or noble.
Or, they are heroes with outstanding achievements.
Fiona White, the strongest swordsman born alongside the Lachlan Kingdom, is revered as the Sword Saint by the humans of Azure Continent.
Before meeting Xia Li, she lost her left arm in a battle and subsequently retired from the front lines to the rear.
When Brave Hero Xia Li was summoned by the King of Lachlan, Fiona was entrusted with the important task of becoming the first and only mentor to the hero upon his arrival in this world. Fiona imparted all her rich combat experience, as well as her exquisite swordsmanship and archery skills, to Brave Hero Xia Li without reservation.
Her martial prowess was so high that standing before Xia Li, she was like a towering mountain, insurmountable for him.
Without the enhancement of artifact power, Xia Li had never defeated his mentor.
Under Fiona’s harsh, even somewhat abusive training, Xia Li grew at a visible pace.
From a young man who would cut his hand even while chopping vegetables, he transformed into a reliable man wielding a long sword and overcoming obstacles in the blink of an eye.
In truth, Xia Li was grateful to her.
Without Fiona’s hellish training, Xia Li would have perished in this land long ago.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
After a pause.
Xia Li stood before an arched wooden door and knocked again.
Footsteps sounded from within, and then the door gently opened.
A young girl opened the door. When she saw Xia Li behind it, she was slightly taken aback, and then an excited expression appeared on her face.
“You must be Mr. Xia Li!”
“Yes, it’s me.”
The girl opened the door fully and politely stepped aside to let Xia Li in.
“We’ve been expecting you. Please come in!”
Xia Li stepped inside, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bag full of fresh ingredients in the other.
Although he considered that his mentor lacked nothing, as a student, he still wanted to convey his heartfelt gratitude.
Looking around the house, Xia Li was surprised by the simple and unadorned style of the interior.
There were no elaborately decorated mud walls, only plain wooden floors and four spacious rooms.
Mentor Fiona’s house was as simple as an ordinary roughcast house outside the city.
There was no feeling of being in the most expensive area of Lachlan Royal City.
“Excuse me, are you…?”
Turning around, Xia Li was curious about the girl who opened the door.
The girl smoothed the braid over her shoulder and answered Xia Li with a smile.
“I’m Fiona-daren’s granddaughter…”
“Granddaughter?” Xia Li was surprised.
That Mentor Fiona, she already had a granddaughter?
He thought she would be her daughter at most…
But thinking about it, it made sense.
When Xia Li met her, she was already in her thirties, and now she was probably sixty years old.
“When Fiona-daren was young, she suffered from an incurable illness. As she aged, her health deteriorated day by day… This way, please.”
The girl led the way, heading straight to the innermost room.
The door was half-open, and a woman sat quietly inside, half of her face illuminated by the slanting sunlight from outside.
Fiona sat in a wheelchair, a thick blanket covering her legs.
She wasn’t as old as Xia Li had imagined, but she was thinner than before. Coupled with her shrunken limbs, she still looked alarming.
“Teacher…”
Xia Li placed the flowers in Fiona’s hand.
The right hand that had once saved countless lives was now as thin as a stick.
“I missed you very much.”
Fiona’s fiery red hair was like a blazing flame. She placed the flowers on her lap and raised her arm, struggling to embrace Xia Li.
Xia Li bent down and hugged her.
The familiar scent, she still loved to bathe with daisies. No matter when, she always carried a hint of daisy fragrance on her.
“Teacher, I…”
“I’m sorry, Xia Li.”
As Xia Li was about to express his longing, Fiona raised her arm, patted his back gently, and apologized to him in a low voice.
Xia Li was surprised.
“Teacher, why are you saying that?”
“I’ve always felt guilty…”
Fiona’s eyes held deep remorse. She raised her head and whispered, “When I first saw you, saw the innocence on your face… I felt a deep sense of guilt.”
“Before coming to Azure Continent, before being forced to become the Brave Hero here, you couldn’t even hold a sword. Let alone kill a person, you probably hadn’t even killed a small animal, right? I saw that in you.”
“However… because of our wishful thinking, because of the responsibility we forced upon you, you had to pick up weapons and face enemies. It wasn’t fair to you.”
“I didn’t dare say it before because I couldn’t dampen your morale. I couldn’t shatter the high hopes the people of Lachlan had placed on you… But as time passed, I regretted it more and more. We hurt you. After you disappeared from Azure Continent twenty-two years ago, this became a knot in my heart. I thought I would never be able to say these things again.”
“Now, you’re back…”
“I’m truly sorry, Xia Li. You’ve suffered.”
After Fiona finished speaking softly, Xia Li suddenly felt his nose tingle.
“Don’t say that, Teacher. I did it all willingly…”
“Your willingness was forced upon you. You’re a good child, you didn’t want to disappoint everyone, so you had to move forward.”
Fiona gently patted Xia Li’s shoulder. The warm sunlight from outside slanted through the window and shone on her head. Xia Li saw a few strands of white mixed in with her fiery red hair.
Fiona was really getting old.
In fact, Xia Li knew deep down that this was his own choice.
Including summoning himself from Earth to Azure Continent, this was the path he chose.
But when Fiona looked at him with such loving eyes, he felt like he had truly suffered.
In front of a teacher, a student is always a child.
“At first…”
Xia Li choked back a sob and continued.
“At first, I was scared, but then I got used to the atmosphere. I treated it as playing a unique 3A game, except I only had one life and couldn’t afford to lose it easily…”
Fiona listened quietly to Xia Li’s account. Although she didn’t understand many of the words, she knew that this child in front of her had indeed suffered a lot.
The world thought Xia Li was a noble and powerful hero, but only Fiona had seen his vulnerability and helplessness.
She held her beloved student, feeling the warmth emanating from his chest.
On this bright morning, she only wished time would slow down, slower and slower.
◈◈◈
On the other side of the continent.
Here was the deepest part of the forest, the Dragon Homeland.
As the dragon territory gradually shrank, the Dragon Homeland, where dragons had lived for years, was now overflowing with dragons.
The density had reached dozens of dragons per kilometer.
You know, in the distant past, the territory of a strong dragon could reach thousands of kilometers. The current density of one kilometer was unimaginable.
However, it was said that a few years ago, some dragons discovered a vast new territory at the end of the South China Sea in Azure Continent.
That land was not crowded with humans, nor were there elves living there. It might be a good place for the dragons at this stage.
The black dragon, Neer Hulk, had been planning this.
He tried to move the World Tree, but this required the cooperation of almost all intelligent dragons, and the difficulty was imaginable.
◈◈◈
Apart from the dragon migration that troubled the black dragon, there was another matter that Neer Hulk couldn’t let go of.
That was his meeting with the silver dragon, Sivana, more than seventy years ago.
“It’s about time…”
Looking at the intertwined branches of the World Tree, the black dragon, Neer Hulk, muttered to himself.
If the silver dragon didn’t come back now, she wouldn’t be able to.
They were about to move.
Before moving, Neer Hulk still hoped to see the silver dragon descendant again.
Thinking of this, just as Neer Hulk was sighing, he suddenly felt a familiar aura.
Looking closely, he saw a woman appear out of thin air in front of his immobile body, which had merged with the World Tree.
The woman was tall and slender, wearing a snow-white fleece cloak, with three thousand silver threads cascading down her body.
Those golden-red eyes, belonging to a pure-blooded giant dragon, were still as cold and arrogant as ever.
But compared to the last time they met, she seemed more mature and composed this time.
“We meet again, Sivana.”
Neer Hulk said with relief.
“I came this time to thank you.”
Lucia placed several roasted lambs she bought under the towering World Tree.
Since she really didn’t know how to thank Neer Hulk, Lucia simply started with ‘food.’
Every living being needs to eat. Giving Neer Hulk something new to eat was more practical.
“Oh… human food. I haven’t seen it in a long time.”
Neer Hulk’s voice was deep and resonant, as if coming down from the sky.
He manipulated the roots of the World Tree, rolled up the roasted lambs Lucia had placed on the ground, and then pulled the food into the soil together.
“It seems you succeeded.”
Neer Hulk widened his golden-red eyes, almost identical to Lucia’s, and looked her up and down, then said meaningfully, “Fate is destined to make you succeed. Now, I am also a witness to the future.”
Neer Hulk chuckled. His withered body was completely fused with the World Tree, and when he laughed, the entire giant tree trembled along with him.
Truly ‘shaking with laughter.’
“I heard you’re moving?”
Lucia asked Neer Hulk curiously, having heard some rumors along the way.
Neer Hulk shook his dark dragon head and nodded.
“Are we going to give our last forest to humans?”
Lucia said thoughtfully.
After all, dragon blood flowed in her veins. Even if she fell in love with a human, she wouldn’t do anything to completely betray her own race.
When she heard that the dragons were preparing to migrate, she still felt a little regretful.
“It’s not giving it to them, it’s just that we’re not ready yet.”
“Yes, not ready yet.”
Lucia echoed, her lips curving into a slight smile.
Dragons were all so stubborn.
She said the same thing when she couldn’t beat Xia Li.
“There can only be one overlord in one world. We’ve been fighting with humans for thousands of years. It’s time to give both sides a result.”
Neer Hulk’s tone was not regretful, but rather relieved after making a decision.
“We need time to develop. Mixing with humans, our blood will be diluted more and more… That’s what’s really important to us.”
Hearing Neer Hulk say this, Lucia understood.
Dragons might not care what they ate or where they slept.
But they were very particular about their bloodline.
The worse the bloodline of a dragon, the lower its intelligence and the more likely it was to cause chaos. This was the origin of the constant conflict with humans.
It seemed that Neer Hulk and his people had figured this out.
“I support your decision.”
Having received the answer, Lucia chose to support it.
Neer Hulk nodded with satisfaction.
“By the way, I’ve always wanted to ask a question.”
Lucia felt a little tired from standing, and the roots under her feet immediately intertwined to form a chair for her to sit on.
“Do I weigh 3,000 tons?” Lucia said after sitting down.
Neer Hulk was puzzled by this question.
Lucia continued to explain.
“My… that is, my partner said that even if I get fat to 3,000 tons, he won’t dislike me.”
As she spoke these words, Lucia’s face was serious, as if she were asking a serious question.
Neer Hulk was amused by her words.
“Hahahahaha…”
“Believe it or not, when your true form actually reaches 3,000 tons, he’ll change that number to 5,000 tons, 8,000 tons.”
Seeing Neer Hulk’s hearty laughter, Lucia couldn’t help but smile, feeling a warmth in her heart.
Indeed.
Xia Li was smooth-talking. To make her happy, he could say anything.
Besides…
Even if she really did get fat to 3,000 tons, Xia Li wouldn’t be allowed to dislike her!
“Actually, I’ve been studying the issue of dragon bloodlines lately.”
At this moment, Neer Hulk’s voice interrupted Lucia’s thoughts.
He continued speaking on his own.
“If the dragon bloodline continues to be diluted, then the disappearance of the last pure-blooded giant dragon in the world is only a matter of time…”
“That would be too tragic.”
“So, I got another inspiration from you… I was thinking, if there is a life form that can withstand the power of the dragon’s sacrificial magic, and their minds and bodies merge, then what kind of bloodline will their offspring have? Could it also be understood that those offspring are also pure-blooded giant dragons?”
“For example, you and the Brave Hero… Logically speaking, the Brave Hero has half of your power flowing in him. That power permeates his bone marrow, soul, and blood. In every sense, the Brave Hero is also a ‘pure-blooded giant dragon.’ So, the offspring you have together are also pure-blooded giant dragons, not mixed-blood dragons.”
“Theoretically, that should be the result. I really want to see that answer in you…”
“If you give me the right answer, then our dragon race will be saved.”
Neer Hulk analyzed a lot.
Lucia listened with great interest.
Although she didn’t quite understand the rules between bloodlines, she felt it made sense.
For the future of the dragon race, she would work hard!
Yesterday, Xia Li was defeated. From now on, she would defeat him every day.
Heehee~
Lucia happily planned her future life in her mind.
At this moment, Neer Hulk moved his body within the main trunk, turning his huge head towards Lucia.
He looked at Lucia, who was sitting on the bench, and said with a solemn gaze.
“I think the answer will be born soon.”
“Huh?”
Lucia, who was taking out her thermos to drink water, paused.
Neer Hulk’s voice rang out again.
“I sense a fragile, vital aura within your body.”