Chapter 195: Chapter 192: The Imperial Bell Rang
"Well, if it isn’t you, my girl. You’ve come at the perfect time. Wonderful, wonderful!"
Seeing Niu Kexin, Liu Hong immediately perked up.
He was running low on Medicinal Pills, and he knew better than anyone how much Mo Qi cared for Niu Kexin.
’Niu Kexin must have plenty of Medicinal Pills!’
"Heh heh, my dear girl, come, come, have a seat." Liu Hong rubbed his hands together, his old face wrinkling into a smile as wide as a blooming chrysanthemum.
But there were no empty seats left at the banquet.
"You, make way!" Liu Hong said, pointing at Li Linbin, the Li Family ancestor who had berated Mu Kongfu earlier.
Snapping out of his shock, Li Linbin stood up with a wry smile and gave his seat to Niu Kexin.
He’d wanted to make a good impression on Liu Hong, but his attempt to curry favor had completely backfired.
Since Liu Hong himself had spoken, no one else dared to object.
Niu Kexin knew Liu Hong’s temperament well—his word was law. So, she didn’t bother protesting and simply took the seat.
"My dear girl, have you been well lately? Has anyone been bullying you? Are your Cultivation Resources holding up?" Liu Hong asked softly, his eyes crinkling in a smile.
The atmosphere at the banquet instantly turned bizarre.
Everyone could see that Liu Hong’s current attitude could even be described as sycophantic; it seemed he wanted something from Niu Kexin.
But what no one could understand was why the great Master Liu would need a favor from a young woman.
Niu Kexin rolled her eyes. When it came to understanding the Liu grandfather-granddaughter duo, not even Mo Qi knew them better than she did.
For starters, Mo Qi had never seen Liu Ruyan’s true face, and he was completely unaware of the real relationship between Liu Ruyan and Liu Hong.
But *she* knew!
After all, she and Liu Ruyan were closer than sisters!
The moment Liu Hong opened his mouth, Niu Kexin knew exactly what he was after.
"Senior, Little Brother Mo asked me to bring this to you." Niu Kexin took out a Storage Ring and handed it to Liu Hong.
Liu Hong quickly accepted it and swept it with his Divine Sense. When he saw the number of Medicinal Pills inside, his crinkled smile blossomed into a look of pure, radiant joy.
At the same time, he sighed inwardly for Liu Ruyan.
He knew that as long as Niu Kexin was in the picture, Liu Ruyan would always have to take a secondary role.
It was for no other reason than that Niu Kexin was simply too thoughtful, considering Mo Qi’s needs in every way imaginable.
The Medicinal Pills in the Storage Ring had clearly been prepared by Mo Qi for her, yet she was giving them to him in Mo Qi’s name.
Though he was loath to admit it, that was a level of thoughtfulness Liu Ruyan could never hope to match.
Mu Xue, meanwhile, was absolutely seething with resentment.
When she and Mu He had gone to pay their respects, Liu Hong hadn’t even opened his eyes, not deigning to give them a single glance.
Yet when it came to Niu Kexin, he not only offered her a seat at the main table but was also chatting merrily with her.
’Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!’
’The comparison is just brutal!’
Liu Hong and Niu Kexin were communicating via sound transmission. Although the crowd saw Niu Kexin hand over a Storage Ring, they had no idea what the two were discussing.
It was clearly not the time to interject with questions, so the guests could only put down their chopsticks and wait patiently.
Just then, a bell began to toll.
DONG!
This was no ordinary sound, but a toll that struck the very depths of one’s soul.
Mortals could not hear this toll; only Cultivators could.
And the higher one’s Cultivation, the more clearly it was heard.
RUMBLE!
The entire Imperial City began to tremble slightly. The Imperial Palace, in particular, erupted in brilliant golden light, and the Spiritual Energy grew increasingly dense.
ROAR!
A dragon’s cry emanated from deep beneath the Imperial Palace. The dragon-shaped patterns carved throughout the palace halls seemed to come to life, their bodies writhing before they transformed into beams of light and soared into the sky.
In an instant, a host of dragons converged above the Imperial Palace. Auspicious omens formed like clouds and iridescent light filled the air, creating an utterly stunning spectacle.
The expressions of everyone present changed drastically, Liu Hong included.
"This... Is this the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell being struck?!" Li Shimu’s expression was fraught with excitement and disbelief, his voice trembling.
"Heaven protects the Li Family! Heaven protects the Li Family! Grand Ancestor, someone has actually fulfilled your prophecy!" Li Linbin, who had not yet left, fell to his knees before the host of dragons above, his old face flushed crimson.
Seeing this, the members of the Six Great Clans all knelt as well, their faces filled with fanatical devotion.
Liu Hong quickly composed himself, stroking his beard in admiration. "I can’t believe the kid actually succeeded," he marveled. "Incredible!"
Liu Ruyan and Niu Kexin hugged each other again in delight.
"Brother Mo is the best! There’s nothing he can’t do!"
"Yes, he’s the best!" Niu Kexin’s face was filled with pride.
Li Shimu stepped forward and said, "Master Liu, would you be interested in going to see for yourself?"
"Alright."
...
「Back at the Dragon Vein Core, Within the Pass.」
Aside from his skull and spine, every other bone in Mo Qi’s body had been utterly crushed by the Dragon Might. His physical form went limp, and only his Battle Armor held him upright.
He willed the Battle Armor to haul him forward, and he crashed headfirst into the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell. His consciousness instantly went black.
What Mo Qi didn’t know was that at the very moment he lost consciousness, the ring his mother had left him, which he wore around his neck, slipped through a wound where broken bone had pierced his flesh and burrowed into his body.
As the Pig Emperor and the crowd at the edge of the Dragon Vein watched in shock, Mo Qi’s body, which had been flying toward the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell, suddenly stopped. He wobbled unsteadily to his feet.
His shattered bones contracted and re-formed, returning to their proper places. His wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"This kid’s body is exceptionally frail." A man’s voice, not his own, issued from Mo Qi’s lips. It sounded somewhat nonchalant, yet ancient.
"Who are you? What have you done to Mo the kid?"
A thousand feet away, the Pig Emperor’s face fell. It stared intently at "Mo Qi," its hooves rapidly weaving behind its back as strange wisps of Energy began to converge.
"Mo Qi" glanced at the Pig Emperor and grunted in surprise. "A Longevity Dragon Pig? The kid’s done pretty well for himself to have a pet like this. I say, little piggy head, stop your scheming back there. In consideration of your loyalty, I’ll grant you a fortuitous opportunity."
The Pig Emperor froze. "..."
’Niu Kexin’s "little piggy" was one thing; that was more or less acceptable. But "little piggy head"? What the hell kind of name was that?’
’Isn’t that going too far?’
"Mo Qi" chuckled and raised a hand, making a grasping motion at the Dragon Soul in the air above.
ROAR!
Under assault, the Dragon Soul roared in fury, lunging at "Mo Qi" with bared claws and fangs.
"You naughty little thing. So disobedient. You’re asking for a beating!"
"Mo Qi" made a fist. Instantly, the Dragon Soul was frozen in mid-air, and he began to tap it on the forehead, again and again.
With each tap, the Dragon Soul shrank a little more.
Finally, the Dragon Soul in "Mo Qi’s" hand had become a ball of light the size of an egg.
"Here you go, little piggy head. This Dragon Source is for you."
"Mo Qi" casually tossed the ball of light to the Pig Emperor.
Even as the Dragon Source landed in its grasp, the Pig Emperor still hadn’t recovered from its shock.
’Such a powerful Dragon Soul... defeated just like that?’
At the edge of the Dragon Vein, a dead silence fell over the entire area.
Wu the Old Ghost’s mouth hung open, words failing him. No one, himself included, could describe the feeling of that moment.
They were just completely and utterly dumbfounded.
