Coiling Dragon_Book 1 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Read online

  Hiri nodded as well.

  The number of people in the town of Wushan who were able to utilize battle-qi could be counted on one hand. Just now, thousands of rocks had descended from the heavens. If people hadn’t managed to hide in cellars early on, or use thick shields to block, then as soon as the stones came crashing down…

  “There’s nothing we can do now, aside from waiting on Hillman’s report.” Hogg felt extremely restless.

  After a long time, urgent, rushed footsteps could be heard entering the manor.

  Hogg’s eyes brightened. Turning, he saw Hillman striding quickly into the manor.

  “Hillman, what’s the situation in the town of Wushan?” Hogg quickly asked.

  Hillman let out a pain-filled sigh. “We just ran some calculations. Over three hundred people died, and a thousand were injured.” The entire town only had a population of five thousand. This meant the casualty rate was about 20%! And this was for those who lived in stone houses. This really was a disaster.

  “So many casualties?” Hogg couldn’t help but begin to grow worried.

  Food was the lifeblood of any nation, and a small town was the same. For their workforce to suddenly decrease dramatically, but the number of injured and crippled to skyrocket… the town’s economic situation was going to worsen even further.

  “Ugh!” Hogg let out a long sigh.

  He wanted to lower their taxes, but the town of Wushan’s tax rate was already very low. Right now, his own clan’s survival had already become a problem. How could he assist the commoners of the town? The situation was different from those other towns, where taxes were so high that many commoners died of exhaustion and misery.

  “Lord Hogg, all the commoners in the town of Wushan greatly appreciate your kindness and generosity. Everybody knows how much you have done for us. Please don’t be too vexed,” Hillman said from the side.

  Hillman himself was born in the town of Wushan.

  Based on his status as a warrior of the sixth rank, even in the capital, he could be the guard captain of a noble family. But because Hillman felt gratitude towards the Baruch clan due to their kindness and generosity, after Hillman retired from his army career, he directly became the captain of the guard for this decaying old noble Baruch clan.

  “Hillman, lead the guard squad to do some more scouting about the town. Uncle Hiri, go and get some rest,” Hogg directly instructed.

  “Yes, lord,” Hillman said.

  Housekeeper Hiri also bowed respectfully and departed. After Hillman also left the pavilion, once again, the only person left remaining was Hogg.

  Within Linley’s bedroom.

  Due to Linley’s head injury, Hiri had instructed everybody not to bother Linley and to let him get some rest. While the town of Wushan was a whirlwind of activity, Linley’s bedroom was peaceful and quiet. Linley himself had been drawn deeply into a world of dreams.

  “Ding!”

  A gentle, chime-like sound could be heard as rays of light began to leak out from Linley’s chest area. And then, a cage of light surrounded the pitch-black Coiling Dragon ring, which slowly flew out from under Linley’s pajamas and began to hover roughly ten centimeters away from him.

  The ring began trembling more strongly, and the glow from the Coiling Dragon ring began to grow as well.

  Fortunately, there was no one in Linley’s bedroom right now. Anyone entering the room would have been stunned. Linley, however, was still blissfully asleep, and didn’t notice at all that the Coiling Dragon ring was now floating.

  “Ting!” The glow surrounding the Coiling Dragon ring suddenly began to contract rapidly, and then a single ray of hazy light flew out from within the ring. Descending next to Linley’s bed, it transformed into a person’s image.

  The image was of an amiable-looking old gentleman with moon-white robes and a long white beard.

  At this point in time, the Coiling Dragon ring directly fell back onto Linley’s chest, powerless. Linley’s eyelids flickered, and then slowly opened. Upon seeing an old man whom he had never met before at the head of his bed, he couldn’t help but feel shocked. “You… who are you?!”

  “Hello, kiddo. My name is Doehring Cowart. I am a Saint-level Grand Magus of the Pouant Empire!” The amiable looking old man said with a smile.

  Linley’s eyes suddenly turned round. “You… you are a Saint-level magus?”

  The white-haired old man nodded confidently.

  “No way. Gramps, you just said you were from the Pouant Empire. The Pouant Empire that was eradicated over five thousand years ago?” Linley was quite familiar with the history of the world, and he knew very well that the Pouant Empire had ceased to exist before his own clan had even come to be. In the modern era, the Pouant Empire was not one of the four great empires of the world.

  The Pouant Empire had lasted for an extremely long period of time, and had been founded over eight thousand years ago. The entire Pouant Empire had lasted for three thousand years, but in the end, it had still been destroyed. The domain which the Pouant Empire had previously held sway over was approximately the combined borders of the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance.

  In other words…

  The entire Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the twelve kingdoms, and the thirty-two duchies had all once belonged to the Pouant Empire. From this alone, one could tell what a vast empire it had been.

  But the Pouant Empire had been destroyed long ago!

  “Over five thousand years ago?” The white-haired old man was momentarily stunned, and then let out a sigh. “There’s no way for me to sense the passing of time from within the Worldring. I didn’t expect that by the time I left the Worldring, over five thousand years would have passed since the destruction of my country.”

  “Gramps, what are you talking about? I’m confused.”

  Linley felt as though his entire mind had been turned muddy. This old grandpa had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and claimed that he was a Grand Magus from the era of the Pouant Empire, which had been destroyed five thousand years ago. What could be more ridiculous than this?

  Linley even wondered if he was in a dream!

  “Kid.” The white-haired old man looked at Linley. Smiling, he said, “The ring you wear next to your chest is the Divine artifact I once used — the Worldring!”

  “Wait, wait, wait!”

  Linley immediately peered up at him and said, “What ‘Worldring’? This ring around my chest was left behind by the elders of my ancestral clan. Its name is the ‘Coiling Dragon Ring’!”

  “Coiling Dragon Ring? It was originally named the Coiling Dragon Ring?” The old man said in surprise.

  Linley was stunned.

  “Original name? What do you mean, original name?” Linley looked questioningly at the old man.

  Only now did the old man begin to laugh. “Oh, ‘Coiling Dragon Ring’ must be the name you gave it. Or perhaps the name an elder of yours gave it. When I originally discovered this ring, I searched through all sorts of documents but couldn’t find any information about it. Thus I gave myself the authority to title it the Worldring. But as to what it was originally called, even I have no idea.”

  “Oh, gramps, you chose the name for it yourself as well. But now it belongs to me, and I named it the Coiling Dragon Ring.” Linley was quite stubborn.

  “Fine, fine, call it the Coiling Dragon Ring if you wish.” The old man chuckled, not wanting to argue with Linley.

  “Gramps, can you tell me why you just appeared from within the Coiling Dragon Ring?” Linley questioned.

  The old man smiled. “In year 4280 of the Yulan calendar, I—“

  Upon hearing this, Linley was secretly shocked. “Year 4280? This year is year 9990!”

  “In year 4280 of the Yulan calendar, I encountered an old foe of mine, a Saint-level Grand Magus named Hamelin, and the two of us began to fight. I didn’t expect yet a second Saint-level combatant to ambush me and sneak attack me. In the end, I was defeated, and my body was destroyed. I didn�
��t wish for my spirit to be captured and tortured by my enemy, Hamelin, so I sealed myself within this Worldri—, ahem, this Coiling Dragon Ring.” The old man explained what had happened in the past.

  “The Coiling Dragon Ring is an extremely amazing object. It doesn’t appear to emanate any magical aura, but in usefulness it can even compare with Divine artifacts. When I sealed my soul within the ring, Hamelin and the other man searched for me for a long time, but weren’t able to find me. This, too, was thanks to the Coiling Dragon Ring.” The old man smiled as he spoke.

  Linley secretly nodded.

  The Coiling Dragon Ring, by appearances, really did look quite plain. As a member of an ancient clan, Linley had a rather appraising eye.

  Normally, precious items would have at least some sort of elemental aura. But this Coiling Dragon Ring seemed like nothing more than plain, inert wood.

  “Gramps, you said that five thousand years ago, you were ambushed by a Saint-level Grand Magus and a Saint-level combatant, and then you were self-sealed within this ring? And that this ring is an artifact which is comparable in power to a Divine artifact?” Linley finally said.

  “Right.” Seeing that Linley understood, the old man couldn’t help but smile and nod.

  “Then Gramps, how is it that you appeared from within the ring just now?” Linley looked doubtfully at the old man.

  Laughing, the old man explained, “Actually, when I sealed my spirit within the Coiling Dragon Ring, I interwove my very existence into the Coiling Dragon Ring. Only when a person becomes the new owner of the ring would I be allowed to depart it.”

  “Becomes the new owner of the ring?”

  “Right. Through dripping blood onto the Coiling Dragon Ring.” The old man laughed.

  Linley frowned while mumbling, “Dripping blood onto the ring?” Frowning as he tried to recollect when that had happened, Linley suddenly remembered that when the rock had cut his head open, fresh blood had suffused his clothes and his chest. Most likely, it was around then that the blood had dripped onto the ring.

  “Oh. Then that makes me the owner of the Coiling Dragon Ring.” Linley nodded.

  “Right. Only now, after you became the owner of the Coiling Dragon Ring, was I able to depart the ring and once more experience the air of the Yulan continent.” A hint of a smile was on the old man’s face. “Right. Kid. I just told you my name, but what is yours?”

  Linley smiled brightly. “My name is Linley! Linley Baruch!”

  “Linley, a fine name.” The old man smiled.

  “Gramps, are you going to be forever bound to the ring and unable to ever regain your freedom?” Linley felt rather bad for him.

  The old man smiled and nodded. “Linley, you must know that when most people die, their spirits will enter the Nether Realm! But because I was a Saint-level Grand Magus at the time of my death, my mental energy had obtained physical form. That was the only reason why I could temporarily resist the call of the Nether Realm and seal myself within the Coiling Dragon Ring. Right now, there is only one way for me to leave this ring – exhaust all of my remaining mental energy.”

  “Exhaust all your remaining mental energy?” Linley didn’t quite understand.

  “What men call mental energy, ghosts might call ‘spiritual energy’. When a person’s mental energy is utterly exhausted, his soul will naturally dissipate. In other words… when my soul dissipates, it will leave the confines of this Coiling Dragon Ring,” the old man said calmly. “But the current situation is also fine. Although I am confined in the Coiling Dragon Ring, preventing me from ranging more than three meters away from it, this isn’t too bad.”

  Linley’s heart trembled.

  Suddenly, in his heart, Linley felt some pity for this old man.

  “Heh heh, Linley, I’m already very satisfied. You don’t know this, but… if my spirit had been captured by Hamelin, it would have been a fate worse than death.” The old man sighed.

  “Gramps, you said your name is Doehring Cowart? Can I address you as Grandpa Doehring?” Linley suddenly said.

  Doehring Cowart had been a mighty Grand Magus of the Pouant Empire, and thus had had an extremely high personal status. Back then, he would have ranked amongst the top five personages in the Yulan continent. He fell only because he had been despicably ambushed by Grand Magus Hamelin and another Saint-level combatant.

  However…

  Doehring Cowart had never had a child, nor grandchildren. Upon hearing Linley address him as Grandpa Doehring, Doehring Cowart’s heart, which had been lonely for thousands of years, suddenly felt warm.

  “Yes, yes.” Doehring Cowart felt extremely happy.

  A look of excitement suddenly appeared in Linley’s eyes. “Grandpa Doehring, just now, you said that you are a Saint-level Grand Magus. Then, can you teach me how to use magic?” Linley’s heart was frantically pounding. The person in front of him was a five thousand-year-old Saint-level Grand Magus.

  In Linley’s mind, the huge body of the Velocidragon, the terrifying spectacle of the Dance of the Fire Serpents, and the countless boulders falling from the sky began to play over and over again, along with the spectacle of that proud man who stood on top of the Black Dragon.

  He deeply desired that one day…

  He, too, would step on top of the head of a Black Dragon and make the heavens tremble.

  Doehring Cowart stroked his white beard. His eyes shining, he said, “Of course I can! Your Grandpa Doehring is a Saint-level Grand Magus of the almighty earth-style… and amongst all of the elements, the element of earth is the mightiest of them all!” As he began to discuss magic, Doehring Cowart began to get excited.

  11

  Earth-Style Magic

  Linley’s anticipation was about to erupt like a volcano as he immediately became suffused with excitement.

  “Grandpa Doehring, can you really teach me to become a magus?” Linley excitedly looked up at old man Doehring.

  Doehring Cowart, seeing the state Linley was in, stroked his white beard. “Linley, your Grandpa Doehring is a Saint-level Grand Magus. Even if you don’t have much natural talent, I can still teach you magic. Of course… if your talent is low, your accomplishments will be low as well.”

  If any other magus had been present and heard his words, they would have been astonished.

  Amongst the society of magi, the most important thing was talent. No talent meant no possibility of becoming a magus. Many people believed this!

  But Doehring Cowart dared to claim that even if his student’s talent was poor, he still had the ability to make a magus out of the student. If anyone else had made this claim, they would be viewed as just wildly boasting… but the man who said these words was a five-thousand-year-old Saint-level Grand Magus!

  “Low talent, low accomplishments?” Linley felt his heart tremble.

  The reason he wanted to become a magus was because he wanted to restore glory to the Baruch clan. Even if he couldn’t accomplish this, he hoped to at least accomplish the one task which generations of clan elders had strove to achieve for centuries – reclaiming their ancestral heirloom. If he could accomplish this, it would be enough.

  But to do so, power was an important component.

  “Linley, don’t be worried. Your aptitude for magic hasn’t even been assessed yet. Who knows if it will be high or low? Perhaps you will have a tremendous talent for magic.” Doehring Cowart stroked his white beard as he smiled.

  Grandpa Doehring’s tranquility brought calm to Linley as well.

  “Grandpa Doehring, how does one test for magical aptitude?” Linley couldn’t help but grow eager.

  “It is actually quite easy to test for magical aptitude.” Just as Doehring Cowart spoke, suddenly –

  Footsteps could be heard from outside the door. Hearing them, Linley immediately grew nervous. He quickly said to Doehring Cowart, “Grandpa Doehring, quick, hide. Someone is coming.” If this five-thousand-year-old Saint-level Grand Magus of the bygone Pouant Empire was discovered, it c
ould be disastrous.

  Doehring Cowart only smiled, not moving at all.

  “Grandpa Doehring!” Linley was beginning to grow impatient.

  “Creaaak.” The bedroom door swung open, and Housekeeper Hiri stuck his head inside. Seeing that Linley was awake, he couldn’t help but smile. “Young master Linley, I didn’t expect that you would have already awoken. How do you feel, young master?”

  Linley immediately forced out a smile. Nodding, he said, “Thank you for asking, Uncle Hiri. I’m much better now.”

  Linley felt extremely agitated. He couldn’t help but turn to look in the direction of Doehring Cowart, but Doehring Cowart was still standing there, grinning. “What’s going on with Grandpa Doehring? Ugh. We’re about to get discovered. It’s going to be so annoying to have to explain.”

  “Young master Linley, it’s time for dinner. Since you are already awake, come eat dinner with us.” Uncle Hiri smiled as he spoke.

  “Oh. Got it.” Linley snuck another peek at Doehring Cowart, his heart filled with questions. “What’s going on? From Uncle Hiri’s expression, it seems as though he can’t see Grandpa Doehring at all.”

  Seeing Linley constantly glances at the corner of his bed, Uncle Hiri asked curiously, “Young master Linley, why are you staring at the side of your bed? Did you drop something? I can help you look for it.”

  “No— nothing.” Linley immediately crawled out of bed. “Uncle Hiri, let’s go eat dinner.”

  Although he found Linley’s reaction to be a bit odd, Uncle Hiri didn’t think too much of it, just nodding and smiling. Linley dressed himself, but still couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Doehring Cowart. But just as he did so, Doehring Cowart, who was still grinning at him, suddenly disappeared from Linley’s field of vision.

  “He entered the Coiling Dragon Ring.” Linley could now clearly feel that a spirit was now residing within the Coiling Dragon Ring.