Chapter 284: State Your Name
So it was the Draggin’ Prince, not the Dragon Prince. Xiangliu Hongzhen, third prince of the East Sea monster spirits, was deaf. He’d only recently emerged in the world and hadn’t yet earned a reputation. Even the Scaled-Dragon King and the little fox had only heard of his nickname, but hadn’t seen him in person. That was why they thought he was actually a dragon.
Moreover, the East Sea was more powerful than the North Sea. Those who knew the truth of the Deaf Prince wouldn’t talk. Rumors begat more rumors, and he became known as the Dragon Prince.
To low-level cultivators on Levitating Island, however, the Deaf Prince was well-known. Although he was the third prince of the East Sea monster spirits, he was partial to showing off his wealth.
When he’d first arrived at Levitating Island and had disguised himself as a commoner to tour its biggest cities, he’d bought a heap of trash with millions of immortal crystals. After his true identity was revealed, he proudly introduced himself to the public and splashed money freely around his vicinity.
The low-level cultivators then discovered his deafness, and news about the Deaf Prince began circulating in their social circles. To them, the Deaf Prince was the biggest and easiest mark on the island, the perfect cash cow for all their exploitation prayers.
The Deaf Prince admired and idolized Lu Yun. Like a fan on Earth seeing their idol for the first time, butterflies had exploded in his stomach the moment he met Lu Yun. His magnanimous front was just that—a front. In truth, he was too nervous to even directly look at Lu Yun. Thus, he hadn’t noticed that Lu Yun had been talking this entire time.
Resigned, Lu Yun transmitted his polite refusal to the Deaf Prince. If it’d been a few thousand, or even millions, he wouldn’t say no to the gift. Billions of crystals were another story. If he accepted them, he’d be tied to the East Sea monster spirits.
“Ah, so the Dusk Sovereign doesn’t think it’s too little, but too much!” The Deaf Prince scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He truly was being too generous for anyone to accept his offer.
“Just call me Lu Yun or senior brother, Your Royal Highness,” Lu Yun transmitted with a serious expression. “Please don’t call me Sovereign.”
The Deaf Prince was a powerful peak transformed spirit realm cultivator, but he wasn’t Lu Yun’s match, thus, his suggestion was a reasonable one.
“Senior brother Lu!” the Deaf Prince exclaimed in great joy, his voice so loud it could be heard several kilometers away.
“By the way, what’s wrong with your ears, Your Highness?” Lu Yun transmitted after some consideration. “I know a thing or two about pill dao. Perhaps I can restore your hearing.”
“Ears? Hearing?” The Deaf Prince looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
Was he born deaf and never realized that he’s different from other people? The revelation caught Lu Yun by surprise. Ah, he’s always communicated through transmission, and must think that’s what everyone else does as well.
People had no choice but to communicate with him through transmission. He couldn’t hear it even if someone discussed his deafness, and no one in the East Sea court dared tell him the truth.
Lu Yun rubbed his forehead and dropped the subject. He didn’t want to accidentally put his foot in his mouth.
“Oh!” The Deaf Prince changed the subject before Lu Yun could respond. “Tomorrow is the opening day of Myriad Returns Market. There will be many immortals returning from the North Sea to gather in Myriad Returns City. Why don’t senior brother visit it with me, since we have time?”
Myriad Returns City was the largest city on Levitating Island, and its market was the greatest event around. It was jointly organized by the top merchant guilds in the world of immortals and held every ten years. The sea market always saw countless immortals trading their treasures for crystals or other treasures.
As the kind of person who itched with great discomfort if he went an entire day without spending money, the Deaf Prince had come to Levitating Island and bought the kunpeng palace for the market.
“The North Sea is poorer than my East Sea, but some strange treasures always appear at the market. Three thousand years ago, there was even a connate-grade treasure!” the Deaf Prince spoke with increasing excitement.
Immortals dancing attendance on him sighed inwardly at his expression. The Deaf Prince was widely known as the cream of the crop for chumps on Levitating Island. In the East Sea court, he had an even more ‘prestigious’ nickname—the textbook prodigal.
Nevertheless, he was a rare pureblood of the xiangliu clan. Once he ascended to immortality, he would gain the abilities of the ancient water god, which made him a treasured member of the East Sea monster spirits.
Xianglius were ancient divine beasts with the divine decree of a water god, having once served under the foremost water god, Gonggong, as his officials. In the ancient war, the clan had suffered a tremendous blow. Not only had they lost their divinity, but they’d almost had their bloodline wiped out.
The current imperial xiangliu clan consisted mostly of mixed-blood xianglius. There were only a couple purebloods, and every one of them had later become peak arcane dao immortals, pillars of the clan.
Xiangliu Hongzhen was bound to become such a figure, and would reinforce the authority of his clan. Of course, his true identity was the biggest secret of the East Sea monster spirits and there were only a handful who knew the truth.
The Xiangliu Emperor quite favored the Deaf Prince. Even if someone did hold grievances against him, they wouldn’t voice their thoughts.
“The Myriad Returns Market!” Lu Yun nodded. He’d come to the floating island at the center of Levitating Island for exactly that. “I have a favor to ask, Your Royal Highness.” He decided to open up after some deliberation. “There’s an ancient tomb under Xiangliu Palace.”
“What?!” The Deaf Prince jumped up with a yelp. Eagerness overtook his expression at the mention of an ancient tomb. “There’s an ancient tomb here? Dig it up! Dig through Xiangliu—Kunpeng Palace!”
Draped over Qing Han’s shoulders, the little fox scowled warily and transmitted breathily, “The tomb belonged to my monster spirit clan!”
“Hmm, you’re the Monster God, aren’t you? Tsk, who would’ve thought the sissy Monster God is actually a little fox, and female at that?”
The Deaf Prince immediately noticed the palm-sized fox and smiled. “The East Sea monster spirits used to be the legitimate clan of the ancient monster spirits! It’s said that Levitating Island has something to do with the sacred land of our ancestors. We naturally mustn’t stay on the sidelines.
“Your palace is gone,” the prince continued proudly. “It doesn’t matter anymore if you’re the Monster God.”
The little fox leveled what she thought was a fierce glare at Lu Yun. “It’s all your fault!”
If it weren’t for Lu Yun, her palace wouldn’t have become a target, and she wouldn’t have been forced to give up on her growing forces.
Although she’d been dropped off here by Mo Yi, she had her own ambitions. She wanted to establish a real sacred land of monster spirits in the world of immortals. Now that her palace had been destroyed, there was no reason for her to waste her energy disguising herself as the Monster God.