Xiang Yong sighed lightly when he thought back to that night. Their king had never been good at putting himself in the right light. Normally, it would be expected for a person in his position to do this kind of heroic deed and then have others talk about it so everyone would know just how strong he was. He should also stop and take care of the people that he had just saved so they would praise his benevolence, making him even more well-liked by the populace. Unfortunately, he had never been that type of king.
In that night, Xiang Yong had admired him for that. He had thought that this man who was so strong and self-assured didn't need to do something so pointless. He would save who he could save and then he would continue to do so, not bothering to stay back when he had already eliminated the immediate danger.
The image of the dragon king that grew in his mind from that day forth was definitely one of a mighty and awe-inspiring man, that was deserving of his admiration. It was this what had finally led him to go to the capital city and try to become his adviser. He had wanted to pay him back for his help that day. He had also wanted to do good at his side and ensure together with him that such tragedies would not need to happen anymore in the future.
Well, while he did manage to achieve the dream of working at his king's side, he had unfortunately also come to know that things were a bit different than he imagined. But truth be told, he did not admire him any less.
Their king was … special in his own right but he was still admirable. He would indeed save people. Xiang Yong did not know whether it was because he genuinely cared about his people or if it was just because he was bored out of his mind and liked fighting the demons.
He just couldn't say. But he didn't care either. The only important thing was that their king would always be there when there were fights. He would put himself and his life on the line to save others. Whether it was intentional or unintentional … Who cared if those precious lives could be preserved?
And his strength could not be denied. Also, His Majesty had lived a lot longer than he had. It was safe to say that with everything he had gone through, his perspective on things would be a different one from the one others held. Maybe living for so long had just changed him. Or maybe there was something more. It was something that he did not dare to dwell on for too long.
Anyway, he had achieved his dream and he would continue to follow this path. Nothing would ever change about that. He did not think that his king would ever change either. He would continue to be that man who inadvertently did the right thing even if sometimes, he really made his advisers' job needlessly difficult.
Xiang Yong smiled slightly when he thought of that. Whatever the case, he didn't regret any of it. But it was true that their king had gotten slightly better since meeting the Son of Heaven. It would be interesting to see just how far he could go when this trial was finally over and he had his partner at his side all the time. Maybe that would bring out the best in him and make him into the king that he had always wanted to serve.
Anyway, until then, it would still be a lot of time. Thus, Xiang Yong pushed the thought away and focused on what was going on in front of them.
By now, the whole of the Jian Yi Sect was enveloped by the energy that Xin Lan had gathered. The wind was roaring and a sudden downpour drenched the people of the righteous sects while only the lightning strikes from above lit this place up every now and then.
Glancing over to where the Chun Feng Sect stood, they had pretty ugly expressions. Their Sect Master looked as if he wanted to say something but with the madness around them, he was completely unable to have his words heard.
Xin Lan just laughed. "What? You want to tell me to my face that I'm a demon now? Then you should tell me why your weapons aren't working on me. Honestly, you can't have it both ways." With a smile still on his face, Xin Lan lightly waved and with a last gust of wind, everything suddenly died down.
The clouds above their heads dispersed and it was suddenly all clear skies. In fact, there was even a gentle breeze caressing the faces of the envoys from the sects that were looking quite disheveled by now.
Xiang Yong might have laughed if it wasn't so serious. As things stood, he was slightly worried though. This level of using his abilities wouldn't be a problem in the dragon realm at all but it might be over here in the human realm. After all, humans were quite a bit weaker than them. So far, Xin Lan seemed to have himself under control but if the Chun Feng Sect got on his nerves, who was to say that he wouldn't snap and just attack them directly? This kind of ancient dragon probably didn't have a lot of patience left.
Xiang Yong glanced at An Bai, trying to communicate his doubt. An Bai shook his head though.
"Don't worry about it. I don't know Senior Xin Lan very well but I do think he has a sense of propriety. He wouldn't do anything too drastic in this case. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have come over here."
Hearing that, Xiang Yong felt slightly relieved. Right. They hadn't even asked him over. He had come on his own accord. That was bound to mean that he had his own interest in solving this issue. He didn't know what that might be but it was still good that it was the case. That way, the chances of solving this issue should be higher.
At the very least, that was what he thought.