"We're going to maybe, probably, most certainly take a bath in a volcano after we return tomorrow. Your expressions tell me all I need to know and I am glad we're seeing eye to eye on this."
****
Boom!
"Is this how far your determination goes!? How laughable!"
"Again!"
Bang!
"Ack!"
A mouthful of blood erupted from a figure that crashed into a wall of what appeared to be a large training room.
A large dragon with glistening light blue scales lay coiled at one end of the room. Every action it took commanded authority, even as it lay there.
A surge of spiritual energy rushed into its nostrils with every breath, while each exhale brought forth a wave of water-attributed spiritual qi that caused the scene inside this room to remain distorted.
Amusement filled its eyes as it stared at the individual that opposed it.
"Are you done, already? Your heart is soft!" It spoke the human tongue as it watched the figure struggle back to her feet.
"I'm not done! And don't speak to me about heart! When my son died, my heart died along with him!"
Who else could it be but Long Di's mother, Long Nuhuang? She looked haggard and ragged, but accompanying the arrogance she displayed before was a savage aura that no human should be able to exude.
"Now… again!"
Shu!
She rushed towards the colossal dragon before her with reckless abandon. The only change to its form was the flashing of a set of teeth with a metallic glint.
Next, a massive claw filled her vision as it came crashing towards her.
Bam!
The claw slammed into her body with a dreadful force that shattered every bone in her body.
As the full brunt of the blow sank in, everything around her slowed down. Scenes played in her head in a constant loop.
Yet, this was not a replay of her life, but a torturous repeat of the day the sky darkened and the heavens wrenched her son from her.
"Long Di, did I love you enough when I had you with me? Did you feel my devotion and affection overflow when I held you in my arms?"
"Sniffles."
Tears welled up in her eyes when she thought of this. The physical pain was nothing compared to what she felt that day.
She went through countless hardships to put into motion a plan that would elevate her family and herself to a level where they could strike against something that every cultivator feared, something that every cultivator revered, something that would forever be above the reach and station of any man, the Heavens itself!
Boom!
…
Outside the door of the training room, gave rise to a scene of a single man who waited before it with bated breath.
Long Huangdi's heart was in turmoil as well, as not a single day passed where the scene of his son being consumed by a cataclysmic force didn't haunt him.
It didn't get any easier when he saw how his wife threw herself into her cultivation, not only for revenge, but for his sake as well.
Every time his wife left the training room, new scars and injuries plagued her body. Sadly, nothing he said was enough to deter her from her choice. He always knew her to be a stubborn woman, but this time it made his heart bleed to no end.
Boom! Boom!
Multiple muffled explosions came from the inside that pained him blow for blow, as if he was the one being attacked.
"Do you not feel ashamed to be relying on a woman?"
A voice that dripped with derision and scorn came from behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
It was the ruler of this bastion, Long Jiao. Since 'Long,' was the character for Dragon, all Dragons shared this family name.
Long Huangdi was getting a bit more familiar with the power structure that governed this bastion. He had no idea why they were swept away to this place or what relationship his family had with the dragons, save for their name, which was coincidental and nothing else.
They never received any answers to their questions. Only undisguised contempt greeted them at every turn.
"Shame has bedevilled me, but it will never define me. My wife is my better half, and it will be all the more so when she succeeds."
"Oh? You think your wife will succeed? Hehehe… I think the royal emissary is wasting his time. This is most likely a way to pass the time," a mockery-filled chuckle rang out as Long Jiao came beside Long Huangdi.
"My wife will succeed, no doubt about it," said Long Huangdi, his gaze plastered on the door. "At this stage, all that matters is whether you dragons will keep your wo—"
Boom!
A fierce and suffocating draconic aura exploded out that immediately forced Long Huangdi to his knees!
"Careful, human! We might not be allowed to kill you, but that doesn't mean we can't make you suffer a fate worse than death! We do not tolerate any besmirchment to our name!"
The draconic aura Long Jiao radiated brought with it a force that felt like several mountains stacked atop one another.
"Even in the infinitesimal chance your wife prevails in this 'trial,' we will do what was promised."
Cracks spread from where Long Huangdi's knees met the ground, but he said nothing more. He simply kept silent and gritted his teeth.
The promise they were referring to was something that dated back to the time that they just arrived here.
The dragons within the bastion were all drawn by the air of arrogance that his wife, Long Nuhuang, gave off.
The royal emissary, interested in a human capable of such a feat, asked her what goal was it that drove her to possess such a will.
When the dragons present heard what it was she wished to achieve, their blood began to boil!
To go against the Heavens was something Dragons did by instinct! Their arrogance was gestated by a continuous generational opposition against the Heavens.
That's right, Dragons were the way they were because their very existence established within them a will to go against the ultimate law.
The royal emissary's interest grew in this woman and so it asked her in what way she would embark upon a path established as one of no return.
Long Jiao remembered the answer she gave and the proceedings that led to all this.
A few weeks ago…
"My family will become an army, no, a force. One whose sole purpose will be to assail that which took my heart from me," answered Long Nuhuang.
"Interesting…"
The royal emissary encircled them. Its scrutinising gaze disturbed them, but no one said anything.
After a while, it spoke once more. "What would you like of me, human?"
Long Nuhuang's cold gaze shot towards it once more. She knew it was referring to her. "What do you mean?"
"Before, you dared to say that you would steady the scales of the Heavens by having me suffer the fate of your so-"
"Careful!" Long Nuhuang practically growled the word.
The emissary simply chuckled at her 'warning,' and continued. "You are a million years too early to even think about using me to steady Heaven's scales. However, how about this? I WILL fulfil a single wish of yours if you can but merely scratch me. This shall be your trial."
Long Nuhuang's eyes brightened when she heard this, "Do you truly mean thi—"
"Never question my words! I, like my kind, disdain to lie. It's a coward's language and nothing more!" The emissary's anger slipped out for a moment before it regained its composure. "This is not a request by the way, but a demand"
"Fine. Then I want you to heal my husband. His cultivation stagnated due to an injury caused by a storm of beasts triggered by your kind."
The emissary pondered for a moment, appearing to be thinking to itself. 'Sounds like it may be related to that incident.'
"Your wish hinges on your performance." It then turned around and walked the path it took to get her. "We will start immediately."
Now…
Ever since that day, she was forging through this torturous trial. Her only reprieve was when she could no longer move and had to recover from her injuries, only to be dragged to the room to repeat it like some inescapable accursed mantra.
The only thing he could do in exchange was to at least await her emergence from the room. And he did so every day without fail, no matter how much ridicule he faced, for it was the least he could do.
When Long Jiao saw that he said nothing more and didn't dare to move, he scoffed and retracted his aura.
Long Huangdi got to his feet and stared at the door, waiting for it to open.
Click!
The door opened a crack before a figure flew out as a blur.
Long Huangdi's eyes reddened when he saw this. The figure was flung into his arms with a powerful force that even sent him flying!
Nevertheless, he refused to let go, as this was the limp body of his wife. This was the scene he endured every day, and it pained him to no end.
He could feel that none of her bones was intact. She was unconscious and her face was stained with tears, whether it be from the pain of the training or otherwise he didn't know.
"Treat her injuries and have her return tomorrow. Ruler Jiao, give him the draconic salve for the treatment." A voice came from the room before the door slammed tight.
"Hmph! This is a treasure, and yet it's being wasted! Make sure to catch it, trash!" Long Jiao flung a bundle of draconic salve towards Long Huangdi to treat his wife.
Accompanying it was a shredding force that tore away at Long Huangdi's palm as soon as he caught it.
Long Huangdi growled in anger at this Long Jiao. He was too overbearing!
Even when he was to be given something to treat his wife, he was being injured for it!
This took place every single day, but he was forced to endure!
"What!? Do you wish to do something about it?" Long Jiao flashed a row of teeth that were like a set of knives!
Long Huangdi's eyes burned with anger, and through no small amount of self-control, he took a deep breath before he turned to the door and said. "Thank you for the medicine."
No response came from the door. But Long Huangdi didn't care.
He wasted no more time. With his wife in hand, he took quick measured steps to return to his family's camp to administer the salve and treat his wife's wounds.
Before long, the two were no longer in Long Jiao's sight.
The latter looked to the door and asked. "Lord emissary, do we truly have to—"
"I have my reasons." That was the only response the voice gave. Its tone banished any thought of a discussion.
Long Jiao said nothing more and departed shortly after, knowing that tomorrow would only be more of the same.